Maiden of Mandaya

Who are the Mandaya? Both the French historian De Sainte-Croix and American anthropologist John M. Garvan who studied this tribe from the Northern... more

by Magic Realist

Title

Maiden of Mandaya

Artist

Magic Realist

Medium

Digital Art - Digital Collage Painting

Description

Who are the Mandaya? Both the French historian De Sainte-Croix and American anthropologist John M. Garvan who studied this tribe from the Northern and Eastern Davao provinces on the island of Mindana0 in the Philippines describe them as a people of superior mentality and race. Even before the coming of Spaniards in the 16th century, the Mandaya were already far more advance from their contiguous ethnic groups. This attribute was evidently shown in their intricate arts and designs, literature, political, philosophical and religious beliefs.

They lived independently from others, had their own sophisticated governance structure and equipped themselves with technologies of farming, fishing, and weaving that still exist today. As another source of subsistence, the Mandaya embrace what nature offers but get only what they can consume and leave the rests for others.

Mandayans are reclusive and protective of their culture and tribal community. They possess an obstinate sense of pride, dignity, and self-importance in the presence of other people outside their tribal community. They are resolute in their principles, ones which cannot be easily swayed by favor or the fleeting allure of money or material possessions. They are also highly spiritual not from any animistic sense but from their relationship with the community and environment.

Over the centuries they have developed an integrated value and morality system of social responsibility and have practised a way of life that attains peace and harmony within and outside their tribal life. In that context, Maiden of Mandaya is an artistic expression of that quintessential grace that makes them who they are.

Uploaded

June 5th, 2016