By: Teresa Kristel Banta

After months of storybook development and meticulous review by our partner community, the indigenous Tagbanwa Community from the Chindonan-Alulad-Lamud-Marabal Ancestral Domain (“CALM AD” or the “Community”) finally received their storybooks after the MOA Signing and Ceremonial Turnover held in Sitio Marabal, Culion, Palawan, last 06 December 2024. 

Tung Kapupuluan yang Culion, May Tagbanwa (“In the Island of Culion, the Tagbanwa Dwell”) is a collection of three short stories from the cultural archives of the Tagbanwa of Culion, chosen by their great elders, narrated in their native language, and thereafter translated into Filipino by the Community’s culture-bearers. These stories showcase the Tagbanwas’ rich narrative surrounding the islands found in their ancestral domain, a myth abouth gods and sea monsters, and the heritage attached to the land and water that give them life.

The Community opened the MOA Signing and Ceremonial Turnover with a prayer that paid respects to two elders who have passed on shortly before the scheduled event: Apu Nelson Calix and Chairman Larry Sinamay. Apu Nelson and Chairman Larry, both members of the Community’s Indigenous Political Structure (“IPS”), played significant roles in the harvesting and development of these stories.

 

 

The Memorandum of Agreement, signed by the Community IPS and Cartwheel Foundation, through its Project Officer, Teresa Banta, signifies Cartwheel’s acknowledgment that these stories are fully and absolutely owned by the Community, safeguarding against any future distribution of the storybooks without the Community’s consent. It likewise ensured that the young learners of the IP elementary schools located in Chindonan, Alulad, Lamud, and Marabal shall be prioritized in the distribution. 

In a heartwarming scene, Bae Gloria Apolinario, wife of Apung Dakulu Priscillano Apolinario and one of the Community’s culture-bearers, did a live storytelling of one of the stories in the book, accompanied by music played by Apu Carlos Lledo, to the awe and amazement of the children excited to hear about their ancestors’ stories. Finally, the Turnover Ceremony culminated in a salu-salo prepared by the women of the Community.

We thank J. Kawakami Trust for funding this incredible project; our storybook editors and illustrators, as well as our partners from The Samdhana Insitute, for helping make these books come to life; and most especially, our partner community in the CALM AD for allowing us to share to the world their most treasured stories.

Cartwheel Foundation, in continuing the L.A.H.I. (Learning Through Art, Heritage, and Cultural Identuty) Book Series, shares in the Community’s goals to promote and preserve the culture, traditions, and beliefs of our indigenous communities for a more freeing and empowering future for our indigenous learners. As encapsulated by the Tagbanwa of Culion in the final note of their book:

Para sa aming mga anak, apo, at lahat ng katutubong kabataan, kayo rin ang may-ari ng mga kuwentong ito. Hangad naming panatilihin ninyong buhay ang ating mga tradisyon, patuloy ninyong protektahan ang ating kalikasan, at lagi ninyong alalahanin ang inyong pinagmulan saan man kayo makarating.

Humayo kayo at maging malaya.