Preserving and Bridging Culture and Arts Abroad

DEFENDING CULTURE

People migrate to look for a better quality of life. Others go abroad to seek employment or explore our wonderful world. Whatever reasons as to why people migrate, most will carry with them their own culture and traditions.    

The people of the Cordilleras with its rich culture and tradition are among those who loves to perform their cultural practices and traditions anywhere. As one organized community elsewhere like in the United States of America, Canada or Europe, the Cordillerans love to practice their traditional dances such as the Tayao, Grand march dance, Ballroom dancing, Folk singing, Chants or Badiw and other indigenous practices.

These cultural practices serves as a family bonding and clan reunions of the Cordillera people. 

The instruments used during such occasions like the gongs gives sound to convey unity, cohesion and solidarity towards the attainment of a singular and unified vision. It also symbolizes the highland culture of the Cordillerans being optimistic in their outlook. The songs, chants, dances, rituals, values, indigenous knowledge and technologies are the intangible heritage passed by their ancestors from generation to generation. 

Most of the cultural practice  are presented during community programs such as the BIBAK, Grand Canao and other programs organized by active Cordillerans.    

It is also celebrated during the following occasions;

• On Grand Canao

• On International Culture and Arts Presentations

USA BIBAK Youth

• On Wedding Rites and Anniversaries

Making the rounds of Tayao during a wedding rite at Rohr Park, Chola Vista City, Ca.   

Courtship Dance

• On Reunions

In other countries like in Canada or Europe where these people live or work overseas, they organize their own association to promote and present their culture and traditions.


In Manitoba, Canada, the proud Cordillerans practice and showcase their own cultural activities. 

FOR THE NEXT GENERATION;

The next gen are very much interested to learn and participate in the culture and arts presentation around the globe.

In preserving these cultural practice, it is suggested that;

• The documentation of tangible and intangible heritage should be copyrighted as the Igorots intellectual property before they are pirated by other artists or authors.
• There should be continuing advocacy and promotion of the Igorot culture through conferences, symposia and other forms.
• There should be an aggressive continuing education among the youths on the dances, chants, indigenous technologies for them to understand their culture.

A MOUNTAIN, MINED AND DAMNED

In one mining community, a female high school student wrote in her essay writing contest “What would Life be without Mining”? This is what she wrote published on a local weekly newspaper.  

“Life without mining is unimaginable. No fun, no excitement, no shopping for the ladies and no sports cars for the gentlemen. Worse, no computers, no internet and that would mean no Facebook. Life simply would be in capital letters BORING!   

Indeed, mining makes the world go round. From the mineral exploits taken from it come the malls, the high speed cars, and the jewelries. In short, there is technology. But it is not merely mining, It is responsible mining.”

She further wrote she was born and raised in a mining camp and has seen the benefits of mining like living comfortably on free cottages or bunkhouses. They have free education and scholarship programs. It opened doors for a lot of opportunities like jobs and secured good future to the people.  She further states that responsible mining is one of the pillars that support humanity. It is one of God’s blessings to the people.  She also compared her life in the mines with the life of other children outside the mining area. While other children ran along rocky roads, they effortlessly glide to asphalted and cemented roads. While other children walk many miles to school, they get on free bus rides.

Of course, the young student will have to go by the trials and reality in life as she grows older.

On the other side of that mountain village, is a young farmer’s son living a countryside lifestyle. His family lived beside a stream with a forested mountain and a little farm with domesticated animals. During his childhood days, he said that he enjoyed swimming in the cool clear stream while watching the fish whirling along the clear stream. He enjoyed watching the birds singing and flying on trees near their house. On the farm, dragonflies and sparrow birds hover over the cows and rice fields and on summer nights fireflies turn the trees like Christmas lights.  

 He was awed with the nature’s many blessings. He enjoyed the abundance of fresh foods coming from their organic farm and the forest. He enjoyed eating the fresh fruits and vegetables, fibers, fish and had the advantage of breathing fresh air.

But a time came when a mine project proposed by government officials in the name of development be opened in this mountainside. The officials say this mining prospect will bring development.  

There was development and of course revenues but most say it went to the transnational companies and the unscrupulous businessmen including corrupt officials. Taxes did not go to the host community but to the Central Government and to the corrupt agencies.  Greed and money were the priorities over that of the environment and the community sacrificed a lot.

