The Ifugaos are the people living in the Ifugao province, it is located in the mountainous

region of north-central Luzon. Other names such as Ifugaw, Ipugao, and Yfugaro are used to call or
identify this type of indigenous people. As former headhunters, people are fascinated by their
creativity with regards to their famous and spectacular rice terraces.

As previously mentioned, the Ifugaos are headhunters which is fairly common if you are
living with a tribe in the mountainous regions of the northern Luzon. As part of their culture in the
early centuries, they have their war-dance called bangibang which is a cultural remnant of the time of
tribal conflicts. This is traditionally held on the walls of the rice terraces by the men, armed with
spears, axes and wooden shields. Along of those weapons is an equipped headdress made of leaves.

The Ifugaos braced the Christianity after the colonization of Spaniards began. But before that,
they have traditionaa believed that their lives were ruled by spirits called anitos. They also believe that
the universe was divided into five levels. These are, in an orderly manner, the heavens, pugao (land),
underworld, the world upstream and downstream. These five are believed to have a large number of
spirits of which has a name and belongs to one of these categories; hero ancestors, diseases, omens,
messengers and celestial bodies.

With regards to Ifugao’s society and political system. They have small regards to an
institutionalized community, having no chiefs they live in clan groups that extends up to third cousin.
Once children are hold enough to take care of themselves, ready for marriage or anything similar, they
move to the engaged significant other’s household.

The rice terraces have been a spectacular tourist destination to be honest, it was built around
2000 years ago by the ifugaos. The rice terraces have improved the Ifugao economy for centuries
since it was built, its main purpose was basically providing the province a way of procuring rice for
the villages and having a sustainable amount of food within the area. By reaching a higher altitude
and being built on steeper slopes, the Ifugao complex of stone or mud walls and the careful carving of
the natural contours of the hills and mountains makes terraced pond fields. Along with it is the
development of irrigation system where water from the mountain tops flow through each terrace down
below to the foot of the hill and mountains watering each terrace flowed by water. This way of
creativity and thinking reflects a mastery of engineering that is applied, used, and appreciated to the
present.

Lastly, as people living in the present, we barely show any appreciation towards famous rice
terraces here in the Philippines. We should always take care of what’s ours and be proud of it since
our ancestors made it for us, we are future generation. We should be thankful for the wonderful work
of theirs providing us sustainability and teachings through creative work like the Banaue Rice
Terraces.
REFERENCES

Centre, U. (n.d.). Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras. Retrieved September 15, 2020,
from https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/722/

Tikkanen, A. (2019, January 08). Banaue rice terraces. Retrieved September 15, 2020, from
https://www.britannica.com/place/Banaue-rice-terraces

Hays, J. (2015, June). IFUGAO. Retrieved September 15, 2020, from

http://factsanddetails.com/southeast-asia/Philippines/sub5_6d/entry-3880.html