Conrado “Ka Ambo” Balweg (right, all pictures) was a Tingguian priest of the Catholic faith turned revolutionary who fought for the liberation and autonomy of Cordilleran peoples. Around the time of anti-Chico Dam activism, he joined the Cordilleran branch of the New People’s Army before later denouncing them and forming his own militant group called Cordillera People’s Liberation Army in 1986.
He was eventually killed at age 57 in his own home by rivals in 1999. Witnesses say his brother Juvencio was present during the assassination.
“Our ancestors have invented, we can at least innovate.” ― Amit Kalantri
DISCLAIMER! As a heads up, I want to let you know that I am still learning about my roots, my family, and my ancestors' stories. I am NOT an expert, but I will continue to do my research and share my findings with all of you.
For those who don't know, June is officially Filipino Heritage Month in Canada (and recently in Ontario)! It has brought so much joy and pride knowing that the Filipinx community is being recognized for their contributions from coast to coast.
As a Filipina-Canadian who was born and raised as an immigrant on a beautiful land called Turtle Island (settler-colonially known as North America) -- I do acknowledge that my family and I are guests in Canada and my roots are from the Philippines. Part of my roots is from Northern Philippines in a province known as Abra.
It turns out, I am a descendant of an Indigenous Mountainous Tribe called Tingguian (meaning People in the Mountains) due to my paternal-grandmother. My ancestors had tattoos on their bodies with beautiful meanings (including beauty and honour). They were able to hunt and fish for food and weave baskets and dye the fabrics for clothing.
1-2 years ago, I was able to order a dark poncho made by the Tingguians in Abra via Pinas Sadya (a local Filipino shop). When it arrived On the front, it had red threads sewn on the borders while there are four frogs from all four directions (N, S, E, & W) facing the star in the middle on both sides. Based on what I was told: "The weaves with frogs are typically worn during the rainy season. It is the belief of the tribe that it pleases the gods and will give them a bountiful harvest". From that point on, I knew that I would wear it in April each year for April showers (and May flowers lol).
Overall, I am happy and grateful that I am a descendant of the Tingguian tribe. This is a really cool fact that not a lot of people know about me. To be honest, I don't blame them. Every day is a new learning opportunity and I see it with a glass half full. I'm so happy that I found out how my ancestors were like prior to Spain's colonial invasion. However; I wish my grandmother was still here to tell me how much she knows. As the granddaughter of the Seeker of knowledge and wisdom, I am living up to her name by learning and asking questions of my ancestors' past and their way of life. When I have kids in the future, I will be sure to tell them about this part from my side. It is important to learn about the past in order to have a better future for all of humanity.
p.s. Please let me know if you or anyone knows where I can get more clothing made by the Tingguians. I would love to wear more clothing made by them ♥.
Welcome to my blog. I’m Christina (she/her/elle) (aka the MS Fighting Beauty Queen). I had Tumblr in the past. However; I decided to revamp it again and re-brand it to tell my story of battling Multiple Sclerosis. I am excited to share my stories with you. Please feel free to ask me questions along the way.
I remember a training session where the moderator asked me and my colleagues to write down where/who do we affiliate ourselves with. & here are my answers:
My family and friends who love me
Filipino, Chinese, & Spanish ancestries and Tingguian Tribe.
fellow MS fighters
cat/dog loving hoomans and hoomoms
young Canadians
beauty queens - due to my time as Miss Galaxy Toronto 2019 & Etobicoke’s Perfect Miss 2017
gamechangers and the underdogs who always get underestimated.
Finally set up our tree. Charot. Ang ganda ng Christmas tree nyo Mommy. @sugarblanco Top from Ma Elena Mina Balbas #tingguian #tingguiantextileph #abel #culturalheritage #heritageweaves #supportlocal #artisanal https://www.instagram.com/p/CV90lcyFD6OVCI_uEsGg9tG954qDMSCldbxJEA0/?utm_medium=tumblr
Gabriela Silang, wife of Diego Silang one of the most famous women in Filipin@ history, was a commander of troops attempting to establish an independent Ilocos. She is said to have been a mestiza, part Spanish and part Ilocan@. Often left out of her ethnic description is the description as an Itneg (Tingguian) woman.
This brings up the question of why this part of her heritage is left out of history books, wikipedia pages, and blog posts. Perhaps the reason is because the Itneg have an indigenous culture, in the Filipin@ sense that the Itneg have kept much of their culture intact despite multiple periods of colonization. To mainstream Filipin@ culture, indigenous cultures promote savagery and headhunting. It is somewhat okay to mention that Silang was Ilocan@ because Ilocan@s were/are hispanicized and westernized, although Ilocan@ tradition included headhunting into the Silangs' day. Ilocan@s, being the majority ethnic group are happy to take the credit for Gabriela Silang's heroism (<--there needs to be a non-sexist version of that term).
What are the consequences of leaving out that part of history? Aren't we erasing the contributions of indigenous peoples of the Philippines to our shared history? Aren't we placing the doubt in the stength of indigenous women? Aren't we dividing different Filipin@ ethnic groups and categorizing them by Euro-centric standards? If we are, the Silangs' sacrifice was made in vain.
