The Ibaloy today

The Ibaloy Studies Conference: The Ibaloy today (By Valred Olsim)

(Our Tourism policy is more than numbers that help generate employment and pump the economy but also includes the preservation of culture and heritage. That is why I am fortunate to have been given the opportunity to attend seminars and conferences that are related to our functions such as this recently held Ibaloy Studies Conference at UP Baguio on April 24-25).
“That’s a very difficult question.” Dr. Julie Camdas-Cabato, sighed not knowing that the inquisitive person in front of her is one of the many babies she ushered to this world via caesarian section.

Dr. Cabato’s story of the “vanishing Ibaloys of Baguio City” echoes the many fears of the Ibaloys in this age – the displacing of its people, the fading of its culture, and the losing of its identity. As many queries piled the hall, I was compelled to stand up and address the room’s white elephant after a UP professor’s “profound” and “extremely important” inquiry about the “color of the butato (fireflies)”.

“How do we, the multi-cultural children- the one-halves, and one fourths, address our identity? What is the implication of being a multi-cultural child in the Ibaloy’s advocacy of cultural preservation?” I nervously raised.

“That is indeed a very difficult question” The questions actually broke the room- each participant looking side and up, asking the ceiling the same thing.

There was no answer.

Earlier, messages were given asking the obvious question: “Who are the Ibaloys?” Benguet Gov. Fongwan, who admitted that he has no Ibaloy blood but can speak fluent Ibaloy, shared that he is considered by many as one of them simply because he lived as an Ibaloy, and speaks the Ibaloi Language. (“He looks and sounds like a chicken, therefore he must be a chicken”).

Does that mean that those who do not know how to speak Ibaloi, despite having Ibaloy parents, like most from the fifth and perhaps, sixth generation, are not considered Ibaloys?  Is being an Ibaloy by blood? Or by cultural orientation (as being able to speak Ibaloi)? Although I understood that Anthropological researchers use the language to sort human groups, I still felt unconvinced.

NCIP Commissioner Zenaida Hamada-Pawid (a one-half, one- fourth herself) answered my query in three parts. She started her story by recalling her experience as a young Anthropology professor of UP who is tracing her ancestry by collecting the genealogy of the five biggest clans of Benguet villages. What she and other researchers found out was that all of the people in the southern Cordillera can trace their roots to only one people – the Kalanguyas (Ikalahans), a distinct sub-group of the Ifugaos.

The Kalanguyas (from “Keley ngoy iya” a term used to pacify misunderstandings), in turn, are blood brothers of many different ethnic groups, not only from the Cordillera region, but also of the people of Region I and II. “Enshi nai-afafil” I smirked.

If we go deeper, we will find out that our different tribes in the Cordillera region belong to the same Austronesian Peoples in Southeast Asia and Oceania. This means that we belong to the same family with the Taiwanese aborigines; the majority ethnic groups of Malaysia, East Timor,Indonesia, Brunei, Madagascar, Micronesia, and Polynesia, as well as the Polynesian peoples of New Zealand and Hawaii, and the non-Papuan people of Melanesia, the minorities of Singapore where Malay is an indigenous language, the Pattani region of Thailand, and the Cham areas in Vietnam,Cambodia, and Hainan.

“What irks me is the different organizations, including that Bangsamoro, who insist that they are different (perhaps superior?) groups when they belong to the same group of people” She said strongly. “Even without discussing the cultural and social matrix however, we are one people because of our common activities – pasturing, agriculture, forestry and mining.” These activities, she explained are protected by the Indigenous Peoples themselves suggesting that said activities taught them to become very much protective of their land and resources.

“So how can the young Ibaloy today understand how is it to become an Ibaloy of the past?” She asked. “The Ibaloy is a culture and people in constant change….they are not frozen in time”

“But if you want to know the core value of the Ibaloys, go ask the Ibaloys who perished in the Battle of Tonglo at Lumtang (Lamtang). Our ancestors who spent 300 years of fighting to protect our ownership of our lands, properties, and resources.” She almost shouted. “The Ibaloys are strong and empowered!”

The room almost became somber. For some of the Ibaloys who are there, the obvious implication of her last lines hit them like a brick. “Have we protected our ownership of our land and resources?” They must have muttered. Perhaps, our ancestors must be rolling on their graves screaming that “the real Ibaloys are those who have protected the lands of their ancestors!”

