Indigenous People

IFUGAO
In Ifugao Province, there are 2 ethnolinguistic groups: the Ayangan and Tuwali. Tuwali Ifugao is
mainly located in the municipality of Kiangan in Ifugao Province with 15 localities. Tuwali speaks
3 dialects and these are Hapao, Lagawe, and Hungduan. Ayangan Tribe is an important tribe in
the province of Ifugao, Philippines. They form the majority of the people in at least three
municipalities (Lamut, Asipulo, and Aguinaldo) and arguably in 3 other municipalities (Lagawe,
Kiangan, and Mayoyao). The Ayangans are distinct from the Tiwali in language and other
cultural aspects such as dance and beliefs. They are called derisively as Illagud, Ifiahe, or
Iyayangan. The Ayangan Ifugao are a large subgroup of the Ifugo, a Malayo Polynesian people
group of the Philippines. At present, however, the Ayangan people are proud of their cultural
identity. They are also more united than ever and are now a political force to reckon with. The
Ayangan people have ventured outside their province and are now important tribal residents in
the nearby provinces particularly Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino and Isabela.

APAYAO

The Isnegs are the dominant ethnic group in the area. The Isneg’s ancestors are assumed to have
been the pro-Austronesians.
Itnegs
➢ came from the Isnag language speak by many of them during colonial period
➢ derives from a combination of “is” meaning “recede” and “uneg” meaning “interior”
which means “people who have gone into the interior”

Ancestral Domains

IFUGAO
Ifugao is one of the six provinces of the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), situated in the
Philippines’ North Central Luzon. It is a landlocked watershed province bounded by a mountain
range to the north and west that tempers into undulating hills towards the south and the east.
The province has a total land area of 251,778 hectares distributed in eleven municipalities.
About 81.77 percent of the land has a slope of over 18 degrees. Under the Revised Forestry
Code of the Philippines, these areas are public forest lands, forest reserves and watershed
reservations that are not disposable for agricultural use, thus placing nine municipalities under
tenurial restrictions. More than three-quarters of the aggregate land area is in an
environmentally critical state. The uplands are host to dipterocarp, pine and mossy. The
province is composed of several micro watersheds with three major river tributaries that exit to
the Magat River. About 70 percent of the Ifugao watershed flows to this river which maintains
the Magat Hydro-Electric Plan (HEP) that supplies 360 MW to the national grid (Gonzales
2000). The river also maintains the Magat Integrated Irrigation Systems which support the
fishery industries in the lowland municipalities of Ifugao and the provinces of Nueva Vizcaya,
Isabela and Cagayan. This Magat multi-purpose project has made these beneficiary provinces
the new rice bowl of the country and a major fisheries producer. The Province of Ifugao is
known for its Rice Terraces, there are five rice terraces that are located in Nagakadan,
Mayoyao, Banaue, and Hungduan, these rice terraces are among the World Heritage List of the
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in 1995. The land that they
manage does not have a title thus it was community-based and passed on through inheritance.
Ifugaos claimed the ancestral domain in 1995 when the Certificates of Ancestral Domain was
issued to occupy, develop and manage the land.

APAYAO

Apayao is located deep in the Cordillera mountains of Northern Luzon which has the capital of
Kabugao. The province is classified into upper and lower:
● Upper Apayao- with 3 municipalities occupies 67.2% of the total land area
● Lower Apayao- with 4 municipalities occupies 32.8% of the total land area

Most of the Isnegs live along the Apayao River-Abulog River, Matalag River, and the small
rivers on the hillsides of Ilocos Norte and Abra. They are also agricultural/horticultural-based.

Before the colonization of Americas

● Imandaya or los Mandayas- Isneg who live in the upstream
● Imallod or los Apayaos- Isneg who live in the downstream

Culture

IFUGAO
The culture of Ifugao revolves around rice in view of the fact that it is surrounded by mountain
ranges. Its principal means of livelihood is agricultural terracing and farming. Social status in
Ifugao is measured by the number of rice field graniers and family heirloom, Gold earrings
owned and Carabaos.
On terraced mountainsides, the Ifugao practice “slash and burn” agriculture. This means that
once the crops are harvested, the remains are burned in order to prepare the ground for the
next harvest. Sweet potatoes and corn are two of the most important crops grown in this type of
farming. The ifugao have a varied diet, with sweet potatoes as the staple. They also eat rice, but
consume it more commonly as wine. Chicken and pork are the most prevalent meats, although
the meat of deer, bats, and birds is also eaten. Other foods include locusts, grubs, and flying
ants.
Teenage Ifugao boys and girls interact freely, and once a young woman becomes
pregnant, she is immediately married to her boyfriend. Interestingly, once a child is weaned, the
father becomes its primary caretaker. Throughout the day, men care for the children while the
women do all the farm work.
The Ifugao were once known for their practice of headhunting. They believed that the
taking of a head would benefit the health and well-being of a community, increasing the fertility
of families and the productivity of farms. They also believed that losing a head to another
community would cause decrease in the well-being of a village. If a village lost a head, they
would kill a member of the opposing community and take the head in an effort to restore the
well-being of the village. The head would be placed as a trophy in the home of the man who had
cut it off.

