Literature is the oldest means of transferring knowledge and
understanding the culture of the people in a community. However, the legend of
Mt. Isarog is neither widely dispersed to the community nor in the canon for
reading literature and understanding culture, unlike several myths and legends
about mountains in the Philippines that are in printed books, such as “The
Legend of Maria Makiling,” “The Legend of Daragang
Magayon,” and “Bulusan and Aguingay.”
Despite technological advances in communication methods and
information dissemination, it is vital to understand the impact of oral
literature on a region’s cultural diversity. Yet, the transferring of knowledge
through oral traditions—particularly those surrounding Mt. Isarog—presents
challenges in accurately interpreting local cultures, traditions, languages,
settlements, and histories. The study investigates the Role of Narrative
Transmission in Preserving Mt. Isarog's Indigenous Knowledge.
Oral literature pertaining to Mt. Isarog is accounts of the
mountain residents, who mostly worked with children and relatives as farmers,
tenants, and labourers on farms, whose culture and tradition are becoming
disoriented and varied because of the modern cultures viewed through social
media and the migration of the natives and ecotourism. The study revealed that
the compiled and recorded oral literature are beneficial reference
paraphernalia in showcasing the lifestyle of the old natives in the mountains;
valuable sources of old knowledge of the Camarinense in cultural-based
ecotourism; links between Bicolanos’ past and present cultures; and mitigation
tools to more complexities in conveying meanings in educating people, sharing
mythological knowledge, and conserving the region’s unique cultural heritage.
Findings suggest that the Camarinense people should cultivate a strong sense of
responsibility toward protecting and valuing local oral literature while also
actively participating in the preservation of Mt. Isarog’s unique biodiversity
through ecotourism initiatives. This should be done in terms of future studies
and will be stressed by collecting information about the studies done by the
tourism council and tourism educators, and strengthening local identity.
Author(s) Details
Maria Aurora
Gratela-Caballero
Andragogy Department, College of Education, Partido State University, Goa,
Philippines.
Please see the book here :- https://doi.org/10.9734/bpi/nhstc/v8/6008
