The physical structures of dap-ay Todey in barangay Fidelisan (first photo) and Bangaan dap-ay located beside the barangay hall of Bangaan where elders still, until today, hold their discussions and decision-making processes.
During the series of focused group discussions (FGDs) and interviews conducted among the Pidlisan people in Sagada, Mountain Province, Philippines on 29 March to 2 April 2023 with support from SwedBio, indigenous knowledge systems and practices (IKSP) discussion centered on the Dap-ay system, both the political and physical structure of the Kankanaey[1] people of Mountain Province and Benguet, highlighting the previous formation within the system in relation to the different thematic areas: agriculture, forest management, and saguday (common/communal properties).
Located in the northern part of Sagada in Mountain Province, Philippines, the Pidlisan peoples’ ancestral domain is composed of a cluster of four barangays, namely Fidelisan, Pide, Aguid and Bangaan. According to the Pidlisan elders, Fidelisan was their original settlement. Hence, the said barangay is known as their ‘mother community’. As their population increased, however, settlement branched out to include the other three barangays.
To facilitate systematic discussion, Tebtebba’s Philippine Program team decided to conduct a general sharing on the dap-ay system in Fidelisan and conduct thematic ones, still in relation to the dap-ay, in the three other barangays.
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[1] The Kankanaey people populate the southwestern part of Mountain Province and northeastern part of Benguet.