Southeast Asia is a region of diverse indigenous groups (Asia Indigenous Peoples’ Pact, 2010). However, the Southeast Asian IP groups, are often left behind, chiefly in their vital role in the national consultation process (Amnesty International, 2020; Minority Rights Group International, 2020). Scholars, researchers, civil society advocates, and policymakers argue that their presence in our society is enriching for all, and that we must learn from and with IP groups in a spirit of mutual encounter and engagement, principally for theory construction. Despite this, IP communities remained marginalized, discriminated, and victimized. (IWGIA, 2020). Moreover, what is the value of (premodern/precolonial) indigenous spirituality and traditional knowledge – now usually referred to as indigenous knowledge, skills, practices and spiritualities (IKSPS) – in formulating Southeast Asian theories, particularly for purposes of critical knowledge production? To address this question, I will explore one of the underrated theologian-anthropologists Carlito “Karl” Gaspar who has lived and worked with indigenous communities or indigenous peoples (IPs) in Southern Mindanao in the last half-century (1972-2020). Gaspar’s works build on his long engagement with indigenous people’s struggles for recognition of their rights in solidarity with their struggle for self-determination (Gaspar, 2008; Gaspar, 2010; Gaspar, 2011). That said, this paper is divided into three parts. The first part will introduce the anthropological and theological works of Gaspar as a latent decolonial approach or a possible epistemic reconstitution of doing theory in Southeast Asia (Smith, 2012; De Sousa Santos, 2014; Ndlovu-Gatsheni, 2018; Mignolo, 2018; Dey, 2019). Recognizing Gaspar’s anthropological works as a decolonial option, the second part will attempt to address the main question: what is the value of (premodern/precolonial) indigenous spirituality and traditional knowledge in formulating Southeast Asian theories, particularly for purposes of critical knowledge production? The third part will provide a short conclusion.
Keywords: Decoloniality, Epistemic Reconstitution, IndigenousSpirituality, Knowledge Production, Traditional Knowledge
Day 2 (May 28, Fri HK/SG time / British Summer Time (BST) / Central European Summer Time (CEST))
Panel 6: Beliefs in Theory
9-10:30pm HK/SG / 2-3:30pm BST / 3-4:30pm CEST / 9-10:30am EDT / 6-7:30am PDT