International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR)

ISSN (Online): 2319-7064

Index Copernicus Value (2013): 6.14 | Impact Factor (2013): 4.438

The Ifugao Hudhud: Its Values Content

Michele J. Dulay
Ifugao State University, Nayon, Lamut, Ifugao, 3605 Philippines
[email protected]

Abstract:The study sought to determine the values embedded in the Hudhud of the Ifugao. The study used documentary analysis to
uncover the values of the Ifugaos as embodied in the Hudhud using the Department of Education Culture and Sports(DECS)Values
Education Framework. Focus group discussion (FGD)was used toauthenticate the data analyzed. The findings revealed that there were
many values embodied in the Hudhud which are worth emulating and keeping.

Keywords: Ifugao, Hudhud, Values, Chant, Values Education Framework

1. Introduction commonly accepted values, without values chaos and

disorder will ensue.Strong and vigorous nation is always
Values are those things that really matter to each of us, the bound together by consensus on a set of core values defining
ideas and beliefs we hold as special. Caring for others, for the moral character of the people [4].
example, is a value; so is the freedom to express our
opinions. Values are deep-rooted motivations of behavior. In the northern part of the Luzon countryside, there are areas
They define what is important to us and the bases of our occupied by indigenous people, which are known because of
choices, decisions, reactions, behavior. Science does not tell their promising indigenous knowledge. The most famous
us what we should value most, nor does it prove that one among them is the Province of Ifugao whose natives
value is better than another, and what the consequences are developed rice terraces and literature.
in choosing one value over another. [1].
Ifugao literature is rich in values as reflected in their songs,
Whenever people go to work, they carry with them inherent narratives, chants and folktales. Positive values such as hard
values. They possess them all along. The office, the school, work and industry are worthy integrating and strengthening
the factory, the plant, the hospital- everywhere and anywhere while there are values which need redirection through values
a person works, one finds values in immeasurable quantity. clarification[5]. The good values should be continued to
It means that in any place where individuals congregate, they practice like love and respect for elders, cooperation among
manifest a set of values which have nurtured them since families and neighborhood, and the bayanihan system should
infancy [2]. be remembered [6].Moreover,in the study regarding Baki of
the Hongan di Tagu of the Tuwali Tribe of Hingyon, Ifugao,
There are many kinds of values but one of the human values Philippines, there are good values that are cultivated in the
that would be an asset of a person in his development, when performances of rituals and ceremonies such as dedication of
he will be grown-up individual is the value of respect [1]. performing their roles as mumbaki[7].
No matter who or what a person is, at least he or she should
be respected. To promote peace, harmony, unity among each The above findings indicates that there are values reflected in
other, let us inject human values, as everyone is on the same the Ifugao culture in general, however, no study conducted to
level in the eyes of the Divine Lord [3]. determine the values inculcated in the Hudhudchant.
Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the values
embedded in the IfugaoHudhud chant for its promotion and
Teaching values in school is of great importance to the preservation.
learners who are the center of its advantage [3].While their
minds are still immature, they should be enlightened about 1.1. The Hudhud chant
the best possible things in life that will lead to development
in all aspects of life. The Hudhud consists of narrative chants traditionally
performedby the Ifugao community, which is well known for
The DECS Values Education Framework (DECS Order No. its riceterraces extending over the highlands of the northern
6, S. 1988) pronounced:The school through its values island ofthe Philippine archipelago [8].
education program contributes to the formation of the
valuing individual; In the process of values formation, the On 18 March 2001, United Nations, Educational, Scientific
individual develops a rational and voluntarily–accepted and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for the first time
propulsive force within himself that results in a desired mode awarded the title of "Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible
of behavior; Values help the individual realize himself as a Heritage of Humanity" to 19 outstanding cultural spaces or
person in the community responsible for his own growth as forms of expression from the different regions of the world.
well as for that of his fellow human being and the In Asia, UNESCO honored six masterpieces, among them,
development of society; Values education will lead to human the Hudhud chants of the Ifugao of northern
formation, to becoming a human being who has good Luzon. The Hudhud is recited and chanted among the
manners and right conduct.Society must be held tighter by
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Paper ID: SUB154932 2776
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 International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR)
ISSN (Online): 2319-7064
Index Copernicus Value (2013): 6.14 | Impact Factor (2013): 4.438
Ifugao only during four occasions: the harvesting and Three Hudhud pieces were analyzed: Hudhud for Harvest in
weeding of rice, funeral wakes, and bone-washing the fields (Hudhud di Page), Hudhud for the vigil on the
(bogwa) rituals. Estimated to have originated before the 7th death of a person who die a natural death (Hudhud di Nate)
century, the Hudhud - comprised of over 200 stories with and Hudhud for the wake of the Bogwa or exhumation rite.
about 40 episodes each. The language of the chants, almost This were the following: (1) Hudhud of Aliguyon, (2)Hudhud
impossible to transcribe, is full of repetitions, synonyms, of Aliguyon and Bugan and (3)Hudhud of Aliguyon and
figurative terms and metaphors. Performed in a leader/chorus Dinoy-agan. The three Hudhudthat were analyzed were
style, the lead chanter, munhaw-e - often an elderly woman - translated into English text for easy understanding.
recites an introductory line to set the tone, and then this is
taken up by a chorus of women – the mun’abbuy, to the end The results of the analysis were evaluated and validated by
of the phrase. This cycle is repeated until the end of the three values education experts. The process of evaluation
episode. It may take days to complete a story, depending on and validation was done in a manner by which the evaluators
the situation[9]. were provided with copies of the three Hudhud, the value
indicators and the value content analysis. They evaluated
2. Research Design and Methodology individually whether the value indicators or sentences
reflective of values were classified correctly or not by the
2.1. Research method researcher.

