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Friday, March 29, 2024

‘Kudungan’ in BARMM marketplaces seen to keep ‘fake news’ at bay

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In the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), the old tradition of “Kudungan” (rendezvous) is being revived for market-goers engaged in truthful discussions on developments affecting their community life.

The Kudungan tradition naturally “bans liars from the band of an all-male forum” and can thus help prevent fake news.

The “Indigenous Architecture,” a social media page run by the country’s top professional architects, said that the BARMM is constructing public market buildings traditionally designed in some of the region’s town centers with a mezzanine space allotted for coffee shop tables to host a “Kudungan.”

Kudungan which means a “rendezvous” naturally gathers truth-telling men voluntarily sitting in to listen and share information in weekly forums held on a “Padian” (Market Day) of the town.

The market building’s design bears the traditional architectural motif of a “Panolong” by the tip of each roof truss. The MILG-BARMM is implementing the project on the directive of Chief Minister Ahod Balawag Al-Hadj Murad Ebrahim, assures BARMM Interior and Local Government Minister Naguib G. Sinarimbo.

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Architect Lito Ticson of Indigenous Architecture, wanted to find out if “the design of the building is common to all BARMM tribes.”

Architect Gloryrose Dy Metilla who principally designs the public market buildings (as well as the municipal hall and barangay hall edifices that BARMM is currently constructing in different parts of the region), said: “The structure typology is common but the detailed aesthetic (end beams and wall moldings, door design, etc.) will be appropriated based on the identity of where the market is located.”

Women, young and old simply stay away from the Kudungan affairs, as their male counterparts—husband, brothers, father, uncles, grandfather—would rather shield them away from an occasional “poetry of the obscene,” though euphemized in many cases.

To serious students of peace and conflict management, the “Kudungan” can be the traditional collective “Peace Table” in which liars are consequentially banned from the band of truth-tellers.

Up to three false pieces of information on crucial issues could naturally place the source of the information into the category of “untrustworthy” and will shy away from attending the weekly forum ever again. This makes the “Kudungan” forums effective in keeping fake news at bay.

Kudungan is a tradition not distinctly Maguindanao, as it certainly has its counterpart in other bangsa, provinces, or regions. It has existed long before “fake news” has become mainstream, particularly on social media.

“Kudungan” being a place of convergence for peace and healthy discussions marketgoers also strengthens kinship and fellowship ties via the public table forums.

The BARMM Market Building is designed with a Mezzanine Floor slotted for coffee tables that by free will, constitute a “Kudungan” for locals and marketgoers from neighboring areas. 

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