In pursuit of progress : narratives of transformation on a Philippine Island

Abstract

'Development' is one of the central organising metaphors of our times. As a global project, not only does it order human history and difference into an encompassing narrative but dreams and schemes both grand and small are forged in its name the world over. Post-development critiques opened new insights into dominant Western discourses of development but these, in turn, prompted calls for more nuanced work into the cultural politics of development in specific localities. This thesis responds to this call. It takes as its point of departure the finding from an emerging field within the anthropology of development that notions of development are not singular and monolithic but vary across localities as global and local ideas articulate. It explores meanings, myths and practices of development, and its counterparts progress and modernisation, on the province-island of Siquijor in the Philippines. Siquijor is a small rural island in the Central Visayas region of the archipelago. Throughout the Philippines the name Siquijor conjures thoughts of an isolated place little touched by progress; a realm of primitive 'black magic' or a haven of unspoilt white beaches, depending on one's view. Away from these external caricatures, dynamics on the island are more complex. Most islanders subsist on fishing, farming and entrepreneurial activities but migration from the island is increasingly common, bringing with it growing contrasts in wealth and cultural orientation. Development is an important concept on Siquijor, where no fewer than ten words in native and imported vernaculars signal the idea and where myriad international and domestic development projects operate. On Siquijor, development, or kalamboan as the concept is most commonly referenced in the local language, refers not only to community-wide transformation but to personal and familial upward social mobility. As such, this thesis departs from most ethnographies of development and explores the cultural politics of development not only in the space of planned interventions but also in the everyday lives of Siquijodnon. It considers ways in which the notion of kalamboan is implicated in life trajectories, individual and collective identities, explanatory frameworks and visions of the right order of things. This thesis reveals that at the heart of Siquijodnon notions of development is a deep-seated ambivalence. Kalamboan involves increases in material accumulation and consumption and the reconstruction of the self in 'cosmopolitan' terms. On the surface it is unequivocally approved of as good. However, it sits in uneasy tension with a somewhat contending ideal of how one should live, equally extolled. Ang simpiil nga kinabiihi, the simple life, involves contentment in an austere lifestyle and attention to personal relationships. Through the lens of the former, the latter appears decidedly deficient. Underlying these ideals are divergent notions of how economic relationships should be ordered; according to norms of 'moral economy' or market-based liberalism respectively. I argue that in their tendency to promote liberal notions of development, international projects often work to eclipse other ways of thinking about the good life. Show more