Igorot
An Isneg woman. |
|
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 1,500,000 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Philippines(Cordillera Administrative Region) |
|
| Languages | |
| , Ilocano, Ibaloi, Isnag, Kalinga, Kankanaey, Ifugao | |
| Religion | |
| Paganism, Christianity (Roman Catholicism, Episcopalianism, other Protestant sects) |
Igorot, or Cordillerans, is the collective name of several Austronesian ethnic groups in the Philippines, who inhabit the mountains of Luzon. These highland peoples inhabit all the six provinces of the Cordillera Administrative Region: Abra, Apayao, Benguet, Kalinga, Ifugao, and Mountain Province, as well as the adjacent provinces.
The word "Igorot" is an exonym, derived from the Austronesian term for "mountain people" (formed from the prefix i-, "dweller of" and golot, "mountain range"). During the Spanish colonial era, the term was variously recorded as Igolot, Ygolot, and Igorrote, compliant to Spanish orthography.
The endonyms Ifugao or Ipugao (also meaning "mountain people") are used more frequently within the Igorots themselves, as igorot is viewed by some as slightly pejorative.
The Igorots may be roughly divided into two general subgroups: the larger group lives in the south, central and western areas, and is very adept at rice-terrace farming; the smaller group lives in the east and north. Prior to Spanish colonisation of the islands, the peoples now included under the term did not consider themselves as belonging to a single, cohesive ethnic group.
They may be further subdivided into five ethnolinguistic groups: the Bontoc, Ibaloi, Isnag (or Isneg/Apayao), Kalinga, and the Kankanaey.
The Bontoc live on the banks of the Chico River in the Central Mountain Province on the island of Luzon. They speak the and Ilocano. They formerly practiced head-hunting and had distinctive body tattoos. The Bontoc describe three types of tattoos: The chak-lag′, the tattooed chest of the head taker; pong′-o, the tattooed arms of men and women; and fa′-tĕk, for all other tattoos of both sexes. Women were tattooed on the arms only. In the past, the Bontoc engaged in none of the usual pastimes or games of chance practiced in other areas of the country, but did perform a circular rhythmic dance acting out certain aspects of the hunt, always accompanied by the gang′-sa or bronze gong. There was no singing or talking during the dance drama, but the women took part, usually outside the circumference. It was a serious but pleasurable event for all concerned, including the children. Present-day Bontocs are a peaceful agricultural people who have, by choice, retained most of their traditional culture despite frequent contacts with other groups.
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Wikipedia