"Baskang" - Igorot Ritual for the Newly Married Couple or a Young Family

by: Felisa Daskeo

Like all other Filipino ethnic groups, Igorots have their own practices and beliefs that identify them from other Filipinos. This practice has been handed from generation to generation but it is not anymore recognized by the new generation. Except for a very few, the “baskang” is a never heard word to the young generation.

"Baskang" is the first Cañao for a starting family or newly married couple to provide material blessings as well as bliss to the young family. Igorots believe that performing the ritual and asking “kabunian” – the Igorot God and all the spirits of those departed- blessings will make life easier and happier for the young family.
Prior preparations are made by the family weeks before the ceremony. 

Here are the offerings made during “Baskang”.

3 pigs

One cow

A boar

A piglet

4 chickens

In addition to these, several wine jars have been readied before the celebration. Since this is a feast, three cavans of rice or ten baskets of camote (sweet potato) are also included.  The quantity of food and rice wine prepared is determined by the number of people to be invited.

The well wishers may bring gifts for the celebrants. Gifts come in cash or in kind, there are always abundance of gifts in kind such as palay, chickens, and other food items during the celebration.

On the day of the celebration, the guests and neighbors will feast on food and wine.

The “Baskang” and all other celebrations are observed by the Igorots with so much faith. From the day of the celebration up to the 7^th day, the family observes utter state of idleness. The “ngilin” or the holiday for the family is like a seclusion time. The family will put a “pudong”- reeds knotted at the end and tied on the gate or entrance to the house- to warn people that the family is not to be disturbed or visited. On this occasion, nobody should attempt to enter the gate or knock on the door because it is strictly prohibited to enter the abode of a family celebrating a ritual. Celebrations are considered very sacred and no interference is made.

On the third day of the one week holiday observance for the family, a chicken is to be sacrificed and on the 7^th day, a sow is butchered to signify the termination of the celebrant’s period of seclusion or “ngilin”.

After the ceremony, the celebrants can now engage in any endeavor. And henceforth, the husband can sit among the group of exclusive men who are regarded with higher esteem by virtue of the cañao they performed. This will make the man part of the well respected men in the community who can qualify for community leadership.

Read more here:

Cañao Explained

Pakde

Copyright 2016 Felisa Daskeo

Cañao Explained

by: Felisa Daskeo

Cañao is a pagan celebration, a tradition, a ceremony, a ritual, a feast, a thanksgiving, an offering, and a peaceful holiday observed by the Igorots in the CAR (Cordillera Autonomous Region). Most of all, cañao is a kind of bonding by the people in observance of a very highly regarded event. Cañao comes in many kinds which I will discuss in my future posts.

Cañao is not just a celebration and a merry-making, the celebration is a sacred celebration by the Igorots made more sacred because it involves offering, praying and conversing to the unseen. Igorots have very high regard to the unseen spirits roaming around whom they believe have a huge part in making them successful, keeping them safe from danger and harm, keeping them sound asleep in bed, keeping them healthy, and providing them a peaceful place to live in. It is with this belief that the Igorots have made “cañao” a very important, must celebrate the event and given the highest respect.

Igorots celebrate cañao to thank their own God, the spirits of nature and the spirits of their ancestors and dead relatives. Offerings are made such as chickens, pigs, cows, carabaos, foods, and wine. This is because they believe that everything they are blessed with comes from the blessings of the unseen and calls for a celebration.

This computer age with the most advance technology has not diminished this practice of the Igorots because they are still partly rooted to the Igorot practices of a long time ago. No matter how highly educated and sophisticated an Igorot is, the Igorot culture is still running in his/her blood. 

Copyright 2016 Felisa Daskeo

Igorots Have Tails, They Live in Tree Houses

by: Felisa Daskeo

Are you an Igorot?

You probably aren’t, and if you are not an Igorot, you are perhaps wondering what an Igorot looks like, where an Igorot lives and what an Igorot eats. Up to this computer age, the word IGOROT is often frowned at and even laughed at. It is often treated awkwardly like an alien word and most of the time misunderstood.

A beautiful Igorot house view just above the rice terraces in Tadian, Mt. province.

Let’s get this straight and clear and be done with the wrong perceptions of people about Igorots.

Igorot men busy at work during the wake of my father. Men are very busy when there is work to be done during calamities.

