Thursday, October 30, 2008

Farming1

Terraces rice served in US gourmet market with Peace Corps help
By ROBERT L. DOMOGUEN

SAGADA, Mt. Province –Mary Hensley, a former US Peace Corp Volunteer in Lubuagan, Kalinga, is back.

She is behind the Cordillera Heirloom Rice Project and the Eight Wonder company that retails Mountain Province rice in the United States.

Since 2005, the Cordillera Heirloom Rice Project has partnered with Vicky Garcia, Executive Director of the Revitalize Indigenous Cordilleran Entrepreneurs (RICE), to promote folk farming knowledge.

Their aim: to spur the local economy and preserve the terraces and its environment as well.

Hensley believes the evasive key to the decades quest to save the rice terraces lies in the indigenous cultures of the Cordilleras and the heirloom rice that it grows.

And she is determined to “establish a project that would be successful financially and not dependent on dole outs from the government or international development agencies.”

She is assisted by Adam Angsten, another US Peace Corps Volunteer with a degree in economics based in Banaue, Ifugao.

In recent years, locals slowly abandoned rice terraces farming in favor of tourist-related work. Or they migrated to the lowlands where farming is more lucrative. Losing half of these farmers, the rice terraces were about ready to crumble.

The past two decades saw many “Save the Rice Terraces” projects, none of which succeeded. Tourism-related projects, retraining for new farming skills, the introduction of high value fruits and vegetables, and high yielding rice varieties – all came to naught.

According to the Tebtebba Foundation, the mass production of wood carvings and the establishment of lodgings on properties within the rice fields actually made a major environmental toll. The use of pesticides by vegetable farmers introduced new pests.

Meanwhile, the all-important concerns remained unresolved: the out-migration of farmers, the deterioration of watersheds, the collapse of centuries-old irrigation systems, and the disappearance of indigenous cultures that revolved around the growing of traditional rice.

One thing seemed certain: the rice terraces in the highlands of Abra, Benguet, Kalinga, Ifugao and Mt. Province gradually shrunk to only about 20,000 hectares functional fields.

Now it seems rice could very well be the answer. In 2006, Eight Wonder retailed over 7 tons of rice from Kalinga and Ifugao terraces. This year, the target is 20 tons of selected mountain varieties.

Farmers have suddenly found a reason to continue terraces rice farming.

The way to go, according to Hensley, was to put money on the centuries-old, noble and ingenious farming.

A former social worker, Hensley initiated the Cordillera Heirloom Rice Project together with RICE, terraces farmers in Ifugao and Kalinga, Eight Wonder and the local government.

Back in a US graduate school, Hensley did a feasibility study on whether native rices could be sold in the highly competitive US specialty food market.

When the results looked promising, she wrote a five-year business plan projecting the organizational needs and costs for organizing farmers, and developing a marketing strategy to sell the rice at a price that compensated the farmers for their incredibly hard work.

Her master’s thesis proposed the shared equity business model – poor farmers would be part-owners of Eight Wonder. She and Vicky Garcia, RICE executive director, then convinced the farmers about the scheme.

Back in 2003, few believed the Tinawon rice from Ifugao and the Unoy rice from Kalinga would sell. Now for the first time, more farmers are returning to the rice terraces because they sense a profit, says Julie Aclam, Kalinga’s assistant provincial agriculturist.

With the assistance of RICE, the newly established Rice Terraces Farmers’ Cooperative of Ifugao and Kalinga was able to produce and process 7 tons of native Tinawon and Unoy rice for the export market.

This was shipped to Eight Wonder in the US for sale in the gourmet rice market. The rice was purchased at a fair trade price, with an advance payment to help capitalize the cooperative.

In Kalinga, farmers have started forming a federated association of unoy rice growers. They have established seed banks as ready sources of rice seeds. Other farmers are set to follow. InterNews&Features

Dandanac1

How to starve indigenous communities
By Maurice Malanes
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 23:03:00 04/08/2008


BAGUIO CITY – The Igorot people now acknowledge their ancestors’ long-term foresight in ensuring the food security of succeeding generations by carving rice terraces, even in tough, challenging terrain, in the Cordillera mountains.

Even during World War II and a rice crisis in the 1970s, the rice paddies have helped sustain the local folk. During the lean months, they supplemented rice with camote (sweet potato) from the nem-a or uma (upland swidden).

In recent years, however, this relative self-sufficiency has been threatened by “modern agriculture,” which the government has pushed purportedly to increase crop production through high-yielding varieties (HYVs) and, lately, genetically engineered seeds, chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

A study by the private MontaƱosa Research and Development Center (MRDC) tells of a farmer from the village of Dandanac in Besao, Mt. Province, who brought home a hybrid variety of corn given by a municipal agricultural technician. Concerned villagers warned that the seeds might be a strain or associated with Bt corn, but the farmer insisted on planting them because of an assurance of high yield.

“True enough, the new corn grew and flowered, but it did not bear ears,” said the study.

The MRDC documented how other farmers had slowly replaced their traditional rice with HYVs. In 1996, only two of 18 rice varieties that the Dandanac farmers were using were HYVs. In 2004, 11 of the 27 rice varieties inventoried were HYVs, nine were introduced by other farmers and seven were traditional types.

Eventually, more people planted larger areas with HYVs, dominating the traditional varieties and those introduced by neighboring communities, the center said. The HYVs were maturing early and could be planted twice during the rainy season in rain-fed areas.

In such a short time, the farmers had more yields than before. But there was a problem.

The HYVs narrowed the germplasm (genetic material that carries the inherited characteristics of an organism) base, the study noted. Several traditional varieties are no longer planted and are now considered lost. As a result, the farmers lost control over their seeds. They have to buy the HYVs from agro-chemical stores or dealers each cropping season.

The new varieties weakened the community’s synchronized cropping schedule. As a result, pests increased, accounting for a 20-percent crop loss.

Moreover, the community’s cooperative self-help group, through which knowledge and exemplary practices were shared among farmers, has disintegrated.

The HYVs brought along a new technology alien to the community – the use of oil-based inorganic fertilizers and pesticides, which, in the long term, degrade and contaminate the soil. Pesticide use leads to a cycle of poison, as farmers tend to use more when pests eventually develop resistance to even the most potent poison.

Thus, farmers have been forced to buy everything from seeds to fertilizers and pesticides, which often leave them heavily indebted, the MRDC study said. Before, they could select and set aside seeds from their own harvests, simply use weeds and animal dung as fertilizers, and synchronize cropping schedules to keep pests at bay.

Debt trap

The findings were presented during the Third National Conference on Indigenous Peoples’ Food Security in Quezon City on March 29, which the MRDC and other development nongovernment organizations serving indigenous peoples attended.

Sponsored by the EED Philippine Partners’ Task Force on Indigenous Peoples’ Rights, the conference was held at a time when official pronouncements blamed previous typhoons and, later, rising world food prices and rice hoarders for a crisis over rice, the Filipinos’ main staple. The EED stands for Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst e.V., a church-supported donor agency in Germany.

A similar research by the Southern Christian College (SCC) in Midsayap, North Cotabato, reinforced the MRDC study. The SCC discovered that Bt corn and F1 hybrid rice had proved to be counterproductive among indigenous farmers in Sarangani.

The high cost of producing Bt corn, which requires chemical fertilizers and pesticides, has buried many farmers in debt, forcing some to sell or mortgage their land, Prof. Elma Neyra of the SCC said.

