PH Indigenous Culture Showcase in SG Highlights Need for Its Preservation

Philippine Embassy in Singapore personnel and Filipino Community members try on samples of Philippine indigenous attire during the seminar-workshop on Philippine indigenous culture. (Singapore PE photo)

SINGAPORE 24 August 2018 – The Philippine Embassy in Singapore, in coordination with the Katutubo Exchange Philippines and the Philippine Bayanihan Society Singapore, hosted “Kasaysayan at Kalinangan: A Seminar-Workshop on Philippine Indigenous Culture” under the auspices of the Sentro Rizal on 11 August 2018 at the Bayanihan Center.

The event featured Katutubo Exchange Philippines Founder and President Edwin Antonio, and T’boli indigenous group members Nykee Kyla Kinan and Kenneth Dalimbang.

In his opening remarks, Ambassador to Singapore Joseph Del Mar Yap highlighted the richness of the Philippines’ cultural heritage.

“With over 7,100 islands in the Philippines and three major islands, it is no wonder that there are so many different practices, traditions and groups that are present in our country,” Ambassador Yap said.

Among the key takeaways of participants after the seminar-workshop were the need to promote and preserve indigenous cultural traditions amid the encroaching influence of modernization and Westernization, avoiding cultural appropriation by being mindful and respectful of the meanings behind such indigenous traditions, and being careful in labeling or identifying them to ensure that the correct information is conveyed.

Aside from a lecture by Dr. Antonio, the event also involved a T’boli dance presentation by Kinan and Dalimbang, and interactive activities involving the Philippine indigenous script Baybayin, and trying on indigenous attires.

Katutubo Exchange Philippines is an organization that promotes traditional arts and indigenous cultures, especially among Filipino indigenous youth groups.

The seminar-workshop was also held in observance of the National Indigenous People’s Day on 09 August 2018 and Philippine History Month. END

A member of the indigenous T’boli group Nykee Kyla Kinan demonstrates how to properly wear the elaborate dress of her ethnic group. (Singapore PE photo)

Nikee Kyla Kinan and Kenneth Michael Dalimbang (rightmost and leftmost, respectively) teach participants the native T’boli dance. (Singapore PE photo)

Katutubo Exchange Philippines founder and president Dr. Edwin Antonio teaches participants how to write and read Philippines’s indigenous script Baybayin. (Singapore PE photo)

For more information, visit www.singaporepe.dfa.gov.ph / www.philippine-embassy.org.sg or https://www.facebook.com/PHinSingapore.