Where the balete stands

As a commitment to deepen our understanding of the lives, struggles, and leadership of the indigenous women we work with, LILAK strives to ensure that all her staff engage meaningfully with community partners through an exposure trip—beyond the activities and programs brought about by our partnerships. In keeping with this commitment, my 2-week integration with the Subanen community of Midsalip, Zamboanga del Sur last February was the first of its kind.

The visit was meant to bring me closer to the realities faced by our indigenous communities. Through this immersion with the Subanen, we aimed not only to learn about their culture and traditions, but also to witness the issues they confront, so that we, as part of LILAK’s core team, can move in feminist solidarity with greater clarity, purpose, and compassion.

During the trip, I was hosted by Midsalip Subanen Ministry, Inc. (MSMI), a non-stock, non-profit organization committed to cultural education, environmental protection, and the defense of Subanen rights and welfare. Rooted in faith and guided by Subanen elders, MSMI serves as a bridge between faith and culture, supporting communities in preserving their Indigenous identity and living in harmony with their ancestral land.

Wilma Mangilay, MSMI’s Community Coordinator, accompanied me throughout the trip, and helped me make deeper connections with community members. Wilma, who we fondly call ‘Ate Wing’, has long engaged both with the Subanen communities we visited, being a Subanen woman herself, and with LILAK long before I even knew what LILAK was. Most of my learnings during the immersion came from observing her relationship with the people and the land.

The experience of being welcomed so warmly into the homes of Subanen communities in Kenuren, Palili, Lumangkon, Duelic, and Sigapod, inspired my artwork. Drawing was never my first art form, but for this experience, it became the easiest way for me to visualize how Subanen culture, knowledge, and traditions are intertwined with nature.

Centering on the familiar but fascinating Balete tree, I now share this experience with you.

The Balete

The Balete, also known as the strangler fig tree, is usually seen as a cursed or haunted tree because of its structure; its massive trunk, tangled fibrous roots, and long drooping branches. In the Philippines, most of our mythology and lores revolve around nature. The balete, in particular, is associated with engkantos (environment spirits) and other nature spirits and often played a vital role in shamanistic culture of Babaylan, regarded as the “gateway of spirits” to our world. This belief contributed to the idea that balete trees are haunted by spirits.

I've seen a fair share of balete trees my whole life, but none like Subanen's. During my two-week visit, I saw two balete trees within the MSMI center, well-maintained and far from looking haunted. I was even surprised when Ate Wing told me they were balete trees as I was used to seeing eerie, overgrown versions in some provinces in the Philippines. Ate Wing explained balete trees must be properly maintained– that their drooping branches must not touch the ground, or they grow into new trunks. This explains why most of the balete trees we commonly see have massive, intimidating trunks; they were not properly cared for.

Learning this from an indigenous woman, and witnessing how they tended to these trees inspired me to create this artwork–relating the balete tree to what I observed during my stay: a way of life deeply rooted in culture.

The Leaves

Next to the leaves of the tree are the tall mountains, and if you look closely, there is a building on the top of one. Most schools, both public and IP schools in Midsalip are located in mountainous and remote areas, where the students live. Schools may seem as distant as the tree's leaves, yet children walk more than 2 hours daily to reach them, eager to learn from the “fruit” of education.

The Trunk

The figures on the right represent their hard work as women, young women, and young indigenous women. Students hike for hours to attend school because they value education as much as they value their knowledge, culture, and traditions. Indigenous women farmers spend long days under the sun helping their husbands with post-harvest tasks. Some even leave their homes early to tend their farms and check crops. They go the extra mile to support their families. It's what keeps their lives and their culture intact.

The Branches

The figures on the left represent their culture; language, art, bayenihan, and dance. Their hard work branches out into their cultural expression. While they embrace formal education, they also preserve their heritage by encouraging creativity, skills, and talent within their communities.

In their schools, Subanen language, Subanon, is taught to pre-school students. They even translated Lupang Hinirang into Subanon which the students sang during their April 2025 graduation. On weekends, MSMI runs a School of Living Traditions, where students learn to play instruments, dance to traditional songs, and use these artforms to tell their stories.

Bayenihan is practiced. One figure on the left shows four girls lifting heavy rocks as part of a task given by Teacher Bing Bing. Initially, carrying 2-3 rocks each, they later realized they could carry more by placing the rocks on a piece of cloth; problem-solving in action!

Values are taught not only to children but also their parents. Every school day, a team of parents (randomly selected regardless of gender) prepares lunch for the students. This system also challenges and breaks traditional gender roles.

The Roots, the soil, and their hands

Beneath the tree's roots are hands, symbolizing the foundation of their lives. These hands ensure their families eat at least once a day. They sow and harvest their own land, and eat what they grow. Their food and their lives are rooted in their land.

With the ongoing threat of the climate crisis, it is the stewards of nature who hold the knowledge to care for our environment, like what most of our indigenous peoples do. They must be given the opportunity to share their solutions. Just as Ate Wing and MSMI care for the balete trees, so too must we listen to and value the voices of indigenous peoples. Their knowledge, culture, and traditions should not be feared. They must not only be preserved within their communities but shared more widely. Indigenous women should be given space to tell their stories and we should be there, ready to listen and learn.