Dayaw 2017: Celebrating the National Indigenous Peoples Month

- Oct. 8, 2017, Sunday.

- I just had one of my dreams come true last October 8!! People who encounter me frequently like my friends or colleagues will know that I have interest in all things cultural, including the legacy of the Philippine indigenous cultures. As October is dubbed as the Philippines' "Indigenous Peoples Month," the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) once again organized "Dayaw," the name given to this big festival celebrating the country's different indigenous groups. The three-day festival started with a big celebration gathering 45 indigenous ethnic groups from north to south, east to west. I can't tell you how much I looked forward to Dayaw 2017, and how much my fats wanted to explode in excitement when I attended the first day of Dayaw at the flower clock area of Manila's Rizal Park. The second and third days of Dayaw took place inside SM Mall of Asia, various high schools and colleges in Metro Manila, and at the Rizal Park as well. Although I would've wanted to attend all three days of Dayaw, I was only able to attend the first day, on a Sunday, since I had work on the latter two days. Since the first day fell on a weekend, it was the day with the most activities and the most participants (more on this later.)

Welcome to Dayaw!!

- "Dayaw" has been done almost annually since the early 2000s, and each year that the NCCA has organized Dayaw, the celebration - I heard - just kept getting better with more indigenous groups actively participating in this national cultural festival. The NCCA also invites a few foreign groups per year to present aspects of their cultures and to take part in cultural dialogues with the Philippines' indigenous groups. This year, on top of the 45 indigenous groups, participants from Indonesia, Lao PDR (aka Laos,) Malaysia, South Korea, Vietnam, and Thailand. 

- I arrived around 10ish in the morning and followed my way to the kulintang (i.e. gongs) music being blasted in the open exhibit area. Stalls were being set up by the different groups where they could sell their own handicrafts and traditional snacks. I darted my way to the T'boli stall since I am a big fan of T'boli jewelry, and because their stall was set up earlier than most other stalls. It was only later on that I realized that the opening ceremonies were on-going inside the ampitheater. I caught the latter half of the opening ceremonies where the different groups were being formally introduced. The second half of the opening ceremony was held outdoors at the exhibit area by the flower clock.

T'bolis and their elaborate garb.

With two T'boli women and two Tausug men.

Opening ceremonies.

Performers from Thailand; they were going to do a nora dance from Southern Thailand.

PARTEYHHHH.

Maguindanao dancers.

I never knew that the Rombloanon Tagalog people looked like this!! I like the big-leaf crowns!!

Presenting the saint.

Maranao people in a Marano house replica. (How appropriate haha.)

You can't make mistakes!! If you do, the knots won't look nice.

I got some free snacks just by allowing myself to be a "volunteer" after the dancers started looking for audience members to dance with them.

- I spent the rest of the morning taking photos with the other ethnic groups while they were still in costume, and of course, the more important part was interacting with the different groups to learn more about their culture. I also consulted them about the different ethnic jewelry I have at home, so I can explain them better when people ask me about them (take that, cultural appropriation!!) By the way, I also hoarded some stuff from them - it made me happy because I bought things to add to my collection of all things cultural (not to mention that I'll use them too!!) and it made them happy too because I was directly supporting their works.

Moana's homies. LOL I kid. These guys are Ivatans from Batanes (trivia: their people are closely related to the Tao people of Taiwan.)

With the Korean visitors.

Gongs galore.

Manobo women with giant geometric mats.

The man beside me is the "supremo" or the leader of the Lapaknon Manobos.

With an Ifugao dude. I'd love to have those feathers on my head.

This Gaddang girl looks freakishly similar to one of my students. I also adore her Gaddang outfit. She's a talented gong-player too!!

- Throughout the morning and afternoon, there were also impromptu performances by some of the groups present. Occasionally, they would ask people to join them as a way for people to learn about their culture hands on.

Caught the people of Mountain Province having fun!!

They asked other people (including other ethnic groups) to join.

Balance is the key.

- After having lunch at Jollibee (since it was the closest place with decent food, and food wasn't being served in the exhibit place,) I went back to enjoy the rest of the afternoon. I took photos by the replica houses that they had on display, and I either participated or observed the handicraft demonstration, traditional games, or the cooking demonstrations. For the cooking demos, they served food to everyone after each demo, and if they only did the demos during lunch, I didn't have to go to Jollibee. My favorite among the dishes served was the Ivatan party banana platter called "vunung." The vunung platter has "supas" (turmeric rice,) "uved" (a meatball-looking viand made from banana stalk; "ubod" in Filipino,) and "luñes," (pork cooked like dry adobo.)     

