By Penelope A. Domogo, MD
As I see us, Filipinos, we must be one of the most sociable people in this planet. We love gathering- wherever and whenever, as long as we have the chance. We love to party.
In traditional Igorot communities, and other farming communities, gatherings, however, are limited by the volume of work that must be done to make ends meet. Our communities have been self-sufficient in the past- with the people producing what they need to eat. If you didn’t work, you would not eat. There were no paid laborers because where will farmers get cash to pay them. If ever there were paid laborers, these were few. Our communities therefore developed systems where they would help each other, especially where the work needed was enormous. One system developed is the “og-og-bo”/”og-ogfo” – mutual help groups- primarily family-based or “dap-ay”-based but it is a flexible system and anybody willing to cooperate with the group could join. This system comes into play during the rice planting and harvest season, during community events, during wedding celebrations and deaths and other vital events in the family or community. Such system entailed people to gather. So when people gather, what do you expect happens? Of course, they talk, they smile, they joke, they share opinions and lessons, they share stories of their own or of others (these make up the news). In Bontoc, these og-ogbo provided young men and women to get to know each other and court their crush. Such gatherings provided an immense opportunity for indigenous knowledge transmission. So aside from getting work done, they had fun. Such lift up spirits, as has been personally experienced by me. But then these social gatherings were occasional.
Well, everyday life provided venues for social interaction. In the past, the women would chika-chika when they went to fetch water from a common spring. As they waited for others to fill their jars or pails, they would engage in brief gag-gag-ay and to see how the others are- happy, worried, sick, etc. If you were really sick, you would not be fetching water so people would know immediately. In the late afternoons, the men would gather in the dap-ay/ato and also have their gag-gag-ay. In one of our researches in Bontoc, some men said that they would go to the dap-ay/ato if their wives start nagging them. “Gag-gag-ay” (Kankanaey) or “ag-aggong”(Bontok) is a term for face-to-face conversations meant to uplift, discuss concerns, or just to while the time away like those by the spring.
Our indigenous communities were close-knit because they knew their survival depended on others. This is starkly clear in “warrior” communities like Bontoc and Kalinga communities where houses are physically close to each other that you can hear the conversation in the other house if their voices are raised. It is “united we stand, divided we fall” situation. Such physical closeness further enabled the people more opportunities to have more and deeper social interaction. Everybody knows everybody and your life is public. No secrets.
There are a lot of researches on social relationships and itheir effects on health. Researchers Deborah Umberson and Jennifer Karaz Montes stated “Adults who are more socially-connected are healthier and live longer than their isolated peers…. Many types of scientific evidence show that involvement in social relationships benefit health.” (Social Relationships and Health: A Flashpoint for Health Policy”, Journal of Health and Social Behavior, Oct. 8, 2010). Well, our ancestors and our indigenous communities attest to this. People in the past were generally sturdy and healthy, physically and mentally. Depression was unheard of.
With modernization where cash has replaced barter, where jobs have gone beyond the rice paddy and um-a and where our borders have expanded beyond our sight, we are losing some social institutions like the dap-ay/ato. Blessed are the young men and boys who have the privilege of being in the dap-ay to listen to wisdom and be trained in the ways of living well. With cash readily available, the og-ogbo during rice planting and harvest is almost gone. With piped water entering our homes, where will women socialize and de-stress? Where will people have their “gag-gag-ay”? Here comes facebook (fb).
More than a decade ago, I opened an account on fb so I would know what my children were doing and for them to know what I am doing. We were then in different places. They were my first fb friends then I added my siblings and other relatives and friends. My children told me that the friends I would add would be those who are far from me as fb was a way of knowing how they are. There was no point in adding my co-workers and neighbors as I see them everyday. Well, as the years went on, I added them and was surprised to know a lot of things I would not have known. So my community of friends has now a population of 1,999! Wow, it’s more than double the population of my barangay in Ambasing (986). Although the social interaction here is superficial, fb does provide a sounding board for joys and tribulations, without having to walk a mile. You can visit more friends for “gag-ay” now compared to when you had to walk. And fb is beyond lockdown’s reach so we can easily cross borders with your gadget. What more, you have the choice of not responding immediately or not showing your true feelings kasi di ka naman talaga nakikita even if it says “face”book. You have the choice which face to show and you have more time to choose your words well than when the interaction is really face-to-face and in real time. It has its advantages and disadvantages. Some people I know don’t even have fb accounts and they are happy. For me, fb has become a platform for my lifestyle advocacy, so I am happy with it. I am happy to interact with friends, although I have to moderate my “gag-ay” time, even if I am retired. The downside with these hi-tech gadgets is the sitting. And the fact that what we see in fb can be deceiving. Nothing beats good old face-to-face gag-ay. So may I now close this and visit my friend for real “gag-gag-ay.”**
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Hebrews 10:25 “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another and all the more as you see the day approaching.”
