The Igorots | Introduction

The Igorot is one of the many ethnic groups in the Philippines. It is a general term used to include any of the various ethnic groups in the mountains of Northern Luzon.

According to Dr. Trinidad Pardo de Tavera, a Tagalog¹ scholar and partner of Dr. Jose Rizal² in forming the Tagalog alphabet, the word Igorot came from the root word Golot, meaning mountain chain and added with prefix [i-], which means pertaining to or people of. This prefix is common for many Philippine dialects (e.g. Isagada, people of Sagada, Ibontoc, people of Bontoc). The term Igorot therefore appears to be perfectly indigenous in origin.

The Spanish adopted this term, but it was generally used in a negative way. However, the Spanish were never able to penetrate the Cordillera during their 333 (1565-1898) year colonial period in the Philippines. Because of not being colonized, Igorots managed to keep their traditional religion and way of life.

The Igorots are divided into ethno-linguistic groups. They all have different dialects and traditions.

  • BONTOC - Bontoc is a place in Mt. Province and the people from Bontoc are called Ibontoc.

  • IBALOI - The Ibaloy (also known as Ivadoy) are an indigenous ethnic group found in Benguet. Ibaloi came from the root word Baloy, referring to a place in Itogon Benguet that this group of people inhabited.

  • IFUGAO - Ifugao are people from the Ifugao Province. The name Ifugao came from the root word Pugo (hill). Ifugao can also mean earth people or humans as they are distinguished from deities.

  • ISNEG - The Isneg, also known as Isnag or Apayao, are people from the Province of Apayao. The name Isneg came from the word Itneg which means inhabitant of the Tineg River.

  • KALINGA - The Kalinga, also known as Ikalinga, are people from the Kalinga Province.

  • KANKANAEY - The Kankanaey people came from the western Mt. Province, northern Benguet, and southern Ilocos Sur. The term Kankanaey came from the dialect they speak.

The classes mentioned are based on commonality of language, but some groups are not included here (e.g. Kalanguya, Karao of Benguet). These are also not absolutely representational because the locals still prefer to be called based on their area of origin.

Below are some of the photos of Igorots from early 1900s.

Igorot men wearing loinclothes and carrying gangsa³. Date of photo: 1900-1910. Source: loc.gov (public domain)
Igorot woman dancing with two Igorot men. Date: 1904. Source: loc.gov (public domain)
Antonio, Chief of Bontoc Igorot. Date:1915. Source: loc.gov (public domain)
Rice terraces carved out of the hillside by Ifugao farmers. Date: Bet. 1890-1923. Source: loc.gov (public domain)

DEFINITION OF TERMS

  • 1 - The basis of standardized national language of the Philippines (Filipino).

  • 2 - A Filipino nationalist and tagged as the National Hero of the Filipino people.

  • 3 - A single hand-held gong with a narrow rim.

The Igorots will be a series of articles. The following articles will contain tradition, culture, and history of each ethno-linguistic groups.

Part II

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Comments

Nice article.because given me an idea about Igorot and their different type of language..!!!

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4 years ago

Thank you :)

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4 years ago

The classes mentioned are based on commonality of language, but some groups are not included here

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4 years ago

They are the true face of filipino.. :)

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4 years ago

I like that, history, culture. Thank you for the great work. :0)

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4 years ago

Thank you. This is all thanks to Mictorrani. He helped me a lot to improve this :)

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4 years ago

You see, wasn't it worth all that trouble? It became really good in the end.

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4 years ago

Thank you sir :) This article will not be possible without your help and patience 😊

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4 years ago

Well thank u for sharing good articles like that

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4 years ago

Proud to be an Igorot. Some people from the lowlands still say that Igorots have tails. They do not actually know how beautiful, handsome /masculine Igorots are. We are called warriors and absolutely right.

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4 years ago

Thanks to you too this article was born. :) I got the idea to write about Igorots when we exchanged comments last time.

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4 years ago

Good thing you brought it up. Hope they learn from it.

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4 years ago

You know, these people keep on telling that do not know the history. It's like they are professionals but not learned.

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4 years ago

Yah. Igorots during the ww2 was respected dahil sa katapangan kaya hindi talaga na colonized ng buo. And ito ang want ko din mai-share sa lahat 😊

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4 years ago

The are lot of veterans who fought during the war. They were even recognized by the US.

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4 years ago

True. I remembered when I was in Guinaang, there were tombs with US Veteran(something) written on it.

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4 years ago

During Independence day celebration, the veterans are honoured.

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4 years ago

Yah. Haha. That's one of the reasons why I made this article. To change the common misconceptions about Igorots. A lot of people think of Igorots as barbaric and as what you've said, people with tails. Haha

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4 years ago

Wow.! Im proud of you.. it is the start of your improvement. 😊 All your efforts and stress are worth it.

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4 years ago

True mommy. Thank you 😊

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4 years ago

Mayat man. Its time that people all around the world will know the true history of Igorots as well as youth of the igorot community itself(adupay nan adi makaamu including me😃😃)

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4 years ago

Yay. Nice to know another fellow Igorot here 😍

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4 years ago

Please, Gwenie, under each image, after the source, can you add "(Public Domain)" in the end. I know they are all in the public domain, we have been discussing that and I even helped you find some of these images, but others seeing this won't know unless you tell them. That goes for all your articles here.

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4 years ago

I'm done editing it sir. Thank you :)

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4 years ago

That looks fine.

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4 years ago