Ifugao, officially the Province of Ifugao (; ), is a landlocked province of the Philippines in the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon. Its capital is Lagawe and it borders Benguet to the west, Mountain Province to the north, Isabela to the east, and Nueva Vizcaya to the south.
The Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras and Banaue Rice Terraces are the main tourist attractions in the province. These terraces are believed to have been hand-carved into the mountains 2,000 years ago to plant rice. However, recent research by carbon dating suggests that they were built much later. In 1995, the Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras were declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In 2008 and 2015, the Hudhud chants of the Ifugao and the Punnuk (Tugging rituals and games) were inscribed in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists.
Etymology Ifugao is named after the term i-pugo ("i" [from/people] and pugo [hill]), which translates to people of the hill. Alternatively, the province's name may have come from the word pugaw, which means "the cosmic earth", ipugaw then referring to "mortals". Finally, the name may have been derived from ipugo, a type of grain in local mythology given to the people by Matungulan, the god of grains.
History
Precolonial era The Ifugao people are thought to have been one of the first Indigenous groups and rice cultivators of the Philippines. The Old Kiyyangan Village (OKV), in particular, has been dated back to as early as 810 Before Present (B.P) to 750 B.P. As evident in various studies conducted at the OKV archaeological site and on the Ifugao people themselves, they were believed to have strong relationships with the dead, believed in several Deities with the Sun God as one of the main ones they worshipped, were a socially stratified and centralized society based on agricultural practices, and established and developed a strong intra- and inter-regional trade of luxury items, trade ware, ceramics, and raw materials.
Spanish colonial era The Spanish had great difficulty in taking over Ifugao, like most of the Cordilleras due to the fierce belief of the Cordillera people of their rights since ancient times. The Ifugao battled colonizers for hundreds of years, even after the state was colonized and was transformed into a part of Nueva Vizcaya province of the Spanish-administered Philippines. In 1891, the Spanish government established Quiangan as a comandancia-politico-militar for the Ifugao area. The Spanish occupation in the province ended with the outbreak of the Philippine Revolution.
In the Northern Philippines, the Ifugao people are one of many minority ethnolinguistic groups best documented by ethnohistory and anthropological scholars. However, there is a dearth of historical information in the region particularly during the Spanish conquest. Changes in both demographics and cultural orientation among existing communities were to be expected during the time as certain groups resulted to migration towards the highlands. According to studies, the Ifugao succeeded multiple times resisting against the Spanish at conquest. The groups that migrated to the highlands were believed to be those that resisted the Spanish colonial control, which became prevalent in the lowlands. According to Acabado, the rugged nature of the highlands around the Ifugao region did not out rightly provide a hindrance to the Spanish conquest. Other regions that had similar rugged environment as found in Ifugao were subjected to colonial rule. Archeological research shows Ifugao practices of successful resistance by strengthening their political and economic resources. Spanish conquest and population increase was the source of shifting to wet-rice agriculture.
American colonial era
On August 18, 1908, Ifugao was separated from Nueva Vizcaya and, along with Amburayan, Apayao, Benguet, Bontoc, Kalinga and Lepanto, was annexed to the newly created Mountain Province established by the Philippine Commission with the enactment of Act No. 1876.
Japanese occupation Ifugao became the center of warfare in the last year of World War II when Gen. Tomoyuki Yamashita launched his last stand against the American and Philippine Commonwealth forces at Mount Napulawan. He informally surrendered to Captain Grisham of the 6th US Army in the Philippines based in Kiangan, then formally surrendered at Camp John Hay on September 3, 1945.
Philippine independence On June 18, 1966, Republic Act No. 4695 was enacted, and Ifugao was converted into a regular province when the huge Mountain Province was split into four (the other three being Benguet, Mountain Province, and Kalinga-Apayao). Ifugao and Kalinga-Apayao were placed under the jurisdiction of the Cagayan Valley region. The capital was moved from Kiangan to Lagawe due to the harsh landscape of Kiangan which made it unsuitable for public transportation and as a capital.
Post-martial law era On July 15, 1987, the Cordillera Administrative Region was established by then-President Corazon Aquino through Executive Order 220, and Ifugao was made one of its provinces.
Contemporary
In 1992, Republic Act No. 07173 was enacted, separating several barangays from Kiangan and constituting them under a new municipality known as Asipulo.
Since 1992, the province has observed every September 2 as "Victory Day", commemorating the valor of Philippine war veterans and the surrender of General Yamashita in the municipality of Kiangan on September 2, 1945.
In 1995, the Batad Rice Terraces, Bangaan Rice Terraces (both in Banaue), Mayoyao Rice Terraces (in Mayoyao), Hungduan Rice Terraces (in Hungduan) and Nagacadan Rice Terraces (in Kiangan, Ifugao) were inscribed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site under the collective name "Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras".
