Tribes seek protection for ‘sacred’ burial site
TRIBAL groups yesterday called on the government to declare an old burial site in Bukidnon as an important cultural treasure so that it could be protected.
The groups––Pulangiyon, Kerenteken, Arumanen, Dunggunanen, and Ilianen tribes––submitted the documents required by the National Historical Institute (NHI), National Commission on Culture and Arts (NCCA) and the National Museum in an effort to have the Apu Mamalu burial site as an ICT or Important Cultural Treasure, said Carl Cesar Rebuta of the Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center-Kasama sa Kalikasan/Friends of the Earth-Philippines.
The National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009 has clauses that require serious actions in preserving the country’s cultural treasures.
According to Rebuta, the area is a centuries-old burial site of Apu Mamalu, the ‘‘supreme ancestor’’ of the Manobo, T’duray and other Lumad tribes in Mindanao. He was a brother of Apo Tabunaway, said to be the ancestor of the Moro tribes.
Based on oral tradition, Tabunaway and Mamalu were Manobo brothers. The former being the skillful forest gatherer and recognized as the Datu while the latter led the fishing chores of the village.
Rebuta said the Manobos occupied the lower valley of the Pulangi River in Central Mindanao, which is Cotabato City.
In the 14th century, a Muslim missionary Shariff Kabungsuan, arrived and propagated Islam in Mindanao. Tabunaway was converted into the Islam faith while Mamalu remained with the Manobo tribe, said Rebuta.
He said Mamalu then moved to the highlands of the Pulangi River because he did not want to be converted.
The Mamalu clan then became known as the Manobo, while the Tabunaway clan became the Maguindanaos and Maranaos, said Rebuta.
The cause of deaths of Apo Mamalu and Apo Tabunaway remains unknown. But tribal leaders from then up to now, believe that Apo Mamalu was buried in a stonehenge-like formation, with hundreds of burial rocks and located near the riverbank of the Pulangi River.
Rebuta said the Manobo tribe considers the site sacred, the root of their existence and the foundation of their culture.
Last October, the tribal communities (Moros and Lumads) initiated a tribal declaration to publicly announce the cultural and historical importance of this site.
One of the tribes, the Pulangiyon, has many members who are living along the Pulangi River. The tribespeople consider the river and the Apu Mamalu burial grounds ‘‘sacred’’.
Rebuta said they survived primarily by farming like planting maize, upland rice and root crops.
The secondary source of livelihood is fishing in the river. Pulangi is famous also as the biggest
watershed area in Mindanao located strategically at the heart of the island.
Rebuta said Pulangi is a ‘‘sacred water of the tribe, it’s a gift from Magbabaya (the Supreme Being).’’
He added, ‘‘When Magbabaya created the island, he placed a landmark at the center of the land.
‘Impamulangi’ is the Monobo term for ‘center of the island’ which the name of the river was coined. If you check your map, Pulangi River lies at the center of Mindanao Island.
‘‘The river is a historical place for the tribe. This is where their ancestors lived and became part of their life for centuries. But today, Pulangi is famous because it is the biggest tributary to the largest and longest river in Mindanao, the Rio Grande de Mindanao.
Datu Polao, a tribal leader, said he believes that the land was submerged during the Great Flood.
Based on oral tradition, he said a young lady, unmindful of the water continuously rising, planted root crops on the top-most part of the mountain. Those who survived the flood called that mountain Pinamula, a Monobo term for the only place left that can be planted.
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