ITOGON, Benguet – Gold! For centuries, the Kankana-ey and Ibaloy tribal folks practiced small-scale mining of that precious glitter of yellow metal found in this upland province.
Gold then, if one knows where to find it, can be found anywhere in Benguet – enough for everybody, with plenty left to spare.
Then their small-scale mining totally got upended.
Because in 1903, the Antamok Mines in the municipality of Itogon, Benguet were opened by the then Benguet Corporation. In 1927, it expanded activities into Acupan and Balatoc, while working other large-scale mines in Benguet, as well.
Operating for more than 70 years, it took out a considerable amount of gold from the bowel of Benguet while the province’s environmental topography suffered destruction from the large-scale mining operations.
Whipped by strong opposition that galvanized into action, Benguet Corporation was forced to suspend operations in 1998.
Today, people from many places and many walks of life come together in Benguet in a common enterprise. All too often they come, men and women, in search for work at the small mining pits operated by small-scale miners.
For the men job-seekers, their job is to enter the small mines and dig like hell for gold.
But for the women, theirs is the story of hardy dreamers, full of epic adventures and facts that seem a good deal stranger than fiction. Perhaps it’s why it remains as fascinating today as it was generations ago when the Kankana-ey and Ibaloy forefathers set off to conquer those Benguet mountain footholds full of gold.
These women, dubbed “daughters of the mines, “by small-scale men miners encapsulate the reservation of 21st century attitudes towards working class female employment and highlights the contradiction between the fashionable ideal of womanhood and the necessity and reality of female manual labor.
Women involved in small-scale mining exemplify the direct contradiction to the deification of the home, yet they are viewed as par excellence working in a supposedly masculine domain.
Sociologist Gigy B. Banes, assigned at the Department of Social Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences of Benguet State University (BSU) documented in her study titled “Women’s Roles, Challenges and Opportunities in Small-Scale Mining: The Case of Indigenous People in Loacan, Itogon, Benguet, Philippines.”
Her study serves as an impression in the celebration of this year’s International Women’s Day as she localized how the Kankana-ey and Ibaloy women, by the sweat of their brow, help keep small-scale mining in Loacan, Itogon alive in a mining set-up where gender roles are evident in a mining workplace.
The study of Banes can be found in BSU’s distinguished branch of Mountain Journal of Science and Interdisciplinary Research.
For the women, they are totally barred from entering the small mines but they work as “joiners,” by digging or excavating or burrowing, commonly termed “abucay,” in the exterior areas of the tunnel or near the river. As explicitly stated by small-scale miners: “Haan mabalin sumrek ti babae ijay usok!” (Women are not allowed to enter mine tunnels!).
As stated by a miner identified by the study as merely K10, “Uray idi gamin, ket haan mabalin umuneg babae ijay usok.” (Even before, women are not allowed to enter the mining tunnels.)
This is associated with the gender stereotypes that prohibit women from physically demanding activities which are deemed men’s work. It also depicts the masculine image of the indigenous miners by excluding women from heavy mining duties.
These Loacan, Itogon women, who are mostly mothers have organized themselves and formed an informal organization simply called “joiners,” literally meaning to join or participate, a bond where there is equal sharing or work so no one will be left behind.
When asked why they wanted to work in the vicinity of small-scale mines, the women’s eyes glistened like shiny pinpoints of light that dance off a mine tunnel when caught in the penetrating beam of a miner’s cap light.
Small-scale mining is in the blood of the Loacan, Itogon mothers, they explained, as they gazed at their callused, worn hands made rough by handling “mulok,” (soil mixed with gold particles).
To be a joiner, women have to prove themselves. While they are not allowed in the “sagaok,” (pre-ore crushing where men help each other to carry gold ore from the tunnel to the ball mill), women are allowed to search for gold ores in the mine tailings.
Neither are women allowed to carry “naba,” crushed ore, implying that Loacan, Itogon men miners actually care for the women by not allowing them to handle the sagaok.
