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.

Cordillera Music: "An-anusak"

“An-anusak” is a kankana-ey song from the “MPBC Kinouboyan” album series which you can buy at local music stores in Cordillera (but please not the pirated ones), it is translated as; ‘I will be patient’, ‘I will endure’, or ‘I will suffer’ (Pick your own choice hehe ). I tried to sing this years ago and yup I’m that person in the videolink after this paragraph. I’m not drunk, although the message of the song pictures a half-drunk broken -hearted man pitying himself because he was not that good to be with this woman.

An-anusan u met

Woman: again, the cause of all men’s suicidal attempts (my former girlfriend thinks otherwise, saying that most guys just tend to submerge in that drama when they could’ve saved the relationship in the first place, the irony). But wait, the message is quite convincing – I love the chorus part where it basically repeats how the guy will bear the pain.

And when the lyrics said “Esestek et nan Biag ko, ta adi ak wat kaseseg-ang” (including the ‘oooohhh’ part), or in English; “I will now fix my life, so that I will not be this miserable”, I almost stood up to clap my hands. That line deserved an applause (applause 2x :). The guy in the song could’ve done that earlier, that drama king.

If I destroyed your day when you clicked at my video link, here is the original rendition of it in youtube link. :)

An-anusak

An-anusak

by MPBC Kinoboyan
No nemnemek san nabiit
Ay nankoykoyog ta
Kanak no nan kinaragsak ta
Et magay patengga na
Polos adak ninemnemnem
Di pansinaan ta
Lumuluwa nan mata
No nemnemnemek sik-a

CHORUS:
Et aw adi, no say kanam
Ay enggay magay riknam
An-anusak, ikarigatak
Manbiyag ay maga ka
Tan narigat met kayman
No wat sak-en di manlaylayad
Narigat no mamingsan
Di umas-asa ka
Nakarkaro no sisik-a
San pobre ay kanan da
Wat dakan lalasoyen
Aagin di gayyemen
No mamingsan san kinapobre
Di inda iilaen

(Back to Chorus)

Bridge:
Nem asak an-anusan,
Sik-a di ennak liw-an
Es-estek et nan biyag ko
Ta adak wat kaseseg-ang

Wooooh (Back to Chorus)

The Igorot Solar Painter

When you visit Tam-awan village, dubbed as "the garden in the sky", at Baguio city, you will most probably meet a middle-aged person with a necklace of animal bones and sporting a "Pacquiao-facial hair". If he is riding a 'tatooed' volks (when he is not using his bicycle), he should be Mr. Jordan Mang-osan; a genius, a multi-awarded artist,  an indigenous people's culture vanguard, a very nice person, and most important of all...my neighbor (hehe, a few houses from mine).He was trained and influenced greatly by the senior artists of Tam-awan group, but it is Santiago Bosi (his mentor) who has  made a great impact in his life, it is from him whom he learned Solar Drawing.

His main tools for creating his art are very simple; a magnifying glass, a piece of wood, creativity, and the heat of the sun (some call the process, pyrography). In a competition in the US, his legend became an inspiration when he was the only one who was excused to get out from the art competition hall to proceed to the top of the tower because his medium is the 'sun'. I actually laughed when they told me this.

Just like most senior artists, he is  very willing and eager to share his craft, he makes sure that the art and culture in Baguio and Cordillera will be preserved during their time and be passed on to the next generation. I once wanted to be like him, until my father told me that I can't live with art. You see, one of his earliest painting was at my grandfather's house which he made when he was just a teenager. That collage sketch with patches of green paint has proven that he has the talent to become not just a national artist, but an international one.

For Jordan though, the cordilleran culture  remains in the heart of his works. As he cited, “My inspiration is to promote and share our cordillera culture. This is the only way we can share it, thru art”.

Jordan Mang-Osan was named as the most outstanding artist back in 1994 and the awards and recognition kept on coming, not just from here but from from Asia, US and other countries. Just recently, he was all over the news again when he was working with paintings of the boxer Manny Pacquiao. His ingenuity, and the uniqueness of his artwork made him recognizable here and abroad.

