Ifugao

This article refers to the province. For other uses, see Ifugao (disambiguation).

Ifugao is a landlocked province of the Philippines in the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon. Its capital is Lagawe and borders Benguet to the west, Mountain Province to the north, Isabela to the east, and Nueva Vizcaya to the south.

It is named after the term "i-pugo" (which means i-from/people and pugo-earth thus people of the earth).

The Banaue Rice Terraces are the main tourist attraction in the province. These 2000-year-old terraces were carved into the mountains without the aid of machinery to provide level steps where the natives can plant rice. In 1995, they were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

People and culture

See also: Igorot

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What is Ifugao?

Ifugao refers to the people, their dialect and the province they live in.

The Ifugaos live in the mountains in Luzon in the Philippines. They are known as an independent, agricultural society. They speak the various Ifugao dialect like Tuwali, ayangan but they can also speak Filipino vernacular dialect like Ilokano and Tagalog. Many Ifugaos, especially in Lagawe, Kiangan, Mayoyao, Aguinaldo and Banaue, are fluent in English as well.

This people prefer to be called Ifugaos as opposed to the more generic and less accurate Igorot term that includes all the peoples of the Cordillera Region.

Geography

Political

Ifugao is subdivided into 11 municipalities.

Municipalities

Physical

History

Ifugao was formerly a part of the old Mountain Province. It was created as an independent province on June 18, 1966 by virtue of Republic Act No. 4695. The name is derived from the word “IPUGO”. Pugo means “hill” while the prefix “I” means “from”. The Spaniards changed ""Ipugo"" to ""Ipugaw"" and it was finally changed by the Americans to Ifugao.

For the Ifugaos, custom is the basis of all laws. But these customs would mean nothing if not supported by ancestry knowledge. Among the Ifugaos, extensive pedigrees exist. They are the graphic representation that puts in evidence one of the most basic principles of the Ifugao culture: “We can not but do what our ancestors told us” (Lambretch CICM 1964).

Ifugao became the center of warfare during the last stages of World War II. It was in Ifugao, particularly in Mt. Napulawan, where General Yamashita, the known “Tiger of Malaya,” decided to put his last stand against the Filipino and American forces. He informally surrendered to Captain Grisham of the 6th US Army in the Philippines, based in Kiangan, Ifugao, before he was flown to Camp John Hay where he formally surrendered.

Ifugao finally gained provincial status on June 18, 1966 with the municipality of Lagawe as the capital town.

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