"Barter Faith" is about Meda, a nongovernment development worker in a Moslem area. The piece expresses Meda’s frustration as she works with people who carry an agenda of religious conversion.
"Barter Faith" is the second part of Island Vignettes.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Threat to Bai Bibyaon
By Marili Fernandez-Ilagan
(A Monologue of an Indigenous Ata-Manobo in a Time of Repression
Based on a true story, August 2002, Bukidnon)
“Banta kay Bai Bibyaon (Threat to Bai Bibyaon)” is about a woman leader of an indigenous tribe in Mindanao, Philippines, who finds herself in the wanted list of the military (known as the OB or Order of Battle), the reason being that she stood up for her tribe against the forces that has long exploited, suppressed and dehumanized the people. In this piece, Bai Bibyaon dramatizes the stirring character that has made her an exemplar among her tribe and womanhood in a country in turmoil.
| Performed as first part of Island Vignettes by Marili Fernandez-Ilagan & Dessa Quesada-Palm on November 2006 at Teater Studio Taman Isamil Marzuki, Jakarta, Indonesia for the 7th International Women Playwrights Conference |
| |
Theater for Change
Philippines Theatre groups are striving to change the way Filipino women address themselves and society - whether it is the portrayal of women caught between tradition and modernity or defying cultural norms to cast men and women in roles that display intimacy. Odiata, led by its playwright-director, works to give young women in the community a voice. And members of Sigay, formed by women from the Kagan community, found that working on the play, 'Pasaya', changed their entire outlook towards sexuality. "And what, in God's name, is that you're wearing?" / "This is the trend, Mother." / "It looks like a rag. Honey, you can't look like a rag. What will people think?" | ||||
| | WFS Ref: PHIF920 | 735 words | ||
| | ||||
Theater & Reality
THEATER AND REALITY,
By Marili Fernandez-Ilagan
Tkaw a miakasold si Potri sa tulang oanda matatago si ina iyan a bae a Rimparac akatataboan na ptinda sa ingabai. Si Potri na mataid a 16 i-idad a bago-a-raga. Si
Rimparac na 72 i-idad, mao pembongawen. (Potri bursts into the kitchen where her grandmother Rimparac is preparing dinner. Potri is an athletic and attractive 16 year-
old incoming college freshman. Rimparac is a senile 72 year- old woman.)
POTRI
Kaoto ba! Ptiaro akn den ba! Imanto na langon siran mabababaya Pakipangaroma
ako iran siiko sadn sa pakalotang sa btang rakn. Bai, ogapi akong ka! Di ako makipangaroma. (That’s it! Just as I thought! Now, all of them are happy. They want
me to marry anybody who can afford my dowry. Grandmother, you must help me! I
don’t want to get married.)
Thus goes the opening scene of the play “Kiatukuwan (Revealed),” performed by the all-Maranao theater group Odiata, which means “dialogue” or “deep discussion.” Odiata was organized by Sittie Jehanne Mutin-Mapupuno, who also wrote and directed the play. Together with the Tag-ani Performing Arts Society, Inc. and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, Odiata co-produced the premiere show of “Kiatukawan” at the
“Kiatukawan” is a story of three Maranao women of different generations struggling to make sense of their lives, and trying to hit a balance between culture and religion in their present situation. One of them is the defiant Potri, who sees herself as the contemporary woman all set to conquer the world. Elite Maranao women were once kept in special chambers or “lamin” preceding marriage, and royally presented at their weddings. Potri’s family belongs to the elite and her being kept in the “lamin” may have contributed to her rebellious nature. She rebels at the thought of being clothed and donned with jewelry to magnify her beauty and nobility and, therefore, her marketability as a bride. Boxed in by such rules, Potri is now pushed by her unwanted marriage to put up her own rules against the dowry.
Potri’s impending marriage prompts her grandmother Rimparac to confess about her own forced marriage, to which, in order to save her family, she agreed. The marriage eventually failed. The confession encourages Potri to counteract her mother Bolawan’s pretenses that peace and wealth reigned in the family.
