School of Living Traditions opens in Bukidnon village

LANTAPAN, Bukidnon (MindaNews / 15 October) — A School of Living Traditions was opened to the public on Friday in Barangay Songco, at the foot of Mt. Kitanglad. 

Aduna Llesis Saway, project-in-charge said the school is intended to teach Talaandig children as young as five years old to know their culture and history before they undergo formal education.

^{Lumad elders sit at the sidelines as they watch young Lumad dancers perform during the Talaandig Day in Songco, Lantapan town in Bukidnon, on Thursday, October 14, 2022. MindaNews photo by FROILAN GALLARDO}

Saway said the children are taught how to play the drums and other musical instruments and perform their dance at a young age.

“We have found a way of handing down our traditional way of life to our children,” Saway said.

^{The School of Living Traditions to the public during the Talaandig Day in Songco, Lantapan town in Bukidnon on October 14, 2022 was celebrated with the opening of the School of Living Traditions which teaches Talaandig children as young as five years old on history, folklore and how to play musical instruments, among others. MindaNews photo by FROILAN GALLARDO}

During the Talaandig Day last Friday, Talaandig elders sat on the sidelines as they watched younger members dance and play the instruments,  tasks they used to do during past festivals.

Saway said Senate President Miguel Zubiri, who hails from Bukidnon, gave their community a  P5 million grant to construct a two-story building in the Talaandig village in Barangay Songco.

^{Young Lumads perform during the Talaandig Day in Songco, Lantapan town, Bukidnon on October 14, 2022. MindaNews photo by FROILAN GALLARDO}

“This is a space for the Talaandigs to learn our culture, history, our poems and art,” Saway said.

Saway said the idea of imparting Talaandig history and culture has spread to two other villages in Lantapan after the town council provided money for two teachers for children who cannot go to the school. (Froilan Gallardo / MindaNews)