Kami Kadto: Retelling Oral Narratives towards Sustaining Philippine Heritage

Abstract

The practice of retelling oral narratives holds a vital role in shaping and strengthening families and communities across diverse cultures. These narratives, often transmitted across generations, serve as vital tools for passing down values, traditions, and shared history—thus, Philippine heritage. This research paper attempts to provide additional empirical evidence from qualitative inquiry and asks about the retelling process of oral narratives on norms and customs in building families and communities in the Philippines. After exploring the retelling process situated in the context of Calabanga, the researcher examined the possibility of transforming the literary piece from text to theater, adhering to theater-in-education principles. The script’s content was based on interviews with selected native senior citizens of the town, who shared the traditional practices and beliefs they followed before entering married life. The story “Kami Kadto” (literally meaning, us before) was written to focus on the traditional course of building a family. It was based on the true-to-life love story of a senior citizen, who revealed the “process” of her love story from courtship to marriage. It also highlighted other significant old beliefs and practices followed in the town. The current investigation not only adheres to the ideals of heritage preservation but also wishes to contribute and bring about novel ways of documenting and transforming oral narratives to suit the varying viewer’s palate for heritage appreciation and education. The need to revive old practices in order to preserve, protect and promote local heritage is encapsulated in the retelling and transformational processes from oral narratives, to written text as script for theater productions and potentially as movies that shall entice young generations of audiences. Overall, the retelling of the script and incorporation of original songs significantly contribute to preserving and celebrating Calabanga’s cultural heritage. This initiative offers opportunities and inspiration for sustained literary tradition, theater practice, and education, highlighting the rich history, culture, and values of the town and the Bikol region.