Kinsa ang mga Lumad?
Views from Indigenous Leaders
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Part 2 of Roundtable Discussions
The term lumad comes from the Cebuano language and means ‘native’ or ‘natural born citizen’; indigenous or ‘from the earth’. In a region whose lingua franca is Binisaya/Cebuano, lumad gained currency as a practical and convenient generic term to encompass the various local indigenous groups. Over the years, the term has been used by various Indigenous Peoples in Mindanao as a self-ascribed category to rally their cause in the struggle to attain rights to ancestral domains and self-determination. In embracing the term ‘lumad’, the various Indigenous Peoples of Mindanao have simultaneously used other terms of self-identification.
This second Roundtable Discussion (Kinsa ang mga Lumad? Who are the Lumad?) highlights the views of indigenous leaders coming from different Indigenous Peoples groups in Mindanao. The speakers-indigenous leaders share their experience and reflections on the term “lumad” in relation to their respective leadership roles within and beyond their indigenous communities, as well as their involvement in the broader lumad social movement. In doing so, the discussions tease out the nuances and dynamics on the deployment of lumad in the individual and collective realities of various indigenous groups in Mindanao.
Watch the RTD recording:
This Roundtable Discussion was organized by UGAT/Anthropological Association of the Philippines in partnership with the Philippine Social Science Council and hosted by the Department of Anthropology at the Ateneo de Davao University, Davao City.
What's in a Name?
Views from Anthropologists on ‘Lumad’
Part 1 of Roundtable Discussions
The term lumad comes from the Cebuano language and means ‘native’ or ‘natural born citizen’; indigenous or ‘from the earth’. In a region whose lingua franca is Binisaya/Cebuano, lumad gained currency as a practical and convenient generic term to encompass the various local indigenous groups. Over the years, the term has been used by various Indigenous Peoples in Mindanao as a self-ascribed category to rally their cause in the struggle to attain rights to ancestral domains and self-determination. In embracing the term ‘lumad’, the various Indigenous Peoples of Mindanao have simultaneously used other terms of self-identification.
This first Round Table Discussion highlights the views from anthropologists who have closely worked with various lumad groups in Mindanao. Drawing from their research experience and commitments to their respective lumad communities, the anthropologist-speakers of this forum unpack and unsettle the politics of naming. The discussion is couched on the key assumption that the adoption and use of any specific identity is a complex, fluid and context-driven practice, such that all human beings—indigenous or otherwise—can lay claim to multiple, and even overlapping identities. The multiplicity and contingency of identities notwithstanding, certain identities acquire greater salience and significance in defense of what a group, as individuals and collectivities, regards as inherently fundamental human values and rights.
