ALVEAR, Mikaela Alexandria M.

LONGID, Elijah Vladimir F.

Made in Baguio: An Examination of the Wood Carving Industry of the Cordilleras

INTRODUCTION

The Cordilleras is a mountainous region in Northern Luzon where varying cultures, all rich and

diverse are found. These cultures stem from the belief systems of the indigenous tribes in the region.

The Igorot people have around eight ethno-linguistic identities such as the Apayao, Tinggian, Kalinga,

Bontoc, Kankanaey, Ibaloy, Bago, and the Ifugao. The Igorot people’s way of living is an example of a

traditional economic system. Meaning, the way they produce their yields is based on an intricate set of

beliefs that’s usually followed to appease the gods they believe in. With the abundance of these

different identities and their own dogmas, the diversity of their traditional beliefs are also very much

present. This is seen with the varying dances each tribe has for different occasions, like the Paypayto of

the Ifugao warriors, and the Ragragsakan of the Kalinga women. It may also take the form of rituals that

may be exclusive for a certain tribe, like the Chungas of the Ibaloy. And, in the different parts of the

Cordilleras, and especially with the different Igorot tribes, the tradition of wood carving stands out as

wood carvers sculpt idols in the image of their 1,500 deities as a way to give praise. However, the

tradition of wood carving in the Cordilleras and around the world has been long standing, something this

paper would be examining.

The tradition of wood carving has been around since the proliferation of the hunter-gatherer

lifestyle brought about by the modern day man’s ancestor. Because of this, it is one of the oldest art

forms done by humans. In the Philippines, the known origin of wood carving is in Sta. Ursula in Betis,

Pampanga. According to historian Mariano Henson, pre-colonial Filipinos in Betis people were already

recognized as carvers, blacksmiths, and builders. When the Spaniards colonized the Philippines and

turned Betis into an encomienda, the people of Betis embraced the culture of wood carving, something

that is already in line with what they’re known for. The Spanish conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legaspi

called the Filipinos “buen ebanistas” after seeing the woodwork produced by the natives (Rogacion,
2015).

In the Cordilleras, wood carving is used as a tool to create physical images of the deities the

people believe in. This is evident with the Ifugao’s Bulul or tinagtaggu. The bul-ul is a carved figure of a

deity that guards and protects rice crops. The creation of it involves a priest and the alwen bul-ul ritual to

ensure it gathers power in order to bring a plentiful harvest. Moreover, wood carving is also used

primarily to create the musical instruments used the by the Igorot for their rituals and traditions. These

include gongs, bamboo noseflutes, bungkaka, diwdiw-as among others. In places especially in the town

proper of Baguio City, works made out of wood are still very much prevalent when we consider places

such as Tam-Awan Village, BenCab Museum, and Maharlika, which still display and sell wooden works.

It is a fact that the Igorot are still highly tied with the culture of wood carving in the Cordilleras. It

is still something that is used as an icon of the culture the Igorot have, something that is celebrated in

modern times.

(* - not revised)

DEFINITION OF TERMS

Alwen Bul-ul - This is a ritual conducted during the creation of a bul-ul in which they give power to the

newly carved statue.

Apayao - This is a landlocked province located in the Cordillera Administrative Region of Luzon,

Philippines.

Bago - The Bagos are the original inhabitants of the border regions between Ilocos and Cordillera

mountains. They are the most dominant tribe of indigenous people in Region 1 in terms of population.

Bontoc - A 2nd Class municiplity and capital of Mountain Province, and historic capital of the entire

Cordilleran Administrative Region.

Bungkaka - Also called bamboo buzzer, this is a type of percussion instrument that is commonly used in

indigenous tribes of Luzon such as Ifugao, Kalinga, and the Ibaloi.

Chungas -

Diwdiw-as - Also known as Saggeypo in Kalinga, this is an aerophone constructed out of carved bamboo

and is similar in design with Panflutes.

Ethno-linguistic - - A combination of ethnology and linguistics, this field of linguistics focuses on studying

the relationship between language and culture and how different ethnic groups perceive certain words.

Ibaloy - An indigenous ethnic group, these people, also known as Ibaloi, are part of the Indigenous

People that are collectively referred to as Igorots and mainly occupy the Cordillera Administrative Region

in Northern Luzon, Philippines.

Ifugao - A landlocked province in the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon, it is mainly home to

Ifugao, an ethnic group similar to Igorots, it is also occupied by Ilocanos, Kankanaey, Alahan, Ayungan,

and Tinggian, though not as much as the Ifugao. Its capital is Lagawe.

Kalinga - A landlocked province found in the Cordillera Administrative Region of Luzon, its capital is

Tabuk.

