BIBLIOGRAPHY MANG-OSAN, OFELIA C. APRIL 2012....
BIBLIOGRAPHY
MANG-OSAN, OFELIA C. APRIL 2012. Chanting Memories: Bangil as a
Communication Practice in Karao, Bokod. Benguet State University, La Trinidad,
Benguet.
Adviser: Christine Grace B. Sidchogan, Ms.C
ABSTRACT
The study was conducted to produce document showing the practice onbangil, a
chant being done during wake by the Karao tribe of Bokod, Benguet. Specifically, it
aimed to identify the characteristics of bangil as a communication practice, identify the
communication processes in bangil in terms of the people involved inbangil; the steps in
bangil and the material used during bangil, identify the content of bangil as documented
during the study and to determine the challenges in sustaining the bangil.
The study was conducted from January to March 2012.
Five key informants were interviewed using interview schedule employing
interview questionnaire. Additional eleven tribe members were interviewed to give
information on the messages delivered in bangil(messages addressed to the dead, family
and the general public).
Bangil is a chant that is sacred because it involves the elders and it has
restrictions for practicing it. It is a communal practice where the elders, the bereaved
family, and the general public are involved. Unlike other chants in the Cordillera, the
bangil is only done by the inducted elders. There are beliefs attached to the practice of
bangil.
Tobacco is distributed twice during bangil. It is done to recognize the presence of
the unseen spirits or ka-apuan (forefathers) of the wake attendees.
The challenges encountered in sustaining bangil are: drunkenness of elders,
disinterestedness to learn among young people, death of elders and infrequent practice of
bangil.
It is then recommended that video documentation be done on bangil. Karao tribe
should also continue practicing bangil to sustain it.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Bibliography.......................................................................................................
i
Abstract…..........................................................................................................
i
Table of Contents......................................................................................................
ii
INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................
1
Rationale.........................................................................................................
1
Statement of the Problem………………………………………………...............
2
Objectives of the Study..................................................................................
3
Importance of the Study.................................................................................
3
Scope and Limitation of the Study..................................................................
4
REVIEW OF LITERATURE.....................................................................................
5
Communication as a Practice.........................................................................
5
Oral Traditions…….......................................................................................
5
Chants and its Characteristics………...............................................................
6
The Karao Tribe…….………………………....................................................
8
The Bangil……………………………………………………………..................
8
Legend of Bangil………………………………………………………………
9
Challenges in Conserving Oral Traditions…………………………………….
10
Operational Definition of Terms………………………………………..........
11
METHODOLOGY.......................................................................................................... 12
Locale and Time of the Study...........................................................................
12
Respondents of the Study..................................................................................
12
Data Collection…….…………………………………………………………..
15
Data Gathered……………………………………………………………….....
15
Data Analysis……………………………………………………….................
15
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION………………………………………………………. 16
Bangilas a Communication Practice …………………………………….........
16
Processes of Bangil……………………………………………………………………. 19
Messages in Bangil……………………………………………………………………. 29
Challenges in Sustaining Bangil……………………………………………….
34
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS……………………... 36
Summary………………………………………………………………..........
36
Conclusions…………………………………………………………………….
37
Recommendations………………………….…………………………………..
38
LITERATURE CITED……………………………………………………………....... 39
0
INTRODUCTION
Rationale
The Philippine society is composed of many tribes with diverse culture and. This
diversity creates their distinction from each other in way of life and daily activities.
In Benguet alone, there are seven known tribes existing, they are the Ibaloi,
Kankana-ey, Kalangoya, Karao, Kalahan, Iowak and the Katavan (Benguet Socio-
Economic Profile, 2007). Each of the tribes has their own unique dialect and own
practices but they share similarities in beliefs like recognizing the unseen spirits and
worshipping their gods.
Culture, as defined by Li and Karakowsky (2001), is symbolic communication.
Some of its symbols include a group’s skills, knowledge, attitudes, values, and motives.
The meanings of the symbols are learned and deliberately perpetuated in a society
through its institutions. Inherent to any human activity, communication is always present
in any culture.
One of the tribes in Benguet as stated earlier is the Karao tribe.
According to Atos (1982), the Karao community is surrounded by the Ibaloi
community. However, in spite of the integration of certain customs and practices through
social intercourse, the Karao tribe has retained its own dialect, customs and traditions, life
ways and mores that are unique.
The sustainability of their uniqueness was confirmed during a preliminary
interview of the researcher with Catalina Wayang, a key informant from Karao.
1
In Bag-ayan’s study (2010), she mentioned several cultural practices still
practiced at Karao and one of it is the bangil.
Thisis a burial rite through chants unique to the Ikarao, which are done during a
wake. It is a three-pronged extemporaneous talk addressed to the deceased, to the
bereaved family and to the general public in attendance. The bangil is initiated by an
elder, followed by the response of the iyanka-ama(male tribal elders), then echoed by the
iyankaba’kol(female tribal elders).
With the onset of factors that are contributing to the disappearance of cultural
practices, it would be no wonder if one day, bangil may possibly vanish more so that it is
an oral tradition.
Akulloet al. (2007) also noted that a lot of indigenous knowledge has been lost
through deaths of elderly people since there is no formal documentation of such
knowledge. Since oral communication is how this indigenous knowledge is being passed
to the younger generations before, written documents are lacking that also contributes in
the slow vanishing of a culture.
Given this present situation, this is where knowledge management play its role in
addressing the factors mentioned above. Capturing and storing this cultural practice for
the consumption of the succeeding generations are deemed necessary, hence this study.
Statement of the Problem
The study specifically answered the following questions:
1. What are the characteristics of bangil as a communication practice?
2. What are the communication processes of bangil?
2
3. What are the messages of bangilin terms of:
a. Message addressed to the dead;
b. Message addressed to the bereaved family and;
c. Message addressed to the general public
4. What are the challenges in sustaining the bangil?
Objectives of the Study
With the general aim to capture bangilas a communication practice, the study:
1. Identified the characteristics of bangilas a communication practice;
2. Identified the communication processes of bangil;
3. Identified the messages of bangilin terms of:
a. Message addressed to the dead;
b. Message addressed to the bereaved family and;
c. Message addressed to the general public
4. Determined the challenges in sustaining bangil.
Importance of the Study
A culture of a community is one of the valuable treasures that the folks can give
to the next generations through oral communication. Written documents about indigenous
practices are lacking since others just rely on oral transmission of the said practices. In
this point, there is a threat of the eradication of such cultures because of the factors that
hindrance the transmission of these traditional communication practices.
3
In this regard, the study aimed to produce document showing the practice of
Bangilamong the Karao tribe of Bokod, Benguet. Moreover, this study intended to
identify the characteristics of bangil as a communication practice, identify the
communication processes of bangil,identify the messages of bangil as documented
during the study and to determine the challenges in sustaining the bangil.
This research may also provide important information that will enrich the history
of the Karao tribe and at the same time revive the deteriorating cultural values of the
tribe. The main purpose of this study is for the youth of Karao to have reference with
regards to their tribe’s rich culture.
In addition, the study may be used by organizations concerned in disseminating
cultural information in maintaining and protecting traditional practices. It can also serve
as a reference for researchers of the same field or other field who are likely to conduct the
same scope of study.
Scope and Limitations
The research work was primarily concerned in identifying the characteristics of
bangilas a communication in practice, identifying the communication processes of
bangil, identifying the messages of bangil as documented during the study and to
determine the challenges in sustaining the bangil.
Tribe members who are knowledgeable enough about the bangil were the key
informants of the study. The study was conducted at Barangay Karao, Bokod, Benguet
from January to March 2012.
4
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Communication as a Practice
Craig (2004) said that in the modern culture, communication is a practice. In that
culture, the term communication is used to refer to a range of activities or communication
practices that involve talking and listening, writing and reading, performing and
witnessing or, more generally, doing anything that involves messages in any medium or
situation. Coffee shop conversation, he said is a communication practice, and so is mobile
text messaging. Employee appraisal interviews are a communication practice, and so are
community public participation meetings. Reality TV, letters to the editor, pop-up ads,
political campaign rallies, praying, talking to kids about drugs, and calling home on
weekends, all are communication practices.
Communication practices as said by the same author are not necessarily good
ways of communicating, although, as practices, they must be recognizable activities and
topics of critical discourse as ways of communicating. Political terrorism is a
communication practice (a way of sending a message. The ethical legitimacy of these
forms of communication can be debated, but they are clearly communication practices,
recognizable as such in culture (Craig, 2004).
Oral Tradition and Communication
Oral tradition. Oral tradition is the manner in which information is passed from
one generation to the next in the absence of writing or a recording medium. In the days
before near-universal literacy, poets would chant their people's stories. They employed
5
various (mnemonic) techniques to aid in their own memory and to help their listeners
keep track of the story. This oral tradition was a way to keep the history or culture of the
people alive, and since it was a form of story-telling, it was a popular entertainment (Gill,
2011).
According to Aryal (n.d.) oral tradition has a huge scope for the discipline of
communication too. Every literate or illiterate people have a certain kind of oral practice.
For illiterate ones, oral communication becomes crucial and even most of the people who
are literate do not write. Thus, it is a primary means of communication and a practice of
daily life. People can remember and transmit many oral traditions, which they have or
which they listened from their ancestor, irrespective of whether they have written practice
or not.
Chants and its Characteristics
Native songs and chants. The Benguet inhabitants call their native songs as Ba-
diw, Day-engorDayeo, and the rhymes are called Ta-mia or Tamtami. When rhymes are
expressed in monologue, they are considered Ta-tamia. Most often, the tribes expressed
or ask their riddles in rhymes. Native travelers expressed rhymes when travelling alone
(Baucas, 2003).
It was discovered that each prayer each prayer formula is applied only to certain
ritual. It is very rare to apply a certain prayer on two rituals even if rituals have the same
purpose or purposes (Baucas, 2003).
Native chants are expressed or said during most big rituals. Rituals have their
respective chants. The ritual Pechit or pedit has its own Ba’diw or Day-eng and so with
6
other rituals. It will mean that the chants for pedit cannot or should not be said in the
wedding or ngilin ritual (Baucas, 2003).
In Nuval’s study (2010), he noted that the ba’diw, which is a native chant done by
the Ibalois, does not only reflect on the tune of the chant but also on the meanings and
lessons being adopted, learned and gained by the younger generations as they hear these
chants. The following are the characteristics of the ba’diw as mentioned by Nuval
(2010):
Specific rituals where ba’diw is performed. The rituals where ba’diw is performed
are a) sebsebot, a ritual wherein the native priest redeems a captured soul by a malevolent
spirit, b) Bakak and DiyawniMula, it is ritual performed to ask a blessing of the
Kabunyan for bountiful harvest, c) Mansingpet, a ritual performed by the native priest in
celebration of the reconciliation of a husband and wife who must have been separated due
to misunderstanding, d) Sabosab, a ritual performed to seal the reconciliation of broken
relationships among kins/ relatives, e) Sukdut, it is a ritual performed for the following:
for a bountiful harvest, for protection against the strike of lightning, to heal a skin disease
or lung disease, f) DiyawniBaley, this ritual is performed as a house warming, g) Chaw-
es, a ritual performed simultaneously with the tomo/temmoso that the warriors who just
came home from the battle will maintain his physical and mental ability, h) Temmo, it is
ritual performed by the native priest for a warrior who just returned from the battlefield
as a protection against affliction or being haunted by the spirits of those victim wars.
Other rituals are the Tanong, Dangtey, Begnas, Kedot, Sangbo, Ngilin,andKafe.
Occasions where ba’diw is performed. The occasions where ba’diw is performed
are a)wedding wherein it is intended to give advice to the couple, b) community meetings
7
whereinba’diw is used to discuss community issues like leadership, projects, agriculture,
and relationship, c) offering to the dead (atang) wherein ba’diw is used to request the
spirit of the dead person to leave the good lucks and blessings to his/ her family.
