OBLIQUE OBSERVATIONS
By Atty. Gilberto Lauengco, J.D.
Two weeks ago, a group of seafarers from Orchid Island, Taiwan made a historic 100-km. voyage across the Bashi Channel to Batanes, Philippines. The voyagers are members of an indigenous cultural community known as the Tao or Yami, who call the Orchid Island their home.
Using a traditional 20-seat canoe built by members of six Tao communities, the voyagers departed from Orchid Island. They embarked on a journey that revived an ancestral maritime connection between the Tao and the Ivatan peoples of Batanes. Centuries ago, the Tao and the Ivatans maintained a consistent trade highway, exchanging various goods across the channel, but this connection was cut by the Spaniards when they drew strict border controls during the time our country was under their colonial rule.
The connection between the Tao and, in fact, even other indigenous groups in Taiwan and the Ivatans of the Philippines has long been the subject of several studies. When I was an official of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO), which maintains the people-to-people cultural and trade relations between the Philippines and Taiwan, there were several activities held in Taiwan that allowed members of the Indigenous communities of Taiwan to interact with representatives from the Ivatan, and I was amazed that they more or less could understand each other. Apparently, the Tao and the Ivatans have an 80 percent linguistic match. This was clear proof of the two groups’ common Austronesian ancestry.
Taiwan has officially promoted the Austronesian theory, which posits that Taiwan is the linguistic and genetic homeland of the Austronesian language family. Taiwan regularly conducts an Austronesian forum that invites members of Austronesian communities from 15 countries, like Indonesia, Samoa, New Zealand, and even the Philippines, to interact and celebrate our common Austronesian lineage. Whether the common Austronesian ancestors came from Taiwan or the other way around, one thing is clear: The tribes are one people separated by history and geography.
By undertaking the long and arduous voyage, the People of Tao seek to emphasize the deep connection between our two people, not just the Ivatans. In an age where many emphasize that which separates us, such as race, ideology, and religion, it is refreshing to see an international effort to establish our similarities. Instead of fighting each other, setting up religious, regional, or even linguistic differences, maybe we can take a cue from the Tao tribe and look for commonalities and the ties that bind us.
