HERMOSILLA, LEMUEL SY BALCS 3-A PHILIPPINE INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES

Before everything else, I would like to first thank the ORGANIZATION for inviting me
to this highly anticipated FORUM noh as well as the body of members behind this event for
making the whole thing possible in the first place, especially to our DEAN who is present here,
uh ma’am hello. I would also like to thank my co-panelists for the very educational and
remarkable speech that they have just given; both were equally great. Finally, before proceeding
to the things that actually matter, let me inform you of my work, uhm, notwithstanding the
precise introduction that the moderator gave noh. So my actual work revolves around Southeast
Asian cultural studies; specifically Mindanawon Lumad studies. And I’ve studied subtribes of
the Manobo such as the Obu-Manuvus among others for the last 30ish years and actually Mr.
Ramsay can testify to that as there was at some point in time whereupon our academic careers
crossed in some parts of Davao while documenting Manobo sub-tribes noh in Marilog area. I
think that was in 2010 if I’m not mistaken. So uhm anyway, basically my 28 RESEARCH
WORKS speak for themselves noh haha. I’ve been in USEP for the last few decades now and
have been doing tribal research along with some other known anthropologists noh like SAJED S.
INGILAN and to be part of this event and talk about the things that I am enthusiastic about and
you might say “practically an expert on the field on”, you know, it really makes me happy.
Uh so to preface my talk, let me introduce to you the subject that I was assigned in, which is the
indigenous knowledge of Obu-Manuvu tribe in disaster preparedness and risk reduction, through
a video presentation, followed by a little reiteration of the facts, OK? So first a video of the
background of the tribe then I’ll talk about the tribe on relation to the theme.
*VIDEO PRESENTATION* 3-4 minutes
Uh so that was it. And establishing from the video presentation noh, the way I’ve
prepared or outlined my talk is to actually respond to the questions given to us with a few
anecdotes, which, as my observation to my co-panelists before me, has become a pattern noh for
how the way we relate to the theme haha, which is not a bad thing of course, and I think that is
chiefly owing to the fact that as persons working inside and alongside the indigenous peoples’
lives and culture, narrative remarks work best to impart what we’ve also learned from them noh.
So in one of my fieldworks around Davao City, specifically in Marilog district, I was
working with the local Obu-Manuvu Lipatuan, which is basically one of the high leaders (his
name is Joel Unad), and he shared with me noh, some very interesting notions and practices that
they actually believe in, y’know, in terms of disaster preparedness. But before jumping in to that,
let us first explore the cultural context of their tribe; the location, means of livelihood, types of
lifestyle, and the environment that they’re interacting with, as well as the beliefs that they adhere
to.
The Ubu-Manubu tribe has an estimated 22,000 for total population, scattered around
Bukidnon, North Cotabato and Davao (The Ancestral Domain Sustainable Development and
Protection Plan of Obu-Manuvu Tribe, n.d.) Like all indigenous peoples, their cultural heritage is
tied to their lands. They believe in Magbabaya as their main deity (who is also claimed by
different tribes in Bukidnon.) And before actually commencing the interview, they’ve performed
a ritual known as panuvad-tuvad, as a sign of respect to their deity as well as to ask good fate on
HERMOSILLA, LEMUEL SY BALCS 3-A PHILIPPINE INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES

