The Ifugao is a group that lives in a mountainous region of north-central Luzon around the of town

Banaue. Also known as the Ifugaw, Ipugao, Yfugao, they are former headhunters who are famous for
their spectacular mountain-hugging rice terraces, the Banaue Rice Terraces. The Ifugao are believed
to have arrived from China around 2000 years ago. Their first contact with the outside world was
through American military officers and schoolteachers early in the 20th century. Communication with
them was made easier when better roads were built to the areas where they live. [Source:
Encyclopedia of World Cultures, East and Southeast Asia edited by Paul Hockings (G.K. Hall &
Company, 1993)]

Facts:

Ifugao Relihiyon

1. Kalahati sa populasyon ng mga Ifugao ang naniniwala sa Kristiyanismo. Kinaugalian na ng mga

Ifugao na paniwalaan na ang mga ispirito na kung tawagin ay anitos ang namumuno sa kanilang buhay.
Mayroong mahigit kumulang 1,500 mahalagang espiritu. Mayroon silang tumpak na lokasyon sa
Ifugao universe at sila ay may mga tiyak na papel at tungkulin. Saklaw nila ang halos lahat ng aspeto
ng buhay: digmaan, kapayapaan, pangingisda, paghabi, ulan, sakit at iba pa.

Ifugao Mitolohiya ng paglikha

2. Ayon sa mitolohiya ng paglikha ng Ifugao, nilikha ng mga diyos ng Ifugao ang kalangitan at
kalupaan sa lupa bago sila nilikha. Noong nalikha na ang mga tao karamihan sa mga Diyos ay walang
interes sa kanila at ang matiyagang diyos na si Wigan-i-abunyan ay nangakong susubaybayan sila.

Relihiyosong Seremonyas ng mga Ifugao

3. A great deal of Ifugao resources are devoted to religious ceremonies that are invoked for
agriculture abundance, hunting success, augury and good omens. As many as 15 priests may be
involved ins a single ceremony.During the myth dramas the priest often utter an unintelligible hum
for as long as five hours. It is not usual for a half dozen pigs, one buffalo and scores of chickens to be
scarified during a ceremony.

Ang napakaraming mapagkukunan ng mga Ifugao ay nakatuon sa mga seremonyang relihiyoso na

hinihikayat para sa kasaganaan ng agrikultura, tagumpay sa pangangaso, pagdami at mahusay na mga
senyales. Umaabot ng 15 ang bilang ng mga paring maaaring kasangkot sa isang solong seremonya. Sa
tuwing may mitolohiya drama, ang pari ay madalas na nagsasalita hangang limang oras ng mga
katagang hindi mailalarawan at maintindihan ng tao. Hindi karaniwan na ang kalahating dosenang
baboy, isang kalabaw at mga marka ng mga manok ay sinasakripisyo para sa isang seremonya.
4. The Ifugao believe that illnesses are caused by deities taking souls in cooperation with ancestors.
Priests treat illnesses through divination and curing rituals. in an effort to get the deity to return the
souls. If the priests fails, the Ifugao believe, the person dies.

Naniniwala ang Ifugao na ang mga sakit ay sanhi ng mga diyos na kumukuha ng mga kaluluwa kasabay
ng pakikipagtulungan sa mga ninuno. Ang mga pari ay gumagamot ng mga sakit sa pamamagitan ng
paghula at panggamot na mga ritwal. Sinisikap ng mga pari na makumbinsi ang diyos upang maibalik
ang mga kaluluwa. Kung nabigo ang mga pari, naniniwala ang mga Ifugao na mamamatay ang tao.

5. During a curing ritual Ifugao priests offer rice beer in wooden spoons to the spirits believed to be
causing the disease. In more elaborate curing ceremonies a shaman in a trances goes to the sky-world
to try to retrieve the souls of the ill person. During important ceremonies the entranced priest calls
ancestors from his clan and uses his body as a medium so they can speak to living relatives. The dead
ancestors drink rice beer through the shamans mouth. When deities are invoked they too drink rice
beer through the priest' mouth. Chants are made.

