The living traditions of Benguet
WHILE old tradition is seen amongst the diminishing natural heritage for Millenials, the Province of Benguet seems to say otherwise as the various forms of cultural inheritance and practices is preserved.
Benguet manages to hold its head high, boasting to maintain its various School of Living Tradition (SLT) since 2008 with the help of the National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA) which helped to revive it and since then aided in its preservation.
The SLT’s of Benguet oversees the passing of knowledge in various local cultural practices and is known as a character program for the entire Philippines.
What makes the program standout among the other regions is the implementation in local communities, it was in 2014 and 2015 when the province was lauded as one of the most successful proponents with completing the set up of SLT’s in all its 13 municipalities.
What the SLT project provides is the sustained passing of knowledge in the different crafts of indigenous practices particularly the exercise of skills and techniques of doing traditional arts and crafts.
The province has responded to the call for SLTs to continue doing local rituals, chants and dances as well as continuation of making native products from the communities.
According to the Benguet Tourism Office, the monitoring arm of the province for the SLT project, they have been mainly focusing in three different areas of for its implementation namely performing arts, arts and crafts, and festivals.
Performing arts has been focused in the preservation of practices including native dances such as tayaw and sadong/sarong and playing of instruments such as solibao, gangsa and tiktik carried out mainly in Buguias (Amgaleygey), Bokod (Poblacion), Kapangan (Balakbak), and La Trinidad (Wangal).
The dances are mainly practiced and recognizable through the two main ethnic groups of Ibaloi and Kankanaey here in the province.
Meanwhile arts and crafts are also encouraged by the living masters or culture bearers who train and transfer the skills to the next generation.
In preserving traditional crafts, the skills in weaving, pottery, embroidery and beads making are the main projects for the implementing communities.
The Kankanaey beadwork production was embarked in areas of Buguias (Poblacion) and Kibungan (Sagpat) while the Ibaloi embroidery was identified in Kapangan.
Also the Kapangan town’s hand woven baskets which are being marketed all over the province as the original “Patda,” or embroidery designed cultural wear among the proud bearers of the success of the SLT.
Since its implementation, the Barangay Datakan Women’s Organization was amongst the local SLTs who finished the three phase program partnered with the NCCA training on the embroidery of ethnic attires.
Meanwhile, local festivals which carry cultural maintenance and promotion are seen throughout the year in celebrations including the Adivay, Bendian, and Uhub-Itindak.
Since its revival eight years ago, the projected five year instigation program has been built with a success according to Provincial Tourism Officer Claire Prudencio.
Prudencio said with almost 100 percent of the 13 municipalities completing the threephased program the province is convinced the anticipated awareness and preservation campaign already reached a sustainable growth and will carry the goal of handing the cultural heritage to the next generations.
“We have surpassed the stage of giving awareness to the adjoining municipalities, Benguet has grasped the period of sustenance where the different SLT Centers are established.” Prudencio said.
Despite the uncontrolled change of interest in some of the youth, Prudencio said the promotional values partnered between the LGU, NCCA, and the local culture bearers who provide the trainings in the various crafts mentioned help in the assurance that the Benguet tradition will live on in the next decades.
Since 2008, the Benguet Tourism Office said the LGU provided at least P5 million worth of counterpart support to the SLTs in the entire province apart from the budget given by the NCCA to the respective schools.
While the sum of financial support seems sufficient to improving the SLT program in the province, Prudencio explained the province has asked the NCCA for additional funding to not only to continue the project but at the same time to help the various schools to market their works and crafts outside of their communities.
With the LGU continues to monitor the different SLTs province, Prudencio said they will continue to uphold the primary objective which is to teach the pure form of traditional arts to the upcoming generations.