Transmigration, Transculturation, Tribulation: A Sociocultural Analysis of a Philippine Rural Resettlement Peter A. F. Doelle B. A. (Hons.) University of Tasmania 2008 A Thesis Submitted in Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Humanities University of Tasmania Hobart November 2013 iii DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY This thesis contains no material which has been accepted for a degree or diploma by the University or any other institution, except by way of background information and duly acknowledged in the thesis, and to the best of my knowledge and belief no material previously published or written by another person except where due acknowledgement is made in the text of the thesis, nor does the thesis contain any material that infringes copyright. Peter A. F. Doelle 26 April 2013 AUTHORITY OF ACCESS This thesis may be made available for loan and limited copying and communication in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968 iv ABSTRACT This thesis is an examination of the sociocultural ramifications of the migration / resettlement phenomenon. A rapidly increasing population sharing an affluently disparate world has contributed to an ever-increasing migrancy. A corollary of this migration, in an ethnically heterogeneous world, is that more people than ever find themselves living amid unfamiliar cultures. In consequence of this both settler and host communities are obliged to find modi vivendi with which to achieve harmonious coexistences. There appear to be three trajectories possible in such intercultural encounters: (1) the abandoning of ethnocultural lifeways by way of acculturation, (2) the reification of existing cultures, and (3) the exchanging of cultural values. To what degree individuals or groups are prepared to compromise their ethnic identities or cultural values in achieving modi vivendi is dependent on circumstance. Via an analysis of the sociocultural changes that have occurred in a specific Philippine zone of resettlement I demonstrate that integration into new societies is less fraught where mutual cultural exchange takes place. In the course of the twentieth century the Philippines experienced a ten- fold increase in its population. The demographic imperative – coupled with the recognition by both colonial and independent administrations that an increase in land inventories was required to ensure food security, improve livelihoods, and ameliorate social unrest – created the conditions for the resettlement of millions of Filipinos to less populated regions. However, the Philippine’s polyethnicity dictated that this internal migration would have implications for intercultural accommodations, ones that state planners and bureaucrats had failed to anticipate. To comprehend the complex intercultural interactions that have taken place – and the requisite cultural compromises required in achieving modi vivendi – I have chosen the former state-sponsored resettlement scheme centred on Narra / Palawan1 as a representative model. This thesis analyses the manner and degree of the sociocultural changes that have taken place in heterogeneous populations dislocated by Philippine rural resettlement programs – a process I term transmigration. For many, this internal, inter-island, inter-provincial, rural-to-rural population transfer experience has not 1 The nomenclature ‘Narra / Palawan’ is used deliberately to indicate that both the Municipality of Narra and the Province of Palawan are coterminously linked as zones of transmigration. Furthermore the joint taxonomy is used to avoid confusion. Firstly, the Municipality has adopted the acronym of the former resettlement agency NARRA as a self-designation. Secondly, Narra (Ptercarpus indicus) also represents the national tree of the Philippines. v proved socially onerous – integration into new societies has been unproblematic. I chose the Narra / Palawan resettlement zone to test the hypothesis that interethnic harmony is contingent upon the degree to which individuals and groups are prepared to adapt their lifeways by means of a mutual exchange of cultural particularities – a process I term transculturation. Not all resettlement in the Philippines – as the tribulations of the Mindanao resettlement zone attest – have gone unchallenged. It is the contrary outcomes in intercultural encounters, in both Mindanao and the wider migrancy world, that were at once the catalyst for this study and a means for understanding the potential possible in such encounters. While fieldwork for this thesis was confined to the Municipality of Narra in the Province of Palawan I draw on exemplars of resettlement in the wider world to help decode the observable sociocultural transformations that have occurred in Narra. As reference points the scholarship of others investigating a wide range of archipelagic2 resettlement scenarios has been drawn upon. To comprehend and anchor the progression of cultural change in the Narra ‘contact zone’ I chose as a framing theory the Ortizian concept transculturation in conjunction with that of ethnic identity theory. To determine the trajectory, degree of interaction, rate of change and its ramifications for a wider resettlement world, the thesis poses two fundamental questions: (1) ‘What cultural changes take place among heterogeneous populations disrupted by resettlement?’ and (2) ‘Under which circumstances are transmigrant ethnocultural identities maintained, diminished or amplified during this process?’ Just as cultures are made of continuities and changes, in Narra I discerned that cultural exchange was an ongoing process, one from which observable inferences could be gleaned. Individual interviews and engagement with key informants provided the data that determined Narra as a zone of transculturation. Although the requisite intercultural interaction necessary for harmonious interethnic coexistences has failed to replicate in all resettlement milieux, this thesis suggests that as a model for such coexistences Narra provides an exemplar that is paradigmatic for ongoing migration / resettlement scenarios. 2 I use the term ‘archipelagic’ to represent the Malay Archipelago or insular Southeast Asia, especially Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. While the Philippines and Indonesia in some minds constitute individual Archipelagos, they concomitantly form part of a grander archipelago – the Malay Archipelago. Context will dictate whether the Philippines, Indonesia, or the Malay Archipelago at large is being referred to. To avoid confusion I intend to capitalise the noun ‘Archipelago’ while employing the adjective ‘archipelagic’ in lower case. MAP 1 – INSULAR SOUTHEAST ASIA / MALAY ARCHIPELAGO Source: Google Image / <http://alturl.com/c9qju> vii MAP 2 – THE PHILIPPINES: POLITICAL NB. The South China Sea lies to the west of The Philippines. To the east of Palawan lies the Sulu Sea Source: Google Image <http://alturl.com/2v2um> viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS That this thesis ever saw the light of day is a reflection on those who believed in its worth, and supported me academically, fiscally and emotionally. While the fieldwork for this thesis was undertaken in the Philippines, the genesis of the project occurred as a consequence of a broader regional understanding of the transmigration phenomenon. However, time and fiscal constraints precluded the inclusion of Indonesia and Malaysia in this project, though preliminary journeys to those countries, as well as interactions and communication with academics there, were of immeasurable importance. The project’s journey – punctuated by illness – has been long and arduous, and the forbearance of those associated with its progress and completion is appreciated. Across the academic world there are many individuals to thank, not all of whom I can personally acknowledge here, but who have none-the-less contributed to the thesis’ scope. My Primary Supervisor, Pamela Allen is the person to whom I am most indebted. As well as guiding the research, critiquing the ideas, and scrutinising the writing, Pam’s role in reassuring me through the ‘dark times’ has been invaluable. Words cannot express enough my heartfelt feelings of gratitude for the countless hours she has spent in screening chapter versions, dealing with syntax, and that of general editing, and the advising of further reading. Thanks also go to two further members of my supervisory team, Taufiq Tanasaldy and Dirk Tomsa, whose support from afar was appreciated. In the School of Asian Languages and Studies (SALS) I owe a debt of gratitude to various individuals: Barbara Hartley and Kaz Ross for their initial encouragement to embark on this project; Nicole Tarulevicz, Ayxem Eli and the wider academic staff for advising on a range of pertinent issues. I thank the SALS administrative staff for their extensive support. The collegiality of my SALS post- graduate colleagues is greatly appreciated, our similar journeys allowing for reciprocal reflection. Within UTAS I offer my appreciation to those who helped provide insight and stimulated thought: among whom I mention Mitchell Rolls and Terry Moore. I am grateful to UTAS for having been chosen as a graduate research candidate and to be awarded the scholarship that has fiscally supported the candidature. I thank also the staff of the Morris Millar Library, especially Scott Wyllie and the Document Delivery team. For those who rendered technical ix support, among them Frank Banks, Jim Hutton, Greg Lee, Paddy McLaughlan and Steve Williams, I am truly grateful. The networking power of the Internet has