THE IFUGAO: A MOUNTAIN PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES

The Gran Cordillera Central of Northern Luzon is a jumbled mass of lofty peaks and plummeting ravines, of small fecund valleys cleaved by rainfed, boulder-strewn rivers, and of silent, mist-shrouded, moss-veiled forests wherein orchids in their deathlike beauty unfold like torpid butterflies. Within the rugged confines of this natural bastion live the Ifugao, an independent and conservative people who have for over three hundred years stubbornly resisted the cross and sword of the proselytizing Spanish, the cultural arrogance and monetary clout of American administration and the continuous drive by the independent government of the Philippines toward westernization and acculturation. Progress and modernization may be the order of the day in the capital city of Manila (a harrowing eight hours by road to the south) but the majority of the Ifugao retain their identity and live their lives in accordance with the beliefs and mores of their sacred ancestors.
The Republic of the Philippines...