Maria Pilar Castro, senior agriculturist of the Sibol ng Agham at Teknolohiya (Sibat), another development organization, reported about Bt corn contamination in B’laan communities in Mindanao, raising concerns on food safety.

Hunger, blood

Indigenous peoples also felt cursed because their ancestral domains have been targeted for big-scale mining and logging. These only brought “hunger and blood” to many indigenous communities in Mindanao, according to Manobo youth leader Yatz Ambangan of Carmen, North Cotabato.

Ambangan cited how the government often responded with more military operations when indigenous folk would protest against mining and logging operations.

As a result, indigenous folk have to evacuate, abandoning their upland farms, and many accused of being rebel sympathizers have been killed, he said.

The conversion of lands into plantations of banana, palm and lately biofuel plants will lead to “food insecurity,” he said. He noted how the plantations had displaced hundreds of indigenous folk, some of whom were forced to become farm laborers with meager wages that were not enough to provide them all their needs, including food.

Policy issues

The EED Task Force on Indigenous Peoples’ Rights, which is a consortium of development organizations serving indigenous communities, saw the food problem, including the current rice crisis, as an issue of policy. “Indigenous peoples’ rights to their land and resources must be secured,” it said. “This is the fundamental basis of their food security.”

Government and international policies, it said, must respect and recognize the rights of indigenous peoples to determine their own development – be it in agriculture and other industries, including mining, and other land and resource uses.

It stressed the right of indigenous peoples to free and prior informed consent (FPIC), which is guaranteed by the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Agawa3

New Rice Varieties Destroying Native Farming Practices
Ina Endena is concerned at the impact of the new rice varieties on Agawa community life. Since the introduction of the biit, the synchronized planting season has been inexistent. During a community holiday for example, the farmers usually break the ubaya or community taboo just to tend their fields for the application of needed fertilizers or pesticides.
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Bu-lat-lat (boo-lat-lat) verb: to search, probe, investigate, inquire; to unearth facts
Vol. VI, No. 36 Oct. 15 - 21, 2006 Quezon City, Philippines

BY ARTHUR L. ALLAD-IW
Northern Dispatch
Posted by Bulatlat

I've seen her many times in different occasions involving grassroots organizations ? in Mountain Province or in any part of Cordillera and elsewhere. In most of these activities where I had seen her, human rights issues were the main topics in the discussions. She comes from a place that had often been militarized and as a consequence, human rights violations were usually reported.

On the day before the celebration of our paper?s fourth anniversary as a weekly and 17th as a news dispatch, Baket Endena ? a leader of the Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA) in her native Mountain Province as well as the Innabuyog-GABRIELA ? came with a pizza to share with the Nordis staff, who were then busy preparing for the occasion.

This time, my conversation with Ina Endena, as most fondly call her, is focused on agricultural practices in their village in Agawa, Besao in Mountain Province.

I am touched at how she laments that new rice varieties are slowly displacing indigenous varieties. She is saddened at the thought that her community practices are slowly disintegrating due to the introduction of these new varieties into the Cordillera interior.

At first, it is hard to comprehend how the entry of the new varieties has weakened indigenous practices. But she explained with such clarity that I realized that we have to respond to an urgent call from this 82-year-old elder who is still active in grassroots organizing.

Ina Endena described the role of the dap-ay, an indigenous socio-political system where elders gather and talk about the beginning of the agricultural activities.

In end-September, the elders declare three days as ubaya or community holidays. They perform a ritual, observe signs, and if all the indications appear good then they start the rice seedbed preparation in the padog (rice field specifically designated for that purpose). The ubaya also starts the land preparation. Work is done simultaneously in all rice fields. The community residents do the preparation, planting and harvesting in synchrony with the environment. A tradition of thanksgiving is also performed after every harvest.

Outside influences, she says, contribute to the weakening of their indigenous practices. She observed this in what is happening to their indigenous rice varieties called the bayag (literally, a long period of time). These are slowly being set aside, she says.

These varieties include the tupeng, ginolot, yangaw (sticky rice). She observed that those varieties already lost are the sabsaba, kinison and matiko.

These old varieties are being replaced by taiwan, walay (sticky rice) and others called biit (short) as these may be planted twice a year.

She admits that it takes a longer wait to harvest the bayag variety, but she prefers it to the introduced biit because these are raised with just natural fertilizers like sunflower leaves, and a local variety of grasses, among others. She pointed out the biit, though planted twice in a year, need more commercial inputs like fertilizers and pesticides. She observed that these inputs are not only expensive but makes the land barren and therefore, dependent on these agro-chemicals.

Ina Endena is concerned at the impact of the new rice varieties on Agawa community life. She observes that since the introduction of the biit, the synchronized planting season has been inexistent. In the declaration of a community holiday for example, the farmers usually break the ubaya or community taboo just to tend their fields for the application of needed fertilizers or pesticides.

She also observes that indigenous agricultural practices are environment-friendly.

Before our interaction ended with lots of lemon grass tea and brewed coffee that washed the pizza down our throats, I felt the need to heed her recommendations to adopt indigenous systems. After all, these practices have been proven to be cost-effective and environment-friendly by indigenous communities like Agawa in Mountain Province. Northern Dispatch / Posted by Bulatlat
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? 2006 Bulatlat ? Alipato Media Center

Agawa2

Tuesday, December 16, 2003
The Sagada church bell

from The Agawa compassion: Life in the country

-a budding author from Agawa, Besao
-works now as a development officer at Easter School
-an account on the bell which now stands in front of the convent in Sagada
-notice the reference to the Agawa people eating more.



The Agawa compassion
Life in the Country

Vicente Sapguian

Wanted: More Igorot journalists. Often enough on Igorot history and culture, we detect prejudiced implications from foreign and non-Igorot writers. But we cannot utterly blame them if we do not help to clarify the issues ourselves. One need not hold a doctorate degree to become an effective journalist or writer. I’d say an Igorot who was raised in that ethnic culture is better than a non-Igorot scholar writing about Igorot folkways.

It is delightful to learn that a young man from Agawa has begun a research work on his people’s origin and culture. I sought the man thinking to get from him more details about some stories that I gathered from their place. You know what I’ve found? A small treasure. The young man has come out with a book detailing his people’s history, researched and written from what he calls the real authors of his book, the old folks at home!
Leon O. Lonogan came up with a book he titled “The Sun Sets at Sunrise: The Rise of the Agawa Tribe”. Lonogan started researching on the origins of his people in 1997. He then presented his first work as a term paper required in an Education subject during his undergraduate teaching course at Easter School. Agawa elders, in due time, saw the volume and made suggestions to go more extensive. Historical details shaped up more clearly as more elders and concerned Agawa leaders helped in the research to establish facts and beliefs. The latest unedited copy of the book has just been bound last August.

Leon O. Lonogan is presently working as development officer of Easter College, Inc. He also handles some classes at the school.

A good editor can help refine the Lonogan manuscript and make it competitive in the book market. The book with its historical episodes is surely a priceless treasure for the Besao people.

Aside from the adventures of the pioneers of Agawa and how “Linnapet” and the twelve months of the Agawa agricultural year came to be, the origins of the four barangays of Agawa are amply found in the book. Adventure fills the reader as he follows the exploits of Agawa forebears who carved a land and passed a culture of exceptional unity to their people, up to this day “a slave to none, dependent to no one, and crony of nobody.”

To give you a foretaste of the book, here’s an abridged version of a portion of the chapter on ‘Agawa and the Establishment of the Besao Municipality’.

