The Tribal War: A Headhunting Story Told by an Artist’s Art at Melvin Jones, Burnham Park

I found this story told in a series of images made by an artist as a decoration on the sides of an old stage found at the Melvin Jones at Burnham Park, Baguio city, Philippines. The carved images are already old and one can see the images are not being taken care of as grasses, dirt and dusts covered them. People seem do not know the significance of such art in the history of the Igorot people of my place of origin – Kaigorotan country, or locally known as the Cordillera region. If that’s in Israel, I believe everyday tourists are there gathered around listening to their guides, or students listening to the lectures of their teachers.

The first scene of the story, showed a man found without a head. On the scene, one man is raising his hands which show he must be shouting for revenge. While two people bowed their head which could signify they are grieving for the loss of a brother or member of a family or a friend.

Fig.  1. A headless body is found. The right side shows a clearer picture of the body

The scene followed by a picture of two men carrying the headless body that was positioned like a fetus. The hands and legs are bent and tied, so that, a long pole made up of wood or probably a hard bamboo pole was inserted between the legs and between the tied hands; the two men carried the body by putting the ends of the pole on their shoulders while a man is walking ahead and third man was following them; the others might have walked ahead already to warn the village about a dead member being brought home. In this case, a ritual is done before any corpse is entered inside the village.

Figure  2.  The headless body is now brought home

The next picture shows the men of the village, lead by their elders, had a meeting with all their men to decide what they have to do. In this case, they decided to take revenge as proven by the next image.

Figure 3.  The men decide what to do

The next scene is showing the men marching to war.

Figure  4.  Going to war

The next image is showing them to have reached the entrance of the village of the culprits. In the image, we can see the people presenting peace offerings as shown by two people on their knees while bowing their heads; one is doing the negotiations. The invading party tried to listen as demonstrated by the others sitting on their knees.

Figure  5.  Negotiations

However, it is clear the invading party did not accept the peace offerings, as a gruesome image of killings shown by the next scene.

Figure 6.  The negotiations failed, so, war errupted

As a result of every war, the children and women are the parties most affected by it. Here we can see mothers with their children fleeing away from the fight, while one woman in the picture is probably helping her wounded son or husband.

Children and women fleeing the for their lives

Related stories: Art of Traditions, Culture and Life of the Igorots Found at Burnham Park(Part 1)

Art of Traditions, Culture and Life of the Igorots Found at Burnham Park (Part 2)

This story is true. I heard the same stories, since I was a kid, from my father and old men from Mountain Province. My father always told us about how the people of the old days were living in war. And how head hunting was rampant because it was part of some tribes culture and tradition. Men who reached the age of manhood go hunting for head and bring it home to their village to show they were real men or had already reached manhood. Others do it for the joy of doing it.

Art of Traditions, Culture and Life of the Igorots Found at Burnham Park (Part 1)

While I was busy taking pictures around the pool of Burnham Park, I came across a familiar spot I used to see when I was doing my morning exercise 20 years ago.

As I was looking into the carved images on a block cemented structure, I realized for the first time that those are images depicting traditional practices of the Igorot people. Some of them, though, are no longer practiced thus making this carved stone more interesting and important sign or marker because of the historical value it is trying to communicate to people. It is a treasure that needs to be preserved or copied more elsewhere for the next generation.

Thousands of local tourists are walking around the park but are only interested in watching the boats floating on the pool of water at the center as the main attraction and enjoying the beautiful flowers carefully tended by the gardeners. Each time they reach one of the corners of the path traversing the pool, there is no way they will miss to see the 2 x 3 square meters and colored black marker. They may appreciate the art of images carved into the stone, but no longer go further than that. When I was going there, as I said to do my rounds of stretching years ago, I never connected to the meaning of those images. I only look at them as some showcase of the ingenuity of some Igorot artists.

But now all that thinking changed. My admiration to the brain of putting that marker went up high and the way I admire those images also became more than just an appreciation to the artists who carved them there.

If one looked very close to the images, here are the things that could be seen, and for those who knew their pasts, each set of image has its own story of history to tell. Every tourist’s guide should learn them and make the visits of those tourists not only enjoyable but also more meaningful and memorable. I hope that my explanations here will be sufficed to give an idea what are those images all about.

Let me start on the left side when one is facing the pool where the boats are:

1. Kalaleng(float)
The image shows two men playing float to produce different sounds of music depending on how the players want to convey their feelings. Float is usually played by people who go to the forests to gather wood, tending animals, working the farm and gardens as their pass time. The instrument was usually made up from bamboo grass. Today, it is no longer a common thing.

2. Dawis – Comes close to grilling but only to remove the hair and outermost skin of the animal - in the image is shown as a pig - the animal commonly used in doing rituals.
Illustrated by men holding a pig on its legs. They’re holding it over burning firewood to remove the hairs, and outer most skin before it is butchered. It was the common way of removing a pig’s hair before it is butchered; however, today a torch fired by gas replaced the firewood

3. Sangadil This was the traditional way of caring the dead for the belief that its spirit was still mingling with the people mourning its body. The last time I saw a picture of this practice done was on 2008. The remains of the dead is held sitting on a chair made up of wood. My wife’s grandfather on her father side was the last one in Demang Sagada that the practice was done.

4. Skeletal heads of animal
This is a common practice of the people to hang the skulls of animals butchered on their walls.

5. War Dance
Depicted by the image where one is holding up a spear and opposite him is one holding a machete. Both players are holding Kalasag(armor) made up of wood to protect their selves. It is done while the gangsa is played.

6. Opening the Gusi with Tapey
Two men are opening the gusi(clay jar) and are going to get the tapey (rice wine) to drink. This practice is usually done during occasions, such as marriage, and many more rituals. One of the old belief about opening tapey jars was when a child open the jar and eat from it, he will be tearing on his eyes. Thus, they should only drink from tapey wine opened by an old man.

7. Gangsa(Gongs)
A traditional music instrument of the Igorots using gongs made up of brass. Most Igorots use the gongs to celebrate weddings, happenings, and other rituals; however, one tribe, the Ibalois use it at the wake of their dead.

8. Tayaw(dancing with feet alternately stepping on the ground with the hands emulating a flying bird)
A traditional dance of the Igorots as depicted by a woman and man’s stretched hands and arms. This dance is done in unison to the sounds of the gongs played by men and is performed mostly during weddings and other times during occasions.

9. Tambor(Drum)
Also played together with the gongs for particular kinds of dance such as the Takik. Made up of a long hollowed wood where one end is covered with animal dried skin.

10. Pinikpikan(Usually call by others as “Killing me softly”)
As depicted by the man holding a chicken on its feet upside down, while hitting it with a stick to let the blood curdles under the skins. This is one of the favorite delicacies of the Igorot people.

11. On both sides of the structure are people sitting down with their knees bend and hands wrapped around it. This one depicts the practice during the old times how people sit because there were no chairs, and also depicts the way elders sit in front of their dapuan(cooking place where three stones are placed in triangular positions) to warm themselves.

Don't miss Part 2 of Art of Traditions, Culture and Life of the Igorots Found at Burnham Park