IFUGAO

The origin of the Ifugaos is derived from the term Ipugo which means from the hill. According to Ifugao mythology, however, the name Ifugao is derived from Ipugo which refers to the rice grain given to them by their god Matungulan. Until the present day, this kind of rice grain is cultivated by the Ifugaos. The generic name Ygolote, Igolot, or Igorrote was used by the Spanish conquistadores and missionaries in their writing about all the various mountain people. Later in the 1900s, the American writers popularized the name Igorot. According to the eminent Filipino scholar Trinidad H Pardo de Tavera, the word Ygolote is derived from the Tagalog term golot meaning mountain and the prefix I, meaning people of. The Ifugao inhabit the most rugged and mountainous part of the country, high in the Central Cordillera in northern Luzon, with peaks rising from 1,000-1,500 m., and drained by the waters of the Magat River, a tributary of Cagayan River. The area covers about 1942.5 sq. km. of the territory. Their neighbors to the north are the Bontoc; to the west Kankanay and Ibaloy; to the east the Gaddang; and to the south the Ikalahan and Iwak. There are 10 municipalities in the province: Banaue, Hungduan, Kiangan, Lagawe, Lamut, Mayoyao, Potia, Hingyan and Tinoc. There are 154 barangay, with Lagawe as the town center of the province. Religious Beliefs and Practices Ifugao religious beliefs are expressed in the numerous rites and prayers (baki) that comprise the main body of Ifugao myths. The myths and folktales tell of their gods and goddesses, related supernatural beings, their ancestors and the forces of nature. The Ifugaos, aside from being deity worshipers, are nature worshipers and ancestor worshipers. A horde of major and minor deities are invoked at every ritual, the major gods being appealed to first. Barton listed as many as 1,500 deities in various ranks from gods, to demons, monsters, imps and spirits dwelling in trees, stones, mountains, and rivers aside from the omnipresent ancestor spirits. The Ifugaos believe that the cosmos is composed of six regions, four regions being above the earth, one being the earth itself, and the sixth lying under the earth. The people do not consider any of their deities as supreme but generally refer to Mah-nongan as the honorary dead and creator of all things. He is their chief god. The major gods Liddum, Punholdayan, Hinumbian, Ampual, Wigan and Yogyog are invoked to intercede with Mah-nongan or any of the particular major gods who might have caused sickness or other suffering. These invocations, which are always accompanied by animal offering and drinking of wine, are meant to bribe the gods and win their favor. The people believe that since certain gods cause sickness, the malady can only be cured by having other deities intercede for the invalid, thus making it necessary to offer sacrifices to the several gods concerned. Liddum is regarded as the chief mediator between the people and the other gods. The exact prayers to be recited by the mombaki and the number of chickens or pigs to be sacrificed (and later eaten, of course, by those present) are clearly specified in Ifugao tradition. If the first series of rituals brings no improvement in the patients condition, another more elaborate series is resorted to, provided

the family can afford the expense. The alim is chanted by a chief mombaki (mombagol) and eight to twelve other priests. The bagol ceremony lasts from early evening till late morning.

Should it be deemed necessary, the ali, another ritual to gain the gods favor, is performed on an elevation overlooking rice fields or rivers. Mobaki call loudly upon all deities of rivers, mountains, forests, and all places where the sick person has set foot to return to the latters soul in exchange with gifts of rice, wine, meat, and any other offering. In Ifugao mythology, there are many principal gods in the First, Second and Third Skyworld regions. Twenty-three different deities preside over the art of weaving, such as Monlolot, the winder of thread on the spindle, and the Mamiyo, stretcher of skeins. Eleven beings are importuned to stamp out rice pests; e.g. Bumigi, in charge of worms; and Lumadab, who has the power to dry up the rice leaves. Ampual, of the Fourth Skyworld, is the god who bestowed animals and plants on the people and who controls the transplanting of rice. He is one of those gods who expects gifts in return for his blessings. Wigan is the god of good harvest while Puwok controls the dread typhoons. In the underworld dwell Yogyog and Alyog, who cause the earth to quake. Aside from the prayers which are made to the gods, myths are recited as invocations to further ones good health, cure sickness, insure a successful marriage or headhunting raid, and eve to assist in performing sorcery. At times, when intoning the myths and prayers (baki), the mobaki or the priestesses seem to be possessed by the spirits that their voices change. Priestesses (mamah-o) are allowed to recite myths for curing sickness, but this is the only ritual they may perform. The religious significance of myths sets them apart from the folktales or the hudhud and uyya-uy, which can be sung or recited at any time, anywhere and by anybody, for they are meant to entertain, and not to invoke gods favor. We see from the foregoing that the Ifugaos believed that their failure or success depended entirely upon the will of their gods; for these immortal, invincible, omnipresent beings, with power even to change form, controlled mans life from birth to death. The peoples only hope was to seek these spirits favor through sacrificing pigs, chickens. carabaos, and wine. As explained earlier, the Ifugaos for centuries were pagans. They offered sacrifices to, and worshipped hundreds of major and minor gods and other spirits including those of their forefathers. At present, only the non-Christian Ifugaos still put themselves in the mercy of these deities. Most Ifugaos, especially the educated, have been freed from this bondage. They have embraced the Christian faith, with large numbers being converted during the early 1960s as a result of the patient work begun by the Belgian CICM missionaries in 1907. Notable among these missionaries are Fathers Jerome Moerman, Gerard de Boeck, and Francis Lmabrecht. The Spanish Dominican Fathers had been much less successful in their attempts to Christianize the Ifugaos.

T'BOLI
The T'boli are of proto-Malayan stock and are found in the mountain ranges of South Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat Provinces. THey have shown their wealth of craft, elaborate traditional dresses and vivacious dances and music. They are presently known for their unusual tie-dyed and woven abaca cloth called tnalak used for dresses during ceremonies and festivities. The intricate process in making the tnalak includes dyeing and painstaking weaving on back-strap looms. They are also known for their brass casting human and animal figures, bells and metal boxes. The T'boli women are known for their body ornaments. During ordinary days, the women can be seen wearing several sets of beaded necklaces, brass or beaded dangling earings, and a wooden comb decorated with round pieces of mirror and trimmed with beads and fibers or horse's hair. The men nowadays wear their traditional dresses made of tnalak only during special occasions. Both the men and women wear brass rings in sets of five for each finger. T'boli have a variety of musical instruments including a drum, the agong, the kulintang, bamboo zither, flute, the hegalong, a long, slender and spindle-shaped two stringed guitar. They have also a variety of dances, which are mostly expressive imitations of their immediate environment. The T'boli are engaged in kaingin or slash and burn method of clearing land for farming. They plant corn, upland rice, vegetables, and other rootcrops. They also raise domestic animals. Ownnership of a horse is an indicator of financial and social prestige. Much of their produce is for is for household consumption, however some use their produce to barter for other household necessities. Tasaday The Tasaday, earlier numbering only 27 individuals, inhabit the tropical rain forests of South Cotabato. In 1986, their population increased to 61 (Peralta, 1987). According to Nadjo Tarlito Buntas, Manobo tribes. They were originally called "Linat Batang". Though not a "Stone Age People," they continue to hunt and gather, dwell in caves, use stone tools and wear garments of curcoligo (a kind of fern plant) along side practices acquired through long contact and exchange with neighboring people. They are socially and geographically distant, though not completely isolated and linguistic studies, Peralta said, show Tasadays are an ethno linguistic group.

VALLIENTE , ROMELITO