Marites

van Vianen

ART

 

 One of the existing Indigenous Peoples (IPs) in the provinces of Oriental and Occidental Mindoro is the Alangan Mangyan. Most of them are living at the foot of Mt. Halcon. According to the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), most of the Alangans live near the riverbank of the Alangan River.

The term 'Alangan' came from the name of the river which is located between the mountainous terrain of Oriental and Occidental Mindoro. In other words, historians described the name Alangan literally as ‘in between’.

Nowadays, the ancestral domains of the Alangan cover the municipalities of Sablayan and Sta. Cruz in Occidental Mindoro and Victoria in Oriental Mindoro. Due to various factors and effects on the environment, there are also Alangans in the municipalities of Naujan, Baco, and San Teodoro.

Alangan harvest wild rice, but they eat a variety of indigenous and locally introduced plants and hunt for wild game. They practice swidden or slash-and-burn farming and grow sweet potatoes, manioc, beans and a series of fruits in rotation on their shifting-cultivation farms. The Alangan Mangyans practice swidden farming, which consists of eleven stages. Two of them are the firebreak-making (agait) and the fallowing (agpagamas). A firebreak is made so that the fire will not go beyond the swidden site where the vegetation is thoroughly dry and ready for burning. Two years after clearing, cultivation of the swidden normally ceases, and the site is allowed to revert to forest.

The forest has provided the Alangan with all they need. Rattan and bamboo are used to twine useful plates, baskets, and carrying sacks. Traditionally they also make clothing from the bark and plants they find in the forest. Hunting for boar and forest birds provides meat. Several rivers with chilly, crystal-clear water run through the lush jungle.

Sandugo is a visayan word meaning one blood.

This painting represents a native woman (Mangyan) walking along the rice field carrying a baby on her left arm and a basket full of fruits like saba, calamansi and papaya on her back. These are the main crops you can find on the Island of Mindoro.

Mangyan is the generic name for the eight indigenous groups found on the island of Mindoro, located South of the island of Luzon in the Philippines, each with its own tribal name, language, and customs.

The Tamaraw (Bubalus mindorensis), or Mindoro Dwarf Buffalo, is solely endemic to the island of Mindoro (9,735 km²). It is the only wild cattle species living in the Philippine archipelago. It is a rather solitary animal weighing up to 300 kg and measuring only about 1m high. Originally widespread across the island, the Tamaraw has suffered from heavy hunting and continued habitat destruction during the last century. The species has gradually been confined within the mountainous interior of the island. Its population has shrunk from 10 000 in 1900 to no more than 400 animals nowadays.

Kalap (to gather) Festival celebrated every March 21 in Calapan City Or. Mindoro where I was born.

During old times people gather woods to provide warmth and cook food.

It is intended to be yearly celebration packed with performances, colourful floats, and most significant of all, history.

Photo reference:

Calapan Tourism

Salakót is a traditional lightweight headgear used for protection against sun and rain. They are made from various materials including bamboo, rattan, nito, ferns, and bottle gourd. The tip of the crown commonly has a spiked or knobbed finial made of metal or wood. It is held in place by an inner headband and a chinstrap.It is also spelled as salacot in Spanish and salacco inFrench. It is the direct precursor to the pith helmet (also called salacot in Spanish and French) widely used by European military forces in the colonial era.

Magsasalakot are the people who make salakot. During my childhood me, my family and neighbours were fabricating salakot, always under time pressure to finish in time, in order to be able to buy rice at the end of the day.

While painting, all kind of nice memories came up in my mind.