Skip to main content

Day 3, International Cordi Studies Conference

SYSTEM OVERLOAD! SYSTEM OVERLOAD! SYSTEM OVERLOAD!

I'm reduced to writing down a few lines that stood out for me today, whether or not I agree with them completely.

"Life in Tinoc is simple. The people plant rice in their payew and ube in their uma." DISAGREE (meaning, I agree that they do plant rice and ube/camote, but this statement on its own tends to obscure the whole picture of life in Tinoc.)

"The uma is a form of common property available to the whole community." DISAGREE

"I did not talk about the issues of the place because I promised my informants that I would not write anything negative about them." DISAGREE

"National living artists or treasures are a form of cultural governance." AGREE

"National living treasures are expected to embody the ancient past and to remain that way, but National Artists are expected to propel their work into the future." AGREE (meaning, I agree that this is a fair analysis of the system, but I don't agree that this system should remain in place)

"The Filipina body as maid, nanny, or whore, is fetishized as one that produces care, remittances, and sexual pleasure." AGREE

"When indigenous women have bared their breasts to protest or confront masculine capitalism they are confronting them with the non-productive bare breast --breasts that do not produce pleasure, remittances, or care, but breasts as embodied protest." Phew. Very pomo. AGREE AND DISAGREE

"Law is a cultural phenomenon." AGREE

"The NCIP is beset with economic problems." AGREE

"In 2010 we will come to a time when our constitution will be under scrutiny again. This will be a time to guard against the possibility that somebody will seek to entrench themselves in power for another long period of time. But it will also be a time to participate in the discussion and transformation of other problems in our laws, particularly having to do with indigneous peoples rights... Is "indigenous peoples" still a good concept to be working with?" CHILLING MESSAGE.

These "quotes" are roughly paraphrased from the very different and yet somehow related talks of Dr. Balangcot of U.P. Baguio, Melisa Calumba-Salazar of the University of Hawaii, and Marvic Leonen of the U.P. Law of School and the LRC-KSK.

Another highlight of the day was the study of Prof. Tad-awan of BSU, who presented the findings on an extensive study to identify the best potato varieties for organic farming. They have identified four varieties as the best in terms of yield and resistance to blight! Yehey! I hope they get this information out to farmers who are ready to make the switch to organic crops. Er, you know, like potatoes!
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Cordillera Folktales and Story-telling

It was cold and wet outside on the day of the launching of The Golden Arrow of Mt. Makilkilang and other Cordillera Folktales . But inside Mt. Cloud Bookshop we were warmed by stories read and performed by the Aanak di Kabiligan community theater group. Storytelling on a stormy afternoon. Paco Paco. A Benguet story from the book, published by the Cordillera Green Network. Aanak di Kabiligan means children of the mountains. The theater group was born out of the Cordillera Green Network's eleven years of conducting workshops in which children transform their grandparents' stories into theater productions. Here they perform the title story of the Golden Arrow of Mt. Makilkilang and Other Cordillera Folktales.
Post a Comment
Read more

Lola of Maipon

It's all too easy to fall asleep under the blanket of everyday life and to smother dreams with the mundane things I surround myself with. But once in a while, along comes a sparkling vision that jolts me out of my daily sleep and reminds me of the existence of convictions and worlds so different from my own. "Our beloved LOLA of Guinubatan, Maipon, Albay is the last true messenger of God. So, let us follow her holy teachings so that we will gain TRUE SALVATION without sufferings and without death." In another story I, the intrepid heroine, the adventurer seduced by mysteries, the pilgrim in search of truth, would follow them back to Guinubatan from Session Road, thirsting to see and hear their Lola for myself. However, it's all too easy -- much safer! -- to fall back asleep under the blanket of everyday life, and to smother dreams with the mundane things I surround myself with. Then along comes 9 a.m., and really, it's time to down the dregs of coffee at the bott...
4 comments
Read more

Ritual for all Occasions

Attended a talk delivered by Dr. Albert Bacdayan, UP Baguio. Feb. 20, 2013. "Ritual for All Occasions: The significance and persistence of the 'Senga' in Northern Sagada." The senga is a ritual in which at least one chicken and one pig -- sometimes more -- are sacrificed. The senga is usually performed for milestones such as the completion of a house, the opening of a new business, a wedding, a funeral, when someone is ill, when someone is leaving on a journey. He spoke of how Cordillerans have a ritual for almost every occasion or ailment. Indeed, the word he used was not ritual but "remedy."Dr. Bacdayan described this as a "healthy agnosticism."He mused that the abundance or such remedies and rituals is the reason there are rarely feelings of helplessness among Cordillerans. He described ritual as a bundle of activities that assures people and anchors identity. When one calls the old men and is the principal of a senga, you are perceived t...
Post a Comment
Read more