People performing ba’diw.Nuval noted that ba’diw is commonly practiced by
elders. The mambunongwill serve as the leader of the chant being followed by the rest of
the elders gathered in the area.
The Karao Tribe
The Ikaraos are indigenous peasants who have their own indigenous knowledge,
systems, and practices. They depend on farming for livelihood. They live on the Southern
foothill of Mount Pulag particularly in Barangay Karao, and some in Barangay Ekip,
Bokod, Benguet. Historically, the Karao people are believed to have settled at the place
within the 18th century and were included as Ibaloi due to the ethnic boundary. However,
in the year 1969, the Barangay Council imbued with the desire for a faster community
development, passed a resolution requesting for the partition of the two barangays
(Ayochoket al., 2006). The Karao has their own dialect and together with this, they also
have some unique traditions and practices. In religious aspect, Atos’ mentioned that while
they pray to God, they also worship their pagan god.
The Bangil
Bangil is a chant being done when a member of the Karao community dies. It is
done during the night usually after the prayer service or the ba’diw. The normal wake
only lasts for three days and two nights (for 18 years old and above) while those who
8
died below 18 years old have shorter number of wake. According to Wayang, it talks of
the deeds of the person, may it be good or bad for the people to learn from it. It is also
done to strengthen the faith of the family members who were left.
It is also done during the second night but the message or content talks mostly
about what the family of the dead person will do next like who among the children of the
dead will do the butchering of pig for the kawedo or the third day after burial. Kawedo is
being done for the family to have good luck.
Legend of Bangil
The
legend
of
bangil was narrated by AgdonaChaong. Long time ago, there was
an old man who planted crops in the mountain. He was so industrious that every day he
would visit whatever he has planted like sweet potato, sugarcane and banana. One day, he
got tired and fell asleep. While he was asleep, a group of monkeys passed by. Thinking
that the old man was dead, they carried him to where they were staying. They tied him to
a wooden chair and covered his eyes. On the first night, the monkeys chanted for the old
man. The next morning, they assigned one of the monkeys to look over the man while the
rest of them went to the river to get some crabs for food. When they left, the old man
woke up and freed himself from the rope. He grabbed the monkey and put it at the pot
which the monkey had prepared for cooking. He went home and told other people in their
tribe of his experience with the monkeys. Upon hearing his stories, the tribe members
decided to adopt the chant of the monkeys whenever a member of their tribe dies. This
legend subsists up to this moment.
9
On the other hand, Atos (1982) in his study, The Culture of the Karao Tribe,
narrated the story of bangilthis way: There was an old woman who was taken by the
monkeys to the forest. Thinking that the woman was dead, the monkeys let her lie down
in a slanting position. The monkeys, who were said to have been endowed by God with
the power of speech, rendered a song (adem) singing: “Oh! You are now dead, Mother.
Watch over your children and grandchildren so that they will learn to live long. When the
woman opens her eyes, the monkeys dispersed. She related her story to her folks. Since
then, the forebears of Karao, the Panuypuy, adopted the bangil.
Challenges in conserving oral traditions
Nuval (2010) enumerated the perceived challenges and reasons behind for the
conservation of Ba-diw (chant of the Ibalois in Topdac, Atok). They are as follows:
Economic migration. Some of the people in Atok said that in search for better
living, opportunities and employment, natives aptly transfer from rural to urban area like
to the adjacent municipality of La Trinidad or cities like Baguio and Manila.
They consider this as motives for migrations seen to be entirely due to push
factors. And this instance contributes to the extinction of cultural practices such as ba-diw
because there are less number of children or adults who are capable of learning and
appreciating their ethnicity (Nuval, 2010).
Education. The transfer of the children to the urban areas is also a threat in the
passing of the ba-diw practice. Accordingly, elders would not deny the fact that the
children need education for their future career; however, some of the elders of
10
Atokclaimed that their children’s minds are being influenced by the modernization set in
the city.
Technological advancement. The people’s usage of cellphones, mp3’s computers,
social networking system and gadgets were equally a great factor in the disappearance of
ba-diw and other forms of cultural activities.
Operational Definition of Terms
The following terms are defined as used in the study:
Agkalon. An inducted elder who does the arrange marriage. He/She is responsible
for the marriage of the arranged persons.
Induction. It is a practice of the Karao tribe during wake of a dead elder wherein
elders are introduced with new and bigger roles in the community.
Initiator.Aniyanka-ama who gives messages during bangil.
Iyanka-ama. They are the group of awas or male tribal elders who are involved in
bangil. Anyone from them can give messages during bangil.
Iyankaba’kol. They are the i-inas or female tribal elders who are also key players
of the bangil.
PedpedorCarabao’s teats. It is a kind of leaves being mixed with tobacco when
person wants to smoke.
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METHODOLOGY
Locale and Time of the Study
The study was conducted at a Karao tribe in Barangay Karao, Bokod, Benguet on
January to March 2012.
The municipality of Bokod is the second largest municipality of Benguet with a
land area of 396.40 square kilometer or 13.40% of the Benguet's total land area. It is
bounded on the north by Kabayan, on the south by Itogon, on the west by Atok, and on
the east by Kayapa, Nueva Vizcaya. It is inhabited by Ibaloi, Kalanguya and Karao tribes.
One of its ten (10) barangays is Karao.
Barangay Karao is located on the northern part of Bokod. It is 60 kilometers away
from the city of Baguio. Barangay Ekip bounds on the north, Barangay Poblacion on the
west and east by the province of Nueva Viscaya. At present, Karao has eight (8) sitios.
The study was conducted in this place because they are still actively inclined to
their culture by following their traditions and cultural practices like the bangil.
Respondents of the Study
There were five key informants who were interviewed about the practice of
bangil. They were chosen through purposive sampling with the criteria of: they should be
members of the Karao tribe; and should have participated in bangil. The key informants
were suggested by Karao Barangay Captain Pelaez Mayo and other community leaders of
the said tribe. Table 1 shows their profile.
12
Figure1. Map of Barangay Karao showing the locale of the study
13
Table 1. Profile of the key informants
NAME
PLACE/SITIO
AGE
YEARS OF
PRACTICING
BANGIL
Catalina Wayang
Coral, Karao
100
32
Stanley Atiwag
Peday, Ekip
80
22
Frank Palcay
Pital, Ekip
80
20
AgdonaChaong
Coral, Karao
91
19
*CesarioChaong
Coral, Karao
60
5
*He is a tribal elder but is not yet inducted to be part of the inducted tribal elders but has
been an active participant of the first group in doing the response.
Two of them were female, Catalina Wayang and AgdonaChaong and the rest
were male. They have been practicing bangilfor not less than five years.
All of the key informants were agbangil except for CesarioChaong. However, he
was still a key informant of the study because he had been actively participating in
bangil as member of the first group who gives response after the initiator speaks.
Further, another five respondents were interviewed. They are members of the
tribe who experienced death of a family member and bangil was done. They provided the
information about the messages being communicated in bangil.
Additional six respondents were also interviewed. They were members of the
tribe who attended the bangil. They were able to give additional information about the
things they learned from bangil.
14
Data Collection
This study collected data from the five key informants through an interview
schedule. Guide questions were used to gather the data. The same instrument was used to
gather data from the additional respondents through the use of guide questions.
The questions were translated into Highland Iloco to facilitate data gathering.
Video and photo documentation were also employed to have concrete evidence
and to come up with reliable information.
Data Gathered
The data gathered were the characteristics of bangil as a communication practice,
the communication processes of bangil in terms of the people involved, the steps and the
material used. The content of bangil as documented during the study were also gathered.
The challenges in sustaining the practice were also taken.
Data Analysis
The data gathered were tabulated, consolidated and were summarized through a
narrative form.
15
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Characteristics of Bangil as a Communication Practice
As noted by Craig (2004), communication as a practice refers to a range of
activities or communication practices that involve talking and listening, writing and
reading, performing and witnessing or more generally, doing anything that involves
messages in any medium or situation.
Bangil as a chant is a form of a communication practice being observed at Karao,
Bokod. It involves talking and listening and performing and witnessing.
As practiced today, bangil is a chant being done during the first and second night
of the wake. The Karao tribe has the tradition that wakes should only last for three days.
The bangilusually starts at 10:00 in the evening, when the night attendees had the
evening meal, and ba’diw was done (Figure 2).
The inducted tribal elders. They are the key players of bangil. The initiator who is
from the group of the iyanka-ama is the one who starts giving messages. The group of the
iyanka-ama gives response to the message while the iyankaba’kol echoes the response of
theiyanka-ama.
As noted by Lunas (2009) cited by Nuval (2010), the role of the elders in the
chant is significant enough to draw the trend of the chant.
Other wake attendees can listen to bangilbut cannot deliver the message because
only the inducted tribal elders are allowed to do it.
Messages in bangil. On the first, content of the messages usually talks about the
dead person’s life and personality when he was still alive. It can also be messages
addressed to the general public.
SOURCE
CHANNEL
-Lead initiator
-done orally through
-the
iyanka-ama
’s
chant
MESSAGE
RECEIVER
reponse
-iyankaba’kol’s
response
-for the dead person
-dead person
-for the bereaved family
- bereaved family
-to the general public
- general public
EFFECT
- for the dead: he/she
will be appeased
- for the bereaved
family: they will be
comforted
- for the general public:
they may learn values
from the dead person’s
life
Figure 2. Bangil as a communication practice.
17
18
On the second night, the messages often contains advises addressed to the family.
The usual content of the message addressed to the dead is to take care of the family
he/she left and never give them misfortunes. The content of the messages addressed to
the bereaved family is to take care of one another while the message addressed to the
general public is to learn from the dead’s stories when he/she was still alive.
This coincides with the study of Wailan (2006) about the Baliwon tribe’s
binunga. A mournful song which is performed to let other people know the departed’s
life story especially the good deeds that may serve as learning for those who are still
living.
Chanting. The Karao tribe practices bangil to deliver the messages about the
dead‘s life stories so that people can learn from it.
The recipient of the messages. The dead, the bereaved family and the general
public are the recipient of the messages addressed in bangil. Certain messages are
exclusively addressed to each of them.
Result of the bangil. For the dead, he/she will be appeased because of the
messages addressed to him/her.
For the bereaved family, the messages addressed to them in bangilwill comfort
them.
For the general public, they learn from the dead’s experiences when he was still
alive. Messages that are often addressed to them is to follow the good deeds and not to
follow the bad deeds of the dead when he was alive.
19
Processes of Bangil
People Involved in Bangil.The bangilcannot start without the presence of the
respected tribal elders of the Karao tribe. They are considered as the key players of
bangil. There are two groups involved in bangil. The first is the group of the iyanka-ama
(male tribal elders) where the initiator of the bangil will come from and the iyankaba’kol
(female tribal elders).
The iyanka-ama or male tribal elders. They are the members of the inducted tribal
elders who does the response after the message delivery of the initiator. The initiator
comes from the iyanka-ama. He is the one to give messages addressed to the dead, the
bereaved family and the general public in attendance.
Theiyankaba’kolor female tribal elders.They are the group of the inducted tribal
elders who does the echo of the response coming from the iyanka-ama.
Steps involved in Bangil. Before the bangil, induction happens during the
pilmironpanganor first meal but only if the dead wasan elder aging from 40 years old
and/or above. Bangilcan be done to any dead tribe members but the family can still
decide whether to perform bangil or not.
Selection and Induction. Selection and induction of an inductee can only be done
when an elder dies. If the dead wasa younger member of the tribe, bangilis done but
induction cannot push through. CesarioChaong said that the induction process happens at
the first night during the pilmironpangan or first meal.
Figure 2 shows the process of selection and induction.
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Consensus among the members of the agbangil that selection
and induction will be done. The prospect members learn this
when an older member of the tribe dies.
During wake (First night)
Invitation by the agbangil for prospect members before the
pilmironpangan.
Selection happens. The oldest among the prospect members
will automatically be selected.
