AN INTENSIVE preparation for the International Rondalla Festival to be hosted by Silay City on November 3 to 11, 2018 has motivated Mayor Mark Andrew Arthur Golez to request Dr. Cecilia dela Paz to conduct a workshop on local cultural research and mapping of Silay.
Workshop participants are representatives from the barangays, city hall, and Department of Education (DepEd). Research outputs will be utilized to showcase Silay cultural heritage in an exhibition to be held at the Puericulture Center, which is being renovated now with the assistance of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA).
Dr. Dela Paz is a professor of Art Studies at UP Diliman. She is assisted by Dr. Monica Santos, professor of Anthropology at UP Diliman; Karen Capino, Venice Bienale, promotions manager for the Philippines; Loen Vitto, festival coordinator; Mikka Cabangon, assistant coordinator; and Aurea Lopez, managing director. I was requested to be the group's consultant on anything Silay.
The cultural category includes people (persons), structure (space and place), material culture, practices, stories (beliefs and ideas), and historical memory (oral history). Identification comprehends the local names for objects within the community. Provenance comprises the origin (who, where, when, how). Significance contains the value (historical, cultural, environmental, etc.) of anything important for Silay.
The participants were divided into groups that would do their research in coastal barangays, rural areas, poblacion (city proper), and upland villages. They have to identify their resource persons and provide a brief profile (with contact details). The researcher has to identify himself and submit his output using the data sheet provided to the group.
The researchers were provided guides in determining the research topic: research focus, research parameter, scope, and limitations. Dr. dela Paz briefed them on preparatory work, preparation of research instruments, research ethics, conducting an interview, writing down data, necessary materials to be brought, stages of field research, documentation, data organization (writing data, data analysis), identification of data gaps, and the completion of research.
For the participants, it was fun as funny incidents unfolded. They used informal interview methods on the respondents (informants). Respondents were made to tell their story in crisp mother tongue. The participants were busy taking down full names, places, and dates of birth, home address, occupation, and personal history.
Some members of the research team went back to base (Rondalla House) with the photocopy of old photographs and important written materials (newspapers, magazine clippings, souvenir programs, etc.). Some were more resourceful because they were able to document a cultural practice or tradition with video footage or photography. Some made good records, wrote observations, and shared insights.
The last move was to catalog the object with details that cover the name, provenance, age, name of the current owner, the kind of material, dimension (length, height, weight), and the cultural or historical value. The process was not easy but very enjoyable. The participants have developed teamwork and learned to share strategies.
At the base, Dr. dela Paz made the researchers share their personal and vicarious experiences like being chased by dogs, suspected as trespassers, and even mistaken as campaign managers of barangay election candidates. The objects of their choice were clearly explained and their worth for the exhibit was justified.
To check comprehension of the object, Dr. dela Paz allowed each member in every group to come up with poetic lines that would best describe the cultural object. The final output (a poem) was amazing. Really, it was a work processed by the brain and the heart. Narrative reports with full documentation will be incorporated in the next workshop.
For people (Silaynons) who are used to research work, cultural research and cultural mapping are a discovery of one's capacity to do a noble job; a discovery of new knowledge that helps shape Silay; and a discovery that in partnership the people involved in a common work will always achieve great satisfaction.
This exhibit on Plucked String Musical Festival will bring to the attention of the world what the Silaynons have accomplished as part of their civilization. Watch for it!