THEY'RE millennials with indigenous peoples (IPs) roots, who have dedicated their time in preserving their tribe's culture.
This group of Bagobo Klata or Guiangan millennials were formed last year to let their culture live, bring back their authentic tradition and pass it on to the next generations.
“We already knew each other before but it is only now that we decided to form the group, each of us has one aspect to focus, from the native delicacies to tribal wears, accessories, language and arts of the tribe,” Inna Maristela Cassandra Betil Garcia shared.
Garcia was the 2016 Hiyas sa Kadayawan. She walks the journey of preserving her tribe’s rich culture with Kessia Tar, Javen Bato, John Paul Aloy and Marhll Felicilda.
Tribal wear
One of the tribe’s identities is its unique and intricate tribal wear, but for the Bagobo Klata tribe, the number of its traditional wear (Loku – top for men and women and Naw’wow or skirt for women and Saluwa or pants or shorts for men) with authentic designs can no longer reach more than ten. This is because they no longer have weavers.
“This is what we are working on now, especially the weaving part of the K’lata, as of now we know no one capable of teaching us the authentic way of weaving our tribal wears,” Garcia shared.
They were not taught to weave as their elders pushed them to be educated.
“My late grandfather even shared to us that their parents told them not to do what they’re doing (weaving, farming) because they should prioritize and focus only on education as it is, for them, the only way to raise one’s social status,” she said.
The elders did succeed in that aspect as the Klatas or Guiangans are considered as the first educated group among all the Davao’s tribes.
But Garcia noted the irony of how educated IPs, like the Klatas, was able to learn new knowledge and culture but failed to keep their own.
“Right now, nalisdan na gyud mi sa akong grupo mangita (my team and I are having a hard time finding) someone from our tribe who is still alive and knows how to weave our traditional wear. We are finding ways, there has to be a way,” she said.
The Klata weavers
She explained that in their culture, only those who dreamt about the spirit are fated to weave.
The Hiyas 2016 added that the Klata, who is fated to be a weaver, should be weaving inside a room or house where only she and the spirit are present as weaving is sacred.
The wear, she shared, should not be washed and only be hanged out to dry.
Search for the living weaver
Garcia and team usually goes around where their tribe lives (Catalunan, Tugbok, Calinan, Baguio District) but usually she is with Naven, journeying to the hinterlands in search for the living weaver who can possibly teach the youth to preserve their culture.
Luckily, the tribe kept authentic tribal wear with authentic designs, but only a few.
Throughout the search, the group found an 89-year-old woman Klata weaver, lola Danding Bugkal, who happened to be a relative of Garcia’s grandfather. She was living in a remote area in Barangay Cadalian, Piktan, Baguio District, Davao City.
But they came too late since the woman can barely see and thus can no longer weave.
Like them, the daughter of Lola Danding was not taught how to weave.
The last hope
But there’s still a beam of hope. Lola Danding suggested to the young group to visit another area, Tiko, Baguio District where the last weaver lives, as she had described.
“The weaver in Tiko is our only hope. We will visit the place but we don’t know yet when because we still have to iron out our schedules and keep some money to be used for our expenses, we are using our money. Also, the area is too remote and security also is an issue but we are more than willing, we will be there soon,” Garcia said.
The group wants to also secure first the raw materials before going to the mountains.
“We are positive that this time, we can already learn from the authentic weaver of our tribe, so we can pass it to the next generations,” she said.
She promised that when they finally meet the last living weaver of the tribe, they will pour much time just to learn how to weave.
Apart from the tribal wear, other members of the group are busy doing their ways in preserving other aspects of their culture: language, accessories, dances and delicacies.
