toink.

November 2006,
Bulalacao, Oriental Mindoro — I volunteered
for a medical-dental mission to the Hanunoo Tribe in this part of Luzon. (Yes, administratively speaking, it
is still part of Southern Tagalog.) Being an avid fan of community development
projects, I’d rather be working with NGOs and BHWs than with doctors inside the
white walls of the hospital. It has been ages since my last med-mission. Been ages
since experiencing the fulfillment of long-distance travel and immersion for
the sole purpose of patient care — and to a TRIBE at that. This was something
new for me. And as always, new experiences never fail to excite me. So you can
just imagine how thrilled I was to join this venture of Victory Church Fellowship
and Promise, Inc.

Travel + evangelism +
medmission = indescribable

Bulalacao (yes, like the comet) is Oriental Mindoro’s southernmost
town, and unfortunately too far from Puerto Galera (northernmost hehe). The
mission site was situated on the rough hills along the coastline overlooking
the Tablas Strait.

One of the eight indigenous groups of the Mangyan tribe is
the Hanunoo. They are the most populous as well.

“To the
Hanunoo-Mangyan, clothing (rutay) is one of the most important criteria in
distinguishing the Mangyan from the damuong (non-mangyan). A Hanunoo-Mangyan
male wears a ba-ag (loin cloth) and a balukas (shirt). A female wears a ramit
(indigo-dyed short skirt) and a lambung (blouse). Many of the traditional style
shirts and blouses are embroidered on the back with a design called pakudus,
based on the cross shape. This design is also found on their bags made of buri
(palm leaf) and nito (black fern), called bay-ong. Both sexes used to wear a
hagkos (twilled rattan belts with a pocket) at their waist. Long hair is the
traditional style for a man. It is tied in one spot at the back of the head
with a cloth hair-band called panyo. Women also have long hair often dressed
with a headbands of beads. The Hanunoo-Mangyans of all ages and both sexes are
very fond of wearing necklaces and bracelets of beads. [Miyamoto, 1985]

The Hanunoo-Mangyans practise swidden
farming. This type of farming is different from the "kaingin" system
practised by non-Mangyans which is often very destructive when it is done with
no proper safeguards to prevent the fire from spreading to the surrounding vegetation.
A fallow period is also observed so that the swidden farm will revert back to
forest. According to Conklin, the Mangyans managed their swidden farm
skillfully. In 1995, almost half a century after Conklin’s research, a study on
the Hanunoo-Mangyans’ swidden farming system was conducted by Hayama Atsuko.
She concluded that the Hanunoo-Mangyans’ farming practices have prevented land
deterioration in spite of the fact that forest land degradation is evident now
in the Hanunoo-Mangyan territory due to various factors.

Together with their northern neighbor
the Buhids, the Hanunoo-Mangyans possess a pre-Spanish

writing system,
considered to be of Indic origin, with characters, expressing the open
syllables of the language.”

Prior to our departure to Mindoro, I looked up for information
regarding this tribe. However, published researches on the Hanunoos were hard
to come by. But the snippets I got were enough to spike my interest.

Fast Forward to Med-Mission
Proper

We were a team of Christian doctors, dentists, nurses, med
techs, nutritionists, and medicine/ nursing students. Strangers we were to one
another. But we all know what Mitch Albom aptly said: Strangers are relatives we have yet to meet. And to some extent, he
is true, no matter how much I dislike the way he writes his books (Too dramatic
for my taste.).

This is very basic: It
is not right to assume anything about anyone without knowing them fully. I’m
just going to go straight to my anecdotes:

Anecdote 1:

Me: Mayad pagsurip, insan. (translation: “Magandang umaga, pinsan”.  We
all had to learn a bit
of their language)

Patient 1: Mayad pagsurip!

Me: Taga naan kamo?

Patient 1: (incomprehensible.)

Me: *nodding, as if I knew what he was saying!

Patient 1: *silent.

