|
|
Tribal Filipinos Resist Change (fwd)Cliff Sloane (cesloane@MAROON.TC.UMN.EDU)Sat, 29 Oct 1994 00:08:01 -0500
their colorful tribal identity against the encroachment of lowland ways. For centuries, the Tibolis, animists who worship trees and mountains and practice infant marriage, have lived on the shores of Lake Sebu in South Cotabato province, 650 miles southeast of Manila. Now, lowlanders are moving into the area to enjoy its cool climate, waterfalls and lakes. Newcomers arrive with land titles, a concept foreign to the Tibolis, whose language has no words for ``hunger'' or ``buying'' but includes one for ``unending happiness.'' Instead of resisting the lowlanders, the gentle Tibolis simply pack up and move deeper into the mountains. Most of them live in isolated shacks made of bamboo and nipa straw. They grow corn, potatoes and cassava on tiny plots and fish and gather wild bananas and other plants to supplement their diet. The Tibolis' two little towns, Lake Sebu and Tiboli, have a few foodshops, market stalls and dry goods stores. Tiboli leaders, especially the very few with university educations, accept that change is inevitable. ``We have to maintain our culture,'' said Samuel Loco, mayor of Lake Sebu town. ``We have to keep the good and discard the bad.'' One example of the latter is infant marriage, often before a child's first birthday. Loco, 33, said his father paid a dowry of eight horses, two water buffalos and antique jewelry for a bride when he was only 1 year old. ``My father thought he had secured my future,'' Loco said. ``He said he could die in peace because he knew I had a wife. I didn't even know I had a wife until my first year in high school. We were like playmates.'' After his parents died, Loco and his wife agreed to forget the marriage and go their own ways. Since Philippine law allows the nation's approximately 40 tribes to follow their own traditions, Tiboli men can marry several women as long as they can afford the dowry. Ronnie de la Pena, a member of the Tiboli town council, said some men have up to 13 wives and dozens of children. Tibolis can also opt to settle disputes by tribal law if both parties agree. This often requires ``trial by ordeal.'' Suspected thieves, for example, must place their hands in boiling water. If they can stand the pain, they are declared innocent. Wakes for the dead can last for a full year. Bodies are placed in crocodile-shaped, wooden coffins and hung from a tree during the wake. One aspect of their culture the Tibolis want to protect is their intricate, colorful beadwork, weaving and handmade brass jewelry famous throughout the country. Little is known of Tiboli history. Spanish colonizers made little effort to penetrate Tiboli areas during the 350 years they ruled the Philippines. After the Americans seized the Philippines in 1898, Christian missionaries ventured in and converted many Tibolis to Protestant denominations. In the 1970s, the Presidential Assistant on National Minorities began the first systematic study of the Tibolis and other minority groups. But the office was abolished in 1983 and many of the records were lost, stolen or destroyed in a series of fires. Lack of an identity as a distinct people is one of the problems tribal leaders face in defending their culture and land. Isolated for so long, the Tibolis never felt threatened. To inculcate a sense of cultural preservation, the local government requires employees to wear native costumes every Monday. Loco and others believe that if the Tibolis are to survive, they must also learn modern ways, such as medicine, sanitation and modern agriculture. ``I want appropriate development for my people,'' Loco said. ``I want everybody to live and survive in peaceful co-existence. I want Tibolis to be really self-reliant.''
|