the site visit. Lipatuan Joel Unad told me that their primary means of living comes from
agriculture crops like cassava, cacao, corn, and rice grains. They also plant fruits like durian,
lanzones, banana, and avocado. And they sell them in Davao markets for profits. Given that
some companies operate within their ancestral domain, not a few of them also work in Davao
City Water District, Vitarich, etc. (Ingilan, n.d.)
In terms of political/hierarchal system, they have a top-bottom approach, with Lipatuan
on the top, and below are the other official positions who are enlisted in the tribal council that is
known to them as “Minonuvu No Boyo to Od Possopong-Ngoy” And to be initiated in this
position, one must have leadership skills and basically some sense of authority within the tribe.
But there are also positions that only are attained with God-given abilities like that of Anitowon,
who has the ability to predict future events and catastrophes. Bahani, considered as the warrior,
defender, protector, and peace-keeper of the tribe. And Pohinonaw, in charge of the preservation
of the Obu-Manuvu culture. And these people noh may or may not be included in the tribal
council.
Their lands are comprised of water systems, mountains, rivers, forests, caves, landmarks,
and slopes. And they consider all of these as Pusaka or sacred. They also regard animals as
Pusaka such as the Philippine Eagle, Philippine brown deer, wild pig, monkey, and a few species
of birds as culturally and historically significant to the tribe. (The Unified Obu Manuvu Tribal
Council, 2017)
There is what we call cultural perception (which, firstly, relates to the nature of disasters
as a form of direct action of a deity to the acts, beliefs, and attitudes of the people) and the
technical-scientific perception (which resolves to explain natural disasters as plainly because of
the weather or other natural conditions present in a certain area.) Today, the methodology that I
will be using in my discussion is the former.
PREPARATIONS
Belief systems shape people’s understanding, perceptions, and responses to natural
disasters. These perceptions are mediated by cultural interpretations, in combination with a range
of other factors proper to each community and household at a specific time and place which will
influence how people are going to prepare themselves or not” (Dekens, 2007 on Ingilan)
So prior to disasters, caves or Iliyan, are prepared and stocked on food and essentials. So
once a disaster strikes, the tribal elders would advise the people to enter the cave, which sort of
becomes their evacuation center.
They will also perform a ritual called Pama when they sense if a disaster is coming
through a weather condition. And this is done by hanging a piece of fire wood and by facing the
fire wood, the Anitowon would lead the ritual and they will mention a disaster, for example,
typhoon, and when it moves, it means that a typhoon is coming.
DISASTERS
HERMOSILLA, LEMUEL SY BALCS 3-A PHILIPPINE INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES

The disasters that are believed to be caused by interaction of men, as one of the tribal
elders had relayed to me, happens in the event of discourteous treatment of the animals. They
believe many animals are sacred because they are god’s creation noh so Magbabaya would
punish them when they abuse the animals. Like that of the year 1983 noh as Lipatuan Joel Unad
had shared that in Tambobong, some drunken mine workers played with a dog and forced it to
dance bipedal like a human being and this was taken as a sign of disrespect to the creatures of
god and consequently a landslide hit the area which was attributed to the violation stated.
Another instance of this MAN-MADE NATURAL DISASTERS (excuse the irony noh)
happened in 1990s when people feasted on a kasili (eel). And given that eels are sacred to the
Obu-Manuvu, they were punished with heavy rains and landslide. And another set of heavy rains
pour down when someone shot a monkey.
Drought is also one of the calamities experienced by the Obu-Manuvu in Davao City.
Mahabbok Lambac Sr. recalled that in 1983, the people of his tribe felt the long dry season,
which depleted the crop harvest and killed a few of their livestock.
Aside from landslides and drought, the Obu-Manuvu experienced dengue, diarrhea, and
cholera. Mahabboc Lambac Sr. sadly shared that most of his family members, young and old,
died in 1995 because of dengue or Uyun, in their own belief.
The Obu-Manuvu tribe view natural disasters to be part of the will and the punishment of
Magbabaya. Magbabaya, the Supreme Being among Obu-Manuvu, has control over all of his
creations, including nature. People are said to be punished by Magbabaya because of their sins
and their disrespect to the animals.
From our perception noh (the technical-scientific perception) we would not claim that
these disasters are contingent to the misdeeds of people but in their culture, they credit them to
the wrath of their god. It is interesting to find that these cultural values are shared also in local
memories, which works to their advantage in the sense that they are motivated to prepare for
disasters. This cultural belief on physical phenomena also affect the people’s psychological
behavior, causing a chain of reactions in the presence of certain events which they deem
immoral.
SIGNS
The Obu-Manuvu of Davao City believed that there are signs which served as omens of a
coming natural disaster. These warnings are in the form of changes in the environment, omens,
and unusual animal behavior. (Ingilan, n.d.) We humans often bring how we feel about the
experiences from the past and tell ourselves stories relating to the upcoming future, and the Obu-
Manuvu have often believed the relation of one thing would cause a series of another, chiefly
negative noh, and these things provide them the attitude that they can predict disasters in the near
future because of these patterned reactions.
Earthquake- reddening sky, rainbow, yellow-tinted environment
HERMOSILLA, LEMUEL SY BALCS 3-A PHILIPPINE INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES

