Contents Acknowledgments ix Preface x Preface to the Expanded Edition xii Introduction 3 Wilfredo Magno Torres III PART ONE 1 Survey of Feuding Families and Clans in Selected Provinces in Mindanao 30 Jamail A. Kamlian 2 Dynamics and Management of Rido in the Province of Maguindanao 44 Abhoud Syed M. Lingga 3 Inventory of Existing Rido in Lanao del Sur (1994–2004) 64 Moctar I. Matuan 4 Management of Clan Confict and Rido Among the Tausug, Magindanao, Maranao, Sama, and Yakan Tribes 90 Ofelia L. Durante, Norma T. Gomez, Ester O. Sevilla and Howard J. Mañego 5 Responses to Interkin Group Confict in Northern Mindanao 118 Erlinda Montillo-Burton, Moctar Matuan, Guimba Poingan and Jay Rey Alovera 6 Understanding Inter-ethnic Conficts in North Cotabato and Bukidnon 155 Guiamel Alim, Jose Bulao Jr., and Ismael G. Kulat 7 Management and Resolution of Rido Among Meranao in Baloi, Lanao del Norte: Case Studies 170 Monalinda Emperio Doro 8 Big War, Small Wars: Te Interplay of Large-scale and Community Armed Conficts in Five Central Mindanao Communities 220 Jose Jowel Canuday 9 Te Celebrated Cases of Rido in Maguindanao and North Cotabato Samsodin C. Amella and Norhaya K. Sumaluyan 254 from United Youth for Peace and Development 10 A Personal Refection 267 Samuel K. Tan PART TWO 11 Tausug and Corsican Clan Feuding: A Comparative Study 306 Gerard Rixhon 12 Kalis and Armalite: Symbols of Weapons and Meanings of Violence in Tausug Society 326 Alber A. Husin 13 Inclusive Peace in Muslim Mindanao: Revisiting the Dynamics of Confict and Exclusion 353 Francisco J. Lara Jr. and Phil Champain 14 Clan Wars in Lanao: New Dynamics and Approaches for Confict Resolution and Management 376 Hamidullah Atar 15 “Te Other” No More: My Story of a Peace(ful) Mediation 383 Norma V. Constantino 16 Oreo 391 Haironesah M. Domado Epilogue: Letting A Tousand Flowers Bloom: Rido Management and the Mitigation of Localized Confict 396 Wilfredo Magno Torres III About the Editor and Authors 430 Index 435 A Introduction Wilfredo Magno Torres III his volume presents several studies on feuding or clan confict, popularly Tknown in Mindanao as rido. Tis efort is the result of a coordinated re- search conducted by Mindanao-based civil society organizations and academic institutions with support from the United States Agency for International De- velopment (usaid) and Te Asia Foundation. Te studies variously mapped the incidence of clan conficts in Mindanao and conducted in-depth investigations into the root causes of the conficts, the parties involved, the conditions for their escalation and recurrence, the relationship to other forms of confict, and the potential for confict resolution. Te studies investigated the dynamics of clan confict with the intention of informing and helping design strategic interven- tion to address such conficts. Te studies in this volume deal with a type of violent confict variously re- ferred to as feuding, revenge killing, blood revenge, vendetta, intertribal warfare, and clan confict. Characterized by sporadic outbursts of retaliatory violence between families and kinship groups as well as between communities, this phe- nomenon frequently occurs in areas where government or a central authority is weak and in areas where there is a perceived lack of justice and security. Feuding and revenge killing are common to many societies throughout human history. Depending on the period in history, this phenomenon has been documented in places such as the Balkans, Sicily, Corsica, the Caucasus region, the Middle East, and, in the remoter past, Scotland and the Appalachian region of the United States,1 as well as in some Southeast Asian cultures.2 While there are studies that distinguish between the concepts of feuding and revenge, in this volume, 3 revenge killing and feuding are considered parts of the same continuum. 1 See “Honour” Killings and Blood Feuds in www.gendercide.org 2 Te subject of feuding has often been subsumed under more dominant themes like maritime trading, slave-raiding and head hunting. Some authors have specifcally cited the prevalence of feuding and inter-suku warfare among indigenous communities in Borneo (see King 1993, 83; Singh 2000, 37–38, 53–54). Torres has encountered a history of inter-island feuding in Semporna and Sulu (2006, 282-283). In addition, much like the genealogies of Sulu and Maguindanao sultanates, the Sejara Melayu (Malay Annals) mentions feud- ing among royal families in the Malay peninsula (Bastin 1970, 169). 