“When the mountain villages were divided into municipalities, Agawa became part of Sagada while Besao was included as a barrio of the municipality of Bangnin. . . . Government projects or donations were given through the officers stationed in Sagada. All ran smooth in the political and socio-economic affairs involving the Agawa villages..”

“In those days, when there was no electricity to run machineries and there were no communication facilities, a bell was very important. It provided information to the people. It reminded the community of the time of worship, let know the hour of the day, called the people during meetings, attracted their attention when there was an emergency, and gave a warning in time of danger for the community. With this, government officials stationed in Sagada were given the assignment to bring a big bell from Vigan, Ilocos Sur to Sagada."

“In the beginning of the 20th century, the church of Sagada requested for the bell. This was to be carried all the way from Vigan to Sagada since there was no easier means of transportation during those days. Carrying government or church properties was one of the means by which Igorots earned money, for mining companies were not yet common. The people of Sagada were of course prioritized to do the work. They chose their able-bodied men for the job and off they went to Vigan.”

To shorten, the Sagada men failed and so were the second batch of carriers who came from Besao. The church bell was too much for them even with the employment of long sturdy bamboo poles with the cumbersome object tied at the center and carried by the men on all sides. It was the Agawa carriers who persevered.

“In Sagada, the church officials did not give up to secure the bell. The year was 1903 when they offered a higher pay for the job and promised a shirt for every carrier. Able-bodied men from Agawa decided to try. Led by Budkaeng, 20 sturdy men from Agawa started for Vigan. Among them were Aklatan, Tigilan, Sib-aten and Ciano, the youngest.”

“The chief officer in Vigan whom they called Seniora welcomed the third batch of carriers. She fed them well and prepared their food provisions for the tortuous trip back. She observed that the Agawa carriers were smaller than those from Sagada and Besao, yet they ate twice more than the bigger men. Hope ran through her. She demurred to judge strength by the size of a person.”

“As the way it used to be in carrying a heavy object, the Agawa carriers tied the big bell to a bamboo assiw. They slowly lifted the heavy bell then moved down the road at a snail’s pace until they were out of sight. The Seniora was much pleased. He hoped that the difficult job would at last be done.”

“The way from Vigan to Sagada was long and hard. The Agawa carriers walked unhurriedly but certainly. Sometimes they had to follow the long route to avoid passing through a narrow channel. At times they had to walk at night to arrive at a place with water to camp. Fortunately, it was summer, there were no rains to make the journey more difficult.”

“As the carriers reached Langyatan, the mountain that overlooks the Lepanto River, they rang the bell, that its sound was heard in the Kayang villages below. The people upon hearing the sound of the bell gathered food and brought it to the carriers. This is an indigenous way of helping people with a heavy load, a native practice called mangoto.”

“On the fourth day, the group finally reached the village of Malliten in the Kinali territory. They decided to rest and go fishing at the Balas-iyan River, leaving the huge bell at the Dap-ay. Down at the river, the Agawa carriers enjoyed feasting on the fish, including eels and wading. They decided to stay the night at the river to mannilew.”

“Up in Malliten, men from Sagada who were sent to meet the Agawa group arrived and prepared to leave with the bell even without the Agawa carriers. The thought of the rewards filled their hearts. They did not think of the efforts and difficulties undergone by their brethren from Agawa who brought the bell to the upland, now only about a fourth of the way herefrom to Sagada. Selfishness reigned in them. They contemplated of taking the reward by themselves, so off they went with the huge bell home without the Agawa carriers . . .”

This episode extends more. But as I have said, I can only give you a foretaste of what the Lonogan manuscript has in store for readers. Anyway, the bell now remains a treasure in Sagada.

The misunderstanding between the Agawa and Sagada carriers for the reward of money and shirts helped to kindle the eventual separation of Agawa from Sagada. Agawa soon joined Besao to form the Besao municipality that it is now. **

For reactions email vicsapguian@digitelone.com

Agawa 1

THE PRACTICE OF HEAD-HUNTING IN AGAWA
(Chapter VII of Leon Lonogan’s soon to be published book about the Agawa Tribe entitled “Sunrise at Sunset”)



HEAD-HUNTING BETWEEN THE I-LAGUD AND THE I-AGAWA

From the time of Kingat to Ola-o, the villages of Agawa were safe from head-hunters. Head-hunting between the i-Lagud and the i-Agawa was unknown. However, during the time of Ganema in the pre-Spanish era, the first head-hunting victims were taken in Pagpag forest by the i-Lagud.

Ganema was known as magasat ay mangnganup (fortunate hunter). Other hunters would like to go with him in his hunting trip that they might share his gasat. No guns were used in those days but wild lives were abundant in the forest that skilled hunters always leave the forest with hunting preys.

In one of his hunting trip, Ganema told his fellow hunters not to go with him for something wrong was seen in his labeg. Yet, two other hunters followed him in his apa in Tinma-uda despite his warning.

In Pagpag forest, Ganema and his companions met a group of i-Lagud who also went to hunt. During the meeting, the i-Lagud attacked the i-Agawa killing the companions of Ganema. The surprise attack caught Ganema unaware, but he managed to flee from their assailant. When he made a distance of about sixty armspan from the i-Lagud, he shouted at them. “Ay sino nan inyalayo? (What cause you to take the lives of my companion?)”

“Teba ad Manabo (The misunderstanding in Manabo),” the i-Lagud answered.

“Teba ad Manabo ay kaysan appaten di amam-a! (The misunderstanding in Manabo was already settled by the elders!),” Ganema answered back. “Ay sino kayet nan inyalayo? (What really cause you to take the lives of my companion?)”

“Taked si niket,” one of the i-Lagud shouted.

“Taked si niket ay kedeng kami ay i-Agawa ay manapdapdap si danum ad Buasao! (Taked si niket when we from Agawa, are the only ones “chopping” water from Buasao!),” Ganema replied. “Ay sino kayet nan inyalayo? (What really caused you to take the lives of my companion?)”

“Ittapimi sik-a (We will take you too),” the i-Lagud said and ran towards Ganema with their blades raised. Ganema rushed to the bushes and dis-appeared. After he sensed that i-Lagud left, Ganema returned to the place where they killed his companions. He wiped the headless bodies and took them home.

The i-Lagud were not able to give Ganema a reasonable cause for the killing. Hence, the killing was unjust to the Agawa people and that vengeance was required. On the part of the Lagud people, it was either reasonable or unreasonable. They might not be contented with how the elders settled the teba ad Manabo and or believe that the i-Agawa were responsible for the killing of their tribemate in the pine wooded area of Buasao. They might also have killed the companions of Ganema without any bases but for head-taking intention only since it was their practice.

Teba ad Manabo happened when an i-Lagud was offended by a labak (joke) from an i-Agawa. He met the i-Agawa in Manabo, Abra when both went to makilagbo (work for money or in exchange for any other valuables). During the meeting, the i-Agawa told the i-Lagud, “Wada aya nan baonmo (So you have a baon).” The i-Agawa was referring to the young woman who was with the i-Lagud and the latter got so insulted because the woman was his daughter. The labak later turned to be a liability of all i-Agawa to the i-Lagud. When the i-Lagud hunters brought out the teba ad Manabo saying that it was their reason for killing Ganema’s companions, the hunter from Agawa answered saying that it could not be for it was already settled by their fathers.

On the other hand, the taked si niket came about when an i-Lagud was killed in Buasao and the i-Agawa were the suspects. Ganema also explained that the i-Agawa could not be the culprits for they were the only ones “chopping” water from Buasao. He means to say that they were the only ones sourcing out water supply from Buasao and that if they were the ones responsible, then they would have polluted their own water supply.