Me: Eto po ang kailangan ninyong inuming gamot mula bukas hanggang
Martes. (holds up the capsules and prescription to his face) Inumin po ninyo
ito bago kayo kumain. Isang kapsula bago mag almusal, isa bago mag tanghalian
at isa bago maghapunan. Bale sa isang araw, tatlong beses po kayo iinom nito.

Patient 1: *stares at me, nodding.

Me: Naiintindihan nyo po ba?

Patient 1: Oo.

Me: (unconvinced) Maaari nyo po bang ulitin yung sinabi ko kanina?

Patient 1: Nurse, marunong naman po akong makaintindi. Alam ko pong
magbasa.

Me: (oops. speechless!!!!)

Anecdote 2:

Me: Eto na po yung tinimpla kong gamot para sa anak ninyong si Lam-ang.
Gumamit po kayo ng
kutsarita para ipainom sa kanya. Dapat po dalawang kutsarita
bawat araw, sa loob ng isang buwan, o hanggang maubos ang laman ng bote.

Patient 2 (frowning): Ano po ang kutsarita?

      At first I was confused. And then I
assumed that they use no kitchen
      utensils because neither do they eat rice nor drink
soup or other liquids.
      Their staple foods are sweet potatoes and bananas; And
because they
      live in the mountains, they have never tasted salt, rice or meat.
They were the original lowland
      settlers of Mindoro but upon the occupation of
foreigners and Tagalogs, they were forced to
      move up to the mountains and live
there ever since.

Me: Ang kutsarita po ay parang ganito … (draws a small spoon at the
back of the prescription) Ginagamit po ito para sa pag-kain. Pero sa
pagkakaalam ko po hindi kayo gumagamit ng ganito. Kaya po bibigyan ko nalang po
kayo nito (gives a tiny medicine cup with measurements). Sa pagsukat,
siguraduhin nyo po na hanggang sa may guhit na “15” (points at 15) ang gamot.
Hindi sosobra at hindi bababa sa 15. Okay po ba?

Patient 2: Okay na okay!

Anecdote 3:

Me: Adona, bakit halos lahat sila may gingivitis? Wala pang
pine-prescribe

sina Doc for their condition…

Adona: Sira! Nag-nga-nganga sila.

Me: E bakit mapula gums nila?

Adona: E pula ang nganga e..

Me: Hindi ba itim? Hehehehe. (I have always thought they cause black
stains)

With that I have learned that betel
nuts cause red stains on the teeth and oral cavity. And that the contents of
betel nuts are addictive, like nicotine — stimulants, and
appetite-suppressants at the same time. So the more they chew, the more they
get addicted, the more they can suppress their appetite, leading to weight loss
and malnutrition. Plus, the excess chewing CAN cause gingivitis.

Anecdote 4:
(As told by one of us)

RN: (Upon seeing a patient in his ‘bahag” run from the medical to the
dental department) Insan! Bat ka nagamadali? Dito muna kayo pumunta (referring
to the surgical dept.) para matignan kayo.

Patient 3: Mamaya na yan. Magpapa-cleaning pako!!

I couldn’t stop laughing at this
story. The patient said it like it was the most normal thing in the world.
Hehe.

Anecdote 5:
While sitting under a tree with the kind and humble Dag-oy Buhid, one of the
tribe elderlies.

Me: Kamusta naman po ang ginawang pagtatahi sa leeg nyo? (referring to
the minor surgery done on him)

Dag-oy: Medyo nakirot. Pero mas maginhawa na dahil wala nang kulugo.
Masakit kasi masyado dati e.

Me: Ganun po ba? Bigyan nyo po yan ng mga 2 hanggang 3 linggo para
humilom. Wag nyo po dudumihan ang gasa.

Dag-oy: Salamat ineng. Alam mo ba na ngayon lang ako nakakita ng mga
taga-Maynila? (Dag-oy is 57 years old)

Me: Talaga po? Ngayon din lang po ba nagkaroon ng med-mission sa lugar
ninyo?

