Uway weaving has been around for generations in Tribu Ata of Sitio Manara, Barangay Celestino Villacin in Cadiz City, Negros Occidental.

One of their Indigenous People (IP) leaders, Reneboy Francisco, recalled that his mother and aunt were still young when they started weaving uway, or rattan.

“Ang uway ni, sang gagmay pa kami…dugay na. Ang nanay kag tiya ko, sang gagmay pa sila uway na pangabuhian. Mayo ni sila mag-ubra (Our livelihood has been uway weaving. My mother and aunt have been weaving when they were still young and this is their livelihood. And they’re very good at it),” Francisco said.

Several of the tribe members gathered at the Museo De La Salle at the University of St. La Salle (USLS) in Bacolod City on Friday, March 8, for the uway weaving workshop initiated by the College of Education as part of the University Student Government’s La Sallian champion advocacy competition.

But for Francisco, this is also one way of preserving their culture.

“Gusto namon indi ni malipatan. Amo ni pag hambal na may workshop, sila gin kwa ko para mag tudlo. And ga exist ang tribu (We don’t people to forget. When we learned about the workshop I brought them so they would teach. And also, to let people know that the tribe exists),” he said.

He said weaving is an intricate process. It would take them one or two days to gather uway from the woods, another two days to leave it under the sun, and another day or two to complete the native products.

He said they don’t have frequent customers, as they seldom bring their products to the public market, but still, they continue to thrive.

‘WE EXIST'

Francisco’s eldest daughter, Mailyn, said that they want to give awareness to the people about their culture and that they exist.

Mailyn, a USLS scholar, said she pursued education because she wanted to be a teacher and help the next generation of her community, “I want to give them inspiration so they will continue to study and finish their school,” she added.

She is the eldest of five siblings.

For Francisco, he was bursting with pride. “We, as IPs, didn’t go to school. The highest we finished was in Grade 4 or Grade 5…we’re happy she pursued college. We already have one teacher in the community. If she (Mailyn) graduates, she will be the second,” he said.

He said there are 120 of them in the household and 450 in the population.

He added that he was very thankful that Mailyn was chosen as a scholar by the school.

ADVOCACY

Mariella Ferraris, USLS College of Education vice governor, said that one of their advocacies ever since was connected with the Ata tribe.

First in Don Salvador Benedicto, and now in Cadiz, she added.

“Mailyn is not only representing the college, but her tribe,” she said.

One of the main highlights of their culture is uway weaving, so we invited them to give the La Sallian community the experience of their livelihood, Ferraris said.

After the weaving workshop, the tribe met with a representative from the Association of Negros Producers so they would know the proper pricing and market their products well, “they will gain a lot, and they will get the worth of their products,” she added.

She said their advocacy has three main programs - learning, in-campus workshops, and cultural talks.

She added that their goal is to help revive and revitalize the Ata tribe’s culture.

For Mailyn, she just wanted to share their practice and culture with the next generation.

One of their practices, she said, was this traditional dance called “Sinabayan.”

“We do this dance every time we gather as a tribe to express our Thanksgiving, with our elders and leaders,” she said.*

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