Part II.pdf - MTB-MLE Network

Health and Personal Hygiene: Malaria is the most common ailment, followed by fever, cough,
colds, flu and diarrhea. All are often fatal among toddlers. There is no health centre in the
community, and no health worker that caters to their needs/problems. They depend on herbal
medicines and healing rituals to help their sick get well. However, there is a health centre in
the nearby town where they can seek health care with free medicines.
Governance: The community is headed by a chieftain they call “Kapitan.” The dynamic of
power is evident with the leadership of the chieftain who depends so much on the members
of the tribe. In every issue and concern that confronts the community, a series of consultations
through general assemblies are called so that the people may decide on a course of action.
The community is peaceful, and has the potential of being a self-sustaining unit; however, it
does need assistance from non-governmental organizations, as well as government agencies,
to improve present living conditions.
Religion: There are three religious sects in the community: Roman Catholic, born-again
Christian and Iglesia ni Kristo. As part of her mission, the pastor’s wife of the born-again
Christians conducts a literacy class and serves as the literacy facilitator.
Industry: The major means of livelihood are farming, (pagtatanim), paid services (hired by
middlemen) for transporting farm products to lowland where transportation is available
(pagpapaupa), gathering honey (pangunguha ng pulot), hunting wild animals (paninilo ng
baboy-damo), and small-scale fishing.
Home and Family Life: Most of the houses are made of bamboo and nipa leaves. Each
household was given specific land area on which their houses were built, but there is no land
title as proof of ownership. The women/mothers stay at home to take care of the children,
wash clothes, cook the food, clean house and upkeep the surroundings while the men go out
to earn the daily subsistence. There were several intermarriages of the tribe with the ‘unat’
(means straight-haired or the lowlanders).
Dialect: They have their own language, which is also called Magbikin. There is no in-depth
study on how the language came about. The dialect has been transmitted from generation to
generation with some modification in spelling/pronunciation because of their association with
the Tagalog and Visayan-speaking people. Unfortunately, the old Aytas did not teach the young
generation their language; hence, there is a diminishing use of the mother tongue among the
members of the tribe, especially among the younger generation. This situation was also brought
about by their intermarriages with the lowlanders and interaction with other residents of the
neighboring towns. The majority of the Magbikin community expressed their desire to preserve
their mother tongue as part of their tribal identity.
A.1.4. Home visitation and interview of key informants – The Action Research Team went around
the community for home visitations, and interviewed some members of the tribe. They were able
to gather information, which validated and supplemented the data/information generated through
focused group discussions.
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