BACOLOD City – The Indigenous Peoples (IPs) of Western Visayas celebrated the IPs Month for another leg of the “Dayaw Suroy” Media Caravan 2019.
Teresita Sinceda of the Ati based at Sitio Marikudo in Isabela, Negros Occidental, said on Thursday she was grateful for the opportunity to work with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), which established the School of Living Tradition learning center in their community that led to the revival of the Ati cultural heritage.
“I’m so thankful the program of the NCCA has reached us. The lost culture of our forefathers has been revived. Now our children know how to dance the ‘Kupoy’ and understand its meaning. They now play the traditional games,” Sinceda said in Hiligaynon.
The “Kupoy,” a chicken courtship dance ritual, was performed by two members of the Ati Marikudo tribe during event.
Felicitas Catedrilla, who represented the Ati of Capiz, Iloilo and Guimaras; Jacquilyn Flores, Ati of Negros Occidental Cluster; and Delia Pauden, Ati of Antique and Aklan Cluster, also joined the celebration.
Catedrilla said through the assistance of the NCCA, together with the National Commission on IPs and the Department of Social Welfare and Development, they have availed of the various government programs.
“Through the NCCA’s Dayaw, we have the opportunity to show our culture and meet fellow IPs in the country,” she said.
Lawyer Gerri Ann Villaruel, vice head of the Committee on Central Cultural Communities (CCCC), said “Dayaw” is the flagship program of the Sub-Commission on Cultural Communities and Traditional Arts (SCCTA) in celebrating the IPs Month to highlight the uniqueness of indigenous cultural communities across the country.
“We hope that we can work together for the preservation of the indigenous cultural heritage,” said Villaruel, who hails from the Sulod/Bukidnon Cluster.
The SCCTA, headed by Commissioner Alphonsus Tesoro, spearheads the observance of the National IPs Month every October yearly, as provided in the Presidential Proclamation 1906 signed in 2009.
“Through the IPs Month celebration, the government is recognizing the significant role, the participation, and the contribution of the indigenous peoples’ communities in nation-building,” Tesoro added.
The 2019 theme, “Vital Wisdoms: Learning with the IPs,” highlights the Intangible Cultural Heritage grouped into five domains by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
These include oral traditions and expressions; performing arts; social practices, rituals, and festive events; knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe; and traditional craftsmanship.(With a report from PNA/PN)
