REACTION PAPER TO DR. GERONA’S STATEMENT ON INDIGENOUS PEOPLE .

HOW INDIGENOUS ARE FILIPINO INDIGENOUS PEOPLE?

Humans curiosity is infinite . And regarding the history of magellan , all i know is that he was killed by lapu-lapu during their fight in mactan . And that’s all , but after reading this lecture it brought me to a deep and broad concept of magellan’s history . And i found ideas beyond to what’s currently i know that will expand my knowledge and needed to understand perhaps we needed to understand the history of magellan and other indigenous people . And thanks to Dr. Gerona for the lecture that is indeed really amazing.

There are so many questions roaming in my head regarding This historical battle between magellan and lapu lapu . Did lapu lapu kill magellan himself ? Because there were many writers and historians that is continually debating whether lapu-lapu killed him or not . According also to some research it is impossible to tell whether magellan lost his life in the hands of the datu ,but until this day there’s no evidence to support that claim. Some also suggested that during the battle , magellan was also very strong he was at his 40s , 41 years old to be exact against lapu-lapu who was said to be 70 years old at that time .

There are also historical records stated that the battle of mactan was never an official plan of magellan’s mission when he arrived in the country , magellan took an efforts to convert all indigenous people to christianity . He baptized king humabon of cebu along with the thousands of other natives. But magellan did a warning perhaps threatened to kill those chieftains who were against the conversion. But despite of that , lapu-lapu remains to be a symbol of courage and great leadership for leading his troops to victory and protecting his people from the foreign explorers.

When Dr. Gerona held a lecture about mainstreaming indigenous knowledge in the tertiary education last june 21 , 2017 at Partido State University Goa , Camarines Sur , Philippines , discuss that his book “Ferdinand Magellan, the Armada de Moluco and the European Discovery of the Philippines " which is Based on Primary Sources was accidental work only. From his lecture I found so many things to change my point of view , it is really different from what i have learned during my elementary and high school days and it even amazes me more when Dr. Gerona smoothly relate his discussion about the indigenous people which is also very relevant issue today.

I am so amazed by Dr. Gerona how he give a very impassioned to talk about his book , which challenges many historical facts that we have learned throughout the years. He did a 10 years research on his book and that's the time where he found out that lapulapu was already 70 years when the battle of mactan.

There are numerous Fascinating historical facts to be aware of , such as the fact that the date of the battle of mactan is not the exact because magellan and pigafetta were unaware that they had already crossed the International dateline — Laurence Bergreen’s book "Over the edge of the earth" . And the issue of where magellan held the first mass in the philippines . It’s from limasawa and from there he went to cebu . He never went to butuan or that place called mazaua , which the batuan laid claim that can’t be proven.

There have many things that i learned and made me confused even more because i’ve been known lapu-lapu as a young and muscular man which maybe even strengthen whenever i see a painting of him, but turns out he may actually be an old man and a playboy.

So to answer Dr. Gerona’s Question : How Indigenous are Filipino Indigenous People ? They are Indigenous peoples who live in the highlands and are different from us in several respects. Their cultures, languages, customs, attitudes, climate, and way of life were all different. They are Indigenous because they are uncivilized and have not yet been colonized by modern aspects up until now where we are covered by technology and such as civilization, technology, and gadgets. When we saw people with various appearances, colors, hairstyles, and other characteristics the way they dressed that is unique from others and their other practices makes them called Indigenous.

We already know that history plays an important role in all facets of our life up to now.
This lecture was well worth reading. I respect and admired Dr. Gerona’s statement, which is completely detailed and well-written. And I can’t wait to read his book , finish it and gain so many knowledge . Due to his efforts of researching and digging of what really happen back in history We would be able to understand and recognise anything relevant to Indigenous peoples and Philippine history as a result of this.