After 10 years of mining, these were the results observed by the people in that host community and the young man who have now graduated in college. 

The environmental effects caused by the mining were so enormous. It destroyed the natural landscape of the area. It exposed the hillsides to erosions, sinkholes were formed and the biodiversity was lost. The surface and ground water and soil were contaminated due to the chemicals coming from the mining process.  The mining company was required to install tailings dams to prevent waste being washed into the rivers but the tailings dam overflow, and even breach, during periods of heavy rain or typhoon.

The ecosystems and habitats in the streams were poisoned and many croplands were destroyed. After the mining company exploited the area, it just abandoned the mining claims. The company and the government had no terms to rehabilitate the area or just restore it into a habitable place.    

The environment was left to regenerate by its own. It is the community itself and some concerned individuals initiated some environmental programs in this area. After some time, part of the mined areas and streams became vibrant again. It is observed that man made destruction or disasters could be restored. In some countries, previous mining sites were renewed by their government into a vegetation and wildlife habitat area and could even be used for farming or ranching.

To ensure that a mining site be restored for future use, a government should require that mining companies should post a bond to be held in escrow until productivity of the reclaimed land has been convincingly demonstrated, although if cleanup procedures are more expensive than the size of the bond, the bond may simply be abandoned.   

Humanity still needs more of these natural resources for daily use like cell phones, computers, autos, machines, jewelries and electricity. However, to conserve and sustain our natural

resources, a good mining practice or indigenous practice that will not harm the environment

should be followed. There is no reason for a blanket ban on mining. However, the environmental

impact of each proposed mine should be analyzed before permission to proceed is granted.

Mining operators must be aware of the potential impacts of their operations and ensure

minimum risk to the environment.          

Mine tailing dam

Water Security

Will there be enough water for the coming crowded world?

Since the beginning of human existence, water has been used in many ways of our lives. Water is an essential resource to sustain life. It is used for everyday subsistence. It is used for baptismal, blessings or spiritual beliefs and healings, cleansing, agriculture, recreation, industry, hydroelectric power and many more. Water is abundant in some place but scarce to other arid regions of this planet. Water scarcity occurs even in areas where there is plenty of rainfall or freshwater. How water is conserved, used and distributed in communities and the quality of the water available can determine if there is enough to meet the demands of households, farms, industry and the environment.

 We live on a world where 95 percent is water. Nearly 70 percent of the world’s fresh water is locked in ice, most of the rest is in aquifers that we are draining mush more quickly than the natural recharge rate.

It is also a cause of conflict to many neighbors or tribes that started war to many nations.  

Facts about water;

·         All life requires fresh water to survive.

·         About 3% of all the water on earth is fresh water, the rest is salt water found in the ocean.

·         About three-fourths of Earth's surface is covered with water.

·         Millions of the world’s poorest subsist on fewer than five gallons.

·         46 percent of people on earth have no piped water into their homes.

·         Women in developing countries walk an average of 5 kilometers to get water.

·         Built dams have displaced about 80 million people worldwide.

·         One out of eight people lacks access to clean water.

·         Washing hands with clean water and soap can reduce diarrheal disease by 45 percent.

The Water Cycle is the endless movement of water around the planet. Earth's natural systems are constantly moving and using water. As a liquid, gas or solid, powered by the sun and the force of gravity, water travels over, under and above the surface of the Earth in an incredible journey called the water cycle.

A watershed is an area of land that drains into a river, stream or lake. It includes everything within its borders, all the land, air, plants, animals, mountains, deserts, cities, farms, and even people, their stories and traditions.

The Mayan Apocalypse 2012

An image of mayan calendar on Cosumel Island' Mexico (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We have always been anxious of what will be our tomorrow and predictions had always been there. One prediction is the Maya calendar telling that by December 21, 2012 will be the end of the world.  This is according to some internet conspiracy theorists, the world will end this Friday - a prediction based on an incorrect interpretation of Mayan theology, and a strange mix of New Age beliefs.

December 21 marks the end of an age in a 5,125 year-old Maya calendar, an event that is variously interpreted as the end of days and the start of a new era. A mash-up of academic speculation and existential angst seasoned with elements from several world religions, the 2012 phenomenon has been fueled by Hollywood movies and computer games, and relentlessly disseminated by Internet doom-mongers.

