To empower youth to become stewards of cultural heritage and indigenous literature, the BALAGDIWA: North Luzon Youth Leaders Network (Balagdiwa NLYLN) and Youth for Leadership Democracy (YouthLed) project of The Asia Foundation, co-implemented by Bauko Local Government Unit (LGU) through Municipal Youth Development Office (MYDO) and Municipal Tourism Office, conducted the Daddad-at Di Sasayangdan – Indigenous Literary Workshop held in Bauko, Mountain Province on June 14, 2024.
Equipping the next generation
A total of 40 youth participants from various barangays in Bauko attended the workshop. The sessions provided them with valuable knowledge and techniques for writing essays, poems, and songs in preparation for publishing indigenous literary pieces.
“The advantage of this workshop for us youth is that it provides us the opportunity to enrich our knowledge with regards to Indigenous literary pieces,” said Kayeny Tua-oc Gama, a participant from Otucan Sur, Bauko Mountain Province.
Gama added that they can use this knowledge to empower others in their communities, especially the children and fellow youth.
“We have the opportunity to share what we learned here. Our literary works and cultures are an extension of ourselves. If we do not open our hearts and give a room to store this kind of tradition, we are nothing,” Gama expressed.
To ensure the project’s sustainability, the compilation of the participants’ work and outputs will be published in a book. Additionally, the workshop participants will also form a local Bauko youth indigenous writers’ group.
Learning from educators
The workshop featured presentations by Estella C. Wanden, Vjnhyl Zam Pondivida, and Carmen Malabong.
Wanden, a dedicated grade 1 teacher at Bagnen Elementary School, incorporates Indigenous songs, poems, and stories into her teachings.
“It is our responsibility to teach the younger generation about our culture, traditions, and indigenous literature,” Wanden emphasized.
Malabong, an author of Footsteps, highlighted the unique characters of indigenous literature in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).
“It has a different rhythm and chant when we read and chant it. Thus, putting it in writing is a good way of preservation,” she shared.
Preserving Indigenous Literature
According to Rosalina Pesaña, head of the said project, one of the goals of this Indigenous Literary Workshop is to invest in the indigenous literacy workshop to help Bauko youths appreciate their creative potential while preserving their cultural heritage. Likewise, Daddad-at involves telling a story with tune and rhyme.
“As Wanden explained, Daddad-at includes various categories such as poems, stories, songs, day-eng, daing, liwliwa, and Bayao. ‘Daddad-at di Sasayangdan’ translates to ‘literary pieces of old folks,’” Pesaña added.
Daddad-at Di Sasayangdan – Indigenous Literary Workshop is a project supported by Balagdiwa NLYLN and the YouthLed project of The Asia Foundation and United States Agency for International Development (USAID), through IGNITE grants, a grant facility for projects and initiatives aimed at strengthening youth participation in democratic governance.