3 Ginat (1997) and Boehm (1984), for instance, distinguish revenge from a feud. Revenge (or blood revenge) refers to a single killing to avenge a murder, whereas a feud involves a chain of reciprocal murders between rival groups. || 3 || 4 || Rido: Clan Feuding and Conflict Management in Mindanao In the Philippines, feuding between families and clans are also prevalent. Te Cordilleras in northern Luzon is famous for inter-village warfare and “re- venge raids” caused by land and boundary disputes and competing economic interests such as sources of water or frewood.4 Feuding also occurs among low- land Filipinos, a famous example of which was in the Ilocos in the early 1970s between the Crisologo and the Singson clans. Depending on the ethnic group and region, feuding and revenge are known by various terms, such as pangayaw, magahat, or pagdumot among some Lumad or indigenous groups in Mindanao, and pagbanta, pagbunuh, mamauli, kasaop, pagbaos, and lido, ridu, or rido5 among some Moro groups. For the purpose of this book, the confict under focus is referred to as rido, feuding, or clan confict. Rido refers to a state of recurring hostilities between families and kinship groups characterized by a series of re- taliatory acts of violence carried out to avenge a perceived afront or injustice. Rido has wider implications for confict in Mindanao primarily because of the tendency for rido to interact in unfortunate ways with separatist confict and other forms of armed violence. Tere have been many armed confronta- tions involving insurgent groups and the military that were actually triggered by a local rido. Examples of such cases are illustrated in detail in this volume such as the feuds that escalated in Dapiawan (2004) and Linantangan (2005) in Maguindanao that eventually drew in the involvement of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (afp), Civilian Volunteer Organizations (cvos), and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (milf). A more recent case that demonstrates the in- terconnectedness of feuds and large-scale conficts is the Sharif Aguak incident in June 2006 that sparked a major armed confrontation between paramilitary forces under a political clan and some elements of the milf.6 Such hostilities un- derscore the potential of local feuds and third party actors to frustrate the peace process between the government and the milf. Meanwhile, a contrasting inci- dent occurred in January 2006 in the eforts of the milf to mobilize their troops to protect civilians from a raging rido between warring families in Tubaran, Lanao del Sur.7 Without a nuanced understanding of local confict dynamics, such a commendable efort could have easily been misconstrued as an ofensive. 4 See Barton 1949; Dozier 1972; Rosaldo 1980; June Prill-Brett 1987; Toh Goda 1999; Junker 2000. 5 Rido or ridu is a term used by the Meranao, Iranun, and Maguindanao to refer to clan confict or violent retaliation. It must be noted that rido and the phenomenon of feuding is of pre-Islamic provenance. 6 On June 23, 2006, a bomb exploded in Sharif Aguak allegedly intended for the Maguindanao Governor, killing seven members of his convoy. Tis incident sparked a major armed confict that displaced thousands of families and endangered the peace process between the Government and the MILF. Tis incident became a litmus test for the Joint CCCH-IMT mechanism and civil society groups. To contain the violence, a bufer zone was jointly established by the GRP and the MILF (Bantay Ceasefre Report 2006). 7 “Lanao Clan War Kills 10,” Philippine Daily Inquirer, January 6, 2006, page A2. Introduction || 5 Rido is only one aspect in the complex web of violence in Mindanao that includes Muslim separatism, communist insurgency, banditry, and endemic clan confict. Te interaction of these diferent conficts has explosive consequences 8 to the long-running separatist war in Mindanao. Given this context, a deeper understanding of specifc conficts is crucial in disentangling the blurred lines of confict and enable communities and the government to efectively address the problem. Te Mindanao Rido Study the process of engagement Te coordinated study on clan conficts had its origins in late 2002 when Te Asia Foundation supported a household confict survey in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (armm) and adjacent areas on the citizens’ percep- 9 tions of confict. Te survey results showed that while the Muslim-Christian confict in Mindanao dominates the attention of international and local media, clan conficts are actually more pertinent in the daily lives of the people. Citizens are more concerned about the prevalence of clan confict and its negative im- pact on their communities than the confict between the State and rebel groups in Mindanao. Tese fndings, verifed in a more recent survey by the Social 10 Weather Stations in the armm, illustrate the complexity of conficts in Min- danao and encouraged the Foundation to help address the problem. With the assistance of usaid, Te Foundation spearheaded a set of diagnostic activities to help design strategic interventions