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Higaunon, what about the future?
The Higaunon
people live
in the northern regions of Mindanao.
The Higaunon
overall population is
estimated between
10,000 and 30,000.
For
most of the Higaunon people, farming is the most important economic
activity for their subsistence.
Picture on the left:
Higaunon village in Northern
Mindanao |
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The future of
the farming
activities
The
Higaunon people produce a variety of agricultural products. On
the backyards
of their houses
and alongside the hills, the Higaunon grow a variety
of vegetables (white beans, onions and others), spices, rice
and other corn.
Occasionally, the
Higaunon hunt
on
among others wild pigs, amphibians, wild birds
and gather other food
products from the forest
such as
tiger grass and
timber.
In the first place the Higaunon produce
for their own consumption.
Since the influence of cash economy,
the surplus of many
agricultural
products
is
sold on markets.
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Threats for the Higaunon!
In the last few decades the peaceful way of living of
the Higaunon has been threatened by several circumstances. The threats
were caused by the activities of big logging
companies, the arrival of
immigrants from other islands
and the conflicts between the national army and armed groups in
the region where the Higaunon live.
Pictures: Courtesy of
L. Ostman
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The influence of the
logging companies
In the last decades the
national government went on with giving logging concessions to several,
mostly foreign companies. The consequence was the diminishing of the
tropical forest cover in the tribal homelands of the Higaunon.
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The arrival
of migrant settlers
Since a long time immigrants
from other parts of the Philippines came to start a new life in one of the
regions of Mindanao. They all were given some arable land to cultivate.
This arable land was original part of the homelands of the tribes of
Mindanao. Because of the arrival of the immigrants
in the regions where the Higaunon live, the subsistence
possibilities for the Higaunon people diminished. In that way the
immigrants were a threat for the Higaunon. |
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Armed Conflicts
Until 1981 peace and order was
quite normal in northern Mindanao. Since 1981 more and more insurgents
started operating in the area. The arrival of foreign immigrants and
(foreign)
companies resulted more and more in armed conflicts between members of
several tribes (among other the Higaunon tribe) and the national army. The
‘peace and order situation’ became disturbed! Massive military operations
were launched by the national government.
More and more members of
the Higaunon and other tribes became supporters or full timers of the
insurgents. The conflicts resulted in a shortage of food and medicines in
the area. Since 1991 a relative peace ‘returned’ into the region of the Higaunon. The government granted amnesty to all
surrenders. Many insurgent Higaunon members
decided to surrender and live now peacefully.
(Source: Article, prepared by Ms. Cecilia Valmores, in charge of
the Research Desk of the Indigenous Peoples Apostolate (IPA) of the
Cagayan de Oro City)
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