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My late Father, Alberto Ingosan Olsim Jr., descended from the Ingosan-Gabol Clan of Irisan, Baguio City who can trace their roots to Ahin (Buguias) and Kabayan, and the Olsim and Bacquian clan of Buguias, Benguet. He is a “Kanibal”(Kankana-ey – Ibaloy). He, however, grew up in Mt. Province because of his father’s choice to farm at nearby Bauko and Sabangan, Mt. Province.

It is a different case with my Mother, Marcelina Dulay Elwas, who is predominantly a “Bontokis” from Sabangan and, Samoki, Can-eo, and Gonogon, Bontoc, Mt. Province. She, however, grew up in an Ibaloy mining village at Itogon, Benguet where she lived and spoke like a true blue Ibaloy.

This (comically) means that I have an i-Benguet father who grew up in Mt. Province, and a Mt. Province mother who grew up in Benguet.

I was born in Baguio City, and raised in La Trinidad, Benguet. I lived in a multi-cultural neighborhood who uses the Cordillera region’s “neutral” language – the “Ilokano”, or perhaps our washed out version of it. Our parents did not use the Kankana-ey or Ibaloy language in our home, just like many parents today.

Growing up, however, I saw how the two tribes treat each other with contempt - the Ibaloys thinking that other groups have robbed them of their lands, and the other groups blaming the Ibaloys for selling hectares of it. In one record, my Ibaloy side,the Ingosan and Gabol, who are two of the major clans of Baguio City, sold their lots at Irisan to Manila developers. Such event at Irisan served as the microcosm of how Baguio City have turned out to be.

The attitude of Benguet versus Mt. Province, or the Ibaloys vs. the "Bontokis" is visible in schools, in the workplace,and even in news columns like Midland's Opposite Direction by Atty. Benny Carantes where he viewed the "Bontokis" as carpet baggers, and his fellow Ibaloys as threats to other Ibaloys. 

Many writers blamed the division of the Ibaloys to the conscious machinations of powerful people in the past. The division of barangays to divide the Ibaloy clans and subdue them, and the unfair politics of this date. Come to think of it, there has never been an Ibaloy mayor of Baguio City.

Such conflicting scenario, taught me to become indifferent with my cultural identity. "Why can't we just say that we are humans who breath the same air, and drink the same water?" I contemplated as a young kid. For a 90s kid immersed in the global pop culture, I never really cared...until today.

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So, how do we, the part Ibaloys, address our identity, especially in the Ibaloy’s call for cultural preservation in this modern multi-cultural society? Does it mean that I have to marry an Ibaloy girl to ‘promote and continue the blood line’? Does it mean that we have to ban the entry of the “Bontokis” or other cultural groups?  How can I compromise the preservation of the different cultures that I belong too (which are equally wonderful)?

For us hybrids, we can only imagine in our silence.

In this multi-cultural generation in which the young Ibaloys have learned to love without the issue of tribe, language, or colors, they will barely understand the importance of their Ibaloy culture and identity, or feel what is it to become an Ibaloy.

They can only learn the cultural tools - the language, and the dances. They can only wear their names and their ethnic costumes. But beyond that, they have changed... just like this ever-changing world.

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The Benguet People (Buguias)

 Mythical Origin

The legendary origin of the indigenous people of Buguias began with a creation folktale. Kabunyan, the Almighty God, brought into existence the first couple, Bangan and Bugan, after the great flood. The couple lived in Mount Kalawitan, the highest mountain north of Benguet. From the mountain, the couple’s descendants came down. Some followed the Chico River downstream and settled in the northwest, at Gonogon and Bontoc. Others made their way south to Ahin, Tococan, Ambanglo, Tinoc, Awa, Palatang, Baugan, Amlimay, Man-atong, Bogey-yas, Tanggawan, Labay, Amgaleyguey, and Togtogyon (Loo) while still others went farther south to Embusey, Batan, Kabayan, and Bokod. The rest went westward to Mankayan, Bakun, and Kibungan, and from thence to Kapangan.
Tales included the legend of Tugtugaka, a Nabalicong warrior, and Cuyapon, a beautiful fairy, who fell in love with each other and had begotten Anno. Anno’s generation flourished and peopled many villages far and wide from Benguet to Ifugao and Vizcaya. The Agno River was named after him. Another tale involved Gatan who came to earth as the representative of Lumawig (God) in order to teach, lead and protect humans. The other folktales related to “Biyew,” the source of all prayers; and the origin of mountains, lowlands, earthquakes and lightning, the story Samiklay, The first Rice in Loo Valley, The antique Jar of Buguias, The Bellian Dance, The famous Tiking Agindang . The Annex included descriptions of rituals involved in the “Family Life Cycle” and “Death.”

