PERCEPTIONS on the Tri-People of Mindanao: Will there be a Room for CHANGE?: 2008-02-17

MIndanao

...from http://www.philippines.hvu.nl/mindanao2.htm

For Nature, Culture and Adventure!

Mindanao is the second largest island of the country. It is an interesting island

in many respects. Mindanao is one of the three islands in the Philippines where

there are good possibilities to explore the tropical rainforest. Still a big part of the

original jungle is conserved here. For tourists seeking adventure Mindanao offers

possibilities for jungle tracking and climbing the highest mountain of the Philippines.

Visiting the second largest lake of the country is also possible. Visitors of the island

who are interested in culture could make a daytrip to one of the mountain tribes.

Meet mountain tribes

There are still several indigenous people living on Mindanao. They are traditional in many respects.

Discover the daily life of the Mindanao people

In the rural areas you can meet the farmers and see their traditional ways of working on the fields. In the coastal areas you can visit the fishermen villages. On the beaches you sure will be able to see the way how young children are fishing with their nets.

Bangus,

the National

Fish

Children try to

catch a

specific tiny

'baby' fish, the

'Bangus fry.

National fish of

the Philippines,

the Bangus

(milkfish).

Climbing the sacred mountain

Mount Apo is with 3144

meters above

sea-level, the highest peak

in the Philippines.

The name makes that clear!

'Apo' means "grandfather of all

mountains". For theindigenous

people living in the mountain

area, Mount Apo is considered

sacred.The origin of the mountain is

volcanic.It is an inactive volcano.

No eruptionswere ever recorded.

This huge mountain is attractive for nature lovers and sportive mountain climbers.
Guided trips are organized by the Department of Tourism in Davao City. The
attractions during this mountain tracking are plenty. You will get the feeling of being
part of theenvironment during your walking trip through the forest and alongside the
slopes of themountain.

The Philippine Eagle

The mount Apo area is the last remaining
territory of the Philippine Eagle in the
country.On the island it is possible to make
an excursion into the tropical rainforest to
discover thePhilippine eagle, the National
Bird of thePhilippines, which is known as the monkeyeating eagle.

Is there discrimination in Mindanao?

Taken from Bob's feature article(Commentary)
Aug 9, 2007

The title of this article is an easy question to answer. Of course, there is discrimination everywhere in the world. What I am talking about, though, is discrimination against Muslims. From what I see, it is rampant in the Philippines, and even here in Mindanao where there is a substantial Muslim population. Last night a Muslim friend visited my house and we talked a lot about Muslim/Christian issues and such. It was an interesting conversation, and I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed it so much that we went even a little late for an old guy like me!

My friend relayed to me a number of incidents about discrimination that he has dealt with. I feel bad about it, because any discrimination is wrong, and should not be tolerated. Before moving to the Philippines, I was never a minority, and thus never really felt how discrimination felt. Since living here, I have felt discrimination a few times, and it is not a pleasant feeling. For somebody to be discriminated against because of their religion is really out of bounds to me.

It’s funny that I had this conversation just last night, because this morning I was reading an article in the Philippine Daily Inquirer about a Muslim man who was married to a Christian woman. They were shopping in a mall in Cagayan de Oro City and were approached by a real estate salesperson. This salesperson was promoting an exclusive subdivision in CdO, and even took the couple to go and visit the place. The couple liked it very much, and immediately signed up to buy a lot there, even putting down a P10,000 downpayment to get started. Funny thing is, the people at the subdivision called the man on the phone a few days later, saying that they could not accept the purchase, because he was a Muslim!

My God! Honestly, that is really a backward attitude! Bad thing is, that I have heard this before from friends living in CdO and Iligan. It is widely known in that area that most of the exclusive subdivisions do not sell to Muslims! For what reason, I wonder? Will they sell only to Catholics? What about Baptists or Lutherans? Hmm… it would be out of the question to even entertain the idea that they might sell to an atheist! How can people ever learn to come together and put their differences behind them if different people are not even allowed to live next door to each other! I often hear from my Filipino friends and acquaintances that the USA had such racism back 50 years ago or whatever. Yes, it’s a shameful part of my country’s past. Blacks could not buy houses in white neighborhoods. Is this policy of “No Muslims” not just as bad?

Who are the Tri-People of Mindanao?

Historically, Mindanao has earned a name in the Philippines as the "Land of Promise", due to the abundance of its natural resources. Since the early decades of the 20th century, it has been the magnets for in-migration of people from allover the archipelago in search of a better place to live, a place with promising economic opportunities. For this reason, many Christians have come to settle alongside the island's original residents - the Lumad and the Moro people. Thus, the tri-people character of Mindanao was born.

This rich land has not only attracted the lowly inhabitants of other islands, but has also been a magnet for a big fortune seekers who want to dominate and control its vast resources. It has been the economic target of foreign capital and investment due to its rich mineral resources, soil fertility, abundance of power supply and cheap labor.

This intrusion has met with continuous resistance from its local inhabitants, especially the Moro and the Lumad. Hence in the past decades, it has earned another famous name: "Mindanao, the Bleeding Land", referring to the history of resistance.

Recently, Mindanao has caught the attention of the national and international community. The on-going war in Mindanao between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has been the focus of attention. The sounds of mortars, bombs from fighter planes and the staccato of bullets have become the order of the day. Death in both camps has been a reality of the struggle.

