How indigenous are Filipino Indigenous People?
The present Filipino Indigenous people are survivors of the influential approach of time. The concept of change has engulfed the way they live, the way they communicate, and the way they survive embracing a new era in the making of a history. They might be a true born Indigenous Filipino because they were born under the Philippine Constitution or because their parents were Filipinos. But the big question is, how indigenous are Filipino Indigenous people? In understanding the concept of their indigency, it is somewhat needed to be seen or treated logically. Looking into a bigger picture will surely lead into a much better understanding of this subject matter.
As what Dr. Danilo Madrid Gerona mentioned on his lecture, he deals himself into the understanding on the relationship of the natives and the Spaniards. He emphasizes the power of language into the notion of colonization by the small number of Spaniards against the millions of Filipinos during the Hispanic times. He also stated that through language, the Spaniards was able to sustain their stronghold in the Philippine land. It is indeed clear that by a simple usage of language leaves a big impact on the perspective of the one being told to. What I am pointing out is that we have to consider the use of language in a particular manner to enlighten our minds about what does being indigenous really meant.
According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, “indigenous” is produced, growing, living, or occurring natively or naturally in a particular region or environment. This definition, however, is not all encompassing and is controversial. The word “indigenous” is an adjective used of a person, language, culture, or some aspect of culture. It refers to the notion of a place-based human ethnic culture that has not migrated from its homeland, and is not a settler or colonial population. The reason for the dominance of the adjectival form is clear once the full meaning of the “indigenous” concept is taken into account (Stewart, 2017).
We can see that being “indigenous” is a little bit confusing because of its nature. In some cases, indigenous groups may have lost their traditional language but are otherwise considered an indigenous ethnic group. Other ethnic groups may have been displaced from their original homeland but retained most of their indigenous culture (Indigenous Culture & Preserving Cultural Heritage, 2020). To make this clear, we can look to the case of the Agta as an example that was mentioned by Dr. Gerona to bring out their true nature. According to him, if archaeologists will be followed, these Agta people are definitely not here and that they are also migrants. Because of the uplifted land that was lifted up from underneath the sea in which we now called to as the Philippines, they were able to come here on time. Their nature as nomadic is significantly has something to do about their origin and about their indigency.
If we add the different hypothesis presented by various scholars and historians, it will surely correspond to the notion of indigency of the Filipino Indigenous People. In order to make it relevant or factual and as debatable as it is, a need of evidence is a must to support the hypothesis. The Waves of Migration theory of Beyer has greatly influenced the modern day thinking on the gamut of the existence of the Filipino people. He said that the early inhabitants of the Philippines are the Negritos, Malays, and the Indones which is on the latter part has been rejected because of its lack of empirical evidences. Other controversial theories or hypothesis are the theories of Bellwood and Solheilm. In the hypothesis of Bellwood, it states that the early Filipino people came to Taiwan then fled to the south and northern Luzon by crossing on to a bridge. This was supported by archaeological artifacts recovered that were dated back 40,000 years ago during the Late Pleistocene period in the Cagayan Valley, west of Tuguegarao. The other hypothesis that was proposed was the Nusantao Hypothesis by Wilhelm Solheilm. According to him, the early Filipinos that came from Taiwan or Borneo that entered Palawan might probably the ancestors of the present day Indigenous People.
Apart from this, when the colonialism era takes place, especially the Spanish conquest, the tranquility of life of the Indigenous people has been compromised. During this period, the predominantly interference of the Spaniards was the root cause of the sundered Filipino indigenous communities. This movement brought a big impact to the lives of the Filipino people. Its influence was undeniably strong that even the head chief of a particular community was forced to surrender. It also debunks the culture and way of living of the people by apprehending them in a way that they will be forced to do so. Some have been converted and follows the order while others are not by doing their best to resist the Spanish influx. In some cases, if someone from the indigenous communities refuses to obey the doctrine of the Spaniards, they will be pushed to face a corresponding grave punishment that sometimes results to death.
This, however, became part of the life of the early Filipino Indigenous People. They might have been infested and treated that way but the very essence of being an indigenous is there. Their adamant perseverance to live and prosper in life and preserve their culture is irrefutably exceptional.
To conclude based on these above-mentioned statements, it is clearly observable that the early Filipino people are migrants and are not indigenous in the Philippines. Their overall origins came from the different regions of the world. However, their very nature as migrant also reflects their nature as indigenous not here in this land but to the other countries as well. They were just acknowledged as the early indigenous people because they were staying here in a long period of time practicing their own cultures and beliefs in which periodically passed down from generations to generations. A further in depth investigation is indeed needed to narrow down the truth about the very existence of the early Filipino Indigenous People.
References:
Bellwood, P. (1985). The Pattern of Austronesian Expansion. (2020). Retrieved 01 September 2020, from http://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/p69411/mobile/ch05s02.html
Georgina Stewart (2018) What does ‘indigenous’ mean, for me?, Educational Philosophy and Theory, 50:8, 740–743, DOI: 10.1080/00131857.2017.1302050
Indigenous Culture & Preserving Cultural Heritage, (2020, January 23). Retrieved from https://study.com/academy/lesson/indigenous-culture-preserving-cultural-heritage.html.
Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Indigenous. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved August 31, 2020, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/indigenous
Solheilm II, W. (1993). A Brief Philippine Pre-History in the Age of Discovery: Impact of Philippine Culture and Society. Retrieved 01 July 2020, from https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/10125/15243/The%20Age%20of%20Discovery%20-%20Impact%20on%20Philippine%20Culture%20and%20Society.pdf