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| Photo by Mark Salvatus |
The home of Talaandig Artists is located in Songco in Lantapan Bukidnon in Mindanao. I visited their village during their community festival. This post presents conversations with the leader of the artist group, Waway Linsahay Saway, and painters Balugto Poonon Necosia, Soliman Poonon, and Salima Saway-Agra-an. (Interviewed on October 13, 2013, in Songco, Lantapan Bukidnon, Philippines, Interviewer: Mayumi Hirano)
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Interview with Waway Linsahay Saway
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| Photo by Mark Salvatus |
The Talaandig Tribe has a school of living
traditions, which is recognized by the National Commission for Culture and Arts
(NCCA). How does it function?
In 1995, the school was
founded by my brothers. I was one of the teachers, teaching music. When we were
starting up the project, NCCA supported us to construct the building. We don't get
support after that because we don't ask for it. We want self-determination. We
want to show the world it's not about the support but it's the commitment of
the community that will support everything. Actually the “school” for us is just
a landmark or a symbol to state that we have an existing culture. Having a
school building is not important for us, but what matters the most is to
maintain the environment, where children experience the tradition everyday. When
their minds open up, they start doing it. It's a very organic process. It's not
a curriculum. There is no step.
Is the school open to everyone in the community?
Yes, we are not limiting the
education to the Talaandig children but we teach everyone who loves to open
their heart. We also have some programs for people outside Talaandig tribe. We
help other tribes around here, including the Manobo Tribe. They are trying to
revive their arts. Actually my dream is to teach every tribe how to appreciate
their own culture and find a way to reinforce the tradition by adding a flavor
to the existing culture.
It’s been almost 20 years since the establishment
of School of Living Tradition. I am sure that the community has gone through
many changes. What was the cultural situation of the Talaandig Tribe like back
then? What motivated you and your brothers to take an action to conserve your
culture?
I have a background in
theatre arts; I play music and do painting also. I spend four years in Boracay,
meeting with different artists and musicians. At that time I was searching for
myself. I grew up with my parents and relatives in the Talaandig community,
hearing the music and seeing the dance and rituals. But then I didn't have the
feeling of loving these things, because I had nothing to compare. I was rather
interested in western music played on the radio.
When I stayed in Boracay, I
learned some tribal people were working with their identity through arts, and
it opened up my mind. My understanding about our cultural identity became clearer.
When I was growing up in the community, I didn't realize my village was a treasure,
and the culture was gold. I was so immersed that I couldn’t see the importance.
So after I learned many things outside, I came back home and I started to
revive our music and art, and teach the importance to young kids. When I came
back in 1994, the music in the tribe was almost dying because of the
modernization.
I tried to apply what I
learned outside to my community. What I did was to make a traditional drum, and
I taught people in my community how to play. I also taught them how to paint.
Most of the kids here only go up to elementary school. Artists here don't have
proper education, but through art and music they can interact with people in
other communities. I also teach them how to communicate in English. Because
there are many foreign visitors come here, so they need to build up their speaking
skills.
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| Memories of the Peoples of the Earth: The Talaandig R/evolution, Singapore Biennale 2013 |
Is painting a part of traditional culture for the
Talaandig tribe?
Painting is not part of
our culture, but through painting, we show our culture. It's like a narrative
of culture. Because we are a tribe, we have to work together. Painting gives us
an opportunity to exchange ideas. When one person proposes an idea, we do
critique to come to an agreement. They often ask me for the suggestions for the
title of their works. They tend to just paint. I tell them to transfer their
imagination to canvas.
When I teach painting, I don’t
tell them anything about the art history. I just teach them how to use the
brush, soil and paint on canvas. While they are painting, I also give them
technical suggestions like how to make the color balance, etc. When I was in
Bohol, I used to paint together with friends by using clay. So when I came home
in 1994, I introduced not only clay but also soil that we can pick up from the
land as pigments. You can choose different colors with soil. Many friends, like
Kublai Millan from Davao, also helped us to develop the craft.