Induction proper: inductee now eats with the tribal elders
during the pilmironpangan as an act of induction
Duty of the newly inducted tribal elder starts during the bangil
and other necessary activities during the wake.
Figure 3. The induction process
21
Prospect members of tribal elders. The inducted tribal leader will invite the
prospect members who should be a member of the Karao tribe and is knowledgeable with
the tribe’s customs and traditions.
In addition, Catalina Wayang, one of the key informants, said that it is not the
good communication skills that count when choosing among the prospect members.
What is important is the knowledge of the inductee about bangiland other practices of the
Karao tribe as well as the willingness to accept duties and responsibilities as an inducted
member of the tribal elders.
There are no specific materials involved in this step.
Selection. This is done by the inducted tribal leaders. Their basis is the knowledge
of the prospect member. Aside from that, the age of the prospect member is also
considered. In the process, the oldest gets the highest chance of inducted.
There are no materials required in this step.
Induction proper. The induction is officially done by letting the inductee join the
inducted tribal elders with the pilmironpangan or first meal.
There are no required materials in this step.
The induction can only be official if within a year no other elder dies. But if there
was death within a year then the induction that just happened is invalidated.
After the induction during the meal, the duties and respect from other people for
the newly inducted member are already observed. During the wake, he/she will just sit
down with the rest of the inducted tribal elders.He/She is not obliged to do other activities
during wake such as slicing of the meat and serving food.
22
Just like how the inducted tribal elders were treated, the newly inducted tribal
elder will be prioritized when foods, drinks, and other things are served. He/She also has
a greater chance of bringing home more watwat. On some occasions during meals, other
people cannot start eating unless the inducted tribal elders start eating. Other
responsibilities of an inducted member aside from joining the bangil are: to act as
mediator between two opposing parties, agkalon, counselor, genealogist like the case of
AgdonaChaong of whom some of the tribe members asked which ancestral line they
belong and other responsibilities and duties according to their expertise. During the
bangil, one also of their duty is to talk about the kawedo wherein they will talk out who
among the children of the house is obliged to butcher pig. They will also talk out who
among the children will take over the house that the dead has left.
Assembly of theinducted tribal elders. The bangil usually starts at 10:00 in the
evening but still it depends on the decision of the tribal elders on what time it will start.
It is done after any religious services or ba’diw. Before the bangilstarts, the inducted
tribal elders (Figure 4 and 5) and the general public will have to wait for other elders to
come. The iyankaba’kol are seated inside the house where the dead person is situated
while the iyanka-ama and other men are seated outside or at the bo-day or yard of the
house.
Bag-ayan (2010) said that the position of the iyankaba’kol being inside the house
signifies their roles as caretakers of fire because it symbolizes good health.
Agreement among the iyanka-ama. The iyanka-ama will have to decide who
among them will initiate the bangil. The initiator should know something about the dead
23
so that he knows what message to deliver. On the other hand, the iyankaba’kol shall wait
for their turn to give the echo.
There are no specific materials needed in this step.
Table 2.The processes of bangil
Steps Materials
People
involved Qualifications
of
people involved
1.Selection and induction
-no materials
-inducted tribal
-should be
required
elders
knowledgeable of
-prospect
the tribe’s customs
member
and traditions.
2.Assembly of the inducted -no materials
-inducted tribal
tribal elders. The iyanka- required
elders
ama stays outside the
-general public
house while the
iyankaba’kol stays inside
the house.
3.Agreement among the -no materials
-iyanka-ama
iyanka-ama.
required
-general public
4.Message delivery of the
-iyanka-ama
-should know
initiator.
Tobacco and
-general public
something about the
pedped or
dead person
guava leaves are
-iyanka-ama
5.Response of the iyanka- offered twice to -other interested should know the
ama.
the wake
males
process of bangil
attendees
-general public
6.Echo of the iyankaba’kol.
-iyankaba’kol
should know the
-other interested process of bangil
females
-general public
*The induction process only happens if an elder dies.
24
Figure 4. The iyankaba’kol sharing stories while waiting for others
Figure 5. The iyanka-ama sharing stories while waiting for other elders as other
people listen
25
Message delivery of the initiator.According to Stanley Atiwag, like the ba’diw,
the bangil is initiated by a male tribal elder (Figure 6). The initiator is the one who gives
the message. The first message to be delivered is about the dead person’s life story and
personalities. On the other hand, the chant does not have a structure to whom the
messages are first to be addressed. Any of the other iyanka-ama can give their message if
the initiator runs out of message.
The initiator never mentions the name of the dead instead he would say
aral(referring to the dead).
The general public can listen to the bangilbut cannot give messages because only
the agbangil can do it. Meanwhile, any interested males and females can do the respond
or re-echo considering that he/she is knowledgeable with the process of bangil.
Response of theiyanka-ama. After the initiator’s message, the group of iyanka-
amaand other men present in the wake will deliver their response (Figure 7). Bag-ayan
(2010) mentioned in her study that the iyanka-ama’s response is called seba. The iyanka-
ama can give their response or seba after the initiator will say maptengmaniornga-aw
mani.The word maniis chanted in a prolonged manner by the iyanka-amaand is being re-
echoed by the iyankaba’kol.
During the wake of Nestor Quiandao Joseph last March 6, 2012, there were just
two iyanka-ama present to do the bangil,PacitoFermin, SinasWakit, and Bernardo
Chaong, who were not also part of the inducted tribal elders but knowledgeable about it.
They sat with the iyanka-amaand joined the response of the iyanka-ama during the
bangil.
26
Figure 6. Frank Palcay delivering a message
Echo of the iyankaba’kol. In Bag-ayan’s study (2010), the echo of the
iyankaba’kol is termed by the Karao as owa. The first echo of the aba’kol and other
women (Figure 8) is the same with the iyanka-ama which is the prolonged word mani.
After it, the next word they prolong is o-ogwa.
Florita Bolide, who is not yet an inducted tribal elderjoined the iyankaba’kol
during the bangilon the wake of Nestor Quiandao Joseph. She is knowledgeable with the
process of bangil and had been joining the owaor echo for some years.
After the echo of the iyankaba’kol, another advice or message will be given by
the initiator and the same process will be done until the iyanka-ama finishes the message.
The length of the bangil depends on how long the messages are. According to the
key informants, the chant usually lasts about three hours unlike what Atos’(1982)
describe in his study that bangilstarts from night and lasts until morning.
27
Figure 7. The iyanka-ama delivering their response during the bangil
Figure 8. The iyankaba’kol echoing the response
28
While the bangilis being done, no other men except the family members are
allowed to go inside the house. They can only enter if they will get something important.
Below are examples of the messages being delivered in bangilduring the first
night and second night.
The message in Table 3 is about the initiator inviting prospect members who
want to join the group of inducted tribal elders. He is inviting them reflecting in a way
that old men and women are dying that someone should replace them.
Table 3. Example of message being chanted during the first night as delivered by Isabelo
Alberto
Oy……Ano-en…. (3x)
1. Sikayonbimoltong no piyancho,
Kay teb-ok kayo cha afay, teysikathoyugadi
Emme-in a pimosay a iyanka-ama,onnoiyankaba’kol
Meseppol a guarey may teb-ok, tepsikathoyugadi
Maptengmani.
The message in Table 4 asks God to give the tribe members unity and peace so
that even if they experience trials and challenges, they may be able to help each other. It
also asks God to bless the soul of the dead so that he may help intercede their prayers.
Material used. During the bangil, a single piece of tobacco and pedped
(Carabao’s teats) is distributed by a member of the bereaved family to the wake attendees
(Figure 9 and 10). According to Benjamin Bunggal, the tobacco is offered to
acknowledge the unseen spirits or ka-apuan (forefathers) of those who attended the wake.
29
Table 4. Example of message being chanted during the second night as delivered by
Juliano “Asibaw” Balnges
Oy….Ano-en…(3x)
1. No pay koma, a Kaapuan, ekkanmoyditheng
say no guareydigat, pendaan nay tulong
Nemniman,
niyanangoyempasing o a et-ettey e too
No mapteng say guarey penda-an
Salamatmani.
It is being distributed two times while bangilis being done. This coincides with
Sacla’s (1987) description of materials saying that the absence of materials render the
ritual unacceptable to the spirits in whom it is offered. A ritual that is not accepted is
ineffective.
A past experience was shared by Benjamin Bunggal wherein a family did not
offer tobacco during the wake. A member of the tribe was possessed by a spirit asking
why no tobacco was offered. It is as if the tribe forgot their presence. Learning from that,
when someone dies, the Karao tribe members always see to it that tobacco is present
during the whole duration of the wake.
This corroborates with Sacla (1987) in his book stating that the Benguet elders
believe that the spirits of the ancestors can communicate with man through dreams and
through a medium.
30
Figure 9. The tobacco and pedped being distributed to the wake attendees
Figure 10. A family member of the dead distributing tobacco during the bangil
31
Messages inBangil
The content of bangil was divided into three: messages delivered for the dead
person, for the bereaved family, and for the public. The messages vary from initiator to
initiator.
Messages delivered to the dead. According to MarcianaDayotao, when her sister
died, the message addressed to her sister is to take care of the family members whom she
left. PascualaBencio also said that when her husband died, the message in
bangildelivered to his husband is for him not to give problems to the family. They told
him also to take care of the family like what he is doing when he was still alive.
Messages delivered to the dead. According to MarcianaDayotao, when her sister
died, the message addressed to her sister is to take care of the family members whom she
left. PascualaBencio also said that when her husband died, the message in bangil
delivered to his husband is for him not to give problems to the family. They told him also
to take care of the family like what he is doing when he was still alive.
During the wake of Nestor Quiandao Joseph, as attended by the researcher, the
messages addressed to him are to take care of the family and to help the tribe members by
interceding their prayers to God. Things about him were learned through bangil. As
stated at one of the messages delivered by Juliano “Asibaw” Balnges, Joseph did not stay
at Karao. He lived in different places until he suffered from an illness that caused his
death. Below are examples of messages addressed to the dead.
In Table 5, the first verse addressed to the dead says that he should bring what is
best for his family. He should not give problems and misfortunes to the family so that
they may live well.
32
The second verse or stanza talks about the whatabouts of the dead. It says that the
cause of his death is being sought. It was also learned that the dead had stayed away from
Karao.
The last verse addressed to the dead says that he should take care of his bereaved
wife. He should give her peace, good health and peace of mind so that she may live
longer.
Messages delivered to the bereaved family. It is usually done on the second night
of the wake. According to Stella Bolide, when her husband died, the message addressed
to her is not to find for a replacement and to take care of their children. They also advised
her to respect her husband and their children and she should not do bad things.
MarcianaDayotao also said that when her sister died, the elders advised her and the
family to love
Table 5. Example of bangil’s message meant for the dead person (as delivered by Juliano
“Asibaw”Balnges and Isabelo Alberto)
Oy…Ano-en…(3x)
1. Sikam a pimmosay, safaykoma
eseppam e panmeptangan, napamiljam a en-payasmo
Chiyay a balay
Isungaepa-nosmokoma e mapteng, nu edmopa’nosen
Nga-aw mani.
Oy….Ano-en… (3x)
2. Sikamkoma, no pay koma, ma’manapete-yanmo
Egkakomainmaragwe e chiyaykomangodKarao
Ma’manap e kagulnaeteyanmo
No edmokoma in-ahad-ahad.
Say
maptengmani.
33
one another and obey what the elders will tell them. They also told them to be respectful.
Below is an example of the message addressed to the bereaved family.
The verse in Table 6 says that the family should first offer or butcher what is
owned by the dead. If it is not enough then that is the time that they will use donations
from other people.
Messages addressed to the general public. According to Patricio Sanoy, when he
listens to bangil, he is learning from the way of life of the dead person. He said he
follows the good deeds of the person but does not follow his bad examples like being
boastful. According to Gabuyo, the values she learned in listening to bangilis to be
respectful and to love other people. Roque Bolide added that the message he learned from
bangil is to comfort the bereaved family financially and spiritually.
