The crusade for the preservation of the country’s culture and heritage continues for Senator Loren Legarda as her documentary series Dayaw returns for a third season on ANC, the ABS-CBN News Channel every Thursday with live streaming on abs-cbnnews.com/live and on ANC’s Facebook page.
A six-part, 30-minute weekly program that focuses on the ways, beliefs, and practices of the indigenous peoples in the Philippines, it is Legarda’s project. She is a known advocate of indigenous peoples’ (IP) rights. The series is in partnership with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), the government agency dedicated to the promotion of Philippine arts and culture, and ANC, the country’s premier 24/7 all-English cable news channel.
With the goal of promoting appreciation and preservation of traditional arts and culture, the series is now streamed online via ABS-CBN News Online and ANC’s Facebook page to enable more people to catch the show, wherever they may be.
After exploring the facets that bind Filipino indigenous peoples such as respect for nature in the first season, and zooming into the arts and traditions of different IP groups that contribute to the identity of the Filipino in the second season, the theme for Dayaw this season is “Materyales Fuertes,” the tangible materials chosen by indigenous craftsmen to create tools, ornaments, and structures that have helped build our nation.
According to Legarda, the audience can better understand our heritage based on the material things our ancestors have used and will also appreciate more the passion and creativity of our IPs.
“Unlike many of us who only buy what we need, our indigenous peoples make and build their own things—from clothes, accessories, mats, baskets, pots, to vessels, houses, and other structures—which are built following procedures and techniques that are significant to their indigenous community. Through our tangible heritage, we see expressions of a culture, we witness creativity that only those who are culturally enriched and one with nature can possess,” she explained.
The first two episodes, “Hinabing Lakas” Parts 1 and 2, focus on expressive fibers of distinct cultures, and how fibers weaved into textiles, baskets, mats, and utensils express our identity, celebrate life, and represent the strength and resilience of the weavers.
The third episode, “Mula sa Kalikasan” looks into the use of wood and stone by our ancestors to build structures dedicated to agriculture, exploration, and the community, and how these materials have helped shape an evolving image of a nation.
Episode 4, entitled “Ginto, Pilak, Garing” takes on the treasured and precious materials, the glittering materials that have been skillfully used to create beautiful things; while Episode 5, “Putik at Papel” showcases how simple materials like clay and paper have been used to make unique works of art.
To wrap up the season, Legarda will give emphasis to the simplest yet most powerful material ever used by Filipinos – words. The episode “Sa Diwa, Sa Salita” celebrates the most inspiring materials from which we have sought to build a nation.
The former ABS-CBN broadcast journalist said the TV series has been very helpful not only in promoting our heritage but also in allowing more people to understand the ways and means of IPs, their concerns, and how we can make them active and valuable partners in development and nation building.
“I am glad that I am able to continue my advocacy of raising awareness about our IPs through Dayaw. When more people are aware, they appreciate our culture and eventually we can engage them in our advocacy to protect our heritage and our IPs,” she said.
Dayaw airs on ANC, 6 p.m., Thursday.
For more information on Dayaw, visit the official Facebook account of NCCA (https://www.facebook.com/NCCAofficial) and news.abs-cbn.com/anc, or follow ANC on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/ANCalerts) and Twitter (@ANCalerts).
