BENGGA!

BENGGA!

The Baguio Adventure

Team BENGGA (3^rd Place):

Thea Santos, Diane Gollon, Rob Cloa, Bea Policarpio, Jigs Sales, Maris Olanday

MISSIONS*:

1)    Interview locals and tourists (preferably picnicking) in Burnham Park.
2)    Have your portrait taken by a local artist in Tam-Awan village.
3)    Collect 100 names in Baguio’s public cemetery.
4)    Count the number of steps going up Our Lady of Atonement.
5)    Go to Baguio’s public market.
6)    Interview an Igorot in traditional costume and an Igorot in plain clothes.
7)    Ask which is the oldest (or one of the oldest) establishment/s in Session Road.
8)    Ask what a “bulol” is and what it symbolizes.
9)    Find a place serving pinikpikan and find out how the dish is made.
10) Ask for a list of haunted places and have your picture taken in one of the places mentioned.

*Subtasks were completed but emitted from this list.

MAIN STRATEGY:

Start by plotting the locations of all the tasks (by asking locals – guards, taxi drivers, etc.) and complete them in order of farthest to nearest from the finish line (Hotel Cosmopolitan). Finish all tasks as quickly as possible!

ü Mission #4: Count the number of steps going up Our Lady of Atonement.

One Hundred and Four

We decided to make the counting of steps going up Our Lady of Atonement our first task, as it was the nearest establishment from our listed tasks. The first challenge we had was that we were up the stairs. As the task states we should take a video going up the stairs we all decided to go down and then go back up again which in total, we used the stairs three times. Which was an advantage because it gave us three trials to ensure that we were counting the steps accurately. There is a total of 104 steps going up to the church.

As we were going down the stairs we have noticed the people sitting on it and the people using it. On the lower end of the stairs, we saw street vendors selling sampaguitas, some novenas and candies. Beggars were also along the stairs, asking for change from passers-by. What we have noticed is that this is somewhat similar to Marx’ Theory of Society. In a way, the church (the location itself not the religion), which acts as the superstructure in this scenario, maintains the proletariat class by having churchgoers pass through the stairs. As the Philippines is a religious country, never there was a time when the stairs leading to the church is empty. This fact of course is the cause of the vendors and beggars along the stairs. As churchgoers are assumed to be sympathetic by the beggars and vendors, profit will always be in their sights which then is a pattern of the base and superstructure working together to maintain Marx’ Theory of Society.
            Physically, this task was tiring. Walking along Session road after the task, we suddenly felt our legs shaking because of the physical activity we did. Seeing the beggars and vendors along the stairs was not a surprise for us. In urban areas, we can immediately see this structure in any church. Near churches would be street vendors, “parking assistants,” and etc.

ü Mission #7: Ask which is the oldest (or one of the oldest) establishment/s in Session Road.

Since 1940

Session Road was the next nearest destination from Our lady of Atonement and so we headed in that direction. Walking through Session Road, we came across one of the oldest restaurants in the street. The name of the restaurant is Star Café, which was established back in 1940. A number of newspaper clippings were displayed in the front window stating showing the long heritage of the restaurant. The status of their restaurant as one of the oldest restaurants in Session Road and along Baguio helps affirm their role as a place that serves good food, and is a clean restaurant. The age of the restaurant helps give the impression that their restaurant is something to try because they have remained in the same place for a very long time.

Maris, Jigs, Bea and Thea in front of the Star Café

The restaurant also upholds the traditional feel of Baguio because they serve American food along with other cuisines. They uphold the traditions in Baguio because Baguio used to be a city where a lot of American military camps were located. The American food that they serve reminds us that there used to be a very dominant American community there before.

After meeting the owner, Mrs. Rufino, we asked her how the sales and her patrons were affected by the opening of SM Baguio. Mrs. Rufino said that after SM Baguio opened her sales decreased by a huge margin because people just ate in the restaurants located in SM Baguio. She said that people just ate in SM Baguio because after they have their meals, they have a lot to do around the mall and that is why they eat in the mall instead.

ü Mission #5: Go to Baguio’s public market.

Market! Market!