During the wake of Nestor Quiandao Joseph, one of the messages (included
below) is directly for the youth. Frank Palcay advised that instead of going anywhere,
young people should stay inside and listen to the stories of the elders. In this way, they
may be able to learn more about their tribe’s cultures and traditions.
Table 6. Example of bangil’s message meant for the bereaved family (as delivered by
Isabelo Alberto)
Oy….Anoen… (3x)
1. Say pilmiron ma-guekhetta-a kameng to et netta
Wa e-ten simek no pompon to.
Maptengmani.
34
The message in Table 7 is addressed to the general public particularly the youth.
It says that when the elders are telling stories, they should listen to it so that they will
learn more about their culture so that they will also know what they will do. They should
listen to their advices so that wherever they may be, the principles will be with them
always.
Table 7. Example of bangil’s message meant for the public (as delivered by Frank
Palcay)
Oy….Ano-en…(3x)
1. Sikayon a-anak
Nu
guareymaesestorya
Ekket kayo, panke-ngel kayo ketdi
Ngoypissengjonmengde
Na mapteng a bilin
Say maptengmani.
Challenges in Sustaining Bangil
The key informants enumerated the following as challenges in sustaining bangil.
Drunkenness of tribal elders while they conduct bangil. According to some wake
attendees, sometimes the tribal elders are drunk that the integrity of what they are saying
is gone. They also speak irrelevant topics sometimes.
Disinterestedness to learn among young people. The key informants also said
that only few young people are observing when bangil is being done. Chaong would
recall that when they were young, they are afraid to go home from the wake because he
35
said the bangilis raising their “goosebumps” that is why they do not listen to it. But now
that he now understands the message being delivered in bangil, he said it is not scary
after all.
Further, as observed by the researcher during the wake of Nestor Quiandao
Joseph, being not involved in bangil, there are just few of the young people who listen to
bangildone by the elders.
Migration. The key informants said that a familiar scenario in most of the
indigenous communities is that most of the young people from the tribe are studying in
nearby cities. Because of their stay in the city, they are not able to observe how bangil is
done or what the messages of the chant are. This coincides with the study of Nuval
(2010) wherein it states that elders would not deny the fact that the value of education for
the young people’s career; however, some elders claimed that their children’s mind are
being influenced by the modernization set in the city.
IDRC (1998) also noted in their article that since indigenous knowledge are
transmitted orally, it is vulnerable to rapid change especially when people are displaced
or when young people acquire values and lifestyles different from those of the ancestors.
Death of elders. Since the elders are the key players of bangil, the practice is
slowly diminishing because of the elders’ death. Their knowledge about bangiland other
cultures and traditions of their tribe has a slim chance of being passed to the next
generation.
It is done during wakes only. The transmission of the practice is difficult because
it is just practiced during wakes. There is no other avenue of learning it.
36
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary
The study was conducted to identify the characteristics of bangilas a
communication practice, identify the communication processes of bangil, identify the
content of bangilas documented during the study and to determine the challenges in
sustaining the bangil.
Interview schedules were employed to gather the needed data from the five key
informants and additional respondents. The data gathering was conducted from January
to March 2012.
Bangil is a chant done to honor the dead. It speaks about the good and bad deeds
of the dead person in which other people learn from it. The messages are addressed to the
dead, bereaved family and the general public.
According to the key informants, the people involved in bangil are the inducted
tribal elders called the iyanka-amaor the male tribal elders and theiyankaba’kol or the
female tribal elders. They are called as the key players of bangil.
Induction of the tribal elders happens during the first night of the wake of a dead
elder. The criteria for the induction are as follows: should be knowledgeable with the
customs and traditions of the tribe. There is no age limit set for choosing but the practice
of the tribal leaders is to choose the oldest among the inductees.
The
bangil is initiated by an inductediyanka-ama. He will give the first message
about the dead. The response of theiyanka-amafollows. The echo is then delivered by the
iyankaba’kol. After the echo of the iyankaba’kol, another message will be delivered by
37
the same person who initiated the bangilor other elders will do. After every message, the
response of the iyanka-ama is delivered followed by the echo of the iyankaba’kol.
Anyone among the iyanka-ama can give his advices after the initiator has run out of
message.
The length of the bangil depends on the messages being delivered by the iyanka-
ama.
Tobacco is distributed twice during bangil. It is done to recognize the presence of
the unseen spirits or ka-apuan (forefathers) of the wake attendees.
The challenges encountered in sustaining bangil are: drunkenness of elders,
disinterestedness to learn among young people, death of elders and infrequent practice of
bangil.
Conclusions
Based on the findings of the study, the following conclusions were drawn:
1. Bangil is a chant that is sacred because it involves the elders and it has restrictions
for practicing it.
2. Bangil is a communal practice where the elders, the bereaved family, and the
general public are involved.
3. Unlike other chants in the Cordillera, the bangil is only done by the inducted
elders.
38
4. Like most of the cultural practices, the threats to bangil’s sustainability are
migration, death of elders, lack of appreciation among the younger generations
and it is not practice regularly.
5. There are beliefs attached to the practice of bangil.
6. Bangil is a very important avenue for new members of tribal elders.
Recommendations
Based on the results of the study, the following recommendations were derived:
1. Further validation of the history of bangil may be done.
2. Other kinds of documentation, such as video documentation, may be considered
by other researchers to dwell on.
3. The Karao should continue practicing bangil to sustain it.
4. Another study may also be done on bangilas a process for maintaining tribal
council.
39
LITERATURE CITED
AKULLO, D., R. KANZIKWERA, P. BIRUNGI, W. ALUM, L. ALIGUMA and M.
BARWOGEZA 2007. Indigenous Knowledge in Agriculture: A Case Study of the
Challenges in Sharing Knowledge of Past Generations in a Globalized Context in
Uganda. Retrieved November 22, 2011 from
http://www.ifla.org/iv/ifla73/index.htm.
ARYAL.D. n.d. Oral Tradition and Communication.Retrieved December 15, 2011
http://www.ku.edu.np/bodhi/vol3_no1/07.%20Deepak%20Aryal.%20Oral%
20tradition%20and%20communication.pdf.
ATIWAG, S. 2012. The Process of Bangil (Personal Interview).
ATOS, M.D. 1982. The Culture of the Karao Tribe.PhD Thesis.
University of Baguio.
Baguio
City. Pp. 69-74.
AYOCHOK, A., J. BANWAGEN, A. LAWANGEN, B. NGALATAN and M. SANTOS.
2006. The traditional rice-based ecosystem of the Karaos in Bokod, Benguet:
agro- biodiversity and sustainability evaluation. BS Thesis. BSU, La Trinidad,
Benguet.
Pp.
2-3.
BENGUET SOCIO-ECONOMIC PROFILE. 2007. La Trinidad, Benguet. Pp iii-32.
BAG-AYAN, F. D. 2010.Communication strategies in transmitting cultural practices
among the Karao tribe of Bokod, Benguet. BS Thesis. BSU, La Trinidad, Pp. 6,
24-26.
BAUCAS, B.C. 2003. Traditional Beliefs, Cultural Practices in Benguet. New Baguio
Offset Press. Km.5, La Trinidad, Benguet. Pp. 24-25.
BUNGGAL,B. 2012. Material Used in Bangil. (Personal Interview).
CHAONG, A. 2012.History of Bangil.(Personal Interview).
CHAONG, C. 2012. The Process of Bangil.(Personal Interview).
40
CRAIG, R. T. 2004. Communication as a Practice.Retrieved December 17, 2011 from
spot.colorado.edu/.../Stances%20Practice-comm practice.
GILL, N.S. 2011.Oral Tradition. Retrieved December 15, 2011 from
http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/homer/f/OralTradition.htm
IRDC. 1998. Working with Indigenous Knowledge: A guide for researchers. IRDC.
Ottawa, Canada. P.7.
LI, J.and KARAKOWSKY, L. 2001. Do We See Eye-to-Eye? Implications of Cultural
Differences For Cross-Cultural Management Research and Practice. The Journal
of
Psychology, 135(5), 501-517.] Retrieved November 22, 2011 from
http://www.tamu.edu/faculty/choudhury/culture.html.
NUVAL, P. J. A. 2010. Ba’diw as a Communication Tool for Community Development
in
Topdac, Atok, Benguet. BS Thesis. BSU, La Trinidad, Benguet. Pp. 43-
57.
PALCAY, F. 2012. Bangil as a Communication Practice.(Personal Interview).
WAILAN, A.T. 2006.Documentation of the Traditional Communication Practices of the
Baliwon Tribe in Barangay Bantay, Paracelis, Mountain Province. BS Thesis.
BSU, La Trinidad, Benguet. P.30
WAYANG, C. 2012. Traditional Practices of Karao (Personal Interview).
41
APPENDIX A
Interview Questionnaire
(For elders)
PROFILE OF THE RESPONDENT
a. Name: ______________________________________
b. Age: ________________________________________
c. Sex: ________________________________________
d. Residence/Sitio: _______________________________
e. Civil Status: __________________________________
f. Occupation: __________________________________
g. Educational Attainment: ________________________
I. CHARACTERISTICS OF BANGIL AS A COMMUNICATION PRACTICE
a. tribal elders
b.
chant
c. message/content
II. COMMUNICATION PROCESSES OF BANGIL
A. People involved in bangil
a. What are the qualifications of those who can do the bangil in terms of:
age
sex
Level of expertise
Initiator
Iyanka-ama
Iyankaba’kol
42
b. Who are allowed to listen to the bangil aside from the bereaved family in
terms of:
(Sino timabalinngaagdenggengtibangilmalibankadagitipamilya jay natay?)
1.
Age:
2. Sex:
B. STEPS INVOLVED IN BANGIL
Steps Materials
People
Involved
Qualifications
Of
The People
Involved
1.
2.
3.
43
C. MATERIALS USED IN BANGIL
MATERIALS
SYMBOL/PURPOSE
a. Before the bangil
b. During the bangil
c. After the bangil
III. CONTENT OF THE BANGIL
What are the messages delivered during the bangil addressed to the:
(Anya timensahengamaipaaykadagitisumaruno:
a. Dead person
b. Family
c. General public in attendance
IV. CHALLENGES IN SUSTAINING BANGIL
a. What are the challenges you encounter in sustaining bangil?
(Anya dagitipannubokngamapadpadasanyutapnomamintinaryutipanagbangil?)
44
APPENDIX B
Interview Schedule
(For members of tribe who experienced death of a family member)
PROFILE OF THE RESPONDENT
a. Name: ________________________________________
b. Age: _________________________________________
c. Sex: __________________________________________
d. Residence/ Sitio: ________________________________
e. Civil Status: ____________________________________
f. Occupation: ____________________________________
g. Educational Attainment: __________________________
I.
QUESTIONS
a. What were the messages addressed to you and your family when the bangil
was done?
(Anya dagitimensahengainpaay da kenka ken itipamilyamidinagbangil da
itibalayyu?)
b. What was the message delivered in bangil addressed to your loved one who
passed away?
(Anya timensahengainpaay da itiminatayidinagbangil da itibalayyu?)
c. What was the message delivered in bangil addressed to the other attendees of
the wake?
(Anya timensahe da ijaybangilnganaipaayitidaduma a taonganakilamay?)
45
APPENDIX C
Interview Questionnaire
(For members of the tribe who attended the wake and listened to bangil)
1. What are the messages addressed to you?
(Anya dagitimensahengainpaay da ijaybangil?)
2. What are the values you acquired from the bangil?
(Anya dagitisursuronganaadalmoitipanag-denggegmoitibangil?)
46
APPENDIX D
Figure 11. The researcher with the key informants (AgdonaChaong,
CesarioChaong and Catalina Wayang
Figure 12.The researcher with the wake attendees and some of the iyankaba’kol
MANG-OSAN, OFELIA C. APRIL 2012. Chanting Memories: Bangil as a
Communication Practice in Karao, Bokod. Benguet State University, La Trinidad,
Benguet.