BOLAWAN
Astagfirullah! Na antonaa pen anan a sosoluten ka? (And what, in God’s name, is
that you’re wearing?)
POTRI
Bangkala? Giya I petalowan a uso Ina. (Clothes? This is the trend, Mother.)
BOLAWAN
Mommy. Soden so trapo. Watako, di ka pesayansa orobarang. Antonaa den a
pikiren a manga tao? A daden a pirak tano? A di tano pakalotang sa manga
bago a ditaren? (Mommy. It looks like a rag. Honey, you can’t look like a rag.
What will people think? That we don’t have money? That we can’t afford to
buy you new clothes?)
The confrontation involving Potri, Bolawan and Rimparac during Potri’s marriage proposal triggers not only revelations but also a funny mix of conflicts and crises.
RIMPARAC
So dingka di taroon. Ago angkaya a preparasyon. Baa den a pakaradiyaan?
(The yelling! And all these preparations. Are you having a party?)
BOLAWAN
(Pakabaya-baya). Inipangingisa i Mayor siPotri. Di manokaw-tokaw o
migagaray den ki Potri. [(Excited). The Mayor has asked about Potri. He wants
to know if Potri is still available and not engaged to anybody.]
RIMPARAC
Na pkandorii ka? (So you are throwing a party?)
BOLAWAN
Kabaya iyan na makapangaromo kon den sa magaan angkoto a wata iyana si
Kamal. Di niyan di pangatod-atod. (He wants his son, Kamal, to marry soon.
He is looking for a suitable bride.)
RIMPARAC
Na inoka pekandori? (So why would you throw a party?)
BOLAWAN
Aykah dingkaden! Maratai- paras omakatalingoma saya angkoto a pagawid na
amai kakowan na taroon niyan a dato tano siran slaslaa, odi na marsik a walay
tano, o antonaon san pen. (Just because! I don’t want the negotiator to come here
and report back that we are not hospitable, or that our house is not clean, or
whatever.)
As a story of a Maranao family in dispute, “Kiatukawan” is so true-to-life, mixing humor and misfortune as these actually happen. In the end, the three women learn that life is what we make of it, and that the family is more important than one’s ambition.
“Kiatukawan” challenges two assumptions about Maranao women: one, that women can only marry those who can afford their dowries; and two, that women are protected even as they are marketed as brides.
In “Kiatukawan,” the playwright-director dramatizes her understanding of the nature of the oppression which permeates the innermost being of a woman, as well as the time-honored conventions, such as the dowry. The play risks abetting a great controversy, especially among the conservatives. But controversies have always been a vital element in the process of change, including in the arena of women’s rights.
“Kiatukawan” illustrates the link between the development of the individual and her political self-determination. There seems to be no aspect in the realm of the “personal” that which cannot be analyzed, understood and, if need be, changed, even if the process proves to be slow and painful. The play also somehow reaffirms that “the personal is also political.” In this connection, it is interesting to note how the playwright-director summed up her experiences in the mounting of “Kiatukawan” while addressing the issues in the home and family (where the struggle takes place in private, behind closed doors). As the play of defiance unfolded in its premiere showing – it could very well be the first to be both written and directed by a Maranao woman in the Maranao language, one woman -- at the very least, gained confidence in being what she is.
But since Sittie Jehanne Mutin-Mapupuno happens to be a playwright-director, the contagion may be difficult to contain. ###
Theater & Reality
Theater and Reality: A Kagan Event
By Marili Fernandez-Ilagan
When I was first told about it, I thought it was strange.
“Casil, the husband, will be played by a woman dressed as a man,” Normaida Mamukid and the Kagan[1] women told me during the casting of the play “Pasaya (Beloved).” Collectively, they call themselves Sigay, which means rays of the sun. What an apt name for a theater group such as theirs.
But of course, theater has done cross-sexual representation as a matter of illusion. During the seventeenth century in the West, before women were totally admitted to the stage as actors, female roles were played by men who dressed as women. Later on in the century, in fact, the more daring among the women could only play a role in theater if they disguised as a man to trick the director.