Jordan with his recent works.

Actually, you can add him up at Facebook. :)

The Igorot Country Music and Culture

‘Cowboys’ are teeming in the Cordillera Province, Philippines. I am referring to the men in boots, cowboy hat, and leather you meet at Session Road, or the singers in the same outfit you see on drinking bars and folk houses, singing the “yudelee”.  I am almost sure that you will not fail to spot them on clan reunions, weddings, and other celebrations – men in cowboy gadgets and all, even riding a horse. One may even have heard of country sounds or Igorot country music recordings, or may have even bought a couple of these records on sidewalks –maybe even luckier to witness gong-players adding the “country line-dance” on their cultural presentation. There is no doubt that there exist a culture in the Cordilleras (or most part of the region), perhaps a subculture, wherein it blended the west’s cowboy and the region’s IP culture. The result is a hybrid sub-culture that baffles me to this day.

Just who are “Cowboys’? Or what is the “Cowboy Culture”? The ‘Cowboys’ basically referred to the people of the west who maintained ranches, or tends cattle or animals in America after the civil war. Overtime, they developed a personal culture, a set of traditions, which are even highlighted on ‘wild west films’. The Western Cowboy culture, or at least the image of it, was left by the colonial Americans in their occupation of the islands in the 1900’s. The question is, why did the people from the highlands adopted it? How did they come to love it and live the image of it?

The Americans having chosen Baguio, and most parts of Benguet and Mountain Province as their mountain resting resort because of the cool climate, also attracted the ‘highlanders’ to crowd movie houses showing ‘cowboy films’, and even influenced their taste of music.  So how did our people came to love the cowboy culture? An article I read when I was in high school explained that it is because we can relate to the ‘cowboys’. As hardworking people, the ‘highlanders’ can relate to the hard labor which is demanded from people who maintained ranches; as humble people, we can personally relate to them because they were ranked below the social class in those times; as mountain people, we can relate to wearing a thick leather jacket, or using boots on muddy trails just how they did in the west - there are actually myriads of explanation to our embracing of ‘everything cowboy’ that in the present time we even contrived a term to celebrate it:  “Kinobouyan”. Beyond, however, the fashion or the external outfit, or the country music and the line dancing, is an attitude or an outlook which set a standard of being a “cowboy” in the Cordilleras. It is the attitude of being practical, or being pragmatic in any given situation, or what we call “kinobkoboy”.

‘Kinokoboy’ or’ Kinobkoboy’ revolves around being adoptive to environment, even creative or resourceful in tough situations (with all the elements of ‘taraki’ or ‘diskarte’). This mind-set is expected of highlanders, a sort of an initiation process to claiming a membership of the highland people. An example is where we use anything we see in lieu of modern tools. There are many situations which defines a “kinobkoboy” which only a “koboy” recognizes. This culture is perhaps, an upshot of the innate tendency towards survival. As a sort of initiation, this culture is majorly passed through traditional socialization, although the source was first derived on many communication tools such as the movies or the arts, or even inebriated discussions. In traditional socialization, it includes verbal discussions which set the standard towards a ‘kinobkoboy’ attitude (may even include a father lecturing his son of those standards) or even igorot country music which describes how ‘Cowboy and Taraki” Cordillerans are, and non-verbal communication of peers or group having the same tendencies or actions which heavily uses observation to decode messages. In any of those channels, the message is received and the receiver also becomes the ‘source’ of those attitude, knowledge, social system or culture. The effectively of the process is reinforced by various tools like music (Igorot country sounds), events and even enterprises (there is even a bar called “kinobouyan” with most costumers wearing cowboy outfit and listening to country music, and let us not forget BCS), which necessarily passes such knowledge or culture to more receivers. The result is a systematic passing of culture from one entity to another.

I must be clear though that the “Igorot and country’ music and fashion, even though it is a culture in itself, serves as a communication tool. Beyond the music and the fashion is the attitude of “Kinobouyan”, or the attitude of resourcefulness and strength that defines our character as highlanders, which is a culture worth passing especially to the younger generation.