Proud To Be An Ifugao Heritage Warrior

This is a preview post to my Ifugao Blog Series.

I was lucky to get invited to PHILTOA's Ifugao Heritage Warrior Caravan Tour held last week (from 19th to 22nd of July) in the province of Ifugao. It was a fun-filled experience joined by Canon Group and SM Cares in the first two days, PHILTOA's officers, tour operators from various tour agencies, and people from the media (where I belong). For four days, we were exposed to a culture, so unique and very well preserved, that can be owned by every Filipino. The event just made me love the Ifugao culture more than ever.

The great rice terraces are of course the highlight of our tour, we visited 3 of the 5 that are listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, namely the amphitheater terraces of Batad Village in Banaue, spiderweb-like terraces of Hungduan, and the seemingly stairway to heaven terraces of Nagacadan Village in Kiangan. 

But the Ifugao Culture is not just about these grand terraces. Wood carvings, weaving, rituals, music, dance, arts and beliefs also define these unique people.

wood carvings of Hapao

weaving of Banaue

Batad's Harvest Ritual

Ifugao music in Kiangan

wooden bikes of Banaue

an Ifugao native game

skulls of the sacrificial animals hung outside the Ifugao native house - a symbol of wealth

To be able to call ourselves an Ifugao Heritage Warrior, (aside from learning and experiencing the rich Ifugao Culture) we must complete the stamps from each destination we visited: one in Lagawe, three in Banaue, one in Batad, one in Hungduan and another one in Kiangan. I got my passport stamped with all of these, thus I am now an Ifugao Heritage Warrior.

alright!
I'm a proud Ifugao Heritage Warrior

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More of my Ifugao experience in my Viaje Ifugao Series...