Inside the Maranao house.

Looking for food.

Waiting for food inside the Maranao house. (I was using my newly-bought ultraweight tripod to take this shot.)

Playing with native tops.

An event volunteer tries Ifugao stilts.

Let the natives show you how it's done.

Ifugao people "preparing" the chicken.

It was traumatic to see how they prepare the chicken in great detail (if you know what I mean.)

Must be a good dish. By the way, I hope you're not offended because this is the way the natives really prepare their food. (They also said this disclaimer to everyone who might have been "offended" with the way they've been preparing their food for generations.)

The young Gaddang girl from my photos above learning how to play the gong from an elderly Gaddang man. 

Apayao women teaching people how to do basketry.

My favorite part of the afternoon: IVATAN VUNUNG!!!! ("Supas" = turmeric rice, "uved" = the white-violetish ball made from banana stalk, "luñes" = the brown pork slice.) If only they served this for lunch!!

Kalanguya people teaching the art of making brooms (one of the reasons why the north is famous for selling native brooms.)

With Maranao men in front of the Maranao house.

The Lapaknon Manobo lady still has more things to sell. (I bought a pack of durian pastillas from them. The pastillas tasted awesome!!) 

House from the Visayas.

Aeta people teaching everyone how to make homemade shampoo from tree branches!! How cool is that!!

- At around 5:30 in the afternoon, I went back to the ampitheater to watch the evening performance by more than half the ethnic groups present. Needless to say it took a long time for the program to finish. I didn't even have dinner and I didn't get to finish the whole performance; I finished all the local ones and left for home at around 10ish in the evening just as the international participants were about to perform. After all, I've seen what they were going to perform in various international cultural events or venues either here or abroad - which says something not only about my exposure, but the exposure of many Filipinos to cultures. I realized that many Filipinos, particularly city-dwellers like me, have more opportunities accessing or experiencing foreign cultures than our own local ethnic/indigenous cultures since indigenous-themed events are rare in Metro Manila. This is actually one of the reasons why "Dayaw" was conceptualized in the first place. It is to give not only Manilenos, but also the different ethnic groups to come together and share their cultures to each other. I didn't feel bad about missing dinner during my regular dinnertime, since I knew that opportunities like the performances that night were rare, since I've always wanted to see these dances live, and not just in videos I see online. I saw some of my favorite dances, including the pangalay, igal, the singkil, and the kappa malong malong dance.

Mansakas from the Compostela Valley in Mindanao.

Manobos from Mindanao.

The Sama-Bajau people of southernmost Philippines and their theatrical igal dance 

The Manguindanaoans and their sample of various dances (including the kappa malong malong.)

The Maranao's singkil. One of my favorite dances everrrrrr!!

The Yakans and their dance-drama with the theme of friendship.

- I went home with the smell of rain, sweat, and Manila air. I had never stayed in Rizal Park that long before Dayaw. Although all I wanted to do after going home was to have a quick dinner and rest the whole night, I could say that I would most likely attend Dayaw again because of my eye-opening learning experience on the cultures of the country's indigenous peoples. I really just wished that Dayaw wold be done on both Saturday and Sunday and perhaps either Friday or Monday if NCCA really wishes to do it within three days, so more people can come. Well, I suppose NCCA has its own reasons why Dayaw was done Sunday to Tuesday. Anyway, I really do hope that more people will come and experience Dayaw in the coming years, not only because it makes people know about the various groups and cultures we have in the Philippines, but also to let people understand that regardless of these differences in cultures, the indigenous groups are also both "ordinary" (i.e. not to be isolated; they're also citizens and know "regular" things like popular culture) and "extraordinary" (i.e. talents, skills, etc.) Filipinos.

From Mindanao to Manila: Yuchengco Museum's Exhibit on Mindanao Textiles and Jewelry

- Sept. 22, 2017, Friday.

- The Yuchengco Museum (as of Sept. 29 while writing this article) is holding two on-going temporary exhibits on Mindanao culture, entitled "Origins and Translations: Mindanao Tapestry" and "Silken Courts: The Maranao Malong - Garments of Identity and Continuity." These two exhibits are located at the third floor gallery. I have to thank my department secretary in the university where I work for telling me about this, since she knows that not only do I appreciate cultures in general -especially those involving costumes and jewelry - but I also have my own stash of Mindanao fabric and jewelry in my vast collection of cultural/ethnic wear and jewelry. Of course I screamed at the top of my lungs in my department in excitement after our department secretary told me about this. Needless to say, I just had to visit this exhibit before it ends. (I phoned the Yuchengco Museum and told me that they don't have an end date yet to this excellent temporary exhibit.)