On the part of the women, they do not waste time. If there’s no ore being processed, they collect the mulok in sacks for the men to carry to the ball mill. In the ball mill area, the women are in-charge of washing the naba, then proceed to milling and grinding in which the naba is reduced further to fine slime.
Women involved in small-scale mining are also responsible in the “salulog,” the process of separating the “linang,” (unused tailings) from non-gold particles and “sayo,” (to retrieve gold deposits with the use of sluice boxes lined with jute sacks).
Such an important process done by the women separates the yellow colored samples that is cooked in a “gangi” (clay dish) to extract the pure gold.
Some traditional gender stereotypes and cultural beliefs still challenge and limit women’s participation in small-scale mining in Loacan. During group discussions, the study noted how male miners asserted they do not want women inside the mines to deter any event of sexual advances or harassment on the part of the men that may occur.
Female sex workers are also totally banned from going near, or entering the tunnels and male miners having illicit relationships is considered taboo for these are deemed “malas” (bad luck) in the conduct of searching for that elusive gold.
They don’t like such incidents happening, these being considered boding ill for the mining community.
There is also this belief that the smell of a woman will drive gold away, more particularly during their menstrual period. Men do not want to gamble their chances by allowing women inside the tunnels, by defying this old belief. As stated by one miner, “Sabali ti angot ti babae,” inferring a woman’s smell is unusual or different compared to men. For the older women joiners, they are resigned to such beliefs.
This belief happens to be true in many countries worldwide of the connotation that women cause a spirit of bad luck when in close proximity with minerals.
In the whole of Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), there’s also this belief that continues to pop up that high graded veins of gold either become difficult to track down or disappear. Or, mine workers become prone to accidents when women invade or step into mine tunnels.
For the younger women joiners, they question such belief, saying, “Sabali met idi ken sabali met tadta.” (The past is different with today’s situation.)
Many young women joiners tried to negotiate with the men miners to allow them to work inside the tunnels but the men had stood pat on decision disallowing them. One of the pocket miners stated in the study: “We do not want something bad to happen to women, more so if there are accidents inside the tunnels like erosion or landslide.”
A humorous portion of the study delved on instances of joiners out there in the ball mill doing “chismis,” (gossiping) as the miners termed it to sociologist Banes, which elicited a howl of protest from the women joiners, although they admitted sometimes they do chismis.
However, the women workers argued that while waiting for the machine to grind the gold ore which usually takes up to two hours, and for nothing to do but wait, they utilize their time “sharing life’s experience, rather than just seating only.”
“Agbalin nga tsismisan iti pagtrabahuwan nga bolmilan,” (The ball mill area becomes a place for gossiping.), especially if there are more women scheduled to do work for the day, one joiner-informant admitted.
However, some of the joiners admitted that there had been isolated cases in the past when their chismis got out of control that resulted to misunderstanding among them and led them being stereotyped as “chismosa,” (gossipmonger).
Some of the joiner-informants told Banes that if there were many sacks of mulok to be processed, it was unlikely for them to engage in idle talk. Also, other informants reasoned out that since the ball mill area is noisy with the mill grinding harshly, voices often could hardly be heard.
When there is no work in the ball mill, the women would join children in collecting mulok which is situated outside the tunnels. The ball mill area has become a space given to the women to manage with less supervision and an emerging development in small-scale mining process that accommodates women who make rules and regulation, particularly on equal sharing of gold profit.
Estimated “bingay” (share) of the women varies. The price of gold also determines share. If the gold ore is of high grade, a joiner can easily earn 15,000 Philippine pesos or more, to as low as 5,000 pesos if less ore was processed.
The female key informant admitted that the heyday of small-scale mining in Loacan, Itogon has waned and is no longer a sustainable livelihood. It happens that gold depletes after many years of extraction.
Even the men miners supported this concern of the women as they acknowledged that money from small-scale mining will not last forever and they should invest in other entrepreneur ventures.
The women joiners expressed their ultimate hope that in becoming daughters of the mines, they could get their children to acquire college degrees, for as parents, they value education too well for their kids.
