BAYBAY, LEANLEXOZ VALIANT B.

February 4, 2015
BSNIII-D
HISTORY
REACTION PAPER

PHILIPPINE

The recent visit to the museum was for me memorable for at least
two reasons. First, it brought me back to the years I never had the chance
to experience. Secondly, it awakened within me the proud spirit of being a
member of an indigenous Cordillera tribe.
There were displays of home utensils, farm implements, musical
instruments, hand woven materials, loom weaving tools and many more.
Obviously showcased also are the priced beads worn by women. On one
side are an axe, a spear, and a shield. Except for a few of the enumerated
artifacts, it was the first time I set my eyes to these valued pieces of
objects modeled and made by my ancestors.
A careful inspection of the stored relics depicts the way of life of the
early people of the Cordilleras. Uneducated they maybe, they were able
to devise tools to supply their clothings and tools to ensure their daily
survival.
Taking a second look into the antiques also shows that all of them
are made of readily available materials. This fully explains the close
relationship of the early people with the environment. How they care and
treasure their God given wealth became a way of life which they passed
through generations. As told by living elders today, the axe, spear and
shield are used not only to ensure the safety of the household members
but also to protect their environment from intruders. Even to this day,
destruction of the environment invites extreme retaliations that could
result to tribal wars.
But more than the material wealth which I saw at the museum, the
visit reawakened within me the pride of being a member of a minority
group who were responsible in making the antiques. Discriminated for
years by our lowland brothers as uneducated, barbaric, and people with
tails, the Cordillerans were able to carve and preserve a way of life
different from the rest. And this I will be always be proud of.

The fast pace of development may have overshadowed the value of

our material culture but deep inside every Cordilleran is a spirit of
belongningness which nothing could dissolve. So just like many Cordillera
youth, I may not be wearing g-string or use wooden plates and spoons
when I eat, what is important is that feeling which runs in my veins. After
all, culture, as what the museum seems to preserve, is not found in what
we see. It is that which dwells in the heart of one who could share it to
people regardless of where he is.