Ifugao

Ifugao refers to a province of Luzon in the Philippines that had been governed by a semi-anarchist political system for two thousand years and developed the sustainable Banaue Rice Terraces, often considered the Eighth Wonder of the World.

History

Ifuago was first settled around 500BCE, and building up itself over the next 2000 years through a complex web of agriculture, housing and a decentralised, self-governing structure. During the Spanish Colonisation of the Philippines (beginning in 1521) it took hundreds of years for Ifugao to fall under Spanish control as the people fiercely resisted colonisation. The province remained relatively untouched during the Philippine Revolution, American Colonisation and World War II, after indepedence, it became a haven for tourists, anthropologists and archeologists.

Decision-Making

Villages hardly exist; rather houses are scattered, sometimes with a cluster of a dozen or so in one place. These can be seen as self-governing neighbourhoods (they also lacked a state, police and law). There is a unique class system, with wealthy men on top (called kadangyang) who are granted this status in recognition of their sponsoring of feasts and mediating disputes. They mediate disputes in families, houses and between villages and often buys and sells resources in the community. Despite this, he has no authority and does not act as a police force, and is only has as much power as he is granted.

Crime

Most disputes are resolved through fines that must be agreed upon by both parties. If one side refuses to pay a fine, then the other is permitted to steal from them. Otherwise, disputes are resolved through various contests like egg throwing, wrestling matches and marriages. The death penalty is used in extreme cases such as murder. However, almost all disputes were resolved peacefully.

Economy

Food Production

Food production in Ifugao was based around mountain gardens of rice and taro as well as raising chickens and pigs. Rice is stored in granaries and used to produce rice wine and rice cakes and moma (a mixture of several herbs, powdered snail shell and betel nut/arecoline which is used as a chewing gum to the Ifugaos. Most people own enough land to provide for themselves and if they don't they perform favours for others to survive (a sort of proto-capitalist market). Ifugao agriculture was considered the best in Asia at the time.

The Banaue Rice Terraces were carved into the mountains of Ifugao and are occasionally called the "Eighth Wonder of the World". It is commonly thought that the terraces were built with minimal equipment, largely by hand. The terraces are located approximately 1,500 metres (4,900 feet) above sea level. These are fed by an ancient irrigation system from the rainforests above the terraces. It is said that if the steps were put end to end, it would encircle half of the globe.

The Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras is a similar structure, employing early hydraulic engineering. Maintenance of the living rice terraces reflects a primarily cooperative approach of the whole community which is based on detailed knowledge of the rich diversity of biological resources existing in the Ifugao agro-ecosystem, a finely tuned annual system respecting lunar cycles, zoning and planning, extensive soil conservation, and mastery of a complex pest control regime based on the processing of a variety of herbs, accompanied by religious rituals.

Housing

Ifugao housing has been described as: "Square in floor plan, it is elevated to about shoulder height by four posts (tukud), around which are fitted cynlindrical wooden rat-guards (halipan), carrying two transverse girders (kuling) which support three floor joists into which the floorboards (dotal) are fitted and wallboards (goab and pamadingan) and studs (bagad) are mortised. The four studs, placed at the corner of the house, are mortised at their upper end into four tie-beans or purlins (wanan) which form a square to carry much of the weight of the roof as well as the central crossbeam (pumpitolan) on which stand two queenposts (taknang). These queenposts terminate in a small square (ambubulan) which supports the upper ends of the rafters (bughol), the roof being a true pyramid in form with four triangular sides and thus rising to an apex without any ridgepole. The wallboards are rabbeted into a transverse beam (huklub) at waist or chest height, at which point a shelf (patie) is fitted between them and the roof, whose eaves descend as low as the level of the floor. Above the tie beams a reed floor or platform is often fitted to make an attic-like storage space (palan) for unthreshed rice. Wooden panels close doorways on two opposite sides of the house, and entrance is gained by means of a ladder which is removed at night. This type of house is called bale (or fale), but the same basic building with a few modifications - the wallboards extend up to the roof, there is only one door, and the whole thing is smaller - serves as a rat-proof granary (alang)."

Culture

People commonly identify with family centered around several households. But there is also a unique class system, with wealthy men on top (called kadangyang) who are granted this status in recognition of their sponsoring of feasts and mediating disputes. Ifugao men and women have fairly equal relationships. Both man and wife bring to their marriage an equal amount of property and they also work side by side in the fields.

See Also

• Highland New Guinea