As I was writing this piece, my daughter Wiccie, who happened to be the writer-director of a class play in
So here we have two interesting cultural items. On one hand, the Kagan women observe a particularly complex indigenous tradition in the practice of their religion, which could not be divorced from their other practices. “Pasaya” raised a concern: It is not Islamic for a man and a woman who are not real husband and wife to play such roles. Therefore, the actors had to be real husband and wife. The Miriam pupils, on the other hand, could not avail themselves of boy talents, though they are allowed to import from the neighboring
At some point in the rehearsal of “Pasaya,” however, an interesting development occurred. The Kagan women decided that Casil would be played by a man. And so, during the premiere performance of the play last December in a fishing farm in the tiny village of Piso in Banaybanay, Davao Oriental’s rice granary, a man it was who played Casil. It happened that they found a Muslim male who agreed to play the role, in spite of the religious prohibition. The play had begun to alter the Kagan women’s consciousness, a process that would go on in the making of the play. For one thing, the play dared to comment on domestic violence that was being perpetrated by the men in their society. Such incidents came as ordinary occurrences around them.
The Kagan women, in a matter of one month of rehearsals, changed their view of sexuality. For instance, religion prescribes that there should be no public show of intimacy between the sexes. But “Pasaya” required that a man and a woman be intimate because they played the roles of husband and wife. Theater represented a changing reality vis-à-vis religion. In their emerging theater, they strove to maintain their religious tradition – a norm, but ended up finding ways and means to break away from it. Theater thus became a duality of one.
Religious precepts in the Moro cultural and social system, to which the Kagan belong, clearly created the apprehension in the mounting of the play. The Kagan women hurdled it by casting a male as the husband. However, they made it a point that “husband” and “wife” would not as much as touch one another in the duration of the play. And so, there was never an instance when they disobeyed the Islamic value. This is a challenge for further study on the linkage of ethnicity and gender in Islamic society.
All told, the emerging theater of the Kagan women offered itself as a breakthrough in the struggle of ideas in an arena where women have hitherto played a submissive role. While my daughter and her Miriam classmates could undoubtedly outgrow their timidity towards boys in due time, would the outcome of the Kagan women’s theatre change their real-life stereotyped roles? Abangan.
[1] The Kagan are among the original inhabitants of the
[2] Aladdin is a Disney production about a commoner named Aladdin and his monkey Abu. Aladdin’s life changes with one rub of a magi lamp, releasing the Genie.
Artists' Rights & Welfare
A PRIMER ON THE
ARTISTS’ RIGHTS AND WELFARE
for the
Caucus of Music Theater Directors and Choreographers
IKATLONG TAGPO: The 2004 National Theater Festival
Cultural Center of the
INTRODUCTION
This project is being undertaken in conjunction with the 2004 National Theater Festival (NTF 2004) of the
One of the envisioned key result areas of NTF 2004 is the “active participation of key players in the local music theater in the formulation of guidelines and standards of employment.”
To come a step nearer this aim, NTF 2004 has included as a festival activity a Caucus on Artists’ Rights and Welfare, with a view towards forming an organization.
This Primer is the reference material for that caucus to be held on
In coming up with this Primer, this project conducted two Focused Group Discussions (FGDs) attended by directors and choreographers of music theater. It became inevitable that other theater artists and workers also joined in. In the FGDs, the major issues confronting artists were surfaced.
The project initiated a written survey among music theater artists.
The project also held consultations with experts in order to solicit their opinions. These included lawyers on labor and taxation and other legal counsels, officials of government agencies involved with labor relations, social security and copyrighting. They explained the legal and institutional policies and premises – or the lack of these -- relating to artists’ rights and welfare.
Early on, the project made known its intention to convene a Caucus on Artists’ Rights and Welfare focusing on music theater directors and choreographers. The underlying reason is to make the project manageable given the limited time and resource. Focusing on the directors and choreographers will also mobilize a sector that might be influential in replicating the effort in the other sectors of the performing arts community.
