NCCA and National Museum visit Tinglayan for possible cultural heritage research projects

Tinglayan, Kalinga – A crucial step in safeguarding and preserving the cultural heritage of Tinglayan is currently in the making through research and documentation.

Helping the local government of Tinglayan to do such significant action is a team from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and the National Museum, in which the two showed interest in aiding the LGU to realize one of its goals.

Larae Lactao of the Municipal Tourism Office of Tinglayan relayed in an interview that said team visited various barangays in the municipality from September 23 to 25. These include the barangays of Basao, Bugnay, Luplupa, Bangad Centro, Upper Bangad, Lower Bangad, and Buscalan.

The objective of the visit is to explore possible research projects with focus on culture – tangible and intangible. Those planned to be documented are cultural practices, dances, and musical instruments not just in Tinglayan but also in other subtribes in Kalinga.

As to why the aforementioned barangays were chosen, Lactao said that the seven areas are home to the town’s cultural assets, including traditional rituals, crafts, oral traditions, and historical sites.

With the research projects, the protection of said cultural heritage would be ensured. In addition, the community would be empowered, leading them to take ownership of their legacy.

Pasil and Lubuagan, as shared by Lactao, are also municipalities that are current beneficiaries of the two institutions as there are research projects planned to be conducted there.

Municipal Mayor Sacrament Gumilab, in a separate interview, thanked NCCA and the National Museum for selecting Tinglayan as one of those they considered for the cultural heritage research.

According to him, the documentation would not only help promote the rich cultural heritage of their hometown but would also ensure its preservation.