Module 2: Minsupala and its Peoples at Present PDF

9 Module 2 MINSUPALA AND ITS PEOPLES AT PRESENT Juvanni A. Caballero & Sittie Juhanna M. Pandapata Department...

9 Module 2 MINSUPALA AND ITS PEOPLES AT PRESENT Juvanni A. Caballero & Sittie Juhanna M. Pandapata Department of History, CASS, MSU-IIT I. Objectives At the end of the module, the students should be able to answer the following questions: 1.) Where is Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan (Minsupala)? 2.) Why is Palawan included in the setting of History 3? 3.) Who are the peoples of Minsupala at present and how can we categorize them? 4.) How many are the peoples of Minsupala as of the 2012 census? II. Introductory Activity: Getting to Know Each Other The teacher may ask his/her students to introduce themselves in class, using their own native tongue. Students’ introduction may be guided by the following questions: 1.) What is your name and what is the history behind it? 2.) Where is your place of origin? 3.) What language do you use at home/your community? 4.) What are the major ethnic groups in your hometown/province? The teacher may enhance the introductory activity by bringing in (or drawing) the map of Mindanao. In case there are students coming from Visayas or Luzon, the teacher may also bring (or draw) the map of the Philippines. The teacher should make sure that the students point out his/her place of origin on the map by labelling it with a symbol of his/her own choice. Using this procedure, the class would be given not only a clue on how diverse the classroom was, but more importantly, they would become familiarized with the various places of the Mindanao region. The labelled map would then serve as a springboard for introducing the lesson proper; i.e., Minsupala and its present salient socio-economic, demographic and other features. As a way of deepening the introductory activity, the teacher may ask the following follow-up questions: 5.) When your classmates introduced themselves, did you hear words that were common to both your ethnic group and that of your classmates’? 6.) How do you feel about cultural differences in your classroom/community/Mindanao?  10 7.) What is the relationship between your self-introduction and the History 3 class? III. Lesson Proper 1.) Where are Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan? Geographically, the name “Mindanao” is understood (or is it misunderstood?) by people, mostly by Filipino speakers and writers, to mean two things, which often results in some kind of prepositional confusion. First, it refers to the second largest island in the archipelago, in which concept of the word people are said to live and events takes place (with the correct preposition) “on Mindanao,” that is, on that island. Second, to people’s minds, the term stands also for the group of islands that comprises of mainland Mindanao and the adjacent islands in the southern part of the country, in which case, people talk about events taking place “in Mindanao,” the region. Most times, Filipino speakers and writers use the preposition “in” even when they mean “on” the island (as they would erroneously say, “in Luzon”); the prepositional tangle continues as part of living history. With a land area of 94,630 km2 (about 10,000 km2 smaller than Luzon), the mainland of Mindanao provides a large amount of agricultural, industrial, commercial and tourism potentials. Together with the island chains of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, the Mindanao islands group provides 25% of rice; 67% of cattle and tuna; more than 50% of corn, fish and chicken; 100% of pineapple, rubber and banana exports; 90% of plywood and lumber; 63% (1 billion metric tons) of nickel reserves; 48% (50.3 million metric tons) of gold reserves; 38.5% (2.6 million hectares) of forest and 38% (3.73 million hectares) of farmlands for the entire Philippine economy. Yet of the 20 poorest provinces in the Philippines (MBN index), 13 are in the Mindanao region, including all the ARMM provinces.1 The Mindanao islands group, with the southern portion of Palawan, is home to the tri-people – at least 18 ethno linguistic groups of Lumads; 13 groups of Moro (i.e., Bangsamoro) and at least nine migrant ethnic groups of “Christians” from Luzon and Visayas. The islands group is divided into six regions, which are further subdivided into 25 provinces. Collectively, the islands group of Mindanao is bounded on the north by Bohol Sea, on the east by the Philippine Sea, on the west by the Sulu Sea and on the south by the Celebes Sea. Mindanao itself, the island, is mountainous, and is home to Mount Apo, the highest peak of the country. Islands Group of Mindanao 1 In several studies conducted, researchers found out that there seems to be a positive relationship between incidence of poverty and the presence of insurgency. Poor and disgruntled individuals appeared to be the easy recruits of secessionist or revolutionary groups. This helps explain why Mindanao and Sulu has been home to one of the world’s armed struggles.  