Thousands of civilians have been physically and economically displaced, and many innocent civilians have been killed in the evacuation centers than the poor day-to-day living conditions they faced in their own communities. Lack of food or medical assistance, cramped shelter, unsanitary surroundings and constant fear and anxiety have made life miserable for these lowly victims of war.

Please Stop by...

Peace still primary dream of Mindanao's tri-people - Braga

By Rose Palacio

Davao City (4 August) -- Councilor Pilar Braga, chair of the committee on commerce, trade and industry said Mindanao may have grown economically and socially over the past years but the island's tri-people are still dreaming for peace.

"Peace remains to be the primary dream of Mindanao's tri-peoples, the Muslims, Lumads, and Christians," she said.

"In Southern Philippines, peace continues to be a concern for us. "There is still much to be done to achieve lasting peace and genuine development in Mindanao, this, despite the signing of the 1996 peace agreement between the government of the Philippines and the Moro National Liberation Fronts, Braga said.

The local government continues to design various programs in an attempt for the people to give importance and nurture the value of peace, understanding and tolerance among Mindanao's tri-people.

The administration including several non-government organizations or NGOs have also undertaken various activities to deal with crucial issues directly affecting the lives of Mindanaoans.

Among the issues undertaken were on terrorism, poverty, peace and order problems in the pursuit of achieving real peace, she said.

"Mindanaoans are still hopeful that we could achieve a real peace in Mindanao pursuant to diverse culture of the island that would affect the tri-people in this region," she said.

The present situation calls for the charter change, the constituent assembly, the recovery of our economy, but we could never abandon peace and development. Where there is peace, everything will follow, she added. (PIA-RBPalacio)

It Should Start Within Us...

We are all created equally by God and so there is no reason for us to feel unwanted. But with todays age it is quite ironic. People from everywhere are discriminating each other. This is not new to all of us knowing that anywhere in the country we experience so much humiliation. Why don't we help hand in hand be united for a better and progressive country.
We always hope for it but nothing has been happening. Why? Because we lack what is most important among all of us...UNITY. WE can't change the world if it does not start within us.

Wanna Know Who The Lumads are? Read and Find out...

…from http://www.philippines.hvu.nl/mindanao2.htm

The indigenous people of Mindanao

There are more than 40 different ethnic groups in the Philippines.

Each group has a distinct culture and language. Several of these ethnic groups can be distinguished as "tribal groups". They are 'indigenous groups' who still live in a rather traditional way. Each group lives in a specific region on one of the islands. You can meat them in parts of Luzon, on some of the Visayas islands and on Mindanao.

The T'boli and B'laan, two indigenous groups

On Mindanao live 18 tribal Filipino groups. The most well known are the T'boli and the B'laan (or "Bla-an"). The other groups are the Ata, Bagobo, Banwaon, Bukidnon, Dibabawon, Higaunon, Kalagan, Mamanwa, Mandaya, Mangguwangan, Manobo, Mansaka, Subanen, Tagakaolo, Teduray and the Ubo.

Most characteristic of these 'indigenous groups' is that they live in a traditional way, comparable with how the ancestors lived centuries ago.

Lumad, the collective name

On Mindanao there are in total 18 indigenous groups. The collective name for the 18 indigenous groups on Mindanao is "Lumad". It is just another word for 'indigenous' .These ethnic groups distinguish themselves by their language and culture.

Old and new elements in their life

The cultural heritage is visible in their clothes and ornaments they wear. Housing, economic activities, cultural habits and often religion are all very traditional. Some groups learned to know tourism as a good alternative to earn extra money. In general however, the indigenous groups still live like in the past

The T'boli and their subsistence activities

The T'boli (pronounce "Tiboli") people live in the southern part of the province Cotabata, in the environment around lake Sebu, west of the city General Santos. It is estimated that are between 100000 and 150000 T'boli. In the past the T'boli practiced the primitive way of agriculture "slash and burn". "Slash and burn" means that the people will clear a part of the forest by cutting the big trees and burning the lower and smaller trees and bushes, after which they use the cleared plots as arable land for some years without any fertilization. Rice, cassava and yams were the most important agricultural products. Next to that, the people went hunting or fishing for additional food.

For years slash and burn is no longer possible. The forests are gone by intensive economic activities as foresting. At present The T'boli live in the mountains. Agriculture is the only source of income. Some foreigners, in cooperation with the aid organization Cord Aid, succeeded in developing some hectares of arable land in the last few years. Nevertheless, the T'boli live in poor circumstances; a struggle for live.

The T'boli distinguish their selves, like all other "tribal Filipinos", by their colorful clothes and specific ornaments like rings, bracelets and earrings.

Religion and culture

Only a few T'boli are Christian or Islamite. More than 95 percent of The T'boli people still has their animistic religion. They were hardly influenced by the spread of the Islam on the island. The Spaniards too, didn't succeed to Christianize the T'boli during the Spanish colonial period. Main reason was that the T'boli withdrew to the hinterlands in the uplands.

The T'boli and members of other indigenous tribes like the Higaunon, still believe in spirits who live on several places in the natural environment.

Indigenous tribes and Animism

There is a strong belief in the power of the spirits of ancestors and in the influence of more than one god. More information.........


way of life	ornaments

Threats to their way of living

Last decades there are threats of land problems. The steady population growth of their own people and especially the pressure on the lands by lowland farmers and foreign and local companies. The lowland farmers (often landless) are seeking for arable land. The companies are most of the time interested in the natural resources in these areas. Mining, new plantations and logging, are the threats to the T'boli and their homelands.

PERCEPTIONS on the Tri-People of Mindanao: Will there be a Room for CHANGE?