Monday, October 29, 2007
Good day to all who may have a chance to read this article.
Yesterday's feature was a simple introduction of the term pagta.
In today's article, the author traces how the codified pagta came into being and how it differs from the civil contracts.
To begin, a friend of mine told me that "Necessity is the mother of all inventions."
I believe inventions are not limited to building a machine in order to do something faster or for some other purposes. I believe that invention includes, but is not limited to, creation of ideas (written or unwritten), and drafting or forging covenants from such ideas that were never tried or tested before.
Head-hunting was then a favorite strategy during a tribal conflict among the tribal members of the i-Bontoc tribe of Bontoc Mt. Province, Philippines. Due to the lives this strategy in tribal warfare has ravished, and the disturbance and unpeaceful combats, the warring tribes cease their war by entering into agreements called pagta, the terms of which are unwritten.
On the side, the History of Buddhism reveals that Buddha's teachings were passed on to his disciples by word of mouth.
So too with the pagta - both rules were then unwritten. The only difference was that the Buddha's rules were from a single person; whereas the pagta was a product of two warring tribes who wished to cease the war by forging a pagta with each other. The pagta therefore is voluntarily entered into by the parties; unlike with the teachings of the sage, which were imposed by their teacher, Buddha.
In addition, the origin of pagtas may be traced back as far as the early conception of the i-Bontoc tribe of Bontoc, Mt. Province, Philippines. These Igorots (meaning, people who dwell at the mountains, from the term, "gorot" or mountain, and "i" referring to "man" as distinguished from the Tagalogs or "taga- ilogs") did not develop a system of writing.
Pagta was a creation brought about by the sufferings due to the tribal wars at Kalinga Province, the origin of which wars may be traced as far back when head-hunting was then a favorite strategy among the warrior tribal group of i-Bontocs of Bontoc, Mt. Province.
Mt. Province is not very far from Kalinga Province if we trace their distance by the mountains that separate them.
Hence, when the invaders enter a new land, conflicts between the invading tribe with the possessors of that certain territory is natural.
Upon the resolution of the conflict, the agreements, embodying the terms and conditions of each tribe, were made orally. These are the pagtas.
The problem with this kind of agreements is the simple fact of life that the people are forgetful. Thus in one acse decided by the Supreme COurt of the Philippines, it has been said in relation with the Statutes of Frauds that "the faintest ink is far better than the sharpest memory."
Unlike unenforceable contracts, the pagta is enforceable in the tribal council of elders. However since the pagtas were then unwritten, they were broken as soon as the warring tribes forget the terms and conditions they imposed bilaterally upon and among themselves.
This lone fact may be the key factor why the Provincial government of Kalinga codified the so-called "pagta" by collecting the said unwritten rules from selected elders of the different tribes representing the tribal groups of the Province.
This way, whenever conflicts arise between the tribal members of the Province, a ready reference could be had at an instant.
In this article, we have seen that it is important that the parties, at least write their agreements, so that in case of conflicts of interests, they may refer to their agreement and resolve the problem smoothly, should the parties intended in good faith to follow their agreement.
Respecting the mind of the other party is the heart of true pagtas.
It is the hope of this writer that as we progress in our study of pagtas, that we may see the wisdom behind settling conflicts in an amicable manner, thereby respecting the mind of the other party.
The return the practice of pagta as the mainstream of conflict resolution, the same being an amicable way of resolving conflicts and not by way of litigation, is most recommended.
Yesterday's feature was a simple introduction of the term pagta.
In today's article, the author traces how the codified pagta came into being and how it differs from the civil contracts.
To begin, a friend of mine told me that "Necessity is the mother of all inventions."
I believe inventions are not limited to building a machine in order to do something faster or for some other purposes. I believe that invention includes, but is not limited to, creation of ideas (written or unwritten), and drafting or forging covenants from such ideas that were never tried or tested before.
Head-hunting was then a favorite strategy during a tribal conflict among the tribal members of the i-Bontoc tribe of Bontoc Mt. Province, Philippines. Due to the lives this strategy in tribal warfare has ravished, and the disturbance and unpeaceful combats, the warring tribes cease their war by entering into agreements called pagta, the terms of which are unwritten.
On the side, the History of Buddhism reveals that Buddha's teachings were passed on to his disciples by word of mouth.
So too with the pagta - both rules were then unwritten. The only difference was that the Buddha's rules were from a single person; whereas the pagta was a product of two warring tribes who wished to cease the war by forging a pagta with each other. The pagta therefore is voluntarily entered into by the parties; unlike with the teachings of the sage, which were imposed by their teacher, Buddha.
In addition, the origin of pagtas may be traced back as far as the early conception of the i-Bontoc tribe of Bontoc, Mt. Province, Philippines. These Igorots (meaning, people who dwell at the mountains, from the term, "gorot" or mountain, and "i" referring to "man" as distinguished from the Tagalogs or "taga- ilogs") did not develop a system of writing.
Pagta was a creation brought about by the sufferings due to the tribal wars at Kalinga Province, the origin of which wars may be traced as far back when head-hunting was then a favorite strategy among the warrior tribal group of i-Bontocs of Bontoc, Mt. Province.
Mt. Province is not very far from Kalinga Province if we trace their distance by the mountains that separate them.
Hence, when the invaders enter a new land, conflicts between the invading tribe with the possessors of that certain territory is natural.
Upon the resolution of the conflict, the agreements, embodying the terms and conditions of each tribe, were made orally. These are the pagtas.
The problem with this kind of agreements is the simple fact of life that the people are forgetful. Thus in one acse decided by the Supreme COurt of the Philippines, it has been said in relation with the Statutes of Frauds that "the faintest ink is far better than the sharpest memory."
Unlike unenforceable contracts, the pagta is enforceable in the tribal council of elders. However since the pagtas were then unwritten, they were broken as soon as the warring tribes forget the terms and conditions they imposed bilaterally upon and among themselves.
This lone fact may be the key factor why the Provincial government of Kalinga codified the so-called "pagta" by collecting the said unwritten rules from selected elders of the different tribes representing the tribal groups of the Province.
This way, whenever conflicts arise between the tribal members of the Province, a ready reference could be had at an instant.
In this article, we have seen that it is important that the parties, at least write their agreements, so that in case of conflicts of interests, they may refer to their agreement and resolve the problem smoothly, should the parties intended in good faith to follow their agreement.
Respecting the mind of the other party is the heart of true pagtas.
It is the hope of this writer that as we progress in our study of pagtas, that we may see the wisdom behind settling conflicts in an amicable manner, thereby respecting the mind of the other party.
The return the practice of pagta as the mainstream of conflict resolution, the same being an amicable way of resolving conflicts and not by way of litigation, is most recommended.