11 The islands group of Mindanao is an arbitrary grouping of islands in the southern Philippines, which encompasses six administrative regions. These regions are further subdivided into 26 provinces, of which only four are not on Mindanao Island itself. The islands group includes the Sulu Archipelago to the southwest, which consists of the major islands of Basilan, Jolo, and Tawi-Tawi, plus the outlying islands in other areas such as Camiguin, Dinagat, Siargao, Samal and Sarangani. The six regions are the following: Zamboanga Peninsula (Region IX), formerly Western Mindanao, is located in the landform of the same name. It consists of the provinces of Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga Sibugay, and the two cities of Zamboanga and Isabela, which are independent of any province. Isabela City is the only territory not on Mindanao Island itself and is located on the island of Basilan. The region’s new administrative capital is Pagadian City and the whole region used to be a single province named Zamboanga. Northern Mindanao (Region X) consists of the provinces of Bukidnon, Camiguin, Lanao del Norte, Misamis Occidental and Misamis Oriental, plus the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan. The province of Camiguin is also an island just off the northern coast. The administrative center and capital of the region is Cagayan de Oro City. Davao Region (Region IX), formerly Southern Mindanao, is located in the south- eastern portion of Mindanao Island. The region is divided into the provinces of Davao Oriental, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur and Compostela Valley, plus Davao City. The region encloses the Davao Gulf to the south and includes the island of Samal in the gulf and the Sarangani Islands further to the south. Davao City is the region’s administrative center. SOCCSKSARGEN (Region XII), formerly Central Mindanao, is located in the south- central portion of the island. It consists of the provinces of South Cotabato (which used to be part of Region XI), North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, and Sarangani plus Cotabato City. The names of the provinces together with General Santos City spell the acronymous name of the region. Cotabato City, geographically located in, but not part of Maguindanao province, is the region’s former administrative center. Koronadal City, in South Cotabato, is the new administrative center of the newly formed region. Caraga (Region XIII) is located in the north western part of Mindanao. Its provinces are Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Norte, and Surigao del Sur. The administrative center is Butuan City in Agusan del Norte. The region also covers the outlying islands of Surigao del Norte such as Dinagat, Siargao and Bucas Grande Islands. The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) is a special region, which covers the territories predominantly populated by Muslims. It consists of almost the  12 whole of the Sulu Archipelago (Isabela City of Basilan is not part, as it is under the Zamboanga Peninsula region) and two provinces in the mainland, namely: Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao. The provinces located in the Sulu Archipelago are Basilan, Tawi- Tawi and Sulu. The first two provinces (i.e., Basilan and Tawi-Tawi) are themselves the main islands of their respective provinces, while the main island of Sulu is Jolo Island. Ironically, Cotabato City, which is not part of the ARMM, is the region’s administrative center. While Palawan is not on Mindanao, it may be necessary to introduce the island province at this point to answer the question posed above. Administratively, Palawan is an island province that is attached to Region 4 (Southern Tagalog, with the acronym MIMAROPA). It stretches from Mindoro in the northeast to Borneo in the southwest and lies between the South China Sea and the Sulu Sea. The province is named after its largest island, Palawan Island, measuring 450 kilometres (280 miles) long and 50 kilometres (31 miles) wide. 2.) Why is Palawan included in the study of History 3? Perhaps, one wonders why Palawan is included in the setting of History 3. As pointed out already, Palawan is administratively attached to Luzon, being part of the southern Tagalog region (Region IV) while, geographically, it is part of the Visayas group of islands. However, at the time of the great sultanates, some parts of Palawan, especially the southern portion, were under the jurisdiction of the Sultan of Sulu, thus making the island historically attached to the Sulu Sultanate. Also, the presence of Islamized tribes in Palawan culturally links the island to Mindanao. 