Tourists shopping on what should be another quiet market day in Banaue ask vendors what’s up. Comprehending the ritual from whispered replies, they tug children to not stare and relax only when the mourners disperse. All in a day’s work in that mountain town made world-famous by its awesome rice terraces.
Well, not really. Homicide is rare in Ifugao, unlike in Kalinga farther north where tribal wars disrupt trade and travel. Ifugao is more for big city types yearning for the slow pace. And Banaue, 20 minutes from the capital of Lagawe, is just the place to breathe in the cool Cordillera breeze, marvel at how ancient tribesmen cut the mountainside into paddies, and snuggle up at night by the fireplace while listening to the distant beat of gongs.
Not that there’s no adventure to be found there, though. Only eight hours’ drive from Manila (seven from Baguio), Banaue is the jumpoff for a two-hour hike to the village of Batad (3,700 ft. above sea level) to watch natives plant upland rice, weave vests, and reenact the headhunting days of yore. For the weak-kneed, there are shorter treks to the villages of Bocos, Poitan or Banga-an, where tourists can taste tapuy (rice wine) and haggle for woodcraft, antique hunting weapons and kitchen tools.
For those who want even shorter walks is the village of Tam-an, 240 steps down a carved cliff from the Philippine Tourism Authority’s Banaue Hotel. Tourists can peek into elevated Ifugao huts, then haggle with the dwellers for the antique ladders adorned at the tips with carvings of bulul (harvest god). The three-star hotel – with double beds and suites, a bar, and a, brr, swimming pool – is the biggest, priciest in town. Right beside it is a youth hostel, also PTA-run, for half the rate. Along with nearby inns, they offer views of the misty valley below. All are 15 minutes’ stroll from market and museum.
Banaue is the last stop of concrete highway to the Cordilleras. From there, it’s two hours of rough road to Bontoc, capital of adjacent Mountain Province and once the region’s hub of commerce and learning. (The Bontoc museum is bigger and better than Banaue’s.) Another hour’s zigzag ride up is Sagada, known for its burial caves, hanging coffins, also tapuy. Still another five hours on rugged Halsema Highway is Kabayan in Benguet, known for the Igorot mummies and more tapuy.
Five years ago the Philippines had 20 provinces hanging below the poverty line. Nine have since graduated from the list. Ifugao remains with the Group of Eleven, the only one in northern Luzon. That’s because, says executive director Fernando Bahatan Jr. of the Commission on Indigenous Peoples, Ifugao has no natural resources aside from its friendly natives. Benguet, Kalinga and Apayao have mines. Abra has forests, Mountain Province has rich soil irrigated by the mighty Chico River. Ifugao has only its terraces for subsistent upland rice farming, and only for once a year.
Some terraces have eroded from infestation of giant earthworms 16 inches long and as thick as a thumb. Some have been sold to speculating lowlanders. For relatively big bucks, rich Ifugaos quarry stones for riprap right beside the highway. It’s banned, but environment officials look the other way rather than let people go hungry. Tourism is Ifugao’s best bet – but only for starters, Bahatan hopes. With capital earned from tourists, idle tribal lands can be used for industrial and edible tree-farming.
And so the Ifugaos put their best foot – and g-strings – forward to visitors. Native rituals are performed with majestic pride for modest profit. One wonders if the designated kinsman will ever avenge the Christmas killing, and thus lead the dalong (victory dance). But with Ifugao’s growing population, tourists are likely to catch on any weekend a different street dance, like for a kasar or wedding.
There was one such festive occasion on the same day as the himong, for Bahatan’s son John had come home from Baguio to wed his childhood sweetheart Marjorie. Practically all of Banaue attended the reception, plus dozens more relatives from Abra and the tourists who happened by. It is customary for the groom’s family to pitch in to buy two carabaos and ten pigs to serve to thousands of guests. The bride’s side takes care of the rice and the cooking. Tapuy and basi (sugarcane wine) flow freely to warm up the olds for the dancing. All in a day’s work in that magical town up in the Cordilleras.