CHRIS B. MILLADO
Festival Director
2004 National Theater Festival
Associate Artistic Director
Performing Arts Department
Cultural Center of the
MARILIE FERNANDEZ-ILAGAN
Project Director
Caucus on Artists’ Rights and Welfare
2004 National Theater Festival
Cultural Center of the
November 2004
PART 1
Situation of Artists and their Rights and Welfare:
Major Points Raised in the FGDs and
Consultations with Experts on Labor, Taxation, Copyright and Social Security
The situation as described here is based on the two Focused Group Discussions (FGDs) participated in by artists and the series of consultations with the experts on labor, taxation, social security, copyright and other legal counsels held last October and early November.
Historically, artists have always been marginalized in terms of government support and other institutional assistance. They are overworked and underpaid. Their rights and welfare are nonexistent.
Since no employee-employer relationship exists for theater artists at work, they could not avail themselves of the benefits that are otherwise available to regular workers under the Labor Code. Artists are considered seasonal employees or contractual workers. When they work in a production, what they enter into is a private contract between two parties. It is governed by the Civil Code -- a generic law that does not address the specific demands of artists as one type of worker.
Under this setup, artists do not have the power to bargain collectively. Therefore, it is difficult to set standard compensation for their services as one type of workers or employees. Their employers are also not bound by law to provide them with the welfare benefits that are offered to regular workers under the Labor Code.
In this situation, artists:
- have difficulty setting their rates or pay scale;
- undervalue their works or services;
- work overtime without any corresponding compensation;
- are overworked;
- cannot demand for increased rates especially when companies claim that they couldn’t afford it;
- are unable to address medical and retirement needs;
- find it more difficult to sustain their theater groups;
- have to find other work to support the practice of their art and craft.
Compounding the situation are the following facts:
- Only .28% of the total government appropriation is allotted as budget for culture and the arts (based on the Philippine Medium Term Plan for Culture and the Arts assessment, 1992/2000 Report); this, despite a UNESCO resolution that “in every country, every year, at least 1% of the total public funds should be allocated to artistic activities of creation, expression and dissemination” (Final Declaration of the World Congress on the Status of the Artist, June 1997).
- Most artists’ organizations operate below subsistence, in spite of the government’s policy to encourage and support the arts.
- Government will not lift a finger for artists unless artists cause government to do so.
Artists are immensely distressed by economics and social welfare insecurity – rate of fees, working conditions, medical expenses, housing, retirement insurance, etc. Among these concerns, standardization of rates seems to be the most urgent.
But even as this situation prevails, there is a consensus that artists are barely aware of what ails them and their working environment, and what courses of action they may take. Considering that some 2.5 million compose the artists’ sector in the country, there is a great need for:
- education among the artists in the matter of their rights and welfare;
- organizing within the sector;
- advocacy work -- artists conducting a campaign so that the public and the concerned institutions may better appreciate their worth in terms of economic figures and social values;
- lobbying and legislation regarding artists’ rights and welfare.
There are initial indications that in Philippine theater, it is music theater that appears to have the potentials to becoming an industry. And it is in this regard that the issue of compensation and conditions of employment could be standardized sooner than in the other types of theater and fields of art.
PART 2
In the Know: Terms Defined and Questions Answered
1. Why organize artists for their rights and welfare?
Artists deserve an enlivening working environment, just compensation and a secure future.
2. What are rights and welfare?
‘Rights’ refers to anything that may be claimed on righteous and proper grounds, which may be just, moral, legal or customary. As expressed in laws or statutes, these may be constitutional, civil, humanitarian, etc.
‘Welfare’ refers to social and economic well-being, as in food, health, clothing.
There are economic and political factors involved in ‘rights and welfare.’ The right to just compensation is fundamentally economic. The right to free speech is basically political.
‘Rights and welfare’ is used here in conjunction with our role and work in society as practitioners of the arts.
3. What is the government pronouncement on artists’ rights and welfare?
Government ensures “the protection of rights and welfare of artists and cultural workers.” It declares that “(v)ital to the interest of (its) cultural agencies, organizations and artist’s community is the protection of their rights and welfare. Since culture and arts activities are basically service oriented rather than financially beneficial, it is important that the government provides the legislative support for the necessary protection.”