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| Memories of the Peoples of the Earth: The Talaandig R/evolution (detail) |
How many artists do you have in the community?
Some are active and some
only paint once a year. They are also farmers. So I would say 20 to 30. The
younger ones work faster.
The Talaandig artists are featured in Singapore
Biennale 2013. How did it happen?
The curators, Ms. Joyce
Toh and Mr. Abraham Jr. Garcia came here, talked to the artists and asked us to
write a proposal. So we submitted the proposal early this year, and it was
approved. The theme or concept of the biennale is- “if the world changed”. So
we thought of what it means to us, and we painted our community and how the
traditional culture and development coexist. In the proposal we noted only 10
artists, but most of the artists in the community worked for it. The work is
already in Singapore Art Museum.
How was the process of making a collaborative work?
How was working with international curators?
Good thing about
collaboration for us is that we have an illustrator, who is good in sketching- Salima
Saway. We tell her where to put the images like people, car, truck, and other stuff
and our master sketcher says OK and she finishes the sketch. After that, we put
colors. We just enjoyed the process. We don't have problems with painting
together. Nobody opposes each other. In terms of working with the curators,
they visited here twice. It’s an exiting process. They frankly shared their
ideas, and it was not a problem for us. We can easily adjust. We are easy to
work with just like soil.
You mentioned about modernization and its influence
on the local culture. Will you tell me the changes you witnessed in the
community?
Actually there are so many
changes because we started to use computers, the Internet and cellular phones.
But still the culture is here. We can determine what is modern and what is
tradition. The purpose of the School of Living Tradition is to get the children
understand the culture while they are still young. So when they start going to
universities outside of the community, they still carry their identities. It's
not perfect, but we are trying.
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| Photo by Mark Salvatus |
Do the kids come back to the community after
finishing up the degree?
Of course! Some of them
already graduated and came back. The university education teaches you to have a
good job and buy a beautiful house and car. Your life is already prescribed.
The success is determined by what you have. It's very materialistic. That's the
reason why people don't come back to the community. But in our case, we teach
them how to love our community. They come back. My idea is that we make
beautiful things, and everyone will come, because everyone vows to beauty. To
make it effective, I tell them there are two ways: “many” and “huge”. When you
make a thing, make many. Then people will see it. If you make it so big, people
will notice it. My idea is that I will establish a Talaandig Peace Park. We
have a piece of land over there. We will make beautiful sculptures of our
elders who are peace makers. We will collect entrance fee and the money will be
used for the community.
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Interview with Balugto Poonon Necosia
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| Photo by Mark Salvatus |
How did you become an artist?
I was inspired by the
culture of our tribe. My father is good in arts and music. He is not a painter,
but he does different stuff. I started painting in 2006, which is not a long
time ago. Before I was drawing in pen & ink, and watercolor and then I
studied with Waway Saway here. He told us “do what you want to do, you are
free. Just remember that the first artist had no teachers.” So that's why we
started to make beautiful things.
Where do you get the soils from?
We collect the soils from
the river, mountain and the farm. We have 13 colors. Some colors are difficult
to find, like green. We have to go to the cave. We put water and white glue to
hold the soil together and we apply it on canvas. After we finish painting, we
apply the acrylic emission onto the surface.
I like how you incorporate the paintings as
architectural elements of the house.
I was thinking of new
style and new look. A few months ago, there were visitors, and they liked some paintings
and bought it so that’s why there are some empty spaces on the wall. I couldn't
say no. Many people come, including artists and non-artists. I also have
different kinds of animals, visiting me (laughs).
Do you mentor the younger artists?
Yes, not only here in the
village but also in other barangays and some nearby schools. We also have
Korean students visiting the village every year. There are 20 or more artists
of different ages in the village, and each of us has different styles. Some of
my students have a very similar style with me, I think they are influenced by
my works. Sometimes they just observe what I’m doing. If I have extra materials,
I share it with them. I just tell them just put your own ideas on canvas.