The challenge to list as many Baguio local products considered souvenirs and to record the average prices of produce commodities being sold in the local public market was an interesting point in our group’s fieldwork experience because it involved several and simultaneous interactions with the local people.  From this we were able to collect the following data:

I.      SOUVENIR CATEGORIES:

·      FOOD:

1.     Sundot Kulangot

2.     Cashew Nuts

3.     Good Shepherd Products

4.     Crinkles (Strawberry)

5.     Strawberry Jam

6.     Peanut Brittle

7.     Ube

8.     Choco Crispies

9.     Choco Crinkles

10. Yema

11. Lengua

·      HOUSE DECORS:

1.     Wall Decors

2.     Pot Carpets

3.     Wooden Carvings

4.     Wind Chimes

5.     Sungka Board

6.     Magnets

7.     Wool Blankets

8.     Igorot Cloth

9.     Bulol Figures

·      CLOTHING:

1.     Bonnet

2.     Muffler

3.     Sweater

4.     Sling Bag

5.     Woven Slippers

6.     Woven Backpack

7.     Straw Hats

8.     Igorot Costumes

9.     Bracelets

10. Baguio Shirt

·      OTHERS

1.     Wooden Backscratcher

2.     Wooden Keychains

3.     Wooden Containers

4.     Phone Holder

5.     Flower Garland (everlasting)

6.     Pamaypay

7.     Coin Purse

8.     Walis

9.     Rosary

II.    AVERAGE FOOD PRICES

o   Potato – P40/kg

o   Broccoli – P60/kg

o   Lettuce – P70/kg

o   Carrots – P30/kg

o   Tomato – P40/kg

o   Cauliflower – P60/kg

o   Baguio Beans – P40/kg

o   Strawberry – P130/kg

o   Benguet Coffee – P200/kg

o   Benguet Oranges – P25/each

o   Rice Wine – P100 a bottle

o   Strawberry Wine – P80 a bottle

From our data collection, we have come to the conclusion that Baguio has a thriving market when it comes to souvenirs, and that the average food prices for fresh produce commodities are relatively cheap in comparison to Manila prices. Sociologically, we considered the possibility of the occurrence of alienation among the market vendors. Alienation is a Marxist concept which argues that by the system of capitalism, workers are alienated from what they produce. In the case of the Baguio market, we perhaps observed most the alienation of the workers from their fellow workers. We argue this because in the market social setting vendors are compelled to compete against each other for customers, and ultimately, the surplus which comes from the customers’ purchases. As Marx would put it, there is the presence of “competition instead of solidarity and comradeship” among the market vendors which we witnessed ourselves in our fieldwork as in the inquiring of these prices and data, vendors would compete for our attention in the hopes of getting us to purchase their goods.

In addition to this, we were also able to observe the sociological concept of Dramaturgy in our interactions with the vendors. In the a few of the interactions during this activity, when we would explain to the vendor that we weren’t interested in actually purchasing anything, and were just inquiring for sociological research purposes, their performance towards us would change from being overly eager to win us over to being aloof and indifferent—and in one case, even irritated—towards us. From this we were able to observe in the vendors a clear demonstration of their switch from the front stage to the back stage in their “efforts to create a specific impression” of themselves in our minds, which is a direct application of the sociological concept of Impression Management.

Some souvenirs we found in the public market.

Diane in front of an array of Good Shepherd goods!

ü Mission #8: Ask what a “bulol” is and what it symbolizes.

The Rice God

The fieldwork challenge to inquire what a “bulol” was involved only a couple of quick and straightforward interactions with Baguio’s locals. We were able to do this simultaneously during the market challenge, as some of us currently taking History 165 this semester were familiar with the indigenous word and vaguely remembered that it was related to woodcarvings. We were able to inquire what it was from a market vendor selling all kinds of wooden artifacts and we discovered that quite literally a “bulol” was a wooden sculpture of what appears to be a man crouching down and hugging his legs. Symbolically though, according to the market vendor “bulol” was a rice god or guardian which was supposed to help “bring prosperity in rice production and insure a good harvest.” Translated from Tagalog, this statement is verbatim of what the vendor told us. He also mentioned that the belief in the bulol originated from the Igorots, and that today bulol sculptures can be used as home decors to also help bring some protection and prosperity to our homes.

Maris, Bea and the rice gods.