Dag-oy: Ay oo. At laking pasasalamat namin sa inyo.

Fifty-seven years of knowing no other person
besides his kind. No constant contact with the lowlanders. It was distressing
to think that our indigenous people cannot have decent access to basic health
care. There are no resident physicians within 5-km radius from their area. No
supply of clean water (They drink, bathe, and wash clothes in the mountain
springs.) And it doesn’t bring comfort knowing that they are into animism, leaving
their fate to nature alone.

Anecdote 6:

Me: Insan, ano po ang pinagkakakitaan ninyo dito?

Dag-oy: Yung mga tanim namin sa itaas (referring to the mountains). Mga
patatas, kamote, ube, saging.. dinadala namin sa baba sa Mansalay. Sa bayan.

Me: Paano nyo po dinadala sa Mansalay?

Dag-oy: May lagayan naman kami tapos nilalakad namin pababa

What? Nilalakad lang nila mula sa
bundok hanggang sa bayan? E kami nga
nag jumbo jeep mula Roxas hanggang Bulalacao
nawindang kami sa pagod! Tapos nilalakad nyo lang???? The climb to Bulalacao
med mission site was so steep that we had to alight the vehicle and walk the
rest of the trail on foot. The ground, made of clay, was muddy and slippery
because of yesterday’s rain. Hearing Dag-oy speak of his thrice-a-week trips up and
down the mountains amazed me at their sheer tenacity.

 

Anecdote 7:

Me: Napansin ko po lagi kayong may dalang bolo. (trying to look
unafraid hehehe)

Dag-oy: Ah, e siyempre.. para pag ginutom ako habang nasa gubat, aakyat
lang ako ng puno para kumuha ng saging o
niyog.

Me: Aaahh… Wow…  (More like.. Whew!!) E insan, lagi po kayong naka-paa dito?

Dag-oy: Ay, oo. Sanay na kami sa mga lugar dito, sa mga bato. Hehe.

Me: Hmm.. Paano naman po kayo nakakakita pag gabi? (There is no electricity
supply to speak of in the mountains.)

Dag-oy: Edi yung buwan na lamang. Kinakapa namin ang paligid.

       Looking back, I thought of how
frustrated I was when our
      village did not have the electricity back until 7 days
after
      typhoon Milenyo. For the first 3 days it was no big deal for me,
      I even
welcomed it as a respite from stress. I finished 2 books
      in 3 days, which is a
rarity. I played chess, word factory and
      card games with my sisters. And I
enjoyed the moonlight. But
      gradually it became too routine, too boring, and too
damned
      hot. Lack of mental stimulation made us all irritable… Now I am
      curious
as to the incidence of mental disturbance among the
      Hanunoos. Are they ever
bored? What are their forms of
      entertainment? Silly, I know. But I just can’t
help wondering…

      After the mission, as we rode the jumbo jeep back to Roxas City, I looked out and saw utter
      darkness, then saw impressions of trees and shrubs illuminated by moonlight,
and nothing
      more. Upon closer inspection I was able to make out outlines of 2
kids running around and
      playing. They can run around blind. Amazing.

  They live simply and unassumingly.
They have no vice or luxury. Just their able bodies, strong family ties,
clothes on their back, bolos on their sides, coconuts to pick, and betel nuts
to chew. The simple life. If we could only learn to un-clutter our lives like
they have (figuratively speaking), and learn to celebrate the essentials, we
will spend less time acquiring things and more time acquiring experiences,
insights, and relationships. It will encourage us to lend a helping hand in our
community, whenever the need arises, because we can make the time to do it. And
it will give us freedom and control of our lives — ultimately making the world
a happier place.

* With great appreciation to Victory
Church Fellowship, Promise Inc, John Mark Dairo & Richard Ching.

Till next mission!

Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangyan