By Phyllis Claire Zarriz
Lagdungan — her pat-ama, the name she was bestowed and ought to carry within her tribe, a representation that embodies her indigenous skills and talents that no one can overshadow.
Unraveling the hidden tale
Lord Jane “Lagdungan” Caballero-Dordas grew up in the Panay Bukidnon indigenous community of Masoroy Village in the boundary of Tapaz and Calinog. Being a granddaughter of a Binukot (a well-kept maiden) and a daughter of a barangay chieftain and epic chanter, she was secluded from the rest of the community and is tasked to devote her time in learning the tribe’s traditional chants and embroidery and later on become a culture-bearer and wisdom keeper of the Panay Bukidnon.
“Sa kada paghapon kang pakpak ka araguring sa nagabuskad nga bulak kalipay i katumbas.” This is a phrase created by Lordjane which means “at every approach of the butterfly’s wings in the blossoming flower, happiness returns in full”. This is also her life verse.
The twists and turns in Lordjane’s life and her work as a teacher and culture-bearer of the Panay Bukidnon IPs has resulted in her winning the 15th Gawad Geny Lopez Jr., Bayaning Pilipino Awards–winner of Bayaning Pilipino-Regional (Teachers Category) last June 1, 2019 at ABS-CBN Mandaue City, Cebu.
Two year earlier, she was one of the four outstanding educators of the Philippines with her advocacy “Keeping the Culture Alive” – meriting her the distinction of being one of the 2017 Many Faces of the Teacher—National Honoree by the Bato Balani Foundation Inc. and Diwa Learning Systems, Inc.
Starting Young
From the age of eight years old, Lordjane endured the hardships of trekking mountains while walking a mile just to go to Wright Elementary School in Tapaz, Capiz. But she has a dream, so she persistently conquered the challenges offered to her for she believes that she will come out victorious.
“I told myself that I need to go to school. I am struggling but I never gave up. I need to wake up as early as four o’clock in the morning since I need to walk more than an hour to reach school. With the hard task of walking 3 kilometers to school everyday and trekking three mountains in the morning and afternoon to go to school is difficult,” recalls Dordas, an IP teacher in Mahunodhunod Elementary School in Cuartero, Capiz, and a coordinator of Schools of Living Traditions (SLT) in her community.
She finished high school at Calinog Agricultural and Industrial College (CAIC) at the age of 14.
During her college years at the WVSU College of Education where she took Bachelor of Elementary Education with specialization in English, she bravely fought the cruelty brought by poverty as she became a working student and accepting various work.
“I find means to support my schooling. My parents supported me but it is not enough for my allowance, projects and daily jeepney fare. I am paid for doing laundry and pressing clothes during Saturdays. Oftentimes, I also work in the rice fields of our neighbors. I looked for more jobs and I was very thankful that I was hired to be a private tutor in English, Filipino, and Araling Panlipunan. I was accepted in a tutorial job with a rate of P40 per hour, so every week I received P200 for my fare and allowance,” shares Dordas who belongs to batch 2003.
Keeping the culture alive
When she received numerous opportunities such as teaching in Manila, Lordjane chose to go back to her hometown and teach in the IP community in Panay Bukidnon.
“I decided to teach children in the IP community because I have a heart for them. I wanted to share my knowledge, learning and the continuing values that I’ve learned from my parents and grandparents. I want them to learn and value the real meaning of education because for me, education is life. I want them to learn, explore, experience and gain something from me, a bucket of wisdom at the end of the day,” says Dordas.
She also includes the teaching of the different chants, songs and folklore of their tribe in her lessons.
“As an IP teacher, it is satisfying for me to teach and pass on my learning especially sharing the Panay Bukidnon culture and oral tradition to my pupils. Oral tradition includes sugidanon (epics), hinun-anon (traditional stories), talda (chanted narratives), dilot (love song), ulawhay (repartee), ambahan (extemporaneous song), duruyanon (lullaby), composo and others,” she adds.
Aside from being a full-time teacher, Dordas also published books, stories and contextualized lesson plans in the Indigenous Peoples Education (IPEd) program which was later used as reference teaching material in the K-12 curriculum.
“When I was a child I used to listen to the stories of my Tatay, a bundle of stories called Hinun-anon. Upon hearing them I gradually wrote it down and used it in my master’s thesis that made me Best in Research and Best Researcher in 2016. I have also written more than 20 contextualized Lesson Plans in the Indigenous Peoples Education (IPEd) program which I submitted to the Division for a reference teaching material in the K-12 curriculum. It is also my pleasure to become one of the contributors of DANYAG, a special issue by the Philippine Journal of Social Sciences. It is all about the Introducing of Panay Bukidnon Hinun-anon (Tradition Stories) for the Mother Tongue Based Multilingual Education (MTB MLE),” shares Dordas who finished Master of Arts in Education Major in Educational Planning and Management from the West Visayas State University Calinog Campus.
The Road to Recognition for IP Work
“I think I won the Many Faces of the Teacher Award because I am a person of good integrity, God-fearing, helpful, versatile, friendly, a woman of dignity and a teacher with unique advocacy,” says Dordas who is planning to put up a cultural museum for Panay Bukidnons showcasing their heritage and her handmade Filipiniana gown which she used during her awarding.
According to the Facebook page of The Many Faces of the Teacher, the award aims to recognize teachers who play a significant role in the life of a student, nurturing and molding the character of future leaders and heroes; hence, becoming a force that shape this nation.
Lagdungan—being the culture bearer of her tribe highlights the gift of her customs and traditions where she proved that the wisdom and talents given to her by her forefathers are embedded in her wherever she goes. Her indigenous talents cannot be overshadowed; hence, it will continue to shine like the sun giving light to her tribe.