4. What is there in the law that affects the rights and welfare of artists?
First of all, the Constitution provides for the recognition of culture and the arts, that culture and the arts have evolved to define our identity, that culture and the arts have to be promoted by the State.
The Constitution also provides for the freedom of speech which bars, in theory, censorship. Another is the charter of the NCCA which is mandated by Republic Act 7356. There is also the Intellectual Property Code that includes the law on copyright. We have the tax code that includes the VAT law and the local tax laws.
5. Is there any law or regulation that provides for a standard or scheme for the payment of talent fees or
service fees of artists?
There is none. Work contracts of artists are governed by the law on contracts, which is a private agreement between two parties. In effect, compensation is always negotiated between two contracting parties. There is neither a set minimum wage nor a tripartite wage board.
6. Is there anything under the law that artists may avail of to secure their rights and welfare in
connection with their work?
There is, again, the NCCA law. We need to be more aware of the NCCA and the law that created it. For instance, the NCCA has an artists’ legal services section that was set up for mediation purposes.
It is observed, however, that the NCCA law does not provide for specific mechanisms.
7. Is there any tax exemption or special tax provision for artists?
If one is looking for a comprehensive tax law for artists, there is none. But there is one or two little-known tax
privileges for artists. For instance, artists returning from abroad could be exempted from paying tax on the
musical instruments that they bought, provided, however, that it is not in commercial volume.
8. Is it advisable for artists to form a union for collective bargaining or any association for the
purpose of collective action to safeguard and promote their rights and welfare?
If artists in a company are also regular employees, yes. If not, they have to fulfill first the requirement on
employee-employer relationship. It has been stated that a union may only be organized where there exists an
employee-employer relationship.
But in any case, it is always advisable to form a collective group to set standards and pursue artists’ rights and
welfare. Such a group may serve as a pressure or negotiating entity in behalf of its members. It may also lobby
or petition for laws, tax laws even, that are advantageous for their kind.
For instance, the officers of the Social Security System whom this Project consulted expressed a willingness to
coordinate with the group we are forming for the purpose of formulating a policy regarding artists’ social
security.
9. What is the course of action that artists in general, and directors and choreographers in music theater
in particular, may undertake to pursue the agenda of our rights and welfare?
Get organized.
“Under modern economic (and political) conditions, an individual unorganized worker (in our case, artist) is commonly helpless to exercise actual liberty, so that a worker (artist) must be free to organize collectively.”
Artists possess the right to self-organization; to form or join organizations that aim to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing; and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of mutual aid or protection.
11. What is a cooperative?
A cooperative is an organization carrying on any of the various economic activities for the mutual benefit of its members.
12. What is a guild?
A guild could be any one of various types of associations, whether commercial, professional, social or religious, formed to promote the common interests of the members. It is an organization for the mutual protection of its members.
13. What is an artists’ equity organization?
In many countries, especially in the West, a popular label for the artists’ trade union organization is Equity. In the
14. What is a union?
A union is an organization of co-workers for the joint and mutual protection of their common interests.
15. What is a trade union?
A trade union is an organized association of workers formed for the promotion and protection of their common interests, especially with regard to wages, hours and working conditions. A trade union has the power to undertake collective bargaining.
16. What is collective bargaining?
Collective bargaining is a process of negotiations between an employer and a group of employees so as to determine the conditions of employment. The result of collective bargaining procedures is a collective bargaining agreement or CBA. Employees are often represented in bargaining by a trade union or some kind of a labor organization. Collective bargaining is governed by labor laws.
17. How do the directors and choreographers in the NTF get organized for the purpose of promoting
their rights and welfare?
This Caucus has a three-fold assignment. One, unite on the need to get organized by making a declaration to this effect. Two, outline a guideline and standard of employment by identifying the concerns that have to be included in such a document. Three, form an ad hoc/working committee that is mandated to create a mechanism and design a time-bound and resource-bound program of action so that the task could be pursued right after the NTF.
