The Magbukon Literary Arts among the Aetas of Bataan, Philippines

Abstract

Magbukon is the indigenous dialect of an Aeta tribe in Bataan which is potentially extinct due to cultural erosion as a result of tribe’s assimilation with the lowlanders. Using ethnographic approach, this study focused on the preservation of Aeta Magbukon oral tradition as a means of preserving their language. Their literary arts are preserved only by oral tradition and being transferred by the elders to the younger generation. The researcher is afraid that if these literary arts are not properly documented and published the sooner, it will vanish forever together with their native dialect. Thus, this study is twofold, preserving the language and preserving the oral heritage which have the same impact of importance and has received a great deal of support from many civilized countries including the UNESCO that spent a lot of resources to safeguard the many endangered languages and oral heritage around the world. As this study gains acceptance and credence from both the simple and the prudent, the education and wisdom encompassed in the language under study will have an explicit possibility of incessant transfer to the younger age group, thus, an extensive and positive reception of the culture and its people as a whole. KEYWORDS - Language and literature, oral tradition, literary arts, endangered language, language death, indigenous language, ethnography, descriptive design, Bataan, Philippines