ILONGOT

ILONGOT
The Ilongots, also known as Bugkalots, are well known for their intense aggressiveness
and cultural conservatism.
Of all the ethnic groups of the country, the Ilongot appears to have been the only one devastated by its own harsh culture
dispersing the population from the traditional areas of habitation to other provinces.
Their communities straddle the boundaries of
Quirino, Aurora, and Nueva Vizcaya
and the Sierra
Madre and Caraballo mountains in the headwaters of the Cagayan, Tabayon,
and Conwap Rivers.
The Ilongot,
who are of Indonesian descent,
have five subgroups: Italon The Ilongot are primarily in
Engongot slash-and-burn agriculturalist,
50,017 Kadayakan hunters and fishermen.
Total Population Abaca
(1990)
Dagkan
 They grow maize, manioc, rice, tobacco, sugar and vegetables and moves their
fields once a year.
 The men hunt with dogs several times a week and all meat is shared equally
among the all households and consumed immediately. The Ilongot are primarily in
 Fish are taken with nets, traps, spears and poison. slash-and-burn agriculturalist,
 The Ilongot also collect forest products such as rattan for their own use and hunters and fishermen.
to trade, forge their own knives, picks and hoes
There is no formal leadership in Ilongot society. Disputes are sometimes settled by giving offenders ordeals to establish
their innocence. More often than not they evolve into feuds settled
Informal leadership lies with sons and brothers who have oratorical
through head hunting raids. A death in a household requires a young man in
skills and have acquired knowledge of myths, ceremonies and that house avenge it. A pig is sacrificed when headhunters return. Some
genealogies. The oratorical skills are known as purun, which women feuds are settled with negotiations and exchanges, Many go on for a long
reportedly can not understand. time.
Pregnancy speeds up the process which is finalized until the two
families who are going to be unified have settled all their disputes.
Young men are expected to engage in a successful head hunt
before marriage.
Marriages are usually
Prospective marriage partners usually exchange gifts, work together in the fields and monogamous and cousins are
have sex before the get married. preferred partners.
Ilongot youth have traditionally had their teeth filed as an act of initiation into adulthood.
In 1947, Laurence Lee Wilson wrote: “Sometime in their middle teens, the maidens and youths have their teeth filed down. A group of her
boyfriends will rally round a girl in her house and hold her down tight while one cuts her teeth down - no matter how much she screams
from the excruciating pain. After the operation, one lad will take a pencil-sized twig from a guava tree or the stem of a batac plant, heat it
in the fire, and rub the warm bark on the teeth: thus, stopping the blood and easing the pain. Thereafter the shortened teeth are strong
for chewing - even bones, and picking the teeth after eating is unnecessary. When it is all over, wreaths are hung up and a gala time is had
with basi [fermented wine], chicken, and rice.
The Ilongot have traditionally lived a semi-nomadic life in groups with around 180 or so members. Each groups is made up of several
settlements, which in turn have four to nine household, with five to 15 nuclear families and 40 to 70 individuals.
Settlements are set up by their fields and are moved whenever they clear new fields. Houses are built on pilings 15 feet off
the ground and have walls made of grass and bamboo.
One end of the rattan vine has a hook on it which is
hooked around a tree limb. Holding on to the vine
Members of the Ilongot tribe are probably the closest things to real life
with their hands and toes the tribesmen are to able
Tarzans. Using 30 foot pieces of rattan Ilongots travel through the thick to swing from one branch to another.
jungle by swinging from tree to tree.
According to the Ilongot people, the creators of the universe are two
quarrelling brothers who go by the name Cain and Abel. Abel
was a shepherd who is known to have been looked upon favourably due to his propensity to self-sacrifice. While Cain who worked in
agriculture was known for his inclination towards chaos.
The Ilongot people identify those who live down in the lowlands as This is because the Ilongots have long been known as a tribe of
following the spirit of Abel. They view them as superior as well as headhunters. Like Cain, in moments of grief or intense emotion, the
having had learned to work with the domesticated animals such as Ilongot people have an inclination towards murder.
Carabao. Interestingly, the Ilongot see themselves as following in the
footsteps of Cain and his spirit of chaos.
Thank You!

ILONGOT

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