PHILIPPINE

INDIGENOUS
COMMUNITIE
S
 Module I.
Indigenous
Knowledge and
Traditional
Knowledge
 Learning Objectives
 1. Define Indigenous Peoples.
 2. Define traditional knowledge
 3. Describe the physical and social contexts in
which traditional knowledge develop
 4. Describe the historical impact of social change
on
traditional knowledge systems
 5. Give concrete examples of the impact of
declining traditional knowledge and lifestyles
 6. Compare traditional knowledge with western
knowledge
Key Terms and Concepts

 colonization
 cultural bias
 living knowledge
 traditional knowledge (also known as
indigenous knowledge, traditional
ecological knowledge)
 western scientific knowledge
 LESSON- 1
• Indigenous Peoples, also known as: First peoples, , aboriginal
peoples, native peoples or autochthonous, mountain peoples,
ethnic group, tribal group, minority group who are the original
settlers, or first settlers in a given region, in contrast to groups that
have settled, or colonized the area more recently.
Characteristics of the Indigenous People:
1. Ancestral ties
IP have a historical connection to the land and
natural resources.
2. Unique Culture
IP have their own languages, beliefs, and
knowledge system
Traditional Practices:
IP have their own ways of relating to the
environment and people
4. They have preserved their traditional culture,
social institution and livelihood
• Indigenous when they maintain traditions or other aspects of an early
culture that is associated with a given region, but many adopted
substantial elements of a colonizing culture, such as dress, religion or
language.
• They have their own social and cultural characteristics distinct from
dominant culture.
• During the Spanish regime, they withdrew to the mountain fastness
and stood their ground successfully against colonialism and are called
tribal Filipinos or indigenous peoples (IPs).
• 1987 Constitution define IPs as group of people who are not near the
Spaniards or other foreigners
 INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
The Philippines is estimated 14-17 million Indigenous
Peoples (IPs) belonging to 110 ethno-linguistic groups.
1. Northern Luzon (Cordillera Administrative Region, 33%)
and Mindanao (61%), with some groups in the Vizayas
area.
2. Philippine Constitution - mandates state recognition,
protection, promotion, and fulfillment of the rights of
Indigenous Peoples.
 Republic Act 8371, also known as the “Indigenous Peoples
Rights Act” (1997, IPRA), recognized the right of IPs to
manage their ancestral domains; it has become the
cornerstone of current national policy on IPs.
 INDIGENOUS PEOPLES

• Cordillera Peoples: covers six • Caraballo Tribes: These are the five
provinces in the middle of Northern ethnolinguistic groups – Ibanag,
Luzon – Abra, Apayao, Benguet, Ilongot, Gaddang, Ikalahan and
Ifugao, Kalinga, and Mountain Isinai – who together with the Agta
Province. peoples inhabit the Caraballo
• They are collectively called Igorots, mountain range in Eastern Central
meaning “mountain people” .There Luzon. This range connects the
are eight ethno-linguistic groups in provinces of Nueva Vizcaya,
the Cordillera, namely, Bontoc, Isneg, Quirino and Nueva Ecija.. Ibanag
Kalinga, Kalanguya Kankanaey, Ilongot
Tingguian, and Apayao, Ibaloi.
 The Negritos from Luzon
• The Negrito also come from Luzon. Negrito: The term Negrito is a Spanish
word, a diminutive of the word Negro. In this case, Negritos refers to a
large group of indigenous tribes in Philippines. It includes the subgroups
called the Agta, Aeta, Ati, Ayta, Dumagat and 25 more tribes from the
Philippines.
• Agta and Aeta/Negrito: These short, dark- skinned and kinky-haired
peoples are considered the earliest inhabitants of the Philippines.
• Aside from having been perpetually pushed into the hinterlands of Central
Luzon, mainly in the provinces of Zambales, Bataan and Pampanga, and in
other parts of the country, they also suffer from racial discrimination.
The Mangyans Palawan Hill
Tribe
• The indigenous groups in Mindoro • Palawan hill tribes: These are
– are called Mangyan. They spread the non-Muslim tribal people of
over the mountains and foothills Palawan island located further
of Mindoro, an island southwest of west of Mindoro. This group is
Luzon, namely, Batangan, Iraya, composed of four ethnic groups
Hanunoo, Alangan, Ratagnon,
– Tagbanua, Batak, Kalamianes,
Buhid, and Tadyawan. They are
described as the first inhabitants Cuyonin, and Ken-uy.
of the island, and until today, they
are one of the few groups that still
practice a pre-Spanish form of
writing.
 Mindanao: The Lumad and Moro
• The Moro and the Lumad. The Moro practice Islam and the Lumad do not. Moro is
Spanish for the word Moor. Lumad means indigenous or native.

