Indigeneity and the Anthropocene: Recontextualizing Modern Technology in the Lived World of the T’boli and Obu Manuvu
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53899/spjrd.v31i1.1329Keywords:
Anthropocene, recontextualization, T’boli, Obu Manuvu, lived Information and Communication Technology (ICT)Abstract
The Anthropocene refers to the dystopic condition of the human world. Environmental destruction and socio-cultural degeneration now characterize humanity’s current state of affairs. To preserve indigenous culture, the intrusion of Western values must be resisted to escape the catastrophe brought by this technological onslaught. Employing the interpretive research method, Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) were conducted to investigate the way of life, social environment, and use of modern devices by members of two tribal groups in South and North Cotabato – the T’boli and Obu Manuvu. We present two schools of thought. On one hand, it is suggested that there has been an erosion of the cultural identity of Indigenous Peoples (IP) due to Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). On the other hand, it can be said that the T’bolis and Obu Manuvus have continued to live their unique way of life and traditions despite the presence of modern technology. According to Martin Heidegger, such an unfolding is unstoppable. This means that the essence of technology is part of man’s being. Andrew Feenberg explains that while technology has an instrumental role, it is also concerned with its adaptability to societal aspects, which he calls recontextualization, enabling people to benefit from the good made possible by modern devices.
References
Abinales, P. (2010). Orthodoxy and history in the Muslim-Mindanao narrative. Ateneo de Manila University.
Bantilan, R., Ingilan, S., & Asrifan, A. (2024). The state of T’boli and B’laan linguistics. Southern Philippines Journal of Research and Development, 30(1), 83-111. https://doi.org/10.53899/spjrd.v30i1.433
Casinto, C. (2022). Looking from a window: A critical analysis of the T’boli worldview through their oral traditions. International Journal of Language and Literary Studies, 4(1), 282-303. https://doi.org/10.36892/ijlls.v4i1.842
Charmaz, K. (2014). Constructing grounded theory (2nd ed.). SAGE.
Enenche, U.L. (2019). The effect of mass media, ICT and globalization on oral literature in Africa.FCE.
Feenberg, A. (2002). Transforming technology. Oxford University Press.
Fricker, M. (2007). Epistemic injustice: Power and the ethics of knowing. Oxford University Press.
Gaspar, K. (2011). Manobo dreams in Arakan: A people’s struggle to keep their homeland. Ateneo de Manila University Press.
Gaspar, K. (2020). Extractive industries. Ethics in Contemporary Philippine Society, Volume 1, C. Maboloc (Ed.). SMKC Publishing.
Gaspar, K. (2021). Handumanan (Remembrance): Digging for the Indigenous wellspring. Claretian.
Grosfoguel, R. (2012). Decolonizing western uni-versalism: Decolonial pluri-versalism from Aimé Césaire to the Zapatistas. Transmodernity: Journal of Peripheral Cultural Production of the Luso-Hispanic World, 1(3), 88–104. https://doi.org/10.5070/T413012884
Hartsell, L., Krabbe, A., & Pastreich, E. (2020). Covid-19, global justice, and a new biopolitics of the Anthropocene. Social Ethics Journal of Applied Philosophy, Special Issue, 1-31.
Heidegger, M. (1977). The question concerning technology and other essays. Harper & Row Publishers.
Heidegger, M. (1996). Being and time (J. Stambaugh, Trans.). Alfred A. Knopf.
Hernani, E., Hernani, M. R., & Dulay, D. (2021). Dancing with the dreamweavers: A narrative discourse of the T’bolis of the Southern Philippines. In R. Throne (Ed.), Indigenous research of land, self and spirit research (pp. 200-214). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-3729-9.ch013
Hunt, M. (2009). Strengths and challenges in the use of interpretive description: Reflections arising from the study of the moral experience of health professionals in humanitarian work. Qualitative Health Research, 19(9), 1284-292. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732309344612
Ingilan, S. (2017). Ovu Manuvu of Marilog District, Davao City. Disaster preparedness and climate change: The Indigenous knowledge of selected IP groups in Davao Region. University of Southeastern Philippines, 79-93.
Intahchomphoo, C. (2018). Indigenous Peoples, social media, and the digital divide: A systematic literature review. American Indian Culture and Research Journal, 42(4), 85-111. https://doi.org/10.17953/aicrj.42.4.intahchomphoo
Lagman, L., & Plaza, R. (2022). Existing and perishing customary traditions of the Manobo tribes. International Journal of Latest Research in Humanities and Social Science, 5(2), 22-48. https://tinyurl.com/3txp26np
Maboloc, C. (2020). Globalization and consumer culture: Social costs and political implications of the Covid-19 pandemic. Eubios Journal of Asian and International Bioethics, 30(3), 77-80. https://tinyurl.com/586jvcu2
Maboloc, C. (2022). Syed Hussein Alatas and Karl Gaspar: Understanding cultural imperialism in contemporary Philippine society. Philippine Sociological Review, 70, 53-68. https://tinyurl.com/2j4z42ws
Ocay, J. (2010). Domination and resistance in the Philippines: From the pre-hispanic to the Spanish and American periods. Lumina, 21(1), 1-45. https://tinyurl.com/3z9eezdr
Paz, C. (2010). T’nalak: The living tradition of the T’boli weave. National Commission for Culture and the Arts.
Ramos, R. B. (2004). Contextualizing Indigenous education: The case of the Sta. Cruz mission and the T’boli of Lake Sebu. Philippine Studies, 52(2), 210–233.
Rennesland, A. (2020). Nietzsche, the Anthropocene, and COVID-19. In C. R. Maboloc (Ed.), Ethics in contemporary Philippine society (Vol. 1). SMKC Publishing.
Robertson, R. (1995). Glocalization: Time-space and homogeneity–heterogeneity. In M. Featherstone, S. Lash, & R. Robertson (Eds.), Global modernities (pp. 25–44). SAGE.
Simeon, C., Palatteo, J., & Otano, J. (2017). The Indigenous peoples’ inclusivity on integration through education. In S. Aimimtham & A. Nurmandi (Eds.), The complexity of managing local government in selected ASEAN countries. Asia Pacific Society of Public Affairs.
Smailhodzic, E., Fernandes, A., Dube, N., & Tarafdar, M. (2024). Navigating tensions between Indigeneity and social media participation: A case study of the Guarani community in South America. Inf Syst J, 35, 1198-1217. https://doi.org/10.1111/isj.12574
Weckert, J., & Bayod, R. (2023). The ethics of technology: How can Indigenous thought contribute? Nanoethics, 17(6), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11569-023-00441-6
Yaakop, N. (2023). Una validación del contenido de las discusiones de grupos focales basada en el análisis de necesidades en un módulo de formación en educación física para profesores de escuela primaria (A content validation of focus group discussions based on need analysis in a physical education training module for primary school teachers). Retos, 50, 1115-122. https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v50.100191
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Southeastern Philippines Journal of Research and Development
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
