Saint Mary’s University
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES
Name: ALJOSEVAN S. EVANGELISTA
Student ID No. 28048140
Date: _________________
Course Code: SS 203 [1543]
REACTION PAPER ON THE I’WAKS, COPING IN A CHANGING WORLD: THE
CONTINUITIES AND DISCONTINUITIES OF THEIR ETHNO-ECOLOGICAL
ADAPTATIONS
The article entitled: The I’waks, Coping in a Changing World: The Continuities and
Discontinuities of their Ethno-Ecological Adaptations, written by Fe Yolanda Gatan-del
Rosario, Ph.D . Darwin Don M. Dacles, Ph.D. , Leonard Clemens L. Cadoy , and with the help
of the I’waks of Kayapa and Sta. Fe, has been recognized as the winner of the Best Paper
Award in the Restoration Ecology Society of the Philippines. This study focused on a
description of the I’waks’ adaptive strategies and processes, primarily that of shifting
cultivation. And although Iwaks are successful in retaining their culture, there are still a
major transformation in the adaptive pattern, processes, and cultivation.
The authors were adamant about carrying out the research in order to shed light
on the following goals: to describe the I'waks of Nueva Vizcaya and locate their culture
centers; to describe their immediate environment in relation to their adaptive strategies
and document the practices/steps involved in their system of cultivation; to take note of
the underlying changes that have taken place in said practice over the course of time; and,
finally, to explain the importance of such a technology in their culture. This study
employed the historical method to describe, explain, and make sense of I'wak history by
gathering and analyzing data. However, the anthropological technique was employed to
analyze their local knowledge of shifting cultivation since part of their reaction to
particular requirements was understanding how their economy operated and was set up.
Since their origins are disputed, oral history was also used to verify secondary sources as
it revealed new knowledge. Finally, an informal retrospective interview was used.
Cultural carriers, especially elders, were essential in reviving prior traditions to
determine strategy continuities and discontinuities. This was because their
understanding dates back to their adolescence and cultural roots. Since they were coresearchers, their consent was crucial. The major finding includes the statement that
Iwaks tribal groups speak Ibaloi and Kalanguya. Their population is diverse and spreads
among the primary ethnic groupings. They then adopted these dominant groups'
language, culture, and technology. Further, they live on mountaintops near streams. Thus,
they inhabit Cordillera and Caraballo mountain watersheds. They kept their group
identification while speaking Ibaloi and Kalanguya. Due to a Baptist ministry in Kayapa,
they are adopting certain Christian views and transitioning from animists to Christians.
Lastly, the most important finding in this study is that this tribe requires revenue outside
agriculture to meet their physical demands due to environmental changes. Traditional
cultures like theirs slowly die out due to intermarriages, the hunt for steady work outside
the culture center, and powerful.
In this study, various points of contention were presented. The first point is that
though the adaptive methods, local environs, and agricultural practices of each Iwaks
subgroup community are, for the most part, identical to one another, there are still
significant differences between them. Their adaptive techniques include shifting
cultivation, slash and burn, and wet or dry agriculture, depending on the cultural center.
Each territory's economic activities depend on its surroundings. Their economic habits
differ little, although they share many. The researchers found, like Peralta, that various
habitats require different adaptations. Each location was viewed according to its forces
and each has several patterns. Communities on plateaus or at the foot of mountains
conduct swidden farming. Land use varies and crop selection affects farming cycles.
Alang Salacsac, for example, has 70% pastureland, 20% forest, 7% gardening, and 3% wet
agricultural. Water availability is an issue despite huge arable land. Since the crops in
Alang Salacsac are rain-fed, they need a catch basin to draw irrigation water.
Unfortunately, the community cannot afford it. Amelong-labeng, a 1,000-meter-high
barrio, has 15% pitak or rice land and 85% garden or upland agriculture. Cattle and goats
can graze on its grasslands, Watersheds protect forests and the firewood comes from
here, lastly, hollow-block tank stores water and transports it to the field via plastic and
metal pipes.
In cultivation, In January or February, pan-uma (field clearing) begins I’wak
swidden agriculture. After cutting down trees, brush is dried and burned.The soil absorbs
nutrients from burned debris and ash. Panlablab—soil cultivation—lasts a week. They
bangdal (plow) to break, mishanum, pag-as, and saluysoy or suyod the soil to ensure it is
ready for planting. The kamma, or plant bed, is prepared in three days due to the regular
rains. After a day of digging holes, seeds are planted or tannaman/mantuned. Between
planting and harvesting, monitoring continues. Weeding, damon, panlinis, panhibog,
checkdams, and irrigation ensure a good yield. Panburas, in October, is repeated at least
three or four times before the harvest.Wet or dry farmland is complemented with
mountainside or plotted horticulture. The cycle depends on the crops, but the processes
are identical. Taro and sweet potato can be cultivated year-round and harvested in five
months. Both yields last a year, which is good. However, the initial harvests are usually
the best and most profitable. As the months pass, the yield gets worse, especially in
summer when water is short. Thus, the leftover crop feeds pigs. Since Wednesday is
market day in Amelong-Labeng, animals and crops are sold. Depending on yield, women
climb mountains four times a month. They carry a 15-kilo kayabang of sweet potatoes
that sell for 15 pesos each.
