Omehen: The Garden As An Ongoing Chronicle and Unfinished Strategy of Resistance Omehen Team

(English below; cover image by Karl Castro)

Sa episode na ito, pinag-usapan namin ang ilang, ang sakahan, at ang hardin sa mga konteksto ng Ateneo campus, ng karanasan ng mga Lumad Bakwit Students, at naming dalawa bilang bahagi ng proyektong ito. Shout out sa Ateneo Wild! (instagram.com/@ateneowild) Para sa kargdagang impormasyon sa campus project namin, bisitahin ang https://arete.ateneo.edu/programs/progress/during-the-2019-20-residency-omehen (sa magkahalong English at Tagalog) (Alfred Marasigan)

In this episode, we discuss the wild, the farm, and the garden within the Ateneo campus, the Lumad Bakwit students' experience and our own. Shout out to Ateneo Wild! (instagram.com/@ateneowild) For more information on our campus project, visit https://arete.ateneo.edu/programs/progress/during-the-2019-20-residency-omehen (in mixed English and Tagalog) (Alfred Marasigan)

(English below; cover image by Pabs Odeste)

Sa episode na ito, pinagtuunan nina Karl at Alfred nang pansin ang marahas na pamamalakad ng estado - mula sa redtagging hanggang sa pagsugpo ng malayang pamamahayag - para lalong maging mahirap ang pag-organisa, pag-aaral, at patuloy na pamumuhay ng mga Pilipino. (Alfred Marasigan)

In this episode, Karl and Alfred talk more in-depth about systematic and violent measures taken by the state - from redtagging to silencing free speech - that police community behavior and knowledge exchanges in micro and macro scales. (Alfred Marasigan)

(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.

(English below; cover art by Lumad Bakwit School teacher, Sir Andro*)



Tuwang tuwa ako noong ipakita sa akin ni Sir Andro ang painting niya kasama si Borj, isa sa mga college student at artists sa Lumad Bakwit Schools. Mula sa isa sa mga remote art workshops ng Omehen sa pandemya, gumawa si Andro ng isang makahulugan at mahusay na painting tungkol sa balitang bobombahin ni Duterte ang mga lupa ng mga Lumad sa Mindanao, Philippines. 

Ang newspaper dance ay isang pangkaraniwang laro sa mga party at iba pang klase ng pagdiriwang. Pagtigil ng tugtugin, kailangang tumuntong ng mga kalahok sa mga piraso ng dyaryong nakalatag sa sahig. Matapos ang maraming round, mananalo ang tao o pares na kayang tumayo o umapak nang matagal sa pinakamaliit na piraso ng dyaryo. (Alfred Marasigan)



I was ecstatic when Sir Andro showed me his painting together with fellow artist and Lumad Bakwit School resident Borj. From one of Omehen's remote art workshops during the pandemic, Andro painted a layered, instinctive, and masterful work referencing the news about Duterte announcing the bombing of Lumad schools and lands in Mindanao, Philippines. 

A newspaper dance is also a common parlor game that entails multiple players to occupy broadsheets laid on the floor when an ongoing music stops. After every turn, the newspaper is folded until the space and papers become too small for everyone to step on. Ultimately, the person or pair who can balance all their weight on the smallest piece of folded paper wins. (Alfred Marasigan)



* Names have been changed for privacy.

(English below; cover image by Karl Castro)



Kaakibat ang iba't ibang wika sa mga classroom, ang paputol-putol na Internet namin, at pati na rin ang epikong Tudbulul, pinagusapan namin ni Karl ang mga proseso, usapin, balakid, at posibilidad ng pagtuturo mula sa Omehen. Anong pinagkaiba ng karunungan sa kasanayan? Paano magiging mas mapagpalaya ang pagtuturo ng sining? Saan ang lupa at tahanan ng kaalaman? (Alfred Marasigan)



Alongside multilingual classrooms, internet snags, and even the Tudbulul, Karl and I discuss intersectional pedagogy within Omehen. Are rehearsals inferior to actions? Can art education be decolonized? Can land and learning provide sanctuary? (Alfred Marasigan)

(English below; cover image by Pabs Odeste)



Kasama ang kaunting ubo, kaunting K-Pop, isang ritwal, at ilang musical instruments, una naming tinalakay ni Karl ang maraming pagkakakilanlang lumitaw sa Omehen — ang pagiging Pilipino, pagiging Tagalog, pagiging Lumad, pagiging indigenous, pagiging taga-lungsod, pagiging tao, pagiging mga kalahok sa proyekto, bansa, at sining — at ang maraming nagtatagisang konseptong umiinog sa mga paksang ito. Minumungkahi rin namin ang pakikinig sa Sanctuary Stories nila sa IG TV (@saveourschoolsnetwork) para sa mga bagong kuwento mula sa Lumad Bakwit students. (Alfred Marasigan)



With a little coughing, some K-Pop, a ritual, and a few musical instruments, Karl and I first discussed the myriad identities that came up in Omehen — being Filipino, being Tagalog, being Lumad, being indigenous, being urban dwellers, being humans, being free agents, citizens, and creators — and the many complex concepts that revolve around these topics. For more stories told by the Lumad Bakwit students beyond Omehen, you may enjoy their Sanctuary Stories on their IG TV (@saveourschoolsnetwork). (Alfred Marasigan)