March 28, 2010, I had a chance to go with some colleagues to the famed Zoobic Safari. I was thrilled by the fact that I could ride a jeep inside a tigers' pen and have those tigers jump on the jeep or shake us to fear. But no, nothing happened. At that time in the afternoon, the tigers were tired, lazy and fed up with the many anticipating spectators. It was no thrill neither exciting.
The zoobic safari boasts of a well kept zoo and trained animals. But to my dismay, I found the animals in that zoo in a pathetic situation. Particularly, some animals that the zoo have trained and which they parade, during the weekends. One there was this monkey that demonstrated skills in basketball. The monkey could actually dunk a ball into the goal. This monkey, is held by nylon cord, without a leash on its neck. As the monkey dunks and tumbles, the rope would tighten and wound around the monkey's limbs. Such a show exhibits how animals are treated in that zoo.
Then there goes this parade of albino carabaos. Several of them, painted with zebra stripes, giraffe prints, cow dots etc. I don't find such exhibition a work of art, but rather a deconstruction of what it means to be naturally albino. Such synthetic representation could confuse children who are there watching. It could not be a learning experience for them. Instead, subliminally it gives the idea that people can do anything with nature or its creatures.
Worst of all, the highlight of that zoobic safari trip is that animal parade. But who is there in the animal parade. Just right after the mascots' dance number, here comes a group of aetas in their youth to give a cultural dance number. The announcer said "these are our aeata brothers and sisters who are stewards of nature, to perform their traditional dance". But it was all a cultural deconstruction.
On two grounds i found such presentation culturally demeaning and humiliating for the Filipinos, moreso for our indegenous brothers. First, Aetas are mountain people of north, and that their music, rites and rituals were not accurately presented. The song in which they danced was a muslim inspired song. The aetas are not fire eaters or fire throwers who drinks kerosene and spit them out. The aetas do not wear malongs, neither do they have prince and princesses in their village. It was such a misrepresented representation. A totally disastrous deconstruction of what is genuinely beatiful about the aeata culture. Second, those who paraded the animals were the aetas, pushing the dressed carts and well-clodded animals. If aetas were to be correctly represented as stewards of nature's creatures, then they should have not been presented as "slaves" in a zoo. The representation does not appeal to me as if they are zoo keepers, it comes to strong to me that are there to do the meanest job of pushing an animal cart.
That show was dubbed as animal parade. Then why are the aetas there? They are not animals. What dignity does that show or parade offer for our aeta brothers and sisters. I understand that they earn from that. Does that money compensate to lose their dignity?
I could only watch the faces of these young aetas as they danced. There was no joy during their performance. What I could feel was pity, that we are losing the cultural identity of our roots. As if they have sold their dignity to some little amount of money, because we have never really helped them to make thier culture richer and their home a better place to live in.
It could have been better to have the zookepers parade the animals. I would have been pleased to see how aetas are able to train animals. It would have been more dignifying to see the aetas perform what is authentically indeginous.
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