Amidst the shadows of oppression
Story by Julia Maaño
Photos taken by Maegan Gaspar
Radiant, newborn light spilled across the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman’s Oblation as national minority leaders from all over the Philippines performed a sunrise ritual yesterday, opening the Kampuhan sa Diliman proceedings.
Approximately 3,500 members of the national minorities are in UP for Kampuhan sa Diliman, a two-week integration activity that aims to bring awareness to the struggles minority groups face.
Members of the Philippines’ national minorities watched their leaders assemble in front of the UP Oblation.
A rectangular white cloth, covered with dried herbs, was bordered by 12 white candles, which burned brightly in the sunshine. To the east and west of the fabric stood two bottles of gin. Cradled in one of the leader’s hands was a hen, craning its neck to peck at the grass around it.
The national minorities listened and watched, as one by one, their leaders began to pray aloud.
They did not pray in Filipino. To one who does not speak their languages, only a few words were understandable – a prayer for bravery, a plea to a diwata, the words “Amerikano” and “terorista.”
The chant-like prayers went silent, and the last leader rose and took the hen. It was docile in his hands. Then the leader began to speak again, this time in a voice not of prayer but of command. Holding the hen’s feet, he wound it up and flung it eastward towards the sunrise.
White feathers scattered, and he pulled it back, still chanting. He hurled the hen westward, as if throwing something away. And then, as it squawked, he whirled it again as if to encompass all who were watching.
In a swift motion, he drew a foot-long blade and slit the hen’s neck.
And indeed, the national minorities have many things they need bravery for. Minority groups struggle for self-determination and the right to their ancestral domain in a world where landgrabbing by big agricultural and mining businesses is prevalent.
The groups allege that the multinational companies have paired up with the government – most recently, former President Benigno Aquino’s Oplan Bayanihan – in order to frighten them into leaving their ancestral domains. At least 71 indigenous leaders were killed under Aquino’s term, and over 40,000 indigenous people from Mindanao have been displaced from their homes.
According to spokesperson Dulphing Ogau of Kusog sa Katawhang Lumad sa Mindanao, the sunrise ritual means many different things.
It is also a prayer for strength and allies. The chicken flung eastward, according to Ogau,“[ay] hinihiling yung lakas mula doon sa bagong araw na maangkin dito.”
Samuel Dalimbag, another national minority leader, explained how all the tribes believe that the mountains, the sun, moon, water, and wood, have designated gods. With ceremonies such as the sunrise ritual, they can call forth these good spirits.
“Ang inaasahan ng mga katutubo sa ritual na yun, yung mga good spirits ay kasama namin sa kung anong ginagawa namin,” Ogau said.
On the other hand, flinging the chicken westward was to destroy the bad spirits.
“Kinu-curse namin. Pinapaalis namin yung mga bad spirit na gustong maghadlang, magdidistorbo,” Ogau said. “Isama sa paglubog ng araw.”
But the ritual was not yet over. Under the sun from which they pleaded strength, the leaders opened the two bottles of alcohol and poured it on the grass in front of the Oblation.
The alcohol is a symbol, Dalimbag said. It means eagerness. It means bravery.
There are rituals among the tribes that include sharing drink, Ogau said. Should you accept, you would feel within yourself the bravery and the burn.
According to Ogau, even though the alcohol was poured on the ground,
“Maramdaman mo talaga…Maramdaman namin yung sarili namin na yung pagsulong.”
“Ma-encourage ka rin sa pagtulong, sa pagsama, pakikiisa sa kanila,” Ogau said.
The sunrise ritual means many things to the national minorities. Calling of good spirits, banishing of bad ones. Asking for bravery. Needing the strength of the sun.
Needing, as well, the justice it has always symbolized.
The sun rises and sets, for everyone and for no one at all. It is a symbol of strength, rebirth, and ultimately, of the equality the national minorities have always been fighting for.