Since the i-Lagud were not able to provide sufficient grounds for killing the two i-Agawa, this started the bloody conflict between the two tribes. The i-Lagud became a kabinnoso of the i-Agawa. Whenever the Agawa people caught sight of i-Lagud passing through their territory going to Ngaab, they waited for them by the way. Likewise, when the i-Lagud meet folks from Agawa in the forest or in other places they executed their head-taking purpose if they got chances. Innocent men and women became victims of this unfriendly tradition. Both tribes counted their casualties and avenged it to get even. Members of other tribes were even involved especially when they were mistaken as i-Agawa or i-Lagud by the menkabinnoso (tribal enemies).

One event that recalls the head-hunting between the two tribes was the killing of an i-Lagud in Lubo. The place called Tegteg Sey-a derived its name after men from Agawa stoned to death an i-Lagud name Sey-a. Sey-a was carrying a payok-vessel, which he bought from Candon when he was spotted by Bodao in the Balas-iyan River. Bodao, an i-Agawa who settled in Patiacan, befriended and accompanied him going up to Lubo where they met Sakkiwen, another i-Agawa. During the meeting, the two i-Agawa killed the unaided i-Lagud. Bodao took Sey-a’s head to Patiacan and dance over it in his dap-ay at Mangmangitit while Sakkiwen took the payok-vessel to Agawa.

Days later, two i-Lagud went to Payeo asking for the payok-vessel. They said that their people will not take into account the life of Sey-a but the payok-vessel must be returned to them. Sakkiwen was informed about it and he immediately took the huge cooking vessel to Payeo to give it to the men who were looking for it to avoid bloody confrontation. Afraid to face the i-Lagud, he gave the payok-vessel through Domisiw, an elder of Payeo, who change it with an old one with crack. The i-Lagud saw that the vessel brought by Sakkiwen from Agawa was changed by the i-Payeo. They did not take the huge cooking untensil but went outside the village and hanged around waiting for someone to kill as payment for the payok-vessel. Before dark, they were able to take the head of a farmer.

This unsociable situation between the Agawa and the Lagud tribes went on for many years and only ended in the later part of the 20th century when Protestant missionaries led by the Episcopal Church entered the Mountain Province and evangelized the people. At present, intermarriage is taking place between the two tribes with the bayaw-ritual conducted to appease whatever known or unknown tribal accountability that exist.


The Reasons:

THE REASONS FOR HEAD-HUNTING

The head-hunting tradition is one of the harsh and unfriendly practices of the Igorots particularly in the Mountain Province. Once it started, it could hardly be prevented. It keeps on coming back. Observance of community rituals and economic activities for the sustenance of the community life were disturbed so long as there is life to avenge. It could not be forgotten until all were made even.

The origin of head-hunting is unknown. It could have originated in foreign land where the early Igorots came from. History reveals that the aborigines of the Philippines are the negritos or aetas. Then came the first batch of brown skin people crossing the sea through the land bridges. Some historians call them the head-hunting Malays while others describe them as iron age Malays. These were believed to be the Igorots. When the land bridges were washed out, the second batch of brown skin people came to the Philippines crossing the sea by boats.

Head-hunting is cutting the head, ears or any other part of the body either from male or female, and taking it to the dap-ay where the head-hunter belongs that the people may play gongs and dance over it. It is a risky, cruel, and heartless act. Yet, the Igorots had practiced it in the earlier era and there must be grounds for doing it.

In the history of the Agawa tribe, there were three reasons for the practice of head-hunting. First, it was for revenge; second, it was for the people to find out if the labeg conducted was appropriate or recognized by the spirits; and third, it was to obtain war souvenir.

The head-hunting expedition of Lawad in the Kay-ang territory explained that head-hunting was done for revenge. On the other hand, the experience of Dokyogen when he killed a man and took his head in the Ma-eng territory illustrated how head-hunting was done to determine if a labeg was recognized by the spirits while the ginaman, a gosi kept by Kig-ongen Wanagen of Nabanig, is an evidence that head-negay serves as war trophy

Head Hunting for Revenge

HEAD-HUNTING FOR REVENGE

In the earlier days when Lubo was still a populated village, the courage of an Agawa warrior was manifested when he was forced to take revenge on the death of his sister in the hands of head-hunters. Lawad was the warrior whose bolo’s handle was formed after a male sex organ and who gave a head-hunting lesson to the Kagubatan people.

Lawad’s sister was on her way from Agawa to Ilian to deliver food-presents to their relatives when head-hunters executed her. Lawad immediately followed the head-hunters to Kagubatan and pleaded to the village elders to let him utter a baya-o to her sister’s head. “Tay siya nan ik-ikkan di am-a, itulokyo koma ta menbaya-oak nan ulon nan besatko ay inalayo (For it is the practice of the fathers, I beg you to let me utter my baya-o to my sister’s head which you took),” Lawad said humbly to the elders. The elders understood the reasonable intention of the victim’s brother but they did not grant his request. Instead, they let the men mocked him and laughed at his bolo’s handle, which was in the form of a male sex organ. “Kinwanin Lawad en ay linadladay nan petan nan gamana,” the men of Kagubatan despised him. They felt so secured and thought of themselves mighty before the lone warrior of Agawa. Degyem, the chief warrior of the Kagubatan people, even made fun of Lawad and boasted his act of taking the head of the later’s sister.

Lawad ignored their disparaging treatment and continued pleading. “I followed my sister’s head but not as an enemy to take revenge but as a humble person to express my last words to her,” Lawad said in a low but clear supplicating voice. “Count me not your enemy.”

“You are still our enemy today,” Degyem replied. “Expect no mercy from us.”

“Yet warriors still have consideration to their enemies. Let me say just a little words,” Lawad begged. “I shall be cursed if I fail to do it.”

Degyem showed no compassion to the man pleading infront of them. When Lawad tried to insist on his request, the elders warned him. They told him to better return to Agawa before anything worst could happen.

Lawad left with a disappointed reaction. He was filled with the zeal to revenge.

Once he reached home, he immediately started doing the burial rites for his sister. After completing the appropriate initial rituals, he began to make his labeg warm. When the time was apt, he returned to Kagubatan to avenge his sister.

He reached Kagubatan at daybreak and positioned himself near a spring where most of the folks obtained water for their daily use. Lawad waited patiently underneath thick shrubs for the right victim. By coincidence, Degyem, the man who mocked him most, came carrying a wooden bucket. Lawad prepared and as Degyem draw nearer; he struck him with his bolo by the shoulder. Degyem was caught unaware. He felt the pain and blood came running down his breast. He strove to flee but staggering and he stumbled. Degyem slowly rose to his knees. He blinked, shook his head and stared at his assailant. Numbly he recognized Lawad. “Kinwanin Lawad en ay linadladay nan petan nan gamana,” he heard the man standing tall before him repeated the belittling words he uttered to him earlier.

Lawad, his eyes burning, stepped closer, as if impelled with a violent fascination –without the slightest warning he grabbed Degyem’s hair with an ayawan-like grasp. A strong blow from a sparkling blade from his hand came slashing his victim’s throat. Degyem lost his senses. Folks who witnessed the scene gripped their hands and held their breath, tensed by the bloody climax, and the only sound was Lawad’s war cries.

The warrior raised Degyem’s head. He smiled and broke the handle of his bolo and placed it on top of the headless body for the Kagubatan people to remember him whose bolo’s handle was linadladay. Then he slowly walked away and disappeared.