Kaingin - A plowing system, in which the slashing and burning of underbrushes and trees are employed

in order to plunder the ashes for fertilizer.

Kankanaey - The Kankanaey are Indigenous People that are also part of the collective group of

indigenous people called Igorots.

Natural Forest - A natural forest is a generally dominated by evergreen or semi-deciduos trees, whose

strata have crown covers of 75%, and where herb-like grasses are rare. Fire does not have a play inthe

forest functions of a natural forest.

Paypayto - A traditional dance from Ifugao wherein warriors portray noth birds in flight and bird trappers

in alternating roles.
 Ragragsakan - - A traditional dance from Kalinga wherein the dancers balance baskets on their heads

which carry food and drink that will be used for merrymaking when warriors come back from a

headhunting practice.

Residual Forest - Forests planted with indigenous trees

Tinggian - These are an indigenous ethnic group of people located in Abra, and are also known as the

Itneg as they live near the Tineg River.

BODY

The Cordillerans are known for their countless wood sculptures. In fact, wood seems to be just

as symbolic in comparison to their weaving patterns. The Cordilleran wood carvings have persisted

through time creating an industry that covers uses beyond traditional practices. This has proven to take

effect, both ecologically and ethnologically. However, to understand the fascination circulating the Igorot

wood carvings, it is necessary to examine the history of wood carving in the Cordilleras, including the

traditions, beliefs, and practices involving these wooden sculptures.

Applicati on of Wood Carving in Cordilleran Traditi on

Muyong System

One of the things that we have to take note of is the process of planting these trees or acquiring

the resources used for wood carving. For the Ifugao, who became the household name for wood carving,

exists private forests called muyong. They have cited it as a valuable source of timber, fuel, green manure

for the pondfields and medicinal herbs (Conklin, 1980; Eder, 1982). But more than just planting lots, the

Ifugao woodlots maintain ecological balance in local agroforestry (Sajor, 1999). It is noted that the

muyong system protected low-lying farms from runoffs and erosion an maintained the supply of surface

and irrigation water (Conklin, 1980). Moreover, the muyong system has been termed to have a
“beneficial mothering effect” due to the protection it gives to neighboring sheds and the fact that it

provides to the community.

In relation to wood carving, it is notable that it is a primary source of timber. The Ifugao art of

wood carving exists within different communities and they are considered to be essential and religious.

Because of this, carvers often look to the muyong system in order to acquire resources for wood carving.

Wood Carving for Tools

There are many tools made by the Cordillerans through wood carving. In this section, only the

tools used mainly for kaingin and in the rice fields will be discussed.

Sanggap1 is a tool used for digging camotes and cleaning kaingins. The handle of this tool is

carved wood and its blade is made of metal. The sanggap’s blade is more or less 20 inches long with a

semicircular edge which is sharpened specifically for the purpose of digging. Tampak2 is a tool made

exactly like the sanggap (having a wooden handle) but the blade is sharper and thinner. It is not used for

digging camotes because its blade can easily destroy the crops but it is used to clear the fields. The

sinowan3 is a tool also with a wooden handle but is used as a shovel. While built like the sanggap, since

it is larger and heavier, it is only used for the breaking of soil for a new kaingin. Kagitgit4 is a tool used for

removing camotes. It also has a wooden handle and is also built like the previous tools however its blade

is round and pointed. It is also for the cultivation of the kaingins. The Da-os or Tolan5 is like a sickle and is

made out of remnants of damaged metal shovels. It is fitted into a wooden handle and held by an iron

ring. The da-os is commonly used for cutting weed.

For the rice fields, the aklo6 is a tool of about five feet length and is completely made of wood.

Instead of a plow, men and women use it to dig up rice fields. Alado7 is a plow made of wood. It only has

one handle and a pointed metal blade. Lastly, the sagad8 is a harrow used to smooth the soil after

plowing. It is made of several pieces of wood called “teeth” about four inches long and is pulled by a

carabao.

Wood Carving for Rituals

 Wood carving is also heavily used by the Cordillerans for processes akin to their traditions. This is

seen especially with the Ifugao tribe who have many deities crafted in wood and even status symbols in

wood. The most famous one of these and arguably the most famous wood carving structure in the