It is suggested that the declaration take into account a general situationer and the prevailing conditions of employment of music theater directors and choreographers. This may be summarily outlined in the Caucus.
It is likewise recommended that the outline of the guideline and standard of employment be as general as possible to serve as a basis for its formulation.
The task of the ad hoc/working committee is to prepare the ground for a general assembly of directors and choreographers in the local music theater. It includes drafting the basic papers for the assembly, setting in motion a network of people and prospective participants and getting in place the technical and physical requirements for the assembly.
APPENDIX
PROJECT: Artists’ Rights and Welfare
Performing Arts Department
Cultural Center of the
LIST OF PARTICIPANTS
NAME POSITION COMPANY/GROUP/PROJECT
Glecy Atienza Chairperson Alyansa, Inc.
Head Dramatic Arts, NCCA
Danny Bonuan Marketing Manager Bulwagang Gantimpala
Cristy de Castro Production Manager Tanghalang Pilipino
Marili Fernandez-Ilagan Project Director Artists’ Rights & Welfare Project
Artistic Director Tag-ani Performing Arts Society
Boni Ilagan Project Consultant Artists’ Rights & Welfare Project
Writer-Director Tag-ani Performing Arts Society
Elmar Ingles Executive Director Philstage
Coordinator Performers’ Rights Society Phils
Cora Inigo Artistic Director UP Filipiniana Alumni Dance Gr
Rolando Inocencio Artistic Director Dulaang Talyer
Nanding Josef Artistic Director Cultural Center of the Phils
Clottie Gealogo-Lucero Organizer National Theater Festival
Music theater artist Tanghalang Pilipino
Dennis Marasigan Marketing Director Cultural Center of the Phils. Director, librettist, playwright
Jun Pablo Director, Designer Bulwagang Gantimpala
Roberto Mendoza Former Head Teatro Pabrika
Joseph Ranes Project Assistant National Theater Festival
Boy Sanchez Project Assistant Artists’ Rights & Welfare Project
Nikki Garde-Torres Administration Coordinator National Theater Festival
Ana Valdes-Lim Artistic Director Philippine Playhouse
Edna Vida Member NCCA Dance Committee
Choreographer
Joy Virata Actor Repertory
LIST OF INTERVIEWEES
NAME POSITION AGENCY/OFFICE
Atty. Trixi Angeles Legal Consultant
Mr. Virginio Arriero Copyright Office Chief National Library
Atty. Gwendolyn Barrios Legal Consultant Social Security System
Atty. Emmanuel Jabla Labor Lawyer Jabla Damian & Associates
Mr. Enrique Nalus Labor Relations Div. Chief DOLE
Atty. Wylie Paler Tax Lawyer Department of Finance
Atty. Nicolas Pichay Legal Consultant NCCA
Atty. Felix Segayo Legal Consultant Cultural Center of the Phils.
Atty. Joselito Vivit Office-in-Charge Social Security System
Kwento
ANG KWENTO NINA LUSONG, SAYAS AT DANAO
Nina Angie, Babes, Chato, Marili at Yna
Noong unang panahon, may isang mabuting babaeng nangangalang Ina. Si Ina ay nagsilang ng tatlong anak na babae: sina Lusong, Sayas at Danao. Inalagaan niya nang husto ang mga anak. At lagi niyang sinasabi sa kanila, “Mahal na mahal ko kayo. Mararamdaman kong mahal n’yo rin ako kung mamahalin n’yo ang isa’t isa.”
Sa kanilang paglaki, ang tatlong bata ay binigyan ni Ina ng mga instrumentong pantugtog -- tambol para kay Lusong, bongkaka para kay Sayas at kubing/gong para kay Danao. Dahil sa pagtuturo ni Ina, ang tatlo ay naging mahuhusay na manunugtog. Nagsilbing inspirasyon nila si Ina. Ang bawat pagtatanghal ay inialay nila sa kanya. Naging sikat na sikat sina Lusong, Sayas at Danao. Ngunit iyon ang naging dahilan ng pag-aaway nila tungkol sa kung sino ang pinakamagaling sa kanilang magkakapatid.