Adviser: Christine Grace B. Sidchogan, Ms.C
ABSTRACT
The study was conducted to produce document showing the practice onbangil, a
chant being done during wake by the Karao tribe of Bokod, Benguet. Specifically, it
aimed to identify the characteristics of bangil as a communication practice, identify the
communication processes in bangil in terms of the people involved inbangil; the steps in
bangil and the material used during bangil, identify the content of bangil as documented
during the study and to determine the challenges in sustaining the bangil.
The study was conducted from January to March 2012.
Five key informants were interviewed using interview schedule employing
interview questionnaire. Additional eleven tribe members were interviewed to give
information on the messages delivered in bangil(messages addressed to the dead, family
and the general public).
Bangil is a chant that is sacred because it involves the elders and it has
restrictions for practicing it. It is a communal practice where the elders, the bereaved
family, and the general public are involved. Unlike other chants in the Cordillera, the
bangil is only done by the inducted elders. There are beliefs attached to the practice of
bangil.
Tobacco is distributed twice during bangil. It is done to recognize the presence of
the unseen spirits or ka-apuan (forefathers) of the wake attendees.
The challenges encountered in sustaining bangil are: drunkenness of elders,
disinterestedness to learn among young people, death of elders and infrequent practice of
bangil.
It is then recommended that video documentation be done on bangil. Karao tribe
should also continue practicing bangil to sustain it.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Bibliography.......................................................................................................
i
Abstract…..........................................................................................................
i
Table of Contents......................................................................................................
ii
INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................
1
Rationale.........................................................................................................
1
Statement of the Problem………………………………………………...............
2
Objectives of the Study..................................................................................
3
Importance of the Study.................................................................................
3
Scope and Limitation of the Study..................................................................
4
REVIEW OF LITERATURE.....................................................................................
5
Communication as a Practice.........................................................................
5
Oral Traditions…….......................................................................................
5
Chants and its Characteristics………...............................................................
6
The Karao Tribe…….………………………....................................................
8
The Bangil……………………………………………………………..................
8
Legend of Bangil………………………………………………………………
9
Challenges in Conserving Oral Traditions…………………………………….
10
Operational Definition of Terms………………………………………..........
11
METHODOLOGY.......................................................................................................... 12
Locale and Time of the Study...........................................................................
12
Respondents of the Study..................................................................................
12
Data Collection…….…………………………………………………………..
15
Data Gathered……………………………………………………………….....
15
Data Analysis……………………………………………………….................
15
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION………………………………………………………. 16
Bangilas a Communication Practice …………………………………….........
16
Processes of Bangil……………………………………………………………………. 19
Messages in Bangil……………………………………………………………………. 29
Challenges in Sustaining Bangil……………………………………………….
34
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS……………………... 36
Summary………………………………………………………………..........
36
Conclusions…………………………………………………………………….
37
Recommendations………………………….…………………………………..
38
LITERATURE CITED……………………………………………………………....... 39
0
INTRODUCTION
Rationale
The Philippine society is composed of many tribes with diverse culture and. This
diversity creates their distinction from each other in way of life and daily activities.
In Benguet alone, there are seven known tribes existing, they are the Ibaloi,
Kankana-ey, Kalangoya, Karao, Kalahan, Iowak and the Katavan (Benguet Socio-
Economic Profile, 2007). Each of the tribes has their own unique dialect and own
practices but they share similarities in beliefs like recognizing the unseen spirits and
worshipping their gods.
Culture, as defined by Li and Karakowsky (2001), is symbolic communication.
Some of its symbols include a group’s skills, knowledge, attitudes, values, and motives.
The meanings of the symbols are learned and deliberately perpetuated in a society
through its institutions. Inherent to any human activity, communication is always present
in any culture.
One of the tribes in Benguet as stated earlier is the Karao tribe.
According to Atos (1982), the Karao community is surrounded by the Ibaloi
community. However, in spite of the integration of certain customs and practices through
social intercourse, the Karao tribe has retained its own dialect, customs and traditions, life
ways and mores that are unique.
The sustainability of their uniqueness was confirmed during a preliminary
interview of the researcher with Catalina Wayang, a key informant from Karao.
1
In Bag-ayan’s study (2010), she mentioned several cultural practices still
practiced at Karao and one of it is the bangil.
Thisis a burial rite through chants unique to the Ikarao, which are done during a
wake. It is a three-pronged extemporaneous talk addressed to the deceased, to the
bereaved family and to the general public in attendance. The bangil is initiated by an
elder, followed by the response of the iyanka-ama(male tribal elders), then echoed by the
iyankaba’kol(female tribal elders).
With the onset of factors that are contributing to the disappearance of cultural
practices, it would be no wonder if one day, bangil may possibly vanish more so that it is
an oral tradition.
Akulloet al. (2007) also noted that a lot of indigenous knowledge has been lost
through deaths of elderly people since there is no formal documentation of such
knowledge. Since oral communication is how this indigenous knowledge is being passed
to the younger generations before, written documents are lacking that also contributes in
the slow vanishing of a culture.
Given this present situation, this is where knowledge management play its role in
addressing the factors mentioned above. Capturing and storing this cultural practice for
the consumption of the succeeding generations are deemed necessary, hence this study.
Statement of the Problem
The study specifically answered the following questions:
1. What are the characteristics of bangil as a communication practice?
2. What are the communication processes of bangil?
2
3. What are the messages of bangilin terms of:
a. Message addressed to the dead;
b. Message addressed to the bereaved family and;
c. Message addressed to the general public
4. What are the challenges in sustaining the bangil?
Objectives of the Study
With the general aim to capture bangilas a communication practice, the study:
1. Identified the characteristics of bangilas a communication practice;
2. Identified the communication processes of bangil;
3. Identified the messages of bangilin terms of:
a. Message addressed to the dead;
b. Message addressed to the bereaved family and;
c. Message addressed to the general public
4. Determined the challenges in sustaining bangil.
Importance of the Study
A culture of a community is one of the valuable treasures that the folks can give
to the next generations through oral communication. Written documents about indigenous
practices are lacking since others just rely on oral transmission of the said practices. In
this point, there is a threat of the eradication of such cultures because of the factors that
hindrance the transmission of these traditional communication practices.
3
In this regard, the study aimed to produce document showing the practice of
Bangilamong the Karao tribe of Bokod, Benguet. Moreover, this study intended to
identify the characteristics of bangil as a communication practice, identify the
communication processes of bangil,identify the messages of bangil as documented
during the study and to determine the challenges in sustaining the bangil.
This research may also provide important information that will enrich the history
of the Karao tribe and at the same time revive the deteriorating cultural values of the
tribe. The main purpose of this study is for the youth of Karao to have reference with
regards to their tribe’s rich culture.
In addition, the study may be used by organizations concerned in disseminating
cultural information in maintaining and protecting traditional practices. It can also serve
as a reference for researchers of the same field or other field who are likely to conduct the
same scope of study.
Scope and Limitations
The research work was primarily concerned in identifying the characteristics of
bangilas a communication in practice, identifying the communication processes of
bangil, identifying the messages of bangil as documented during the study and to
determine the challenges in sustaining the bangil.
Tribe members who are knowledgeable enough about the bangil were the key
informants of the study. The study was conducted at Barangay Karao, Bokod, Benguet
from January to March 2012.
4
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Communication as a Practice
Craig (2004) said that in the modern culture, communication is a practice. In that
culture, the term communication is used to refer to a range of activities or communication
practices that involve talking and listening, writing and reading, performing and
witnessing or, more generally, doing anything that involves messages in any medium or
situation. Coffee shop conversation, he said is a communication practice, and so is mobile
text messaging. Employee appraisal interviews are a communication practice, and so are
community public participation meetings. Reality TV, letters to the editor, pop-up ads,
political campaign rallies, praying, talking to kids about drugs, and calling home on
weekends, all are communication practices.
Communication practices as said by the same author are not necessarily good
ways of communicating, although, as practices, they must be recognizable activities and
topics of critical discourse as ways of communicating. Political terrorism is a
communication practice (a way of sending a message. The ethical legitimacy of these
forms of communication can be debated, but they are clearly communication practices,
recognizable as such in culture (Craig, 2004).
Oral Tradition and Communication
Oral tradition. Oral tradition is the manner in which information is passed from
one generation to the next in the absence of writing or a recording medium. In the days
before near-universal literacy, poets would chant their people's stories. They employed
5
various (mnemonic) techniques to aid in their own memory and to help their listeners
keep track of the story. This oral tradition was a way to keep the history or culture of the
people alive, and since it was a form of story-telling, it was a popular entertainment (Gill,
2011).
According to Aryal (n.d.) oral tradition has a huge scope for the discipline of
communication too. Every literate or illiterate people have a certain kind of oral practice.
For illiterate ones, oral communication becomes crucial and even most of the people who
are literate do not write. Thus, it is a primary means of communication and a practice of
daily life. People can remember and transmit many oral traditions, which they have or
which they listened from their ancestor, irrespective of whether they have written practice
or not.
Chants and its Characteristics
Native songs and chants. The Benguet inhabitants call their native songs as Ba-
diw, Day-engorDayeo, and the rhymes are called Ta-mia or Tamtami. When rhymes are
expressed in monologue, they are considered Ta-tamia. Most often, the tribes expressed
or ask their riddles in rhymes. Native travelers expressed rhymes when travelling alone
(Baucas, 2003).
It was discovered that each prayer each prayer formula is applied only to certain
ritual. It is very rare to apply a certain prayer on two rituals even if rituals have the same
purpose or purposes (Baucas, 2003).
Native chants are expressed or said during most big rituals. Rituals have their
respective chants. The ritual Pechit or pedit has its own Ba’diw or Day-eng and so with
6
other rituals. It will mean that the chants for pedit cannot or should not be said in the
wedding or ngilin ritual (Baucas, 2003).
In Nuval’s study (2010), he noted that the ba’diw, which is a native chant done by
the Ibalois, does not only reflect on the tune of the chant but also on the meanings and
lessons being adopted, learned and gained by the younger generations as they hear these
chants. The following are the characteristics of the ba’diw as mentioned by Nuval
(2010):
Specific rituals where ba’diw is performed. The rituals where ba’diw is performed
are a) sebsebot, a ritual wherein the native priest redeems a captured soul by a malevolent
spirit, b) Bakak and DiyawniMula, it is ritual performed to ask a blessing of the
Kabunyan for bountiful harvest, c) Mansingpet, a ritual performed by the native priest in
celebration of the reconciliation of a husband and wife who must have been separated due
to misunderstanding, d) Sabosab, a ritual performed to seal the reconciliation of broken
relationships among kins/ relatives, e) Sukdut, it is a ritual performed for the following:
for a bountiful harvest, for protection against the strike of lightning, to heal a skin disease
or lung disease, f) DiyawniBaley, this ritual is performed as a house warming, g) Chaw-
es, a ritual performed simultaneously with the tomo/temmoso that the warriors who just
came home from the battle will maintain his physical and mental ability, h) Temmo, it is
ritual performed by the native priest for a warrior who just returned from the battlefield
as a protection against affliction or being haunted by the spirits of those victim wars.
Other rituals are the Tanong, Dangtey, Begnas, Kedot, Sangbo, Ngilin,andKafe.
Occasions where ba’diw is performed. The occasions where ba’diw is performed
are a)wedding wherein it is intended to give advice to the couple, b) community meetings
7
whereinba’diw is used to discuss community issues like leadership, projects, agriculture,
and relationship, c) offering to the dead (atang) wherein ba’diw is used to request the
spirit of the dead person to leave the good lucks and blessings to his/ her family.
People performing ba’diw.Nuval noted that ba’diw is commonly practiced by
elders. The mambunongwill serve as the leader of the chant being followed by the rest of
the elders gathered in the area.
