A history blog by a business administration graduate, set to talk about news, current events, historical records, fake news, etc. Just written as a hobby blog since the writer himself is no historian but it doesn't mean he can't be right where some history majors are wrong.
Ifugao OFWs in Taiwan and Discovering More About One's Common Austronesian Roots
Get link
Facebook
X
Pinterest
Email
Other Apps
-
I was doing some research on Taiwan finding out that the natives are indeed Austronesians. It seems that Indonesians and Malaysians may have also settled in Taiwan aside from the Philippines. A look at Mt. Alishan and Banaue Rice Terraces have a similarity. Taiwan has its famous tea terraces. Banaue has its famous rice terraces. Both are cultural heritages that must be preserved! I soon found an article which Ifugao OFWs in Taiwan. Not surprisingly, these Ifugao OFWs can point out several things that are pretty similar. An article called "A Gotad Picnic With Ifugaos Living in Taiwan" would tell of Armand Camhol, an Ifugao OFW, who met with other Ifugaos in Taiwan. Gotad is a thanksgiving festival for the Ifugaos.
The News Lens International Edition
What was noted by Armand at the end of the article is:
The people of Ifugao value hospitality, and as a symbol of friendship, they shared their holiday with their invited guests, who, in return, sang, joined the dances, and made jokes. The food, in bountiful amounts, was lowland Filipino style, cooked with an influence of Spanish, Chinese, and European cuisine. Typical Ifugao cuisine is similar to that of Taiwan’s Indigenous communities.
Armand’s home is in the rural areas of Ifugao, he told me, and compares Taiwan and Ifugao: “While I have been to the mountains in this country where geomorphology and certain cultural practices are similar, reminding me of my home, in the end, this is not my home and my people are not here.”
Indie Gogo
Above is a photo of the Banaue Rice Terraces. We see the indigenous costumes. Now, we would present a scene in Taiwan (below) which would bear a striking resemblance to a Filipino indigenous community:
Get to Know Alishan
This is Mt. Alishan which would resemble an Ifugao town. No wonder Armand says that the place reminds him of home. The costumes of the Taiwan aborigines and the Ifugaos are very similar.
Ying Xuan Zhuang
This is the Taiwan tea terraces. At first glance, you might feel this is Banaue or the Cordillera region. Instead, we find that terracing is a very common practice. It might even be that Ifugaos are descended from Taiwanese aborigines. The terraces, the costumes, the dance steps, the cuisine, etc. would feel very similar. After all, Taiwan is very close to the Philippines so maybe generations of Austronesians seeking better lands would move to the pre-colonial Philippines. Maybe, that's why the Banaue Rice Terraces is the most well-known for its favorable location. The Philippines has more natural resources than Taiwan.
Alishan National Scenic Area
Filipino native food? At first glance, you may think that the table is in the Philippines. However, it was prepared by the natives of the Tsou Tribe in Taiwan. You might think you saw suman (rice cake) over there or some other Filipino-style dishes. Instead, this is what Alishan National Scenic Area describes the food to be:
The Tsou indigenous tribesmen had long resided in Alishan, and are cooking experts who know the local ingredients well! Stir-fried mountain greens, Tsou style grilled meat, pigeon pea soup and crisp-fried river shrimp are just some of the dishes and cooking techniques that have been passed down from generations. These dishes create unique Tsou cuisines that are different from others. Besides banquet style dishes that are suitable for families, simple meals are also available to satisfy different needs. Please keep in mind that many restaurants require reservations!
Places to shop:
Tsou Tribal Village
Restaurant Recommendation:
Yupasu Tsou Restaurant, Tsou Style Restaurant, Shan-Fu-Rong, Hana Kitchen
This video may provide a surprising history. I did have the assumption that the Austronesians were mostly from Indonesia and Malaysia before reaching Taiwan and the Philippines. I still feel the Ifugaos are a mix of Taiwanese natives and Indonesian natives. I guess the Ifugaos of the Philippines share a very close ancestry with the Taiwanese natives.
