Uma Hosts Cordillera Day ‘06
Uma,
Lubuagan, Kalinga is this year’s host community for the Cordillera Day
celebration from April 23 to 24. In a meeting last February the Uma Tribal
Elders and Leaders Conference pointed out the significance of the
Cordillera Day celebration in this community “in addressing their issues
and problems”, and that it is “an honor for them to share their struggles
in this broad solidarity event.”
BY AURA
IRENE SEMANERO
Northern Dispatch
Posted by Bulatlat
Uma, Lubuagan, Kalinga is this year’s host community for
the Cordillera Day celebration from April 23 to 24. In a recent meeting,
the Uma Tribal Elders and Leaders Conference pointed out the significance
of the Cordillera Day celebration in this community “in addressing their
issues and problems,” and that it is “an honor for them to share their
struggles in this broad solidarity event.”
In a press conference, the Cordillera Peoples Alliance
(CPA) stated that the Cordillera Day theme is: “Strengthen the
inter-tribal unity and peoples’ resistance against destructive mining and
political repression! Oppose charter change and oust the Gloria Macapagal
Arroyo regime!” Expected local and international guests to this event will
number from 3,000 to 4,000.
The Uma tribe occupies three barangays (villages): Western
Uma, Lower Uma, and the Upper Uma. Western Uma, the host barangay, is
generally mountainous and steep with an altitude ranging from 300 to 1,
000 meters above sea level.
The steep terrain limits the land for agriculture. Farming
is the main livelihood of the people, but this does not suffice to meet
basic needs, so they also engage in broom-making, blacksmith, along with
production of cash crops like beans, watercress, chayote, corn, and
coffee, among others; and occasional logging. However diverse their
potential sources of income are, their earnings are still insufficient,
causing the people to find supplementary livelihood outside their village.
Vegetation and forest cover in the barangay is depleted by
massive logging operations of the Batong Buhay Gold Mines Incorporated (BBGMI)
in the past.
Like most of northwestern Luzon, the climate in the area is
dry and warmest during the months of March until May. The rest of the year
is wet.
Based on a community profile prepared by the CPA, the
people generally speak the Uma dialect, while some speak Ilocano and other
Cordillera languages. Few professionals and young ones can speak English
and Tagalog.
To this day, the Uma kinsfolk practice their rich
socio-political and cultural heritage evident in their continuing practice
of indigenous rituals and customs associated with life’s cycle,
agricultural practices, and other community affairs.
Uma has a rich historical experience in the struggle for
ancestral land and territory, in dealing with militarization and tribal
conflicts, and in opposing the construction of the Chico dam in the 1970s.
As a tribe, their elders have taken various lead roles in
maintaining harmony within the community, in maintaining objectivity and
democracy in decision-making processes, in the administration of justice
and settlement of disputes, and leadership in inter-tribal relations.
For decades now, this tribe has been the most respected
mediator in the long-running tribal conflict between the neighboring
Balatoc and Guinaang tribes in nearby Pasil.
The community roads remain narrow and unpaved, there is no
electricity, water is scarce and there is no regular health worker – all
because of government neglect, the CPA stated. Yet, the people of Uma
remain united in defending their rights as indigenous peoples in the face
of destructive corporate mining, militarization, tribal conflicts and
against human rights violations. Northern
Dispatch / Posted by Bulatlat
BACK TO
TOP ■
PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION ■
COMMENT
© 2006 Bulatlat
■
Alipato Publications
Permission is granted to reprint or redistribute this article, provided
its author/s and Bulatlat are properly credited and notified.