Millekyway Writes

Have you ever gone to a place you immediately deem beautiful, not for its structures, but for its people?
This was what I immediately felt upon visiting the Aeta tribe in Botolan, Zambales. In true Narnia-fashion, one cannot easily find magical places without a bit of challenge. Nestled in the inner forests of Botolan, one must wheel through unpaved roads to find LAKAS (the tribe’s name which also means “strength” in Filipino). You will be served sticky rice dipped in sweetened coconut milk from crop they planted and gathered themselves.
The people of LAKAS are festive. They will enchant you with their chaste courtship dances where young women shyly swoon over the men’s gentle advances. Another set of dances would have you laughing as they imitate different kinds of animals on the spot. Manong Carlito, the tribe’s chief, danced as a freshwater fish by bulging his eyes to the rhythm of their worn out guitar.
They are happy people who have lost their home.
They were among the tribes who had to relocate when Mt. Pinatubo erupted in 1991. Pinatubo (or Apo Malari as they call Him) is their god Who made the sky and land. 24 years later the Aeta tribes remained scattered across the country, struggling to sustain a lineage and culture in a fast changing society.
The village prince told us that the teenagers of their tribe experienced discrimination when they decided to attend school in the city. “Ten of us were curly, while the rest had straight hair." As a result, the other Aetas who came to the city to study were influenced with vices and eventually forgot about their heritage.
The trip with my family, along with Inner Wheel club of Manila 101 (IWCPI) and Project Pearls, gave birth to the formation of a cultural center and high school for the people of LAKAS. It is rare to find people who persist on who they are, even if the world has buried it in ashes.
The Cultural Center and the High School would be a haven were they would be able to strengthen their identity in the minds of the youth. They dream sending down students, who are not only proud of their roots, but also competitive enough to contend with the system below.
After a game of “tribal basketball”, they sent us home by offering a prayer to Apo Malari through sacks of brown rice. It is with pride that they presented us with food that isn’t “poisoned” with preservatives.
If you wish to visit LAKAS, feel free to get in touch with the Municipal of Botolan to find out how you can help today.