MY HOME TOWN
Hi welcome to my site, My name is Hardy, an Igorot from Baguio. Im currently base here in South Korea, an OFW contract workers in the Korean small business industry. Im the creature of this site and I'm primarily responsible for updating it.
Baguio is the first home i've known. I was grown, Baptized, My Father is from Tadian mt. Prov. traces their root from Banao and Sabangan. My Mother is from Data,Sagada. Growing up, I always knew i was an Igorot and i grew up proud of that knowledge. I got exposed to how limited others think of the Igorot people when I left my home at young age. Even in these premier institutions of education, Igorots were thought to be lower than the normal Filipino. There are misconceptions on the looks, culture, and intellectual capabilities of the Igorot. This site, amongst other things, is here to educate our fellow Filipinos of who we really are - a proud and hardworking people, with a rich cultural heritage that is different from most other Filipinos because we were not subjected under almost 400 years of brutal Spanish colonization.
..I'AM IGOROT.. INDEED..
..."I am an IGOROT. Let me be treated as I deserve - with respect if I am good, with contempt if I am no good, irrespective of the name I carry. Let the term, IGOROT, remain, and the world will use it with the correct meaning attached to it". ...For almost four centuries since the 1500s when Spain occupied the Philippines, in spite of superior weapons of war, the Spaniards were unable to completely subjugate these mountain people. This Spanish failure of conquest resulted in Spain’s failure to control the famed Central Cordillera’s rich natural resources, including the famed Igorot gold and silver and the mountains’ natural beauty and cool climate. Embarrassed at its failure to conquer the Igorots that make up a tiny portion of the Philippine population, the Spanish conquerors embarked on a campaign of words against the Igorots. The Spaniards called the Igorots primitive, savage, headhunters, ugly, ignoramus, recalcitrant, without manners, with tails, and incapable of domestication. Unfortunately, this caricature of the Igorot by the Spaniards swept the thinking of the mainstream Filipino, from the Spanish occupation through the American occupation of the Philippines at the end of the 19th century and, to a significant extent, up to the present. And even while the Igorot has leap-froged into the later part of the 20th century to become nurses, doctors, engineers, educators, lawyers, bishops, congressmen, governors, businessmen, ivy-league students as cum laudes, topping professional national examinations in the Philipppines, etc, they are still perceived by many as “primitive”. This has caused embarrassment on the part of many Igorots themselves who now prefer not to be identified as “Igorot”. It is, however, the conviction of other Igorots not to hide from his true identity because of negative connotations but to turn the word , Igorot, “from a name of shame to a name of pride
The Northern Luzon...Cordillera Tribes..
The tribes include the Ifugaos, Bontocs, Kankanaeys, Ibalois, Ikalahans, Isnegs, Kalingas and Isnegs.
Ifugao is derived from the word ''Ipugo'' which means ''people from the earth.'' They are the ones with some of the most magnificent rice terraces in the region like the ones in Banaue.
According to the CSG study, most Ifugaos don't want to be called Igorots; they simply want to be called Ifugaos.
The basic Ifugao male attire is the wanoh or loin cloth for the men and ampuyo (general name for skirt) for the women. The men are muscular while the women are proportionately beautiful.
Manny Ngitit, an Ifugao native and staff member of the provincial Philippine Information Agency, said they did not practice the bodong (peace pact) system to engage in war or settle conflicts unlike some tribes in Mt. Province and Kalinga. In a gathering, chances are the life of the party is an Ifugao who never tires of telling jokes.
The Bontoks are found in Mt. Province. According to accounts made by Spanish friars based on Scott's writings, they were ''aggressive, warlike and quick and rough'' when provoked.
They have larger and more muscular bodies, fair or dark in complexion and shorter height unlike the Kalinga males who are tall, dark and have slender bodies.
In earlier days, the Bontok males courted the women in the ulog, some sort of a dormitory for women. The men and women may sleep together and engage in sex even without getting married. If they feel they are sexually compatible and they love each other, they may get married.
Benguet is home to the Ibalois. They are the butt of jokes among the more aggressive tribes for their perceived timidity and shyness, according to observers. Some Ibalois dispute these attributions and some stabbings and maulings have resulted in pub drinking bouts even in Baguio City due to taunting.
Ibalois like Ceferino Willy, Baguio station manager of PTV 4, who is half Kankanaey and half Ibaloi, say the Ibalois' timidity is apparent in weddings or wakes.
''The one who is usually at the background is an Ibaloi and you may quote me on this,'' he said.
Willy said the perceived timidity or shyness was acquired by the poorer Ibalois due to the past feudal setup between the rich and the poor.
''Attend any Ibaloi wedding or wake and the ones who are seated at the best tables and given the best wine or food are the rich. The poorer ones are those in the inconspicuous places,'' he said.
Morr Pungayan, one of the more recent Cordillera historians, however, said the Ibalois now are not really that timid as they have acquired education or become rich.
Some Ibaloi tribes have reportedly engaged in headhunting forays in the past and have distinguished themselves for gallantry and valor during wars like the Japanese occupation.