Agta Foragers: Alternative Histories,and Cultural Autonomy in Luzon

This paper looks at how the Agta are perceived by non-Agta and the relevance such perception has on Agta involvement in logging, environmental conservation, evangelical Christianity, and hosting their admirers: the anthropologists. We focus on two groups of Agta: (1) the people of the municipality of Palanan, site of the World Bank and Dutch government funded Sierra Madre Wilderness Park, and (2) the people of Maconacon north of Palanan, the location of a defunct logging operation, missionary effort, and Armed Forces Philippines/New People's Army struggle. While inundated with outside pressures, the Agta people are increasingly asserting their own identity and becoming active players in a global and post-colonial context. We suggest that the Agta are not completely subordinate to their petty capitalist and farming neighbours. While the Agta are participants and consumers of global culture, they have retained a degree of cultural autonomy and an ability to create their own history.