Sa panahon ng isang nakakagamot na ritwal ng Ifugao mga pari ay nag-aalok ng rice beer sa mga
kahoy na kutsara sa mga espiritu na pinaniniwalaang sanhi ng sakit. Sa mas detalyadong paggamot sa
mga seremonya, ang isang shaman ay pumupunta sa mundong kalangitan upang subukang makuha
ang mga kaluluwa ng taong may sakit. Sa panahon ng mga mahahalagang seremonya ay tinawag ng
pari ang isang ninuno mula sa kanyang angkan at ginagamit ang kanyang katawan bilang isang
daluyan upang maaari silang makipag-usap sa mga buhay na kamag-anak. Ang mganinuno ng mga
namatay ay umiinom ng bigas na beer sa bibig ng mga shamans.

Pista ng mga Ifugao

6. During ceremonies that pay homage to the anitos (spritits) clan leaders wear headdresses adorned
with wild pig tusks, hornbill beaks and feathers and monkey skulls. The hornbill is considered to be
the messenger of the gods and the monkey is a comic symbol.

Sa panahon ng mga seremonya na nagbibigay ng paggalang sa mga anitos (spritits) ang mga pinuno ng
clan ay nagsusuot ng mga headdresses na pinalamutian ng wild pig tusks, hornbill beaks and feathers
and monkey skulls. Ang sungay ay itinuturing na mensahero ng mga diyos at ang unggoy ay isang
comic symbol.

7. During a festival to mark the planting of the crop in March or February the Ifugao hold a ceremony
known as ulpi in which they leave the terraces for a few days and socialize, smoke and drink a palm
liquor called bayah.

Sa isang pagdiriwang upang markahan ang pagtatanim ng ani noong Marso o Pebrero, ang mga Ifugao
ay gumaganap ng isang seremonya na kilala bilang ulpi kung saan iniiwan nila ang mga terraces ng
ilang araw at mikahalubilo, mag-yosi at uminom ng inumin na tinatawag bilang bayah.
7. During the harvest in July they thank the spirits by sacrificing chickens and then study the blood for
omens. If everything is satisfactory the blood is smeared on wooden idols that watch over the grain
supply.

Sa pag-aani tuwing Hulyo nagpasalamat sila sa mga espiritu sa pamamagitan ng pagsasakripisyo ng

mga manok. Kung ang lahat ay kasiya-siya ang dugo ay nilalamas sa mga wooden idols na
nagbabantay sa suplay ng butil.

Pag-aasawa at Pamilya ng mga Ifugao

9. Monogamy is the norm among the Ifugao but some wealthy families practice polygyny. Incest
prohibitions extend to first cousins. Marriage to more distant cousin can only be arranged after the
payment of livestock penalties.

Ang Monogamy ay ang pamantayan sa mga Ifugao ngunit ang ilang mga mayayamang pamilya ay
nagsasagawa ng polygamy. Ang mga pagbabawal sa incest ay umaabot sa mga unang pinsan. Ang
pag-aasawa ng mas malayong pinsan ay maaari lamang ayusin pagkatapos ng pagbabayad ng multa sa
pamamagitan ng mga hayop.

10. Trial marriages between prospective couples is common. Courtship rituals take place at the girls
houses. Wealthy families have traditionally arranged marriages through intermediaries. Families
exchange gifts and maintain close ties after the marriage. Newlyweds often spend some time living
with their parents before setting up housing of their own, often near a large rice field.

Ang mga Trial marriages sa pagitan ng mga mag kapareha ay pangkaraniwan. Ang mga ritwal ng
panliligaw ay naganap sa bahay ng babae. Ang mga mayayamang pamilya ay sumusunos sa kaugalian
na inaayos ang mga pag-aasawa sa pamamagitan ng mga tagapamagitan. Nagpapalitan ang mga
pamilya ng mga regalo upang mapanatili ang malapit na ugnayan pagkatapos ng kasal. Ang mga
bagong kasal ay madalas na gumugol ng ilang panahon sa pamumuhay kasama ang kanilang mga
magulang bago magtayo ng kanilang sariling bahay na madalas malapit sa isang malaking bukid.