This study was purely qualitative in approach. Documentary 2.5. Treatment/analysis of data
analysis was usedto bare the values of the Ifugaos as
embodied in the Hudhudusing the Department of Education Frequency counts and percentage were used to determine the
Culture and Sports (now Department of Education) Revised number of times of occurrence of the values as mentioned in
Values Education Framework.Focus group discussion (FGD) the three hudhud.
was conducted to further strengthen the data analyzed.
3. Results and Discussions
2.2 Location of the study
3.1. Values of the Ifugaos as Embodied in theHudhud
Ifugao is situated in Northern Philippines at the foot of the
Cordillera mountain ranges. It is generally located between Table 1. Values embodied in Hudhud
120 degrees 40 minutes longitude and between 16 degrees Titles of Core Values*
35 minutes and 17 degrees 5 minutes latitude. It is bounded Analyzed A B C D E F G Total
on the North by Mountain Province, South by Nueva Hudhud
Vizcaya, East by Isabela and on the West by Benguet Hudhud of 58 9 73 7 63 22 57
Province. Ifugao is recognized by UNESCO as a “World Aliguyon 289
Hudhud of 36 7 26 6 52 42 25
Heritage Site” and the World Trade and Tourism Council as
Aliguyon
a “Pilot Green Globe Destination”. and Bugan 194
Hudhud of 72 31 95 10 99 42 64
The Province of Ifugao could be reached by land Aliguyon
transportation like public utility bus and/jeep through the use and Dinoy-
of the national road connected from Bagabag, Nueva agan 413
Vizcaya which traversed Lamut, Kiangan, Lagawe, Total 166 47 194 23 214 106 146 896
Hingyon and Banaue and connected to a national road going *Legend:
to Bontoc, Mountain Province [10]. A half way concrete A Physical (Health/Harmony with Nature)
road from Banaue to Ramon, Isabela is available during dry B Intellectual (Knowledge/truth)
C Moral (Love)
season but sometimes not passable during rainy season.
D Spiritual (Spirituality)
E Social (Social Responsibility)
2.3. Focus group discussion participants F Economic (Economic Self-Sufficiency)
G Political (Nationalism & Patriotism)
There were 30 participants in the FGD composed of farmers,
point teachers, government officials and students. Point A total of 896 values were found in the threeHudhudthat
teachers are those teachers who organized the Hudhud in were analyzed using the DECS Revised Values Education
their respective schools. Framework. There were194 values reflected in the Hudhud
of Aliguyon and Bugan, 289 in Hudhud of Aliguyon and 413
2.4. Data gathering procedures values in Hudhud of Aliguyon and Dinoy-agan. Among the
three, Hudhud of Aliguyon and Dinoy-agan has the most
The documentary analysis was used to uncover the values of number of values reflected. Probably the reason for this is
Ifugaos embodied in the IfugaoHudhud using the that, it is the longest among the three since there were side
Department of Education Culture and Sports (DECS)Revised episodes that were added which were not found in the other
Values Education Framework. two Hudhud. This finding shows that the Hudhud are rich in
values reflective of the values of the Ifugaos.
In order to have a guide to facilitate the identification and
classification of values, a list of value indicators for all As indicated in table 1, there were 7 core values utilized in
related values was adopted by the researcher. the study. The core values were dominated by social
Volume 4 Issue 5, May 2015
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Paper ID: SUB154932 2777
Licensed Under Creative Commons Attribution CC BY
 International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR)
ISSN (Online): 2319-7064
Index Copernicus Value (2013): 6.14 | Impact Factor (2013): 4.438
responsibility with 214 values,followed by love with 194 lessons we learn from Hudhud like love, respect, peace,
values, health/harmony with nature with 166 baddang(bayanihan), bravery, sportsmanship, strength