They say that Igorots have tails? Unless an Igorot is a monkey, which he is not, he probably has a tail. But Igorots are human beings and not animals, so it is impossible for them to have tails.

Although many Igorots still cling to the traditional way of life and do not spend time making themselves look good and be presentable to others, they don't have tails. Many Igorots are beautiful and handsome, but they are hidden within their rugged styles. Look carefully into their faces and you will notice the "meztizo" blood they had inherited from their ancestors. 
Many years ago, someone said straight in my face that he couldn't see any pretty face nor a handsome face in Baguio City. I almost slapped his face, but I merely kept mum and let the line go away. Of course, he didn't know that I was an Igorot that time.

Just like other Filipinos, there are different types of Igorot faces, but you cannot generalize Igorots as all ugly and never say, Igorots have tails.

It is in all aspects absurd to say that Igorots have tails.

They say that Igorots live in tree houses. That’s a fact and yes, perhaps they have lived in tree houses thousands of years ago during the time when all the other Filipinos were also living in treehouses to protect themselves from their enemies and wild animals. But since birth in the 1960s, I haven’t seen any Igorot that ever lived in a treehouse or even as near a treehouse for that matter.

In this computer age, I don't think there are still people living in tree houses.

To set the record straight, coming from a pure bloodied Igorot; Igorots are normal people living in normal homes in an equally normal environment. They, of course, have some practices, beliefs, and traditions that are a little different from other regions in the Philippines, but they are not totally different from other Filipinos.

This was our old house before we moved to another house.

I was born in January, 1961 and this was the house where I was born. Only the lower portion of the house was renovated because the new owner of the house decided to move the door to the front.

Igorots are a group of cultural minority people in the Philippines. They live in the northern parts of the Philippines and they were known as headhunters a long time ago. The Igorots are often mistaken as Aetas and Agtas. The fact is, Igorots are just like the other majority groups of Filipinos like Ilocanos, Tagalogs, and Visayans.

The word Igorot is a generalized name of the cultural minority groups of people in the northern part of the Philippines or the Cordillera provinces. The 5 provinces in Cordillera was only one province then called Mountain Province. This province was established by the Americans in 1908. However, in 1966, Mountain Province was divided into 5 provinces, namely; Mountain Province, Kalinga, Apayao, Benguet, and Ifugao. Thus the question about who the Igorots are created a big issue and confused many people, even some Igorots themselves. The word Igorot is often wrongly defined by people as tailed people still living a primitive life. This is the reason why there are people from the Cordillera region who refuse to be called Igorot.

In a popularly known term, Igorots are people living in the Cordilleras. They are a group of people who are often mistaken by Filipinos as tailed people. Of course, unless Igorots are monkeys as I have said earlier, then it’s impossible for them to have tails. Igorots are Filipino people so the tail they are talking about is only a tale. In short, Igorots are cultural minority groups of people but they are normal people just like the Ilocanos, the Tagalogs, the Visayans and the Muslims who are all Filipinos but with different ethnicities.

Igorots may be the headhunters long time ago and that is a fact but in these modern times when technology has allowed for the discovery of every cave around the world, it would be impossible for Igorots to be still dwelling in caves and tree houses and living a primitive life. Fact is, if you visit the different places where Igorots live, their houses have passed the calculating eyes of the best engineers. Perhaps it is not impossible for an Igorot family to live in a well-constructed house because after all, who had built one of the best-engineered wonders of the world? The Igorots have built the rice terraces with only their crude tools and bare hands, yet the wonder has been constructed perfectly just like the building built by the best engineers. This further proves that Igorots are wonderful engineers who could construct great houses to dwell in.

This view is just one of the several constructions going on in Tadian.

Some Filipinos still believe that Igorots are people who live a primitive life but that is a misconception of those who do not know them. In 1970, the last man that I remembered wearing a G-string in my hometown was my own grandfather who refused to wear long pants that his children bought for him. He preferred to wear G-string because he was more comfortable wearing the piece of cloth. Every time they bought for him long pants, he cut them short. But even the shorts were not that comfortable to him, so he preferred wearing the G-string. It was only in the 1980s when he suddenly set aside his G-string and started wearing shorts and long pants.

An old house where my aunt and her family dwell. They never lived in a tree house.