3. Who are the peoples of Minsupala at present and how may they be categorized? Broadly, the peoples of Minsupala may be categorized as: 1.) the Migrants and their descendants, and 2.) the Indigenous Groups. The Migrants and Their Descendants The “migrant populations” of Mindanao refers to the people who were not originally inhabitants of the island. Mostly, they were natives of Luzon or Visayas who came to Mindanao and stayed beginning from the early 20 th century. Their migration began as a response to American invitation for permanent settlers on Mindanao (either through the government-sponsored resettlement program or through private efforts). As commonly used among Mindanaoans, the word “migrant” or “settler” was often confused with the term “Christian.”  13 Of the migrant peoples, the following have significant populations on Mindanao: the Cebuano from Cebu, the Ilonggo from Panay and Negros, the Bol-anon from Bohol, the Waray from Samar and Leyte, the Siquijodnon from Siquijor, the Tagalog from Central Luzon, the Bicolano from Bicol, the Kapampangan from Pampanga and the Ilocano from Ilocos. The Chinese and other non-Filipinos may well be included in the migrant category of “other settlers” from Luzon and Visayas. The Indigenous Groups The indigenous groups refer to the people who inhabited Mindanao “before history.” According to B.R. Rodil, this group can be further categorized into three, namely: 1.) “Indigenous Christians”, 2.) Moros and 3.) Lumads. 1.) The “Indigenous Christians” It may be stressed that when the Spaniards arrived on Mindanao in the second decade of the 17th century, they already noted a significant number of Visayan-speaking peoples in the northern and eastern parts of the island. These people would eventually become the Christian communities in the Spanish controlled territories of Mindanao whose population was noted to be 191,493 in 1892. 2 Further on the “indigenous Christians” of Mindanao, B.R. Rodil says: It is no longer easy to identify them because they have assimilated into the migrant Visayan population which now compose the majority of the place. They are known locally by their place names like Davaweño in the Davao provinces… mostly in Davao Oriental; Butuanon in Butuan, Camiguinon or Kinamigin in Camiguin Island, Cagayanon in Cagayan de Oro… Iliganon in Iligan… Dapitanon in Dapitan, Dipolognon in Dipolog, Chavacano in Zamboanga… Surigaonon, Waya-waya and Jaon-jaon are spoken in the towns of Surigao del Sur… 3 It would seem, therefore, that the “indigenous Christians,” so-called, were original Mindanao IPs who became Christianized; more exactly, perhaps, they were Christianized IPs. In their case, therefore, being “Christian” did not necessarily mean being a “migrant.” To further illustrate this point, try to consider one oral tradition in Lanao which states that the Iliganons were originally Maranaos who befriended the Spaniards. Later, these friendly Maranaos were converted to Christianity and eventually aided the Spanish colonizers against the hostile Maranaos of the Lake region. In the course of time, the Iliganons would learn the language of the Visayan soldiers brought by the Spaniards so that they (i.e., the Iliganons) were soon speaking the Visayan language among themselves. This observation of an oral source is worth noting: 2 BR Rodil. A Story of Mindanao and Sulu in Question and Answer (Davao: MINCODE, 2003) p.2 Ibid. 3  14 Kung tan-awon nimo ang batasan sa typical nga Iliganon, actually Maranao na siya og batasan. Kanang dili magpapildi, kanang taas nga garbo or maratabat, ug pagtinabangay sa panahon sa away, Maranao na siya nga batasan. (Free translation: If you observe the attitude of a typical Iliganon, you would notice that his attitude is that of a Maranao. The way he makes sure he is not defeated, his very high pride, and mutual aid during fights, is simply typical among Maranaos).4 Add to the above observation the fact that some Iliganon families or clans trace their genealogies to prominent Maranao families in some places in the lake region. 2.) The Moros The second group of indigenous peoples in the Mindanao islands group is the Moro. As commonly understood at present, the term Moro refers the thirteen Islamized tribes of Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan. A summary of the Moro tribes with their corresponding places of cultural dominance is presented below. Name of Tribe Traditional Homeland Panimusan5 Mainland Southern Palawan Molbog Balabac Island (East of southern Palawan) JamaMapun Cagayan de Sulu (South of Palawan) Sama’a Tawi-tawi cluster of islands Tausug Jolo cluster of islands Yakan Basilan Badjao / Sama Dilaut6 Entire Sulu archipelago Kalibugan7 Zamboanga peninsula Iranun Illana bay area M’ranao8 Lanao provinces Maguindanaon Cotabato provinces Sangir Sarangani and Samal island Kalagan Davao provinces The definition of the term “Moro” is actually a product of evolution. Etymologically, the word was derived from the Spanish term Mauru/s (“Moor” in 4 Sanguila, M., president of the Civil Society Organizations in Iligan City and Lanao del Norte. Mr. Sanguila is a native Maranao who hails from Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte. 5 B.R. Rodil used to call them Palawani, but a member of the tribe from Palawan recently told said author that they did not call themselves Palawani but Panimusan. (B.R. Rodil, at the 2 nd Teachers’ Training on the Teaching of Mindanao History). 