The Bat People: Their Material Culture Of Creative Resilience

Abstract

Creativity, resilience, ingenuity, ability to adapt - these are just some traits observed in Filipinos in their everyday lives. These traits can be traced to their cultures of origin which somehow distinguish them from each other. But what if people from different cultures were put in a cramped space and makeshift houses and these traits are prerequisite to achieving a feasible way of life and a functioning community? This study focuses on the “bat people” a community composed of migrants from different provinces in the Philippines who now live under a bridge in Caloocan. It primarily looks into their material culture that emerged from the confluence of their cultures of origin. The researcher stayed with the “bat people” to be able to understand how they make sense of the cohesive culture that was formed in their community from their different cultures of origin. Residents were interviewed to insure that first hand information was given to the researcher. The study will show how the bat people’s creativity and ingenuity were able to adapt to the difficult challenges presented to them by their living condition and helped them manage their resources in order to optimize their uses.