Prelude to the Archipelagic Ethnicity: Batak; The People of Palawan

    Welcome to Palawan! A place of spectacular Islands and an epitome of the Philippines as a nation of Archipelago. According to World Network of Island and Coastal Biosphere Reserves, the Province of Palawan is composed of over 1,700 islands and islets. Many tourists from around the world loved going here, as this indeed hit as a tourist spot for people from other countries. But aside from its renowned trait as an island, there are also a certain people who are native within this island. They are the people of Palawan. They are the original inhabitants of this Island, and this blogpost aims to introduce you to these people, particularly, the people of Batak, as well as their culture.

The Batak People

Traditional Knowledge & Practices

    Commonly, Filipino Ethnicity is usually just a one independent tribe within a specific local community. However, the People of Palawan is different. The tribes within the indigenous community is diverse, forming many tribes within the ethnicity. An example of one of the tribes is the Batak People residing on the northern part of Palawan. The word "Batak" is said to be an old Cuyunon term which means "Mountain People." This tribe was well known for their economic activities which revolves mostly on swidden farming Kaingin, or what is know as the Slash and Burn Method.

    

Kaingin (Slash and Burn Method)

     In order for the Batak People to clear land for crops, they tend to perform the kaingin method. The Slash and Burn method is the act of cutting and burning down forests or vegetation to be able to obtain land useful for farming. The accumulated ash during the initiation of the process could serve as a fertilizer for the ground in which the act is performed. This was beneficial for the Batak People for it helped the tribe to expand its agriculture aspect of living, giving them an opportunity to gather food and sustain the lives of the people within the tribe.

Copal Resin

    The people of Batak also is well known for their resin gathering. The people tend  to tap and trade this resin called Copal, a resin used for manufacturing certain products such as paint varnish, both beneficial for the local and international market. This resin could be collected from living trees or mined as a fossil. The Batak People, in early times, had a practice collecting resin not by tapping, but by climbing trees to collect the resin or by picking ones that fell to the forest.

Their Present Relevance

    As I went through all this tribe, I recently found out that this tribe is already on the verge of extinction. It was truly unfortunate seeing an interesting tribe within Palawan. These people have been living apart from the urban society, but they have shown a very profound and simple way of living, and up until now, they still exist. Truly it was a might of a race by having a desire to persevere, regardless how history aims to shape us. Their practices also is still being used by modern society today, and will still be useful even in the times to come.

The Epilogue

    One thing about learning the lives of the indigenous is that we see a restrospective of living on the present day. The people of Batak, though already declining in numbers, still exists in this generation. Times may still change, history may shape what we all know as the Philippines, but a love for one's heritage is still what gives us the identity and belonging within the country, like how the Batak People is still the indigenous people of Palawan up until now.

References:

Info

https://www.travel-palawan.com/cultural-heritage/indigenous-peoples/

https://ncca.gov.ph/about-ncca-3/subcommissions/subcommission-on-cultural-communities-and-traditional-arts-sccta/central-cultural-communities/the-batak/#:~:text=NOEL%20JAGMIS,called%20upon%20by%20their%20baylan.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/copal

Photos

https://www.yodisphere.com/2023/09/Batak-Tribe-Palawan-Culture.html

https://www.katherinejack.com/photographing-palawan/kaingeros

https://www.travel-palawan.com/cultural-heritage/indigenous-peoples/

https://www.britannica.com/topic/copal