Oral Traditions: Origin of Settlers
Oral tradition stated that the first settlers that peopled Buguias were descendants of Talgen who lived in Ambanglo, east of Bot-oan, in the 13th century. Talgen had eight (8) sons who all left in search of greener pastures. Odan, the eldest, went to Hapaw (now in Kiangan, Ifugao). The second son, Baglaw, a hunter and trader, roamed around the place and finally settled in Mangkew, at the southern part of Buguias. Mantac the third son traveled all the way to Lubon (now in Tadian, Mountain Province). Kitongan the fourth son went to Tad-ew and farmed at the mountain now known as Mount Kitongan, above Loo Valley; the fifth son, Malawmaw, settled at Sanil (Tococan). The trader Belka, sixth in the line, migrated to Bauko (now in Mountain Province) while Padyog, the seventh brother settled at Embusey (now Lutak). Capsola, the youngest, went to Benalian (now in Nueva Vizcaya).

Baglaw, Kitongan, Malawmaw and their descendants, thus, were the earliest known ancestors of the natives of the municipality. In the later part of the century, some of them gathered and settled at Patlatang and Baugan at the northern part of Buguias, where they raised vegetables and domesticated animals. They also cooked asin (salt), which they bartered in other places. They worshipped Kabunyan as God and Creator, and performed the sida (or cañao), caon (wedding), pidet/pudan and other festive rituals to invoke his blessings and graces. Among the present descendants of Kitongan are Posnget Dayawen and Pio Toyaoan of Loo.

Another oral account had it that the Buguias forebears were the early pagan Malay settlers in the Philippines who landed in the Lingayen Gulf, Pangasinan, but were driven into the hinterlands by the second wave of Malay settlers with superior arms. The people moved upward from Lingayen, following the Agno River towards the mountains and reached a place good for hunting and raising animals and crops; there, they established their abode. Others moved on to Tinoc, Ahin, Hungduan, Hapao and other parts of Ifugao – only to come back at the start of the 15th century.

There is an “unwritten” genealogy that most settlers in Buguias traced their roots to Ifugao Province. There was once a couple named Lumawig and Bangan who resided in the eastern part of the mountains that is now Ifugao. Their descendants were hunters who came to Buguias. They were Taak, Tuwaok, Agmaliw, Dagol, Balaigan and Mayengmeng, who by intermarriage became the early settlers of Buguias particularly at Gueoeng, Amlimay, Sebang, Poblacion and Loo. (It is noted that the names of these first settlers are still used by the present generation of Buguias). As they grew in number, others migrated to other places of Benguet because of a leprosy epidemic (“bulutong”). Another cause of migration was the “bongkilaw” a strange sound (like a funeral hymn) at night, which caused fear among the settlers.

If there are many Kankana-ey speaking tribes outside Buguias (i.e., in Benguet), they were believed to be blood relations who left Buguias, particularly tracing their roots in Amlimay. On the other hand, though the Kankanaeys originally peopled Buguias, social contact, migration, and trade have transformed the Buguias into a melting pot of ethnicities, languages, and customs.


Culture and Dialects

In his book, “History of Buguias” (1979), Pedro Bestre stated that generally, the Indigenous People of Buguias are Kankanaey speaking. Nonetheless, the residents came from three (3) major culture groups. The Kalanguya speaking people dominate the barrios of Catlobong and Amlimay. On the other hand, the Ibalois inhabited Kabuguiasan. The Kankanaeys peopled the rest of the barrios: Baculongan, Calamagan, Abatan, Bangao, Loo, Buyacaoan, Amgaleyguey and Natubleng. A fourth culture group, although less significant and pronounced as the major groups, can be found in the heart of the municipality – Poblacion – where the dialect known as Mandec–ey predominates. This dialect carries the combination of the three major dialects, hence the residents of Poblacion can understand and can even speak any of the three other languages.
In 1978, of the total population of Buguias was 17,068, about 75% are Kankanaey, 15% Kalanguya and some 10% Ibaloi. Geographically, Kalanguya dialect is situated in the eastern part of the municipality, in the south is Ibaloi, while Kankanaey is North West and North east near eastern part of Mt. Province.