Later, Degyem’s relatives went to Agawa to take back his head. They were able to have his head back in exchange of a payok-vessel. This practice of taking back the head of a head-hunting victim in exchange of something valuable was done if the relatives of the victim cannot avenge their dead and Degyem’s relatives so as not to lower their dignity must do it. Lawad the kindhearted warrior accepted the cooking vessel. His descendants kept the payok-vessel from generation to generation. When the house of Baklangen of Agawa was burned to ashes in the later part of the 20th century, the payok-vessel was destroyed by the fire

HEAD-HUNTING FOR REASON OF LABEG

While Lawad practiced head-hunting for revenge, Dokyogen did it to test if his labeg was accepted by the spirit s and have solemn significance. He did it to evade a predicted misfortune.

In the village of Pisa, a begnas was conducted to give thanks to Kabunian for the bountiful provisions provided for the year round. Dokyogen, an unmarried leader of a dap-ay, led the young men to mangayew. They were beating their wooden shields with sticks when they saw a frog up croaking on a trunk of a pine tree. The small tailless creature climbed almost reaching the first branch of the tree and croaking so fast and loud. This was their piles (omen) and the men cannot figure out its meaning.

After the begnas, Dokyogen inquired about the wisdom of his abigan-friend in Dattaan regarding his piles. The abigan told him that he must carry out three begnas that would be done every three years. He also told him not to marry until he completed the begnas-ceremonies. Dokyogen was so thankful that the abigan told him how to straighten the annoying sign they saw during their kayew-trip to the mountain.

At home, Dokyogen thought of the nine years to complete the three begnas. He felt contented of what the abigan told him but was unhappy about the span of time to complete what he was told to do. Nine years was too long for him to wait before he gets married. Yet, he must follow for he knows that to disobey an abig brings misfortune. He decided to complete the three begnas the soonest by conducting it every three months instead of every three years.

Dokyogen did exactly what he planned to do in fulfillment of the abig. After nine months, he completed the three begnas. To be in no doubt, that what he did was right; he must test it by going to head-hunting. If he succeeds in his mission to bring home a negay, it means that his labeg is right and is recognized by the spirits and that he can marry without fear of any misfortune. Nontheless, if he fails in his mission he must perform another three begnas following the three years time space as the abigan told him.

In his headhunting journey, the warrior from Pisa arrived at the Ma-eng territory. He waited for a victim in the first village he reached. Before midday, Dokyogen was able to kill a man and took his head.

During the killing, the abigan from Dattaan who instructed Dokyogen to conduct three begnas, was in the village where Dokyogen carried out his head-hunting. It so happened that the victim whom the warrior killed was a friend of the abigan. When the abigan learned about the killing, he sensed at once that Dokyogen did it. He comforted the people who were grieving over the headless body saying that he will follow the head-hunter.

The abigan followed Dokyogen and so fast did he hiked that he caught up with the warrior in the forest. Dokyogen recognized the abigan that he did not thrust his spear at him. The abigan told him that the person whom Dokyogen killed was also a friend of his. “Inyabigak sik-a ya enka obpay inyala sin kadalidegko (I told you the abig but you used it to take the life of my friend),” the abigan told him. Dokyogen asked his abigan-friend to calm down and he promised to settle out what he did. His abigan-friend took his promise and they set a date for both to return to the Ma-eng area to settle what was done.

Dokyogen performed the proper rites for his head-hunting journey and immediately went back to the Ma-eng territory with the abigan-friend and amicably settled his offense with his victim’s relatives. After his offense was resolved, he went to Agawa to look for a wife. He married Kabaynga of Batogyan and raised his family in his wife’s village. Dokyogen lived peacefully in Batogyan but when Agawa was struck by a bultong-disease, he led four other elders and their families to settle in Ambagiw.

In Ambagiw, Dokyogen built his home like the other elders who took their families with them. In his new home, he prospered and many sons and daughters were born from his five children. His wife while getting rid of the labagan-grasshopper later changed his name to Galeled and became the father of the Galeled clan.

HEAD-HUNTING FOR WAR TROPHY

Tribal war is more common before than at present. Though the number of casualties is much lesser because there were no guns, it was still detrimental to the village people for it disturbs their economic, social and cultural activities.

In the earlier days, the people of Golingsan (the Barangay of Besao at present) and Bagsingit (the barangay of Payeo at present) had a conflict with the i-Kay-ang. They had several encounters with their enemy through a dong-as where they always suffered more casualties. Hence, they decided to stop engaging in a dong-as. Yet, it did not end their trouble for they live in fear for a sudden attack. It was a common attempt by warring tribes to send young men to their enemies’ territories to take life in the absence of dong-as. For this reason, able-bodied men took turns in guarding possible entries of their enemies and places where economic activities were conducted daily such as the sakdoan, payas and sippotan.

This condition remained for days until the people of Bagsingit and Golingsan grew weary and they decided to ask for the assistance of their Agawa neighbor that they might settle their conflict with the i-Kay-ang for the last time through a dong-as. “Aye pay, ay siyay entako ed-edkan ay menbanbantay ay aditako et kayet mensama. Entako et kasin makidong-as ken daida ta kaileppasana (This is way too much spending our time guarding instead of working in our fields, let’s face them again in a dong-as once in for all),” their chief elder said. “Waday omey kendakayo ad Agawa ta damagenyo no pinmopoos nan labegda ta menbapabadang tako et kayet (Somebody will go to Agawa to ask if their labeg is warm that we might as well ask for their assistance).”

As instructed, some elders went to Agawa and returned with good reports. The labeg of the i-Agawa was warm and the elders agreed to help them. Young men then made prepapration for the dong-as.

The warring tribes agreed that the dong-as be done at Nakkawang. Armed by wooden shields, bolos and spears, young men led by their elders face each other. With the combined forces of the i-Bagsingit, i-Golingsan and the i-Agawa, the i-Kay-ang were easily beaten. The enemy suffered many casualties and the survivors were scattered from all direction. Young men with their arms followed the fleeing enemies but the elders prevented them. “Daetan, bay-anyo ta waday men-apat. Namlastako gedan (Enough let them escape that somebody may speak. We had killed many anyway),” the elders said.

The victor gathered the bodies of them that fall under their spears.

“Ay kedeng, kadya menpilikayo et as itedyo kendakami as negaymi abes (Well, choose now whom you will give us for our negay),” the Agawa warriors told the elders from Bagsingit and Golingsan.

The negay asked by the i-Agawa will serve as memento of victory in the dong-as at Nakkawang and the later choosed the head of a longhaired warrior with many nits and gave it to them. But unknown to the Golingsan and Bagsingit elders, the head belong to the chief warrior of the i-Kay-ang.


Later, a company from the Kay-ang tribe went to Golingsan looking for the head of a notable person that fall during the dong-as at Nakkawang. They were not able to find and they moved to Bagsingit but still have no luck. The Bagsingit elders told them to go to Agawa and check if the head-negay taken by the i-Agawa is what they are searching.

In Agawa, the i-Kay-ang found that the head with many nits was what they are looking for. They begged the Agawa elders to return it to them in exchange of an ancient wine jar called ginaman. “Maheg-ang kayo adi ta makkayatkayo ay itauli han ulo ay inalayo et alaenyo nan gohi ay ginaman hina (Have pity on us. Return to us the head that you have taken in exchange of this ginaman-wine jar),” the i-Kayang told the Agawa elders.

