Amidst the terrible pain and insecurities that the Lumad people of Surigao del Sur and other places in Mindanao Lumadlands are suffering in this trying moments of their tribal life. . . even as the AFP are doing their utmost to deny and lie and distort the facts of the their involvement in the merciless killings of Lumads. . .and while the top leadership of the country—President Noynoy himself—has chosen to be dead silent on the incident that has aroused people of goodwill here and abroad to denounce and condemn its sordid character . . .the moral sensibilities of such individuals and institutions as the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) have been touched— deeply touched!—as much as to call for an immediate and independent investigation of the pogrom.

And the President, including the presidential aspirants in the coming elections, have remained “deadma” to the issue.. Isn’t this to be understood as an unforgiveable act of irresponsibility? And much more, a sheer proof of an inutile political leadership which has spawned an equally inutile justice system in our society?

To the concerned artist, however, the realities prevailing in our country is an irresistible cause for outbursts of lyrical expressions of solidarity. And so, the following poetical vignettes are as much a statement of condemnation as they are a sublime insight into the essences of the Lumad struggles for the uplift of their tribal, nay human conditions.

These struggles wouldn’t have entailed or necessitated acts of murders, tortures, and other inhumanities if the structures established for human advancement were they not the very instruments for dehumanizing processes—that is, if the government is truly of the people, by the people and for the people. But sadly, it is a government of the exclusive interests of foreign imperialists, landlords and comprador-capitalists, by and for these exclusive ruling.There wouldn’t have been these sordid massacres of Lumads, had the AFP charged with the protection of the Filipino citizenry been truly the agency for which it is deemed established. But no, the AFP and all the other security forces of the state are installed as guardians of the exclusive interests of the abovementioned ruling classes, most of all, the foreign imperialists whose prime interests happen to be the extraction of our mineral resources within the ancestral lands of the Lumads.

Such is the logic and principle why it’s the Lumads who are killed and sacrificed in the altar of mining interests and holy profits. It is so easy to discern why 35 or so battalions of the AFP are deployed in Mindanao. Yes, it’s here in Mindanao that the foreign mining corporations are scrambling for our precious gold ores, nickel and other valuable minerals. President Noynoy and his government is a happy willing agent for the unconscionable plunder of our patrimony. And the AFP generals are only too happy to be participants in this wholesale plunder in the thought that they can partake however miniscule of the loot.

Be silent now, and listen to the Lumad sound of music via their wondrous musical channels – the native tulonggons. . .

Mensahuni sa mga tulunggon

kubing

mga ngabil nakigduyog
sa mga tudlo nga nagkurog
mga aligatong giyamyam
sa pagpangahagbong sa mga anino
human pul-ongi ang kilumkilom
sa mga gihay sa kahayag

kuglung

mibalod-balod ang huyuhoy
nga miagakay sa mga langgam
nanagingting ang ilang mga piyak
gisugat sa bidlisiw sa kabuntagon
ayayay! takulahaw mibadlis
sa kahanginan daiyang bulok sa tingog,
apan kanunayng mopatigbabaw
ang hagtong sa matag hagtos sa sangang
nangasapli pagpanghabas sa habagat

gimba

hugot sa baruganan nga mikapot
ang mga tagongtong sa kasingkasing
ubay sa kundas sa mga lapalapang
nagpusdak-kudlis og lumadnong sayaw
sa panimpalad ug pakigbisog—langkob
sa nag-alimpulos nga pangayaw
batok sa langyawanong mga laraw

dabakan

nangagun-ob nga mga tukon sa langit,
dalugdog nga mibuhagay ug nanugwak
sa mga kabhang sa bungtod ug mga bangilid
nakig-ambahan sa daghong sa mga busay,
dagpas sa huyohoy gigaray sa mga pako sa aguila
duyog sa pululong-gong sa mga agong,
mikitiw ang pulahong dila sa balyan—ay!
dihadiha natagik ang dagmay sa kaliwat,
gitaklap sa mga ugdo sa dughan sa yuta.

tularoy

tadlas sa gilapdon sa sidlakang langit
namisikpisik ang piliik sa libulibong langgam
giagakay ang nanidlit nga bidlisiw sa adlaw
ngadto sa mga suok-suok sa balatian saTalaingod,
Lianga ug Pangantucan . . . nalambod-lambod
ang ilang tiliis sa mga gihay sa hangin nga
nangalisbo sa gisabwag— ay! kasakit ug kamatayon.

———————————————————————————————-

Messages of the Lumad tulunggons

kubing

lips of legions chorus

with quivering fingers

as sparks mumbled

and shadows started falling

after twilight was pruned

of its cascading sunrays

kuglung

the breeze flows in gentle waves

escorting flocks of birds

their trills tintinabulating against

the stream of morning sunbeams

ayayay! all of a sudden traces

of varicolored tones manifest in air,

but one prominent sound cuts sharp

with every pluck of a branch that breaks

with the violent blows of the habagat

gimba

the heart’s drumtones clasp

and cling tight to the mandate

in unison with the tempo of feet

pounding shuffling native choreographies

of strifes and struggles—summarized

in the pangayaw whirlwind ramming

against foreign-inspired schemes

forthrightly weaves the dagmay of the race,

dabakan

props of sky are collapsing,

thunderclaps bursting out of cracks

on mountain peaks and mountain slopes

chorus with the drones of waterfalls, while

eagle’s flight versify the flapping breeze

tiptoeing on gongs’ resounding gongwords.

and the balyan’s tongue quivering red—ay!

to cover the mounds on the land’s breast

tularoy

athwart the stretch of the eastern sky

splutters the shrill trill of a thousand birds

gently abide by the splintering rays of the sun

in their pilgrimage to the heart of Talaingod,

Lianga and Pangantucan . . . soon got entangled

with the sharp voices in the wind’s texture

littered with noxious stench—ay! pain and deaths.

____________________________________________________________

tulunggon – musical instrument

kubing – jew’s harp, made of bamboo

kuglung – one-string guitar

gimba – native percussion instrumebnt

dabakan – an ensemble of vari-toned gongs

tularoy – nose flute

balyan – tribal shaman, chanter

dagmay – woven cloth of Manobo

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