KEEPERS Of ANCIENT WISDOM
The
whole world adheres to a cultural practice or batasan called paliwanag.
It is not as heavy as lumabunug. Yet
it is still hard for humans to follow, as one needs to be always clean before
the eyes of God. Even I myself do not understand this very well. I only know
that we need to undergo pamungkas (cleansing
ritual), live with panumanud (apiritual
guidance) and possess pananding
(faith and trust in God), and know other cultural practices.
Mount
Kitanglad is a source of our cultural heritage because Apu Agbibilin lived
here. All the batasan were left here,
but the wind carried them away to Mount Sumagaya in Claveria, Misamis Oriental.
Datu Mandatal
All
religions adhere to the same God, although they call Him different names. We
call God Magbabaya, to whom we are
deeply connected. We pray to the spirit of the soil because the soil gives us
food to eat. We also pray to the spirit who takes care of our house because it
protects us from the sun, rain and cold.
Datu Dumapal
The rivers, trees, rocks and wind have
spirits, their presence a witness to heaven of my action here on earth. They
are inaminate objects, but they are the eyes of heaven. Therefore even if I am
alone, I may not commit mistakes.
Datu Antukan
During
rituals our ancestors- Man Panglaw, Man Ulinay and Man Doceno- had used saucers
and soup bowls of Chinese origin for their inapugan
(offerings). Called lampay (saucers) ha pangapuga and yahong (soup bowls) ha
bantuwai, these things are sacred heritage and were buried in Mount
Apulang-Nalunhaw, as revealed by Man Doceno (Datu Makaatu) shortly before his
death.
Since
then when we had always prayed to Magbabaya and the spirits to help us find the
pangapuga. Their guidance led us to
the spot in Mount Apulang-Nalunhaw where these were buried, on 20 January2006,
near where Bae Inatlawan had slept. Bae said she saw the exact place in her
dream the night before. She and some friends of the tribe climbed the mountain
to install the twentieth boundary marker of our ancestral domain.
We
see the answer to our prayer as a sign that our ancestors are pleased that we
are determined to pursue our ancestral domain claim. They know that we shall
always protect and defend this sacred place and everything in it.
RITUALS
OF LIFE
Mount
Kitanglad is not just a sanctuary of the country’s remaining nature heritage.
For the Bukidnon, it is a wellspring of their culture, traditions and knowledge
systems that have sustained them and there ancestors for centuries.
Culture
has remained vibrant in Mount Kitanglad especially among the elders who
consider it their obligation to uphold the legacy of their ancestors. For them
culture is identity, a link to the past that define the present. Without it the
people are mere occupants of a piece of land, ignorant of its sacredness and
history and without a vision of the future.
Moreover,
culture extends its influence to family relations. It is ‘culture’ for one to
be obedient to one’s parents and ancestors and to uphold what had been taught
them up to the present. The youth and children are encourage to imbibe these
teachings and practice these on there own as part of their duties to be filial
or loyal to their parents and elders.
RITUALS occupy
a special niche in Bukidnon culture. These are performed when one invokes a
petition or seek guidance from or offers thanksgiving to the mulin-ulin. Economic activities
undertaken in forested mountains, such as farming, gathering honey, hunting and
trapping wild animals require the holding of rituals.
Life
is a ritual. From birth to death we undergo a series of rituals.
Bae Mangunguyamo
Rituals
are always been part of our life as Bukidnon. Without rituals the tribe will
die.
Lorita Saguilongan
It is the tribal guard who protect our forest.
We elders are all tribal guards, and we always have to cleanse the forest of
our personal sins and the sins of outsiders by way of rituals.
Arding Omarol
We
protect our sacred places, herbal plants, forest, people and trees inside our
domain, and we should not make fun of these things. Before getting herbs we
have to offer coins (lugbak) to
obtain the permission (sago ilaw) of
the guardian spirit of the plants and ask blessings from Magbabaya.
Nanay Precel Gamay
THE CONCEPT AND CUSTOMARY PRACTICE OF SALA
Sala is a customary
way of resolving conflicts and disagreements among the Bukidnon, a practice
handed down by their ancestors so they may live peacefully in their territory.
The balaghusay (arbitrator), either a
datu or a bae who is knowledgeable of the tribal justice system, acts as the
mediator between contending parties. The outcome of a sala may be in the form of penalty (excluding execution and
imprisonment), admonition, or agreements and penalties are treaded as sacred
and binding; failure to comply will make the mediator sick, curse the offender
for life and bring misfortune to the tribe.
