111. BUGKALOT CULTURAL BEARERS & TRADITIONAL FOLK ARTISTS

BUGKALOT CULTURAL BEARERS & TRADITIONAL FOLK ARTISTS

Dr. Troy Alexander G. Miano
12 February 2020

The Province of Nueva Vizcaya conducted the 1^st Nueva Vizcaya Culture and Arts Summit held at the FTM Food Fiesta in the capital town of Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya and I was fortunate to be sent by my big boss to deliver a lecture regarding Bambanti Festival: Sharing the Best Practices. The activity was part of the celebration of National Arts Month.

One of the highlights of the summit was the recognition of a Bugkalot couple from Barangay Pelaway, Municipality of Alfonso Castañeda of this province. Resolution Nos. 2019-10 and 2019-11 were passed by the Nueva Vizcaya Council for Culture and the Arts chaired and presided by Governor Carlos M. Padilla on December 10, 2019 recommending to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan the recognition of cultural bearer and traditional folk artists Adolfo and Sublina Quewigh as Katutubong Manlilikha of Nueva Vizcaya. Eventually, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan approved Resolution Nos. 2020-3368 and 2020-3369 dated January 27, 2020 giving recognition to the living cultural treasures of the province.

The resolutions narrated the contributions of the Bugkalot living artists. Adolfo, 84, as a young boy, spent his childhood in Barrio Pelaway, Alfonso Castañeda, where he was immersed in the Bugkalot’s Indigenous Knowledge, Systems and Practices such as hunting and crafts-making. He did not attend formal education, but was educated with knowledge in the mountains, forests and rivers of his town; he acquired his skills in crafts-making from his older brother at a very young age. He has been engaged in folk art tradition that has been in existence and documented for at least fifty years. He has consistently performed or produced over a significant period, works of superior quality and distinctive quality; he possesses a mastery of the tools and materials needed by the art, and have an established reputation in the art as master and maker of works of extraordinary technical quality.

Adolfo’s notable works include accessories such as: Kaget – a brass belt worn by the Bugkalot male and female, Kina-vet (Kina wit) – manually chained brass wires and Tukbed – Bugkalot headdress made from the beak of a Horn Bill. He is also a maker of woodcrafts in weaponry and musical instruments. His works also include: Kulising and Sepalat – a musical instrument made from bamboo, Gisada – violin, Tulale – Bamboo flute, Kaluban – Machete wood casing designed with shells, beads, and horse hair, Kinggong – Bugkalot shield made out of hard wood and Spears & Arrows. He has passed on and is continuously passing on to other members of the community his skills in the folk art for which the community is traditionally known.

Adolfo’s wife Sublina, 74, as a young girl, also spent her childhood in Pelaway where she also immersed in the Bugkalot’s Indigenous Knowledge, Systems and Practices such as accessories making and embroidery. She acquired her skills in crafts-making from her aunt at a very young age and has been engaged in folk art tradition that has been in existence and documented for at least fifty years.

Sublina has consistently performed or produced over a significant period, works of superior quality and distinctive quality; she possesses a mastery of the tools and materials needed by the art, and have an established reputation in the art as master and maker of works of extraordinary technical quality. Her notable works include embroidered designs in the Anseng (red blouse), Panso (head kerchief) and Agde (skirt); she is also a maker of Panglaw – necklaces made from shells, beads and horse hair, Batleng – earrings made from shells and beads, and Kopeggen – back waist bag for betel nut. She has also passed on and is continuously passing on to other members of the community her skills in the folk art which the community is traditionally known.

The Bugkalots, also known as Ilongot, are indigenous peoples residing in Barangay Pelaway of Alfonso Castañeda town and Barangay New Gumiad of Dupax del Norte. Bugkalot communities can also be found in Nueva Ecija and along the mountain border between the provinces of Quirino and Aurora. Bugkalots are known as a tribe of headhunters; however, Christian missionaries were able to convince them to be God-fearing Christians. Renato Rosaldo went on to study headhunting among the Ilongots in his book “Ilongot Headhunting, 1883-1974: A Study in Society and History”. He notes headhunting raids are often associated with bereavement, a rage and expiation at the loss of a loved one.

Bugkalots tend to inhabit areas close to rivers, as they provide a food source and a means for transportation. In Ivan Salva’s study in 1980 of the Ilongots, she described “gender differences related to the positive cultural value placed on adventure, travel, and knowledge of the external world.” According to joshuaproject.net, there are about 87,000 Bugkalots and about 50,000 can speak their dialect.

The Quewigh couple has been initially nominated for the Gawad Manlilikha ng Bayan (GAMABA) of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA). GAMABA refers to the National Living Treasure, a Filipino citizen and an indigenous people engaged in any traditional art uniquely Filipino whose distinctive skills have reached  a high level of technical excellence and have been passed on to and widely practiced by the present generation in their respective communities  with the same degree of technical and artistic competence.

The Provincial Tourism Office headed by Marichelle O. Costales, my counterpart, spearheaded the documentation of the indigenous people of Nueva Vizcaya including the Bugkalot tribe. Former Governor (1987-1988 & 2013-2016) Ruth R. Padilla, vice chair for culture and the arts of the Cagayan Valley Regional Tourism Council (CVRTC) is instrumental in the tourism, culture and arts researches and activities of the province which resulted to the cultural upliftment of Novo Vizcayanos and its neighboring provinces.

The Quewigh couple was thankful for the recognition of their provincemates and stated that their skills and trade in making accessories for the native attire for Bugkalot men and women are inherited cultural responsibility and obligation to keep their tradition alive for many years.