Bungad ni Lusong, “Naku, alam na ba ninyo ang sinasabi ng mga tao? Dahil sa mahusay na pagtatambol ko, pati mga hayop sa gubat ay napapasayaw!”
Wika naman ni Sayas, “Ang mga tao mismo ang nagsasabi na walang kasinggaling ang pagtugtog ko ng bongkaka. Katunayan, napapasayaw pati ang kawayan!”
Hindi nagpahuli si Danao. “Wala ‘yan sa galing ko! Ang tunog ng aking agong ay nagpapalayas sa masasamang espiritu at nagpapasaya sa mga diwata!”
OR
“Ang tunog ng kubing ko’y nagpapaawit sa mga ibon!”
Lumala ang pagtatalo ng magkakapatid. Nalimot na nila ang payo ng kanilang ina. Naisip nila na maghiwa-hiwalay. Si Danao ay namangka papuntang Timog. Si Sayas ay nagpunta sa Kanluran. Si Lusong naman ay nanatili sa Hilaga.
Ang hindi nila alam, sila pala ay sinundan ni Ina. Nagpunta rin si Ina sa mga islang pinuntahan nila. Lungkot na lungkot si Ina. “Sana’y magkasundo at magkaisang muli ang aking mga anak,” ang kanyang dasal.
Ngunit hindi nangyari ang gusto ni Ina. Umuwi siya na masama ang loob.
Lumipas ang maraming tag-araw at tag-ulan. Nagkasakit siya nang malubha at matagal.
Habang patuloy sa pasikatan at pagalingan sina Lusong, Sayas at Danao, nabalitaan nila ang nangyari sa kanilang mahal na ina. Kinabahan sila. Isa-isa silang umuwi. Tuwang-tuwa si Ina sa pagdating ng mga anak, lalo na nang sila ay isa-isang tumugtog. Ito ang muling nagbigay sa kanya ng lakas.
“Natatandaan n’yo pa ba ang payo ko sa inyo noon?” tanong ni Ina. “Uulitin ko, mahal na mahal ko kayo at mararamdaman kong mahal n’yo rin ako kung mahal n’yo ang isa’t isa.”
Nag-isip nang malalim ang tatlo. Nagyakapan sila. Dala ang diwa ng pagmamahalan at pagkakaisa, bumalik ang tatlo sa kani-kanilang mga isla. Naging panatag na ang loob ni Ina.
Lumipas ang mahabang-mahabang panahon, nagkaasawa at nagkaanak sina Lusong, Sayas at Danao. Mula sa kanilang mga pamilya nanggaling ang iba’t ibang tribo at pamayanan sa Luzon, Visayas at
Collectively written at 38-B Marikit St., West Triangle,
Sanctuary
Foreword
In this piece, we want to make a dramatic story out of a ritual. We want the voice of the talainged (indigenous) women to be heard in
The story is a moving testament to the continuing struggle of the women of the indigenous peoples, who are generally forgotten by society.
The narrative carries the stories of three women – a 14-year old Manobo girl, a young Bagobo mother, and an old Mandaya shaman. All three lament the plight of the indigenous peoples who have lost their right to the God-given wealth of the land. Strangers to each one, the three find themselves together after having been driven from their homes. The culprits are the logging concessionaires, ranchers and soldiers. Narrating their stories, the women are drowned in mystification and mistrust. But trust it is that is forged among them in a climax of a powerful tribal dance, signifying their collective unity to define the future of their people.
UGPAANAN (Sanctuary)
By
Marili Fernandez and Theresa Opaon
Characters:
FELISA - a 45-year old Bisaya-assimilated Bagobo mother
IGAY - a 14-year old Manobo girl
Prologue:
In different spaces and times, the three characters present themselves. In one corner,
Ay, spirits! Spirits! Rain, let it rain! Water! Water! For summer’s heat! Water, water – to quench our thirst!
As she dances and beats the drum, night slowly turns to dawn. Dyamon’s chanting fades, and the lights fade in on another corner where Felisa folds clothes and diapers. She talks to her husband. She expects to give birth any time.