I still hear so many arguments about who Igorots are. Some think that Igorots are the Aetas who are dark, short, with kinky hair and are still living a very primitive life. But even most Aetas are living a modern lifestyle and going to school nowadays. And as for the Igorots, they aren’t dark and small but most are fair and big. Even fairer than other Filipinos.

It’s a shame that many Filipinos, even educated ones, still wrongly define the Igorots.

But of course, more and more people are becoming aware that there are several Igorots circulating around the world, who are highly educated and very competitive just like the other Filipinos.

And I am proud to say that I am an Igorot

Copyright 2016 Felisa Daskeo

Igorots Have Tails, They Live in Tree Houses

by: Felisa Daskeo

Are you an Igorot?

You probably aren’t, and if you are not an Igorot, you are perhaps wondering what an Igorot looks like, where an Igorot lives, and what an Igorot eats. Up to this computer age, the word IGOROT is often frowned at and even laughed at. It is often treated awkwardly like an alien word and most of the time misunderstood.

A beautiful Igorot house view just above the rice terraces in Tadian, Mt. province.

Let’s get this straight and clear and unlock the wrong perceptions of people about Igorots.

Igorot men busy at work during the wake of my father. Men are very busy when there is work to be done during calamities.

They say that Igorots have tails? Unless an Igorot is a monkey, which he is not, he probably has a tail. But Igorots are human beings and not animals, so it is impossible for them to have tails.

Although many Igorots still cling to the traditional way of life and do not spend time making themselves look good and be presentable to others, they don't have tails. Many Igorots are beautiful and handsome, but they are hidden within their rugged styles. Look carefully into their faces and you will notice the "meztizo" blood they had inherited from their ancestors. 
Many years ago, someone said straight in my face that he couldn't see any pretty face nor a handsome face in Baguio City. I almost slapped his face, but I merely kept mum and let the line go away. Of course, he didn't know that I was an Igorot that time.

Just like other Filipinos, there are different types of Igorot faces, but you cannot generalize Igorots as all ugly and never say, Igorots have tails.

It is in all aspects absurd to say that Igorots have tails.

They say that Igorots live in tree houses. That’s a fact and yes, perhaps they have lived in tree houses thousands of years ago during the time when all the other Filipinos were also living in treehouses to protect themselves from their enemies and wild animals. But since my birth in the 1960s, I haven’t seen any Igorot that ever lived in a treehouse or even as near a treehouse for that matter.

In this computer age, I don't think there are still people living in tree houses.

To set the record straight, coming from a pure bloodied Igorot; Igorots are normal people living in normal homes in an equally normal environment. They, of course, have some practices, beliefs, and traditions that are a little different from other regions in the Philippines, but they are not totally different from other Filipinos.

This was our old house before we moved to another house.

I was born in January, 1961 and this was the house where I was born. Only the lower portion of the house was renovated because the new owner of the house decided to move the door to the front.

Igorots are a group of cultural minority people in the Philippines. They live in the northern parts of the Philippines and they were known as headhunters a long time ago. The Igorots are often mistaken as Aetas and Agtas. The fact is, Igorots are just like the other majority groups of Filipinos like Ilocanos, Tagalogs, and Visayans, and should not be compared to Aetas who are dark, short, and with curly hair.

The word Igorot is a generalized name of the cultural minority groups of people in the northern part of the Philippines or the Cordillera provinces. The 5 provinces in Cordillera was only one province then called Mountain Province. This province was established by the Americans in 1908. However, in 1966, Mountain Province was divided into 5 provinces, namely; Mountain Province, Kalinga, Apayao, Benguet, and Ifugao. Thus the question about who the Igorots are created a big issue and confused many people, even some Igorots themselves. The word Igorot is often wrongly defined by people as tailed people still living a primitive life. This is the reason why there are people from the Cordillera region who refuse to be called Igorot.

In a popularly known term, Igorots are people living in the Cordilleras. They are a group of people who are often mistaken by Filipinos as tailed people. Of course, unless Igorots are monkeys as I have said earlier, then it’s impossible for them to have tails. Igorots are Filipino people, so the tail they are talking about is only a tale. In short, Igorots are cultural minority groups of people but they are normal people just like the Ilocanos, the Tagalogs, the Visayans, and the Muslims who are all Filipinos but with different ethnicities.

