Museo De Maria Opens Door for Ayangan Cultural Exhibit

Honoring the culture and traditions of the Ayangan culture bearers of Nueva Vizcaya, Saint Mary’s University through the Community Engagement and Indigenous Peoples Studies Center (CEIPSC) opens Amlong Shiu Ijadjang: Roots and Resilience Cultural Exhibit, showcasing traditional artifacts at Museo De Maria in celebration of Indigenous Peoples and Museum Month, October 4.

Featuring traditional clothings, hunting tools, and other materials with cultural relevance promoted through a short discussion led by Ayangan culture bearer and IP Coordinator of Villapar Pale Elementary School (VPES) Jovita Grace Lahin, the exhibit aims to provide spaces for appreciation and understanding of the Indigenous culture of the Ayangans by reaching out to a wider audience for cultural preservation, promotion, and protection.

The said event is one of the collaborative development projects of CEIPSC with Purok Gonggongob, Cabuluan, Villaverde. Other projects include activities of IP and Museum Month for the community of Gonggongob such as financial and livelihood training programs, medical missions, and educational development projects.

Now on their last year as partner communities, CEIPSC is also set to construct Gonggongob’s own community museum through ‘Project Repair’ led by the Museum staff and Marian architects studying Developmental Perspectives of Arts and Design in response to the on-going problem of immortalizing the culture and tradition of the Ayangan tribe which, as said by Barangay Councilor Bernard Pulyok, were “not documented enough” for the community.

The university exhibit is open to the public and shall continue until the end of the celebration on November 3.