The Siraya people find their voice

MANILA, Philippines - It was love that brought him here, and it became a commitment to help a people regain their identity and revive their language and culture.

Edgar Macapili, originally from Zamboanga, has been living with the Siraya people, one of the aboriginal tribes in Taiwan, for over two decades. He met his wife, Uma, the tribe’s princess, when she came to the Philippines for a concert more than 20 years ago.

Macapili has been helping the Siraya with the revival of their language and in fighting to get back their identity, an ongoing struggle as the tribe has yet to be officially recognized by the government.

He now teaches his father-in-law, 75-year-old tribal leader Ban Cheng Hiong Talavan, one of the few pure-blooded Sirayans left, to speak in what is supposed to be his native tongue.

“This is a place of cultural activism. We want to promote their culture and let the public know that the Siraya people still exist. This activism and protest, we have been doing for the past 20 years,” Talavan says in Chinese.

But Talavan says he feels that he has been fighting this fight for more than five decades, a long fight for the tribal leader who lives in the Siraya National Scenic Area situated in the Tainan plains of Taiwan.

The resurgence of the Siraya culture is getting a boost following the revival of its language, which had not been spoken for over 200 years prior to its rediscovery.

The 17th century Book of Matthew translated to Siraya by Dutch missionaries laid the initial groundwork for the revival of the language. It was given by a Taiwanese professor who heard about the initiative of the Siraya people to bring back to life its native tongue.

“When my wife showed me the book, I said ‘wow. This is very close to my language, Bisaya,’” Macapili recalls.

After seven or eight years studying the Book of Matthew and other documents, meticulously translating word for word, Makapili helped the Siraya language rise from the dead.

“If you want to learn any language I think the bible is a good basis. We now have four major documents. The Bible, in the Book of Matthew, the catechism of the Dutch reform church, a glossary of the common terms from Siraya to Dutch and the land contracts,” he says.

In 2008, the first Siraya dictionary with over 4,000 words was born and there are now 14 elementary schools teaching the Siraya language.

The Siraya language has many similarities with various Filipino languages, such as Tagalog, Bisaya and Ilocano. Parts of the body, like “da dila” for tongue and “bungo” for head, as well as numbers and names, like “ina” for mother, are very similar.

Macapili says the Filipino penchant for speaking many dialects proved to be a big help. He speaks English, Tagalog, Bisaya and Ilocano.

“We have this background where we can speak English, your own language and then Tagalog. If your dad belonged to another group, like Chavacano, then you can also speak it. That kind of background was very advantageous for me,” he says.

With the Siraya language revived, the tribespeople are now focusing on living, connecting and celebrating their native tongue through song.

His wife, Uma, sits as the executive secretary of the Promotion of Siraya Office in Tainan City and holds a seat on the presidential council as one of the representatives of Siraya and Indigenous people in Taiwan.

At their home at the Siraya Scenic Area, you will be welcomed by the rustle of trees, raindrops on the tiny lake and Siraya music by Edgar and his talented kids – daughters Euphony and Eucharist and son Eurico – who adore the Philippine Madrigal Singers.

Macapili and his family are now creating music written in the motifs of traditional Siraya songs, which were in the past sung by members of the tribe without full understanding, to connect the people, especially the youth, back to their native tongue.

“It’s easier for people to learn the language in music. It’s like we learn English in nursery rhymes, twinkle twinkle little star. That is what we are doing,” he says.

“There is Peace in the Land of Siraya” was the first of many songs written in the local language which serenaded the journalists visiting Taiwan, sponsored and organized by the Taiwan Association Inc.

Macapili, who still retains his Philippine passport, remains very much Filipino in spirit but is fully committed to helping retrieve the identity of his family in Taiwan.

“As a Siraya son-in-law, my goal is just to really revive, to just help the Siraya people get their identity. Basically it’s the identity. If they are sure that they are Siraya then the culture, language and other aspects of Siraya identity would come naturally.”

The Taiwan Association Inc., headed by its president Allan Lin and honorary president Seimo Huang, will hold the Taiwan Expo 2017 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City from Sept. 29 to Oct. 1.