“Ay siya, ta annongenyo as kapaayanyo abes (So be it that you might conduct appropriate annong-rituals for your own goodwill),” the Agawa elders overpowered by the feelings of compassion said no more but accepted the wine jar.

The ancient wine jar was passed through inheritance from generation to generation. Today, the ancient ginaman-wine jar is in the hand of Kig-ongen Wanagen of Nabanig. It is a recollection of the head-negay taken by the Agawa warriors as war trophy.


THE LAST HEAD-NEGAY BROUGHT TO AGAWA

At present, head-hunting is no longer practiced by the Agawa people and even by the eastern tribes of Mountain province. With the evangelistic effort of the protestant missionaries particularly the Episcopal or Anglican Church, the unfriendly tradition gradually ceased to exist. The last head-hunting trip of the Agawa warriors was conducted in 1945. The elders motivated their young men to head-hunt for revenge.

Just as the war was ending, members of the 121 Infantry of the Filipino-American arm forces turned to banditry. Led by Kabuena of Narvacan, Ilocos Sur, the bandits sowed fear in the western part of Mountain Province and in the mountain villages of Ilocos sur.

In 1945, the bandits took Hidalgo of Payeo to Liddawan, Ilocos Sur and killed him. Later, they again took David Ganaden of Masameyeo to the same place and executed him. Then they attacked the villages of Tambuan and Dandanac killing many men including five men from Agawa -Agidda, Guesaed, John Maggaes, Mang-osan and a son of Mayegayeg.

The i-Agawa were on their way to get salt supply in Candon when the bandits apprehended and killed them in Dandanac. The indiscriminate killing drew the attention of the government who sent members of the Philippine Constabulary to Tabbak to wage war with the bandits.

During the assault in Tabbak, several bandits were killed and elders from Nabanig and Ayobo took the hands of two of the slain bandits as baes for the three of the five i-Agawa that were killed in Dandanac. The people played gongs and danced over the hands-negay in their respective dap-ay. During the seldak-ritual observance, Bossogan Dapuyen, an elder of Dap-ay Eengan in Nabanig, taunted Kodangos, an elder of Dap-ay Patay.

“Kamanoy kasna Kodangos, adika makaibaes sin minnateymo (You’re nothing Kodangos, you cannot avenge your dead),” Dapuyen mocked Kodangos. The former was referring to the death of John Abkilen who was one of the five i-Agawa killed in Dandanac and who belongs to Dap-ay Patay from which Kodangos was in charge.

“Awni ta as wakas (wait till tomorrow),” Kodangos replied with contempt. “Ilaem as wakas ta ibaak nan babbaballok (You will see tomorrow and I will send my young men).”

Sometime in the month of June 1945, Kodangos and the elders of Dap-ay Patay and of Dap-ay Gueday (extension of Dap-ay Patay) made their labeg warm. After the appropriate rituals were conducted for their labeg, they sent Loblobot Domin-eng, Omaybas Lidab and Loman Cawayan to head-hunt.

The three started their journey and they went to the hunting grounds of Pagpag forest where the scattered bandits during the Tabbak assault fled. By fate, they came across a bandit hiding in Taliktik. They took the bandit to Balicongcong and killed him. The group brought the bandit’s head to Dap-ay Gueday and played gongs over it. During the seldak-ritual, Kodangos made a discourse emphasizing that the head-negay brought by Domin-eng and his group was the fulfillment of his word to Dapuyen of Dap-ay Eengan.

“Siyana nan tet-ewa ay baes tay dakami ay mismo nan nangpatey ay baken en as teken ay ippogao (This is the true vengeance for we are the very ones who killed the victim and not by other people),” Kodangos told the gathered people. “Siyana nan tet-ewa ay negay (This is the real negay).”

Kodangos’ message was spoken infront of the gathered throng in Dap-ay Gueday but it was meant preferably for Dapuyen of Nabanig. He stressed the manner by which the i-Nabanig’s negay was obtained. Members of the Philippine Constabulary killed Dapuyen’s negay while young men of Dap-ay Gueday killed his.

While the Agawa folks were dancing over the head-negay brought by Domin-eng’s group at Dap-ay Gueaday, the bandits that were driven in Tabbak moved down to Legleg, Ilocos Sur. They reorganized themselves and remained a threat to the people. The villages of the Besao municipality only felt secured when a vigilantes was formed to fight the outlaws. Sgt. Bawaan of Payeo organized a vigilante group with Paul Bakdayan acting as his secretary and with Omaybas Lidab, Ommayat Cawayan, and other recruits from Payeo and Besao as soldiers. They stationed at Panabungen and sent a letter to Kabuena and his band of outlaws challenging them to a gunbattle. Knowing that the people of Besao were armed and prepared, the bandits did not accept the challenge. From that time on, the bandits were never seen again in any of the villages of Besao.

The bandit’s head taken in Balicongcong is the last head-negay brought to Agawa. Since then, no other head-hunting victim was reported. At present, the top of the hill of Deladelan in Napoon was named Ken Bandido because it was where the people buried the head of the bandit which was the last victim of head-hunting in Agawa.



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Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Agawa Stone Calendar2

Rice Article: Philippines
Ancient practice of keeping time lives
By Vicente Sapguian
The Manila Times, October 12, 2003

BESAO, Mountain Province—An ancient practice of keeping time still dictates the annual rice farming cycle of a village here. The solar-based stone calendar found here also served to catalyze community and family unity for centuries.

Scores of people, including this correspondents and other mediamen, trooped to Barangay Gueday here, September 30, to see for themselves how the stone calendar works.

The stone calendar has vertical, diagonal and horizontal line markings. This stone is to be the first to be struck by the sun’s ray escaping from a fissure on the mountain above, before the sun fully shows itself up in this particular morning.

As the sun arose at about 6:30 a.m. from the top of the mountain overhead, a greenish sunbeam escaped from the cleft between two rocks at the mountain ridge. The sunbeam from the fissure shot down to the Gueday village “dap-ay,” where villagers and visitors crowded, waiting to witness the yearly phenomenal occurrence.

A “dap-ay” is a public place with sleeping quarters for males. Outside the sleeping quarters is a stone-paved court with seats and a bonfire space at the center. This is where public affairs, such as the legislation of tribal laws, hearing of cases, education of the young, etc., are conducted.

This indigenous system of determining the time of the year when the sun’s beam strikes directly at a particular stone calendar at the “dap-ay,” signals a special day that starts a new rice farming year for the village.

Village elder Belga Pascual, 84, said that the Agawa community of Besao has ingrained this practice since time immemorial and made it a village holiday. The villagers made it a point to celebrate the occasion by exchanging “linnapet,” a kind of a rice cake, wrapped in banana leaves and cooked by boiling.

The villagers went from house to house exchanging the “linnapet” with their neighbors and to clan members who settled in other villages.

Ester and Pasiwat Lasekan claimed that it was David Ganaden, who was by then a village official in the early 1900s, who suggested that whenever the ray of the sun, coming from the fissure in the overhead mountain, strikes the particular stone calendar in the Gueday “dap-ay,” the date is September 30, in the universal Gregorian calendar.

For the succeeding two years, the village elders confirmed the near-accuracy of Ganaden’s observation and so declared September 30 of every year as the village holiday to celebrate “Linnapet Day.”

It was also made the appropriate time to start the village rituals for the yearly rice farming cycle even without confirming from the position of the sun against the fissure in the mountain to the stone calendar in the Gueday “dap-ay,” said the Lasekan couple.

