My name is Denis Binguet and everything that i am

My name is Denis Binguet and everything that i am. I am not only come from my experience growing up in  the Philippines but it is  a land as i call my own and which my parents legacy stems from.Kabunian works in my mysterious ways and its amazing how in the search to learn my own IGOROT heritage i would meet, ancestors and our heritage to the utmost with much thanks to KABUNIAN. God, the controller of the Universe or what ever name you'd like to use to describe   the bigger picture, the almighty and great spirit.There is a growing pride in the indigenous cultures of the Philippines. I know it wasn't  like this, but i've realized that understanding  my Igorot heritage has come full circle,as do most  things. The oppression and ethnic discrimination that has been directed towards igorots, even from their fellow islanders and the unconcious colonial mentality ways, without truly understanding that notwithstanding all the oppurtunities the west could bring, it would never amount or equate in value as to the rich beauty of their own culture and ancestry.It is because our ancestry that we are even here, In all that we are, inside and out is our legacy from our ancestors.As such, it is our responsibility to honor them. Likewise, as every Igorot traces his roots, it is because every child deserves to know who his ancestral clan was.Children and young people deserve to have and to know there legacy and we are all responsible for it. We are not a people without a history or a people merely trying to catch up with the trends and globalization of the west. It is  for these reasons that I, wanted to understand my family's heritage.I believe that there are directions wa can take to help guide us to our roots. It only takes a bit of listening, fascination,and curiousity to spark an interest to find out where one's family came from. I knew that it was not an accident and not on this planet by mistake so it sparked my curiousity to find out what was my family's legacy.In order to find out more i had to go back. I had tio make  the connections and think critically and ask myself questions, such as why I am not in a Roman Catholic  Church like my other friends? Why i am in  the Episcopal Church? Why does my parents dance with their arms that way? Why do my friends families speak  tagalog and know how to dance Tinikling dance and we don't . As time went on i was able to piece the  puzzle together to a certain degree so that i could understand and have great pride in who i am.I was born and lived because  in our lineage lived out with some type intention to raise a family and a legacy continued after they passed. How can we ever forget and not appreciate this connection? Hence,. I learned from my family and Decat family around the world to find out, remember and honor those who came before us. There is still much work to be done but i hope that this  short article open up our minds of those not only with Igorot ancestry but those who want to reconnect right a way of life that is still dynamic and alive, very spiritual,and not a distant memory.We learn to respect the process of creation and creativity when we recognize the intention in which our ancestors taught to us.When we loose this connection it is easy to be vulnerable to the garbage of the western world and to the negatives that may ruin our potentialsd to passs down other great parts of our legacy to the next generation.