Mamanwa
The Mamanwas are the mountain people who are black-skinned, small of frame,
kinky-haired, snub-nosed and with black eyes. Generally, they are short with an average
height of 1.35 to 1.5 meters.
In Mindanao, the Aeta known as the Mamanwa lives in the northeastern provinces of
Surigao and Agusan. The term Mamanwa means “First Forest Dwellers”, derived from “man”
(first) and “banwa” (forest). According to archaeologists and anthropologists, Mamanwas are
the descendants of the original inhabitants of the Philippines who arrived through land
bridges that linked the country with the Asia mainland some 50,000 years ago.
What’s unique about their culture is that their existence is hardly relying on the supply
of the food available at a certain place. As food gatherers, they move from one place to
another depending on their needs. Also, it is shown in the documentary that their tribe is led
by a woman but the truth is that leadership is accorded to the eldest and most respected
males in their community. They don’t have religion but they believe in “Magbabaya” their
God. They believe that he is the creator of all human kind. But nowadays, Mamanwa are
more scattered than before due to conflicts of the land they inhabit. Some communities
retained traditional livelihood activities, but now that they are settled in more compact and
permanent settlements both in town centers and in the uplands. The Mamanwa have also
adapted mainstream economic practices such as entrepreneurship and the provision of
physical labor and other services for various tasks from farms to offices, such as the one
seen in the video. Though slowly influenced by different cultures, the Mamanwas wanted
their children to know their dialect at least in that way their culture will still be alive for the next
coming years.
Other people would perceive them as “kongking” well they’re quit right, Mamanwa is
really known for being called “kongking” because of their skin complexion and their kinky
hairs. More so, these people are unfortunate to go to schools, and being uneducated is one
of their struggles in their existence. Some would label them as “manlimosay” or something
like beggar whenever seen in streets.
As we can see in the documentary, this group of people lack hygiene practices. Aside
from that, they lack basic kitchen wares such as spoon and fork, and they walk with only
barefoot. This shows that they can easily acquire diseases, which could possibly pose a
great threat to all the population.
As a nurse, it is our duty to treat all our patients fairly regardless of what, regardless
of who the person is. It is our duty to lend ourselves in the service of other people. To be
culturally sensitive to Mamanwa people, I must know their backgrounds, their practices,
customs and beliefs so that I can attain harmony with them and deliver quality care.
[Link]
Kulturang Karaga
Published by Department of Education, Culture and Sports
Caraga
Tasaday
Tasaday is an ethnic group that is considered to be part of the Lumad, a group of
natives from the southern Philippines. This tribe is living in an isolated section of rainforest in
the Philippines was just unveiled. The revelation came after a hunter accidentally discovered
the group living in a cave, oblivious to modern civilization. Manuel Elizalde, a politician and
then in charge of all Philippine tribal peoples, introduced them to the world. Tasadays were
descendants of the Manobo who moved deeper into the rainforest a century ago because of
a disease. This evaluation from Headland seems to agree with the Spanish health records in
1871, which reported an outbreak of smallpox that spread across Cotabato, at around the
same time that the Tasadays said they fled to escape from an illness that killed most of their
members.
What I found unique from them is that, they are able to live in a cave for how many
years, and be able to survive in the rainforest for a long time. This tribe was living a normal
life. Since they live far from civilization, their life is as simply as they define it. They get food
just in the plants, roots, fruits, leafs, and such. Living in a cave means considering it as their
permanent home, thus, they separate rooms for women and couples according to their
status.
They haven’t met a lot of people so they are unlikely to be labelled. But, the dilemma
of their tribe begins when they are being called fake. The discovery of their tribe is
considered to be one of the most controversial issues in the anthropological century. They
attracted widespread media attention in 1971, when a journalist of the Manila Associated
Press bureau chief reported their discovery, amid apparent "Stone Age" technology and in
complete isolation from the rest of Philippine society. Because of what happened, the
Tasaday becomes afraid to people and had a hard time trusting them again. They are just
waiting for help, but their hopes to change their state have struck down.
