THE hand-written letter written in a mix of script and block letters read more like an appeal and did not give much inkling into the importance of the undertaking the Matigsalog elders were embarking on.

After all, an invitation for the presentation of a "paliseya bahin sa among kultura (policies regarding our culture)" is not an invitation you get every day, not even as a journalist. And since culture to us have always been part and parcel of formal education, its significance slides off almost unnoticed.

DAVAO. TWO of the more than 50 datus who joined the gathering.

Except that there was something unique about the invitation, the mode of transport to reach the meeting place: "Paga sundoon ka lang sa kabayo diha sa Balite (A horse will wait for you at Balite)."

And so there I was morning of June 15 along the Davao Bukidnon Highway at sitio Balite, Barangay Marilog in Marilog district on the horse trail that leads to sitio Upian, waiting for my... horse.

Sitio Upian, right at the foot of Mondo Hill, a hill that is the background of Matigsalog tales of old, is an hour's horse ride downhill to a valley.

In this sitio, that is most often reached only by the three elementary school teachers assigned there and the staff of Kinaiyahan Foundation Inc., which has reforestation and livelihood projects for Matigsalogs in the Marilog and Arakan Valley areas, Matigsalog datus are busy rebuilding the pride of their tribe as they recall almost forgotten myths and legends, make their children dance and sing the songs of olden days, and revive the respect their ancestors gave to their costumes, their customs, and their leaders.

DAVAO. Sitio Upian leader Juanito Mandahay facilitates the drafting of policies.

They are fired on by the National Government's seeming disregard for small people like them and have thus welcomed mining ventures into their ancestral domain.

It's their last stand to protect their land, their culture, their future, and they are doing this as one tribe.

The policies cover what can be regarded as simple matters to the more complex ancestral domain and right to self-determination issues.

For one, datus and tribal elders are expected to comport themselves in the most dignified manner and should not be the cause of any trouble.

Then there's their refusal to allow cultural dancers to use their costumes without their permission, and not to allow the wearing of a "tagkulo" (the datu's headdress) by a dancer.

DAVAO. Datu Mandahay beams after they have finished the draft.

"Ang datu, mao siya ang sayawan, dili gyud na siya ipasayaw aron mag-abi-abi (The datu is the one who should be danced to and not to do the dancing for entertainment)," said Datu Juanito Mandahay, the sitio leader of Upian and who is leading the gathering.

Pastor Carlos Eli, a full-blooded Tagabawa, who is with the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and who was among those in attendance, agreed to this policy noting that among the tribes, headdresses hold much significance.

"Sa mga Tagabawa, sagrado ang tubao. Dili na basta-basta ginasul-ob. Dili ka makasul-ob niana kung wala pa ka gipatay (Among the Tagabawas, the tubao is sacred and you cannot use that if you have not yet killed anyone yet)," he said. Tagabawas are warrior tribes in the days of yore.

It is also with regard the respect that should be given to their costumes that the datus have agreed not to allow their tribesfolk to wear their costume when going around the city to beg for gifts at Christmas time.

"Makanaog sila sa Dabaw, pero dili nila pwede dad-on ila nga biste (They are still allowed to go down for the Christmas season, but they are no longer allowed to bring their costumes)," Mandahay said.

"Kinahanglang ampingan ang lumadnong bisti (The tribal costume should be protected)," reads Article 1, Section 4 of the draft policy.

It has been the practice of highlanders to go down to the city's business and residential districts during Christmas season to "celebrate" Christmas, going around to carol and ask for gifts and alms. This practice has contributed to the low regard given to the lumads, and the more enlightened datus are frowning at this practice.

But because of sheer poverty brought about by the desecration of their forestlands by big time loggers and Visayan settlers, they cannot do anything to stop their people from trying to partake of the season's generosity through begging.

The practice becomes even more degrading as lumads in their costumes with their local instruments dance for a few coins thrown to the ground for them to pick up afterwards.

The draft policy also requires all datus and village elders to lead the passing on of their culture to the new generation and make their children proud of their tribal roots and norms.

Children, on the other hand, are required to respect their elders. Among the striking proposals in the draft was doing away with monetary payment for services rendered within the tribe. Since Matigsalogs are practically farmers all, it has been their culture to work as a tribe, where families gather to help another plant and harvest as one big community.

But the influx of Visayan settlers and loggers with their own ways have changed all these and what was once "bayanihan" became an exchange of services rendered, compensated by monetary exchange.

The datus want to bring back the true essence of bayanihan, especially in community endeavors like farming.

