People of the uplands
THE Ata tribe in Davao City dwells in the hinterland of Paquibato District, the northern part of the city. More than being known for their dark color and predominantly curly hair, they have managed to hold on to their other characteristics despite the ravages of time.
Ata Tribe Deputy Mayor Roel Arthur Ali shared in an interview that they are upbeat in keeping their ethnic identity, culture and traditions as authentic as possible.
“Usa sa mga papel as leader sa tribo, kailangan gyud nga padayon nga ma edukarang mga kabataan labin na sa among kultura [Our role as tribal leaders is that we need to continue to educate the youth regarding our culture,” Ali shared in an interview.
Ali admitted that one of the challenges that they are facing is how to entice the youth in their tribe to embody the culture and characteristics of Ata considering the emergent of technologies that are gradually influencing the children in the upland.
Based on their tribal profile, Atas occupy the hinterlands comprising the headwaters of Davao, Tuganay and Libuganon Rivers. Their name means “people of the highlands”.
The Atas reside in frail huts made of woods, palm leaves and bark of trees built on trees.
Ali said that they have an institution, which was built two years ago, in the upland village which seeks to promote and uphold their culture. It is called Panuluanan School for living traditions situated at Sitio Sorayan in Barangay Colosas, Paquibato District.
They’ve been engaging their youth to develop better understanding in their traditions under the new millennium to ensure that it will permanently etch in their mind and heart.
Ali said that they conduct orientations for their scholars to remind them of their roots so they will not forget these and will help nurture it for their fellow Ata and Dabawenyos to appreciate.
“Naay close coordination with the IP scholars kay dili lang sila magtoon didto kundi pati pod sa ilang kultura [We closely coordinate with our IP scholars so that they will not only learn academics but also the culture of our tribe],” Ali said. Living traditions With the recent staging of Kadayawan Festival 2017, it highlighted the diverse culture of 11 tribes of the city. The city government initiated an idea which will further showcased the culture and practices of the tribes through building Kadayawan Tribal Village nestled at Magsaysay Park.
Aside from the tourism impact, the tribal village created an avenue for the tribal leaders to display and allow the public to experience their life in a tribal community by going in to the huts and talk to the natives.
According to Ali, the house they built is called Binanwa. It is a house of the tribal leader where he receives complaints from his constituents and settles these.
“Actually sa Ata Tribe mga 80 percent practice pa namo ang among kultura. Usa lang sa mga worries sa pagkakaron, kining among mga kabataan nga sumusunod [Among the Ata people, around 80% still practice our culture. Our main worry is on the next generation],” he said.
At present, they still weave baskets of different designs and they make colorful beaded materials. They also make handicrafts and other products made of local materials as one of their source of livelihood. They still wear their traditional attires in the upland up to now. who died due to the disease.
Meanwhile, nine people, including seven in Central Luzon, have already died this year due to the mosquito-borne Japanese encephalitis (JE), the DOH said Tuesday.
Of the nine deaths reported from January 1 to August 26, the health authorities said seven were reported in Central Luzon, including four in Pampanga, two in Zambales, and one in Nueva Ecija.
The other two deaths were recorded in Pangasinan and Laguna. Of the 133 JE cases recorded this year, 53 are in Central Luzon.
Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial said there is nothing unusual with the number of JE cases.
"There is no surge. The cases reported this year is lower than last year," said Ubial in an interview.
Ubial, however, stressed the lower number of cases this year will not stop them from including the JE vaccine in the government's national immunization program by next year. BSC with Sunnex