Ad Infinitum

Health is considered to be one of the most valued possessions man could ever dream. Man always pursue for youthful image and tangible health in order to meet the demands from his environment. Most of the time, he wanted to reach the pinnacle where everything is perfect and order. In his quest towards perfection, he would defy advanced age, combat infirmity and would even settle in trading wealth in favor of health. Nonetheless, no matter how hard he tries to reach for that so called pinnacle; still the inevitable would stand out, the disease itself. Where man goes, disease follows and where man exists, disease coexists. Hence, man’s quest for eternal perfection seems to be ad infinitum.

Long before science was a breakthrough, diseases were paralleled to that of an evil, a curse, or worst, a tribulation from the Omniscient. Man often viewed them to be horrendous. Moreover, people who were stricken with such lethal diseases were left hopeless and abandoned. They were outcasts then. But as time progresses, science flourished and it paved a way for new discoveries and inventions. Medicines were designed to eradicate ailments; lifestyle was fashioned in a way that it could offer longevity to man’s existence. Because of these, man had experienced the real taste of life, where he can enjoy its contribution. Further, man was educated and more informed.

Despite the good effects science has provided, still the imperfections within himself made him eligible to succumb into illness especially as he advanced to old age. One such disease is cancer where it debilitates the person not only by its potency but by the devastating complications it could brought to the person’s health. True to its effect, the victim would be left hopeless and slowly deteriorates unless treated.

Later, man realized the importance of health, its impact and its influence to his life. bottom line- disease is a living testimony of man's imperfect existence.

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Note: This is originally composed as a reflection paper during my clinical exposure in college.

Who are the Mandayas?

1. Mandaya, literally means “upstream or upland dweller”, is one of the natives in Eastern Mindanao particularly the province of Davao Oriental. The typical Mandaya has a fair complexion, black sawed teeth, relatively well-defined nose and, sometimes, aquiline.

Beliefs

2. The Mandayas believed on the two-fold principles of good and evil, which are represented by the good gods Mansilatan and Badla (father and son), and Pundaugnon and Malimbong (husband and wife) as the evil gods.

Dagmay Weaving and Rituals

3.Known for their artistic embroidery, hand-woven costumes (dagmay) and animistic rituals, the Mandayas have distinctive literary and ritualistic devices to celebrate their tribal life and belief in the form of bayok (epic song or impromptu incantation), dawot (love song), uyog-uyog (lullaby) and ritualistic dance headed by the balyan or babailan (high priest or priestess) similar to shaman.

The Bird of Omen

4.The limocon or limoken, an endangered specie in the eastern part of Davao, is a tiny yellow brown bird with short beak belonging to the family of pigeon, but almost ten times smaller than its size. The wild mystical bird is known as the bird of omen that plays a vital role in shaping the lives and beliefs of the native Mandaya.

Mystical chant

5. Bayok is a customary act of sharing and telling stories through epic song and free-flowing (impromptu) incantation on human struggle, love's sacrifice and adventure. The bayok is usually performed at night during the Mandaya festivities and occasional tribal events with the guests or visitors in the village. The Mandaya dialect itself is like a chant, which is spoken with syllabic intonation, making the bayok a unique form of literature and linguistic expression.

Kadayawan 2008: Mandaya Dagmay Weaving

Mandaya woman and her dagmay products. Kadayawan 2008.

The Mandaya is one of Mindanao’s surviving minority tribes of the Philippines. They live in the mountainous areas above the coastal town of Davao Oriental particularly in Boston, Cateel, Bagangga, Caraga and Manay. For many generations the Mandaya have woven cloth from fibers of native abaca tree, a variety of the banana family, which is abundant in the region. The finest grade of hemp extracted from abaca stalks is stripped pounded, combed then prepared for dyeing by tying thus, the word tie-dye. The dyes are made from mud, root and other organic materials.