Do you collaborate with other artists?
Sometimes we work
collaboratively. It's good. It’s more fun and we can build relationship to
understand other artists and their feelings. It builds up a good community.
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3. Interview with Solima Poonon
How did you learn how to make artwork? Did someone
teach you to paint?
At first, I was challenged
by what Waway told me. He said whatever you want to do, and what you think of,
just do it. Whatever that makes you happy apply it in your daily life and share
it with others because you are part of a bigger world.
Did you see a lot of changes in the life of the
community wince when you were growing up as a child in this community up to
now?
There was a big change… a
lot of changes. Before we live in the mountains and my father used to be a
farmer and planting potatoes and I didn’t know what was a “Talaandig”. When we
were small, the elders in the community told us we are Talaandig. I asked to
myself what is Talaandig? Growing up, attending different meetings and going to
school it marked to my mind that I am part of this indigenous tribe. I joined
apartheid youth peace camps and from there I slowly realized and learnt about
my tribe.
Art and music is already
in the community, it was Waway Saway who encourage us to create. Balugto is the main reason why I got
interested in the arts, he always urged me to come and join in the painting
sessions, music jamming to different places, even if I don’t have money Balugto
would urge me to come and says “ako ang bahala”. Sometimes Waway scolded us if
we made mistake in painting or in life in general but we respect him because we
know we are learning from him. He also
encouraged us to build our own house/space. He said artists must have a space
to work and make artworks; it’s a challenge for us because we don’t have
regular paying jobs, but we did it, we build our own house/spaces.
Now we have a space and we
can see the difference from before. We are also aware that as a young
Talaandig, we are the ones who will keep our culture & tradition alive. The
elders also consider us important as the next generation of Talaandig and they
let us participate in the important meetings of the tribe. Our task now is to
teach the children about our tradition by being an example.
How do you teach the children?
There is a school here in
the community- The School of Living Tradition. Children as young as 3 year old
learn about our traditional culture of dance and song. They also learn in the
traditional language- Binukid. The idea of the school is to teach the kids
their own identity that they are Talaandig and when they enter regular schools
with other students from other villages the Talaandig children know their own
culture. These kids already know our
dances & songs.
How about paintings? Is it part of traditional
culture?
Actually painting is
relatively new, its not part of Talaandig tradition and it was developed by
Waway Saway 15 or 16 years ago. None, but carving is traditional, we use it in
decorating bolos and shields. We also have blacksmiths here in the community.
They make knives and swords.
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4. Interview with Salima Saway-Agra-an
I heard you are the best in sketching in the
community. What are you working on right now?
I am making a sketch for a
fast food restaurant in Malaybalay. I also have an ongoing group exhibit in Cube
Art Callery in Cebu. I’m participating in another group show in Cebu City,
opening on October 25. The show is not about the Talaandig tribe, but about
woman artists in Mindanao. It’s an advocacy and celebration of being a woman.
I’m showing three paintings there. One painting is entitled “Your Body is Your
Goal”. It doesn't talk only about woman but also about man. The work has a more
universal theme of health. A naked woman has a snake inside of her body. If you
don’t take care of your health, your body will bite you like a snake.
Are there many female artists in Talaandig?
Before I was the only
woman artist here in the community, but now including my sister, we are three
female artists. Adelfa kinuyog is
an elder sister of mine. She is 54 years old. She started painting when she was
53. She discovered that she also has the talent. It’s so nice to see an adult
starting up painting.
When did you start painting?
I started painting and
drawing before I learned how to write my name. I usually make paintings of
birds, any kinds of birds. Watercolor was my first medium. I started painting
when I was 13. My first painting was a nude woman patching a broken jar. She is
surrounded by her children. The painting is about putting the broken pieces
together and talks about the conflict in Mindanao. The woman is teaching the
children how to become a peace builder.
