Plural Identity as the Process of Becoming: Its Implications to Nation-Building

 

PLURAL IDENTITY AS THE PROCESS OF BECOMING: ITS IMPLICATIONS

TO NATION –BUILDING

 

BY  FAINA C. ABAYA-ULINDANG,Ph.D

Mindanao State University-Main Campus

Marawi City

 

(Paper prepared for the SEASREP’s “Plural Identities-the State and Globalization” workshop/forum, December 3-4,2012;NHCP,Ermita Manila)

 

            Identity studies essentially focus on culture and its attributes such as race, gender and ethnicity. Of these three, I shall focus on ethnicity which is closest to the issue of plural identity.

            The diversity of culture in a multi-ethnic state such as the Philippines is a product of history. It is a residue of pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial experiences of the Filipino, which is a figment of territory carved out of several barangays located in islands of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Scholars debated whether there is one Filipino culture with which   one could identify with.  Samuel Tan proposes a “unity in diversity”,i.e. recognition of Filipino cultural dissimilarity but with an underlying rootedness or indigeneity from pre-colonial experiences and relatedness.  Other scholars believe that indigeneity, being the basis of this unity should be excavated to form a single Filipino nation not only in form but also in substance. Language is to be emphasized since it mirrors the mind and the soul of this Filipino nation.  I am referring, of course, to the school of thought-Pilipinolohiya. Others, such as Nick Joaquin, aver that there is no basis for Filipino identity other than its history, as “History is culture and Culture is History”. In other words, our present is the sum total of what our cultural identity. It is plural and not entirely native.

            Renato Constantino contends that our colonial experience taught us that whatever impact the colonizers had on our culture, these were merely products of the colonizers’ perception on how they could transform us to conform to their vested interests. The socio-political-economic institutions we, today, have adopted were reproductions of colonialist designs that we have failed to eradicate, an independent nation though we maybe. Colonialist culture persists. And for the Filipino this is already integrated into his skin, difficult to be shed off. Unless we could truly dismantle these colonial structures, physically and mentally, we remain a nation economically left behind by our neighbours.

 

            At this point, please allow me to give  the brief historical context with which I could proceed in answering the questions related to the theme of our forum.

            Filipino ethnicities were not eradicated but rather were superimposed with colonial color. The Spaniards introduced a powerful religion- so did the Muslim missionaries. Islam and Christianity clashed not only during Spanish regime but through the American, Commonwealth, Post-War regimes and to a certain extent, even today. Eric Casiño believed that ethnic Muslims such as the Tausugs, Maranaos and Maguindanaos are no more ethnic Christians as the Tagalogs, Capampangans, and Ilocanos. Meaning to say, the practice of these two religions never obliterated indigenous cultural practices of these ethnic groups. It is thus a mistake, according to Casiño to blame the religion Islam for the assiduous, belligerent stance of the Moslems of Mindanao where the issue is basically territorial, not religious.  The nuance of their ethnic culture would eventually surface, since they, as ethnic groups, have their interest to protect, so to speak. The present conflicts between the Maguindanaoans and the Tausugs bear this out. It is their ethnic culture that distinguishes one from the other and though they maybe of similar religion, even their perception regarding their belief systems, differ. Professed Muslims, such as Aboud Syed Linga, however insists that true Muslims consider that the contradiction between their religion and their ethnic beliefs should be accepted as a given; the premise being that religions Judaism, Christianity and Islam share relics of medieval cultural practices. Furthermore, the believers should be aware of this and that their faith should be paramount more than the perceived dichotomy between their theology and its practice. Thus, it is possible to conceive of an Islamic state. Even the prominent historian scholar Atty Michael Mastura sees nothing discordant between Maguindanaoan socio-political-economic institutions with that of Islam because they harmonize each other. Datuism in Maguindanao society is deeply interrelated with Islamic hierarchic protocol. In fact, Najeeb Saleeby, the Syrian American educator had proposed in his monograph, The Roots of the Moro Problem, the adoption of `Datuism’ as the solution to moro  intransingence  with  American sovereignty. Of course, the American colonizers had other things in mind and ignored Saleeby’s proposal.