"Dili nimo suholan, imo lang ipakaon. Kon naa pud mohangyo nga silingan nga mangayo og tabang sa uma, dili kinahanglan mobayad (You should not pay him, you just feed him. If a neighbor asks help for his farmwork, he should not be made to pay)," Datu Mandahay explained how the datus wanted the policy to be. "Oras na maka-harvest, mag-share pud siya sa uban (And once this neighbor harvests, then he should share with others)."

The planting season should also be marked with a ritual that has been practiced by their ancestors, the datus said.

"Sunggod sa kamanga," they said, is a ritual that gives respect and prayers for the grinding stone and all that needs to be sharpened for the planting season.

Of greater significance are the datus' outputs with regards their ancestral domain (yutang kabilin), as listed down under Article 2 of the draft.

Article 2 reads as follows:

Section 1: Ang tanang activity sa yuta sulod sa usa ka clan, kinahanglan makabalo ang clan president (Any project within the land of a clan should be made known to the clan president).

Section 2: Bawal ibaligya ang yutang kabilin ilabina ang sagradong lugar (It is prohibited for the ancestral domain to be sold off, especially the land that the tribe holds sacred).

Section 3: Mohatag og parusa ang elders kon dunay maghimo og activities sulod sa CADT kon dili magpahibalo sa elders (The datus are empowered to mete out punishments for those who implement programs and projects within an area covered by certificate of ancestral domain title without notifying the council of elders).

Section 4: Responsibilidad gayud sa matag tao sa tribo ang motanom og mga kahoy alang sa pagpalambo sa kinaiyahan (It is the responsibility of all to plant trees for the protection of the environment).

Section 5: Adunay katungod ang elders nga malambigit sa mga NGOs, GOs alang sa pag-develop sa kinaiyahan (Datus and tribal elders have the right to participate with non-government and government organization programs for environmental conservation).

Section 6: Ginadili sa tibuok lumad ang pagputol og mga kahoy daplin sa tubig o sa sagradong lugar gawas lamang kon adunay lalum nga hinungdan (Tribal folk are prohibited from cutting down trees along rivers and within sacred areas except for very valid reasons).

In the discussion with regards this, valid reasons include that the tree has fallen down by itself, the tree is already dead, or that the tree has to be sacrificed in order to prevent a calamity, like if its location is causing some jam in the water.

Section 7: Ginadili ang pagpanghilo og pagpanguryente sa kasapaan (Using chemical poison or electricity in rivers and streams to gather fish is strictly prohibited).

The lumads, however, have been using the branch of a particular woody plant to tranquilize fishes in streams. This is allowed since the practice dates back to their forefathers, and it uses a natural tranquilizer, the plant sap.

Section 8: Dili pwede magpataka og daub o mosunog kay maapil og kadaot ang gagmayng kahoy (Indiscriminate use of fire to clear areas for planting is prohibited as this also kills wildlings and young trees).

Section 9. Bawal magbaligya sa yutang kabilin (Selling ancestral lands is prohibited).

Section 10: Dili pwede mosulod sa lasang kong mamutol sa kahoy kon walay pagtugot sa tag-iya (No one is allowed to cut trees even in forest areas without the owner's permission).

Section 11: Kinahanglan tamnan og mga kahoy o mga prutas ang yutang kabilin (Everyone should plant forest and fruit trees in our ancestral domain).

Section 12: Gidili ang pagpataka og claim sa yuta nga walay bug-at nga pasikaran (Tribal folk, however, should not indiscriminately reclaim lands without any legal basis).

A 13th section metes out some sort of "destierro" for any tribesfolk who sells his portion of the ancestral domain, but Pastor Eli of the NCIP pointed out that this may be legally infirm as the Indigenous Peoples Reform Act (Ipra Law) already stipulates that those who sell portions of an ancestral domain should be sued in court.

Datu Mandahay explained that all these are not final yet since they still have to coordinate this with the Marilog council to ensure that the policies do not run counter to existing barangay policies.

Marilog barangay captain Leonilo Suyko was expected to be part of that gathering but he did not arrive as he earlier committed to.

Whatever the outcome, the Matigsalogs of Marilog are determined to bring back the pride of their tribe and they believe that coming up with a unified policy with regards their people, their culture, and their land is one way of doing this because as they have often said, the indigenous peoples lives are intertwined with their land; take the land away from them and they lose their identity as a tribe.

Today, even as the City Government already said it has no intention of handing over a plot of its territories to mining companies, some mining prospectors are still lusting for those lumad lands like Mambusao Mining Corporation is trying to get an exploration permit over 15,660 hectares in Marilog -- all of these being in lumad land.