6 Although they are the “least Islamized” among the Moro tribes, the Badjaos were placed under the Moro category because they used to be subjects of the Sultan of Sulu. 7 The Kalibugan are believed to be descendants of the Subanen natives who were converted to Islam. 8 They are also popularly known as “people of the lake.”  15 English), which referred to the Muslims of North Africa who colonized southern Spain for more than seven hundred years. If the Filipinos complain about the 333 years of Spanish colonization in the Philippines, the Spaniards must have been furious against the Muslims who colonized their country for almost eight centuries. We can understand therefore the bias and hatred the Spaniards had against the Muslims. Being colonized for more than 700 years was not among their more pleasant experiences. Nevertheless, if the Spaniards begrudged and resented the Moorish colonization of southern Spain, it is important to stress that the Muslims of Mindanao and Sulu had nothing to do with it. It would be quite unfair if one let the Muslims of Mindanao and Sulu “pay” for the “mistakes” of their North African religious counterparts. Anyhow, the Spaniards appeared to have made the Muslims of Mindanao and Sulu “pay” for some Spanish hurt incurred elsewhere in the globe, while the Christianized natives of Luzon, Visayas and northern Mindanao were made to enforce the collection of this “payment” by conscripting them to fight Spain’s war of aggression against the Muslim Sultanates of Mindanao and Sulu.9 Unaware that the Christianized natives were only forced into the military expeditions, the Muslims started hating the Christianized natives, too. The latter would eventually bear the brunt of the former’s retaliatory raids. As a consequence, the Christianized natives started associating negative connotations with the term “Moro.” Thus, the term became equated with pirate, kidnapper, enslaver, thief, traitor, et cetera. Its negative connotation was so profound that it did not begin to get turned around in meaning and accepted even among Muslims until around the emergence of the Moro National Liberation Front, which, in effect, “cleansed” the term of its unpleasant meanings. In the words of the MNLF: Originally, the use of the term Moro by the colonialists was meant to perpetuate an image of the Muslim people of Mindanao, Basilan, Sulu and Palawan, as savage and treacherous, while they were simply daring and tenacious in the defense of their homeland and faith. But despite its colonial origins the Moro National Liberation Front has cleansed the term of its unpleasant connotation by propagating the more correct view that the tenacity with which the natives conducted their war of resistance against foreign intrusion was a classic exercise in heroism.10 Further, the MNLF even went to the extent of redefining the term to include non- Muslims like the Christians and Lumads who share common aspiration and political destiny with the Muslims of Mindanao and Sulu. 9 This is what many historians term as the “Divide and Rule” tactic, in which natives were made to fight one another. 10 Abdurasad Asani. “Moros – Not Filipinos,” pp.1-2  16 3.) The Lumads The last but definitely not the least category of indigenous people is the “Lumad.” As commonly understood, the Lumads refer to the tribes who were neither Islamized nor Christianized upon the arrival of the Spaniards. 11 A summary of the Lumad tribes with their corresponding traditional homeland is presented below. Name of Tribe Traditional Homeland 1. Manobo Agusan del Sur, Bukidnon, Davao Provinces, Cotabato provinces, Sarangani Province, Sultan Kudarat 2. Subanen Zamboanga Peninsula, Misamis Occidental 3. B’laan Davao del Sur, South Cotabato, Sarangani Province 4. T’boli South Cotabato (Lake Sebu, Siluton, Lahit) 5. Mandaya Davao Oriental, Davao del Norte, Surigao del Sur 6. Tiruray/Teduray Maguindanao, North Cotabato 7. Higaonon Bukidnon, Rogongon in Iligan, Agusan del Norte, Misamis Oriental 8. Bagobo South and East of Mt. Apo, Eastern part of Cotabato, Davao del Sur 9. Bukidnon Bukidnon province 10. Mamanwa Agusan del Norte, Surigao del Norte 11. Talaandig/Tigkalasan Bukidnon province 12. Ata Manobo West and Northwest of Mt. Apo, Davao del Norte, Davao City 13.Tagakaolo Davao del Sur, South of Mt. Apo, Sarangani Province 14. Dibabawon Compostella Valley, Davao del Norte, Agusan del Sur 15. Mangguwangan Compostella Valley, Davao del Norte, Davao Oriental 16. Mansaka Davao del Norte, Compostella Valley 11 Although many of them at present have already embraced Christianity as their religion. This phenomenon goes to confirm that one cannot use religion as basis to say whether or not a group of people has ancestral domain rights over a particular territory.  