The Ifugao people are an indigenous group inhabiting the landlocked Cordillera Central mountain range on Luzon Island, Philippines. The population is concentrated in high-altitude valleys around Banaue, Hungduan, Mayoyao, and Kiangan.
The homeland of the group sits between 700 and 1,500 meters above sea level. Because flat land is scarce across the steep ridges, the ancestors of the Ifugao settled in the mountains over two thousand years ago and altered the slopes to grow rice. They speak Ifugao, a language belonging to the Northern Luzon subgroup of Malayo-Polynesian languages.
Payoh, Manual Stone-Walled Terrace Construction
The Ifugao people developed manual stone-crafting methods to construct agricultural terraces, known as payoh. To build a terrace plot, Ifugao farmers cut into the steep hillside using hand tools to create a flat step. They then pile smooth river stones along the outer edge to form a heavy protective wall called pongpong.
The stone retaining walls reach heights of up to sixteen meters without using mortar or cement. The walls are built with a slight inward slant toward the hillside so the weight of the soil behind does not push the structure over during heavy downpours.
Ifugao farmers pack river mud and clay along the inside base of the walls to hold rainwater and prevent soil erosion. The flat terrace beds are then filled with fertile topsoil brought up from riverbanks to support native rice varieties.
The primary planted crop is tinawon, a rice variety named after the word for "once a year." The crop takes six to eight months to mature in cold mountain air, which requires stable and long-lasting terrace fields.
Muyong, Traditional Forest Water Management System
An integrated landscape of the muyong (managed forest) situated directly above the payoh (rice terraces) in Ifugao, Philippines | Source: Camacho et al., 2015 via ResearchGate.net
Water for the rice fields comes from communal forest management practices known as muyong. The muyong consists of privately owned or family-managed forest patches located on ridge crests directly above the terraces.
Ifugao landowners leave the forest canopy untouched on the ridge crests. Water from the forested ridge flows down into split bamboo pipes and stone channels that feed the top terrace plots.
Ifugao landowners maintain the forest cover inside the muyong zone. When cutting a tree for house timber or wood carving, the landowner plants saplings in its place to keep the canopy dense and sustain groundwater flow down to the rice fields.
The distribution system channels water evenly from top terrace levels down to lower valley fields. Small wooden gates placed along the stone walls allow farmers to control water levels in individual plots.
Baddang, Community Rice Farming Traditions
Rice farming in Ifugao is closely connected to customary social traditions. During the rice harvest, elder Ifugao women sing Hudhud chants in the local Ifugao language. A lead chanter recites verses about local heroic figures and customary laws, while the group sings the chorus response together across the flooded field plots.
Harvested grain is stored in raised wooden granaries called alang. The granaries stand on four thick timber posts fitted with rounded wooden discs called halipan near the top. The halipan acts as a physical barrier preventing rats from climbing up into the storage area.
Ifugao woodcarvers also fashion figures called Bulul from hardwood logs. The figures are placed inside the wooden granaries alongside stored grain supplies during traditional post-harvest rituals.
When heavy rainfall or mudslides damage terrace walls, the Ifugao people organize collective work groups under the baddang system. They gather at the damaged plot to rebuild the fallen stone structure together.
Reference:
Camacho, L. D., Gevaña, D. T., Carandang, A. P., & Camacho, S. C. (2015). Indigenous knowledge and practices for the sustainable management of Ifugao forests in Cordillera, Philippines. International Journal of Biodiversity Science, Ecosystem Services & Management, 12(1–2), 5–13. https://doi.org/10.1080/21513732.2015.1124453
