FILIPINO AUTHOR IN LONDON
Candy Gourlay
LISTEN.
WHAT CAN WE LEARN ABOUT LONG AGO PEOPLE FROM THE WORDS THEY LEFT BEHIND?
FATHER JUAN VILLAVERDE
THIS IS FROM THE WRITINGS OF A SPANISH MISSIONARY WHO CAME TO THE PHILIPPINES IN 1868, AGE 27. HE STRUGGLED WITH LOCAL RESISTANCE, MALARIA AND EVENTUALLY, HIS OWN OLD AGE.
‘Igorots live with neither king or castle … they support no authority and pay tribute to nobody, each being absolute king of his own house and person. And although this individual independence is one of the principal causes of their misery and almost anarchic state, it is certain that it exists among them as one of their most dominant passions.’
• Does Father Villaverde consider Igorot living ‘with neither king or castle’ a good thing or a bad thing? Why?
•What do you think he means by the Igorot’s ‘misery’ and ‘anarchic state’?
• What does Father Villaverde want from the Igorots? Is he achieving it? How does his success or failure make him feel?
• Do you agree with Father Villaverde’s judgment of the Igorot?
THEY SUPPORT NO AUTHORITY
PAY TRIBUTE TO NOBODY
king of his own house and person. And although this individual independence is one of the principal causes of their misery and almost anarchic state, it is certain that it exists among them as one of their most dominant passions.’
• Does Father Villaverde consider Igorot living ‘with neither king or castle’ a good thing or a bad thing? Why?
•What do you think he means by the Igorot’s ‘misery’ and ‘anarchic state’?
• What does Father Villaverde want from the Igorots? Is he achieving it? How does his success or failure make him feel?
• Do you agree with Father Villaverde’s judgment of the Igorot?
THEY SUPPORT NO AUTHORITY
PAY TRIBUTE TO NOBODY
king of his own house
individual independence is one of the principal causes of their misery and almost anarchic state
IFUGAO CHANT
FATHER VILLAVERDE RECORD-ED THE WORDS OF AN IFUGAO CHANT (THE IFUGAO ARE A MOUNTAIN PEOPLE WHO ARE KNOWN FOR THEIR EPICS).
IT IS A RARE EXAMPLE OF A CORDILLERA LANGUAGE FROM THE SPANISH COLONIAL PERIOD. HERE IT IS WITH A TRANSLATION BY THE HISTORIAN WILLIAM HENRY SCOTT.
​
Photo of Ifugao Man © CEphoto, Uwe Aranas
‘Gophan dakayu ka-unga-unga ap-apuk: mayuuak, te dinalan-ku ad Lagud, tibok di bulog, tobkok manguhakkuhag naunug hi okak, maid kabangad-ana uchukulona di buhul maunug hi okak!’
‘Shout, my children and grandchildren all, and say, “I am brave, I who went as far as the land of Lagud, which I saw, which I pierced; my enemies have been scattered, they have been cast down into an abyss, and can nevermore return; let opponents who have also fled and fallen into the pit do likewise!’
• How would you describe these words? What do they tell you about the people who say them?
• Why would one ask ‘my children and grandchildren’ to repeat these words?
• ‘I went as far as the land of Lagud’ – how does the speaker regard the world outside his territory?
• He mentions throwing his enemies down an ‘abyss’ and into a ‘pit’ – this is a clue to the speaker’s home geography of mountains and precipices. What do the words reveal about what the speaker values?
SHOUT, MY CHILDREN
SCATTERED
I AM BRAVE
CAST DOWN
FALLEN INTO THE PIT
MAUDE JENKS
MAUDE JENKS LIVED IN THE CORDILLERA FOR SIX MONTHS WHILE HER ANTHROPOLOGIST HUSBAND, ALBERT JENKS CONDUCTED A FIELD SURVEY OF THE MOUNTAIN PEOPLES FOR THE U.S. GOVERNMENT. HER LETTERS AND DIARIES ABOUT HER STAY IN THE PHILIPPINES WERE PUBLISHED POST-HUMOUSLY UNDER THE LURID TITLE DEATH STALKS THE PHILIPPINE WILDS
‘I think what has surprised me here is that these people are so intelligent – so downright smart about their own culture. It is no wonder that people at home with generations of civilized ancestors behind them and every advantage of formal study are smart, when these people with absolutely no “advantages”, as we would say, have so much sense.’
• Why is she surprised? What do you think she expected of the Igorots? Why?
• How does she see herself in comparison to the Igorots?
• What does she mean by ‘advantages’? What does she mean by ‘downright smart about their own culture’?
• Do her words indicate that she has changed her opinion about the Igorots? What do you think made her change her opinion?
SURPRISED
DOWNRIGHT SMART
INTELLIGENT
civilized ancestors
formal study
absolutely no advantages