Sociologically, we were able to see how the bulol is an important fixture in Igorot culture. The bulol in itself is part of the Material Culture of the Igorots, in that it is a “physical thing created by those in society”, literally. However, it also represents their belief in something transcendent like a rice god, which counts as a “specific idea that people hold to be true.” Ultimately, we were fascinated with the idea of a bulol because not only was it proof that indigenous art still endures as something that is both marketable and meaningful, but also because the bulol represented a belief of the Igorot people; a conviction which they still hold on to.

ü Mission #1: Interview locals and tourists (preferably picnicking in Burnham Park)

Near Far Wherever You Are

After completing the tasks at the public market, we headed towards Burnham Park. It didn’t take us very long to find people having a picnic, as there were many of them scattered across the park. The first group we interviewed consisted of two middle-aged looking women. We approached them initially thinking they were tourists. However, after introducing ourselves and declaring our intentions, we found that they were actually locals of Baguio.

Diane and Thea with our first group of locals

In conducting the short interview, we learned that these locals rarely visit Burnham Park. Picnicking in particular is something they only do once or twice a year. When asked what other activities they do in Burnham Park they answered that they simply, “relax, waste time, and eat”. They also told us that the most popular tourist spots are John Hay, Wright Park, Lourdes and Strawberry Farms.

We interviewed a second group of locals right next to them, and this group was a much elderly woman with a little boy who looked about 4 or 5 years old. She informed us that they visit Burnham Park every Sunday and liked to “relax, bike, walk around and eat” whenever they were here. According to them, the tourist spots are: John Hay, Burnham Park, Strawberry Farms and Wright Park.

 

Maris, Rob, Bea and Jigs with our second group of locals

Below is a mapped illustration of all the tourist spots mentioned by both local groups:

Our next task was to conduct the same interview with a group of tourists, and as we hurriedly scanned the park for anyone who might look like tourists, our eyes were drawn to a man selling balloons to passersby. He was slowly being surrounded by a small crowd of people, and upon closer inspection, we realized they were a small Korean tourist group!

We approached them hesitantly. There were three teenaged girls, one boy and an elderly Filipino man in a blue tracksuit who we assumed was their tour guide. As we neared the balloon man and the tourist group, the elderly man noticed us and asked if there was anything we needed. We informed him of the interview we wished to conduct with them and he agreed, telling us that he was actually their teacher, and this group is visiting the area to learn English.

Mabuhay!

The Korean students have only been in the country for roughly two weeks, and haven’t visited many places yet. They had recently been to San Juan, San Fernando and were now in Baguio to go sightseeing. So far, they said, SM Baguio, Camp John Hay and Burnham Park were the only tourists spots they knew. In the park itself, they’ve only done a bit of shopping and relaxing.

Below is a mapped illustration of the tourist spots mentioned by the tourist group:

Comparing the two maps, the locals had similar maps with more locations as compared to the map based on the interview with the tourists. This isn’t very surprising, as the locals know the area more than the tourists do, and each of the areas listed may serve a different structural function to each group. For example, Burnham Park to the locals is a place that is visited mainly for relaxation and recreation. To the tourists, it is an area of sightseeing. For tourists, Burnham Park is a must-see part of Baguio that isn’t so much an attraction to them for its relaxing aspects, rather due to its popularity as a go-to place when in Baguio. Its relaxing aspects are irrelevant to the tourists and would not have been a deciding factor in coming to visit the park. This is a factor more important to the locals who consider it in picking a place to go to in Baguio. They don’t go to it because they must but because they want to. Tourists who choose to relax in the area are complying with a social norm of Baguio (to relax in the park) as well as a social norm of tourists who travel to Baguio (to visit Burnham Park).

ü Mission #10: Ask for a list of haunted places and have your picture taken in one of the places mentioned.

Thriller

Before departing from the tourist group, seeing as their teacher was a local of the area, we took the opportunity to ask him about haunted areas in Baguio, which was one of our tasks (two birds with one stone!). He found this question very interesting and told us that he knew of a few haunted areas. The first was the Hyatt Hotel, which suffered an earthquake in July 1991, causing several deaths of people who were in the hotel at the time. Another was the Diplomat Hotel, which is said to have several ghosts from the Japanese era. The third (pictured below) is the white house on Leonard Woodroad, which is currently a bamboo exhibit but was previously a teacher’s camp (pension house) during the American occupation. It is said that a lady historian was killed and her ghost haunts the halls of this house in the form of a white lady.

