FEATURE | CULTURE
From a Kept Maiden to an Empowered Woman: The Liberty of a Binukot Written by Mdpn. John Rovic T. Lopez Photos by Mdpn. Mark Joseph D. Alovera Illustration by Mdpn. Vincent Jay A. Vigo
T
he algid atmosphere of the film theater damps her skin even more as she gets on stage, receiving her very first Best Actress award for QCinema Film Festival 2017. Deafening applause, blinding lights, and stares of adoration from people like the veteran actress Eula Valdez whom she defeated on the coveted award—these are new for a Panay Bukidnon teenage girl like Jally Nae Gilbaliga. After starring on the full-length film ‘The Chanters’ by director James Robin Mayo, Jally Nae was so proud to represent her culture on the national scene. Her face flashing in the huge screens of Quezon City doesn’t just stand as a representation of the rich culture of the Panay Bukidnon, but also a good scene of liberty—a young woman whose role is supposedly a Binukot (kept maiden) in the tribe, now defies tradition for freedom and opportunities in these modern times. The pre-colonial practice of Pagbukot—where the Panay Bukidnon tribe chooses a beautiful maiden as young as three years old to keep inside the house until she is arranged for a potential husband—is ‘somehow’ put into an end when the last kept maiden, Rosita Silva Caballero of Calinog, Iloilo passed away last 2017. For some, a condign mourning is necessary not just for the death of Rosita but also for the nearing death of the century-old tradition of Binukot. Yet for young girls like Jally Nae, the nightfall of the tradition means a new dawn for their freedom. “Kung binukot timo biskan pagtapak sa lupa indi ka pagsugtan. Pati pagparigus mo dapat gab-i don sa suba para waay it may makakita kanimo.” (If you’re a kept maiden, you are not even allowed to step a foot on the ground. Even your bath should be done on the river at night so that no one can see you.) A binukot is considered as the princess of the tribe. She is given too much attention, care, and prestige that every time she moves from one place to another, she is being carried on a bamboo hammock accompanied by two men in the family so that her feet will not be bedraggled by earth. Her face is covered with sheets of silk so that no one can peek on her. This practice of sheltering women for dowry—to the extent of depriving them their free-will—is far from Jally Nae’s idea of a princess.
UNRAVEL
| THE DOLPHIN 13
