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

Church Deceptions

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. [English Standard Version (©2001)] 




Sagada’s beauty is very fascinating and the memories are imprinted in the mind to make it hard to forget. One who appreciates it will be left asking questions how those natural beauties become possible. One of this is its famous Sumaguing Cave.

However, aside from its beauties, even made things can make an impact to one’s awareness, like the thing that caught my eyes and stirred the critical side of my brain the last time I visited it. That was seven months ago, but still I cannot forget the image I saw there.

I attended a wedding last year, and as one of the sponsors I had no choice but to attend the wedding mass to be conducted at St. Joseph Church located in Kilong, one of the barangay of Sagada.

Everything went well, from the beginning to the last ceremony. Of course, as common practice picture taking was done inside and outside the vicinity of the church afterwards. This is when I saw the stone placed in front of the church where the Ten Commandments in Igorot dialect are written. More than just curiosity, I read how the 10 commandments are translated into Igorot dialect. When I reached the 3rd commandment, I was dumbfounded to read that it is translated differently. It says, “Ngilinem nan agew nan dios mo ay Domingo!” I know that the original English says, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.(KJV)

Reading this, I am reminded of an Igorot song, two decades ago, titled “Simpoo’y Bilin (Ten commandments)” sung by Ms Lourdes Gomeyak Fangki wherein she said Sunday is the rest day; so, probably this was the source of the lyrics of her song.

It is clear what the Holy Bible says, in the Old Testament Isaiah 40:8 “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever”( English Standard Version (©2001) then reinforced by Jesus Christ during his time in Matthew 5:18 “because I tell all of you with certainty that until heaven and earth disappear, not one letter or one stroke of a letter will disappear from the Law until everything has been accomplished.”(International Standard Version (©2012)) 

And while writing this article, I also noticed that the 2nd commandment (You shall not make unto you any graven image…Exudus 20:4) is missing or not written as one of the commandments, instead, the 3rd commandment is in its place! And to complete the 10 commandments, the 10th is divided into two commandments(Refer to the image) Thus, confirming that the 2nd commandment was deliberately removed. The big question now is Why? Is this to cover up their graven images of the virgin Mary and the image of Christ nailed hanging on the cross?




I cannot comprehend why no one ever questioned it. Does it mean to say that the followers of the church are all blinds following either blind priests or just plain liar leaders! No wonder why Jesus Christ said, in Matthew 7:21 “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven.” 

This made me believe stronger that knowing your church is very important for your salvation because like what Jesus said, that even those who used his name to perform miracles and cast out demons will not be saved.

 For further reading:
http://www.the-ten-commandments.org/the-ten-commandments.html
http://biblehub.com/matthew/7-21.htm 

An image of the 10 Commandments placed in front of the church

Translation of the above commandments:

  Ten Commandments of the Lord(Kabunyan)

1.       You have no other God than me

2.       Don’t use my name in vain

3.       Keep the day of your Lord which is Sunday

4.       Respect your father and mother

5.       Don’t kill

6.       Don’t commit adultery

7.       Don’t steal

8.       Don’t falsely accuse your fellow men

9.       Don’t covet thy neighbor’s wife

10.   Don’t covet their neighbor’s properties

Day-eng (Igorot Wedding Traditional Sing-Song Advice)

One of the interesting things visitors to Sagada must have to see is wedding festivities, especially, for those who want to have a feel about the traditions of the Igorots. Unlike in the lowlands, Igorot weddings don’t happened any time of the year. This important day for lovers to knot their ties is scheduled on special months designated as the time for weddings. The months are usually at the end of the year, December and on April.

Well, I know that most people are attracted by the sound of gongs each time there are wedding festivities. They don’t know that dancing with the gongs is only one of the events done during those three special days, and they are missing many more, most interesting of them is the Day-eng.

The day-eng is a singing ways of telling stories that fits the occasion. Here, during the first day of the wedding, the sponsors are asked to say something for the new couple. Some say it in speech like manner, and other performers who know the traditional sing-song style will say their blessings in that manner. The content is like the common contents of speeches, however, there are some words used to make the flow of the song smoother.



When I attended the wedding of a niece last year, it happened that one of those who gave a speech to the couple (I think I heard her name is Mrs. Aglolo) did it in the sing-song style. The first I heard after probably decades of not hearing it. I was just a little bit late to bring out my cellphone to video the rare moment. Below is the video. Click and listen to her beautiful voice.