Jigs in front of the bamboo exhibit!

            What was interesting about this very brief interview is that these ghost stories don’t reflect the supernatural beliefs of the Baguio locals, rather each haunted area is a reflection of Baguio history. For instance, the rumors surrounding the Hyatt Hotel is a reminder of the large earthquake that hit Baguio in 1991, those that surround the Diplomat Hotel illustrate a time when the Japanese invaded the country, and finally the white house stories remind us of the American occupation. While the manifest function of these haunted areas and scary stories is simply to add richness to Baguio’s history and culture, the historical dimension to these haunted areas creates the latent function, which is evidence of the dark history of Baguio.

            It is perhaps also notable that with the dominance of Western monsters/ghosts in these stories, there seems to be some form of social conflict in the way that, again, western culture prevails over culture in the Philippines. The westernization of pop culture may be viewed as a power struggle between western and eastern influences and beliefs. It is also a sign of global culture—ghosts and white ladies as scary figures become concepts more close to home in Philippine society. With the passing of time, they are viewed less and less as a borrowed ideology from another culture, and more and more a normal and ever-present concept in the world of horror and folklore.

ü Mission #6: Interview an Igorot in costume and an Igorot in plain clothes.

All in a Day’s Work

What comes to mind when one hears the word Igorot? People often imagine Igorots as people wearing colorful woven clothes, sitting in the famous tourist spots of Baguio. This has been the nation's idea of them ever since. However, it has been revealed to us that Igorots are not like they are before. They don't wear the traditional clothes on a day-to-day basis. As a matter of fact, in this day and age, they wear them as a costume, as said by the Igorots in plain clothes, and confirmed by the Igorots in traditional clothes.

Diane and Thea with traditionally dressed Igorots

These outfits worn by the Igorots in Botanical Gardens serve as their lunch ticket. They make money out of posing as traditional Igorots. Their status as an Igorot upholds their role of keeping the traditional Igorot outfit alive to the public. The Igorot outfit is now a costume that they use in dramaturgy. Following Erving Goffman's dramaturgy analysis, they confirm what Goffman said about how fronts are selected, and not created. There is a mold for what a traditional Igorot is, and during the daytime, the Igorots in traditional costume act that out. Afterwards, they take off their costumes and change to normal clothes.

Despite the fact that their clothing choices have evolved through the years, their culture still remains intact. Their non-material culture include a unique language called the Ibaloy which is practiced by both Igorots in plain clothes, and in traditional clothes. Traditions and beliefs are also preserved despite their assimilation to the global trend on clothing. The Igorots believe in making sure that when a pig is caught for cooking, its bile must be of good condition and without odor so it signifies luck. If otherwise, another pig must be slaughtered.

Finding an Igorot in plain clothes is definitely a challenge because Igorots mix so well with Baguio people. We were just lucky that the first set of Baguio people we approached were Igorots. Aside from that, Learning the information from the Igorots was definitely surprising for us, especially the fact that that the traditional Igorot in costume wear their costume for money making purposes. However, we were delighted to know that they still kept their cultures and traditions alive.  

Maris, Rob and Jigs with plainly dressed Igorots

ü Mission #9: Find a place serving Pinikpikan and find out how the dish is made.

Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner

We took a taxi from Burnham Park to head towards the Public Cemetery. On the way, we took a little stopover to complete the 9^th task on the list which was to find a place that served pinikpikan. We were brought to the public market and, after asking around, arrived at this place:

            To make pinikpikan, a live chicken must be beaten with a stick until it dies. After it dies, the chicken is burned whole and then seasoned with salt. This special form of preparation, according to the little shop’s staff, is so that the chicken’s blood rises to the skin and hardens, adding flavor to the chicken when served. On top of this, the blood won’t mix with the food.

            This is well-known Cordilleran culture and yet, unfortunately it always has the ability to offend. Most of us grew up in a society that teaches us that harming animals is wrong. Learning about this practice, we were initially surprised and a little disgusted. While eating chicken is practically a norm in modern day society, beating a live chicken definitely is not, and could be in fact a form of deviance. This is of course relative to the Manila-based society we were raised in. After awhile, we got over our ethnocentric judgments and appreciated pinikpikan as yet another facet of the rich culture of Baguio.    