11. The men are responsible for building maintaining the terraces while women plant, weed and
harvest the rice. Women use wooden pestles and stone mortars to pound rice into a shape dictated
by ancient tradition. Women also spend many hours weaving fabrics that are unique to their village.

Ang mga kalalakihan ang responsable sa pagbuo at pagpapanatili ng mga terraces habang ang mga
kababaihan ay nagtatanim, nagbubunot ng damo at umaani ng bigas. Ang mga kababaihan ay
gumagamit ng mga kahoy na pestles at mortar na yari sa bato upang bayuhin at pukpukin ang bigas sa
isang hugis na idinidikta ng sinaunang tradisyon. Maraming oras ang ginugol ng mga kababaihan sa
paghabi ng mga tela na kakaiba sa kanilang nayon.
Ifugao Society

12. The Ifugaos have little in the way of a political system or institutionalized community. There are
no chiefs or councils.They live in clan groups that extend to the third cousin. A typical household
consists of a nuclear family. Once children are old enough to take care of themselves, they move to
the boys house or the girls house.

13. Ifugao society is divided into three classes based on wealth traditionally defined in terms of rice
land, water buffalo and slaves. A class of aristocrats known as kandangayan also guide the village
about moral and judicial matters and lend money. Their houses are identified by a hardwood bench
placed against the stilts. They display their wealth by footing the bill for festivals and possessing
important objects such as hornbill headdresses, gold beads, swords, gongs and antique Chinese jars.

Ifugao Villages and Houses

14.The Ifugao live in small settlements set up in the valleys and along the mountainsides. Hamlets
( buble) typically have 8 to 12 dwellings, housing 30 or more people The houses are built on stilts
close to the rice fields. There are also temporary buildings, such as houses for unmarried people, on
the ground.

15.Each house consists of as single nine-foot-wide room. The roof is a thatch pyramid and the house
itself is supported on four stilts or piles. The pyramid-shaped roof is used as a bedroom, kitchen and
storeroom. All in one space! There are no windows. To please the gods, the skull of a sacrificed pig is
fixed on the outside of the house.

Ifugao Clothes, Food and Crafts

16. Ifugao and Ilocano women have traditionally worn short, tight-fitting, hand-woven skirts with
colorful horizontal stripes, with a white short-sleeve blouse and a loose striped jackets. They have
traditionally gone barefoot and sometimes tied a colored band around their head. Some men still
wear loincloths and go everywhere barefoot. They are quite sure-footed on mountain trails. Their
toes and feet grip on to rocks like the hand of a pitcher grasping a baseball

Ifugao Legal Matters and Headhunting

17. Most Ifugao headhunting has traditionally been the result of feuds between kin group and
warfare with outsiders. Feuds often lasted a long time and traditionally only ended when there was a
marriage between the feuding groups. Warfare usually took the form of raiding parties with a 100 or
so men. The raiders not only took heads to display on skull shelves at their homes but also took slaves
which they sold to lowlanders.
Ifugao Funeral

18. After a person dies the orifices of the body are plugged and the corpse is placed in a death chair.
The body lies in this state by a fire and is “awakened” each night by a corpse tender. The more
wealthy a person is the longer this ritual lasts to a maximum of 13 days. Burial is in a family sepulcher
or in coffins that are placed in a mausoleum under the house. Sometimes a second burial takes place,
especially if illnesses and misfortunes are blamed on the deceased being restless and unhappy. Some
Ifugao bury males and females separately and intern children in jars.

Ifugao Agriculture, and Hunting

19. Rice is of utmost importance to the Ifugao. It s thought their name comes form ipugo, meaning
“rice eaters.” Bulo is the Ifugao rice god and a symbol of wealth. Many Ifugao use to keep a wooden
image of the god in their houses to insure prosperity. Unfortunately many families have sold them to
tourists.

20. The Ifugao used to have festivals for the planting, growing and harvesting of rice. They have
traditionally grown tinawon rice, which many say has a delightful aromatic taste that most Ifugao
love.