Direct Encounter With An Aeta

July 31, 2012


For  my major class, Philippine Arts 198 (Introduction to Cultural Heritage), my professor always told us that there will come a time that we will be given a chance to speak to a minority. Fortunately, an Aeta studies in our school also (University of the Philippines Manila).


A 2nd year BS Behavioral Sciences student, Norman (I wasn't able to get his last name.), gave us a glimpse to his life as an Aeta. At first, I thought it would be a simple storytelling but, honestly, I learned a lot from him and was impressed by his dedication in life.


Norman belongs to an Aeta community in Pampanga. When he was a kid, he was brought to an orphanage by his parents. Norman didn't find anything negative about this because he was able to communicate with different types of people and boosted his confidence. After high school, he had to stop and work as a helper in Pasay City. He also worked as a call center agent (no wonder he really spoke English fluently. I was shocked.) and after years of working experience, Norman's father asked if he wanted to go back to college and he eagerly said yes and is now an Iskolar ng Bayan. We asked about his age, and he said "Age doesn't matter. 'Wag na natin pag-usapan 'yan."


Since Norman didn't want a one-way communication, me and my classmates were able to ask him questions (personal, about his community, their practices, and the like). The first time I saw Norman, I was bothered by his tattoo on the arm. It looked like a tribal symbol, so I asked him if it was a symbol, indeed. Unfortunately, it wasn't. Haha! It only symbolized his pride of being a katutubo. The more important tradition of the Aetas was the "pagkikikil ng ngipin" or the sharpening of teeth. He said the sharper an Aeta's teeth was, the more attractive they find themselves.


Minorities here in the Philippines always end up becoming the object of the subject. People study their culture, then after that, left behind. Meaning, pinag-aaralan natin sila para lang sa sarili nating ikabubuti. Makakakuha tayo ng matataas na grado, ggraduate with flying colors, makakapasok sa magagandang opisina, tapos ung mga katutubo, wala na. Hindi na natin babalikan para magpasalamat. Yes, Aetas are given the recognition, but how about importance?


Hunting

Aetas are great hunters. That's a fact. What we do not know is how they do it. Norman said there's this act of mimicry. They imitate the sounds of birds to be able to catch them. "Kung hindi ka marunong gumaya ng tunog ng mga huni nila, eh patay tayo diyan. Wala ka talagang mahuhuli." He even gave us a sample of the mimic styles he do! I was so amazed. Before hunting, Aetas believe that it is important to give an alay or offering to the spirit guardians. They also believe in the saying na kailangan mo mag-tabi-tabi po para hindi makaabala sa mga nagbabantay ng kalikasan. After being able to catch wild animals, they have a specific way of cooking them. They use less condiments except for onions and pepper. Most of the time, they only grill or ihaw. If there are no wild animals to catch and cook, they eat vegetables.






Religion
They do not have indigenous gods except for the Apo of Mallari. According to my research, "the Aetas believe that they share their habitat at the foot of the volcano with numerous benevolent and evil spirits while their highest deity Apu Malyari ( also sometimes seen as Apo Namaylari) resides close to the summit of Mount Pinatubo. He does not live in one place but is an omnipresent thought out the countryside. The Aeta also revere the mountain as the abode of their ancestor's souls who have died peacefully. Manganitos, the seers and ritual specialist whom can talk to Apo Malyari sees Mount Pinatubo as the place of beginnings of their personal guardian spirits."
(from http://www.mountpinatubotrek.com/)


Aetas have the religion of anito. They worship the spirit guardians, ask for bountiful harvests, protection from nature, and the like.


Courtship, "Pamamanhikan"
According to Norman, Aetas are sensitive when it comes to emotions to the opposite sex. Normally, the boy goes to the house of the girl and brings coffee, sugar, etc. as a form of respect to the girl's family. During the pamamanhikan, or the ceremony before marriage, the groom-to-be gives dowry to the family of the bride-to-be. The usual dowry given are the following: pigs, sacks of rice, chicken, money. The sign of their vow is molded rice or binilog na kanin. The couple eats it as a sign of "yes".


One of the most interesting attributes of an Aeta that we found out was their utmost respect for women. Norman said, "Dito kasi sa siyudad, kapag nagalaw mo na 'yung babae, iniisip ng lalaki na wala na silang silbi. Sa amin, hindi uubra 'yun. Matamaan mo pa lang ang mga katutubong babae sa pribadong parte ng kanilang katawan (sides of the body, breasts, etc.), nako wala ka ng choice. Kayo na. Kailangan mapanindigan mo na 'yung responsibilidad mo sa kanila."


Beliefs
We all know that minority groups have a lot of beliefs and we did not have the whole day to ask Norman all about it. These are the things that I just found out from him during the encounter:

1. Children are not allowed to eat the following: chicken feet (to avoid loitering around or being lakwatsera), pig's tongue (to avoid being talkative)
2. Young girls are not allowed to eat the heart and lungs of a pig. He wasn't able to remember why though.

A classmate of mine asked, "Eh Norman, bakit may mga Aeta na nasa city tapos nanlilimos for food pero based sa mga stories mo, parang masagana naman kayo sa pagkain." Norman said, "Nice question, now I could tell you the secrets behind the great stories. Ang tawag sa kanila, mga taong tamad. Mga katutubong ayaw magbanat ng buto. Malalaki naman ang mga lupa nila sa mga kabundukan pero ayaw magtrabaho."

Justice System

I cannot post a lot about their justice system because Norman asked us to keep it as a secret amongst us. I understand him because their system or laws may not be understood by people outside their community.

All I can say is that elected barangay officials are given the power to make decisions when crimes are done within the community. If the cases are not solved by the officials, these will be brought to the elders and they shall have the final say.

"Ngipin sa ngipin, mata sa mata." I could not further elaborate this thought but yes, Aetas believe in this saying.

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I cannot wait to have a field visit to Norman's community this semester. I am hoping to learn more about their culture, traditions and lifestyle.