COTABATO CITY (MindaNews/27 December)—Traditional leaders of the Teduray and Maguindanao tribes publicly reaffirmed their historical kinship recently here in support to the peace process of the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
The reaffirmation of their kinship was also meant to strengthen their ranks in backing the Bangsamoro transition, according to a statement from the Mindanao Peoples Caucus (MPC) on Thursday.
Members of the Teduray and Maguindanao tribes pose for a souvenir photo after they reaffirmed their historical kinship in a ceremony in Cotabato City last week. (MindaNews photo courtesy of MPC)
Based on their distinct tribal narratives, which are handed down through generations, the Teduray and Maguindanao peoples are respectively descended from two blood brothers. The Teduray traces ancestry to Mamalu and the Maguindanao to Tabunaway, according to MPC.
The story goes that the brothers went their chosen life paths with the coming of Islam in Mindanao in the late 1300s through the Arab missionary Shariff Kabunsuan. Exposed to Kabunsuan’s teachings, Tabunaway embraced Islam while Mamalu held on to the indigenous belief system, it added.
“As descendants of Mamalu and Tabunaway, we hope to awaken the kinship relations among us and the other native inhabitants of Mindanao for the sake of unity, peace and solidarity,” Timuay Melanio Ulama, a Teduray leader, said in the statement.
Set against the Bangsamoro transition, the kinship reaffirmation signifies the active support of indigenous peoples within the future territory of the new autonomous entity that will be established as a result of the peace negotiations between the government and the MILF.
The rituals symbolizing the sacred pact of brotherhood were held at the historical landmark Fute Fantad-PutingLupa, Urok Tantawan, which is now known as PC Hill.
The ceremony highlighted the five pillars of kinship which are Kilalaha (Mutual Recognition and Trust), Sayuda (Mutual Sharing of Information),Buliga (Cooperation), Uyaga (Mutual Protection and Preservation of Life), and Pabatunbatuna (Mutual Obligation to Help).
The rites were also witnessed by leaders of other indigenous peoples in Mindanao.
“The Moro people may perish, the indigenous peoples may pass away, but our brotherhood will never end,” said Datu Vic Saway, a Talaandig leader and an MPC member.
“We are in full support of the descendants of Mamalu and Tabunaway in their quest for peace and unity,” Col. Dickson Hermoso, 6th Infantry Division spokesperson, was quoted as saying in the statement.
He added that the Armed Forces of the Philippines also “vigorously support the peace process between the GPH and the MILF.
Based on indigenous belief, those who break the sacred pact or fail to honor it are cursed.
Datu Uko Matura Sultan, a traditional Maguindanao leader, said: “It is better to have many adversaries than to be cursed, because if you are cursed, then you do not know what will happen to you.”
The first reaffirmation of kinship was done at the Talaandig Ancestral Domain in Sungko, Lantapan, Bukidnon on March 7-8, 2012, and the second at Lorega, Kitaotao, Bukidnon on November 24, 2013.
The organizers of the ceremony hope to undertake the same activity in other provinces of Mindanao to strengthen kinship among the native inhabitants. (MindaNews)
