BRASS: A GOLDEN MEMORY OF A PERSEVERING CULTURE
By ALMIRAH ACRAMAN
Polished brass will pass upon more people than rough gold, so Lord Chesterfield of England has once said. This is evident once we only take a look at the luster of things,
like how our societies has flourished in today’s generation without looking
back to the past no. The peace and abundance we have in our communities
nowadays, no matter how beautiful, should not blind us so much and repudiate those who have fought so hard for everything that we get to enjoy now. We owe this luxury of peace to our
fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters who took part in the long struggle for
the institution of the Bangsamoro Government. We are what we are now, unafraid no more of the darkness of the night, and prosperous, and free because our
forefathers have paved the lonely and dark path for us.
The Bangsamoro, the ever-persevering people of Mindanao, have always exhibited the characteristics of a resilient and irrepressible community. Like the brass, which has endured and thrived through time, the Bangsamoro never failed to rise up from all the odds, even after a pandemic. The Bangsamoro, though composed of different people of different color and race, and of different footing on culture and traditions, are all together and bound by one single conviction: that we are all significant elements of this social world and can live harmoniously in peace, despite all the diversities. Despite the differences in belief and religion, the Bangsamoro, believes that we are all equally and proportionally indistinguishable as we are all created by one divine power.
Like a polished “gadur/gador” or brass jar, designed and crafted with magnificent patterns by the hands of the tired and thriving blacksmith-empowered with passion and thirst for survival, the Bangsamoro has been carefully and beautifully archictectured with blood and
sweat of those who have gone before us, driven with the undefeated hope for
autonomy. It is meticulously designed with love and passion and thirst for independence that our forefathers have all so longed for. The idyllic picture of living in a
peaceful and abundant community has been deeply ingrained in every Bangsamoro’s heart and mind, despite all the adversities. Like the brass, the Bangsamoro is
a sturdy community which has prospered and continues to thrive-championing on causes against war, poverty, and other societal diseases-because we all have
the willpower to go on and all because we believe that we can manage governing
our community. Like a beautiful brassware, the Bangsamoro is not just a mere beautiful decoration one puts on the shelves and frames, but a valuable symbol of the Moro heritage; and of culture and traditions. The Bangsamoro is not just a symbol of
an ideology and or a result of long struggle or political unrest, and peace
talks on gaining independence among the Moro, but it stands for the perseverance
that has stood through time, and the conviction of the Moro that one day,
things will fall into their right places because God willed so.
The brass as an alloy, engineered from copper and zinc, completes the saying teamwork
makes the dream work as it lends itself to create something beautiful, strong, and resistant. These characteristics of the brass are shared by the Bangsamoro in so many ways, as represented by its vibrant and hard-working people from different ethnic origins and colorful mixture of cultures and traditions, living as one, to create a beautiful community with one aspiration in mind: to work hand-in-hand inwielding the power of “togetherness” through the test of time – leaving a wonderful legacy to the world and the succeeding generations.