Photos

this betel nut chomping ifugao farmer was on his way to the ricefield and i asked that i take a foto of him- he obliged.

in farming their unstable and harsh country, the ifugao have acquired a thorough familiarity with local drainage patterns. their understanding of hydraulic technology, combined with excellent stonemansonry skills and the simplest of handtools, have enabled them to create the world's most extraordinary system of rice terracing.

rice to the ifugao is something more than basic sustenance. over countless generations they have created a balance, stable society based on rice as a medium of exchange, power and subsistance. ifugao social status is inexorably linked to the amount of rice harvested, terraces built and all-round good management and business acumen.

within the mountains there is a sense of timelessness and continuance as change comes but slowly to a people who cherish the old ways. over hundred of years of contact the ifugao have proven themselves doughty fighters, stubbornly resistant to the siren song of progress. more than three centuries have passed since the spanish first attempted to subdue the ifugao. the spanish have long since departed, as has the colonial american administration, but the ifugao has still endure. by adhering to the ways of the ever-present and watchful ancestors, the ifugao continue to prosper and grow, in spite of the turmoil and chaos that surrounds their world. resolutely resisting assimilation and change, the ifugao remain a society of determined and prideful individuals who in the words of Fr. Juan Villaverde, "have no king, nor ruler, and pay tribute to no one"

information source: www.tribalsite.com/articles/ifugao.htm