Philippines is the Ifugao Bulul. The Ifugao Bulul is a carved wooden figure used to guard rice crops. They

are styled from the Igorot ancestors. The bulul involves the alwen bul-ul ritual by a priest to ensure that

the figure gains power to protect the crops. Just like any other deity, the bulul must be treated with

respect because the Igorots believed that it can bring sickness and tragedies if it is offended, while it will

give plentiful harvest to the people the god is satisfied. The bulul is treated with very high importance

because the Ifugao culture revolves around rice which is treated as a prestige crop. Another notable

carving is the hagabi. The hagabi is a wooden seat or bench placed under the eaves in the stone-paved

yard that surrounds the little wooden four-stilled house with the high-peaked, thatched roof, that is so

typical of the country (Baguilat, 1958). The hagabi is a status symbol used by the cadangyan or the

upper class. They are also treated with high respect in the community, even being given extraordinary

burials. The hagabi is only given to the cadangyan once they are certified to be one through the uya-uy

or feast. Ifugao warriors also have a ceremonial belt for tribal rituals. This one to be tackled is specifically

called the ginutto. It is made of hand carved disk shape sea shell rings and is attached to a machete in a

wooden sheath. The ginutto are considered to be tribal heirlooms and the only ones chosen to wear a

ginutto during tribal rituals are the propertied elite. Lastly, the Cordillerans have the punam-han. The

punam-han is a sacrificial hand carved wooden box. It is used for rice rituals and the offerings to be given

to the bulul and other Ifugao gods are put in here. Due to this, the punam-han is regarded to be a sacred

part of their culture.

Wood Carving for Recreati on

 But beyond tools, weapons, and ritual pieces, the Cordillerans are also known for their wide

array of wood instruments. The most common ones include the kaleleng or tongali which is seen played

by Igorots frequently in their rituals. The kaleleng is essentially a nose flute and is played like how one

would a normal flute but the player uses their nostrils to create airflow inside the instrument. Another

instrument common to many is the tongatong which is a bamboo percussion instrument. It is used by

the people of Kalinga to communicate with spirits during house blessings. The diwdiw-as is a collection

of five or more differently sized slender hallow bamboo tied together. The solibao is a fairly known

instrument especially in Baguio City. It is a hallow wooden Igorot drum topped with pig or lizard skin. It is

played like a normal modern drum however one must use the palm of their hands.

The craft of wood carving clearly is an encompassing craft. It is used in many other different ways

besides the first three mentioned above.

Wood Carving as an Industry

By the end of the American colonial period in 1946, trade and marketing infrastructures, literacy,

peace and order, and inter-community interactions had become basically developed in many parts of the

Cordillera to an extent conducive to the movement of goods and people within the mountain region to

the lowland areas (Sajor, 1999). Because of this, the craft of wood carving became an industry that

impacted the livelihood of the Ifugao villages in the Cordilleras. When the carvings were commoditized,

Filipino businessmen tapped into the market and called on men from the Banaue municipality to carve

for the tourist market. And, in the 1950s, woodcarving shops started to pop up and some of them

purchased rough cuts from carvers, sand-paper polished them, and sold them to the market. This paved

way to the erasure of the wood carving culture wherein only a few were specialists and the carvings

were made only for sacred rites and turned it into a commodified culture.

However, the commercialization of the wood carving industry has reached far and wide. When

one goes to Maharlika, stalls which sell wood carvings line a whole block, offering sculptures of varying
sizes. Malls like SM Baguio, and even malls outside Baguio, offer “Igorot Wood Carvings” as novelties.

Beyond physical stores, online malls offer wood carvings for sale, usually under the name of “Baguio

Wood Carving Décor” or “Philippine Wood Carved Igorot Décor”. Export production is also recognized by

the Philippine state, giving full promotional intervention to the industry. Tourism has brought attention

to this tradition, causing a massive influx of buyers.

In Baguio City, the Ifugao Woodcarver’s Village along Asin Road has become a tourist spot. The

Ifugao Woodcarver’s Village is a line of workshops of Ifugao carvers who settled in Tuba, Benguet.

According to Caluza (2013), from this place comes mass-produced wood carvings including the Indian

tribal chief of the American West, the “man in the barrel”, the Bulul, and ashtrays of different designs.

But even though the commercialization of the wood carving industry is evident, the number of wood

carvers have slowly been declining, brought about by the lessening number of hardwoods found in the

Cordilleras. A report made by GMA News Network in 2014 and their key informant, Lourdes Tamingo,

explained that many of the wood carvers of the Ifugao Woodcarver’s Village went to outside areas such

as La Union and Pangasinan while others go into the mining industry due to the decline of the number of

hardwood.

Ecological Eff ects of the Wood Carving Industry

Due to the boom in the wood carving industry which started from the late 1960s, the number of

hardwood constantly declined in order to meet the demand. In fact, even around 1973, trucks fully

loaded with carvings left Banaue daily. This strained the number of resources. Curently, the limitation of

the wood found in the region centers only on Pine as it is one of the only ones available. A study

conducted by Alangui in 1999 examined the effects of tourism to Banaue, Ifugao. 'Tourism has

encouraged the commercial production of woodcarvings and handicrafts and this helped deplete local

forest resources,' said the study. Alangui also examined the effects of the highly commercialized wood

carving industry to the province’s indigenous forest and watershed management system wherein he
found out that due to the commercialization, it is already disintegrating. This is supported by Eder’s

(1982) statement that excessive tree-cutting in muyong in the vicinity of Banaue, Ifugao accelerated

runoffs and evapotranspiration, lengthening Ifugao’s water shortage during the dry season. The muyong

tradition has clearly been left alone and disregarded when the market for wood carvings expanded.