• Mindanao Lumad: This is a generic term embracing all non-Muslim hill tribes of
Mindanao. Lumad is a Visayan term that means “born and grown in the place”. They
concentrated in varying degrees in the hilly portions of the provinces of Davao, Bukidnon,
Agusan, Surigao, Zamboanga, Misamis, and Cotabato. They can be found in almost all
provinces of Mindanao and they include the Subanen, Manobo, B’laan, T’boli, Mandaya,
Mansaka, Tiruray, Higaonon, Bagobo, Bukidnon, Tagkaolo, Banwaon, Dibabawon,
Talaandig, Mamanua, and Manguangan.
• The Moro or Muslim Groups: Composed of fourteen groups, namely, Maranao,
Maguindanao, Tausug, Samal, Yakan, Sangil, Palawani, Badjao, Kalibugan, Jama-Mapun,
Ipanun, Kalagan, Molbog, and Muslim.
 Indigenous Knowledge Systems
and Practices (IKSPs)
• IKSPs are local knowledge developed over centuries of
experimentation by our ancestors and are passed orally from
generation to generation.
 Proven to be a perfect scaffold to sustainable development
connecting the past, the present and the future.
 IKSPs are at escalating rate of deterioration due to consistent
assimilation that resulted from the continuing loss of interest of these
practices from young people.
Indigenous knowledge and practices to academic curriculum are highly
regarded to be influential in their preservation.
 According to Baguilat (2009), IKSPs cover a broader scope that
included all traditional skills, laws, philosophy, rituals, livelihood,
sciences and technologies of the community.
Defining Traditional
Knowledge
Why Define It At
All?
• distinguish it from
other kinds of
knowledge
• when the people
with whom it
originates are
trying to preserve
and renew their
cultural identity.
 Defining Traditional Knowledge
•What are Some Definitions?
 traditional knowledge,
 traditional ecological knowledge,
 traditional environmental
knowledge, and
 Indigenous knowledge.
Traditional
Knowledge
 is
knowledge that derives from, or is
rooted in the traditional way of life of
aboriginal people.

 is
the accumulated knowledge
and understanding of the human
place in relation to the universe.
Traditional Ecological
Knowledge
 environmental knowledge that
has been gathered by aboriginal
peoples who have lived in and
observed a particular area for
generations.

systems of experiential knowledge

gained by continual observation and
transmitted among members of a
 Traditional Environmental
Knowledge
 is a body of knowledge and beliefs transmitted
through oral traditions and first hand
observation.

 The quantity and quality of TEK varies among

community members, depending upon gender,
age, social status, intellectual capability and
profession.

 The use of the word “traditional” in these

Indigenous
knowledge
 It includes facts, concepts, theories about
the characteristics which describe the
objects, events, behaviours and
interconnections that comprise both the
animate and inanimate environments of
Indigenous peoples.

