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UWAEGING

: THE ORAL EPIC OF THE AGUSAN MANOBO OF THE NORTHEAST MINDANAO (PHILIPPINES)

Margarita R. Cembrano National Museum of the Philippines

Abstract

The

uwaeging

is an extremely sacred feature of Agusan Manobo heritage that embodies their cultural roots and identity. It reveals the beginnings and workings of the socio-religious function of the leader, his reciprocal relationship with the spirits, the significance and belief in the power and force of the venerated heirloom, and the subsequent succession of leaders. In the same manner, the search for a wife and the juridica l procedur e in marital negotiatio n and settlemen t, are concerns reserved exclusively to the leaders who are authorized to discuss the customary law and the elders who are the living repository of the cultural traditions. The oral epic becomes a sanctioned method to popularly transmit the social values involving these concerns. The epic belongs to the domain of the revered, the ancestors. It is considered as the oral history of their tribe with a mythic and historical base. It traces their migration from Kagayqan at the central Mindanao region, to the east in Agusan to escape the injustices and transgressions of the Spaniards, and their subsequent ordeals in their voyage on land, swamp, sea and ocean in search for a new land. The magical landscape transformations effected by the culture heroes to make the place habitable is part of the collective memory of the people today, as revered local cultural landmarks which can be found in the area where the

uwaeging