Igorots may be the headhunters a long time ago and that is a fact but in these modern times when technology has allowed for the discovery of every cave around the world, it would be impossible for Igorots to be still dwelling in caves and treehouses and living a primitive life. The fact is, if you visit the different places where Igorots live, their houses have passed the calculating eyes of the best engineers. Perhaps it is not impossible for an Igorot family to live in a well-constructed house because after all, who had built one of the best-engineered wonders of the world? The Igorots have built the rice terraces with only their crude tools and bare hands, yet the wonder has been constructed perfectly just like the building built by the best engineers. This further proves that Igorots are wonderful engineers who could construct great houses to dwell in.

This view is just one of the several constructions going on in Tadian.

Some Filipinos still believe that Igorots are people who live a primitive life, but that is a misconception of those who do not know them. In 1970, the last man that I remembered wearing a G-string in my hometown was my own grandfather who refused to wear long pants that his children bought for him. He preferred to wear G-string because he was more comfortable wearing the piece of cloth. Every time they bought him long pants, he cut them short. But even the shorts were not that comfortable for him, so he preferred wearing the G-string. It was only in the 1980s when he suddenly set aside his G-string and started wearing shorts and long pants.

An old house where my aunt and her family dwell. They never lived in a treehouse.

I still hear so many arguments about who Igorots are. Some think that Igorots are the Aetas who are dark, short, with kinky hair and are still living a very primitive life. But even most Aetas are living a modern lifestyle and going to school nowadays. And as for the Igorots, they aren’t dark and small but many are fair and tall, some even fairer than other Filipinos.

 

It’s a shame that many Filipinos, even educated ones, still wrongly define the Igorots.

But of course, more and more people are becoming aware that there are several Igorots circulating around the world, who are highly educated and very competitive just like the other Filipinos.

And I am proud to say that I am an Igorot

Copyright 2016 Felisa Daskeo

The Story of an IGOROT Lady

I have always dreamed of becoming a writer when I was a young girl.  Believe me, I was an Igorot but my dream was not to write in my own language but to write in English.

I have always been so curious about a lot of things. I started coining stories in my mind when I was only 8. I could still remember how I loved to sit by our window and watched the rain as they fell in torrents and the water rushed to the open canals. There I would create stories in my young mind, just like how my father and my sister told us stories.

I was surrounded by interesting people who were storytellers. My father was a brilliant storyteller who told us the story of "Alibaba and the Forty Thieves", countless times. He was very good at relating past events; especially during the Second World War when he was a runner. I loved how my father spoiled us with stories of all kinds. He taught us how to appreciate books too and read them. We never got tired of reading the same old books (donations from the UK). In fact, I almost memorized every page of the book. My eldest sister was a great storyteller too. I always thought she was brilliant in that she always managed to invent stories for us. My sister was only in high school at that time, yet she taught us a lot of things and created stories that we thought were stories she read from books. We later found out that she only created them in her young mind.

There was also this old woman who used to drop by our house. She was not a relative, but my family always welcomed visitors from other communities. This old woman would tell us endless stories. We would be asleep by then but she didn't know, and she kept on telling the story until early morning when she finally finished the story and perhaps only one adult was able to finish listening to it while all of us were already dreaming. I couldn't imagine how she was able to relate to such long, long stories. She was illiterate, and she was also very old. It was amazing.

In the school compound where I attended high school. (2010)

When I was in high school, I learned to read cowboy stories. My elder brother loves these Western stories and I often read the books myself. I learned to love Western Cowboy pocket books early in life. There was even a time when I thought it was so easy to write a novel. But when I tried, I gave up on the second page. I realized that at age 15, I still needed a lot to learn before I could write a book.

I became so inspired when I was in college when a professor of mine recognized my talent in English. I was taking up education that time and he gave me grades that made me dilate my eyes. He said that I deserved the grades. I was really amazed. He told me that once I finish my college education, I should go back to my place and serve my people. He even told me to write about my people. I belong to a minority group of people in the Philippines called Igorots. I had experienced discrimination since I stepped into college. Until now, I am still discriminated against in my own country.

The inspiration from my instructor became only a dream. I landed a job as a preschool teacher in the city and forgot about writing. Perhaps writing was not for me. But then something new sprouted when I worked in Hong Kong for more than three years.

In HongKong (1994)

I was in a foreign land with strangers around me and it was not at all a pleasant experience. I had a two and a half-year-old son who was left with my siblings and I always missed him. At night I couldn't sleep and in the morning my employer would be asking me if I slept well. She knew from my puffed eyes that I didn't. My employer was so nice and kind and this is not an exaggeration.

