Rido: Clan Feuding and Conflict Management in Mindanao ed. by Wilfredo Magno Torres III (review)

The long quest for peace in Mindanao is complex, involving historical, political, economic, and personal layers of conflict. Among these is rido, a violent feud that involves entire clans warring against each other in a cycle of violence that could last decades. Rido cuts through all the layers of conflict, silent and simmering until the merest incident ignites a conflagration that could affect other forms of armed violence, such as an insurgent war, and trigger a bigger confrontation. The editor of this volume, Wilfredo Magno Torres III, an anthropologist working on conflict management, explains that the phenomenon of rido, “characterized by sporadic outbursts of retaliatory violence between families and kinship groups as well as between communities,” “frequently occurs in areas where government or a central authority is weak and in areas where there is a perceived lack of justice and security” (3). The book presents the results of a project conducted by the Asia Foundation to study the people’s perception of the rido, obtained through group discussions and community meetings. At the same time, it is a deeply moving and powerful account of the lives of those who have been affected by the protracted violence, and the honesty and vulnerability that emerge from the personal essays should compel other individuals and institutions, particularly politicians, to reexamine their own roles.

This book is an expanded edition of the 2007 publication, which is intended “to carry the story forward to the present.” The new material is found primarily in Part Two, a significant collection of essays that examine the dynamics of rido and propose steps toward its resolution. The editor’s own contributions are no less enlightening, both being a comprehensive overview of the rido phenomenon and of the various approaches that may work toward attaining peace. Ridoremains a compelling work in the understanding of the deep social and cultural aspects of clan-based conflict. The epilogue on the mitigation of localized conflict is a particularly valuable guide to the complex path of understanding the interwoven conflicts in local political units. Clan wars are not confined to Muslim groups, although the highest number of rido incidents has been recorded in the predominantly Muslim provinces of Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Lanao del Norte, and Sulu. Any serious effort by government or nongovernment entities to institute an action program for conflict resolution will be served by the insights and procedures offered in this book.

The sixteen essays are divided into two parts, the first being composed of studies on the concepts of rido, its characteristics, consequences, and mediation efforts. Qualitative data are presented on aspects of rido such as the municipalities with rido; the causes of rido by ethnic group; its consequences; the profiles of victims, assailants, and mediators; the number of rido cases by year; and various other information. The essays present their own insights on the cases discussed, but some are more detailed and contextualized than the others. For example, the inventory of existing rido in Lanao del Sur from 1994 to 2004 provides an excellent summary of Maranao sociopolitical conditions, identifying the process by which the people have come to live simultaneously under two types of political organizations, the modern state of the Philippine republic and the indigenous system of territorial and political communities known as phangampong. One can recognize this dichotomy in any of the ethnolinguistic Philippine groups, exhibiting a modern Westernized exterior yet deeply traditional within. The parallel systems can work together in resolving feuds, but they can also be a source of conflict as when land ownership systems differ: communal and ancestral as against private and titled, producing violent intra-clan disputes.

The second part presents the efforts of various groups and individuals to work for peace. The essays are more reflexive and offer more conceptual analyses of feuds, arms, and mediation. The first two essays in the second part could not have been written...