When I was 15, I went to
Illinois in the United States, and I brought my paintings. Then someone bought
it. She liked it. She was a private collector. I cannot trace it any more. I
was too young so I just sold it so that I can buy some things, like canvas and
paints. At that time I didn’t really care, but now I wonder where my work is. I
didn’t even have a photo of it and I only have the memory… I actually tried to
repaint it.
Do you use only soil to paint now?
I also use watercolor. I love
it. There is no limitation unlike soil. With soil, you should be careful
choosing the color, because once the colors are mixed, it can be really brown
and you cannot see the red or even the tint. But with watercolor, you don’t
have this problem.
What are your future plans?
I’m making a lot of paintings
so that I can go back to school. If it’s possible, I want to finish my degree
in college. I still need to save up. If I can afford, I want to go back to school
in Malaybalay City. My course is public administration. Even though I may not
be the head of the community, I want to learn how to administrate. It is good
to get education so I know how to defend the community if something happens.
X
Rodelio "Waway Linsahay" Saway (b.1969)
is a cultural chieftain of the Talaandig Tribe, Waway Linsahay is the son of
prolific Datu Kinulintang Saway, a pioneer advocate for rights of Indigenous
Communities in the Philippines. Waway Linsahay is one of the leading
contemporary artists in Mindanao. He is also a musician and educator with 6
recorded albums of traditional and contemporary Talaandig music, collaborating
with other local and foreign world musicians, such as Grace Nono, Dave Eggar,
Bayang Barrios. He uses traditional musical instruments in his music, and
is constantly creating new instruments that capture the nuances he experiences
in nature. He pioneered the use of soil in paintings, serving as a de facto
teacher for younger Talaandig artists.
Paintings
of Marcelino "Balugto" Necosia
Jr (b.1984) articulate a philosophical man's musings on the relationships
of nature, man and divinity, expressing both the core Talaandig worldview and
his keen observations of modern life as lived by a culture bearer. A
self-taught artist, he moved from pen and ink to soil in 2007, and immediately
joined local art competitions. A regional winner for 2007 and 2009 for the
Philip Morris Philippine Art Awards, Balugto regularly participates in the
Kalinawa Indigenous Peoples Visual Arts Competition. His exhibitions
include: Kalinawa Art Awards Foundation (2007 to 2013), Philip Morris
Philippine Art Awards (2008, 2010), Agyu sa Lupa (2011, 2012, CDO),
Philippine-Korean Visual Arts Exchange Exhibit (2012, Manila) and Huning Lumad
(2012, Cebu). In addition to being a soil painter, he is an avid
percussionist, and dabbles with bas reliefs and found art.
Soliman Poonon
(b.1984) is a self-taught artist who started painting in 2004. Most of his
paintings are stories told from generations to generations, given a
contemporary feeling. He is also a regional winner for 2009 Philip Morris
Philippine Art Awards. His group exhibitions include: Kalinawa Art Awards
Foundation (2007 to 2013), Philip Morris Philippine Art Awards 2010), Agyu sa
Lupa (2011, 2012, CDO) and Huning Lumad. (2012, Cebu).
In addition to painting, Soliman also crafts bamboo drums, with horse hide as the drum head.
In addition to painting, Soliman also crafts bamboo drums, with horse hide as the drum head.
Salima Saway-Agra-an (b.
1988) is a sister of Waway Linsahay and youngest daughter of Datu Kinulintang,
Salima honed her skills by drawing her version of Japanese manga characters (as
seen on weekend TV), which she then sold to her high school classmates. Also a
self-taught artist, most of her paintings are studies on the roles women play
in the community, and their inherent power in shaping their culture and
beliefs. Her paintings are layers upon layers of meanings and realities
captured in a single image. Some of her group exhibitions include: Kalinawa Art
Awards Foundation (2007 to 2013), Bae Mindanao (2011, Manila), Agyu sa Lupa
(2011, 2012, CDO) and Huning Lumad. (2012, Cebu).
© Talaandig Artists and the author
© Talaandig Artists and the author