TRANSMOGRIFICATION OF THE SHARED AND COLLECTIVE IDENTITY OF THE TANDULA-NEN TAGBANUA THROUGH LIVED EXPERIENCES NARRATIVE

Abstract

This study examines the transformation of Tandula-nen Tagbanua identity in Palawan, through their narratives of lived experiences, situating identity as a dynamic process rather than a fixed legal category. Tandula-nen social life was anchored in inogtula-nen or story centered on the tibor, a sacred jar imbued with spiritual authority and customary law. These stories functioned as the foundation of collective identity, regulating social order, land relations, and moral conduct before the mainstream interventions. Using an ethnographic approach, this research draws on ordinary encounters, conversations, and storytelling with the Katigulangan(elders) and Indigenous Peoples Mandatory Representatives (IPMRs) across  Tandula-nen settlements. The study locates identity not in territorial permanence but in narrative continuity, tracing how identity shifts from place- and object-centered into shared lived experiences of displacement, migration, and engagement with imposed law. The findings show that the Tandula-nen identity, from a singular, place-based identity symbolized by the tandol, is transformed into a plural yet collectively held identity carried across spaces and presently symbolized by the stone. This transformation diverges from the fixed and general definition of indigeneity imposed by the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA). While the law provides legal recognition and land claim rights, it simultaneously constrains Indigenous self-determination by standardizing identity.