Short Detours

By Carl Cariño Taawan Deep gorges separating and isolating many sitios and barangays, rocky cliffs formed as human faces, and pine covered mountains that is said to resemble those of Switzerland. A place named after a primate. In the mountains of Kibungan dwelt monkeys that are believed to have vanished because of the degradation of the forests and hunted for food. These monkeys were bigger than their common families found in the area today. The Americans named this municipality after these primates. They were called by the locals “Kibengan”. One of the people who saw the said monkeys was Bernabe Wance. “It was probably in 1932 that they still roamed these mountains, “he said. “As the population grows, the monkeys were hunted for food. The monkeys eventually run away or have been wiped out.” Increase of population in Kibunga escalated when the logging and mining industry expanded in the area. Bigger communities like those from Sagpat and Lobo were formed during the gold mines that clos...

Long time ago there was a hunter from Kiangan named Lamia-en who frequently travel to faraway places in pursuit of a game. During one of his hunting trips, he reached the village of Tinoc or Tinec. There he met a woman named Dacal-le. He courted her and not long after, they agreed to get married. They were married near the hot spring in Buguias. On the eve of the wedding, pigs and cows were butchered. At night, worms rapidly spread on all the meat to the consternation of the gathered well-wishers. In the morning however, the worms transformed into beautiful butterflies and filled the vicinity with different colors dancing to the songs of various birds in the nearby flower fields and woodlands. The elders quickly interpreted this as a good omen for the new couple and that they will receive countless blessings. The couple are ancestors of the peoples of Buguias and most of the people living there today can trace their lineage to this famed hunter. At the dawn of the century du...

For more than 300 years the Spaniards and Americans fought the people of the Cordilleras called Igorots. They were called savages and uncivilized or ignorant by these invaders. These colonizers wanted to eradicate these people’s customs and traditions and enforce their western cultures and religions. The savages fought back. They wanted their cultures intact. For centuries they flourished in these mountains as farmers and hunters. Although they have occasional quarrels with their neighboring tribes, they were protected by their common law called “budong” (peace pacts). They lived in harmony with nature. For years they never exploited their natural resources to extinction. They cut only the trees they need for building houses and hunt only the animals they need for food. Their way of exchanging goods were mostly through gold or their local commodities (e.g. exchange rice for g-strings or animals). The Budong Peace pacts in th...

The old agricultural cycle in the Mountain Province particularly in the Municipality of Sadanga starts and ends after the planting season called Chinamey. Tak-chang, which actually means getting out of the field, signifies that the last season of the agricultural calendar which is the rice-planting is done. After the Takchang every household will have the Ap-apoy, a thanksgiving for having hurdled the planting season, the most difficult season of farming. During the Ap-apoy, each household will sacrifice a chicken to the spirits in their respective fields to bless their plants. After the Ap-apoy comes the Gup-khupo, a family gathering in their respective homes. After the Gup-khupo, the elders will declare a Te-er. Te-er is a rest day after or before a grueling activity, signifying a pause, an end, or indicating the significance of the season. The Bontoc term Tengao is more popular to most. This may last for either one or three days; but always, this is a rest day or non-...

Returning home feeling sick after an extended coverage in the Mountain Province . Exhaustion, having to get up early and sleep late, the heat, and eating mostly meat. But in those mountains you get a lot of time for yourself. No cell phone signal, no internet, and no noisy traffic. Just friendly people still following the old Agricultural Calendar. That's why Sadanga was dubbed as "a living museum". Not much photos, mostly video is what I got coz the LGU and NCCA wanted a video documentary of their Fvegnas. The rest of the Media people weren't able to come so my coverage would be what a one man team can get. Only one angle and just using a power shot for the video but I guess I got the most important parts and the result came out ok. I created the video titled "Fvegnash 2008", it's Sadanga people's show of their undying legacy. It showcases their different customs they presented during the event. Karareng (nose flute), Ullalim, Uggayam, Tinaroy...

Returning home feeling sick after an extended coverage in the Mountain Province . Exhaustion, having to get up early and sleep late, the heat, and eating mostly meat. But in those mountains you get a lot of time for yourself. No cell phone signal, no internet, and no noisy traffic. Just friendly people still following the old Agricultural Calendar. That's why Sadanga was dubbed as "a living museum". Not much photos, mostly video is what I got coz the LGU and NCCA wanted a video documentary of their Fvegnas. The rest of the Media people weren't able to come so my coverage would be what a one man team can get. Not a complete angle and just using a power shot for the video but I guess I got the most important parts and the result came out ok. The video tittle, Fvegnash 2008, a Sadanga show of undying legacy will be out next week. It showcases their different customs they presented during the event.  Karareng (nose flute), Ullalim, Uggayam,  Tinaroyod, Darngek/Ay...