 Even though Indigenous knowledge is not

quantitative in nature, it does not mean that
it is not precise.
  is generated within
 is location and culture
communities
specific
 is the basis for decision
making and survival
Characterist strategies
ics of  is not systematically
Indigenous documented
concerns critical issues of human
Knowledge 
and animal life: primary
production, human and animal
life, natural resource
management
 is dynamic and based on
 The Social
Context
Since time immemorial, we were put here to take
care of the land. Our grandfathers did not abuse
the land and it is our turn to pass our knowledge
on to our younger generation. What our
forefathers kept all this time is very precious.
It’s now in our hands. Our Creator has given us
the responsibility for taking very good care of
what we have. If we don’t take care of it, we will
lose our own culture one day.
Two aspects of TK
 First: practical base - Traditional
explanations of environmental phenomena,
winds or water currents for example, are
based on cumulative collective experience ,
tested over centuries, by people who had a
sophisticated and practical knowledge of the
land on which they depended for every aspect
of life.

 Second: spiritual - is integral to the ethical

The Impact of Colonization on
Traditional Knowledge
Reasons:
 to exploit the natural resources found in
the territories of Indigenous peoples; and

 toexecute some notion of “empire” or

“manifest destiny,” to solidify economic,
social, and political power.
 Colonization has adversely affected
the transmission, preservation, and
protection of traditional knowledge

 TK has not been systematically documented

until recently;
 it is largely orally transmitted;
 IP have become isolated from one another;
 enforced shifts away from traditional
subsistence practices
 health and social problems; and
 Conclusi
on
 To change a life, based on traditional knowledge
where the traditional lifestyle includes norms,
values, relations to nature, time, work and leisure
is extremely difficult.
 Many persons leaving their traditional life experiences
that they are “nobody”
 To establish a new social identity can mainly be done
in two ways: They can reduce the importance of
earlier knowledge and self- consciousness. to use the
achieved traditional knowledge as a platform for
further learning
Contemporary Uses of Traditional
Knowledge
Integration with Western Knowledge
Systems
 Thus the integration of the two knowledge
systems faces a number of barriers
 Different perspectives:
 There is frequently a distinct difference in what
Indigenous peoples think are significant impacts and
what policy makers and those in favour of
development projects think are significant impacts.
These differences are probably rooted in both the
habits of mind and the practical priorities of each
group.

Scientific skepticism:
Scientists are skeptical about the credibility or
reliability of indigenous knowledge gathered
through interviews, preferring “hard” data such as
biophysical data. Some may dismiss traditional
knowledge as subjective, anecdotal, and
unscientific.
 Politics:
 Policy makers may resist altering established
decision-making processes to accommodate the
use of traditional knowledge, for reasons having to
do with an interest in controlling the process.
(Sallenave 1994, 14)
 Protecting Traditional Knowledge
 Preserving traditional knowledge also contributes to the
cultural and political goals of self-determination and self-
reliance (especially the ability to support traditional
lifestyles) by creating strong, ongoing appreciation within the
community of its history and its roots.
 Because traditional knowledge has a wide range of commercial
and scientific uses, it is becoming increasingly valuable to non-
indigenous outsiders. One unfortunate outcome of this
interaction is the situation where traditional knowledge has
been gathered and used without contacting the source of
knowledge. One example is the use of traditional medicines as
a basis for developing pharmaceutical products and herbal
remedies.
 Abuses of traditional knowledge include:
 unlicensed and unauthorized commercialization of traditional
knowledge;
 taking images, such as photographs, film and video of
Indigenous peoples,
their way of life, et cetera;
 using, reproducing or copying indigenous names, images and
arts without permission;
 use and misuse of symbols without permission;
 disclosing secret knowledge and cultural property;
 publishing research without recognition or reward for the
knowledge holders;
 entering into community research without fully explaining how
 Because our knowledge is a part of us, and we are
living beings, then our knowledge is in a sense
“living” too and must be nurtured like all life. The
primary lesson for Indigenous peoples within their
own communities, then, is to learn and practice
traditional knowledge. Seek out elders and
traditional teachers.
Listen to the stories, ask questions, practice the
techniques, and discuss it all with your peers.
Honour the sacred.
Reference:
•http://www.ph.undp.org/content/philippines/en/home/library/
democratic_governance/FastFacts-IPs
•https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1997/10/29/republic-act-no-8371/
• https://sites.google.com/site/humanrightspromotions/indigenous-cultural-
community
• https.//www.slideshare.net/ErnestoEmpig/traditionalknowledge