Sunday, 17 August 2008

• Cordillera Autonomous Region

           Cordillera Autonomous Region is located at the northern portion and reaching until the central part of Luzon, it includes the provinces of Benguet, Kalinga, Apayao, Ifugao, Abra, the Mountain Province, and the city of Baguio. The Cagayan and Isabela provinces are on its northern and eastern border, Pangasinan and Nueva Vizcaya on the south and southwest, and the Ilocos provinces and La Union on the west. This region has rugged mountain ranges, forests, deep gorges and ravines, wide pasturelands and river basins.

  I have here the different ethnic groups of Cordillera Autonomous Region (CAR). There are 7 ethnic groups and I will discuss only the 6 groups.

          The first is the Isneg they were located at the Northwestern Luzon of CAR, they have a slender and graceful structure they were kind, hospitable, generous and artistic they have also a good agriculture. The Tingguian occupies the western portion of the Cordillera Autonomous Region, they was the inhabitants of Ilocano settlers. Hudhud located at the central Cordillera Mountains of Northern Luzon, this group who were in Ifugao is the most prominent of the mountain people. Oggood they have a sub provinces the Ifugao, Bontocs, Apayao, and Kalinga, during 1966 four new provinces were created out of the original mountain province which are the Benguet, Ifugao, Mountain Province and Kalinga Apayao. Bontocs in this area they are known of having laws on warfare. Sudsud are the Kankanay they are the third largest community in the mountain province which are located in two parts the northern Kankanay and the southern Kankanay. They practice three types of agriculture the slash-and-burn, terracing and horticulture. The last ethnic group is the Ullalim located at the northern Luzon and their territory is the southern half of the province of Kalinga – Apayao, in the Cordillera Administrative Region. They are from the Kalinga they were isolated from others and are still untouched by Christianity.

          These ethnic groups have their different identities the Isneg they were known by their tobacco, the Hudhud known by building the rice terraces, the Oggod by their unique haircuts, Sudsud known by tattooing their body and the Ullalim who were feared because of their head hunting.

          Almost these groups have the same agriculture. They have also the same classes in their society there is the lower class and the upper classes.

          I can say that the ethnic groups of the Cordillera Autonomous region have their own different way of living, culture and identities. And the cultural practices before were still being observed today like the courting ceremony of the Isneg also their attitudes towards Christianity in believing the Anitos and the spirits of their ancestors. And their literary works is beautiful they have riddles, stories of adventures, origins, fables, epics, songs and myths.

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