Impressions By Rose A. Bawing-Nabert
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4th Igorot Cordillera BIMAAK-Europe (ICBE) Consultation
Dublin, Ireland
17-20 May 2007
Impressions
By Rose A. Bawing-Nabert
Dear Yvonne,
You ask about impressions...can not all put them in a small package. We had a great time, we missed out on Tipperary, however, there were also a lot of activities we wanted to experience in Dublin. There will be other times, for sure or if not in this lifetime, in my karma!
Trust everyone is well. I took a bad case of the flu and am still fighting it. Please excuse the late response to your request.
“Time and place- our bridgehead to reality
But also its concealment” Carrick Revisited, Louis McNeile
Cead Mile Failte. What a most fitting and wonderful welcome the BIBAK Ireland Organization afforded us. Thank you and congratulations for putting up a great consultation.
We reprocessed our past through the prism of recollection and linked the Irish and Igorot oral tradition of story telling, song, gong playing and dance with the hope we have a better understanding of what these may mean. The occasion provided (thank you, ICBE) not only to celebrate our past and present but also to plan the future...looking ahead. What can we do for others, ourselves, our earth, etc? The discussions were vibrant and sensitivities were put aside for the greater collective good. I was impressed. The younger and older generations took counsel from each other. There is hope indeed! I left with a feeling and I mentioned this to those with us that if there is one thing to take home other than the memories, it was the sharing of ideas and thoughts without malice. We cemented old friendships and found new others.
We look forward to Germany, and our Igorot with a German twang, Rhino, with enthusiasm to exciting activity ahead.
Thank you, BIBAK Ireland and ICBE for sharing your country, its people, history, culture, etc and the friendship we formed (not to mention the pub crawls!). By the way, you guys were so engrossed in roasting Patrick you did not see the hopping tiny leprechaun spreading the good luck dust upon us all. Honest, he winked at me and said to let you all know after we all go home! I do think there is a link between Igorots and Dubliners.
“All these people, alive or dead are civilized.” Ulster writer Michael Langley.
So may I then close by sharing this Irish Blessing:
May the road rise up to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
May the rains fall soft upon your fields,
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the Palm of His Hand.
Aditako bokodan di gawis ya wasdin di menlamlamnin,
Rose A. Bawing-Nabert
Toronto