Kalinga-Apayao Province

Kalinga People

By: Patrizia Magpantay

The name Kalinga is derived from the Ibanag and Gaddang “Kalinga” which means “headhunters.” In the past, headhunting was considered noble and it symbolizes bravery. Tatoos, a position symbol which manpower respect and which fair sex admire, are given to warrior s as reward. Thus a “mingol” or warrior enjoys a high status in Kalinga society. This was developed to minimize traditional war and headhunting and serves as an mental home for refilling, upkeep and reinforcement of socialites. Recently, the “bodong” was expanded into a multi-lateral pass peace pact providing a means of strengthening unity in the Cordilleras. Kalinga-Apayao is one of the unique tribe in the Philippines because of the peace pact indigenous socio-political system, how they celebrated their fiesta and their inspired tattoo.

The sharp-crested interlinking mountain peaks, steep side , isolated flat lands, plateau’s and vale characterize the western side while the eastern section is generally rolling with gradually sloping foothills, interlocking wide trail of flat lands and flood plain along its main river. Among land and water forms which constitute potential tourism sights are its waterfalls, hot outpouring, rice terrace and subterranean rivers composed of seven municipalities and one constituent metropolis.

In the Philippines a fete is usually celebrated in barrio or barangays. It is the official vacation of the LGU, the barangay. Filipinos love fiestas. It is a sentence for joy and celebration. A fiesta is of Spanish origin and is usually commemorated in association with a Christian patron nonesuch. Most barangays whose universe have been clustered by Moslem (Moros) and their population is more than that of the Christians, the celebration of the fiesta have been cancelled and replaced with the Hari Raya or Eid al-Fitr. The city or municipality usually have yearly festival where all the barangays participate. The urban center or municipalities grasp contest for the best ice-cream float in parades.

Mambabatok mean value tattoo artist in Kalingan. Some placement of the conception on cleaning woman display their sociable position , such as in Lasoy’s typesetter’s case being the firstborn daughter, but generally speaking, singular female tattoos are not known to have important cultural context. However men’s tattoos are meant to have symbolic significance , as specific motif are saved only for men in rules of order to communicate their bravery, engagement won and how many people they have killed. The tattoo tool themselves are made from an instrument constructed in bamboo and razor sharp lemon sticker s. The aim is marked onto the hide using long strips of straight grass, dipped in simple a mixture of wood coal and body of water. Then thorn tip is submerged in the charcoal solution before rigorously hand tapping the piercing point into the design on the skin. World renowned Apo Rap-Od is the last practicing traditional Mambabatok in the whole region. At 92 years old, time is streamlet out for her to pass on the time honored hand tapping technique and tribal motifs to her 13 year old granddaughter and apprentice. Although locals rarely practice the tattoo tradition today, tourer are currently flocking to Buscalan village to have the last living legend of Philippino artistry scar their skin.

 

 

 

Abra: The Tingguian Tribe

Tinnguian Mothers

By: Aaliyah Hermione Iglesias

   Abra is commonly known because of its notorious records of election-related violence more than any other thing. But on the other hand, you may discover Abra’s uniqueness and creativity. The indigenous highland people called Tingguian Tribe or Itneg are famous in terms of natural dye making, production of bamboo crafts, and colorful textiles.

Abra is a province in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) that is notorious for its records of election-related violence more than any other thing. Development is slow in this province and not much is really happening inside. It is, therefore, not at all surprising that this place is not one of those that would be in your priority of places to see in the Philippines: to mention that you are going to Abra to other Filipinos will surely invite some stare of judgment and even dissent. But how did I, on the other hand, see Abra?

Like most indigenous peoples, the Tingguian live in a web of indigenous systems and lifestyles which makes it impossible to practice a ritual and isolate it from the other aspects of community life. Neither is it advisable to study or see the rituals as responding only to material significance as the people put spiritual and material relevance for the present and the future of the individual or the tribe or ili.

Tingguian village of Namarabar in Penarubia, a town an hour away from the capital Bangued, may found the production of natural dyes from plants. Norma Agaid, a Tingguian elder and the sister of the ‘Father of Philippine Natural Dyes’ Luis Agaid, explained which plants yield what kind of colours: mahogany for red, ginger and jackfruit for yellow, the malatayum plant for indigo, the narra tree for brown, among others. As what I have read in an article, Norma Agaid proudly said, “Of all the mountain tribe in the Philippines, we have the most number of colours. We only get these colours from sources present around us.”

