blog: Bukidnon, Mindanao, Philippines as a travel destination

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blog: Bukidnon, Mindanao, Philippines as a travel destination – http://ow.ly/3ZYEf

Travel experiences: Bukidnon, Mindanao, Philippines

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Travel experiences: Bukidnon, Mindanao, Philippines – http://ow.ly/3WoKN

A history of the Bagobo people of Mindanao

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A history of the Bagobo people of Mindanao in the Philippines http://ow.ly/2ngK6

Notes on the link above:

I’ve met some who are from the Bagobo people of Mindanao; I met some of them during a trek to Mt. Apo in Davao, Mindanao. They are just like ordinary people like everyone else you meet on the street. Some of them are based here in New York City. They’re working and earning hard to get that much desired amount of US dollars to remit back to the Philippines for their families. I’m surprised they won’t tell me outright or maybe because I didn’t ask. On second thought, “Does it matter anyway?”

But I was able to know about the fact only when someone mentioned it indirectly, i.e., “he’s a Bagobo from Davao.” And the one who’s telling me about it delivered it in a derisive tone, as if people who are from the tribes are of lesser class, which is a tone that you will understand if you’re from the Philippines (or from other similar countries). I experienced that myself when I mentioned before a class in MBA school at the Ateneo that my paternal side’s from the Isneg tribe in northern Luzon in the Philippines [my paternal grandmother had very light skin, which is a surprise as that's not the stereotype. She's from the same tribe as that of the sexy 70s actress Alma Moreno who herself is very proud of her heritage]. Some classmates were amused for one unclear reason or another. I knew something was off, but I just ignored it though I particularly remember the smiles of amusement from some people who simply don’t know much about ethnic people. It’s as if it’s not cool to say these things.  Maybe it’s something similar to some people’s reactions when one introduces oneself as from one of those Indian tribes somewhere here in the US [which case has been similarly told me, when I've experienced receiving remarks that "I look like  an American Indian"].

But nowadays, you will seldom meet a full-blooded tribal person in the Philippines. A lot have intermarried with peoples of different races. It’s even strange writing about these issues here, as it’s seldom you’ll encounter a tribe back in the Philippines that has been barely exposed to cultural influences of other groups of people. The Bagobos themselves in Mindanao have intermarried with lots of Japanese people before World War II, the descendants of whom you may have the chance to meet even in Japan or in Davao these days.  You’ll see semblances of their lifestyle during street parades that take place during commemoration days that are officially sanctioned by the local government. You’ll see them in their traditional attire and being engaged in traditional dances. You wonder how much ethnic culture have been gone forever – much of what you’ll know about them are available when you research about them in libraries. Here’s hoping that these material sources will be readily made available in accessible forms soon (so you won’t wonder anymore about matters on ethnicity in the present imperfect society like we have now).

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• Trip to Davao – Davao, Philippines (travelpod.com)
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