Ifugao People – About The Ethnic Group In The Philippines
IFUGAO PEOPLE – In this topic, we are going to know and learn about the ethnic group in the Philippines called the Ifugao people.
The Ifugaos are a group of wet-rice agriculturalists who occupy the mountainous area of northern Luzon, Philippines.
The group are of Malay origin and they speak in an Austronesian language, as well as their neighbors but developed a number of cultural characteristics that set them apart. There are currently 190,000 of them as of late 20th century.
They are known for the famed irrigated rice terraces, which are steeply contoured, mountain-terraced walls of stone that lean slightly inward at the top. In addition, they also grew sweet potatoes on hillside plots. The sweet potatoes are staple diet for the poor classes.
The ethnic group live in small hamlets of 5 to 10 houses that are scattered among the rice terraces. Early Spanish missionaries were in awe of how the Ifugao houses were constructed without the use of saws or the like, as well as with decorative carvings adorning the beams and moldings of each house, according to the website Britannica.
Their social organization is based mostly on kinship. Each person is the center of the circle of the said kinship, which extends to the third cousin. These units play a vital role in feuds and headhunting activities that were formally prevailed.
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