Tasaday people don’t have proper clothing s to wear, shelters to live and food to eat.
They can be found super far from the city which makes it more difficult for someone to go to
healthcare institutions if needed. The access to healthcare services is very impossible in their
place. But, they said that they are more likely comfortable to without people surrounding them
except for themselves.
As to individuals who uses different language or dialect well I guess, using interpreter
is the most appropriate thing to do, to extend, share and communicate. Knowing the
foundation of Tasaday’s beliefs and practices must be considered too. To be culturally
sensitive to them, I must know what their cultural preferences are, how does it vary, and
understand different attributes associated in their culture. This way, we can work with each
other with full of respect.
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Ainu Culture
The Ainu are people indigenous to the lands of northern Japan. They have a cultural
background somewhat different from that of the Yamato Japanese who has inhabited most of
the rest of Japan.
"Ainu" means "human". The Ainu people regard things useful to them or beyond their
control as "kamuy"(gods). In daily life, they prayed to and performed various ceremonies for
the gods. These gods include : "nature" gods, such as of fire, water, wind and thunder ;
"animal" gods, such as of bears, foxes, spotted owls and gram-puses ; "plant" gods, such as
of aconite, mush-room and mugwort ; "object" gods, such as of boats and pots ; and gods
which protect houses, gods of mountains and gods of lakes. The word "Ainu" refers to the
opposite of these gods.
It was seen in the documentary that Ainu is rich in terms of their culture, music and
arts. Ainu plates are carved not just simply for typical decorations, but it is designed with
meaning to it. Repelling evil spirits and bad luck, designs of their crafts revolve around this
belief. Unlike most of the tribes in the Philippines, today, several museums in Hokkaido
Japan aim to preserve the heritage of their tribe (ainu) and inform visitors about their history,
culture and way of living. Some of these museums stage cultural shows that demonstrate
traditional Ainu dance, music and dresses. Furthermore, Ainu handicrafts are sold at many
souvenir shops across Hokkaido.
Ainu continue to face economic and social marginalization including prejudice and
discrimination, which has not been tackled sufficiently by the government. This has occurred,
for instance, in cases where an Ainu person has sought to marry a non-Ainu, in terms of
access to education, and in hiring practices. Ainu also continue to be greatly restricted in their
ability to fish salmon, a traditional food, by various authorization requirements limiting them to
poor-quality districts.
Poverty and racial discrimination seriously affected the Ainu, pushing them to the
margins of a society that treated them as second class members. Facing serious social
discrimination, many Ainu people suppressed their ethnic identity and adopted the
mainstream Japanese way of life.
According to research, given that local people had not identified the improvement of
physical and medical conditions as a pressing need, and to avoid subjecting them to medical
examinations, the research group decided that the CINE global research aim of improving the
health of Indigenous People could best be met by focusing on improving Ainu people’s social
and cultural conditions, rather than their physical and medical ones. Efforts to improve the
Ainu’s social and cultural health aimed to resolve social prejudices against Ainu people. The
researchers believed that reintroducing traditional Ainu foods and recognizing their nutritional
value would promote positive attitudes towards Ainu foods, people and culture, inside and
outside the community. This in turn would help create a community in which Ainu people
could freely express their ethnic identity with pride. The ultimate aim was for Ainu people to
live with dignity as an ethnically distinct group, while maintaining the same social status as
non-Ainu members of the community
When caring for a patient from a culture very different from mine, i need to be aware of
and respect their cultural preferences and beliefs; otherwise, they might consider me
insensitive and indifferent or even incompetent. But we should always remember not to
assume that all members of any one culture act and behave in the same way so that we can
avoid stereotyping [Link] best way to avoid stereotyping is to view each patient as an
individual and to find out his cultural preferences.
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