By Atty. Antonio P. Pekas
That’s what I did. But not exactly. When my kid said the other day he will go to Sagada to visit his cousins, I immediately said, YES. I was expecting they will take him to the next town, Besao, my hometown.
That was exactly what his cousins planned to do but the next day they were surprised when he told them he was coming home. He just stayed in Sagada for a day. Actually his having gone there, I suspect, was due to his boredom. His cousins here in Baguio City were going to school while he was supposed to be on “Wellness Leave.” So he was being left at home, with the dogs.
I was happy though with the prospect of his visiting my hometown. Even if just in small trickles, it could have been the beginning of his education about the culture and traditions of the people where I grew up. Learning about how good the culture and traditions where he traces his roots can give him some overall confidence. That being an Igorot is something one can be proud of.
The best way to exploit people is to make them insecure about their roots, or their cultural heritage. If one is imbued with the thought that such heritage is inferior, then he will have a deep-seated inferiority complex. He would then be easily cheated or exploited by others, especially by those who have some superiority complex– those who think that their westernized ways and ideas are the best wile indigenous ones are something to look down on or to be ashamed of.
The point is, a solid foundation about one’s roots and the culture and traditions of his ancestors would make him confident in navigating what the future brings. He would be psychologically more prepared to surmount obstacles and challenges. Contrast that with the thought that one’s ancestry and lifeways are not good and the difference is quite stark. Such will rob a person of the courage to slay whatever dragon that might block his path.
And so I was expecting that my kid would have a glimpse of our having been raised in adversity which brought about a ksa’triyan culture or some sort of a warrior psychology or a deep sense of the determination to survive no matter what.
But it was not to be. He was city-bred and might have felt that living in the mountains, even if just for a few days, is somewhat boring even if there was a respectable internet signal in the place.
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