The Tingguian, also called Isneg, are engaged in various crafts. The most important of which is bamboo crafts production. They’re commonly called “The Bamboo Split Weavers.” It is for this reason that Abra is aggressively positioning itself as the “Bamboo Capital of the Philippines.” In additional, in terms of language, their tongue has a big similarity with the prevailing lingua franca of the other tribes who dwell in Muntanyusa, in Apayao, and in Kalinga. The native Itneg language is a South-Central Cordilleran dialect. The term “Tingguian” might have been derived from the ancient Malay word “tunggi” meaning “mountain.” The term “Tingguians” was originally used to refer to all mountain dwellers in the Philippines. The term was earlier used by the Spaniards to refer to all mountain or hill dwellers, such as in Zambales, Bohol, Basilan and Mindanao.

Lastly, Tingguian designs are largely linear and simple, but are assigned with many meanings. Some textiles are reserved for use only during special occasions such as birth-giving, nuptials and harvesting. The vividness of colours in the shroud only suggests the level of mastery they have in controlling the strength of the dyes they make from readily available sources around them. Tingguian Tribe is not popular and common at todays time. Their creativity, talents and skills were not very appreciated, but after reading this essay, did you learn something?

The Negritos Tribe

Negritos

By:Jad Oliver Domingo

The Negritos are a dark-skinned people that are ethnically different from other people in the Philippines that are mostly Malay in origins. The Negritos live in the mountains of Luzon and on the Philippine islands of Palawan, Panay, Negros, Cebu and Mindanao. Also known as the Aeta, Atta, Baluga, Batak, Dumagat, Mamanwa, Pugut. Negritos have dark skin, kinky “peppercorn” hair and little body hair and are small in size. Although they are linked more closely genetically to Asians than Africans, their appearance and traditional lifestyles are similar to that of the Pygmies of Africa. Negritos get almost all they need from the rain forest and never evolved agriculture. Negrito girls and boys of Northern Camarines and part of Quezon blacken their teeth to look attractive. The Negritos of the Philippines are believed to survivors of the original hunter because of their culture and religion.

Negritos are mostly animists but some have been converted to Christianity. Those that are animists have incorporated into their beliefs. All Negrito groups speak Austronesian languages. All the native languages of the Philippines are Austronesian languages. The languages the Negritos speak are usually more closely related to the languages of people that live around them than they are to the languages of other Negrito groups. Most are bilingual, speaking their own language and the language of their non-Negrito neighbors.

Negritos have traditionally lived on of hunting, gathering, fishing, marginal cultivation and symbiotic relationships with neighboring non-Negrito people. Some live in the forest lean-tos made from sticks and grasses and make clothes from the inner bark of trees. Most live in villages.

The traditional religion of all Philippine Negritos is animism Negrito religion is its noticeable lack of systematization. Consequently, it has a secondary place in Negrito ideology. Because the animistic beliefs and practices of Philippine Negritos are individualistic and sporadic, they exert less control over the people’s daily lives than do the religious systems of other, non-Negrito animistic societies in the Philippines. The Agta believe in a single high god and in a large number of supernatural spirit beings that inhabit their surrounding natural environment. Depending on the class of spirit, these various beings live in trees, underground, on rocky headlands, or in caves. two general classes of spirit beings in the Agta hayup creature and anito ghost.

 

Nueva Ecija: The Ilongot Tribe

Ilongot People

 

 

By: Paola Mikhaela O. Odono

Nueva Ecija is the largest province and the biggest rice producer of Central Luzon, also referred to as the “Rice Bowl of the Philippines. Nueva Ecija has many main attractions but they have a tribe called Ilongot or Ibilao tribe. This tribe are known as headhunters, presently there are about 87,000 Ilongots. Ilongots tend to inhabit areas close to rivers, as they provide a food source and a means for transportation. Their native language is the Ilongot Language, currently spoken by about 50,000 people. They can also speak the Ilocano Language.

Nueva Ecija is well known for their intense aggressiveness and cultural conservatism. The people tend to live near tributaries and practice slash-and-burn cultivation. The pattern of housing is dispersed and fortified, for the Ilongot are externally aggressive, traditionally and conservative, and resistant to external cultural pressures. Socially, the families in a locality are loosely grouped into bands called alipan. Like all other Philippines groups, kinship is bilateral and there are no descent groups.