Since they grow vegetables, they buy rice, salt, and vegetable oil with this amount.
Cardis, patani, tabungao, karabasa, repolyo, sitting beans, and Baguio beans grow in the
same area. Boyasyas grow sweet peas, sitting beans, tomatoes, pepper, ginger, peanuts,
coffee, and bananas. The same is through with Alang-Salacsac that produces them with
cassava. Tomato, cucumber, and watercress increase garden variety at Li’bawan and
Tuyungan. Thus, upland gardens grow sweet potatoes intensively, while valleys like
Li’bawan and Tuyungan use mixed cropping and crop rotation. Most households grow
one of each garden type. Season and soil determine crop rotation. Beans, cucumbers,
cauliflower, and peanuts mature in certain days and four months, respectively. Gardening
or Bangdal which consist of Bukwal, Damon and dabdab, Kalpagan, Tanem or planting
occurs after this. Between cycles, they weed or damon and use fertilizers (traditionally
organic) and hydrate the plants.This is done manually in Alang-Salacsac, but sprinklers
are used elsewhere. The river at the bottom of the valley and two natural springs feed
Li’bawan and Tuyungan farms with water. Guarding gardens from birds and rodents
keeps people busy as well. Scarecrows in Tuyungan are used tin cans with two holes and
a string. Birds are driven away by the wind-dancing cans. An angry gardener slingshots
the tougher ones.The bayya-ong, a bamboo mouse trap, controls rodents in Boyasyas
farms. The farmer puts a sweet potato in the bamboo trap, and when the rat trips the coil,
the pin is withdrawn and the string pulls up to grab the rodent by its neck. The bayyaong are placed around the fields to catch as many mice as possible. All of these only prove
that Iwaks across Nueva Vizcaya have been adapting certain but concrete strategies, as
well as their system of cultivations. We can infer as well that the immediate environment
of these people or groups played a vital role for these actions and patterns.
Another point of this study was the fact that there were numerous changes that
have taken place in how they adapt and changed. They found out that prioritization of
needs and the perceived lack of practicality given the expenses surrounding the
celebration seemed to make the conduct of rituals a mere survival of the past. The sabong celebrated the first taro crop in August or September. The neighborhood ate root
crops after a pig had been slaughtered. In a normal household, they have also what they
call bunongan which welcomed the first harvester. Finally, the chakwag celebrated
gradual collective harvests to avoid immediate consumption. These celebrations clearly
tell how this group of tribe cares for celebration that leads to an unpractical way of living.
Moreover, pastors in chapels or churches lead harvest festivities in Baptist and Protestant
communities. It's no surprise that Alang-Salacsac's political leader would suggest that
killing a pig or two will improve socialization. Lastly, since local pigs support agricultural
efforts, the Amelong-Labeng Barangay Captain could afford to kill a little pig to welcome
us. Dogs are raised in large numbers as garden companions back then, but they already
serve as part of the meal as well now.
Division of labor by gender however, seemed to show us its stagnancies. Clearing,
especially felling trees, preparing seed beds, excavating ditches, and building dams, is
male-only. Weeding and harvesting, especially delicate veggies, is female territory.
Moreover, Elders at Boyasyas believe planting and harvesting still follow "ammoyo or
chinahonan" or community work, similar to "bataris or bawid" when community
members are recruited to work. In connection with that, the wealthy and those with
larger farms at Li’bawan and Tuyungan employ workers each day. Children participate
in the agricultural cycle by running errands, washing dishes and clothes, and watching
their younger siblings while their parents work. They may be asked to plant or shoo birds.
Given their odd employment, Kayapa schoolchildren have a high dropout rate. Lastly,
Simple farming methods necessitated simple farm tools as well. Tuyungan and Li’bawan
farmers use sophisticated machineries like rakes and metal plows.