The Agawa Foundation Inc. donated P5,000 for the celebration of this year’s “Linnapet Day.”

Observing that the stone calendar and “dap-ay” where it had been positioned for centuries is deteriorating, Vice Mayor Harry Baliaga of Besao urged the foundation to preserve the stone calendar for the coming generations.

Agawa Stone Calendar 1

Secrets of the Calendar Stone of Besao Revealed
click drop box for picture
From Drop Box

This is the post about the Agricultural Stone calendar of the Agawa people that I had announced before. It answers many of the questions that had come to the the mind of astronomers about it.

Regarded as a unique astronomical monument, it is the local counterpart of ancient structures in other countries which also use the motions of objects in the sky to mark specific times of the year. The annotated material presented is from Desiree Caluza, a correspondent of the Inquirer newspaper. The Calendar Stone is in Sitio Gueday in Besao, near Sagada in the Philippines.

The Day of Linnapet
When the sun’s rays hit the protruding rock of Mt. Ambaon Bato (Mt. Buried Rock) every thirtieth of September, another life starts for the I-Agawa (or Agawa) people in this farming village, where life and times meet.

September 30 is a day for the people of the Agawa tribe to pound rice and to cook linnapet, a native rice cake, to signal the start of the festival to prepare the seedbeds for planting season.

This day, which is being observed by the I-Agawas annually, would always gather people from different walks of life to their mother dap-ay (a circular stone structure where the council of elders meet) to observe how the sun’s rays would project like a laser beam through the niche of a stone on Mt. Ambaon Bato to the stone calendar of the mother dap-ay in Sitio Gueday.

This marks the agricultural cycle and for I-Agawas to share the linnapet. "This occasion is the local people’s version of Christmas, wherein families celebrate together the spirit of linnapet festival," former Besao councilor Gloria Bantog, said.

On Sept. 29, all roads led to barangay Agawa as people go to watch the spectacular sunbeams and to cook, share and eat linnapet. Even the I-Agawas who are based outside the province and live in the lowlands celebrate the day to make the linnapet spirit alive.

Bantog said even the Agawa people abroad who are based in the United States, Hongkong and countries in Europe celebrate the Linnapet festival. "In Baguio you’ll find I-Agawas converging at Burnham Park sharing our native delicacy," she said.

Local journalist Joel Belinan of Zigzag Weekly who grew up in Agawa related that he would receive calls from friends abroad when he was a social worker in Singapore. "Friends would call me up every Sept. 30 and they would tell me: maglapet tako (let us eat linnapet)!"

Tablets of Stone

In Sitio Gueday, the stone calendar sits still among the tablets of stones in the mother dap-ay. According to the elders, the stone calendar bears inscriptions etched by their ancestors who offered alingo (boar) to the spirits.

The inscriptions are lines which are either long or short. Bantog said the short lines indicated that the villagers had butchered a small pig while the longer lines meant they had butchered the bigger ones.

The stone’s inscriptions though, also meant something else for the I-Agawas. According to Bantog, a certain Jewish scientist named Spiback, who accidentally discovered the place in 1956, told the villagers that they may have descended from the Shan Dynasty of China.

Because, like the ancient Chinese of the Shan Dynasty, the I-Agawas have chinky eyes and a stocky body structure, said Bantog, citing Spiback’s claims.

Citing anthropologist William Henry Scott, Bantog said that the inscriptions on the stone calendar showed stark similarities with the ancient form of writing in China.

The mother dap-ay which is called by the villagers as Awaw, determines the planting season in Agawa. Before the advent of the Gregorian calendar, during the Western colonization, the ancestors of the I-Agawas observed the sun’s rays that would hit the stones of Mt. Ambaon Bato and Sitio Gueday in a parallel projection.

The villagers said that in the 1920s, a man who would observe the movement of the sunrise had noticed that its rays would usually hit the stones every Sept. 30. That was when they decided to mark the date as "Linnapet Day."

Locals have noticed that as the years passed by, Sitio Gueday had been sinking. "Gueday" in local terms literally suggested the same meaning.

But this has not dampened the spirit of the I-Agawas to celebrate the Linnapet Day, even with the fact that the stone calendar had been vandalized and portions of it stolen by some "outsiders."

Bantog related that in 1986, the village discovered that the stone was vandalized. The top of the stone was chopped off and the I-Agawas could not trace its whereabouts. Most of the villagers thought that the act was politically motivated.

Leon Lonogan, an Agawa tribe member and author of the book "The Sunset at Sunrise, The History of the Agawa Tribe," said residents searched in nearby brooks to look for the missing relic. After a long search, they found only one-third of the stone.

Lonogan said the people returned the said portion of their stone calendar to its proper depository. "The people were gnashing their teeth for the loss of the stone calendar," Lonogan wrote in his book.

Lonogan said the elders had proclaimed three days of ngilin, a rest day set aside to solemnize a ritual. The elders performed a ritual at the Awaw to bring disease, epidemic and even death to the thieves.

Legend of the First Linnapet

When Bantog was an elementary school teacher in 1970 in Barangay Ambigew, an oral tradition was passed on to her by an old man who told her the legend of linnapet. "Since you are the one who could write, please write our own legend, I am afraid that the oral tradition might soon be gone," Bantog said recalling the words of the old man.

Bantog recounted that she immediately grabbed a pen to write the legend. She immediately transcribed her notes using an old typewriter. She has managed to keep the written legend until now.

According to the story, there was once a couple who lived in Ba-ang, Pedelisan who had a pregnant pig. When the pig was about to give birth, it disappeared. The owners found the animal’s footprints while searching for it.

When they followed the footprints, they arrived at a deep cave and were surprised to discover that the pig gave birth to seven fat litters. The couple named the place "Agawa" because it was where the pig "rushed to" to give birth.

The couple decided to settle in Agawa to take care of the pig. They started planting rootcrops such as gabi, camote and legumes. They did not plant rice. They were so discouraged that they feared that they were going to eat camote for the rest of their lives.

One day, when the man decided to go back to Ba-ang to learn the method of growing rice, he found an old man with shining robes on top of a big stone while he was on his way up the hill. He was so scared that he almost fell on his knees.

The man explained to the strange visitor that he wanted to learn the method of growing rice because he wanted his family to taste rice. The old man then gave him instructions.

"Tomorrow, go to that stone opposite to us and wait for the sun to rise. If the rays of the sun are parallel to the stone where we are now, go out and tell your neighbors that the time for preparing fields for planting rice has come," the old man said. "To remember this day, cook your best product using your best recipes, then share it to relatives, neighbors and friends. Being the oldest in the group, get your fattest piglet and bring it to the dap-ay and offer it as a sacrifice to the god of harvest who is in front of you now."

The old man also instructed the man to mark the stone with a line and to call the event "Linnapet day."

"The man who told me the story had a great imagination that I was really inclined to believe. But by looking at things now, I’m seeing the connection," Bantog said.

Bantog said the rice cake with a traditional recipe of water crickets, mudfish, and eels is now prepared using sweetened peanuts. She said other villagers are lamenting that their own delicacy is being marketed commercially.

"But there are others who prefer to eat linnapet which is traditionally cooked. For them, linnapet is tastier during this season because it is keeping our village spirit alive," Bantog said.

