Dom-an Macagne from the IP Setor belongs to the Kankana-ey indigenous peoples of the Applai tribe in Sagada, Mountain Province, Cordillera Administrative Region. A community development worker with almost two decades of experience, Dom-an shares a short glimpse of indigenous culture’s wisdom and relevance to modern digital society. In the Philippines, our pre-Spanish culture has mostly been forgotten, and very little has survived. A few records can be found in books but some are still alive and are lived by our culture bearers.
Modern life has disconnected us from nature and each other. Waway Saway from the Talaandig Tribe in Bukidnon knows this very clearly. In one of his songs, he states, “The bridge between our culture and the younger generations have been burned” and the younger generations have a hard time reconnecting to the spirit of our culture. Furthermore, social media despite its intention to reconnect people has become one of the main tools to further fragment our relationships with one another.
In this series, we hope to, in little ways, bridge that gap, especially in these challenging times at both national and global levels. The younger generations long for and are hungry to reconnect with our culture, nature, and one another. We believe that there is something in indigenous knowledge systems that we can tap into and become tools for peace, resiliency, and healing and Kasiyana is one of them.
To watch the webinar series, click here.