DAVAO City won’t be in its current progressive state without the contribution of the indigenous peoples (IP) community, composed of 11 different tribes.
Throughout the years, they had made a huge role in the city’s progress in various fields. But as time progresses, their culture and tradition are at risk of fading. Despite being in different fields, they had made a vow to preserve their culture for upcoming generations to experience.
Peg-Buyyahon Rodolfo M. Mande
Protecting their lands
The Indigenous People's Mandatory Representative (IPMR) position of the Davao City Council has been vacant for more than three years. On January 10, 2022, Peg-Buyyahon Rodolfo M. Mande of the Matigsalug Tribe was officially sworn in as the new IPMR.
Mande, as a new legislator of the city, didn't expect that a simple Matigsalug from the hinterlands would be the representative of the indigenous peoples in the City Council. Prior to this, his dream was to educate his fellow lumad.
He vowed to advocate policies and agenda for the welfare of IP in the next three years, including education, protection of ancestral domain, and preservation of culture and tradition.
Mande is strongly pushing for the protection of ancestral domains, as the city, prior to its colonization, is founded by the IPs.
"With absolute certainty, modernity of our times is nothing without the foundational heritage which our tribesmen have and continuously doing so --- to preserve," he said.
That is why he is strongly battling against the rampant buying and selling of ancestral domains in Davao City, particularly in Marilog District, which resulted in some IPs being displaced.
“Usa kini sa mga medyo hagit karun sa akong paglingkod sa Davao City, kung paano sya ma-stop, dako ni nga problema kay daghang tao mabanggaan especially taga city kay daghan na og nanaka na didto (This is one of the uphill challenges as a councilor of Davao City, on how to stop this and it is a big problem because there are lot of people who may not agree or is against of the plans that we are going to make since there are already occupants from the city),” Mande said.
Mande urged the Ancestral Domain Management Office (Admo), which is composed of Indigenous Political Structure (IPS) of selected tribal leaders, not to deal with the buyers to eradicate the issue of selling ancestral domains.
He believes that this is not the mission solely by the IPMR, or the IPs, but by every Dabawenyo.
To restore the dignity and honor of his fellow IPs, he will proliferate the "Iskolar ng Tribo." Through this, he hopes that his fellow lumad would be uplifted and be given more opportunities in society and that the stereotypes being labeled to them would be eradicated.
His organization, in coordination with the private sector, had already materialized the scholarship program for the IPs for the past eight years.
“My ascend to the position is not the end, but it's just the beginning of my duty to serve my fellow IPs, or should I say to my fellow Dabawenyos,” Mande said.
Nurainie Ampatuan
Their culture sewn into fashion
Maguindanaoan fashion designer Nurainie Ampatuan never thought that her life would change after winning Hiyas ng Kadayawan in 2019.
Her reign was extended with the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic, making her the longest-running Hiyas winner.
Throughout her journey, Ampatuan said it became an opportunity for her to maintain and preserve their culture through fashion and attire.
Thus, she founded her own clothing line named Hilyah, which came from the Arabic word which means "ornaments." Through her brand, she said it promotes Filipino-Moro culture in the country. Her clothing primarily promotes ready-to-wear modest clothing.
Her designs make use of the Inaul fabric while keeping the styles modest and wearable at the same time. Inaul fabric is important for their culture as it traces back to the history, roots, and identity of Maguindanao.
When she joined the Hiyas, what she found challenging was finding something she can perform during the cultural performance segment. But this challenge made her understand more about their tribe and culture as well as their musical instruments. She took this challenge and ended up performing a Maguindanaon lullaby and poetry, Bayuk.
"The younger generation should recognize and discover our culture. It identifies us as Filipinos. We should be proud of wearing these designs with patterns from our different IP communities," said Nurainie. RGL