The Shame of Burnham Park

Burn Ham Park is the most popular destinations of everyone, locals and those coming up to Baguio City to refresh from its natural beauty and cool weather. 

With those many things, worth of thousands if not millions of pesos, added by the city government bolstering its beauty to become appealing to the public, such as the dancing waters from the fountains they stalled, there are simple things they don’t see or don’t really want to see at all.  

Dancing Waters at Burnham Park, a new feature

One of the three fountain added to boost Burnham's Beauty

 

One of the fountain added to the Beauty of Burnham Park

For critics, it is not hard to guess the reason why the park administrators don’t want to give attention to those small things yet very important for the dignity of the park and to all the residents of Baguio; those simple problems are not worth it – or simply don’t worth millions of pesos.

If one goes to Melvin Jones, the sight of its balding playground where the kids love to play soccer is very obvious.  During summer the ground is dusty, and during rainy season the soil becomes muddy. And while walking around the park, garbage from the people litters the area because of lack of garbage cans and not strict implementation of the anti-littering law.

The Balding Melvin Jones playground

And when one looks for a place to sit down, it is easy to be attracted at the sides where it has the shades of the tall pine trees.  If you are on the side, facing the lagoon, you’ll surely be fascinated to a monument of a man sitting on top of big artificial boulders on the right, in a corner about 20 meters away from the ganza restaurant.  But once you get near to that stone-monument, you can’t help but feel repulsed to the condition you will see.  Between the pillars that hold the statue is wet and stinks with men’s call of nature.  There are two big comfort rooms on both sides of the park; however, one should pay a minimal fee of five pesos to use the facilities.  But in my observation, the position of the monument is very convenient and enticing to use because one can hide their front without being noticed they are relieving themselves.

The place where the undisciplined sons of Adam hide each time they feel the call

I am hoping that the city will look into these small things yet very important to the image of not only Burnham Park, but also to the city and people of Baguio City as a whole.

What’s New at Burnham Park?

Well, if you ask about buildings, there are many things that will surprise those who were away from Baguio for a long time. We probably have now the biggest hotel in the city by the name of Crowne Legacy Hotel located at Legarda road just a few steps away from Baguio General Hospital.

But I will reserve those places in another post. For now let us talk about the new things you can find at Burnham Park.

 If you have been going to Imelda Park or Botanical Garden at teachers’ camp to have pictures with the natives there, and to wear igorot costumes at the Mines’ View Park. Well, you will also get the second at BurnHam Park. For a cheap price you can select which costumes to wear then take pictures of yourself, either using your own camera or ask the services of those professional photographers waiting for costumers on the sides.

And the newest attractions are the newly made fountains which were just inaugurated last June 27, 2013. My boss said kept telling me that to explain things better, show them if you can and all the twisting of the tongues and pens will greatly diminished. Thus, let me just show you in these two videos and images I took when I went there last evening.

Alis di makan (The traditional practice of food exchanges between I-Sagada and I-Bontoc parents)

 

One of the things I like in attending wedding feasts, or traditional practices of the Igorots, like the “lab-labi,” or during a wake is the chance to learn about the different culture of the Igorot people which I have not the chance to learn while growing up because my father was not a firm believer to following the traditional practices of his people.

So, one time when I went home to Sagada to attend a wake of a relative of my wife, one of the topics that came out was about “Alis di makan” between the parents of Bontoc and Sagada children who marry.

The man who tried his best to explain it was named Junior Siiten.

When a Bontoc child and I-Sagada child get married, the people from Bontoc cannot eat the food prepared by the Isagada during the feast, until the parents of the I-Sagada child and the Bontoc’s child parents exchange foods. When the “alis di makan” is accomplished, the Bontoc child’s relatives could now eat the I-Sagada prepared food.

The reason of this culture was because the Bontoc people during the old days, when the people of the Mountain Province were not yet Christianized, were engaged in head hunting or “Boso” practice. The Sagada people were peace loving people who believe in a god named Kabunyan, so, they were victims of the barbarous act by the boso people.

There is a belief (based on experience) that when during the wedding, while the “alis di makan” haven’t yet done, anyone from Bontoc who eats in the food prepared will surely die when they go home. On the other hand, when an Isagada go eats in a bontoc wedding feast, he is safe.