I started writing short stories while in Hong Kong. I went home after three and a half years and continued writing for our local magazines,; I was able to send more than twenty short stories that were published in different magazines.

I discovered online writing in 2008 when my sister bought us a computer. I never thought that I would become an online writer. I learned to write online in a hard way. My knowledge of the computer was as minute as the drop in the rain and I didn't even know how to open the computer. My son taught me how to do it right without getting into trouble. When I finally learned a few things about Microsoft Word, I subscribed to an internet connection. I didn't know anything about computers, especially the website, but I was curious about what people were talking about.

My internet connection was activated, and soon I was on the computer working like a pro. I felt so excited. I started surfing the website that I didn't have any knowledge about.

Bingo! I came to a site where I was able to read about how to earn money writing online. I forgot about the site. But my first writing site was Triond, then Helium; until finally, I was writing like crazy and soon earning real money that I never thought I could earn. Although I'm sure it is not real money to others; it was real money to me.

It was fun; so much fun and I almost sat in front of the computer the whole day. This was it, I said but then I slowly dwindled in my writing activities and my earnings dwindled too. I finally learned that in order to earn more money online, one has to work really hard.

Making money online is hard work. But I always find time to write and have fun with words.

Your dreams won't be impossible to achieve.

Patience, patience, patience... dedication plus your love for what you are doing. THESE are the main ingredients in order to achieve your dreams of making money online.

COME AND JOIN ME AS I EXPLORE THE WORLD OF WRITING AND SHARE THE STORIES I HAVE CREATED!!!

This Igorot Man's Reaction Shocked the Lady Vendor

by: Felisa Daskeo

If you see a dirty man wearing a G-string, what will you do?

It is a fact to many Filipinos that Igorots look poor and dirty.  I don’t deny that my old folks look dirty poor plus their nails and hands are stained brown because their occupation is farming.  But beyond those stained nails and sunburned skin is a secret nobody expects.

This anecdote was related by my late father, who loves telling us stories. 

So the story goes that there was this dirty-looking Igorot man wearing G-string, who was in the market trying to buy fish but was ignored by the vendor because of his shabby looks. 

The man, annoyed because the vendor ignored him for the nth time said loudly, "How much is a kilogram of fish?"

Looking surprised at the dirty man's reaction, the lady vendor said mockingly, "Can you afford to buy a kilogram of fish?" 

Pissed by the vendor's sarcasm, the Igorot man pulled his money belt,  plucked a thick wad of paper bills then told the woman, "How much does all your fish cost? I can afford to pay for all of that!"

Shocked by the discovery and embarrassed with her misdemeanor, the vendor knelt down, cried and pleaded for forgiveness to the Igorot man.

So, the next time you see a dirty-looking man, do not judge him by his looks.  He might be even richer than the man who is wearing a well-pressed suit.

Copyright 2014 Felisa Daskeo

The Pakde

by: Felisa Daskeo

What is PAKDE?  
 'Pakde' is pronounced as (pak - duh).

Pakde is a community affair of the Igorots which is purely cañao without any dancing and playing of gongs.  Opposed to the Begnas to which neighboring people are invited, entry of visitors is strictly prohibited during the celebration which could be extended to as many days until the bile of the pig says so.  The pigs butchered are not to be cooked but are equally distributed to every household.  It has to be known also that the cost incurred has to be equally shared by each household in the community.

Pakde is performed before rice planting season which is aimed at invoking the blessings of the spirits for the healthy growth of the plants.  The celebration prohibits going to work in the fields although house chores are allowed.

The Pakde is still celebrated up to now by the people in the Mountain Provinces.  The traditions and practices are still being celebrated even to this modern day.  I’m sure that the anitos are happy looking at the people who still believe in their existence.  As an afterthought, I still believe in our traditional customs and still talk to our ancestors who were long time dead. 

My old folks used to teach us that the spirits of our ancestors are still mingling with us and that we should always talk to them and offer them some food specially if we received blessings.  In short; we should share our blessings with them.

To help the readers understand the article better, definition of words is added below.

Cañao – a feast celebrated by the people in the Mountain Provinces

Anitos – the spirits of the dead

Copyright 2013 Felisa Daskeo