           

ü Mission #3: Collect 100 names in Baguio’s public cemetery.

Through the Years

Once we completed the task about pinikpikan, we took a taxicab to the other side of the proper, where the local cemetery was. The task entailed gathering names from each of the following decades:

·     Before 1900’s (x)

·     1901-1920 (1)

·     1921-1930 (5)

·     1931-1940 (5)

·     1941-1950 (6)

·     1951-1960 (8)

·     1961-1970 (12)

·     1971-1980 (19)

·     1981-1990 (22)

·     1991-2010 (37)

Above are the decades we were assigned to cover in the cemetery, as well as the number of graves we found from each particular decade. We had a lot of difficulty finding the oldest grave (1908) and had absolutely no luck in locating one from before the 1900’s.

Out of the 113 names we took down in the cemetery, 33% died from 1991-2010. This may be related to the mortality rate in Baguio.  Among the decades given in the list, this period had the highest mortality rate according to the data. Almost 5 out of 15 died on 1991-2010. The data has an increasing trend towards the present time. The frequency of deaths may be because of the increasing population in the area and the change in their environment from rural to urban. Pollution may also be an added factor that may have affected their health in some cases. Adding to this, it may also be a sign of global culture. Baguio locals are now more and more embracing western traditions in matters of burying the dead. The act of burying a body six feet deep and placing a gravestone on top is not a custom native to the Philippines, or even Baguio, whose practices are different in several ways due to its secludedness.

The oldest grave we found in the cemetery was one dated in 1908. We found it with the help of the locals who let us in a little mausoleum. According to them, this stood alongside Dr. Jose Rizal at the time of the Spaniards. He is considered a national hero. The grave does not look as old as it unlike the others because it is being maintained and visited by the relatives from time to time.

The most recent grave we found was date January 9, 2013. We were in the area on February 2^nd, making this grave truly the most recent in the area. We found this near the main gate of the cemetery also in a little mausoleum. Many had already died this year in the area.

It is a little distasteful to post a picture of a stranger’s grave without consent from the right people, so we have chosen to exclude our picture of it from this blog.

ü Mission #2: Have your portrait taken by a local artist in Tam-Awan village.

Home Grown Perspective

            The final task that our team completed was to have one team member’s face drawn by a local artist in the village of Tam-Awan. Diane and Thea, members of our team, volunteered to have their faces drawn. The artists used the simple combination of paper and pencil as their mediums for this task.

Diane and Thea getting their faces drawn.

Done!

            Upon conducting the interview, the artists believe that the only thing that sets Baguio art apart is that it is traditional Cordilleran art—the forms and techniques used are unique to the region of Cordillera. In terms of socioeconomic status, Baguio artists are doing quite well, as they utilize the “tourist destination” image of Baguio and attract tourists to buy their unique Cordilleran art in order to make money and stably support themselves.

            When asked why Baguio art is Baguio art and not Philippine art, the artists answered that they believe it was because the mediums and techniques they used were so unique and unlike those used in Philippine art such as solar drawings and coffee paintings. However, they artists found this question a little offensive because they believe art is art and they don’t see why art from their region should be discriminated from art rearing from the rest of the country.

            Local art upholds the traditions of Cordillera because the local art is based on traditional Cordilleran art. The cultural origins of Baguio’s local art are definitely what separate it from Philippine art. Looking at it from a structural functional perspective, Baguio’s being a tourist destination functions as a means to promote Cordilleran culture, which includes local art. Baguio being a tourist destination draws the  attention of potential customers and art appreciators to their work, creating a steady source of income for the local artists.

We had so much fun traipsing around Baguio to complete our fieldwork. There were ups and downs, and many complications, but we’re happy we pulled through in the end (and finished 3^rd! Not bad!).  It was a great experience for everyone, and it allowed us to see sides of Baguio that we never bothered to explore before.

Special thanks to all the taxi drivers, security guards, Baguio locals and tourists alike that helped us through all the tasks in our fieldwork. We wouldn’t have gotten anywhere without them.

Also special thanks to Ma’am Emily Roque, for bringing us all the way to Baguio for this experience. J

Sources: PowerPoint presentations prepared by Ma’am Roque for her SA21 class.