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In a painting that sits in the middle of the Sierra Madre mountain range, a tribal hero with curly black hair, wearing a red bahag, grips a long spear with both hands. Beneath his feet are grass a brilliant color of green. His skin is the color of earth.

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This is no coincidence.

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Rodolfo “Odie” Bermijio uses a palette made of rocks, earth and plants in bringing life to the rich history and culture of his people, the Dumagat. Like his tribe's supply of food, medicine and raw materials, his paint comes from the 350-mile-long Sierra Madre mountain range.

 

“Kapag tinitignan ko ‘yung lupa, nakakakita ako ng tao (Whenever I see the soil, I can picture people),” he said.

ARTIST BY NATURE. Bermijio relays how his journey as an artist is rooted to the land that gives life to his art, in much the same way the Dumagat are tied to the mountains they call home.

The 60-year-old Dumagat tribesman lives in a small nipa hut near the center of their temporary settlement — the Punduhan of Norzagaray, Bulacan, where around 20 families survive primarily on hunting, logging and root crop farming.

 

The mountain ranges and rivers surrounding the settlement serve as the setting of Odie’s works. The Dumagat artist has plenty of models, too - dozens of his fellow tribespeople whose great wisdom leads his brush: the Dumagat way of life as he experienced it.

SCREENING PROCESS. Bermijio sifts through the soil in the Punduhan to gather rocks and fallen leaves he would later crush to pulp to color his sketches.

“Noong ako’y bata pa, nakakakita ako ng mga bagay at nagagandahan ako pag nakikita ko siya (When I was young, I would find awe in the things I saw around me),” he said. “Doon lang nagsimula (That’s where it all started).”

 

To satisfy his curiosity for art, the young Odie would gather clay from his surroundings and mold them in the likeness of his fellow tribespeople.

 

Years later, as he slowly exposed himself to urban life, the vivid colors of street signs and advertisements along major roads and highways would inspire him to experiment and produce different tints and shades. Odie was adventurous in his youth, calling himself “palaboy,” true to the nomadic nature of the Dumagat.

"Ang kanilang pagiging artistic ay makikita mo sa kulay na ginagamit nila." 

Sagip Sierra Madre Environmental Society, Inc. (SSMESI) chairperson Bro. Martin Francisco said the culture of the Dumagat has often been misinterpreted and downplayed as “uncivilized” and even “non-existent” because of its lack of artifacts and intricate designs.

 

“Ang kanilang pagiging artistic ay makikita mo sa kulay [na ginagamit nila] (The Dumagat’s artistry can be found in the colors they use),” the IP advocate observed.

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Bro. Martin arrived in Bulacan in the mid-90s as a missionary assigned to organize the IP groups in the province. While surveying the foothills of the Sierra Madre, he found a number of Dumagat tribespeople drawing mountain-like motifs on boulders using red paint made from betel nuts.

 

Chewing betel nuts is a popular pastime in most Dumagat communities, especially among the village elders. The reddish stain it produced was revered by the Dumagat people because of its resemblance to the color of sunrise. 

“Lumaki kasi silang walang ilaw at malamig sa bundok at pag nakikita nila sumisikat yung [pulang] araw na bukang liwayway, napakaganda nito para sa kanila (The Dumagat people grew up in the darkness and cool of the mountains, so when they see the red sunrise, it is very beautiful for them).”

 

Going beyond the traditional Dumagat motifs and symbols, Odie began using his newly discovered craft in making profiles of his fellow tribespeople and documenting their day-to-day activities: brown-skinned people with curly hair and small noses, hunting for wild boars and deers in the wilderness.

 

One of Odie’s most prominent paintings hangs on the ceiling of the Punduhan’s community center. It shows a proud warrior defeating a large snake that attempted to snatch the wild boar he had been pursuing. 

 

The Dumagat painter would later introduce white-skinned actors dressed in colonial fashion to his visual narratives, influenced by the American movies he used to watch with his father.  

 

Most of Odie’s recent paintings are of war scenes, with tribal warriors using their spears, bows and arrows in resisting the Spanish, American and Japanese colonizers advancing toward the land of their ancestors.

 

When he is not painting, Odie is either playing his guitar to the tune of Dumagat tribal songs or teaching art and music at the Punduhan’s school.

TEACHER ODIE. Bermijio's work on art takes a backseat on weekdays as he  fulfills another important role in the Dumagat community: music and arts teacher for the children.

The school started as a daycare center and is now recognized by the Department of Education (DepEd) as an Indigenous Peoples Education school for elementary and high school, where the culture and history of the Dumagat is taught in addition to the regular DepEd curriculum. The school serves Dumagat students of all ages from nursery until high school.

 

“Kung hindi namin sila tuturuan, eh di mawawala na [yung kultura namin] (If we do not teach the children, we run the risk of losing our traditional customs),” Odie said.

 

To the Dumagat painter, the teacher’s role is not limited to teaching, but also serving as a cultural bearer in keeping the traditional practices of the group alive among younger generations. 

IDLE TIME. With no school on weekends, Bermijio's son waits for tourists he will tour around the Monte Cristo cave system, a popular pilgrimate site a few minutes away from the Punduhan.

Both the school and the community were built with the help of the SSMESI. Bro. Martin said the Punduhan was their sixth attempt at creating a Dumagat community in Bulacan. The organization had to look for a place in the foothills of the Sierra Madre that was both accessible to visitors and had the possibility of providing sustainable livelihood for the Dumagat people, he said.

 

Today, the Punduhan is 30 minutes away from Barangay Bigte in Norzagaray, and the community is currently supported by eco-tourism programs, solicitation efforts and donations from the local government and non-government organizations.

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COMMITTED. Bro. Martin Francisco has dedicated most of his adult life to the Dumagat and has even written a book on their history and way of life entitled "Mahabe Pogotan:

On the other hand, as an artist, he believes that to protect the forest is part of his mandate as a Dumagat tribesman. But more than that, it is his duty as an artist to preserve both the means and source of his art.

 

Despite the noble intentions of his art, the Dumagat painter lamented: “Hirap naman ako gumawa kasi kailangan ng pinansiyal. ‘Di naman ako guguhit nang guguhit kasi ‘di ako makakapaghanapbuhay. (It is difficult to keep creating because I also need money. I can’t keep painting because I can’t make a living),”

 

However, Odie wants to continue his craft to show that the struggles of the Dumagat people are not so different from that of those living in the city and yet, there are profound differences in their experiences.

 

“Makikita nila kung papaano maghanapbuhay ang katutubo, yun bang halimbawa ay dito pala nabuhay ang katutubo… sila pala ay hindi marunong pumatay, hindi sila marunong umangkin ng di kanila… andoon sa ginuguhit ko yun. (They will see how we IPs make a living, that we live here… that we do not know how to kill or claim as ours what is someone else’s… these are all in my works.)”

 

For now, Odie will continue painting the dreams of his people, hoping to encourage the lowlanders to look at his home in the same light.

 

“Kung ano ang pangarap ng mga nasa labas, yun din ang pangarap namin. (We share the same dreams with those outside the Punduhan).”

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