Ifugao Geography, Culture, and Indigenous Knowledge

Practice flashcards covering the geography, land and water management, agricultural cycles, traditional architecture, and indigenous laws of the Ifugao people based on lecture notes.

Lagud

The term used for the Eastern orientation between the provinces of Ifugao and Isabela.

Kay-ang

The term used for the Western orientation between Ifugao and Benguet.

Huddokna

The term used for the Northern orientation between Ifugao and Mt. Province.

Muyyadna

The term used for the Southern orientation between the provinces of Ifugao and Nueva Vizcaya.

Ipugo

Derived from "i" (from/people) and "pugo" (hill), meaning "people of the hill."

Mt. Amuyao

The highest point of Mountain Province.

Mt. Kappugan

Known as "the Three Kings" located in Kiangan, Ifugao.

Mt. Pulag

The second highest mountain in the Philippines, located between Ifugao and Benguet.

Million Dollar Hill

Located in Kiangan, Ifugao; named for the million dollars worth of ammunition American forces spent to defeat Japanese soldiers during WW II.

Nundotal

The term for Valley or Plain.

Dotal

The old name for Lagawe, which constitutes a valley because it is plain despite its small area.

Lingab / Liyang

The Ifugao terms for a cave.

Mun Poy-ah / Munphoja-a

The Ifugao terms for water falls.

O'pfaw Mahencha Falls

Also known as the Leap of Mahencha Falls, located in Mayoyao, Ifugao.

Maatung an Ob-ob

The Ifugao term for a hotspring.

Lobong / Thannaw

The Ifugao terms for Lakes.

Boltan

The mode of land acquisition through inheritance.

Gatang / Hubli

The mode of land acquisition through purchase, involving the exchange of money.

Pallog

A mode of acquisition through barter when cash is unavailable, based on an agreed exchange of property.

Pinahangan / Inuhatan

A mode of acquisition where a person is the first to cultivate land and continues to maintain it.

Hakmo / Pidon / Balal / Hapoa

Refers to the loss of land through mortgage, where money is received in exchange for land for a specific number of years.

Pun-anupan

The term for a hunting ground.

Punlubukan

The term for a burial ground, often involving man-made caves owned by a family or clan.

Punhalopan

The term for a fishing ground.

Nunboblayan / Boble / Pfuglay

Terms for a village or residential area where houses are built.

Munmogmog

The practice of raising native chickens and pigs in residential areas for food, market, or ritual use.

Payoh

Pond fields built in narrow plains, valleys, and mountain slopes for rice production.

Pukung / Poong

Small rice paddy types found in the terraces.

Naguanet / Nawanit

Narrow and long rice paddy types found in the terraces.

Banong

Water storage or dikes that sustain water for planting and prevent soil erosion.

Kahiw

The specific ritual after which fish and pond products can be collected to ensure sustainable production.

Habal / Kaingin / Umah

The oldest form of agroforestry, involving swidden farming on non-irrigated mountain slopes.

The Halop Method

A water management and fishing method using herbal pesticides like umli (vines) or tuba (shrub) to daze fish for easy catching.

Pituk

An indigenous fishing tool made of bamboo or wood, rubber, and steel (tuwik) used with goggles to catch larger fish.

Pinaad / Pakad

A torch made of dried runos bound together, used to attract and catch fish, crabs, and frogs at night.

Bunwit / Pfongguet

An environmentally friendly fishing method using a string, hook, and sinker with earthworms as bait.

Tinawon

Native rice varieties produced once a year; having a year-round supply indicates elite (Kadangyan) status.

Muyung

A private woodlot or forest located above the terraces that serves as a watershed.

Ala

A communal forest managed collectively by the community.

Liting

Water bodies and irrigation systems used to distribute water to the rice terraces.

Gamulang

A finger knife featuring a small iron blade in a wooden rod, used to cut rice panicles stalk by stalk.

Kaud

A long-handled wooden paddle spade used for shaping and repairing the mud walls (banong).

Pinahig

A heavy, single-edged iron chopping blade used for clearing brush and cutting wood.

Batawel

A curved wooden carrying pole placed over the shoulders to transport bundled harvests.

Kiwang

The longest season (off-season) from late July to December where fields are left fallow to restore fertility.

Bakle

A communal feast where rice cakes are prepared and the bulul (rice gods) are brought out Witness the ritual.

Lawang

The planting season, running from late November until March.

Tungo

A ritual rest day after sowing seeds or after harvest during which fieldwork is prohibited.

Tiyalgo

The dry season (late March to late June) focused on maintaining crops and irrigation.

Ahitulu / Ahi-ani

The harvest season, the shortest season in the Ifugao calendar (late June to July).

Punnuk

A post-harvest ritual held at the river involving a tug-of-war game with rice bundles to symbolize gratitude.

Allup / Atul

A multi-pile stone wall masonry construction that serves as a permanent fence.

Nepahat

A type of stone wall based on foundation where boulders/rocks naturally in place are used to prop up terraces.

Khinahhilang

A stone wall type anchored on soil using large stones (pfintad) as a foundation.

Pangdo

Long and hard jutting stones placed in the middle of a wall to serve as steps when cleaning weeds.

Hydraulicking

The method of sluicing (bulubul/budubud) fill materials using strong water force from a higher elevation.

Pfintad

Stone tiles cut from large stones with uniform width and length, used to tile floors.

Abung

The simplest type of Ifugao house; a hut with ground flooring and walls made of rono leaves.

Inappal

A hut slightly elevated using four short wooden posts, common among the Kalanguya ethnic group.

Bale

The traditional Ifugao native house, featuring an inverted pyramid wall structure on sturdy hardwood posts.

Alang

A structure used as storage for harvested rice and rice gods (bulul), and sometimes as a grave.

Agamang

A small dormitory house where older boys and girls sleep separately to learn independence.

Atop

A steep pyramidal roof made from thick bundled cogon grass (golun).

Halipan

A wooden disk, about $2-14$ $inches$ thick and $36-40$ $inches$ in diameter, placed on posts to prevent rats from entering the house.

Paniyo

Ifugao prohibited acts or taboos, such as stealing, killing women/children, or marrying nearest kin.

Trial by Ordeal

Indigenous methods of settling conflicts, including Da-u (Chaw), Ug-gub (Chiw-wo), Bu-ugan, Bultung, and Duel.