            Following the ethnic lines that designates a plural culture within the archipelago emphasizes the role of mingling among Filipinos historically as dictated by their political leaders. Alternatively, the response of Filipinos to the colonial policy of segregation, controlled movement of population and diminished human rights under the Spanish Regime, was, among others, an intense desire for freedom that culminated in the Revolution of 1896. Filipino response followed the same pattern under the American Regime. However, American education, just like the introduction of Roman Catholicism, as argued by Renato Constantino, had the effect of supra- incorporation of colonial culture into the native cultural milieu. But there was a vast difference between the Christians of Luzon and Visayas with that of the Muslims of the Mindanao and Sulu. The Tausug, Maguindanao and Maranao cultures were barely touched by American public education. At best, the pensionados, who received American education in the United States and Manila provided intermediaries/communicators between the American leaders and their (pensionado-Muslim leaders’) followers . The same situation prevails, even today. Unlike in Luzon and Visayas where public education was thoroughly imposed and successfully diminished illiteracy (as defined by the mainstream), Muslim areas remained literacy deficient.  Nonetheless, obliterating native culture, according to Renato Constantino was the sad result of this American public educational system. The Filipino was transformed into a proverbial `brown American’ who had internalized American tastes and values.  Of the values that the Americans ingrained in us, which is the most lasting, according to Constantino, was the belief that our prosperity as a nation lie on remaining an agrarian economy, a peripheral economy providing raw materials to the core capitalist countries.  The `ideal Filipino citizen’ from the American perspective would be a farmer/homesteader who is also a self-sufficient producer. This, thus, formed the basis of the American idea of the `ideal Filipino settler’ for Mindanao island.

            The migration of the Ilocano, Capampangan, Ilonggo, Cebuano, and Boholano settlers on to Mindanao in 1913 coincided with the Governor Harrison’s policy of Filipinization.  The intention was expressed in the motto `to make a Filipino out of the Moro’. The coming of these settlers added to the mistaken notion of identity that since they happen to be Christians, then they came to be recognized collectively as `Christian settlers’ vis-a-vis the native Muslims and other non-Muslims in the area. Moreover, they came to be regarded as `models’ with which to shape the native idea of how it is to become a `Filipino’. It also implies `cultural superiority’ over the native with the intention of assimilating them. Their economic dominance further deepened the already brewing resentment of the natives. The migrant settlers not only added to the motley of cultures in Mindanao but supplanted it with their numerical superiority. Notwithstanding the introduction of state colleges and schools during the postwar period with the intention of broadening the power base of Mindanaoan, most of the poverty stricken provinces in the country are located in Mindanao.

 

            At this point, a discussion on plural identity is in order. While I focus on Mindanao, this should not diminish the idea that plurality of ethnic identification is a reality in the entire country.  The question posed in this forum is:

 FIRST, what factors encourage or inhibit the development of plural identities? How and other what circumstances are these identities formed?

 

            Having contextualized above where I am coming from in this forum, we could see that historically, the formation of plural identities is processual. How the Filipinos, a collective designation for the diverse ethnic  groups propulating the entire Philippine Islands, responded to the challenges of colonialism, that brought with it the religion Roman Catholicism of the Spaniards, and the universal Public Educational System of the Americans and were transformed differentially territorially.

            The Maranao,Tausug and Maguindanao as well as the other ethnic groups-the Bagobos, Tagakaolos, Manobos, Mamanwas and others living in Mindanao, for example, have coexisted with the Ilocanos, Ilonggos,Boholanos, Surigaonons though they are of different beliefs and background. This coexistence is, I should say, presently the product of living off the land or their territory-which is the central factor to encourage the development of plural identity.

