Buid
Baybayin and the Buid
The baybayin, the ancient writing script still used by the Buid to show off their love poems, was discussed recently in an online lecture for Canadian Filipinos. The presentation focused on the history of the baybayin rather than on their role as an important aspect of their cultural heritage. Earlier news reports examined the ways […]
Facebook and the Buid: A Christmas Meditation
I recently became aware of the fact that someone I deeply respect, who friended me on Facebook a couple years ago, has unfriended me. I have no idea why. Perhaps I said something offensive in one of these news posts—I’m clueless. But in the spirit of the holiday season, I’m stepping back from my lingering […]
The Buid Educate their Kids
Units of the Philippine armed forces went into a remote Buid village in helicopters on August 16 to provide supplies and support for the villagers, who have no road access to the outside world. The two-day visit to Sitio Mansay, in San Jose’s Monteclaro Barangay, was described in a government publication last week as a […]
Difficult Conditions in a Buid Community
Living conditions are difficult in sitio Danlog, a Buid community in southern Mindoro Island in the Philippines. The frequent violence perpetrated by Filipino soldiers makes it hard for the Buid to maintain their traditionally peaceful lives. According to an article last week in Bulatlat.com, an alternative news source in the Philippines, the Buid and the […]
The Traditional Language of the Buid
On the website of the 2019 International Year of Indigenous Languages, Dr. Edwin Antonio announced that he will be offering a program that will seek to revive and strengthen the traditional language of the Buid. According to the announcement, the program was planned to run from June 2 at 9:00 am through August 31 at […]
A New Road for the Buid
Units of the Philippine Army, aided by army engineers, have just completed a road that should benefit some of the Buid people of southern Mindoro Island. A report by a Philippine news agency on August 30 indicated that one of the primary purposes of the road is to provide access to market services for the […]
Poetry of the Buid
The ancient poetry, called ambahan, of the two Mangyan societies living near the southern end of Mindoro Island effectively conveys their daily concerns and their idealized social relationships. The Philippine Daily Inquirer last week described the peaceful social conditions, as well as the poetry, of the Buid and their neighbors, the Hanunoo. Rita Ledesma, the […]
A Congressman Champions the Buid
A Philippine congressman from Northern Luzon, Representative Teddy Brawner Baguilat, Jr., has decided to champion the land rights of the Buid people of southern Mindoro Island. Mr. Baguilat, who represents the Ifugao Province, indicates on his Facebook page that he is, himself, an indigenous person, an environmental advocate, a believer in ethical, transparent government, and […]
The Baybayin of the Buid
It is always heartening when the news media update really important issues, such as the ways people cherish their love poetry, rather than produce more dreary stories about wars and murders, diseases and disasters. Two different reports appeared in the Philippine press last week about the ancient baybayin script, used by the Buid and a […]
Philippine Conference Promotes Indigenous Languages
Last month, a government agency in the Philippines invited indigenous people from around the nation to promote peace by fostering the uses of their own languages, as well as the national language, Filipino. A well written story in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, one of the nation’s leading newspapers last week, reviewed the focus on peace […]