The Karao Tribe
The Ikaraos are indigenous peasants who have their own indigenous knowledge,
systems, and practices. They depend on farming for livelihood. They live on the Southern
foothill of Mount Pulag particularly in Barangay Karao, and some in Barangay Ekip,
Bokod, Benguet. Historically, the Karao people are believed to have settled at the place
within the 18th century and were included as Ibaloi due to the ethnic boundary. However,
in the year 1969, the Barangay Council imbued with the desire for a faster community
development, passed a resolution requesting for the partition of the two barangays
(Ayochoket al., 2006). The Karao has their own dialect and together with this, they also
have some unique traditions and practices. In religious aspect, Atos’ mentioned that while
they pray to God, they also worship their pagan god.
The Bangil
Bangil is a chant being done when a member of the Karao community dies. It is
done during the night usually after the prayer service or the ba’diw. The normal wake
only lasts for three days and two nights (for 18 years old and above) while those who
8
died below 18 years old have shorter number of wake. According to Wayang, it talks of
the deeds of the person, may it be good or bad for the people to learn from it. It is also
done to strengthen the faith of the family members who were left.
It is also done during the second night but the message or content talks mostly
about what the family of the dead person will do next like who among the children of the
dead will do the butchering of pig for the kawedo or the third day after burial. Kawedo is
being done for the family to have good luck.
Legend of Bangil
The
legend
of
bangil was narrated by AgdonaChaong. Long time ago, there was
an old man who planted crops in the mountain. He was so industrious that every day he
would visit whatever he has planted like sweet potato, sugarcane and banana. One day, he
got tired and fell asleep. While he was asleep, a group of monkeys passed by. Thinking
that the old man was dead, they carried him to where they were staying. They tied him to
a wooden chair and covered his eyes. On the first night, the monkeys chanted for the old
man. The next morning, they assigned one of the monkeys to look over the man while the
rest of them went to the river to get some crabs for food. When they left, the old man
woke up and freed himself from the rope. He grabbed the monkey and put it at the pot
which the monkey had prepared for cooking. He went home and told other people in their
tribe of his experience with the monkeys. Upon hearing his stories, the tribe members
decided to adopt the chant of the monkeys whenever a member of their tribe dies. This
legend subsists up to this moment.
9
On the other hand, Atos (1982) in his study, The Culture of the Karao Tribe,
narrated the story of bangilthis way: There was an old woman who was taken by the
monkeys to the forest. Thinking that the woman was dead, the monkeys let her lie down
in a slanting position. The monkeys, who were said to have been endowed by God with
the power of speech, rendered a song (adem) singing: “Oh! You are now dead, Mother.
Watch over your children and grandchildren so that they will learn to live long. When the
woman opens her eyes, the monkeys dispersed. She related her story to her folks. Since
then, the forebears of Karao, the Panuypuy, adopted the bangil.
Challenges in conserving oral traditions
Nuval (2010) enumerated the perceived challenges and reasons behind for the
conservation of Ba-diw (chant of the Ibalois in Topdac, Atok). They are as follows:
Economic migration. Some of the people in Atok said that in search for better
living, opportunities and employment, natives aptly transfer from rural to urban area like
to the adjacent municipality of La Trinidad or cities like Baguio and Manila.
They consider this as motives for migrations seen to be entirely due to push
factors. And this instance contributes to the extinction of cultural practices such as ba-diw
because there are less number of children or adults who are capable of learning and
appreciating their ethnicity (Nuval, 2010).
Education. The transfer of the children to the urban areas is also a threat in the
passing of the ba-diw practice. Accordingly, elders would not deny the fact that the
children need education for their future career; however, some of the elders of
10
Atokclaimed that their children’s minds are being influenced by the modernization set in
the city.
Technological advancement. The people’s usage of cellphones, mp3’s computers,
social networking system and gadgets were equally a great factor in the disappearance of
ba-diw and other forms of cultural activities.
Operational Definition of Terms
The following terms are defined as used in the study:
Agkalon. An inducted elder who does the arrange marriage. He/She is responsible
for the marriage of the arranged persons.
Induction. It is a practice of the Karao tribe during wake of a dead elder wherein
elders are introduced with new and bigger roles in the community.
Initiator.Aniyanka-ama who gives messages during bangil.
Iyanka-ama. They are the group of awas or male tribal elders who are involved in
bangil. Anyone from them can give messages during bangil.
Iyankaba’kol. They are the i-inas or female tribal elders who are also key players
of the bangil.
PedpedorCarabao’s teats. It is a kind of leaves being mixed with tobacco when
person wants to smoke.
11
METHODOLOGY
Locale and Time of the Study
The study was conducted at a Karao tribe in Barangay Karao, Bokod, Benguet on
January to March 2012.
The municipality of Bokod is the second largest municipality of Benguet with a
land area of 396.40 square kilometer or 13.40% of the Benguet's total land area. It is
bounded on the north by Kabayan, on the south by Itogon, on the west by Atok, and on
the east by Kayapa, Nueva Vizcaya. It is inhabited by Ibaloi, Kalanguya and Karao tribes.
One of its ten (10) barangays is Karao.
Barangay Karao is located on the northern part of Bokod. It is 60 kilometers away
from the city of Baguio. Barangay Ekip bounds on the north, Barangay Poblacion on the
west and east by the province of Nueva Viscaya. At present, Karao has eight (8) sitios.
The study was conducted in this place because they are still actively inclined to
their culture by following their traditions and cultural practices like the bangil.
Respondents of the Study
There were five key informants who were interviewed about the practice of
bangil. They were chosen through purposive sampling with the criteria of: they should be
members of the Karao tribe; and should have participated in bangil. The key informants
were suggested by Karao Barangay Captain Pelaez Mayo and other community leaders of
the said tribe. Table 1 shows their profile.
12
Figure1. Map of Barangay Karao showing the locale of the study
13
Table 1. Profile of the key informants
NAME
PLACE/SITIO
AGE
YEARS OF
PRACTICING
BANGIL
Catalina Wayang
Coral, Karao
100
32
Stanley Atiwag
Peday, Ekip
80
22
Frank Palcay
Pital, Ekip
80
20
AgdonaChaong
Coral, Karao
91
19
*CesarioChaong
Coral, Karao
60
5
*He is a tribal elder but is not yet inducted to be part of the inducted tribal elders but has
been an active participant of the first group in doing the response.
Two of them were female, Catalina Wayang and AgdonaChaong and the rest
were male. They have been practicing bangilfor not less than five years.
All of the key informants were agbangil except for CesarioChaong. However, he
was still a key informant of the study because he had been actively participating in
bangil as member of the first group who gives response after the initiator speaks.
Further, another five respondents were interviewed. They are members of the
tribe who experienced death of a family member and bangil was done. They provided the
information about the messages being communicated in bangil.
Additional six respondents were also interviewed. They were members of the
tribe who attended the bangil. They were able to give additional information about the
things they learned from bangil.
14
Data Collection
This study collected data from the five key informants through an interview
schedule. Guide questions were used to gather the data. The same instrument was used to
gather data from the additional respondents through the use of guide questions.
The questions were translated into Highland Iloco to facilitate data gathering.
Video and photo documentation were also employed to have concrete evidence
and to come up with reliable information.
Data Gathered
The data gathered were the characteristics of bangil as a communication practice,
the communication processes of bangil in terms of the people involved, the steps and the
material used. The content of bangil as documented during the study were also gathered.
The challenges in sustaining the practice were also taken.
Data Analysis
The data gathered were tabulated, consolidated and were summarized through a
narrative form.
15
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Characteristics of Bangil as a Communication Practice
As noted by Craig (2004), communication as a practice refers to a range of
activities or communication practices that involve talking and listening, writing and
reading, performing and witnessing or more generally, doing anything that involves
messages in any medium or situation.
Bangil as a chant is a form of a communication practice being observed at Karao,
Bokod. It involves talking and listening and performing and witnessing.
As practiced today, bangil is a chant being done during the first and second night
of the wake. The Karao tribe has the tradition that wakes should only last for three days.
The bangilusually starts at 10:00 in the evening, when the night attendees had the
evening meal, and ba’diw was done (Figure 2).
The inducted tribal elders. They are the key players of bangil. The initiator who is
from the group of the iyanka-ama is the one who starts giving messages. The group of the
iyanka-ama gives response to the message while the iyankaba’kol echoes the response of
theiyanka-ama.
As noted by Lunas (2009) cited by Nuval (2010), the role of the elders in the
chant is significant enough to draw the trend of the chant.
Other wake attendees can listen to bangilbut cannot deliver the message because
only the inducted tribal elders are allowed to do it.
Messages in bangil. On the first, content of the messages usually talks about the
dead person’s life and personality when he was still alive. It can also be messages
addressed to the general public.
SOURCE
CHANNEL
-Lead initiator
-done orally through
-the
iyanka-ama
’s
chant
MESSAGE
RECEIVER
reponse
-iyankaba’kol’s
response
-for the dead person
-dead person
-for the bereaved family
- bereaved family
-to the general public
- general public
EFFECT
- for the dead: he/she
will be appeased
- for the bereaved
family: they will be
comforted
- for the general public:
they may learn values
from the dead person’s
life
Figure 2. Bangil as a communication practice.
17
18
On the second night, the messages often contains advises addressed to the family.
The usual content of the message addressed to the dead is to take care of the family
he/she left and never give them misfortunes. The content of the messages addressed to
the bereaved family is to take care of one another while the message addressed to the
general public is to learn from the dead’s stories when he/she was still alive.
This coincides with the study of Wailan (2006) about the Baliwon tribe’s
binunga. A mournful song which is performed to let other people know the departed’s
life story especially the good deeds that may serve as learning for those who are still
living.
Chanting. The Karao tribe practices bangil to deliver the messages about the
dead‘s life stories so that people can learn from it.
The recipient of the messages. The dead, the bereaved family and the general
public are the recipient of the messages addressed in bangil. Certain messages are
exclusively addressed to each of them.
Result of the bangil. For the dead, he/she will be appeased because of the
messages addressed to him/her.
For the bereaved family, the messages addressed to them in bangilwill comfort
them.
For the general public, they learn from the dead’s experiences when he was still
alive. Messages that are often addressed to them is to follow the good deeds and not to
follow the bad deeds of the dead when he was alive.
19
Processes of Bangil
People Involved in Bangil.The bangilcannot start without the presence of the
respected tribal elders of the Karao tribe. They are considered as the key players of
bangil. There are two groups involved in bangil. The first is the group of the iyanka-ama
(male tribal elders) where the initiator of the bangil will come from and the iyankaba’kol
(female tribal elders).
The iyanka-ama or male tribal elders. They are the members of the inducted tribal
elders who does the response after the message delivery of the initiator. The initiator
comes from the iyanka-ama. He is the one to give messages addressed to the dead, the
bereaved family and the general public in attendance.
Theiyankaba’kolor female tribal elders.They are the group of the inducted tribal
elders who does the echo of the response coming from the iyanka-ama.
Steps involved in Bangil. Before the bangil, induction happens during the
pilmironpanganor first meal but only if the dead wasan elder aging from 40 years old
and/or above. Bangilcan be done to any dead tribe members but the family can still
decide whether to perform bangil or not.
Selection and Induction. Selection and induction of an inductee can only be done
when an elder dies. If the dead wasa younger member of the tribe, bangilis done but
induction cannot push through. CesarioChaong said that the induction process happens at
the first night during the pilmironpangan or first meal.
Figure 2 shows the process of selection and induction.
20
Consensus among the members of the agbangil that selection
and induction will be done. The prospect members learn this
when an older member of the tribe dies.
During wake (First night)
Invitation by the agbangil for prospect members before the
pilmironpangan.
Selection happens. The oldest among the prospect members
will automatically be selected.
Induction proper: inductee now eats with the tribal elders
during the pilmironpangan as an act of induction
Duty of the newly inducted tribal elder starts during the bangil
and other necessary activities during the wake.