Kana bang mag pula ang langit ug tanawn nimo ang palibot lahi kay murag ga ulan
ginagmay taligsik, ug mag bangaw. Unya lahi ang palibot murag ga-yellow. Nagpasabot nga
naay linog duha o tulo ka adlaw gikan karon.
Drought- yellowing of leaves, decreasing water level
Kung mag-yellow na ang mga dahon, sabot kana nga naay huwaw. Kung muhubas ang
tubig sa sapa o sa balon, nay apan kana, naay huwaw muabot.
Typhoons- dream, riding in banca to Talomo River
This is one story that Lipatuan Joel Unad had shared: Isa ka dati na Lipatuan nagdamgo
na gasakay daw siya ug banka sa Talomo River unya naabot daw siya sa tungod or sa end of the
river, gi-interpret to niya na nay muabot. He was actually correct because days later typhoon
Pablo hit the community, and fortunately it didn’t affect them much.
Landslide/earthquake- sounds of an insect “tong kong” at night
Kung madungug nimu ang tingug sa insekto nga ‘tong kong’ sa gabii, dunay mahitabu
nga katalagman parehas sa linug apan dili nimu masulti kung unsa dyud nga katalagman kung
linug o landslide ba kaha
So those are their cultural beliefs noh in disaster preparedness and risk reduction. We
learned that nature is very significant to them in anticipating natural disasters. Belief systems
work by explaining unexplainable or unscientific phenomenon to them, and once something
sacred is disrespected, of course something bad would subsequently happen. Ignoring such
beliefs would only cause demise. Walay mawala sa ilaha kung tuohan nila to. Pero kung dili nila
tuohan, mas dako ang chance na ilahang kinabuhi ang mawala.
Obu-Manuvu on COVID-19
The Obu-Manuvu are taking specific measures and seeking their own solutions to the
pandemic in a community level using indigenous knowledge and practices such as voluntary
isolation, closing of their territories and implementing preventive measures. Due to the past
experiences of Uyun (local diseases known to them), the people have the knowledge on
preventing the similarly infectious disease. People would stay away from the sick person, take
self-isolation in the mountains, and find their sustenance in the natural resources of the land
while in quarantine. The tribe also has a sense of mutual cooperation within the community noh,
we can observe this with voluntary isolation, application of traditional practices and medicines
prescribed by the tribal elders, as well as an instinctive understanding and effort to contain
diseases, this they owe to their past experiences of kaning ginatawag nila na Uyun.
REFLECTION
Obu-Manuvu has gone through disasters before and survived, frankly, many natural
disasters like landslides, drought and diseases which are often caused by physical conditions of
their environment, as well as illegal logging and mining and I guess this is a good time to reflect
on the important role that the tribe, in general, play in preserving indigenous knowledge in
HERMOSILLA, LEMUEL SY BALCS 3-A PHILIPPINE INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES

disaster preparedness and risk reduction, as well real-life responses to disasters that threaten their
way of life. Y’know the scientists are telling us that with climate change we’re expecting more
of these natural disasters and in order to respond to these challenges is to really lend an ear to the
indigenous peoples and support what they’re trying to do noh because the global climatic
stability is dependent upon the health of these large-scale ecosystems and the indigenous peoples
have managed to continue their control over the integrity of their ancestral domains and so we
have to recognize their territorial rights and protect these territories of biodiversity as protecting
the environment is not an intellectual exercise; it is a practical duty in the first place. IPRA
highlights the importance of community consensus and that consensus tells us that we need to
prioritize their needs, noh especially in the midst of a pandemic, y’know as them being part of
the community with less capacity to manage itself, there is really a need for education,
employment, sanitation, health and preservation of their ancestral domains.
I think that ends my presentation. Thank you very much for listening and I hope you have
learned something from this noh. Thank you.

What is the panuvad-tuvad?

Referring to the specific event noh idk much about it since I wasn’t there personally noh
but if you’re asking about the practice of panuvad-tuvad, then I’d like to answer that. So, in the
panuvad-tuvad, it is a traditional thanksgiving ritual with prayers and offerings, each leader
places a coin on the tambaa (altar) that has betel nuts, betel leaves, and lime. A red rooster noh is
prepared to be killed and an elder bleeds the native red rooster above it while reciting prayers,
then each person dips his finger into the chicken blood to symbolize his commitment to the
Pusaka. So after that, they will cook the chicken and eat it in the place itself. Dili sad ka magdala
pauli atong manok kay considered taboo to sa ilaha noh.