HIGAONON

People of the living mountains

 Higaonon beliefs and practices
(Mga panuos daw mga hinang ku Higaonon)

The Higaonons believed in supernatural beings that dwelt in

mountains, forests, trees, or simply existed in some portion of the
universe. They also believed in the existence of beneficent spirits like
those of their dead datus as well as in malevolent ones, and in the
creator of all things—the God Magbabaya. Rituals and ceremonies
have remained a part of the Higaonon way of life until the present. The
tribal community held a Kaamulan Festival any time during the year
either to give thanks for a good harvest, to celebrate a victory, a
wedding, a baptism, or a family reunion.
 The Higaonon tribal people follow the habitual laws of Bunkatol Ha
Bulawan Daw Nang Ka Tasa ha Lana, which means treasured unity of
Love and Peace. In fact it is  a code of conduct that is the sacred bond that
unites the entire Higaonon community. For decades the Higaonon people
have struggled tirelessly for their independence as a tribe, their rights to
cultural integrity and the right to self-determination. the Higaonon, have
managed to maintain the skills and knowledge that will protect its
forested mountains. They need to secure their Ancestral Domain and
forest home against destruction by loggers who started cutting their way
into the forested homeland more than sixty years ago.