ROOTEDNESS OF TUGAYA ARTISANS TO THEIR IDENTITY AND CULTURE
By Fayruzah Absary
For those who have lived in the comforts of growing cities and progressing technologies, that sense of wonder and connection to one’s nature and culture can sometimes be forgotten.
The Municipality of Tugaya, situated beside the Lake Lanao in Lanao del Sur, tucked away from the bustling sound of neighboring towns, the hammers pounding, slices of wood being shaved off and metals being forged can be heard and seen on normal days in the town. Here in Tugaya, ancient crafts dating hundreds of
years ago is very much alive. Art, culture, and nature shaped the civilization
in Tugaya surviving colonization and extinction. To sustain their basic needs, artisans found a beautiful way of combining both their art and business.
Tugaya is famously and gloriously known to be the home of M’ranao artisans. It is a rare sight to see people loitering in the streets. Men, women, old and young
can be seen in their workshops to be brass making, wood carving, blacksmithing or weaving.
Agong paired with kulintang and debakan are antique musical instruments
that is rarely used by M’ranaos on special events, although it was more common before the existence of a modernized musical tools. Landap is a skirt handwoven
with intricate designs unique to M’ranaos, the langkit. What truly makes
Tugaya is the cultural significance of the products they make. A thousand years
of art, undisturbed by the pressure of change and progress.
However, don’t try to descend into a poetic admiration of the beauty of preserving a culture as it had its own downs that were close to irrecoverability.
The making of these antique products is nowhere near easy. With the advent of
machines to cutdown some time and labor, the artisans take pride in doing most
of the work by their hands. Kantir, a huge antique bed designed and inlayed
with shells, can sometimes take two years to finish with three or more person working on it. Brass gador, an aesthetic ceremonial or ornamental jar, silver-inlayed,
can also take years. Not only is it time-consuming but it can also be dangerous
as they forge metals in an immense heat and carve woods with precision.
When the siege happened in Marawi City, the commercial center of the province of Lanao del Sur, the local industry in Tugaya was badly hit. Most products of artisans are sold in the markets of Marawi, thus, without it, the demand for their products is decreased. The local government of Tugaya at that time made a desperate but successful attempt in reviving the industry by bringing their
products online. And just when they were thriving again, the pandemic and lockdowns happened. Crisis like these are overcome by the collective efforts of both
local government and artisans but it goes without saying that a much more
support and recognition from all sectors is needed to stabilize and promote the industry.
Despite the glory of being not just an artisan but also a culture-bearer, the economic status of an artisan can sometimes be dire. The market cannot always be stable. There will be days where no clients will place orders. Foreigners from all over
the world visits their workshops but as the time shifts to another era, without support, we fear this ancient art to collapse.
Our increasingly urban world has been threatening the continuity and transmissibility
of this intricate culture. But with the establishment of Bangsamoro Government,
there appears to be hope. With the attainment of peace throughout the region,
it also eased the worries of artisans in acquiring raw materials from the forests
where armed encounters used to happen. More representations of M’ranaos are
seen in the government and with that, we expect a growing awareness from the government of the needs of Tugaya artisans. While the autonomy and resources
given to us back then disabling us to address problems, Bangsamoro Government
now enjoys fiscal autonomy with the end in view of attaining economic self-sufficiency and genuine development. There is much hope that with our new-found autonomy, we can promote our culture and local industries more in a global
stage for a more prosperous region.
Tugaya artisans have shown remarkable ability to be rooted: to adhere in delicate art
that has been passed downs from generations to generations without losing it- just like how the Bangsamoro remained unmoving in its desire to attain its right to self-determination. Tugaya artisans’ long experience in their art and culture provides lessons for how we, Bangsamoro, shall move forward as a nation. Rootedness in one’s identity- to never forget. Tenacity in enduring the hard times. Concerted
efforts in carving a peaceful and prosperous Bangsamoro region.