17 17. Banwaon Agusan del Sur 18. Matigsalug Bukidnon (Tigwa-Salug Valley) 19. Others One may presume that the above-enumerated tribes, just like the Moros, have long wanted to articulate their wish to exercise their right to self-determination but, for a long time, they have been incapacitated by lack of organization. In June 1986, after the EDSA-1 Revolution, representatives from fifteen tribes converged and decided to organize the “Lumad-Mindanao,” the first Lumad organization with the goal to achieve “self-governance within their ancestral domain in accordance with their culture and customary laws.” The term “lumad” was actually a borrowed word from Cebuano, which literally means, “indigenous.” The tribes deemed it necessary to adopt the Cebuano term because they had no common language except Cebuano.12 4.) How many are the peoples of MinSuPala as of 2012 and other censuses? Table below shows the population of the various ethno linguistic groups as of 2012 and other censuses conducted by the National Statistics Office. Lumad Tribe Population Migrant Population Moro Tribe Population Groups Tausug 1,155,000 Manobo 436,060 Tagalog Samaa 381, 300 Subanen 356,400 Ilonggo Badjao 116,000 B'laan 280,600 Ilocano Yakan 168,000 T'boli 122,000 Cebuano Kolibugan 26,700 Mandaya 53,850 Boholano Maguindanao 1,220,000 Tiruray 61,800 Kapampangan Iranun 176,000 Higaonon 41,800 Bicolano Maranao 1,167,000 Bagobo 145,000 Waray Kalagan 33,300 Tagakaolo 125,000 Siquijodnon other Sangil 8,560 Bukidnon 186,900 migrants Rodil. op. cit, p.4. 12  18 Molbog 10,600 Dibabawon 21,300 Manggu- Jama Mapun 50,800 wangan Panimusan / 13,000 Mansaka 74,100 Palawani Mamanwa 1,922 (1990) Talaandig 5,190 Ata Manobo 33,400 Banwaon 8,200 (1992) Matigsalug 37,100 Source: Population as of 2012 taken from the Joshua Project: Orientation and Subsistence (Peralta’s Glimpses) IV. Lessons Learned and Peace Message At a very superficial level, Filipinos are proud to claim that the Philippines is a multicultural country. Before foreign visitors, they point out the linguistic, religious and cultural diversity of their people. But at times, they can be very ambivalent about their differences. Perhaps this ambivalence comes from their colonial experience, in which tribal and regional differences were exploited to condition them to be suspicious, unwelcoming or even hostile to the other groups. As proof, one hears now and then tales of bias, stereotypes and discrimination; stories of exclusive subdivisions, in which certain ethnic or religious groups are not welcome; violent conflicts involving individuals belonging to different tribes, etc. Thus, the diversity can be viewed sometimes as a problem, a weakness and a hindrance to Filipinos having a strong sense of community. In not a few instances, they may be said to be unsure if they should be happy or sad about each other’s uniqueness. Paradoxically though, they also say, “There can be harmony in diversity.” They can boast that Filipino culture is made more colorful by the peculiarities of their languages, religions, festivities, traditional clothing, cuisine, customs and traditions. But should they limit their appreciation only to those matters? Are they not supposed to look at the commonalities that they share?  19 While it is true that Filipinos are different from one another, they nonetheless have many commonalities that are, indeed, strong bases for unity and harmony. For instance, many of their ethnic groups belong to the same racial stock; their languages originated from the same mother Malayo-Polynesian language; they share common vocabularies, material culture and even values. With special regard to Mindanao, they even share the same homeland, as Mindanao has become a shared territory, whether its peoples like it or not. It is not bad for Filipinos to look at their differences inasmuch as their identities are shaped and defined by their peculiarities. Yet, they should not forget that apart from their differences, they also have these commonalities, which in fact may be weightier— or a stronger bond—than their dissimilarities. V. References and Recommended Readings. Abdulrasad, Asani D. Moros – Not Filipinos. Diliman Review, March – April 1981: 27-33. Compilation of Readings for History 3. MSU-IIT resource material for History 3 classes of MSU-IIT. Joshua Project: http://joshuaproject.net/data-sources.php Jubair, Salah. Bangsamoro: A Nation Under Endless Tyranny. Malaysia: IQ Marin SPN BHD, 1999 National Commission for Culture and Arts: www.ncca.gov.ph. Official website of Bukidnon: www.bukidnon.gov.ph Peralta, Jesus. Glimpses: Peoples of the Philippines. Manila: National Commission for Culture & Arts, 1992 Rodil, Rudy B. A Story of Mindanao and Sulu in Question and Answer. Davao: MINCODE, 2003 ------- The Minoritization of the Indigenous Communities of Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago. Davao City: AFRIM. 1994.