|
Homily during the Ecumenical Service on the occassion of the 6th IIC
in Melbourne Australia, April 23, 2006
Prepared and Delivered By
Mia A. Abeya
May the words of my mouth and the meditations
of our hearts be acceptable to you, Oh Lord, our Rock and our Salvation.
Good evening and congratulations for a
successful 6th Igorot International Consultation. No doubt that these
past days’ activities will always live in our hearts and certainly leave
a legacy for all future Igorot generations.
I am no preacher by any
stretch of the imagination. I am simply a voice from the pew called from
half way around the world to ask you a simple yet complicated question.
That is, “Where do we go from here?”
Today’s scripture
reading, John 14:1-7 talks about the way, the truth, the life – In it,
Jesus says “In my father’s house are many mansions … I go to prepare a
place for you... and I will come again and receive you to myself; that
where I am, there you may be also. And where I go, you know, and the way
you know.”
Jesus was asked, “ Lord,
we do not know where you are going and how can we know the way?”
Jesus answered, “ I am
the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except
through Me.”
You see, the easiest
part of my role is that you may not ask me questions while I am giving
my “sermon”. So while I know that some of you are itching to respond to
the simple question, “where do we go from here” in light of the response
Jesus gives us, walk with me down memory lane to the first 5 Igorot
International Consultations. Afterwards, we might be able to see where
in the jeepers we are going.
Some questions that I’d
like to add are: What have we learned so far in this IIC journey? How
many of us can truly say that we attend the IIC because of the workshops
and the activities lined up for us? How many attend because we heard
Manong Tony Trinidad was the DJ and we wanted to learn his now-famous
line dan-dansoy? How many attended because the IIC was an opportunity to
meet an ex-boy-friend or ex-girl friend – not to have a fling, of
course, but just to see if he or she has grown wrinkled and gray.
Whatever the reason, the IIC obviously is fast becoming a venue for
family and friends reunions and rightly so – because again, where our
people are, therein lies our home.
So to begin, may I ask all to please stand
up and follow after me in as rich a baritone voice as you could muster.
Ready? Follow after me
“the more we get together, together, together,
the more we get together, the happier are we. For your friends are my
friends and my friends are your friends, the more we get together,
together, together, the more we get together, the happier are we.
That’s how the first IIC started
in West Covina, California 1995. A very
amiable gentleman, Rex Botengan (May he rest in peace), from the windy
town of Besao laid out his vision for Igorots at home and around the
world. He was a simple man who had a simple song: I don’t know whether
he knew then how such a simple song could be so powerful! Ably, he led
us into the beginning of what is to become our International
Igorot journey. And true to his song, the more we got
together, the happier we became.
The 1st IIC provided an
opportunity for our community to meet and swap stories about life in our
chosen environments and certainly share ways in which to cope.
Admittedly, this IIC encouraged us to remember and partake of the heart
and soul of our ethnicity.
One of the hottest issues discussed at IIC1
was whether or not to include the term “Igorot” in the IIC. We struggled
with how we wanted others outside of our ethnic group to perceive us.
The group was divided between those who wanted to be identified as
Igorots and those who did not want to be called such. In the end, we all
wanted to be called “Igorots” regardless of previous negative
connotations of the term.
It was at the first IIC that the idea of
creating an international Igorot organization was originally presented.
The 2nd IIC was held in 1997 in
Arlington, VA, USA. Hosted by BIMAK Washington DC it was attended by
about 500+ participants from all over the world. The theme was
"Respecting our heritage, adapting to our new environment". So many
things happened at this consultation but the one thing that stands out
is the presentation from our youth group. In a drama that has been
etched forever in the deepest chambers of my heart, our then teenage
children expressed their innermost feelings about the problems they
faced growing up as Americans but bound and restricted by the
limitations of their parent’s culture.
It was at this consultation that the
creation of an Igorot Global Organization was formally endorsed. The
same debates on whether to call it “Igorot” or the Cordilleran
organization started all over again. It was again hotly contested and in
fact caused some not to become members of the IGO nor to attend the
IICs. It was a sign, that we were still struggling with the perception
of the being branded as Igororts.
A very
interesting column was written about us at that time and it was entitled
Igorot 'nationalism': From Shame to
Pride”. It
read :
THEY don't speak about a nation, not even contemplating of forming one
in the future. But they want to debate about their ''Igorotness.'' Call
it ''Igorot nationalism.''
It was at the 3rd IIC that the Igorot Global Organization (IGO) was
formally organized. The IGO Mission Statement reads: “To preserve for
future generations the diverse heritage of the Igorot people and
proactively promote their upliftment, advancement and interests and
those of related people.”
In 2002, the 4th IIC was held
in London through the generous efforts of the Pooten’s and all UK
Igorots. All told, a total of 638 members and guests attended. The theme
was : Igorot Roots to the Future: Perspectives on Igorot Responses to
Globalization. The interesting thing about this consultation is the
realization that we now have taken the consultation to the European
court. It was fascinating to meet hundreds of Igorots in Switzerland,
Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Ireland, Austria, the United Kingdom, and
Saudi Arabia. The three-day conference focused on development issues and
challenges that continuously affect Igorots in the 21st century.
Tim Botengan described the 5th
IIC as “indescribably grand”. Some 500+ Igorots again from all over the
world participated. It proved to be an Igorot cultural and educational
extravaganza of workshops, seminars, exhibits, trade booths, an
ecumenical memorial service, a grand reunion; a showcase of Igorot
pride, intelligence, simplicity, and vision for the future. Igorots
from all over the world were driven by the fact that one hundred years
before the IIC5, a group of indigenous tribes from North Central
Philippines called Igorots, were on display at the 1904 World’s Fair in
St. Louis, Missouri and were ridiculed to a degree. The IIC5 in St.
