Banaue : The Ifugaos 0
In Banaue, the balcony of a rustic shop on the roadside allows tourists to shoot expectedly, the uniformed Banaue rice terraces photo and even old Ifugaos in tribal wear pose for pictures.
Gazing at the paddies, the answer on how the Ifugaos can water the terraces with mountain rocks all around them is hard to come by, unless someone gives it to you. It soon appears that there is an elaborate natural system at work here. The hilltops and the surrounding mountain slopes are covered with trees. The tree roots hold the water level up and thus keep the supply going.
By gravity fall, water is channeled to the paddies through a series of dams, floodgates, channels and bamboo pipes. Underground conduits are laid under the paddies for drainage. The drained water is passed next to the paddy below it. And to the next. Until all the used water finally collects in a stream at the bottom of the valley. Water supply is equitably apportioned. The irrigation work is communally shared.
It now makes sense why the Banaue mountains are constantly forested. Communal forest, or muyong, rings an Ifugao community where the paddies comprised the center. It is a forest that is closely guarded and fiercely defended by the villagers. It is the layout, as much as the lifeline, of their community. If anything, the Ifugaos rely on, while benefiting from, a naturally-functioning ecosystem.
Since they have a forest to keep, the Ifugaos inevitably settled down on a fixed farming territory unlike the hunting and thus, wandering, tribes. Nowhere to go, they led a sedentary life with a farmer’s faith and habits. Rice feasts and rituals evolved. Woodcarving went into the production of Bulol images, the rice god. Not for nothing why the Ifugaos stand out as the most skillful woodcarvers of the Cordillera region. And the settled life also afforded them the finest skin texture and body built among their ethnic kins.
There are a number of lodgings in Banaue to choose from. Banaue Hotel is the top accommodation. It is centrally located with a view of the terraces. But wherever you checked in, take time to go out. Hire a local guide to show you around.
Largely schooled by American missionaries, much of the middle-aged Ifugaos speak English well than in any other language.
The village behind Banaue Hotel is frequented by tourists who want to catch a glimpse of Ifugao life. The native hut is stilted high above the ground, box-like in shape, and topped by a large pyramidal roof. Genuine huts are constructed without saws or any other tools. Decorative carvings adorned the beams and moldings.
It is a single-room house. Don’t be surprised to find skulls and human bones inside perched over a shelf. That could be a deceased father or grandmother. Ifugaos bury the dead in an earthen grave and cover it with a mound of rocks. After a time, they dig it up and bring the bones home. They believe that the dead will keep them company.
Christianity is wiping out this interesting native practice. Instead, they now bury the dead at the backyard in concrete graves topped by a cross.
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