1980-81
Aerial view Puerto Princesa City, provincial capital
The town of Puerto Princesa is dominated by the catholic 'cathedral', a reminder of the 300+ years of Spanish colonial rule
1980-81
Aerial view Iwahig River
The Iwahig River flows east out of the still forested central mountains of Palawan. It runs through the eastern coastal plain of the island where most of the population is concentrated and where farmers grow crops such as irrigated rice and coconut.
1980-81
Aerial view west coast of Palawan
The west coast of Palawan was still a true frontier in 1980. Small, scattered groups of indigenous Tagbanua had lived in the area for generations but migrant farmers ('lowland' Christians) from other areas of the Philippines began to settle the west coast in the 1950s. To support their families they cleared the dense tropical forest that once covered the region for their farms -- here 'slash and burn' fields with coconut orchards close to the coast.
Indigenous groups such as the Tagbanua are slowly disappearing -- through attrition and intermarriage with lowland settlers -- and the Christian migrants originally from Cuyo and the Visayas now dominate Palawan.
1980-81
Our house
We had this abandoned house repaired (new roof, flooring, etc.) and then paid the owner a rent of $3.50 per month. This seemed pretty reasonable to us, even as impoverished students on a very tight budget, but locals later told us we were paying too much!
As is typical the house is raised on stilts as an adaptation to the climate. Heavy rains would flood a house at ground level and its elevation encourages the flow of air through the house, a design we much appreciated on very hot and humid days.
1980-81
Maggie, our bat-eared Palawan cat
1980-81
Neighbor kids visiting
Our closest neighbors, like these kids, were the indigenous Tagbanua, but people from many different ethnic groups, especially Cuyuon and Visayan, had also migrated into this frontier area beginning in the 1950s.
Talking with kids was a good way to begin learning Tagalog -- children have a simple vocabulary and grammar and they didn't laugh at our mistakes like the adults. Tagalog is the Philippine national language that was used by almost all the people in the community, who spoke several different dialects, as a common language. It took us a long and often frustrating 6 months to gain a basic proficiency in Tagalog so that we could communicate well enough to begin our research.
1980-81
Miriam babysitting
My wife, Miriam Chaiken, and I are anthropologists. We lived in this community for about 18 months in 1980-81 while doing our graduate research.
1980-81
Miriam and Maggie on one of many gloomy and rainy days
The rainy season (May to November) offered a respite from the enervating heat of the dry season but also sometimes gave us days of clouds and rain. We were south of the normal path of typhoons but we still had our share of wind and persistent rain. Our record was 15" of rain over three days. During periods of heavy rains and winds the local fishermen could not go out on the ocean -- so fish, our main source of protein, was often impossible to obtain. At this time of year, we sometimes went hungry, and became very tired of eating meals such as rice and eggplant day after day.
1980-81
Mang Luis and grandchild
Luis Dulce, a Tagbanua elder, was the owner of the house that we rented and our 'father figure' who helped us fit in to the community. Here he is visiting us while looking after one of his many grandchildren.
1980-81
New family
In return for allowing us to interview them about their household history and their lives in Napsaan we took a photo of each family and gave them a copy. Unfortunately, many of our copies of the photos deteriorated over the years ... but this image is one of the survivors.
1980-81
Miss Napsaan -- a talent and beauty pageant
The Philippines was colonized first by the Spanish (1500s to 1900) and then by the United States until 1947. This foreign influence can be seen in many aspects of life even in remote areas such as this.
1980-81
Funeral -- one of many
I encountered this funeral, of two small children who died of measles, the first day I visited the village. A number of young children and elderly people died during our stay and I was designated official funeral photographer (and gave copies of funeral pictures to people as a 'remembrance' of their lost relatives).