Until the Bontoc parents are not doing the tradition, they cannot eat anything serve to them. Thus, when they visit at the home of their child, and the alis di makan was not yet done, they must go out and eat at the restaurant, or at the home of someone from their village. This practice is only applicable to the parents of the I-Bontoc child.


 

Vocabulary:

Alis di makan = exchange of food practiced by the parents of the peace loving people whose child married
                            to a child of people whose ancestors were practicing head-hunting.

Boso = ferocious people who were engaged in head-hunting during the old days.

I-Sagada = people of Sagada

I-Bontoc = people of Bontoc

Igorot = people of the Mountain Provinces or now called Cordillera regions, thus, they are now generally
              called Cordilleran instead of Igorot.

Lab-labi =  a practice of the Igorot of spending the night at the house of a relative or friend, who butchered
                   animals(usually pigs).  Here they exchange stories to make the night passes-by, while the old
                   men do the ceremonies depending on the reason why the occasion was made.

Igorot Country: A Missed Opportunity

1.  Citizenship:  Igorot  2.  Country of origin:  Republic of the  Kaigorotan ……. and, so on…..

Well, how do you feel if those are the things you are writing down in every document you are ask to fill up about your identification?

Crazy idea? It’s out of the blue kind of idea, so, maybe. However, I believe this has a merit to talk about that is why I wrote it and let the public say what they think about it, especially, the kakailians who are concerned of their history and identity as IGOROT.

This idea suddenly got into my mind one time when I was thinking about the slowly dimming memory of my Igorot brothers and sisters of the Kaigorotan on who they really are. I can see that the question of who is an igorot  has begun to twist history and slowly pointing to the people of Mountain Province, specially, Sagada and Bontoc, as the only real Igorots. A reason why many Ifugao, and Kalinga are now saying they are not. And the Benguet or Ibaloy have doubts.

As I was contemplating what happened in the recent history of the igorot people, I remembered the heroism of the then Hon.  Congressman Alfredo Lam-en who stood up in congress to announce that the Igorot people are Filipino people- in response to Carlos P. Romulo’s claim that the Igorot people are not Filipino.

According to the story I heard, Romulo declared that the Igorot people in KAIGOROTAN were not Filipino. He did not expect that a handsome figure stood up in defense of the Igorot.  Dressed in full Igorot attire, and looks very civilized which is contrary to what he read from books and stories he heard( I believed Romulo never saw or still do not know who are the Igorot before the time he announced what he thought; I also guess that Apo Gayagay was the first Igorot he saw in personal). The figure as we know was Mr. Lam-en who told him face to face, and to the entire nation of the Philippines that the Igorot people are Filipino.

As I was analyzing the good and bad thing the move effected on us, I realized that an opportunity has been missed.  A very, very rare opportunity which I believed will never occur again, unless we ourselves create it.

But how can we create the opportunity when we are now starting to disdain our identity as IGOROT?

This reality bothers me much.  I dread the thought that one day we no longer have an identity of our own!  And each time I think of it, I cringed about Mr. Lam-en’s not giving more thought about the challenged posted by an“ ignorant” pundit named Romulo.

He could have challenged him by admitting the charge, and said, “Yes, the IGOROT people are not Filipino.  They are IGOROT, period!  And since they are not Filipino, they therefore have the right to declare that the whole of KAIGOROTAN- Kalinga-Apayao, Ifugao, Bontoc, and Benguet shall be known as the REPUBLIC OF KAIGOROTAN”.  Also, any part of Ilocos region where the Bago  are living.

Yes, that’s it, a country of our own- and, why not?  We have our own dialect or language, culture, tradition, and other requirements to make-up a nation!  So, instead of him at that time arguing against Romulo, he should have agreed with him; however, at the same time he demanded our freedom using the statement of Romulo as the thesis.  He could have asked the igorot people to support him and led them to rally for their freedom from the Philippine government.

If we have a country of our own, then the identity crisis we are going through now could not be happening! But since we missed the opportunity, then we must have to do our best to keep our identity-by educating our brothers and sisters about the roots of our forefathers and make sure the next generation will learn it.

And, who knows, there will be another Carlos P. Romulo who will again declare the Igorot people are not Filipino, and probably, the next Gayagay will be wiser enough to say “Yes, we are not Filipino; we are IGOROT-and the name of our country is KAIGOROTAN:  REPUBLIC OF THE KAIGOROTAN