A belief system born of indigenous communities in the Philippines could help protect the country’s endangered species, from leopard cats to cloud rats.
Part of indigenous wisdom, the mariit belief system (pronounced mar-ee-it) is deeply rooted in the relationship of the Filipinos with the environment. It can be traced back to the pre-colonial Filipino practice of animism, or the belief that everything possesses a soul. Mariit stretches back more than 500 years, affecting everything from where buildings are constructed, to how a driver negotiates a stretch of road. Increasingly, it is also being integrated into nature conservation.
The Philippines, one of the 18 mega-biodiverse countries in the world, faces many challenges to its environment and its wildlife, including the development of coal-fired power plants, damming of ecologically important rivers and a persistent illegal wildlife trade, frequently targeting the Philippine pangolin, a critically endangered species, and giant clams. Local conservationists and environmental guards hope working with long-held folk beliefs can prove useful in protecting the nature that remains.
But what is mariit, and how can indigenous knowledge beliefs help to tackle such problems? The essence of mariit comes down to the belief that every part of nature is inhabited or owned by unseen dwellers. Thus, it should be respected and taken care of. Otherwise, it could have unpleasant results.
This what our ancestors told us: It is not just us humans who exist in this world. There are also those that are not visible to our eyes. They are the taglugar,’ says Elias Victor, the leader of the Ati community, who are considered first inhabitants of the Philippines. Victor walks to the corner of the house, and places a plate of food intended for the taglugar. They take care of the source of our food and water. When we eat, we invite them, too.
Taglugar (pronounced tag-loo-gar) is a word in the Hiligaynon language that translates to of place. It refers to the resident, dweller or owner of a place. In the context of mariit, the taglugar are nature’s spirit dwellers. There are many forms that the taglugar are said to take. In bodies of water, there are siyokoy, sea creatures that appear to be human but with fish-like physical appearance, and kataw, half-fish and half-human. On land, there are kapre, hairy and cigar-smoking giant creatures usually seen smoking on tall trees, and there are duwende, believed to inhabit the soil, that are said to be like small magical humans.
In the mariit knowledge system, disasters such as famine, drought, flooding, typhoons and earthquakes are sent by the taglugar, Victor says. These are their wrath, he tells me. He explains these calamities are largely because people no longer respect nature. They abuse natural resources. They get more than what they need, he says.
Cases of illegal fishing activities and cutting of mangroves are very rare, says Rhett Arhur Diana, a senior conservationist at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. That is because the community members here treat the island as mariit, he says. They respect the taglugar. This island never runs out of fish.
The local sea guards received training from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in how to protect threatened endemic species, including stingrays, sharks and molluscs. Part of that has involved designating several sea caves and islets in the marine reserve as off-limits, which has been made possible because of the belief that they are mariit. These species belong not to us. They are owned by the taglugar, says Villaruz. We are not willing to take the risk. We wouldn’t know what harm would return upon us.
2020 BBC