Sala is somewhat
synonymous to repairing a damaged part of a house. It is necessary to restore
it whenever possible. Otherwise, its damaged state would adversely affect its
occupants and then its surroundings.
A
sala may take place at home. It could
be a simple reprimand to a mischievous child who talks back to his or her
parents; the child will have to ask forgiveness through a ritual.
At
the community level, sala is invoked for
the settlement in such crimes as theft. In this case the balagsuhay investigates the suspect before the community through a
prescribed ritual. In a sala ritual
process, the suspect is questioned and if the alleged crime is proved, he is
asking to pay twice the value of the stolen item. If the culprit is unable to
pay, his/her parents must compensate for it and they may punish their child by
lashing and making him/her swear not to do the offense again.
The
ritual is necessary to protect the accused person from prejudice especially if
the allegation is not true. The batasan
knows who has sinned and who has not. If the offender refuses to subject
himself to the sala process the curse
would be on him. If the person is wrongly accused or has not committed the
crime alleged, then the accuser would receive the appropriate punishment which
may come in the form of sickness or a curse.
Sala processes
likewise make use of materials inherited from ancestors: gantangan and tibud.
Gantangan is
a cubic box ordinarily used as a volume scale for grains. In sala, however, the box is used as scale
in determining the nature and gravity of a crime, and subsequently, the name of
the ritual and the course ot must follow. A gantangan
uses a stake in levelling its content so that it is only filled up to its brim.
This ensures that any excess would be avoided, as it is used to measure the
traditions of sharing among persons and other customary practices.
Tibud, a jar, is the only
tayung hu haguran (most important
offering) a bride may receive from the groom. It is offered to its spirit
keepers so that the groom’s party could enter the bride’s house. The absence of
a tibud on wedding occasions would
induce illness on the newlyweds because the spirit entrusted with it will keep
looking for it. In cases of adultery the penalty is in the form of giving a tibud together with a horse (stallion
for husband and mare for wife) and a white cloth. The customary terms, titles
and processes of sala measured with
this materials vary, depending on the crimes being committed.
Sala is in no way
construed as infringing on one’s dignity. The members must follow the leaders,
but they may suggest whether an issue is worth elevating into a sala trial. Only leaders, however, who
are knowledgeable of the customary laws, particularly the balaghusay, could implement it.
UNITED BY THE SPIRITS
Courtship
and marriage among the Bukidnon require the observance of cultural
prescriptions in keeping with their belief in spirit presence. These include
the symbolic way of proposing marriage, betrothal, bride price, gifts for the
bride’s parents, and the prominent role played by datus and baes throughout
the whole process. As in any arranged marriage, it must obtain the blessing and
consent of the families of both man and woman.
The
man’s kin propose marriage by giving the woman’s family pangpanahun or things with which she can make herself beautiful.
These include oil for the hair, comb, necklace and bracelet. If her family
accepts the offer, it means she is already betrothed and may no longer marry
somebody else. But if their marriage does not materialize, a ritual called panluntay should be performed to avoid tunglo or a case of death against the
woman.
To
signify his intent to marry the man would wrap five coins in white cloth and
place them in an old plate called kagun.
Datus and baes would bring kagun to
the woman and hang them on the eaves of her house.
From
the time they go out of the man’s house until they reach the woman’s house and
hang the kagun, the datus or baes incessantly pray to the spirits. While walking, they have to
watch out for omens such as if one of them trips over or if a bird appears on
the path ahead. Upon arriving at the woman’s house they should not sit down and
stay long but should leave immediately after hanging the kagun
If
her family likes the man, they will leave the kagun hanging and wait for his family to come on the scheduled day
of the wedding. Otherwise, the woman will remove the kagun, place ten coins in it and bring it back to the man’s house.
Like
the datus and baes who send the kagun,
the woman should also not sit down or stay long. If she tarries or sits down
she may be prevented from going out not by closing the door but through a batasan- a piece of cloth or any token-
which binds to submit to the wish of the giver. She would be obliged to marry
the man except if the whole matter is settled by the datus or baes.
If
the proposal is accepted, the date of the wedding is set along with the bride
price. However, the bride and groom should make sure they are not relatives and
their ancestors were not enemies in the past to avoid misfortune.
On
the wedding day (asawahay), the man’s
party will bring the bride price and the things for the ritual prepared by a datu or bae, such as chickens and a pig to be offered to the spirits. While
walking to the woman’s house they should see to it that nobody stumbles or gets
hurt and not one of the things they are bringing falls to the ground to ensure
good fortune for the new couple.