Louis gave us a chance to make the gongs resound in an effort to tell
the world that we are a people with its own special culture and whatever
happened in 1904 has not diminished the Igorot spirit one bit!
Now here we are in
Australia, the beautiful Land Down Under for IIC6.
In the IICs 1 through 5, we have
taught ourselves to accept that we are indeed Igorots and that there is
nothing wrong about being one; we’ve educated ourselves about our
culture; identified the beauty and strength of our culture; renewed
relationships with friends and family; shared our talents and skills
both artistically and mentally; identified social issues facing our
people in this ever-changing world and tried to help resolve such
issues. We are racially intermingled and our customs and traditions have
also intertwined with the culture of in the environments in which we
have settled.
And here at the 6th IIC
here in Australia, we have truly taken a giant leap and strove to work
toward “A More
Tolerant World Through Cultural Sharing”.
This theme comes
very timely when everywhere in the world, cultures are becoming more and
more “turf” conscious. For our Igorot brothers and sisters who have
intermarried with people of different cultures, they have experienced
all sorts of “culture shock” and vice versa.
This is a given.
As we continue to migrate to
other countries or other new environments within the Philippines for
that matter, we will continue to find ourselves face to face with
problems concerning acceptance because of cultural differences. Seldom
will we feel instant and complete acceptance from other cultures. But as
we’ve seen at this and past IICs, we are coping and most important of
all, our children are prouder of our ethnic origins more than ever.
Pope
John Paul II in his writings on
"DIALOGUE BETWEEN CULTURES FOR A CIVILIZATION
OF LOVE AND PEACE", writes that, “The
authenticity of each human culture, the soundness of its underlying
ethos, and hence the validity of its moral bearings, can be measured to
an extent by its commitment to the human cause and by its capacity to
promote human dignity at every level and in every circumstance”.
In this writing, he
states that dialogue between cultures,
is a privileged means for building the civilization of love. In every
culture, there is a common need to preserve its own heritage of
language, traditions, and values. If we follow God’s teachings and allow
ourselves to dialogue with other cultures, we are able to recognize
diversity and subsequently be enriched by these diversities. You have
proven here at the IIC6 that the Igorot, known to come from a paganistic,
understands God’s teachings and strives to live by it. In our own small
way, I believe we, at the IGO, are reaching out socially in line with
God’s plan for the universe. First, we sought to understand ourselves so
that we could be understood. Next, we sought to share the beauty of our
culture to others by our songs, dances, moral values rooted in
tradition. Now, we are reaching out to other cultures to also try to
understand. Here in the Land down under, the Igorot has, through the
IIC6, officially declared its intent to dialogue with the cultures of
the world.
Although we can at least
say that we are accomplishing some good at the social level, the
question now becomes, what about our personal lives? What is the essence
of the IIC in our personal lives? Has it made a difference in our lives?
Are we more understanding of other people, of our own children, of our
in-laws, of our acquaintances, neighbors, and of others we perceive as
‘different’ from us? Have our dialogues at these IICs penetrated our
minds and souls both “gently and powerfully”? Or are we coming away from
these IICs socially refreshed and but still pretty much our own old
selves with our old prejudices, fears and innuendos?
What about our children?
We’ve always said that our children are our link to the future in the
same way as our parents are our link to the past. Sure we may have
taught them how to dance our takik, ballangbang, tadok and what not but
have we also tried to understand their culture? Because the truth is,
our children have their own culture. We may think that they would
naturally take ours but they really do not. I can never understand it
when my daughter tells me that they could not come to dinner at my house
at a certain time because my grand daughter must nap at that same time.
In my culture, I could pick up my children and go anytime I needed to.
But such is my daughter’s culture and I must learn to respect that. We
must learn that culture does not only mean ethnic culture such as the
Igorots, the Moslems, the jews, etc. but the ‘way of life’ of a people.
My children who are born of Filipino parentage, raised in the American
environment, and married to people of another culture, soon develop
their own culture, their own way of life.
As elected leaders of
the IGO group, we must also contend with the culture of others in this
leadership body. As leaders, you have pledged to advance Igorot culture
and its interests. By now you have either seen or experienced the
heartaches and heartbreaks of IGO leaders as they discuss with each
other on the net. If we are to lead our fellow Igorots into dialogue
with other cultures, we, as leaders must fist learn to dialogue amongst
ourselves. I do not doubt the intelligence nor the skill of the Igorot
to lead. But like anything else, we cannot do it by ourselves. We need
the guidance of the Almighty.
In Luke 17:20, when asked
when the kingdom of God would come (paraphrased, when will Love reign?),
Jesus said: “The kingdom of God does not come with Observation … the
kingdom of God is within you.” God which is “Love” is in each of us
– the decision to unleash it is yours and yours alone!
1 John 4:7-8 likewise,
commands us to love one another for love is of
God and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not
love, does not know God, for God is love.
Let us put ourselves in
the presence of God:
Heavenly Father, help us
so
As we beat the gongs and
dance for our children, let us dance for Love.
As we carry our
grandchildren on our back, let us let them feel the warmth of our Love.
As we pour that tapey for our next door neighbor, let us pour it with
Love.
As we partake at a
friend’s wedding, let’s partake with Love.
As we come away from
this IIC and the next, let us come away with Love.
As we lead the IGO into
the next generations, let us do so with Love.
And the next time we
look into a not so friendly eye, let us smile and unleash the power of
love. Amen.
|
