Ifugao
Ifugao is a landlocked area located at the foot of the Cordillera Mountain Ranges. It is bounded on the West by the province of Benguet, Nueva Viscaya in the South, Isabela in the East, and in the North by Mountain Province. It has a total land area of 251,778 hectares. It is 322 kilometers North of Manila.
The province is politically sub-divided into 11 municipalities and 178 barangays. Lagawe serves as its capital. Ifugao was formerly a part of the Old Mountain Province. It was created as an independent
province on June 18, 1966, by virtue of Republic Act No. 4695.
The name of the province is derived from the word, “Ipugo”, “Pugo” means “hill” while the prefix “I” means “from”. The Spaniards changed “Ipugo” to “Ipugaw” . It was the Americans, who changed it to
Ifugao.
Ifugao become the center of warfare during the last stages of world War 11. It was in Ifugao, specifically in Mt. Napulawan, where General Yamashita, determined to put his last stand against the combined forces of the Filipinos and the Americans. He finally laid down his arms and submitted himself to captain Grisham of the 6th US army in the Philippines, based in KIangan, Ifugao. He was then flown to Camp John Hay where he formally surrendered.
Ifugao is the residence to a thriving ancient culture and host to the famous rice terraces carved from the base of the mountainsides to the top, which appear to be massive green stairways reaching the heavens. The famous terraces had been etched as one of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites, in 1995. It is enlisted as a “Continuing Cultural Landscape”.
Ifugao’s Rice terraces is considered by US association of Civil Engineers as an engineering phenomenon built by unschooled and free men not of slave labor.
Ifugao’s rice terraces, especially the one in Banaue was dubbed as the “8th Wonder of the world”. The rice terraces start from the base of the mountain range and reach up to several thousand feet high. It is said that their length, put end to end, would encircle half of the world.
The rice terraces was believed to have been 2000 years ago. These rice terraces unmistakably reveal the engineering skills and ingenuity of the hardworking Ifugaos. Streams and springs found in the mountains
were tapped and channeled into irrigation canals that run downhill through the rice terraces.
Rice terraces predominate every spot in the province, so aside from the famous Banaue rice terraces, there are other rice terraces situated in certain locations in the province. One of this is the Batad rice terraces. This is located at barangay Batad. These rice terraces are shaped like an amphitheater. This can be reached by a 12 kilometers ride from Banaue Hotel and 2 hours hike uphill through mountain
trails.
Another is the Bangaan rice terraces. These rice terraces are within a cluster of villages, it showcases the typical Ifugao community. The Bangaan rice terraces is accessible in a one hour ride from Poblacion, Banaue then a 20 minute trek down to the village. More of Ifugao’s world-famous stone-walled rice terraces can be found in the municipality of Hungduan, the Hapao rice terraces. This can be reached
within 55 kilometers from the capital town, Lagawe.
Forty-four (44) kilometers away from Banaue, in the midst of the Poblacion of Mayoyao, Ifugao, also lies a spectacular rice terraces. Thus, upon arrival in the town one is awed with a breathtaking view of the rice terraces, where all the dikes are tiered with flat stones.
Anyone visiting Ifugao, should not fail to have a glimpse of the Ifugao oversized native house purposely built at Linda, Kiangan. This native house serves as a memorial shrine. It depicts historical events, particularly those that have something to do with the wars the Philippines have gone through, from the Filipino’s opposition to Spanish rule to the Death March. It also contains in it the description of the role of Ifugaos and the American troops in the defeat of
General Yamashita. The shrine is likewise used as a viewpoint to the Poblacion and its neighboring communities.
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