English - Balay Mindanaw

Part 4 - ConclusionThe questions were as follows:• “What can you say about the story that you justheard?”• “Is this really your story? What made you say so?”• “What were the important realities and lessons discussedin the story? What more can you add?”• “If people outside your tribe could hear your story, whatwould they possibly think and say about it?”• “What do you want to happen as your story continues?Varied responses from the sectors present were gatheredduring the presentation of the significant aspects of theresearch findings.“It’s our first time ever to have heard the whole story ofthe elders,” said some Dumagat participants and youths.They said it was good to hear the history of the Higaunons asnarrated by the datus whom they knew.It is their story, so said the women of Sangalan. Theycould not question its integrity because the datus were theones who told the story, and the women admitted, especiallyin Minalwang, that at present, only the datus have the fullgrasp of the history of the Higaunon people. The young donot know much about their history and tradition. As Mario,the son of Datu Cornelio Pinaader, opined, many of the youthshardly know the Higaunon culture anymore because “wewere being pulled away, towards the shore.” The tanods andwomen in Kiudto admitted that their tradition is graduallydisappearing, and it is good that an organization like RCED isinitiating the documentation of their history and culture.157