Dallot: Indigenous Educational Pedagogy for a New Generation

• In Event: Decolonizing Educational Research: Re-Storying How We Empower and Transform Filipina/x/o Communities

Abstract

Objectives
The purpose of this study was to understand dallot as a culturally sustaining methodology and pedagogy rooted in indigenous espistemology. This indigenous traditional practice of an Ilokano oral performance technique provided insights on how its methodological and pedagogical implications can impact Iloko students' learning, connection to their heritage identity, strengthen a greater sense of self, and commitment to the community. This study examined the following questions: (1) What is the role of dallot as an oral form of poetry in the creation and reification of Ilokano identity? (2) How can dallot be used as pedagogy for student learning and engagement?

Theoretical Framework
The theoretical framework used for this study was indigenous epistemology as it asserts indigenous being and knowing (van Meijl, 2019) and culturally responsive and sustaining teaching, which allows students to make meaning and engage with their learning (Paris & Alim, 2017). Dallot is an indigenous methodology which has components that impact Iloko identity and knowledge gathering and engagment. Strobel (2015) suggests that in order to support the needs of Filipina/x/o Americans there is a need to connect them to their historical and cultural knowledge. As a result, there is a need to use indigenous epistemologies in forms like the dallot to connect students to culturally responsive and sustaining pedagogies.

Methodology and Methods
Pakasaritaan was chosen as the methodology and method for this study because it closely aligned to dallot. Pakasaritaan is an Iloko indigenous methodology of qualitative narrative inquiry, which provided the opportunity for participants to share knowledge and history (Soria, 2012). Pakaksaritaan delved into understanding the experiences of practitioners of dallot and their personal stories and lived experiences (Agcaoili, 2006). Pakasaritaan used the voices of the practitioner as source and history. The voices of all participants, including the researcher, were equal so everyone could co-construct and add to the greater story. The study utilized sarita (speaking) and sukisok (research) to enable knowledge to surface.

Results
Three generations of Dallot practitioners were interviewed examining four major components of their practices: learning, preparation, performance, and teaching. Qualitative data were analyzed for themes and revealed that dallot 1) embodied and carried Iloko culture and identity 2) was significant in connecting and engaging with the community 3) was essential for the revival of Philippine indigenous methodologies for learning 4) must be modeled to teach new generations of Iloko the practice and process of dallot, and 5) needed to blend with new practices of performance poetry (spoken word) to connect with various Iloko generations.

Scholarly Significance
This study is one of the few studies that examines Philippine indigenous methodologies for its transformative potential as a pedagogical tool in teaching students of Iloko ancestry in the diaspora. It reveals the transformative potential to support other ethnic groups and indigenous cultures in the study of their indigenous methodologies and practices.

Author

• Michelle Levine Aquino, University of Hawai‘i at Manoa