            The demands of the global market has vastly changed the Mindanao landscape.  Farmlands in the provinces of Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat, South and North Cotabato, Lanao del Sur, Bukidnon, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur,Tagum, Compostela Valley are thoroughly grown with cash crops like pineapples, bananas, rice, corn, gutta percha that are shipped to Japan, Kuwait, United States, China, Singapore and countries in Europe. We have become producers of fruits, grains, shrimps, tuna and now the island is poised to attract foreign investment in mining and alternative fuels.

            In other words, common goals which are beyond ethnic boundaries, under the template of `food security’ and `poverty alleviation’ among others, have diminished cultural conflicts and had promoted plural identities to flourish. As a matter of fact,`cultural diversity’ was even utilized to promote tourism. Furthermore, better awareness of the dynamics between religion and ethnicity through formal and non-formal education could help eradicate ignorance regarding when and why people are in conflict with one another.

            Moreover, from the above narrative we could say that formation of plural identities arise on the basis of their ethnicity which embodies their culture, broadly defined as the totality of one’s material, spiritual, intellectual and artistic pursuits. With ethnicity comes territory and with territory, the State. Presently, the phenomenon of bangsamoro identity cannot be ignored. However, this author would rather eschew the topic. As a non-Moro, I don’t think I have the authority to talk on this subject matter.

 

SECOND, how are these identities expressed and demonstrated and how do they interface or conflict with one another?

          Responses to challenges from external stimuli such as colonialism brought out the diversity in each of these cultures. Actually, their conflict with the outsiders was mainly territorial. Threats to the basic survival of the ethnic groups would lead them to resist. We have seen that in the Philippines the trifurcation of ethnic groups into Christian, Muslim and Lumads gloss over the plurality of cultures. We have seen that the ethnic identities could not be ignored. We see this becoming prominent in today’s conflict between the Tausugs and the Maguindanaos cum Maranaos regarding the Bangsamoro Issue. Interfacing plural cultures is also a factor for the common goals of economic development in the area.

 

THIRD, where and how does the State come in the construction of identity at the national level? What about the impact of globalization on the formation of identity?

            Shared historical experiences under the western colonial regimes which largely served as the background for the formation of Filipino identity which is a unity in diversity, as explained above, developed cumulatively. Because plural identity is processual, awareness of our distinction-ethnically, and nationally, may have been eroded by global ICT’s; however, constant reminders of the nations’ symbols as taught in our schools, and through our government agencies such as the NCCA, NHCP aside from the DEP ED and CHED as well as the Department of Tourism and Department of Trade help a lot.

       

Thank you!

 

 

 

 

SOURCES

 

 

Abaya-Ulindang, Faina. “Ang Homisteder Bilang `Ideal Citizen’ sa Panahon ng mga Amerikano sa Mindanao (1901-1926) ADHIKA Journal. Vol 1 no.1 .1999.

 

Blij,H.J.and Murphy, Alexander B. Human Geography.Culture, Society and Space.N.Y.:John Wiley & Sons,2003

 

Constantino,Renato. “The Miseducation of the Filipino” Foundation for Nationalist Studies.n.d.,n.p.

 

Joaquin,Nick. Culture and History. Q.C.: Anvil Publishing Inc.,2004.

 

Lingga, Abhoud Syed Mansur. “Salamat Hashim’s Concept of Bangsamoro State and Government.” Mindanao Journal vol.xxiii no.1-2 .July-Dec.1996.

 

Mastura, Datu Michael. Muslim Filipino Experience. A Collection of Essays. Manila: Ministry of Muslim Affairs,1984.

 

 

Stauffer, Robert B. “The Politics of Becoming:  The Mindanao Conflict in a World-System Perspective” Mindanao Journal.vol. x no. 2-4

 

Tan,Samuel K. A History of the Philippines. Q.C.: University of the Philippines History Department. 1987.

 

Turner,May and Turner eds. Mindanao: Land of Unfulfilled Promise . Q.C.: New Day Publishers, 1992.