Higaûnon Resistance and Ethnic Politics in Northern Mindanao

Rivers of Memory and Oceans of Difference in the Lumad World of Mindanao

“…Most dumagats (Filipino settlers) will tell you that Lumads such as the Higaunons are ‘mountain people’, and some may even theorize, erroneously, that the name Higaunon refers to mountains in some way. In fact, the word ‘Higaunon’ has a more complex etymology, as I have described elsewhere (Paredes 1997a:51). “One elderly Higaunon informant told me….that they are called thus because of a verb in their language, gaûn , which is often used but difficult to translate into English.…”

“…This contrast between rivers and the sea consciously locates lowlanders at the very edge of the Lumad moral universe, a bright boundary line against which Lumads essentialise themselves relative to the dumagat settlers who now occupy much of their land. As I have described elsewhere, in my work on Higaunon resistance to logging operations on their ancestral lands (Paredes 1997b: 284): “Unlike mainstream environmentalist rhetoric that attributes a sacred link between tribal people and their land …Higaûnon rhetoric emphasises their economic dependence on the forest. But in the process they contrast not only their livelihood but also their cultural values with that of Dumágats: Higaûnons have a ‘moral economy’ wherein they respect each other and protect the forest, whereas Dumágats are purely capitalistic and would kill people and destroy the forest for profit.…”

“…In addition, he is also trusting of people, and is not inclined towards profit-making. In contrast, the Dumagat is characterized as “business-minded,” i.e., willing to destroy resources and willing to destroy social relationships by cheating, lying, and defrauding others in the pursuit of monetary gain.” (Paredes 1997a: 55)…”