In 2001, the Hudhud Chants of the Ifugao was chosen as one of the 11 Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. It was then formally inscribed as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2008.
In 2013, the official Intangible Heritage Book of the Philippine was published, and 13 of its elements were from Ifugao.
In 2014, the Philippines joined other Asian nations in establishing the support and submission of the "Tug of war" — a multinational cultural heritage or Tugging rituals and games, an Intangible Cultural Heritage that encompasses tug-of-war games in Vietnam, Cambodia, and the Philippines. The initial move of the Philippines started in 2013. The Philippines' part in the new element is represented by the tug-of-war of the Ifugaos (in Barangay Hapao, Municipality of Hungduan) called the punnuk. The element is expected to be declared as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2015.
Since the 20th century, the province has been central to the archaeological research of various international institutions, mostly from the United States and the Philippines. A major discovery was the archaeological site of Kiangan, which proved the oral tradition of the Ifugao that the first settlement in the province was in Kiangan.
Geography Ifugao covers a total area of occupying the southeastern section of the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon. The province is bordered by Benguet to the west, Mountain Province to the north, Isabela to the east, and Nueva Vizcaya to the south.
Situated within the Cordillera Central mountain range, Ifugao is characterized by rugged terrain, river valleys, and massive forests.
Administrative divisions
Ifugao comprises 11 municipalities, all encompassed by a lone legislative district.
Municipality Population Area Density km2 /km2 Aguinaldo 19,408 16 Alfonso Lista 32,119 20 Asipulo 15,261 10 Banaue 21,837 18 Hingyon 9,227 12 Hungduan 9,400 9 Kiangan 17,048 14 Lagawe † 19,333 20 Lamut 25,279 18 Mayoyao 17,331 27 Tinoc 16,559 12 Total 207,498 202,802 2,628.21 176 Provincial capital Municipality
Barangays The 11 municipalities of the province comprise a total of 176 barangays, with Santa Maria in Alfonso Lista (Potia) as the most populous in 2010, and Banga in Lagawe as the least.
Climate The rainy season in Ifugao begins in July and runs through January. The weather remains cool from November to February. The mountainous terrain results in clouds often covering the peaks, creating a misty, humid, and cloudy environment. Increased intensity of rain, along with potential for floods and droughts, poses risks to the traditional agricultural landscape.
Demographics
The household population of Ifugao in the 2020 census was 207,130 people, with a density of .
Ethnicity
Based on the 2020 census survey, the population previously categorized broadly as Ifugao is now primarily identified as Tuwali at and Ayangan at of the total provincial household population of 207,130. Other significant ethnic groups include the Ilocanos at , Kalanguya at , and Kankanaey at .
Languages The main languages of Ifugao are the 4 languages of Ifugao dialect continuum: Tuwali, Amganad, Mayaoyao, Batad ; Keley-i Kalanguya; and Ilocano.
Religion The Ifugao people have an indigenous religion unique to their traditional culture, and highly significant to the preservation of their life ways and valued traditions. They believe in the existence of thousands of gods, which may enter specific sacred objects such as the bul-ul.
Roman Catholicism has a growing influence in the province with approximately 60% of the population being converted by missionaries. In most areas, especially at the east and south of the province, indigenous traditions have degraded due to the influx of Christianity. In 2014, the Apostolic Vicariate of Bontoc-Lagawe recorded a 61.5% Roman Catholic adherence. The most significant religion other than Roman Catholicism is Protestantism that make up 20%-30% of the population and are mostly found in the central and south-western parts of this province. Other religions includes animism.
Wet rice cultivation and ritual feasting Shifting to wet rice cultivation is one factor that intensified the social ranking that was already present among the Ifugao society. Those who adopted wet rice cultivation were able to consolidate political resources. “In Ifugao, the adoption of wet-rice agriculture is at the forefront in discussions regarding social ranking vis-à-vis prestige economy.” The Ifugao social status is based on their rice lands and ability to sponsor feasts. One reason being is that an individual needs to be skilled in mobilizing rice terraces, and because rice terraces require labor-intensive work. Stephen Acabado states that since the village was increasing in population, the shift to wet rice cultivation, increase of exotic goods procurement, and finally increase in the distribution of ritual animals indicates “political elaboration as a response to Spanish conquest.” In addition, according to Queeny G. Lapeña and Stephen B. Acabado, in order to successfully resist against a colonizing power it requires a constructive military organization within a complete polity. The Spanish took conquest of the Magat Valley and between 1600 CE and 1700 CE it drove the Ifugao to strategically resettle in the interior of the Cordillera Mountains. Wet-rice agriculture was adopted soon after, and extensive rice terraces were built. This was a subsistence shift for the Ifugao because they cultivated taro before the start of the wet rice cultivation. The author emphasizes that the Ifugao people kept their culture and identity alive by spending large amounts of time in rice fields, since they treated them as ritual areas to “reinforce community solidarity."