values,nationalism and patriotism with 146 values, economic etc…”
and self-sufficiency with 106 values, knowledge/truth with
47 values and the least emphasized core value was Another participant from the FGD, 20-year old female
spirituality with 23 values reflected. student from Banaue said: “It is good for us Ifugaos because
we have this kind of culture which we learned from our
The result of ranking of the core values as shown in table 1 grandparents. As I observed our Hudhud promotes
strongly signifies that Ifugaos are socially responsible in all camaraderie, unity and cooperation among the people in our
aspects. As we all know, social responsibility connotes community.”
mutual love and respect, fidelity, responsible parenthood,
concern for others, social justice, freedom and equality. This In general, the IfugaoHudhud claimed to be rich in values
is manifested in these statements found in the stories: contained in the DECS Revised Education Values
“Dinoy-agan shouted a warning, „hold on, Aliguyon, hold on Framework. These values are believed to be the values the
tightly to the horns‟: (Hudhud of Aliguyon and Dinoy-agan); Ifugaos uphold in life.
“he (Aliguyon) goes up to the stone walls and picks some
betel leaves, then he runs to give them to those keeping 3.2. Distribution of the occurrence of core and related
Bugan company, Bugan daughter of Pangaiwan. Then values in the Hudhud
Aliguyonson of Amtalaw addresses them: „the old ones
among you must not go too close for I do not like Bugan my Table 2.Frequency and Percent Distribution of the
bride to get dizzy by your betels.‟ (Hudhud of Aliguyon and Occurrence of Core and Related Values in the Hudhud
Bugan); and “where are you, my father Pangaiwan, bring Core & Related Values Freq. %
down to us our wine jars, and put an end to the feud of A. Health/Harmony with Nature 166 18.5
Pumbakhayon and Aliguyon” (Hudhud of Aliguyon). Physical Fitness 88 53.01
Cleanliness 11 6.627
This corroborates the study conductedconcerning Indigenous Beauty 33 19.88
Agroforestry Systems of Ifugaothat the cooperation system Art 34 20.48
of the Ifugao people are still intact and areused to accomplish B. Knowledge/Truth 47 5.25
Creative & Critical Thinking 47 100
their agroforestry activities. The cooperation system of the
C. Love 194 21.7
Ifugaosuch as ulno/bfachang/baddang, balhan/bforhan,
Integrity/Honesty 52 26.8
dang-a and ubbosustained their harmony [10]. Self-worth/self-esteem 111 57.22
Personal Discipline 31 15.98
Ifugaos have high regard to love. The predominantly theme D. Spirituality 23 2.57
of the Hudhud stories are exemplifying romances praising Faith 23
Ifugao ideals of love, marriage and wealth. Emphasized are E. Social Responsibility 214 23.9
attributes of strength among the men and the feminine Mutual Love/Respect 35 16.36
virtues of beauty and diligence. This is shown in the story of Fidelity 13 6.075
Hudhud of Aliguyon “They (Aliguyon and Pumbakhayon) Responsible Parenthood 25 11.68
fought with equal skill and could not touch each other. So Concern for others/Common good 55 25.7
day by day they fought in Daligdigan land.” Similar to this, Freedom/Equality 4 1.869
is the finding in the studyon Development and Validation of Social justice 27 12.62
Peace/Active Non-violence 17 7.944
an Instructional Material (Hudhud of Aliguyun and Dinoy-
Popular Participation 38 17.76
agan) for Communication Arts IV that among the cultural
F. Economic Self-sufficiency 106 11.8
values as reflected was strength, skill and bravery where the Work Ethic 54 50.94
admiration of the two contenders (Aliguyon and Dinoy-agan) Self-reliance 15 14.15
for each other‟s strength and skill was very evident on the Productivity 17 16.04
story Hudhud of Aliguyon and Dinoy-agan[11].In all Hudhud Scientific & Technological
stories, bravery is inscribed, they always described their Knowledge 0 0
heroes as ‘mana-il’ or powerful and daring. Vocational efficiency 16 15.09
Entrepreneurship 4 3.774
