Tag: Philippines
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Rooted and Unapologetic: Embracing Indigenous Pride in Southeast Asia
Indigenous identity in Southeast Asia has been historically devalued, leading many native people to suppress who they are. Pride must endure even when it is questioned, mocked, or dismissed by more economically affluent migrant communities. According to UNESCO, indigenous peoples across the Asia-Pacific region have faced sustained cultural marginalisation that pressures them to abandon language,…
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Southeast Asia’s Hidden Hierarchy: Indigenous Disadvantage, Chinese Dominance
Walk through the skyscraper-filled skylines of Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Jakarta, Bangkok, or Ho Chi Minh City, and a pattern emerges that is almost too obvious to mention. The banks, conglomerates, ports, plantations, and industrial empires are disproportionately controlled by ethnic Chinese families, often long-settled, naturalised citizens who dominate sectors that shape national economies. Meanwhile, the…
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The Austronesian Tide: How Seafaring Genius Gave Birth to Asia’s Maritime Civilisations
Long before recorded history, before the rise of Srivijaya or Majapahit, before Chinese merchants and Indian traders reached the archipelagos, the seas of Southeast Asia were already alive with movement. This was the world of the early Austronesians, a maritime civilisation rooted in Island Southeast Asia, whose seafaring knowledge shaped migrations, trade routes, and later…
The Indigenous Narrative 