NCCA Celebrates Indigenous Peoples Month this October

NCCA Celebrates Indigenous Peoples Month this October

In celebration of Indigenous Peoples Month this October, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), led by its Chairman Dr. Vilma Labrador and Executive Director Cecile Guidote Alvarez, supports the holding of Timpuyog: Indigenous People Month Celebration in Luzon . It will happen from Oct. 7 to 12, 2008 , in Santiago City , Isabela. There will be performances, arts and crafts workshops, cultural awareness lectures, fora and tours, among others. Focus is on the ethnic groups of Luzon , and the festival will bring together about 18 ethnic groups including Kalinga, Ilocano, Ifugao, Tingguian, Pampangan, Bontoc, Ayta, Isnag, Bicol, Dumagat, Mangyan, Ibaloi/Kankanaey, Ivatan, Ibanag, Itawes, Gaddang/Isinay, Bugkalot and Tagbanua.

An indigenous people’s village will be set up in the barangay of Balintocatoc in Santiago City . It will be a thematic park showcasing the different houses of indigenous groups in Luzon .

Envisioned as a celebration of peace, the festival aims to gather these groups to participate in a cultural exchange highlighting significant aspects of their way of life, both material and non-material culture and tradition. Each participating community will feature their traditional houses, cultural resources, practices/rituals, chants, music, songs and dances, stories, traditional arts and crafts, indigenous games in the week-long festival. During the festival, traditional artists and cultural masters will be recognized, and discussion-fora on IP rights and other concerns on preservation, promotion and development of traditional culture will also be included.

The communities will have simultaneous inter-active activities such as performances, exhibitions, fora, lecture-demonstrati ons and workshops on traditional crafts and cuisine, and indigenous games while at the same time, a particular tradition of a community will be highlighted for the appreciation and understanding of other communities and of the students from various schools, colleges and universities as well.

The festival is in pursuant to Presidential Proclamation No. 486 signed by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and consistent with Presidential Proclamation No. 1124 issued by former President Fidel V. Ramos and the United Nation's General Assembly declaration of the year 2005 to 2014 as the Second International Decade of the World's Indigenous People.

Last year, the NCCA supported Kalimudan: Panaghi-usa sa Mindanao (Mindanao Indigenous Peoples’ Gathering) held in Davao City in November. It featured Mindanao’s ethnic groups.

This year, the program of Timpuyog is spearheaded by the NCCA Committee on Northern Cultural Communities through the city government of Santiago in cooperation with various government agencies, institutions and other stakeholders.

It will also be attended by national officials, congressmen, non-governmental organizations, members of the media and students from the different schools in Luzon.

For details, contact the NCCA-Public Affairs and Information Office at 527-5529 / 527-2192 loc. 612-615, or log on to www.ncca.gov.ph.