Weaving Isinai culture back to life

ANTHROPOLOGIST Dr. Analyn Salvador-Amores leads the turnover of the oldest ‘uwes,’ the traditional Isinai funeral blanket, to chieftain Bayani Laroza. The blanket was donated by the Save the Ifugao Terraces Movement to the Isinai as a token of appreciation for their efforts to revive their culture. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

It was a rainy Friday morning, but the mood inside the Senior Citizens’ hall in Dupax del Sur town in Nueva Vizcaya province was warm with conversations of a group of elderly women who were gathered around a dining table.

Their faces livened up as they talked about the past, when their Isinai (also spelled “Isinay”) culture was very much alive.

Julia Rodriguez-Campo, 78, remembers how Isinai men courted women through a practice called “bakbaka,” where a man conveyed his marriage proposal to the woman’s parents by sending them “patayav” (letter of intent).

The patayav was neatly wrapped in a folded white handkerchief, usually embroidered, Campo says. Along with the patayav, cigarettes, betel nut, tobacco and wine would be sent out through a messenger—someone who was respected in the community.

“Courtship was something noble because the mere intent was conveyed through the patayav. It is so unlike these days when a boy and a girl meet on Facebook and not long after, they are already [in a romantic relationship],” Campo says.

But while recalling old Isinai traditions and customs turned out to be a trip down memory lane for Campo and her peers, they now share the same lament that their ethnicity is on the brink of extinction.

Gone are the customs and traditions. Their most revered Isinai love songs, such as “War Sipam Uwar,” or their favorite dance, “Imbestida,” are remembered only during special occasions. Advocates have yet to find traces of Isinai poetry or folklore.

Their Isinai language, the last bulwark of their ethnic identity, has been vanishing through generations, with the youth being made to adopt Tagalog or Ilocano as their mother tongue.

Isinai is a small indigenous group whose members trace their origins only in Nueva Vizcaya, specifically the towns of Dupax del Sur, Bambang and Aritao.

Using a scale formulated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) Ad Hoc Expert Group on Endangered Languages, Filipino anthropologists categorize the Isinai language as “critically endangered.”

Brink of extinction

“As more children—and adults—lessen their frequency and fluency in using the language, the brink of extinction is not far from their future,” Celina Marie Cruz, of the University of the Philippines Department of Linguistics, said in a 2009 study.

The elderly Isinai are uneasy admitting the accuracy of this account, having seen the decline of their language firsthand.

“It’s sad because these days, whenever I try to talk to children in Isinai and ask them questions, they answer me in Tagalog. I show them my dismay, but they act as if there’s nothing wrong about it,” says Magdalena Pudiquet-Castro, 81.

However, the Isinai people, along with advocates, have found a new wave of vigor to revive their dying culture.

At the center of these efforts are members of the provincial federation of Isinai people’s organizations in the three towns: Uhmu Si Tribun Si Beveoyar Ari-Tau (Aritao), Bona’ si Isinai Dopaj (Dupax del Sur) and the Bambang Isinai Tribe (Bambang).

From April 24 to 26, the members gathered in the first Isinai Summit, where they shared insights, crafted plans and took steps on how they can “revive and preserve the cultural traditions of the Isinai, and elevate, promote and improve the economic, social and educational pursuit of its members.”

Sentimental

The gathering was a sentimental but happy journey back into the Isinai ethnicity, where they relived the good memories of the richness of their culture and realized that there is hope of reviving it, says Dr. Virginia Laccay, one of the convenors of the tribal federation.

“It was heartwarming how members saw the mutual desire and concern of all participants who pledged to do their part in helping revive the Isinai culture. The singing and dancing of native songs and dances brought many to tears,” she says.

It also featured a mini-

exhibit of the Isinai culture, which included a story meant to correct misconceptions about the ancient Isinai’s way of life.

“For many years, we were made to believe that the Isinai, too, was a headhunting tribe, very much like its neighbor Ilongot. It turns out, based on recent research, that this was not true after all,” Laccay says.

The Isinai’s “true” story now revolves around the “uwes pinutuan,” a traditional funeral blanket used by tribal members in the pre-Spanish times.

The tribe’s trading activities, accounts showed, reached as far as the Ilocos provinces, Pangasinan and the upland provinces of the Cordillera.

The story of the Isinai’s uwes has drawn the keen interest of anthropologists like Prof. Analyn Salvador-Amores of the University of the Philippines Baguio, whose studies on the ancient practice of wrapping the dead among indigenous peoples inspired her to do more research on the cultural heritage of the Isinai.

Best weavers

Historians’ accounts about the uwes regard the Isinai as the best weavers, Amores says. The blankets, she says, are made from the finest fabric and feature intricate designs. These are made for the

exclusive use of the rich members of the tribe.

“These accounts about the Isinai have shown that they are an advanced

ethno-linguistic group when compared to other tribes in the country. They have a distinct language, their own alphabet, and their songs and dances are unique,” she says.

Citing a 1974 paper written by Lawrence Reid in his book, “The Central Cordilleran subgroup of Philippine Languages,” Amores describes the Isinai as a “unique and distinct language in terms of development.”

“We have accounts that the original Isinai writing used to follow a vertical flow very much like the Chinese. Sadly, manuscripts of such have yet to be found and until now, we do not know how the Isinai alphabet actually looks,” she says.

Language revival has been listed as a priority in the efforts of the Isinai federation, with members hoping to create awareness, teach and instill the language especially among the youth.

“The only ones shown to be speaking pure Isinai now are the elders, whose population is decreasing,” Amores says.

Laccay said they are seeking to infuse the Isinai language as the medium of

instruction in areas with

Isinai-speaking population, slightly modifying the Department of Education’s multilanguage education program, which made Ilocano as medium in many areas in Northern Luzon.

The campaign roused the interest of other professionals here and abroad who have Isinai roots to give their share in helping preserve their heritage.

For instance, blogger and lexicographer Charles Castro has been spearheading efforts to compile an Isinai-English dictionary, with the help of a number of Isinai elders and linguists in Dupax del Sur.

The thrust to revive the Isinai culture has drawn the support of the local governments of Dupax del Sur and the province of Nueva Vizcaya, through the passage of resolutions by their respective legislative councils.

The federation is aiming to complete an inventory of the Isinai population, who will comprise the membership of the organization that will work to bring the Isinai culture back to life.