This cloth is known locally as dagmay. It is distinguished from other tribal weaving by the intricate figures and patterns depicting the folklores and religion of the tribe. The Mandaya have carried the human and crocodile motifs to their highest expression. The crocodile is held sacred as shown by the frequency with which it appears in their decorative design. This art is handed down from generation. There is no patterns copy. Each design is an expression of the weaver. the unique culture of dagmay weaving by the Mandayan tribe earn them the title "Lumad that Weave Dagmay" .

Mandaya Weaving

The Mandaya is one of Mindanao’s surviving minority tribes of the Philippines. They live in the mountainous areas above the coastal towns of Davao Oriental particularly Boston, Cateel, Bagangga, Caraga and Manay.For many generations the Mandaya have woven cloth from fibers of native abaca tree, a variety of the banana family, which is abundant in the region. The finest grade of hemp extracted from abaca stalks is stripped pounded, combed then prepared for dyeing by tying thus, the word tie-dye. The dyes are made from mud, root and other organic materials.
This cloth is known locally as dagmay. It is distinguished from other tribal weaving by the intricate figures and patterns depicting the folklores and religion of the tribe. The Mandaya have carried the human and crocodile motifs to their highest expression. The crocodile is held sacred as shown by the frequency with which it appears in their decorative design. This art is handed down from generation. There is no patterns copy. Each design is an expression of the weaver.

The unique culture of Mandaya is well appreciated through this man made marvel of weaving earning them the title as the "Lumad that Weaves Dagmay"

Kadayawan 20018: Sir Anoy Catague's works

Last week's celebration of Kadayawan 2008 is truly unforgettable and nostalgic. the festivity brought so many vivid memories of my childhood days. My short immersion and interaction with the different lumad tribes was remarkable. The excitement even ran down from the depth of my veins as I mingle with them and knowing that from these veins thrive a portion of a Dabawenyo blood within me. Every single breath coming from my lungs and every sweat coming from my skin was nothing because of the thrill and eagerness to be in the events relevant to the celebration.

One unforgettable experience I have is when I got the sheer chance to visit Museo Dabawenyo situated along Magallanes Street. Upon entering the said haven, I was in awe and excitement, the feeling I had that time was like Harry Potter in his first yeat at Hogwarts whose innocence and naivity brought him to an unlikely adventure inside the magical school. While inside the museum I happened to enter a room filled with paintings from a man who devote himself in creating invaluable indigenous work of art. The man was Anoy Amar Catague. Weaving together this body of artwork is his depiction of lumad people in Mindanao and are the original inhabitants of the place. The Obras above are immortalized through the lumad's instruments of expression- Agong, Dabakan, Heglong,S'ludoy, Kulintang and Kubing among others. Muck Like the lumads, Anoy creates his work in complete harmony with the temporal and earthly activities of daily life.

Mr. BUSY

Time really flies fast. Imagine, I was not able to update my blog for like more than a month because of the fact that I was damn busy with my school stuffs. It was a rush for me everyday at school. Filing for PRC is coming to its end, our schedule is sometime at September and I am still hoping that I can finish it. I am schedule to take the NLE this November and of course I am very excited for it. Sooner, I can have my license to practice professionally. As for now, I am just so busy. I wonder when will Mr. Busy have his rest. lol. hasta luego.

hello world

Time flies really fast for me, imagine, I was not able to update my blog for like a month or so and haven't heard from the cyberworld lately because of my school stuffs. lol. I was working double time with my PRC requirements so that I can take the NLE 2008 this coming November. sigh. These few months was awful and tiring. I imagined myself stacked inside a small jar desperate to break free. Anyways, I am so happy that I am back again here doing my blog. I just missed this. yahoo. I got a bad news actually. And I am so upset because of that. My body just balloned itself more than i expect it to be. I don't know, Am I depressed that I crave for yummy grafrafmm foods? lol. As for the moment, I am getting myself a dose of self-discipline on food choice and consumption. arg. until then