The
things for the rituals are laid down upon arriving at the yard of the woman’s
house. Preparations for the eventual entry of the man to the woman’s house are
then made prior to a ceremony intended to avoid bad luck to the couple. The man
walks across the things the datu or bae places along his path.
During
the wedding the groom should bring a handkerchief. The bride should have her
hair dry and well combed before the datus
and baes places along his path.
After
invoking the spirits the sacrificial animals will be slaughtered. The bride
then comes down and walks around the pig without turning her head before
sitting on a mat where the marriage will be discussed. The groom will also walk
across the pig and enter the house and sit on the mat. The kagun will then be removed. As a token of gratitude for taking care
of their daughter since she was a child, the groom’s party will give a blanket
to the parents of the bride.
A
chicken will be killed and cooked once both parties have agreed on the bride
price. The groom and bride will then partake of its meat as a way of sealing
the onion.
The
groom’s parents can only leave the day after the wedding, as a ritual and a
meeting will be held the next morning. They have to agree on when the couple
shall visit the man’s parents during which the latter will give a kettle and
kitchen utensils to the bride as a symbol of her obligation to attend to
kitchen chores. Similarly, the man will receive a bolo from his parents-in-law
to remind him to really work for his family.
Members
of the Bukidnon tribe communicate their feelings not just through plain words
but also through chants and songs which they collectively call kaglageng-lageng. One of these is dindinay, a song that expresses
excitement or happiness over what has been seen and experienced.
SECRETS OF THE MOUNTAINS
be
the entrance to the home of the spirits of dead ancestors.
Kaliga is a ritual chiefy meant to entertain the spirits. In earlier times, it could last a week and was often held in Mount Apulang-Nalunhaw. The name came from the words lunhaw, meaning “a spirit helping us” and apulang meaning “vigil” to refer to the sleepless nights during the holding of such ritual.
Those who wish to live long go to
Mount Napuklaw. But the sick may find comfort in Mount Nasaluluy. The mountain
derived its name from the term nasaluluy
daw sulang-sulang or a crown of a baylan that symbolizes spiritual and
healing powers.
SECRETS OF THE MOUNTAINS
More than a dozen mountains in Mount Kitanglad
Range have stories to tell. The tales explain how these places derived their
names in a way that affirm the close link of indigineous peoples to Nature abd
the spirit world.
Mount Dulang-dulang, the highest peak
in the range, got it’s name ftom the world dulang or a portion oof a ritual performed at the
peak, where only betel nuts wrapped in a piece of cloth and chicken blood may
be offered. Cooking is done only at the lower part of the mountain because the
guardian spirits living on the peak do not want to smell anything unnatural to
the place.
East of Mount Dulang-dulang lies Mount
Nakakeleb. In Binukid, the Bukidnon dialect, keleb means close. The mountain is
believed to be the
be
the entrance to the home of the spirits of dead ancestors.
It is said that Datu
Tranquilino and Datu Makaatul, a high baylan or shaman, saw light coming from
the spirits. It was a sign that the two were about to be taken to the domain of
the spirits, but they failed to enter because they did not want to leave their
families.
The same thing
happened to Datu Mambalungkas and many others who were ready to leave behind
the material world. They were about to change their clothes as a requirement
before entering when a commotion ensued and the entrance closed.
Mount
Tagaytay, on the other hand, came from the word taytay meaning
passage along a ridge. Prayers and spiritual calls especially those made
during kaliga rites would pass through this mountain towards the
worship places.
Kaliga is a ritual chiefy meant to entertain the spirits. In earlier times, it could last a week and was often held in Mount Apulang-Nalunhaw. The name came from the words lunhaw, meaning “a spirit helping us” and apulang meaning “vigil” to refer to the sleepless nights during the holding of such ritual.
Between Mount Apulang-Nalunhaw and
Mount Nakakeleb stands Mount Napuklaw, home of a spirit that holds the lamp of
human life. It is a worship area where prayers are offered in order that life
would keep on burning.
Those who wish to live long go to
Mount Napuklaw. But the sick may find comfort in Mount Nasaluluy. The mountain
derived its name from the term nasaluluy
daw sulang-sulang or a crown of a baylan that symbolizes spiritual and
healing powers.
And like mountains, rivers also hold
legends and secrets that have been there since the day they started flowing to
give life to people living along their paths and nourish indigenous cultures
that have survived to its day.
