Overview
This lecture discusses the research, culture, and traditions of the Panay Bukidnon, focusing on their epic literature, way of life, and efforts to preserve their heritage.
Early Research and Exploration
- Dr. Alicia Magos explored Central Panay's mountains in 1988-1992 to study the Panay Bukidnon.
- The research aimed to document communities, traditions, and the distribution of epic chanting.
- Mountain dwellers in Central Panay are descendants of coastal people who moved inland after colonization.
Community Life and Livelihood
- Villages are composed of small elevated bamboo houses called bukidnon houses.
- Main livelihood includes farming, charcoal making, hunting, fishing, and weaving.
- Common tools: sanduk (knife), tagad (digging stick), BN (seed basket), tongos (rice container), iwa (bolo/knife).
- K farming (shifting cultivation) and root crops are staples during lean rice months.
- Weaving with bamboo and rattan is widespread for both use and trade.
Hunting, Fishing, and Food Gathering
- Wild animals are trapped using balati, liong, lipit, and luba traps in forests.
- Rivers and streams provide fish and freshwater shrimp using traps like taon, bowon, pahan, and methods like pmon and pulo or padog.
Beliefs and Oral Traditions
- Respect for spirits and traditional healing practices remains strong despite outside influences.
- Epic chanting (sugon/suan) is a key oral tradition, telling long stories of mythical ancestors.
- Epics serve as lessons, entertainment, and a way to transmit worldview and social values.
Epic Literature and Notable Figures
- Federico Caballero was awarded National Living Treasure for his mastery of 10 Panay Bukidnon epics.
- Good epic chanters are often from families with a "bot" lineage, signifying cultural importance.
- Epics include tales such as Tadom, Ukai, Balak, Kalai, Sinan, Humad, and Alay, rich in adventure and romance.
Cultural Preservation and Education
- Schools for Living Traditions (SLT) teach children epic chanting, weaving, music, and dance.
- Efforts include digitizing epics, transcribing, translating, and publishing them for future generations.
Music, Dance, and Crafts
- Banog and eagle dances, and binog dancing, connect youth to tradition.
- Panubok embroidery and accessories use designs inspired by nature and epics.
- Children are taught traditional musical instruments like gong, lit, tumo, suang, and kapi-kapi.
Additional Oral Traditions
- Ulay, ambahan, tala, and dilot are other oral literary forms with themes of love, longing, and gentle insult.
Key Terms & Definitions
- Bukidnon — Indigenous mountain dwellers of Central Panay.
- Sugon/Suan — Epic chants narrating ancestral stories.
- SLT (School for Living Traditions) — Informal schools where elders teach traditional skills.
- Banog dance — Traditional dance imitating the movements of an eagle.
- Panubok — Traditional Bukidnon embroidery.
- Bot — Maiden with high cultural status, often a lineage of epic chanters.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Read and review newly published epic translations.
- Continue research and cultural preservation efforts on the Panay Bukidnon epics and traditions.