IFUGAO: Life and Music

The Ifugao or the people of central cordilleraare found within the most rocky
and mountainous parts of the Central Cordillera. They are independent and
conservative people who have stubbornly resisted the colonization of the Spaniards.
The Ifugao have a number of subgroup tribes and they have dialects that change from
village to village making it difficult to sustain a conversation between neighboring
villages.

Many years ago, fierce rivalry and constant inter-valley feuding caused villages
to be found in hard to access but easily defended locations. But today, villages are
found perched in top of prominent peals, carefully wedged into steep mountainsides or
clustered in valleys. Since Ifugao life takes places outside, little is the use of their houses
using it mainly for a place to sleep, to store possessions, and for shelter in bad weather.

Their family structure is very interesting. The adults and children live in one house
while the teenage children live in another house. When teenagers get to the age
where they get attracted to the opposite gender, the male teenagers leave the house
during the day t meet females from other houses, while the females stay at home to
welcome other male guests. Once they get to know each other couples soon form and
when a girl becomes pregnant, marriage comes after. They then either build a house of
their own or occupy abandoned houses.

The Ifugao culture revolves around rice including the rituals and the magic
surrounding it. Religious rites are very important to them. Their religion is a vastly complex
structure based on ancestor worship, animism, and magical power.

The ifugao have various types of songs and musical instruments for different
occasions, particularly during village rituals and social gatherings. Their music can be
classified into (1) instrumental or (2) vocal music. Men and women, young and old all
sing. They are trained to chant for social events and rituals. Their rituals can either be
done alone or with a group. An example of a ritual that can be done individually are
songs learned from other tribes or lands and when putting a baby to sleep. Rituals that
are done as a group have a lead chanter or singer.

Their songs can be classified into (1) rituals songs and (2) non-ritual songs. Ritual
songs are sung in religious occasions. An example of a ritual song is the alim. Some ritual
songs require responses while others are extemporaneous. Examples of their non-ritual
songs include the hudhud, the liwliwa, and the salidumay. The hudhud is famous for
being one of the longest literary pieces of the country. It is chanted by women during
harvest season or during death vigils for aged members of rich families. The singers also
express various moods when chanting the hudhud. The liwliwa is sung in debate form by
groups of men and their leaders. This is sung to express love, protest and other personal
emotions. The salidumay is usually sung antiphonally by groups of men and women. This
song is used to express ideas or emotions.

The ifugao also use musical instruments to accompany their chants. They have
the ayyuding and babbong which are stringed instruments that are made of bamboo
and rattan. The ayyuding is made of a whole bamboo node with strings carved out of
the bamboo string. It is played by striking the strings with a stick. The babbong is a rattan
strip instrument usually played by children before harvest time. Another stringed
instrument is the tadcheng. It is similar to the babbong with four strings strummed with
fingers. Bikkung is a mouth instrument made of brass or bamboo and is commonly
played by men and women at night or during courtship.

They also have their percussion instruments which include the gongs commonly
called gangsa. The gangsa is an ensemble of 3 to 4 flat gongs played in special
rhythms. The individual gongs are called the tabob, hibat, or ahhot. The hibat produces
resonant tones while the ahhot produces damped sounds. The tabob, the low-pitched
gong, is played with clenched fists and can only be found in the ifugao tribes. A conical
drum called the libbit is also added to the ensemble during harvest season.The rest of
the gongs are played with sticks that strike the inner surface of the gongs. Another
percussion instrument they have is the langitang. This is used during burial rituals, to drive
away bad spirits, and for revenge rituals for a slain Ifugao. They also use the bangibang
or pattong which is a pair made of straight or boomerang shaped wood. Sound is
produced by striking or banging the instrument. All these instruments and rituals all
contribute to the daily lives of the ifugao.

The Ifugao have remained unchanged throughout the years and so their culture
and traditions are preserved. They are very stubborn and strong tribe. But their
stubbornness is also the reason behind them being able to keep their traditions just how
it was even before the Philippines was colonized.