This supports the study conducted regarding the analysis of G. Nationalism & Patriotism 146 16.3
values reflected in the Isinay Folktales. All values contained Common Identity 39 26.71
in the DECS Revised Values Education Framework were Esteem of our national heroes 1 0.685
dominantly reflected in the 42 folktales towns of Aritao, collective Commitment 5 3.425
Bambang and Dupaxdel Sur, Nueva, Vizcaya. These values Civic Consciousness 29 19.86
were ranked-ordered respectively: social responsibility, love, Pride in one‟s country 1 0.685
knowledge/truth, health/harmony with nature, nationalism Bayanihan 29 19.86
Interpersonal Understanding 2 1.37
and patriotism, economic self-sufficiency and the least
Cooperation 6 4.11
emphasized values among the Isinays was spirituality [12].
Amity 34 23.29
Total 896 100
Data from the FGD authenticated the findings that
IfugaoHudhud have values. A 27-year-old female and a
government employee from Lagawe said: “There are moral
Volume 4 Issue 5, May 2015
www.ijsr.net
Paper ID: SUB154932 2778
Licensed Under Creative Commons Attribution CC BY
 International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR)
ISSN (Online): 2319-7064
Index Copernicus Value (2013): 6.14 | Impact Factor (2013): 4.438
Table 2 shows the frequency distribution and percentage of Ifugao Hudhud has rich values content. As analyzed,
the occurrence of core and related values found in the three validated and evaluated these values are relevant today. It is
Hudhud that were analyzed using the DECS Revised Values therefore recommended that these values should be used in
Education Framework. In the DECS Revised Values teaching values, social studies and other social sciences in all
Educational Framework the nationalism and patriotism core levels of the school whether public or private.
values has the greatest number of related values while the
least is knowledge/truth and spirituality. References
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Hudhud of Aliguyon and Bugan and Hudhud of Aliguyon and Ifugao: It‟s Implication to Education”. Unpublished
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4. Conclusion [8] United Nations, Educational, Scientific and Cultural
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moral, spiritual, economic and political).These are the 2003 and 2005”.
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5. Recommendations [11] A. C. Saquing. 1999. “Development and Validation of
an Instructional Material (Hudhud of Aliguyun and
The Provincial Government of Ifugao and other cultural Dinoy-agan) for Communication Arts IV at The Ifugao
offices in the province should conduct more Hudhud State College of Agriculture and Forestry”. Unpublished
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Ifugao cultural festivals and sponsor more competitions. Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya.
[12] M. Perolina. 1993. “Isinay Folktales as Transmitters of
Ifugao cultures that are worth emulating, especially the Values: An Analysis”. Unpublished Masteral Thesis.
Hudhud should be documented and published by concern Saint Mary‟s University, Bayombong, NuevaVizcaya.
agencies/Institutions like Provincial Government of
Ifugao,Ifugao State University (IFSU) and other institutions. Author Profile
The School for Living Traditions of Ifugao should be Michele J. Dulayfinished her undergraduate degree in Secondary
strengthened in such a way that more funds should be Education major in Social Studies at Ifugao State College of
allocated; and actual performances of Hudhud to harvest Agriculture and Forestry in 1999. She obtained her MA in Teaching
major in Social Studies at Saint Mary‟s University, Philippines in
season, bogwa or exhumation & death should be encouraged. 2009. Presently, she is the Education Program Specialist l of Ifugao
State University, (IFSU) Nayon, Lamut, Ifugao.

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