Figure 3. The induction process
21
Prospect members of tribal elders. The inducted tribal leader will invite the
prospect members who should be a member of the Karao tribe and is knowledgeable with
the tribe’s customs and traditions.
In addition, Catalina Wayang, one of the key informants, said that it is not the
good communication skills that count when choosing among the prospect members.
What is important is the knowledge of the inductee about bangiland other practices of the
Karao tribe as well as the willingness to accept duties and responsibilities as an inducted
member of the tribal elders.
There are no specific materials involved in this step.
Selection. This is done by the inducted tribal leaders. Their basis is the knowledge
of the prospect member. Aside from that, the age of the prospect member is also
considered. In the process, the oldest gets the highest chance of inducted.
There are no materials required in this step.
Induction proper. The induction is officially done by letting the inductee join the
inducted tribal elders with the pilmironpangan or first meal.
There are no required materials in this step.
The induction can only be official if within a year no other elder dies. But if there
was death within a year then the induction that just happened is invalidated.
After the induction during the meal, the duties and respect from other people for
the newly inducted member are already observed. During the wake, he/she will just sit
down with the rest of the inducted tribal elders.He/She is not obliged to do other activities
during wake such as slicing of the meat and serving food.
22
Just like how the inducted tribal elders were treated, the newly inducted tribal
elder will be prioritized when foods, drinks, and other things are served. He/She also has
a greater chance of bringing home more watwat. On some occasions during meals, other
people cannot start eating unless the inducted tribal elders start eating. Other
responsibilities of an inducted member aside from joining the bangil are: to act as
mediator between two opposing parties, agkalon, counselor, genealogist like the case of
AgdonaChaong of whom some of the tribe members asked which ancestral line they
belong and other responsibilities and duties according to their expertise. During the
bangil, one also of their duty is to talk about the kawedo wherein they will talk out who
among the children of the house is obliged to butcher pig. They will also talk out who
among the children will take over the house that the dead has left.
Assembly of theinducted tribal elders. The bangil usually starts at 10:00 in the
evening but still it depends on the decision of the tribal elders on what time it will start.
It is done after any religious services or ba’diw. Before the bangilstarts, the inducted
tribal elders (Figure 4 and 5) and the general public will have to wait for other elders to
come. The iyankaba’kol are seated inside the house where the dead person is situated
while the iyanka-ama and other men are seated outside or at the bo-day or yard of the
house.
Bag-ayan (2010) said that the position of the iyankaba’kol being inside the house
signifies their roles as caretakers of fire because it symbolizes good health.
Agreement among the iyanka-ama. The iyanka-ama will have to decide who
among them will initiate the bangil. The initiator should know something about the dead
23
so that he knows what message to deliver. On the other hand, the iyankaba’kol shall wait
for their turn to give the echo.
There are no specific materials needed in this step.
Table 2.The processes of bangil
Steps Materials
People
involved Qualifications
of
people involved
1.Selection and induction
-no materials
-inducted tribal
-should be
required
elders
knowledgeable of
-prospect
the tribe’s customs
member
and traditions.
2.Assembly of the inducted -no materials
-inducted tribal
tribal elders. The iyanka- required
elders
ama stays outside the
-general public
house while the
iyankaba’kol stays inside
the house.
3.Agreement among the -no materials
-iyanka-ama
iyanka-ama.
required
-general public
4.Message delivery of the
-iyanka-ama
-should know
initiator.
Tobacco and
-general public
something about the
pedped or
dead person
guava leaves are
-iyanka-ama
5.Response of the iyanka- offered twice to -other interested should know the
ama.
the wake
males
process of bangil
attendees
-general public
6.Echo of the iyankaba’kol.
-iyankaba’kol
should know the
-other interested process of bangil
females
-general public
*The induction process only happens if an elder dies.
24
Figure 4. The iyankaba’kol sharing stories while waiting for others
Figure 5. The iyanka-ama sharing stories while waiting for other elders as other
people listen
25
Message delivery of the initiator.According to Stanley Atiwag, like the ba’diw,
the bangil is initiated by a male tribal elder (Figure 6). The initiator is the one who gives
the message. The first message to be delivered is about the dead person’s life story and
personalities. On the other hand, the chant does not have a structure to whom the
messages are first to be addressed. Any of the other iyanka-ama can give their message if
the initiator runs out of message.
The initiator never mentions the name of the dead instead he would say
aral(referring to the dead).
The general public can listen to the bangilbut cannot give messages because only
the agbangil can do it. Meanwhile, any interested males and females can do the respond
or re-echo considering that he/she is knowledgeable with the process of bangil.
Response of theiyanka-ama. After the initiator’s message, the group of iyanka-
amaand other men present in the wake will deliver their response (Figure 7). Bag-ayan
(2010) mentioned in her study that the iyanka-ama’s response is called seba. The iyanka-
ama can give their response or seba after the initiator will say maptengmaniornga-aw
mani.The word maniis chanted in a prolonged manner by the iyanka-amaand is being re-
echoed by the iyankaba’kol.
During the wake of Nestor Quiandao Joseph last March 6, 2012, there were just
two iyanka-ama present to do the bangil,PacitoFermin, SinasWakit, and Bernardo
Chaong, who were not also part of the inducted tribal elders but knowledgeable about it.
They sat with the iyanka-amaand joined the response of the iyanka-ama during the
bangil.
26
Figure 6. Frank Palcay delivering a message
Echo of the iyankaba’kol. In Bag-ayan’s study (2010), the echo of the
iyankaba’kol is termed by the Karao as owa. The first echo of the aba’kol and other
women (Figure 8) is the same with the iyanka-ama which is the prolonged word mani.
After it, the next word they prolong is o-ogwa.
Florita Bolide, who is not yet an inducted tribal elderjoined the iyankaba’kol
during the bangilon the wake of Nestor Quiandao Joseph. She is knowledgeable with the
process of bangil and had been joining the owaor echo for some years.
After the echo of the iyankaba’kol, another advice or message will be given by
the initiator and the same process will be done until the iyanka-ama finishes the message.
The length of the bangil depends on how long the messages are. According to the
key informants, the chant usually lasts about three hours unlike what Atos’(1982)
describe in his study that bangilstarts from night and lasts until morning.
27
Figure 7. The iyanka-ama delivering their response during the bangil
Figure 8. The iyankaba’kol echoing the response
28
While the bangilis being done, no other men except the family members are
allowed to go inside the house. They can only enter if they will get something important.
Below are examples of the messages being delivered in bangilduring the first
night and second night.
The message in Table 3 is about the initiator inviting prospect members who
want to join the group of inducted tribal elders. He is inviting them reflecting in a way
that old men and women are dying that someone should replace them.
Table 3. Example of message being chanted during the first night as delivered by Isabelo
Alberto
Oy……Ano-en…. (3x)
1. Sikayonbimoltong no piyancho,
Kay teb-ok kayo cha afay, teysikathoyugadi
Emme-in a pimosay a iyanka-ama,onnoiyankaba’kol
Meseppol a guarey may teb-ok, tepsikathoyugadi
Maptengmani.
The message in Table 4 asks God to give the tribe members unity and peace so
that even if they experience trials and challenges, they may be able to help each other. It
also asks God to bless the soul of the dead so that he may help intercede their prayers.
Material used. During the bangil, a single piece of tobacco and pedped
(Carabao’s teats) is distributed by a member of the bereaved family to the wake attendees
(Figure 9 and 10). According to Benjamin Bunggal, the tobacco is offered to
acknowledge the unseen spirits or ka-apuan (forefathers) of those who attended the wake.
29
Table 4. Example of message being chanted during the second night as delivered by
Juliano “Asibaw” Balnges
Oy….Ano-en…(3x)
1. No pay koma, a Kaapuan, ekkanmoyditheng
say no guareydigat, pendaan nay tulong
Nemniman,
niyanangoyempasing o a et-ettey e too
No mapteng say guarey penda-an
Salamatmani.
It is being distributed two times while bangilis being done. This coincides with
Sacla’s (1987) description of materials saying that the absence of materials render the
ritual unacceptable to the spirits in whom it is offered. A ritual that is not accepted is
ineffective.
A past experience was shared by Benjamin Bunggal wherein a family did not
offer tobacco during the wake. A member of the tribe was possessed by a spirit asking
why no tobacco was offered. It is as if the tribe forgot their presence. Learning from that,
when someone dies, the Karao tribe members always see to it that tobacco is present
during the whole duration of the wake.
This corroborates with Sacla (1987) in his book stating that the Benguet elders
believe that the spirits of the ancestors can communicate with man through dreams and
through a medium.
30
Figure 9. The tobacco and pedped being distributed to the wake attendees
Figure 10. A family member of the dead distributing tobacco during the bangil
31
Messages inBangil
The content of bangil was divided into three: messages delivered for the dead
person, for the bereaved family, and for the public. The messages vary from initiator to
initiator.
Messages delivered to the dead. According to MarcianaDayotao, when her sister
died, the message addressed to her sister is to take care of the family members whom she
left. PascualaBencio also said that when her husband died, the message in
bangildelivered to his husband is for him not to give problems to the family. They told
him also to take care of the family like what he is doing when he was still alive.
Messages delivered to the dead. According to MarcianaDayotao, when her sister
died, the message addressed to her sister is to take care of the family members whom she
left. PascualaBencio also said that when her husband died, the message in bangil
delivered to his husband is for him not to give problems to the family. They told him also
to take care of the family like what he is doing when he was still alive.
During the wake of Nestor Quiandao Joseph, as attended by the researcher, the
messages addressed to him are to take care of the family and to help the tribe members by
interceding their prayers to God. Things about him were learned through bangil. As
stated at one of the messages delivered by Juliano “Asibaw” Balnges, Joseph did not stay
at Karao. He lived in different places until he suffered from an illness that caused his
death. Below are examples of messages addressed to the dead.
In Table 5, the first verse addressed to the dead says that he should bring what is
best for his family. He should not give problems and misfortunes to the family so that
they may live well.
32
The second verse or stanza talks about the whatabouts of the dead. It says that the
cause of his death is being sought. It was also learned that the dead had stayed away from
Karao.
The last verse addressed to the dead says that he should take care of his bereaved
wife. He should give her peace, good health and peace of mind so that she may live
longer.
Messages delivered to the bereaved family. It is usually done on the second night
of the wake. According to Stella Bolide, when her husband died, the message addressed
to her is not to find for a replacement and to take care of their children. They also advised
her to respect her husband and their children and she should not do bad things.
MarcianaDayotao also said that when her sister died, the elders advised her and the
family to love
Table 5. Example of bangil’s message meant for the dead person (as delivered by Juliano
“Asibaw”Balnges and Isabelo Alberto)
Oy…Ano-en…(3x)
1. Sikam a pimmosay, safaykoma
eseppam e panmeptangan, napamiljam a en-payasmo
Chiyay a balay
Isungaepa-nosmokoma e mapteng, nu edmopa’nosen
Nga-aw mani.
Oy….Ano-en… (3x)
2. Sikamkoma, no pay koma, ma’manapete-yanmo
Egkakomainmaragwe e chiyaykomangodKarao
Ma’manap e kagulnaeteyanmo
No edmokoma in-ahad-ahad.
Say
maptengmani.
33
one another and obey what the elders will tell them. They also told them to be respectful.
Below is an example of the message addressed to the bereaved family.
The verse in Table 6 says that the family should first offer or butcher what is
owned by the dead. If it is not enough then that is the time that they will use donations
from other people.
Messages addressed to the general public. According to Patricio Sanoy, when he
listens to bangil, he is learning from the way of life of the dead person. He said he
follows the good deeds of the person but does not follow his bad examples like being
boastful. According to Gabuyo, the values she learned in listening to bangilis to be
respectful and to love other people. Roque Bolide added that the message he learned from
bangil is to comfort the bereaved family financially and spiritually.
During the wake of Nestor Quiandao Joseph, one of the messages (included
below) is directly for the youth. Frank Palcay advised that instead of going anywhere,
young people should stay inside and listen to the stories of the elders. In this way, they
may be able to learn more about their tribe’s cultures and traditions.