The Ilongot’s Society, informal leadership lies with sons and brothers who have oratorical skills and have acquired knowledge of myths, ceremonies and genealogies. The oratorical skills are known as purun, which women reportedly cannot understand. Disputes are sometimes settled by giving offenders ordeals to establish their innocence. More often than not they evolve into feuds settled through head hunting raids. A death in a household requires a young man in that house avenge it. A pig is sacrificed when headhunters return. Some feuds are settled with negotiations and exchanges.

Ilongot’s Life, they traditionally lived a semi-nomadic life in groups wih around 180 or so members. Each groups is made up of several settlement. Ilongot’s wear plain or dark blue or black loincloths with a colored band around the hips. A long red or blackband is tied around the hands and no shoes are worn. Their handmade guitars are made with human hair for strings. Maybe the Ilongot’s don’t hunt heads anymore? Maybe they do itbacause there is no catgut or steel around to make string for their guitars? Don’t you think so?

 

 

 

Inhabitants of the known Earth

Ifugao People

By: Gianne Beatriz M. Bolario

“I” means “people of” and “pugaw” means “the cosmic earth”. Beyond differences, distinguished by lifestyle but oneness in culture and tradition. The Ifugao tribe is a group of people living in Ifugao province located in the central Cordillera Mountains of northern Luzon. The word “Ifugao” have been derived from the word “Ipugo” which means “from the hill”. According to the Ifugao mythology, “Ipugo” is a type of rice grain given to the people by the God of Grains, Matungulan. Empathically, Ifugaos are known to be the Inhabitants of the known Earth because of their source of livelihood, religious beliefs and practices and visual arts and crafts.

To the ifugao people, Rice Terraces is one of their important landscapes as a source of nourishment for their lives. It is an enduring symbol of a people’s resilience against nature’s disturbances. The rice culture of the ifugao people requires tremendous skill that was passed down from generation to generation. Ifugao culture revolves around rice, considered a prestige crop. That diversification in agriculture, of rice-growing while cultivating indigenous edible shells, fruit trees, and root crops, has been exhibited among Ifugaos for generations, reflecting their awareness in diversified but sustainable farming.The Ifugao people value the foremost reason for maintaining this relic of the ancient past. The Ifugao Rice Terraces serves as their daily livelihood so the people maintained this not merely as production areas but also for the sentimental reasons that these landscapes have been passed down from their ancestors.

The Ifugao religious beliefs and practices are conveyed in various rituals performed by the Ifugaos for any occasions. One important practice is the agba rite. The agba rite is practiced for the sick, comes in two forms: the crossing of the stick, and the balancing of the egg, bean and spheroidal object on a knife blade. In crossing the stick, the name of the deity is mentioned, in which the stick is believed to grow longer. On the other hand, the buyun, the egg stands on the knife’s edge. Accordingly, it is important to determine which class of deity caused the illness. Since, invoking cost much. Lastly, the death and burial practices of the Ifugao. The death and burial rite involve several steps: the wake over the corpse, which is tied to a chair; the cutting of the string tied to the finger of the widow and the finger of the corpse; the procession to the place of the burial; the walling up of the corpse in the burial-place; and the ceremonies to get rid of the dead person’s soul. Prayers to the Gods and telling of myths accompany most of these steps.

Weaving is the main task of Ifugao women. Traditionally, weaving is done for the family’s needs, but it is also done for commercial purposes. Girls have learned how to weave by means of helping their mom or their older sister, and by actual training under an elder woman. Weaving instruments are made by menfolk. Weaving is a long process and should be done with a lot of patience beginning with the preparation of the materials; spinning; winding or known as iwalangan; dyeing; warping the cotton threads; and finally, the actual weaving itself, which involves two women or girls who will operate the weaving loop. The Ifugao are known to have a hanging cloth in front and at their back. The traditional Ifugao wear for men is called the wanno or G-string. The part that encircles the body is worn high and tight. The ends hang loose in front and at the back. These are rarely tucked in the G-string when the men work in the fields. The wanno is made of dark blue cloth with a red stripe overseeing lengthwise in the middle between two yellow lines. Weaving is not just the main craft represented by the Ifugao, but rather, the Ifugao practices bantok or tattoing. They usually tattoo all the parts of their body except their back and feet, tattoos on their body represent strength.

Ifugaos are known to be the inhabitants of the known Earth because of their daily livelihood, architecture and community planning, and visual arts and crafts. Ifugao: People of the Earth, gives positive contribution in the abode we live in. Ifugao people introduces their culture to the greater Filipino community in a new and positive light by means of their traditional Ifugao culture, through rituals and the preservation of the Rice Terraces. If the Ifugao people can survive and grow their own heritage, why not other people of modern Filipino society?