TAT’s All, Folks!

[In response to Barbara Gonzalez' article, Mangyans & Me, Philippine Star, 21 January 2006]

Does indigenous Filipino cultural heritage have value only if it can be understood in a ‘modern’ way and transformed into a best-selling commodity? Is raising awareness of the Mangyans and the beauty of their culture ‘futile’ since their culture and other indigenous culture will disappear anyway – erased by modernity?

The Hanunoo Mangyans are a shy, peaceful mountain people, considered primitive by the lowlanders and even rumored by them to have tails. And yet, these are the very people who have preserved a pre-Hispanic writing system and kept alive their own ancient poetic tradition.

The “Mangyans of Mindoro” exhibit was set up to introduce this tribe to our over-Americanized, consumer society. Their clothes, houses, utensils may seem unsophisticated to us, and they are not materially wealthy; but this is a society whose people often gather to recite poetry late into the night, whose subtle minds prefer to speak in allegories rather in dull, straightforward prose. They have no social hierarchy but recognize judges by consensus to mediate disputes so that there are no tribal wars - the word does not even exist in their language. How, then, can we lowlanders presume to come in and lecure them on clothing sizes and marketing fashions?

Their products may not be marketable to the tourists in Puerto Galera, or to foreigners world-wide, but in their un-streamlined, homespun quality, they convey the soul of a people. That soul may carry a clue to our Filipino identity – that tenuous thing, that we search for and agonize over. But we will never find it if we are bound by the mind-set reflected in Barbara Gonzalez’s article that in order to survive in the modern world, everything must be turned into a commodity.

Can indigenous peoples thrive in the modern world while retaining their traditional way of life? Is it possible for urban “sophisticates” to learn the wisdom that can be taught by “primitive” tribes? Would they even have the humility to know that they can learn from them? This exhibit has no solutions, but will hopefully prompt people to consider those questions. The point was “merely to raise awareness of the Mangyans and the beauty of their culture” … that was more than enough.

This is what we think.

What about you?

Mangyan Heritage Center
www.MANGYAN.org

Quirkyalone: noun/adj. A person who enjoys being single (but is not opposed to being in a relationship) and generally prefers to be alone rather than dating for the sake of being in a couple.

Quirkyalones are people who resist the tyranny of coupledom. Oddly enough, we quirkyalones also tend to be romantics. We resist the tyranny of coupledom because we would prefer to be open to the possibilities that life has to offer than be in an unsatisfying relationship. That is, to date for the sake of dating, or be in a relationship for the sake of being part of a couple.

Quirkyalone is not anti-love. It is pro-love. It is not anti-dating. It is anti-compulsory dating. It’s an embrace of all kinds of love. Although we quirkyalones enjoy solitude, and sometimes even need and crave it, we are NOT loners. We typically have a strong network of friends. Most of us place a high premium on friendship. We’ve even been known to bring our friends on dates!

Quirkyalone… A whole movement!

Dear Friends –

The M(useum) Cafe is now M(angyan) Cafe all of January. Placemats
have the Mangyan syllabary with instructions on how to write your name
in this ancient script. The waiters wear Mangyan clothing with a
Modern Mangyan Menu offered.

To whet your appetite, try the sardine cakes with kaffir aoili,
arugula salad and beetroot vinaigrette, followed by kabatse espresso
and roasted kamote. For the main course, try the poached chicken with
upo salad, ube ravioli and kalabasa florette fritter. Then cap it with
chocolate banana kasuy tart for dessert. Don’t forget to order
gumamela juice as well!

After a satisfying meal, visit our "Myth and Meaning: Mangyans of
Mindoro" exhibit ongoing everyday until January 23. It’s in the Ayala
Museum Space, second floor of Greenbelt 4; or simply climb up to the
top floor of the M(angyan) Café after your meal.

Read Mangyan ambahans (poems) and see the Mangyan Heritage Center’s
first public display of artifacts from different Mangyan groups as
well as old-to-recent photographs depicting their way of life.

Please attend our other exhibit activities mentioned below. Share this
with family and friends! Come and discover our heritage with the
Mangyans of Mindoro!

Tatine G. Faylona
Trustee, Mangyan Heritage Center

http://tatine.blogs.friendster.com/photos/myth_and_meaning/

OTHER EXHIBIT ACTIVITIES

LOOKING PAST THE IMAGES
Photographs of the Mangyan People
19th - 20th Century
Speaker: John L. Silva
9:30 am to 10:30 am, January 19, 2006, Ayala Museum

Photographs of tribal societies throughout the world were taken mostly
by foreign anthropological expeditions and by visitors with an
orientation different from what a tribal society would probably see of
themselves. The Photographs of Mangyan Peoples are no exception.

A powerpoint presentation by John L. Silva, National Museum consultant
will delve into the portrayal of these tribes and present insights on
how photographs can either compel us to sympathize or be indifferent
to tribal societies. Rare antiquarian photographs from the speaker’s
collection as well as contemporary photographs from the Mangyan
Heritage Center collection will accentuate this very interesting
discussion.

THE JOY OF WRITING IN THE ANCIENT SCRIPT
OF THE MANGYAN PEOPLE
Speaker: Lolita Delgado-Fansler
10:45 - 12:00 Noon, January 19, 2006, Ayala Museum

From 17 documented syllabaries in 16th century Philippines, and from
110 Indigenous Peoples (IP) groups in the country today, only two IPs
from Palawan and two Mangyan groups in Mindoro still use the original
scripts of their ancestors. The rest of the Filipinos have retained
their languages and dialects, but write with the Roman alphabet of the
colonizers. Lolita Delgado Fansler, President of the Mangyan Heritage
Center, will give a powerpoint presentation on these National Cultural
Treasures that have been inscribed in the Memory of the World
Registers of UNESCO. Sign your name in Hanunuo Mangyan syllabic script
in guest books here and abroad, and help promote and retain the one
Philippine script that has a good chance of surviving another
generation.

FREE Admission to above lectures. For further information, please call
757 - 7117 to 21 or mobile (0918) 7337927.

MANGYAN STORYTELLING
January 18, 2006
Ayala Museum

In connection with the Exhibit on the Culture of the Indigenous
Peoples of Mindoro at the Ayala Museum, an Afternoon of Story-telling
will be held on January 18, 2006 from 1:30 to 5:30 in the afternoon.
You can choose from the time slots available, on a first-come,
first-served basis.

1:30 - 2:10
2:10 - 2:50
2:50 - 3:30
3:30 - 4:10
4:10 - 4:50
4:50 - 5:30

The stories are lifted from a series of Mangyan folktales which the
Mangyan Heritage Center has produced together with Mangyan Mission.
The Mangyans did the sketches in these books, which are not for sale,
but are to be distributed to Mangyans and used in Mangyan schools.

The stories will be told by stage actress Linda Lupton and her fellow actors.

We are cordially inviting you to send a group of 30 children (ages
8-12) to partake of this story-telling activity.  We trust that this
will broaden the students’ horizon and supplement their studies.

Each session will last forty minutes and will include a viewing of the
exhibit which is entitled "Myth and Meaning: Mangyans of Mindoro."
See the Mangyan Heritage Center’s first public display of artifacts
from different Mangyan groups, as well as photographs, both old and
recent, depicting their way of life.

Kindly contact Sony Ng at any of the following:

Landline - - 896-5519 / 896-5528
Mobile    –   0920-9000409
Fax         –   896-4616
Email      – asuncion_ng@yahoo.com

WWW.MANGYAN.ORG