Sunday, August 03, 2008

FIRST TRIP 12: Tall Tales of Tails

Mangyans have tails, if ignorant lowlanders are to be believed. As a child from a neighboring island, I used to believe that too. Now, years later I got to finally meet them up close and personal. Not surprisingly without the tails people whispered about.

Mangyan is the generic name for the eight indigenous groups found in Mindoro island, each with its own tribal name, language, and set of customs. I will be working with these tribes in the next two to three years, in the hopes of making some improvements in their lives, particularly in the areas of education, health, and livelihood.

Tall order I say. But good luck to me. And them. ;p


Crossing rivers going to the Mangyan village









Mangyan house in the mountains








Tau-buid tribe

9 Comments:

Blogger Panaderos said...

Glad to see you're back after a long spell, Pards. Thanks for an informative post. I didn't know that the Mangyans were made up of 8 tribes. All the while I thought the Mangyans were just one unique tribe.

Do you have to relocate to Mindoro in order to do your job for the next few years?

8/4/08, 3:47 AM  
Blogger Miki said...

yeah, i'd been on hiatus from the blogosphere for quite a spell. too busy with work. june and july i was in aklan doing disaster response after typhoon frank. now i'm in mindoro and will be based here in the next 2-3 years.

"mangyan" is also like "igorot" which is a generic name for a group of tribes (ibaloi, kankanaey, etc.)

8/4/08, 9:49 AM  
Blogger rainisrian said...

Thanks for the info kuya mick! I thought too that Mangyan is a name of only one tribe.

Prolly, I'll try this kind of job after I graduate. I really want to know them and learn how they're keeping up with the fast changing world.

8/5/08, 1:47 AM  
Blogger Miki said...

you will have a lot of opportunity to do that RY, especially there in Mindanao where a lot of IPs live. perhaps do a docu on them for advocacy?

and same here; i also thought Mangyans were just one tribe.

8/5/08, 7:38 AM  
Blogger Four-eyed-missy said...

Hello KuyaMiki!
Bilib kaayo ko ug envious ko sa imong work diha with the Mangyans. I resigned from the IDRC-funded project - to make the story short I was ripped off! So now, plain housewife usa ako, waiting for a project like yours to come *lol*. How's Chloe and the Mrs. Mikimonster?

8/5/08, 3:54 PM  
Blogger Miki said...

ganun?
kuyawa sa hauswife
pa-phuket phuket na lang
hehehehehe
hmmmm....wouldn't have thought idrc would rip people off ;p

syempre, beauty and brains japun si little princess. top of her class gihapon hehehehe. da wifey is busy with Kumon (we got a franchise)

8/5/08, 4:01 PM  
Blogger Four-eyed-missy said...

KuyaMiki - it's not IDRC but the people that are employed by them. And I never thought they would be soooo - uhm, what's the word - blind? Basta uy...
Unsa kuyaw? I didn't like Phuket. O sige na nga, konti lang, pero nothing new naman dun e.
I haven't been to Mindoro and I have long been interested in the Mangyans - unta makaanha ko. Will be watching out for your Mangyan stories :)

8/8/08, 12:20 PM  
Blogger Miki said...

@ZJ: yep, i would be blogging about mangyan stuff often i think heheh. lots of things to discover... went to another mangyan village up in the mountains today and it was very interesting.

8/8/08, 7:15 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Can i ask a one question? Is it true that mangyan people has a short tail?

7/15/13, 10:00 AM  

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