Desiree Caluza may be reached emailed at: crescent89ph@yahoo.com

To view Desiree Caluza's art gallery, go to: http://www.homegrownart.net/dayc.htm

For a different account on the Calendar stone of Besao written by Vicente Sapguian for the Manila Times, go to:
Blogspot Greatman
For a glimpse into the cultural past of the Agawa people by Leon Lonogan, writer of "The Sunset at Sunrise, The History of the Agawa Tribe" go to:
Blogspot Greatman
The image above is an unrelated photograph from:
http://www.travelblog.org/Photos/51276.html
To preview web logs relating to astronomy, go to: http://macrocosm-magbook.blogspot.com/

Who do you think damaged the Calendar stone of Besao?
Drunken natives Tourists Artifact Collectors See results Drunken natives
1 Tourists
1 Artifact Collectors
0 Cast My Vote Tags: agricultural, stone, calendar, besao, linnapet, astronomy, monument, philippines



Monday March 26, 2007 - 03:09am (PDT)

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recycling2

All-female group advocates for livelihood from garbage
by Liza Agoot and Mariam Evangelista

Hitting two birds with one stone, the Gibraltar Women’s Association is not only helping in waste management, it is also providing livelihood for its members. This they do by making products out of used foil and plastic packaging.

Juliet Flores, president of the Gibraltar Sariling Sikap Organization, said that they make products such as slippers, vests, aprons, bags, Christmas decorations, folders, and other things out of junk food wrappers.

They are now experimenting on ma-king hats and raincoats out of the same material.

She said that they have thought of the idea after a Lakbay Aral trip where their minds and eyes were opened to the reality about the garbage issue. They noticed that their own Barangay Gibraltar is facing a problem in proper waste disposal.

Believing that they needed to do something to help in the garbage problem, they adopted the idea of Remy Weiman who taught them weaving. The training and production started last May.

The group of women collected bottles, newspapers, and other recyclables to be sold to help minimize wastes in their place. However, they saw that plastics are also a problem to their community so they decided to make something useful out of the plastics.

With patience, perseverance and motivation to be productive, and the conviction to help curb the garbage problem, junk food wrappers are cut into pieces, handcrafted, and turned into decorative and saleable products.

Flores said that the organization has 25 housewife members who get income from cleaning the materials and sewing portions of the pro-ducts.

The group also recruits workers who don’t have a stable source of income. “Wala daw silang pera kaya nag-isip tayo ng gagawin nila na pwedeng pagkakitaan at nakakatulong sa problema natin sa Baguio,” Flores said.

She said that before, they didn’t really plan to go into commercial production. But right now, even if they are still in the production stage they have already contacted bulk buyers of the products they created. The organization also started to give out salaries to its workers.

She added that their target in the barangay is zero waste as they manage by recycling residual wastes like shampoo sachets, toothpaste sachets, milk and coffee foil packs, junk food foil pack wrappers, tetra pack juice containers, and foil packs of condiments used in the kitchen.

She said, “Nagkukulang mga materials namin kaya bumibili na din kami.”
A clean condiment and tetra pack juice foil pack is bought at .20 centavos apiece while an unclean one is at .10 centavos apiece. A kilo of junk food containers costs P10.

They also teach those who want to learn, Flores added, but they have to bring their own materials.
“Gusto din namin na ilipat ang kaalaman para marami tayo na magtutulungan sa pag-ayos ng problema natin sa basura,” said Flores


Baguio turns styrofoam and plastic wastes into tiles

The Baguio city government has succeeded in its initial tests on using a special machine which would turn the tons of styrofoam and plastic garbage into saleable plastic tiles.
Engineer Nazita Banez of the City Environment and Parks Management (CEPMO) office said that the machine which “cook” the wastes was developed in recent years by the National Science and Technology Authority (NSTA).
The forthcoming plastic tile production will be at the controlled waste facility of the city at its former dumpsite in Barangay Irisan.
“We bought recently the smelting machine which includes a shredder at a cost of Php450,000. It makes use of washed plastic and styrofoam. The melted waste plus ordinary used oil are then placed into molders to allow it to cool. This way, we can deal with several tons of plastic bags and styro materials dumped by our almost half-a-million residents and visitors daily. It could even provide livelihood to the former waste pickers in our closed dumpsite,” she explained.
The tiles will soon be sold at commercial scale for building contractors as well as those in the landscaping industry.
Story courtesy of PNA
 
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Recycling



Artwork from GarbageBy: Andy Zapata Jr.Posted: October 06, 2008

30 year od Rommel Pidazo uses plastic straws he just picked up from a garbage along Session road to complete one of his many artworks, all originating from garbage materials which he converts into functional things like belt bags, lampshades, windbreaker jackets and many more. A Baguio based artist, Pidazo said that he started with the selling of his tribal inspired neclaces, shirts and other accessories. However, an awakening inspired him one day, thingking on how he can help the other and the envionment, thats when he started to pick up thrown materials in the garbage and converting them into functional things. It is now his advocacy to help others thru lectures, teaching them on how to convert this rubbish specially non biodegradable matierials like plastics into things that can be used again




MONEY FROM GARBAGE -- Products made from tetra packs in the form of bags, vests, aprons, caps, etc., are displayed by the Gibraltar Sariling Sikap Organization led by its chair Juliet Flores (behind). The recycled by-products were on display at SM Baguio during the launching of Indigenous Peoples Month, Consumer Welfare Month, Productivity Month, and National Statistics Month. -- Harley Palangchao

Northern Besao Linapet Day

The following article was originally published last year at Sunstar Baguio. We are re-publishing it here because Linapet Day is around the corner once again and those of you with Besao roots might want to go home to join the celebrations.It is also a very unique event -- we don't think there's an event like this in other parts of the region -- so we're sure you would be interested in reading more about it.Besao's Linapet DaySunstar BaguioThe Linapet Day celebration is one of the rare traditions, which have never waned among the natives of barangays Gueday, Agawa and Lacmaan, all in Northern Besao, Mt. Province.It also played a significant role in keeping the unity among the people who come from these places.On Saturday morning, before the sun rises, folks as well as local and foreign tourists will flock to Dap-ay Awaw in Gueday to wait for the sun to rise atop a towering rock known as Ambaon-Bato in the far northern mountain of Langsayan.Here, one would find the world-renowned stone calendar, and it is only in this area where the rising sun can be viewed in a spectacular way, described by many as "sunset in a sunrise" with the changes in color and strategic position on top of the rock.This happens only at this particular time of the year.As early as the eve of September 29, locals would start preparing the linapet, an indigenous bread made of ground rice with coarsely ground peanut as filling and wrapped in banana leaves. After viewing the sunrise on September 30, thelinapet is then shared with neighbors and visitors.People who originated from these localities but are already based elsewhere, were said to annually meet on a weekend nearest September 30 to cook and partake of the linapet.As recounted by the elders based on an unpublished paper by Leon Lonogan, the tradition started after a strange man erected two stones in Dap-ay Awaw, Gueday in the early days and instructed a respectable elder to watch out for the sun on top of the lone towering rock in Ambaon-Bato.When this happens, he said it would be the best time to sow rice grains for a bountiful harvest. Each time of the year when the sun was viewed that way, markings were made on the stone, which eventually became the famous stone calendar.Pigs and chicken were also butchered to celebrate the feast of the sowing season. However as the number of people increased, the linapet eventually substituted for pigs and chicken.The linapet is a high calorie food. One serving from a half kilo of ground rice and three-fourths cup of ground peanut would contain approximately 253 kilocalories, 37 grams carbohydrates, eight grams protein and fat, 13 milligrams phosphorus, 33 milligrams calcium and traces of iron, riboflavin and thiamine.SOURCE: Sunstar Baguio.