Ifugao religion is quite complex. It recognizes eleven different classes of deities. The
most important deities are those of the spirits of dead ancestors. If a dead ancestor becomes
displeased for some reason, the people sacrifice a chicken or pig to pacify the ancestor. The
belief in ancestral spirits greatly influences funeral rituals. The Ifugao attempt to honor a dead
person by treating the body with the utmost respect. The body of the deceased is dressed in its
finest clothes and strapped in a chair. If the family of the departed person is wealthy, the body is
carried from one house to another, as each branch of the family tries to outdo the others by
giving a feast in memory of the deceased. This process sometimes continues for two weeks.
The body is then moved to a cave. After a year, the bones are removed from the cave, washed,
and wrapped in a blanket. The blanket is then placed on a shelf in the back of the family’s
house.
The culture of Ifugao revolves around rice in view of the fact that it is surrounded by
mountain ranges. Its principal means of livelihood is agricultural terracing and farming. Social
status in Ifugao is measured by the number of rice field graniers and family heirloom, Gold
earrings owned and Carabaos.

APAYAO
Laguange
Their native language is Isneg, which is also referred as Isnag.

Isneg’s Practices:
 ● Headhunting
● Sacrifices and offerings
● Having a large ritual group
● And other rites like genital cutting and tattooing

Clothing

The Isnegs are aesthetically-inclined and known for their intricate woven fabrics. In ceremonies,
women wear a lot of colorful ornaments and clothings, and men wear G-strings (usually of blue
color), abag, and bado (upper garment).
● Sipattal- an ornament made of shells and beads, used only on special occasions by Isneg
men.
● Binakol- a blanket which features optical illusions designs

Houses
They are also known for their delicate construction of houses

Historical Records and Highlights

IFUGAO
PRE COLONIAL AGE
The state has existed for over 2,000 years and constructed huge rice terraces that would later
become a symbol of the province. Ruled by the council of elders and there was no monarch in
the state prior to the colonial of the Philippines.

Spanish Period
The Spanish colonial rule did not directly impact the future of tourism in Ifugao. However,
indirectly, colonial rule opened Ifugao up to both foreign and Filipino curiosity as the Dominican
missionaries wrote the first articles and books on Ifugao, its people, customs and tradition. In
the El Correo Sino-Annamita, journal of the Dominican Order, Fr. Juan Villaverde, founder of the
Kiangan mission, wrote at least 73 “official mission” letters with 32 replies from superiors and
other people. He also produced ten reports which ranged in topic from local geography,
mountain tribes and way of life to comments on the Spanish government policy of hamletting,
missions, politico-military organizations, communications, commerce and trade, among others.
Villaverde’s charismatic appeal and prestige among the locals enabled him to chronicle legends
and myths of the Kiangan Ifugaos. Additionally, Villaverde also drew some Ifugao maps. His
pioneering role in the documentation and study of Ifugao mythology has earned him accolades
from later scholars like Ferdinand Blumentritt (1895), H. Otley Beyer (1918), and William Scott
(1974).

American Regime
The Americans had a larger impact on tourism in Ifugao. When Lt. Levi Case opened his
headquarters in Banaue in 1902, it also opened the way for American soldiers and lowland
Filipino conscripts, scholars and academicians, mercenaries and adventurers. These people
influenced the physical, socio-cultural and economic way of life of the locals.

WORLD WAR 2
Kiangan National Shrine also known as the Yamashita Shrine located in Kiangan, Ifugao that
commemorates the submission of the top commander of Japanese Imperial Army that led to the
end of the Japanese occupation of the Archipelago.

APAYAO

The Isneg were known for headhunting, a practice that they continued until the 1920s and which
played a central role in their religion and social structure. The colonial regime of the Spaniards
sought to stop this practice and to fully spread Christianity in the mountain people but it only led
to the killings of numerous people. The Isneg practice of head taking came to an end in 1913.

Present Issues and Concerns

IFUGAO

Cultural Preservation in Ifugao

The Ifugao culture, being rich and colorful in terms of their tangible and intangible
heritage, is safeguarded, conserved, and protected through the policies under the IPRA and
sustained through local policies and ordinances. These policies and ordinances include the
Provincial Ordinance No. 2013-22, “An Ordinance Enacting the Ifugao Cultural Code''. The
main purpose of this ordinance is to preserve and promote cultural heritage through establishing
and strengthening institutions such as museums, preserving relics, buildings and historical
landmarks. Another method of preserving cultural heritage is by promoting the cultural
resources, as well as protecting the Ifugaos ownership and custody of each of their community’s
culture. The efforts of this Provincial Ordinance involve their provincial government in creating
programs that enable the cultural transmission and education to the younger generations through
the restoration of their own languages and orthographies, which allow them to take control over
the cultural research and cultural heritage. There are also other provisions in the cultural code
which include the creation of a policy making body, the Ifugao Provincial Council for Cultural
Heritage, to ensure the implementation of the programs, and the establishment of the Ifugao
Registry of Cultural Properties where all the cultural properties will be listed.

APAYAO

❏ The unfair treatment in justice system

● conflicts over land claims are brought to the courts for settlement instead of the
council of elders when the claimant is rich and/or educated
❏ The Isneg and their ancestral domain have remained isolated from and against
modernization.