Abstract / Excerpt:

Around the world and throughout history, women have occupied low position than men. This group of people is one of the most vulnerable and victims of material poverty, especially among indigenous communities. However, there is a story of a group of women, in an indigenous community in Lake Sebu, South Cotabato, in the T'boli Tribe, that shows a different profile. Contrary to popular belief that women are marginalized, this group of women, or known as "dreamweavers", seems to have privileged position in their community. This is partly because; they bring recognition, honor, and economic gains via the activity of dreamweaving. Dreamweaving is the process of dreaming designs from Fu Dalu, the spirit of abaca; and then weaving them to be a t'nalak, the tribe's sacred cloth. Dreamweaving facilitates the involvement of these women in community affairs; it appears like this activity facilitates the empowerment of women. This is a qualitative and exploratory study on dreamweaving, women, and empowerment in Lake Sebu, South Cotabato. There are fifteen respondents who undertook in-depth interview based on the objectives of the study. Findings show that the dreamweaving activity, in its pure state, is an illustration of power. Dreamweaving mediates the connection of the secular and spiritual world. The dreamweavers serve as the medium of Fu Dalu, the spirit of abaca, in articulating the designs into material culture. The t'nalak is not just a product of human hands; it is articulated through the spiritual world. Also, it is the symbol of bonding during marriages or "minimum", and protection during giving births. In the sensibilities of an animistic community, it is not just an ordinary cloth. It is very special and precious. Therefore, without the dreamweavers, there will be no t'nalak; nothing can replace it by any other cloth. This now implies that dreamweaving enables women to be privileged with designs from the spirit. In their animistic society, it means a lot that having the access and control over the designs and factors of production of t'nalak is an illustration of power. Moreover, it is a unique characteristic of the T'boli dreamweavers to have an interaction with the spirit. They are the only ones who have such experience which makes them unique from other groups of women. This source of empowering women should be appreciated and treasured by the government and the community in general.

Info

Source Institution	Ateneo de Davao University
Unit	Social Science
Authors	Pusta, Bj Bonn D., Chavez, Rizza O., Salazar, Demrev C., Gierran, Earl Clarence N.
Page Count	1
Place of Publication	Davao City
Original Publication Date	March 1, 2011
Tags	Political Science

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