I want to further look at Southeast Asia and common culture. Filipino food has a lot of influence. It looks like that even before colonization, Filipino native settlers brought several pieces of their culture before settling in the Philippine archipelago. I may be no anthropologist but learning new stuff can be fun. Taiwan may be closer to the Philippines than you think!
After many years of self-studying the Chiong Sisters Case , I have written several entries on the matter. In fact, I created what I call an "almost-ever-updating" review on Give Up Tomorrow , which was a documentary that challenged my views. I was hesitant to write this review, as it involves another sensitive issue. Some time later, I wrote an entry discussing another aspect of the Chiong Case, specifically the issue of the late Federico "Toto" Natividad Jr. himself . I always thought it was an unethical issue. However, I was able to watch the film on YouTube (via a poor quality upload), and it doesn't seem that anyone from Natividad's estate is interested in fighting for the film's right to be distributed , not especially that Case Unclosed already came out in 2008, now available on GMA-7's official YouTube channel . Kara David did a meticulously good job featuring the Chiong mother, the Uy mother , and even another member of the " Run for Pa...
One of the greatest injustices that happened is how Francisco Juan G. Larrañaga aka Paco was unfairly arrested with six others. There were already several witnesses that could testify that Paco was in Quezon City . I'm amazed that some people would still believe the faulty Supreme Court Decision, this person who only goes by "Nam Nam" even says that the log book and the photos may have been tampered with. Yet, there were more than 30 witnesses who knew that Paco was in Manila when the crime happened. Just watching Give Up Tomorrow made my blood boil at how faulty the justice system could get. It's amazing how these vital pieces of evidence were ignored soon after Paco's arrest on September 15, 1997: The pictures of Paco and his friends were dismissed because "they could've been tampered with". Never mind that the judge didn't order the evidence examined. Plane ticket schedules were also ignored. I love the way that Solita Collas-Monsod described...
2025 is just around the corner for the midterm elections . People keep emphasizing the need to "defend the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines" for any amendments whatsoever. If that were true then we really need to remove Article XVII entirely if the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines was meant to be set in stone (read here ). Several camps whether it's PDP-Laban supporters, Liberal Party of the Philippines supporters, Uniteam supporters, etc.--I can expect social media mudslinging at its finest . I keep talking about the need to amend or even replace the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines. However, they keep acting like it's the best constitution in the world, they cite Atty. Hilario G. Davide Jr. (and others like the Monsods) to idolatrous levels , and when I talk about the parliamentary system--I can expect the whole, "Boohoo! It will never work because we already tried it under Marcos! The proof was Cesar Virata!" However, I wrote a refute on that ...
Several years ago, Case Unclosed featured an episode about the Chiong Sisters, a few years before Give Up Tomorrow came. One of the things I could say is that GMA-7 is far less biased than ABS-CBN in news reporting. The late Antonio "Tony" Calvento even aired a dramatization of Davidson Rusia's testimony , which had Niño Muhlach play as Juan Francisco "Paco" Larranaga . It's easy to say, "Unlike you, I read the Supreme Court decision." This came out a year after the controversial case involving the late Federico "Toto" Natividad and his controversial film Animal had ended in 2007. Apparently, Animal (2004), which was released as Butakal (1999), still remains banned. As I read through the Supreme Court decision , I confess it's a difficult read . Thankfully, I watched Give Up Tomorrow and read the decision. Give Up Tomorrow highlighted several inconsistencies. Should everyone just follow the decision of the SC and ignore Give Up To...
One look and one may think this is from the Bangsamoro Region. Instead, this is an Indonesian dance from Sumatra. A study of Filipino history reveals that Indonesians were among the settlers in the Philippines. That would explain why Muslim Mindanao would be like Malaysia and Indonesia in their culture. As I look at the gestures, I'm reminded of my high school Buwan ng Wika (Month of the Language) programs. Several Filipino dances in Mindanao are similar to those of Malaysia and Indonesia. After all, most Filipinos share the same direct ancestry as Malaysians and Indonesians. As a Chinese Filipino, it's hard for me not to think of the Itik Itik dance. The two dances are similar yet different.