Because of this, the remaining carvers in Asin Road look into the use of bamboo to cope with the loss.

Members of the Asin Bamboo Carvers Guild Inc. (ABCGI) say they have shifted to bamboo so they can

offer unique and quality products tho the market (Caluza, 2013). However, this is also a way to revive the

dying industry of wood carving.

The adverse effects the boom has had on the ecology of the Cordilleras is undeniable. And right

now, necessary measures are being looked into and are being applied in order to reverse the problem of

the continuous scarcity of resources whilst saving the dying industry as well.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has already prohibited the use of

certain wood species in order to alleviate the problem of the depletion of hardwoods. Executive Order

No. 23 made the cutting of logs from natural and residual forests illegal. It also made acquiring cutting

permits tougher. The DENR also regulated the sources of timber by only allowing primary sources which

are, under the United Nations guidelines, sustainable. Moreover, the DENR also encourages the

employment of the Ifugao muyong system in order to promote biodiversity through indigenous means

and as buffer zones against destructive human intrusions in the uplands (DENR, 1996). This is done by

offering upland tenure security scheme to those who operate under sustainable forestry management

like the muyong system.

Ethnological Eff ects of the Wood Carving Industry

As what has been previously stated, the wood carving tradition has been a pillar for many of the

rituals, and rituals being a pillar of wood carving. Yet due to the high commercialization of the tradition,

it isn’t impossible that many of the symbolisms some of the carvings stood for, and the stories they
embody are lost. Instead of it being an art only those specialized on it can do and are allowed to do, it

became this hundred-thousand (if not millions) industry, sweeping the attention of tourists who want to

connect to the local Baguio culture. But the irony is when those who wanted to connect to the culture

supported the mass production of these carvings, they also supported some kind of erasure of the real

meaning behind the longstanding tradition of wood carving. And while we cannot deny that there are

still those who carve to tell a story, we have to recognize that the commercialization of wood carvings is

one of the ways the Ifugao cope with the risk of poverty. As much as it is tradition, it is also livelihood –

for them, for their family, for every day. And in this economy, it is most necessary to work to live instead

of working to preserve a culture, as bad as that sounds. But why can’t they do both? Wood carvers and

weavers who do are still present. Just like wood carver Billy Gano who carve because of his love for wood

carving and of his want to continue to tell a story about the pieces. This type of dedication to wood

carving is ideal and noble. It portrays a narrative that wood carving is a tradition just as important as any

and respects should be paid. Nonetheless, he recognizes that there are instances where wood carving is

done solely for livelihood or commercial purposes (Cadalig, n.d.). This is where we then find the effects

of the commodification of wood carvings come into play.

We can consider the commodification of wood carvings as both a savior and a downfall because

on one hand, it preserves the connection of the identity of the Igorot with wood carvings but on the

other, it erases the sanctity of the process of creating wood carvings by equating it to things with ‘For

Sale’ tags.

CONCLUSION

The wood carving culture of the Igorot has two clear characteristics: (1) it is encompassing and

(2) it is long-standing. And, with the continuous recognition of this tradition, it is clear that there is still

appreciation happening for this culture. However, the mass production of these carvings, while they still
 do bring attention to the stories, are more destructive than ever. Because of the capitalist schemes

brought about and integrated to the culture post-American colonization, there are many factors

disregarded. That’s why the demand for wood increased while the supply continuously diminishes. Not

only did this lead to the loss of many hardwood species but also the loss of livelihood to many carvers of

the Cordillera. Moreover, it also led to the loss of a part of the cultural identity brought about by wood

carving. As we can see, even the bulul which is highly sacred is seen as a novelty item. It also lost the

system of muyong and the system of specialization of carvers along the way. So, with these problems

facing the industry, there needs to be more exposure and more action. That’s why innovations like the

use of bamboo as alternative to hardwood is so important – these are the small steps to the revival of

the industry.

The wood carving culture and industry is ethnologically, ecologically, and economically

significant. But, with the continuous diminishing of resources, Filipinos are faced with the question of

how then are we able to retain this culture. It is now high time to create more exposure because the

problem with the wood carving industry isn’t small-scale, it affects the Igorot and the whole landscape of

the Philippines.

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