Ang Painting ni Michael / Michael's Painting Omehen: The Garden As An Ongoing Chronicle and Unfinished Strategy of Resistance

(English below; cover art by Lumad Bakwit School freshman college student Michael*)



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Sa kabila ng mahinang cellular signal, napag-usapan namin ni Michael* ang kanyang ginawang painting mula sa isa sa mga remote art workshops ng Omehen. Ikinuwento niya ang matinding ugnayan ng mga Lumad communities sa kalikasan, lalung-lalo na ang Pantaron Mountain Range sa Mindanao, pati na ang mga kinakaharap nila at nitong balakad mula sa mga mandarambong ng lupa, mineral, at buhay. Bilang kabuhayan, tirahan, at pananagutan, ang Pantaron at ang kapalaran nito ay kasama rin ng nanganganib na Philippine eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi), pati na rin ng maraming Lumad na umaasa rito. (Alfred Marasigan)



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Between bouts of bad cellular signal, Michael* and I talked about his painting inspired by one of the remote art workshops from Omehen. He details the Lumad communities' oneness with nature particularly the Pantaron Mountain Range in Mindanao and the threats they both face from landgrabbers, mining companies, and state-sponsored violence. As a source of food, a form of shelter, and a shared responsibility, Pantaron's fate also includes that of the similarly endangered Philippine eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi), among the many Lumad people who depend on it. (Alfred Marasigan)



*Names have been changed for privacy.