by: Patricia Mae Aliño

Stories shared are as sacred as the space created when they are being shared, and in story there is spiritual reciprocity. (Lewis, 2011:2006)

Storytelling is important because it is one of the easiest and most basic ways of sharing thoughts, experiences, and teachings. Storytelling has been used by communities and societies long before writing even existed. Interestingly, while the characters, names and stories may differ from one culture to the next, similarities can be found in them.

In a way, stories tell us of our past, but also give us a glimpse into our future. It speaks of our past because through stories we discover how things came to be, and a glimpse into our future because we learn how things can turn out when specific actions are taken or how certain circumstances might turn out. We learn from the mistakes of the past, in the hopes that we avoid repeating them.

Cultural LINKS: Leveraging Indigenous Niches through Knowledge and Storytelling is one of Cartwheel Foundation, Inc.’s initiatives to safeguard the intangible cultural heritage of indigenous communities through storytelling. It draws inspiration from two common practices that have been observed in Cartwheel’s partner communities: nurturing safe spaces for storytelling and integrating expressive arts into its practice. This project is in collaboration with J. Kawakami Trust Foundation and the partner Sama-Bajau communities in Parañaque and Zamboanga.

 

The first phase of the project with the Sama-Bajau partners has been completed, where a number of community conversations were conducted in the months of August and September. These conversations happened over a span of four weeks with partner communities residing in Parañaque and Zamboanga. These sessions tried to draw out the stories and thoughts that partners have in relation to their histories, and their indigenous identities. These gave opportunity for them to express what it is that they find valuable to their lives, what makes them unique, what they wish to pass on to their children, and what their hopes are for the succeeding generations.

From these stories and exchanges, main themes have been identified. Cartwheel is currently working around said themes to come up with age-appropriate storybooks for the Sama Bajau learners. These books will be used to teach them about their heritage and histories, among other concepts. It is Cartwheel’s aim to complete six storybooks with expressive arts activities that the learners can do with their teachers.

The Sama-Bajau story book will be the first of three compilations that Cartwheel, through the Cultural LINKS project, aims to accomplish in the coming years, and is hoping to replicate in other indigenous partner communities.