Table 6. Example of bangil’s message meant for the bereaved family (as delivered by
Isabelo Alberto)
Oy….Anoen… (3x)
1. Say pilmiron ma-guekhetta-a kameng to et netta
Wa e-ten simek no pompon to.
Maptengmani.
34
The message in Table 7 is addressed to the general public particularly the youth.
It says that when the elders are telling stories, they should listen to it so that they will
learn more about their culture so that they will also know what they will do. They should
listen to their advices so that wherever they may be, the principles will be with them
always.
Table 7. Example of bangil’s message meant for the public (as delivered by Frank
Palcay)
Oy….Ano-en…(3x)
1. Sikayon a-anak
Nu
guareymaesestorya
Ekket kayo, panke-ngel kayo ketdi
Ngoypissengjonmengde
Na mapteng a bilin
Say maptengmani.
Challenges in Sustaining Bangil
The key informants enumerated the following as challenges in sustaining bangil.
Drunkenness of tribal elders while they conduct bangil. According to some wake
attendees, sometimes the tribal elders are drunk that the integrity of what they are saying
is gone. They also speak irrelevant topics sometimes.
Disinterestedness to learn among young people. The key informants also said
that only few young people are observing when bangil is being done. Chaong would
recall that when they were young, they are afraid to go home from the wake because he
35
said the bangilis raising their “goosebumps” that is why they do not listen to it. But now
that he now understands the message being delivered in bangil, he said it is not scary
after all.
Further, as observed by the researcher during the wake of Nestor Quiandao
Joseph, being not involved in bangil, there are just few of the young people who listen to
bangildone by the elders.
Migration. The key informants said that a familiar scenario in most of the
indigenous communities is that most of the young people from the tribe are studying in
nearby cities. Because of their stay in the city, they are not able to observe how bangil is
done or what the messages of the chant are. This coincides with the study of Nuval
(2010) wherein it states that elders would not deny the fact that the value of education for
the young people’s career; however, some elders claimed that their children’s mind are
being influenced by the modernization set in the city.
IDRC (1998) also noted in their article that since indigenous knowledge are
transmitted orally, it is vulnerable to rapid change especially when people are displaced
or when young people acquire values and lifestyles different from those of the ancestors.
Death of elders. Since the elders are the key players of bangil, the practice is
slowly diminishing because of the elders’ death. Their knowledge about bangiland other
cultures and traditions of their tribe has a slim chance of being passed to the next
generation.
It is done during wakes only. The transmission of the practice is difficult because
it is just practiced during wakes. There is no other avenue of learning it.
36
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary
The study was conducted to identify the characteristics of bangilas a
communication practice, identify the communication processes of bangil, identify the
content of bangilas documented during the study and to determine the challenges in
sustaining the bangil.
Interview schedules were employed to gather the needed data from the five key
informants and additional respondents. The data gathering was conducted from January
to March 2012.
Bangil is a chant done to honor the dead. It speaks about the good and bad deeds
of the dead person in which other people learn from it. The messages are addressed to the
dead, bereaved family and the general public.
According to the key informants, the people involved in bangil are the inducted
tribal elders called the iyanka-amaor the male tribal elders and theiyankaba’kol or the
female tribal elders. They are called as the key players of bangil.
Induction of the tribal elders happens during the first night of the wake of a dead
elder. The criteria for the induction are as follows: should be knowledgeable with the
customs and traditions of the tribe. There is no age limit set for choosing but the practice
of the tribal leaders is to choose the oldest among the inductees.
The
bangil is initiated by an inductediyanka-ama. He will give the first message
about the dead. The response of theiyanka-amafollows. The echo is then delivered by the
iyankaba’kol. After the echo of the iyankaba’kol, another message will be delivered by
37
the same person who initiated the bangilor other elders will do. After every message, the
response of the iyanka-ama is delivered followed by the echo of the iyankaba’kol.
Anyone among the iyanka-ama can give his advices after the initiator has run out of
message.
The length of the bangil depends on the messages being delivered by the iyanka-
ama.
Tobacco is distributed twice during bangil. It is done to recognize the presence of
the unseen spirits or ka-apuan (forefathers) of the wake attendees.
The challenges encountered in sustaining bangil are: drunkenness of elders,
disinterestedness to learn among young people, death of elders and infrequent practice of
bangil.
Conclusions
Based on the findings of the study, the following conclusions were drawn:
1. Bangil is a chant that is sacred because it involves the elders and it has restrictions
for practicing it.
2. Bangil is a communal practice where the elders, the bereaved family, and the
general public are involved.
3. Unlike other chants in the Cordillera, the bangil is only done by the inducted
elders.
38
4. Like most of the cultural practices, the threats to bangil’s sustainability are
migration, death of elders, lack of appreciation among the younger generations
and it is not practice regularly.
5. There are beliefs attached to the practice of bangil.
6. Bangil is a very important avenue for new members of tribal elders.
Recommendations
Based on the results of the study, the following recommendations were derived:
1. Further validation of the history of bangil may be done.
2. Other kinds of documentation, such as video documentation, may be considered
by other researchers to dwell on.
3. The Karao should continue practicing bangil to sustain it.
4. Another study may also be done on bangilas a process for maintaining tribal
council.
39
LITERATURE CITED
AKULLO, D., R. KANZIKWERA, P. BIRUNGI, W. ALUM, L. ALIGUMA and M.
BARWOGEZA 2007. Indigenous Knowledge in Agriculture: A Case Study of the
Challenges in Sharing Knowledge of Past Generations in a Globalized Context in
Uganda. Retrieved November 22, 2011 from
http://www.ifla.org/iv/ifla73/index.htm.
ARYAL.D. n.d. Oral Tradition and Communication.Retrieved December 15, 2011
http://www.ku.edu.np/bodhi/vol3_no1/07.%20Deepak%20Aryal.%20Oral%
20tradition%20and%20communication.pdf.
ATIWAG, S. 2012. The Process of Bangil (Personal Interview).
ATOS, M.D. 1982. The Culture of the Karao Tribe.PhD Thesis.
University of Baguio.
Baguio
City. Pp. 69-74.
AYOCHOK, A., J. BANWAGEN, A. LAWANGEN, B. NGALATAN and M. SANTOS.
2006. The traditional rice-based ecosystem of the Karaos in Bokod, Benguet:
agro- biodiversity and sustainability evaluation. BS Thesis. BSU, La Trinidad,
Benguet.
Pp.
2-3.
BENGUET SOCIO-ECONOMIC PROFILE. 2007. La Trinidad, Benguet. Pp iii-32.
BAG-AYAN, F. D. 2010.Communication strategies in transmitting cultural practices
among the Karao tribe of Bokod, Benguet. BS Thesis. BSU, La Trinidad, Pp. 6,
24-26.
BAUCAS, B.C. 2003. Traditional Beliefs, Cultural Practices in Benguet. New Baguio
Offset Press. Km.5, La Trinidad, Benguet. Pp. 24-25.
BUNGGAL,B. 2012. Material Used in Bangil. (Personal Interview).
CHAONG, A. 2012.History of Bangil.(Personal Interview).
CHAONG, C. 2012. The Process of Bangil.(Personal Interview).
40
CRAIG, R. T. 2004. Communication as a Practice.Retrieved December 17, 2011 from
spot.colorado.edu/.../Stances%20Practice-comm practice.
GILL, N.S. 2011.Oral Tradition. Retrieved December 15, 2011 from
http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/homer/f/OralTradition.htm
IRDC. 1998. Working with Indigenous Knowledge: A guide for researchers. IRDC.
Ottawa, Canada. P.7.
LI, J.and KARAKOWSKY, L. 2001. Do We See Eye-to-Eye? Implications of Cultural
Differences For Cross-Cultural Management Research and Practice. The Journal
of
Psychology, 135(5), 501-517.] Retrieved November 22, 2011 from
http://www.tamu.edu/faculty/choudhury/culture.html.
NUVAL, P. J. A. 2010. Ba’diw as a Communication Tool for Community Development
in
Topdac, Atok, Benguet. BS Thesis. BSU, La Trinidad, Benguet. Pp. 43-
57.
PALCAY, F. 2012. Bangil as a Communication Practice.(Personal Interview).
WAILAN, A.T. 2006.Documentation of the Traditional Communication Practices of the
Baliwon Tribe in Barangay Bantay, Paracelis, Mountain Province. BS Thesis.
BSU, La Trinidad, Benguet. P.30
WAYANG, C. 2012. Traditional Practices of Karao (Personal Interview).
41
APPENDIX A
Interview Questionnaire
(For elders)
PROFILE OF THE RESPONDENT
a. Name: ______________________________________
b. Age: ________________________________________
c. Sex: ________________________________________
d. Residence/Sitio: _______________________________
e. Civil Status: __________________________________
f. Occupation: __________________________________
g. Educational Attainment: ________________________
I. CHARACTERISTICS OF BANGIL AS A COMMUNICATION PRACTICE
a. tribal elders
b.
chant
c. message/content
II. COMMUNICATION PROCESSES OF BANGIL
A. People involved in bangil
a. What are the qualifications of those who can do the bangil in terms of:
age
sex
Level of expertise
Initiator
Iyanka-ama
Iyankaba’kol
42
b. Who are allowed to listen to the bangil aside from the bereaved family in
terms of:
(Sino timabalinngaagdenggengtibangilmalibankadagitipamilya jay natay?)
1.
Age:
2. Sex:
B. STEPS INVOLVED IN BANGIL
Steps Materials
People
Involved
Qualifications
Of
The People
Involved
1.
2.
3.
43
C. MATERIALS USED IN BANGIL
MATERIALS
SYMBOL/PURPOSE
a. Before the bangil
b. During the bangil
c. After the bangil
III. CONTENT OF THE BANGIL
What are the messages delivered during the bangil addressed to the:
(Anya timensahengamaipaaykadagitisumaruno:
a. Dead person
b. Family
c. General public in attendance
IV. CHALLENGES IN SUSTAINING BANGIL
a. What are the challenges you encounter in sustaining bangil?
(Anya dagitipannubokngamapadpadasanyutapnomamintinaryutipanagbangil?)
44
APPENDIX B
Interview Schedule
(For members of tribe who experienced death of a family member)
PROFILE OF THE RESPONDENT
a. Name: ________________________________________
b. Age: _________________________________________
c. Sex: __________________________________________
d. Residence/ Sitio: ________________________________
e. Civil Status: ____________________________________
f. Occupation: ____________________________________
g. Educational Attainment: __________________________
I.
QUESTIONS
a. What were the messages addressed to you and your family when the bangil
was done?
(Anya dagitimensahengainpaay da kenka ken itipamilyamidinagbangil da
itibalayyu?)
b. What was the message delivered in bangil addressed to your loved one who
passed away?
(Anya timensahengainpaay da itiminatayidinagbangil da itibalayyu?)
c. What was the message delivered in bangil addressed to the other attendees of
the wake?
(Anya timensahe da ijaybangilnganaipaayitidaduma a taonganakilamay?)
45
APPENDIX C
Interview Questionnaire
(For members of the tribe who attended the wake and listened to bangil)
1. What are the messages addressed to you?
(Anya dagitimensahengainpaay da ijaybangil?)
2. What are the values you acquired from the bangil?
(Anya dagitisursuronganaadalmoitipanag-denggegmoitibangil?)
46
APPENDIX D
Figure 11. The researcher with the key informants (AgdonaChaong,
CesarioChaong and Catalina Wayang
Figure 12.The researcher with the wake attendees and some of the iyankaba’kol
Document Outline
- Chanting Memories: Bangil as aCommunication Practice in Karao, Bokod
- BIBLIOGRAPHY
- TABLE OF CONTENTS
- INTRODUCTION
- REVIEW OF LITERATURE
- METHODOLOGY
- RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
- SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
- LITERATURE CITED
- APPENDIX