No pun intended please for those who get this right but are not with body frames. Or else, it is "a fashion disaster" as Erwin always alludes to me. I am a terrible dresser.
But this "with raised eye -brow" manner of appreciating our indigenous costumes got upgraded when we were watching the students of the University of Baguio perform during the launching of the anti-corruption project.
Transparency as an indigenous value glimmered with the droplets of sweats which flowed and drenched the bodies of the male performers as they beat the gongs.
The veins in the necks and muscular arms bulged and one can almost feel the firm grips of clenched fists which held on the handles of the gongs.
Transparency has feelings. Transparency can boil with rage even as it can speak with calmness of reason and songs.
Transparency was and is in the bodong, pechen and other forms of peace-pacts forged in trust and confidence.
This was how I was intuiting transparency from our indigenous fashion of nakedness and its accompaniments of dances and ritual during the launching of the community-based monitoring project. Yes, transparency is naked passion.
Now I understand the many meanings which my lola Ma-is meant when she tried to explain the tattoos on her arms which the kid in me kept asking about as we watch over the fire that slowly cooked the camote leaves for her pigs.
She had this air when she spoke about the tattoos and how painful the process of tattooing was.
Transparency is etched in the tattoos of the bare arms of the Cordillera women and men who proudly danced to the beats of the gongs as their communities forged the peace-pacts -- bodong, pechen.
Indeed, trust was written all over in many calligraphies -- the tattoos.
Well-sculptured arms and human bodies served as trust's canvass.
Any psychology student may argue that the instant flash - in the mind connecting nakedness with transparency was not intuition at all, but simple association.
Meaning the mind can easily make associations of things it "sees". And in this case nakedness and transparency.
I was looking at almost naked people wearing the wahnes while performing and dancing and my mind associated nakedness with being transparent -- a goal in project monitoring.
I can always agree. So far these theories (of behavior) remained theories.
It is theorized further that such quick association of transparency to our almost nakedness when we don our native wahnes and costume is rooted to a passion in trying to find the inherent indigenous value(s) which I believe lie imbedded in any tradition, practice, dance and ritual.
This belief in indigenous values could have created in my mind the thought that we indigenous peoples have transparency (honesty) as a desired and common value.
In the workshops I facilitated for the anti-corruption project, people from the six provinces of the Cordillera identified indigenous values related to transparency- a much sought after practice in governance today. (Just read the news and the many differing interpretations of the various ratings on transparency, governance and even credit ratings the Country earned.)
In the Central Bontok language are the words "ngaag, lawah and paniyeo".
Translated crudely "ngaag, lawah and paniyeo" all mean "it is bad" when referring to an act committed or thought revealed.
It is a judgment of the act or thought revealed. This judgment of the act or thought is aimed at stopping the person from doing or repeating the act or thought.
"Ngaag usually applies to light violations like a child saying a bad word like "fu_ you or bull sh _".
"Lawah" is used to stop acts or thoughts which are as grave as stealing.
Paniyeo is appropriate for acts as heavy as murder. In the context of governance today, paniyeo can be used on plunder.
The gradations of "ngaag, lawah and paniyeo" correspond to the severity of the violation by the act committed.
In my re-education by my peers like Agnes and Grace, nga-ag, lawah and paniyeo cautions one not to violate the universal and Divine Law known as Karma.
Not thinking, or doing anything that is nga-ag, lawah and paniyeo earns for the person the divine blessings of Karma.
The season for summer festivals has arrived. And for sure all Cordillera festivals whether original or innovative, ill-based or official, and what have-you will be parading the various Cordillera costumes.
Would it not be worth it taking a second look at how we do our native costumes? Their meanings for us in today's circumstances.
Here comes Panagbenga, Lang-ay, Adivay and whatever else.
Enjoy the flashes (camera) and the fashion and innovations.
Take note of the sales, earnings and taxes. Take note also of the intangibles- honesty, sense of order, unity and probably forgiveness.
P.S. May 3-4, Pranic Healers' Retreat with Two great courses offered!
Please contact Faith Sawey @09178447871, Connie Daliling 09206555852 for more information.
(February 3, 2008 issue) Write letter to the editor. Click here. Join the Sun.Star message board. Click here.