Hello Yuchengco Museum.

- The Yuchengco Museum, by the way, is located in RCBC Plaza, at the corner of Gil Puyat Avenue and Ayala Avenue. The museum is owned by Ambassador Alfonso Yuchengco, a prominent Filipino-Chinese figure (he's a philantropist, and ambassador, a businessman, art enthusiast, to name a few things he does.) He passed away earlier this year. His family owns RCBC (Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation,) so it's no surprise that the museum is located inside the RCBC Plaza. This young museum was opened just in 2005.

You'll see this on the way to the museum.

 - Recently, Philippine news has been bombarded with not-so-happy news about certain places in Mindanao (ex. Marawi in Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, etc..) I think this relevant back-to-back exhibit gives a subtle nod to those places by celebrating their indigenous cultures and allows people to see these places as rich cradles of Mindanao's colorful indigenous cultures. Some cultures featured include the T'bolis of Cotabato, the Maranaos of Lanao del Sur, the B'laan of Cotabato and Davao, just to name a few.     

- The Maranao malong gallery not only had malongs on display, but what I loved the most about it was the mannequins showcasing the different ways the the malong can be used through a diorama akin to the singkil dance. Of course, knowing me, I brought a few pieces from my collection and wore them so I can get the feel of being one with the exhibit. Ms. Elma, the museum's program officer, saw me walking around with my Maranao inspired getup and told me that I seemed to belong to the exhibit. (I couldn't agree more, and that was the goal.)

A "buraq" on a Maranao ritual blanket. This creature from Islamic mythology was supposed to carry prophets from one place to another.

A male and female Maranao formal costume.

Ready to dance the singkil??

One of them. My yellow/golden shirt was made by my Muslim tailor. It was supposed to resemble a Maranao groom's shirt.

The whole squad; this tableau shows the different ways that a malong can be worn.

This bridge thing at the third floor is the best place to have a photoshoot in the Yuchengco Museum.

Hello, it me.

- Apart from the tableau, there were also spexial malongs exhibited, such as those used by the Maranao royalty, or those with epics embroidered on them. If only I had the chance, I would've wanted to take all of them home!!

This was my favorite: a malong with the epic Darangen embroidered on it.

- In the adjacent gallery on Mindanao tapestry, I had to opportunity to examine the techniques of weaving and jewelry-making from the other groups in Mindanao. It was also an opportunity for me to understand more the things I have in my closet, since it's difficult to find in-depth information on Philippine indigenous clothing and design. Though I knew the basics of all the cultural things that I buy, I always love the opportunity to learn more.

Poster and a female Mandaya costume.

The T'boli's famed t'nalak fabric; it is said that the designs are dreamt by the weavers, and hence the weavers are called "dream weavers."

Brought my own lmimot, which is a kind of T'boli necklace, and the guard at the museum was more excited than me when he saw that the one I brought was a smaller version of the one they have in the exhibit.

Costume change into my Mansaka-inspired costume. The mannequin at the back has a Lumad costume.

With a female Manobo costume.

- After going around the exhibit, I spent some time doing my photoshoot inspired by the exhibit. I changed into my Mansaka- and Tausug-inspired costumes. (I even brought my janggay - silver nail - set for my pangalay photo.)

Mansaka-inspired. The coat was designed by well-respected Davao designer and former member of the Bayanihan Dance Troupe, Alfonso Guino-o.

My Tausug inspired costume. My bandana is an authentic Tausug scarf. My silver-nails used to dance the pangalay dance were shipped from Zamboanga; I bought my nails from a professional pangalay dancer.

I bought my Tausug scarf from the Tausug weavers that the national museum invited to demonstrate their weaving culture (click here to see my interaction with the Tausug people.) The nails on my fingers may be used by both female and male pangalay dancers.

- After going around the exhibit for one last time, I went to see the other permanent exhibits and dropped by the souvenir shop at the lobby. They were also selling ethnic jewelry and fabric aside from the usual books and paraphernalia in the museum's gift shop.

The permanent exhibit area at the ground floor.

Amorsolo's "Urduja" painting.

- I finally left the museum after a whole day of absorbing myself in the stunning exhibit; to think I expected to stay for only around 2 hours. I think there should me more exhibits like this one to let people know that Mindanao is not just a place with "many dangers" (as how Mindanao is usually framed or shown in media), but Mindanao is also a region in the Philippines with a variety of flamboyant, rainbow-touched, and regal cultures that have their roots in the Philippines' glorious pre-colonial past.