Mass hysteria in a Russian prison, a Chinese man building survival pods for doomsday and UFO lovers seeking refuge with aliens in a French mountain village are just some of the reports that have sprung up in the final countdown to December 21, 2012.

What is this Maya calendar? This Maya calendar is a system of calendars used in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, and in many modern communities in highland Guatemala and in Veracruz, Oaxaca and Chiapas, Mexico. The essentials of the Maya calendar are based upon a system which had been in common use throughout the region, dating back to at least the 5th century BCE. It shares many aspects with calendars employed by other earlier Mesoamerican civilizations, such as the Zapotec and Olmec, and contemporary or later ones such as the Mixtec and Aztec calendars.^[2] Although the Mesoamerican calendar did not originate with the Maya, their subsequent extensions and refinements of it were the most sophisticated.^{[citation needed]} Along with those of the Aztecs, the Maya calendars are the best-documented and most completely understood.^{[citation needed]}

By the Maya mythological tradition, as documented in Colonial Yucatec accounts and reconstructed from Late Classic and Post classic inscriptions, the deity Itzamna is frequently credited with bringing the knowledge of the calendar system to the ancestral Maya, along with writing in general and other foundational aspects of Maya culture.^[3]

Mainstream scholars don’t buy into the Mayan calendar mess.  But mainstream scholars don’t usually make headlines.  And Mayan scholars say associating the end of the calendar with the end-of-the-world misinterprets the Mayans original intention, which, actually, was to insure that everything stays the same.

There are other five common Mayan apocalypse fears and why they won't come true.

Prediction 1: The sun will kill us all- Much has been made by Mayan doomsday fear-mongers of the fact that the sun is currently entering a maximum activity phase. The sun rotates through periods of quiet and activity that peak roughly every 11 years; active periods are marked by an increase in solar storms and flares. [See stunning solar flare photographs] Some of these flares can indeed influence Earth. When the sun releases electromagnetic particles in such a way that they interact with our atmosphere, solar storms can disrupt telecommunications, though there are ways to protect satellites and other electronics. These charged particles are also responsible for the aurora — the Northern and Southern Lights. Predictions of a Dec. 21 solar storm that will devastate the planet are not based in reality, according to NASA scientists. This particular solar maximum is one of the "wimpiest" in recent history, according to NASA heliophysicist Lika Guhathakurta, who spoke during an online panel on the Mayan apocalypse on Nov. 28. In other words, scientists have no reason to expect solar storms capable of disrupting our society.

Prediction 2: The Earth's magnetic poles will flip-flop- What is it with the Mayan apocalypse and electromagnetism? This rumour holds that the North and South Poles will suddenly and catastrophically change places on Dec. 21. The idea isn't as totally leftfield as it sounds: The Earth's magnetic field does actually flip-flop occasionally, though not in the course of a day. The pole swaps happen over the course of hundreds of thousands of years, according to NASA. The switching of magnetic poles could lead to a slight increase in cosmic radiation, but previous flip-flops have not disrupted the life seen in the fossil record. Predicting the magnetic-pole switch is also tough. The last swap occurred about 780,000 years ago, which puts the planet about due for another change in the next several thousand years. However, there has been at least one period where the magnetic poles stayed put for 30 million years.

Prediction 3: Planet X will collide with Earth- Planet X, sometimes known as Nibiru, does not exist. Nevertheless, some doomsday theorizers have predicted that on Dec. 21, this "rogue planet" will slam into Earth, annihilating all life. Planet X rumours got their start in 1976, when the late author Zecharia Sitchin claimed to have translated a Sumerian text to rediscover the lost planet Nibiru, which allegedly orbits the sun once every 3,600 years supposedly explaining why modern man and telescope had failed to notice this planetary neighbour. In 2003, self-described psychic and alien-channeler Nancy Lieder warned that this planet would collide with Earth. When that didn't happen, the date got pushed back to 2012 to coincide with Mayan apocalypse myths. Of course, a planet set on a collision course with Earth in mere days would be extremely visible to the naked eye. In fact, Nibiru should have shown up as nearly as bright as Mars in the night sky by April 2012, if that scenario were true. Given NASA's capacity to peer into deep space, a nearby planet headed for Earth is not going to escape detection.

