Justice & peace: the Kalinga way.(peace & culture)

WHAT IS THE BODONG?

Among the northern Kalinga folk "Bodong" means "bound together". In the southern part of the territory it is called "Podon" which means "to hold together something that is binding". Symbolically, therefore, the Bodong or Podon binds the two peace pact holders together over the collective security of their constituents. The peace pact enables previously warring folks to live together in peace.

The Kalinga Bodong or peace pact is a socio-cultural and economic institution conceived and painstakingly developed through the centuries out of a need for collective security which is the basis for binding viable communities. It sprung from an ardent desire to live in peace and social security so that advances towards economic prosperity and social stability might be achieved.

From this perspective it becomes clear that the Bodong's original aims were threefold: to enhance economic stability, promote social security and to promote the development and preservation of a cultural heritage that bespeaks of a distinctive ethnic identity.

"Justice in Bodong is more even-handed than in government laws, because most of the provisions of the latter were made favoring the 'baknangs' or the wealthy). In peace pacts, no innocent soul is unjustly punished ... even at the cost of bloodshed."

These are blue streak words from a Bodong holder who has stood, all his life, within the brace of a conviction as tenacious as time itself. At 66, Mauricio Pitag, a brave of Lubuagan, Kalinga is considered as one of the most revered peace pact holders of his tribe. Like most Bodong holders, he views peacemaking in more puritanical terms, castigating offenders of the law of man and God and ready to lay down his life to attain peace and justice, not only for himself, but for others and the generations to come, as well. Like all Bodong holders, his people chose him because of his respectability, wealth and the fact that he belonged to a large clan. Thus, Lakay Pitag was given the colossal responsibility of protecting his people by resolving all forms of disputes among tribes. He keeps the peace among his people--with his life.

Bodong means "bound ...