Lesson 4

Indigenous Science and Technology in the Philippines

Indigenous Knowledge System

Indigenous knowledge is embedded in the daily life experiences of young children as they grow up. Their parents and other older folks
served as their first teachers. The lessons they learned are intimately interwoven/blend with their culture and environment.

Examples of Indigenous Knowledge that are taught and practiced by Indigenous People:

1. Prediction of weather
2. Using herbal medicine
3. Preserving foods
4. Classifying plants and animals into families
5. Selecting good seeds for planting
6. Using Indigenous technology
7. Building local irrigation
8. Classifying different types of soil for planting
9. Producing wines from tropical fruits
10. Keeping the custom of growing plants and vegetables

Indigenous People in the Philippines

 Luzon
 Visayas
 Mindanao

➢ Prediction of weather

• Kasili (mythical fish) is believed that when a mythical fish (kasili) under the earth wants to surface, a typhoon will happen.

• When the goats repeatedly wail, there will be landslide.

➢Using herbal medicine

• Herbolarios

• Tuob

• Hilot

• Anino

➢ Preserving foods

• Etag is the general term used in Cordillera about the native’s traditional way or preserving pork. A slab from a big slice of pork is
cured in salt for about a week, then air-dried under the sun or smoked for several weeks, or months, or both.

➢ Agriculture

• Swidden farming – indigenous farmers roaming mountainous areas to farm, in which land is cleared for cultivation (normally by
fire) and then left to regenerate after a few years before returning and planting crops.

• Agricultural cycle; pendupi, miyan, pemeres

Based on their native methods of meteorology, the subanon identify three distinct seasons within the agricultural cycle:

▪ Pendupi, from June to September, characterized by winds blowing from the southwest;

▪ Miyan, from December to January, a time of winds and northeast monsoon rains; and

▪ Pemeres, from March to April, the hot and dry season.

•The Constellation Orion

Before there were proper calendars people had no way of determining when to sow, or harvest except by the stars. The stars allowed
farmers to plan ahead and form agriculture, and constellations made it easier to recognize and interpret the patterns in the sky.

➢Technology

• Pottery

• Weaving

• Finer metalcraft

➢Producing wines

• Tapey/Tapuy is a rice wine produced in the Philippines. It is a traditional beverage originated from Banaue and the Mountain
Province, where it is used for important occasions such as weddings, rice harvesting ceremonies, fiestas and cultural fairs.

➢Houses

• Built their houses on a hillside

• Hut

• Subanon house

The Concept of Indigenous Science

1. Indigenous science uses science process skills include

• Observing qualities
• Measuring quantities
• Sorting/classifying
• Inferring
• Predicting
• Experimenting, and
• Communicating.

Observing qualities is the first step in science process. What details do I see? Can I smell it, touch it, hear it, or taste it? Can I break it
into parts? What is happening?

Math is another way to communicate in science

Measuring quantities, are typically expressed in number(e.g door handles), length (e.g handrails, kerbs), area (e.g floor tiles, plaster),
volume (e.g concrete) or weight (e.g gravel).

Sort and Classify, we separate and put things together to understand how they relate to each other.

Inference is using observation and background to reach a logical conclusion like making a guess.You probably practice inference
every day.

Prediction is a statement of what will happen in the future. Predictions are often written in the form of “if, and, then” statements.
Before doing something, we can say or write a prediction to see if we’re right.

Experimenting is how we find out. What do we need to do to find out the answer to our question? How will we know if we were
right? How do we know if we were wrong?

Communicating. Sharing ideas through talking and listening, drawing and labeling pictures, drawing and labeling graphs and acting
things out.

2. Indigenous science is guided by culture and community values such as the following;
• The land is a source of life. It is a precious gift from the creator.
• The Earth is revered as “Mother Earth”. It is the origin of their identity as people.
• All living and nonliving things are interconnected and interdependent with each other.
• Human beings are stewards or trustee of the land and other natural resources. They have a responsibility to preserve
it.
• Nature is a friend to human beings – it needs respect and proper care.
3. Indigenous science is composed of traditional knowledge practiced and valued by people and communities such as ethno-
biology, ethno-medicine, indigenous farming methods, and folk astronomy.
 Ethno-biology is the scientific study of dynamic relationships among peoples, biota, and environments.
 Ethno-medicine is the study of how members of different cultures think about disease and organize themselves toward
medical treatment and the social organization of treatment itself.
 Folk astronomy = (loosely) study of how ancient cultures interpreted, used, and viewed the heavenly bodies ex: sun, sky,
stars, moon, phases of the moon, seasons, weather in regards to daily life.