Prediction 4: The planets will align- Another fear is that the planets will align on Dec. 21, somehow impacting our planet. According to the NASA's 2012 doomsday myths webpage, there are no planetary alignments in the next few decades. Even if these alignments were to occur, their effects on the Earth would be negligible. There have been planetary alignments in 1962, 1982 and 2000, according to NASA, and we're all still here.

Prediction 5: Total Earth blackout -This rumour, circulating in spam emails, claims that NASA is predicting a total Earth blackout between Dec. 23 and Dec. 25. Some emails claim that this blackout will occur as the result of the sun and Earth aligning for the first time, while others spin a wild tale about Earth entering "a still ring" called the Photonic belt. Whatever the alleged cause, this is simply not going to happen, according to NASA.

This bizarre theory is not the first to have people believing their days are numbered. Here are some of the other predicted doomsdays that never happened:

Rapture, May 21, 2011- Those terrified by this Friday’s predicted doomsday would do well to remember last year’s flop forecast of the Rapture by Evangelical preacher Harold Camping. The now notorious 91-year-old American radio broadcaster was so certain that Jesus Christ would return to Earth and that billions of apparent ne’er-do-wells would perish in flames that he spent $100million advertising the event. Former New York Subway worker Robert Fitzpatrick, 61, even sank his $140,000 life savings into warning that only 200million faithful or 2.8% of the world’s population would be saved. When May 21 last year passed and nothing happened, Camping revised the date of the Rapture and end of the world to October 21. Again, the date passed without infamy. After months of silence, Camping, who had also once predicted the same fate for September 1994, “humbly” admitted: “We were wrong.”

The Second Big Bang, November 23, 2009- Whereas most doomsday predictions centre on an apparent plan by God, some believe that the end of the world could be man-made. When the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland was completed in 2008, some groups feared the “doomsday machine” could trigger an all-consuming black hole. Once fully switched on – heralding the largest ever recreation of the Big Bang particle collisions that created life – a black hole might emerge and swallow our planet up. Doom mongers, one of which even sued the organization behind the LHC, CERN, suggested that the Earth –and everything on it – would vanish from space in a twentieth of a second. Eight seconds later, the moon would disappear - and eight short minutes after that, the Sun would be ripped apart, followed by the rest of the solar system.


But when, on November 23, 2009, particle collisions commenced in all four detectors, it produced much glee for physicists – but no life-destroying black hole.

Y2K, January 1, 2000- The Year 2000 was supposed to mark the moment that Britain’s 19th century anti-technology Luddites would be vindicated and our reliance on machines would come back to haunt us.
With the passing of 1999, it was feared that computers would be unable to move from a two-digit date (97, 98, 99 etc) and all manner of chaos would ensue. It was predicted that planes would fall out of the sky, trains stop running, microwaves blow up and, perhaps most importantly, banks would fail. Businesses spent billions updating software and systems to avoid the apparent peril of the “Millennium Bug”. Many computer scientists now believe the threat was over-egged and that much of the costly updating was unnecessary.

Jehovah’s Witnesses’ prediction of the Second Coming, August 1914- The First World War, a conflict like no other before was quickly noted as a watershed event in history. But for Jehovah’s Witnesses at the time it was a little more important than just a particularly bloody war. The door knocking religious sect’s founder, Charles Taze Russell, predicted that the year would see the Second Coming of Christ.

The First World War, which began in August 1914, was interpreted as a sign of Armageddon and the end of days. But 1914 passed without Rapture and the fighting between European powers lasted another three years and claimed 10million lives.

The Great Fire of London, September 2, 1666- With witch-burnings and fears of satanic priests rife, the 1600s marked high times for religious superstition. So it is perhaps not surprising that residents of London felt a little edgy about the approach of 1666 – with 666 being the biblical “mark of the beast”. After all, 100,000 people had just died in the plague of 1665. Panic about the end of days reached a crescendo when, on September 2, 1666, a bakery in Pudding Lane caught fire and the inferno quickly spread. It burned for three days and destroyed more than 13,000 buildings. But, in spite of the wide-scale destruction and hell-like appearance of the fire, only 10 people died. It is also believed to have had the beneficial effect of preventing future plagues – by wiping out the disease-harboring rats.

Tweeted by Neil deGrasse Tyson, director of the Hayden Planetarium at the New York Museum of Natural History: “End of the world prophecies for 2012 are hoaxes perpetrated by the scientifically illiterate on the scientifically uninformed.”