It's crazy but some people say that a parliamentary system isn't democratic for this reason--it's because people don't vote for the prime minister. They argue that people will vote for the parties but the prime minister isn't voted by the people. It's different from the presidential system where the president is voted by the people. However, I'm afraid that the presidential system is very prone to mob rule . Meanwhile, I wrote why the parliamentary system would be more democratic than the presidential system . I'm also getting tired of similar people who still believe that the first Marcos Administration was a parliamentary. It had a parliamentary without a parliament , which means it was a fake. The office of the prime minister However, becoming prime minister has never been easy . It has seven rigorous steps that are not found in the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines. How can we expect better leaders if the system itself is lacking? Sure, the 1987 ...
Asia Society I didn't want to write this post. However, I feel some urgency, especially with some people who have low reading comprehension, and made Ad Homimen attacks against Senator Robinhood Padilla . Should it be a surprise to a nation where reading comprehension is in danger? Now, I'd like to write another topic. It's crazy how some Kakampinks may think they're above personality-based politics. However, take a look at the picture above this paragraph. It's no different from the Marcos fanatics, Duterte fanatics, etc. That's why there's the term Noytard, Dutertard, Marcostard, etc. The -tard is from retard , which means someone who was an intellectual disability . However, I think -tard is too good since a retarded person may actually be behaving more decently than people with a graduate school or doctorate degree, from highly prestigious universities . It makes me think of Gerry Cacandindin's posts on Facebook. Thankfully, his Facebook profile is o...
I'm trying to find some other Taiwanese aborigine songs. I think this is a song by the Amis tribe or the sea people. I believe the Amis are descended from the seafaring Indonesians and Malaysians. The song's aboriginal song and melody are rather enchanting. Maybe, an Ifugao or an Igorot scholar would be able to decode this wonderful song. If only the Philippines would show more respect to the indigenous tribes. It's a sad fact that Ifugaos would need to go to Taiwan to learn their weaving culture (read here ). These natives (who I believe are Malay and Indos) get more appreciation than the Filipino indigenous people.
Wound Care Malaysia Facebook Page I've had a long-time interest in maggot therapy for wound treatment. I do have some diabetic relatives and I'm afraid, sooner or later, I may have to deal with foot ulcers. This page came from Malaysia and I'm not surprised at the diabetic rates in Malaysia. Some time ago, I was writing a business article where I discussed the Malaysian-Filipino sweet tooth demographic . It's no surprise that Malaysians have that sweet tooth predisposition. It's no surprise that diabetes is high in Malaysia too . Diabetes can lead to serious foot ulcers and these can lead to amputations. A revival in maggot therapy in Malaysia I ran into this article written by Sabrina Noor on maggot therapy . A certain female doctor named Dr. Nazni Wasi Ahmad from Malaysia managed to help bring back a treatment considered obsolete. During the war, medical maggots were used to help heal wounds faster. Now, it's really something to think about how modern technolo...
2020 became the 25th death anniversary of Flor Contemplacion. The "celebrations" came to a halt because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was way back in 1995, during the rule of the late former Philippine president, Fidel R. Ramos, when it happened. It did spark a lot of discussion of whether or not Flor was innocent or not. It became a call for national outcry though another case was ongoing at that time namely the Vizconde Massacre case. Poor Hubert Jeffry Pagaspas Webb was falsely accused of a crime he couldn't have committed. Meanwhile, I feel that there was a stark contrast that happened. Why is there a stark contrast? Maybe, it's time to read and find out as we explore another old history topic. This is about Flor's execution in the nation of Singapore. I remember talking about trying to turn the Philippines into another Singapore. Some people are still too stuck with bad sentiments regarding Singapore because of the execution of Flor. It's not as if Singap...
Comments
Post a Comment