Uprightness, Honesty as Way of Life

Uprightness, Honesty as Way of Life

Inquirer Headlines / Regions [Photo] http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/regions/view/20080227-121617/Uprightness-honesty-way-of-life-in-Ibaloi-village Uprightness, honesty way of life in Ibaloi village
By Maurice Malanes
Northern Luzon Bureau Posted date: February 27, 2008

BAGUIO CITY – There’s something that simple probinsiyano (rural folk) can strongly take pride in – a culture of uprightness and honesty.

So the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines is not actually starting from scratch in its call for “communal action” against a “web of corruption” and dishonesty or an “ecosystem of dysfunction” said to be pervading government. It can take off from what may be called an “ecosystem of goodness,” which remains rooted in many rural and indigenous peoples’ communities.

For example, in the Ibaloi upland village of Dalupirip in Itogon, Benguet, one can leave the house door and windows open without fear of thieves. Or a carabao (water buffalo) in the fields because no rustlers will take it in the dead of night.

A paradise

“Our village is a paradise indeed,” said the late elder Tomas Pocding of Dalupirip. “You can see how we don’t have to fence off our homes because each one trusts everybody.”

Pocding was describing his village to reporters one time in the 1990s, stressing how he could not give up the place for a resettlement site being offered by the government in order to give way to a dam project. He and his village mates had feared that the dam would submerge their community.

Until he died in 2000, Pocding, a survivor and veteran of World War II, had fought hard to defend his village by the Agno River. As the “seat of Ibaloi culture” in Itogon, Dalupirip, with its age-old rice terraces and precious culture of uprightness, could not simply go down the drain, Pocding said.

Cultural heritage
Dalupirip and its rich cultural heritage must be inherited by future Ibaloi generations, he said.Offers of money and other compensation failed to blind Pocding from defending the village.

He insisted that not all that was precious in life could be translated into money terms.There are other Dalupirips elsewhere. The other rural upland towns either have zero or very low crime rate.

In fact, some jails are empty and are being used as a bodega (warehouse).In these towns, stealing is a no-no; the community castigates those who do.

Elders always hammer into the heads of the young that it is better to be rich in character, honesty and integrity than in material wealth from questionable sources.Such cultural psyche, to a high degree, has permeated even local politics.

In Kibungan (pop.: 17,000), an elected official who would be reported to have engaged in anomalous transactions will surely not win another term. But another who is transparent and honest in all his dealings will.

Still, even a well-loved political leader cannot go beyond three terms. The Kankanaey folk believe that even political power must be shared so other equally qualified community members can serve as mayor, councilor or barangay chair.

The only long-staying mayor ruled during the martial law regime of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos in the 1970s, when no elections were held.

Recent political events were not so perfect as complaints of vote buying were reported. But the mayoral candidate who allegedly tried to buy his way to victory lost.

Morality, values
Even without religion, which the colonialists introduced, the Kankanaey society has been highly moralist since time immemorial. This could be seen in a value system and an unwritten moral law, which are part of the upland folk’s collective character and way of life.

The Kankanaey morality or sense of right and wrong generally revolves around four major elements:

*Paniyew (fear of the unseen or the creator of humankind). A breach may spell eternal suffering for the offender. But it also connotes holiness.One cannot just pick a ripe pineapple from a neighbor’s swidden farm or catch a neighbor’s chicken and cook it because while no one may have seen the offender, a perceived someone knows everything that happens.

*Inayan (fear of a perceived someone). Its attacks focus more on one’s conscience. The perceived someone may not impose the sanction, but the offender’s conscience hurts the person most, and this may mean sleepless nights for the person.

*Bain (shame). The Kankanaey society is a reproachful community. To live in such a community after one has been known to commit a grave wrongdoing is intolerable. Shame can become too heavy for a person to take that it becomes enough punishment in itself.

*Ta-an (respect). It can also mean being considerate. Due respect is given to which or to whom it is due.

Despite the inroads of Christianity, these values, which have their counterparts in communities elsewhere, remain in the minds of the upland folk. It is thus common to hear elders remark, “Oray no pagano kami ngem ammo mi di inayan (Others may regard us as pagans, but we know about inayan),” referring to a strong sense of right and wrong.