FELISA
Are you leaving? (Pauses from business.) And when may I expect you to be back? Am I to give birth without you…? Sus, Merto, when can we ever live in peace…? All right, go. Take care. (Follows Merto with her gaze; then she hears her brother talking.) What, brother? They issued you a rifle...? Haven’t I told you not to join the CAFGU (Civilian Armed Force Geographical Unit) because they’d just make you guard the ranch? It’s so risky…! Why don’t you believe me? Yes, they disguise themselves… Security guard or CAFGU, they’re no different. (Looks up and finds out that her brother is no longer there.) Udo! Udo! (Runs afer him!) Give them back their rifle! Give it back! (Pauses and feels the pain.) Ouch! The pain… Udo….
As she shouts, lights fade in on another corner and the sound of bombing is heard. Igay, her arms covered with tatoos, hides herself and looks out if she’s left alone.
IGAY
Father… (Sees her father’s bolo.) Father… (Tries to cross to get her mother’s necklace.) Mother… (Slowly fades in sound of chopper. She runs in fear as the lights fade out.)
In a flood-ravaged tribal village,
Ay! What luck that the flood has left this behind. (She reaches for the ground and digs to plant; she chants.) “Behold the land. Behold the countless lives, people created. This is the land, our forebears say, where dwells Mebuyan.”
Felisa, carrying her baby and a transistor radio, enters, looking for her brother.
FELISA
Udo! Udo! Sus, Lord! Where goes my brother? (Notices the old shaman, approaches her, then sits atop a rock.) Good afternoon!
FELISA
Help! My baby!
As Felisa runs away, Igay comes running, too, and shouting. She looks for a refuge.
Aaah! Now she has put her trust in Bisaya medicine. Since those lowlanders came, calamities have started visiting upon us.
In the ritual for the sick, she takes hold of dried anahaw leaves and dances to drive away the evil spirit. Then she gets into a trance and engages her goddess in a conversation.
All throughout, Igay watches unnoticed. She moves away, fearing that she’ll be discovered. A house post falls and gives her away. She then runs to another corner, breaking off her necklace as it tangles with pieces of wood, scattering the beads. The noise awakens
Where do you come from, young lady? What’s your name? Where are your parents? (Noting the girl’s fear, she tells a story.) Aahh! This is what we must pay for what they claim is progress. Time was when we used to live in the plains. The forests were virginal, and everywhere was abundant food for all. We didn’t know about breakfasts or lunches or dinners because we ate whenever we’re hungry. The smoke didn’t cease from our kitchen. Then the Bisaya came by and asked to till the land in exchange for tobacco and the wine Kulafu. They made us withdraw to the mountains. More of the Bisaya arrived. Then the logging, the roads, salt, Vetsin, beer and Coke. We learned about the market, where to bring our produce to sell cheap. Schools were built. Our children learned to be ashamed of our race and origins. We retreated deeper into the mountains. Why not, we’d run at the slightest sound of tin cans.
Felisa enters weary and beaten from her long search.
FELISA
Udo! Udo! (Switches on her radio; Igay bumps into her.) Ahay! Goat’s ass! (Tries to look for Igay but can’t find her.)
Young lady, did you find your brother? Where is your baby?
FELISA
(Faces
(With anger.) Yes, because
IGAY
Aaayyyay kow di!
Felisa and
IGAY
We were so happy then… I could hear Father and Mother. Our land would be bought to make roads for the mines. Father did not agree. One day after harvest, we had fun. Then they arrived, the strangers. They had guns. They were too many. I could not count them with the fingers of my hands and feet. They were looking for rebels. Father said, there are no rebels here. But they insisted that we were the rebels. They took our animals. Then they burned our houses. We panicked… A soldier caught me. He took off my clothes and burned my back with his cigarette. Then, he pulled down his pants but Mother hacked him with a bolo. Then Mother shouted for me to run. I ran and ran. The following day, I returned. I saw them… my father and mother… Ayyaya kow!
Moved by the girl’s passion,
Gently, night gives way to dawn.
THE END
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