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Philippines
ICH Materials 5
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The Dreaming Culture of the MandayaIn the Philippines, the Mandaya indigenous group is known for their gaudy and vibrant culture that has been preserved from successive generations and has withstood the colonizations that the country surpassed. The Mandaya people live in Mindanao, the second largest island in the Philippine archipelago, specifically along the mountain ranges of Davao Oriental. The term “Mandaya” comes from the word man, meaning “firs,” and daya, meaning “upstream.” In combination, Mandaya means “the first upstream people” and refers to the indigenous group’s language, traditions, customs, and beliefs.\n\nOne of the interesting aspects that makes the culture of the Mandaya distinct from other indigenous groups in the country is their culture of dreaming. The practice of weaving and the knowledge system on traditional medicine or healing in the Mandaya culture has been greatly influenced by dreaming. The Mandaya are famous for dagmay,their traditional textile, which they consider sacred. Dagmay designs are interconnected; cutting them will destroy the essence and sacredness of the fabric. According to the elders, dagmay was bestowed to the Mandaya through a dream by Tagamaling, a spirit linked to life and creation. It was believed that a Mandaya maiden dreamed of Tagamaling who taught her weaving techniques to create dagmay. From then on, the Mandaya believed that weaving is sacred, and a real Mandaya weaver will have to say a prayer before starting her weave. The Mandaya weavers only weave in tranquil areas in their houses.\n\nDagmay is a handwoven textile made from abaca. The abaca is the extracted fiber from banana leaves. Dagmay involves a mud-dyeing technique wherein practitioners submerge their tannin-dyed yarns into iron-rich mud for several days. First, they pound the bark of a tree and boil it with the abaca yarn. They then add the mud with a bluish color and let the yarn boil until their desired tone is achieved. With the intricate patterns and details of the dagmay, traditional Mandaya clothes have been known to among the most beautiful in the Philippine archipelago. The motifs of traditional Mandaya design include curvilinear, diamond, cross, trellis, and crocodile patterns.\n\nAnother Mandaya tradition influenced by dreaming is their knowledge system on traditional medicine or healing. In the Mandaya community, a spiritual leader called balyan has the ability to heal sick people through the use of traditional knowledge inspired from a dream, prayer called panawagtawag and organic medicines. The highest ranking spiritual leader, kalalaysan, can heal a dying patient. Within the Mandaya community, the ability to heal is not limited to spiritual leaders as it can be done by anyone. Anyone can dream of a cure, and he or she will become the healer of the sick people in the community.\n\nPhoto : A Mandaya Woman CC BY 2.0 Paul K / flickr.comYear2019NationPhilippines
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The Angono’s Higantes Festival for San ClementeHigantes Festival is celebrated every 22 and 23 November in the city of Angono, Province of Rizal in the Philippines to honor San Clemente, the patron saint of fishermen. The festival features a parade of hundreds of higantes, papier-mâché giants. Higantes are puppets rendered as man or woman in various costumes; their face gives a commanding look, their hands on the waist. The festival’s origin can be traced back to the period of Spanish colonial rule when, as Angono was a ruled hacienda, celebrations were prohibited, except for one festival per year. The Angonos (people of Angono) used the festival as an opportunity to mock hacienda owners by making papier-mâché caricatures—an art they learned from Spanish friars.\n\nIn the present time, the Angonos build higantes to represent each barangay (smallest administrative division in the Philippines; village) for the festival’s parade. Accordingly a higante with a duck-shaped heard, for example, represents a barangay famous for fried duck and balut (boiled duck embryo eaten from its shell). The number of higantes has increased to hundreds over time, with more and more artists making higantes in various sizes and shapes. Seminars or workshops on higante-making thru government support have also contributed to keeping the festival alive.\n\nIt takes about a month to make no less than three-meter-tall higante. A higante’s head, the hardest part taking a week to create, is made up of newspaper strips while its body is made up of bamboo or rattan strips to carry it easily for hours. The handle’s height is adjusted to see its legs when it is raised by 30 cm from the ground.\n\nIn a tradition called basaan, people sprinkle water on the parade or each other for blessing. People believe that water symbolizes San Clemente, the patron saint of fishermen, which is why they shout for water on themselves. The parade also includes a band and a group of young girls called parehadores. Suited in colorful costumes, parehadores hold a sagwan (wooden boat paddle), wearing wooden slippers; such items are symbols of San Clemente devotees. The girls march together with the band, shouting “Viva San Clemente!” The band plays music, following the girls. With multiple parade teams competing with each other, Higantes Festival has become one of the most famous festivals enjoyed by people of all ages in the Philippines.\n\nphoto: unesco logo ⓒ unescoYear2017NationPhilippines
Open Archive 4
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An Ifugao Contemporary Wedding Celebration
This film features the highlights of an Ifugao wedding celebration in contemporary times. It started with an invitation posted on a store in the town of Brgy. Amduntog, about a 30-minute motorbike ride far from the celebration.
Philippines -
The xích lô
One of the things that attracted me during my travel to Vietnam was the xích lô (cyclo). Three-wheeled vehicles are usually found in Southeast Asian countries. Even the Philippines has its very own tricylces. But it was interesting to see how the xích lô in Vietnam are used also to attract tourists and bring them to different beautiful parts of their country.
Viet Nam -
T'nalak weaving
T'nalak weaving is one of the most celebrated traditions of the T'boli communities in the Philippines. It is indeed a living tradition as masters and older community members are very keen to teach the younger generation this traditional craftsmanship of the dream weavers.
Philippines -
Punnuk, Tugging Rituals and Games of the Philippines (Hungduan, Ifugao)
The photos were taken at Hungduan, Ifugao, Philippines during 8 to 12 August, 2019 In three communities of Hapao, Baang, and Nungulunan of Hungduan, distinct harvest rituals called Houwah are being practiced by the Tuwali group. These are the baki, inum and the Punnuk. The rituals, particularly Punnuk determine which group will have a bountiful harvest, and to express appreciation to the deities of the communities. Punnuk is inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity with Cambodia, Republic of Korea, and Vietnam.
Philippines