The last argument this study defended was the importance of the Practice in the
Overall Survival of the I’wak People. First, the practice of swidden agriculture has given
them a more settled way of life. Gardens have 3-4-meter-tall dwellings 200-500 meters
apart. Except for mountainside gardeners, this lets homeowners maintain their gardens
or fields without walking far. Informants say they have no problems with this until during
harvest when crops planted at higher elevations take longer to gather. Pigs, ducks,
chickens, and dogs are kept in spaces under the floor of houses. Second, Crop rotation has
guaranteed them a stable source of food supply because in periods when the families run
out of rice, sweet potato or taro becomes a substitute. Third, Each culture center has one
or two retail businesses, allowing them to buy products, even junk food with farmproduced money. Fourth, crops from fields or gardens are first and mainly for home
consumption, those who produce surpluses enter the market although they sometimes
become prey to prices dictated by the middleman. Paying for farm inputs, household
needs, freight rates, seasonal problems, and lack of educational maintenance for their
children are also their problems. But despite the relative poverty of the I’waks, they are
self-sustaining. They might be criticized for their dependency and involvement in nature,
but I’waks proved them otherwise. I’waks have the knowledge essential to the
conservation and management of their environment. despite the impression of
unsophisticated Third-World farmers irresponsibly destroying precious forests, swidden
agriculture is a well-managed sustainable use of forest land.
To end the argument, the authors stated that the I’wak farmers must adapt to
several changes to maintain this centuries-old practice: Commercial fertilizers raise crop
prices, contrary to the traditional method that has preserved soil nutrients. And the ease
with which machines clear land may lead them to use it to clear additional land without
concern for environmental conservation.
Given the theory, clear and concise, I think this study conducted in I’waks is
comprehensive, and tends to be well-established. Therefore, the authors’ theory sounds
valid to me as assumptions are thoroughly discussed. All their explanations were linked
with other shreds of evidence, and they provide more concrete evidence by looking at
every detail of I’waks life. All things or details that should be discussed were thoroughly
discussed in the study and has ample evidence to support it. Moreover, as we could tell
from the article, their explanation in relation to other available information and experts
were tough and able to agree and disagree with them. For instance, according to the
study, there are critics out there that knowledge such as this has been subjected to lot of
criticism particularly from others’ impression that it has contributed much to the
degradation of the forest. Critics are quick to judge the practice as destructive since they
do not see past the clearing of forests and the felling of trees and do not perceive “often
ecologically stable cycles of cropping and fallowing” (http://en.wikipedia.org: 2010)
Cornell and Miller (2007) point out: “In areas which have not experienced rapid
population growth and where sufficient lands exist, swidden has proven more
sustainable and about as productive as more energy-intensive methods”. Fortunate
enough, these allegations and false accusations were immensely discarded because of its
heavier evidence that can prove the argument of Cornell and Miller otherwise. But most
importantly, each existing knowledge were used to support and connect the pattern of
the study. Given these examples, we might argue that some perspectives of the
researchers with regard to the group they researched on was contrary to what stereotype
is existing towards this tribe, they are indeed sustaining; they are also keeping the culture
great and adapts to the needs and changes of time, and lastly there are still a huge gap
between the I’waks tribe and support from the government and that The Continuities and
Discontinuities of their Ethno-Ecological Adaptations are at some point, connected to the
government. And thus the writing is reporting not just to normal citizens but to the
government as well. Because the article was clearly used to forward the problem of the
tribe regarding the cultivations and support in joining the market world. Just like what
the author recommended, since the Kayapa people were the first to settle in what is now
Nueva Vizcaya, it is imperative that they be given a greater voice in all aspects of society,
including politics, economics, and morality, in order to ensure the continued survival and
success of their culture. Overall, the work was amazing. It is very informative and wellestablished. Particularly because this work extracted knowledge about people who
seemed to be marginalized in terms of recognition as an existing group in our community.
We all know that these types of information and discussions are vital to cultural and local
history in general.
After obtaining all of that information, I felt as though I had an excellent view of
this piece of work. As a resident of Nueva Vizcaya, I am unable to conceal the genuine
amazement that I feel upon discovering how brilliant this paper is because it has revealed
information that we were previously unaware of. This article not only provided us with a
tale, but it also opened our eyes to the fact that there is a variety of ways of life even in
our very own region. Because of this, it is possible to derive a scholarly value from it,
particularly in the study of local history and in the study of national history, by having its
acknowledgement of existence and at the same time teaching us fundamental skills. It
compels individuals to see the world through the lens of a different perspective. In
addition to this, it tells a variety of stories about other aspects of society, such as injustice,
struggle, courage, and endurance. We are then able to state that the most significant
advantages that this piece of writing bestows upon its readers are the development of a
comprehensive awareness of the world, a person, and identity. In addition to this, they
assist us in comprehending the ways in which the happenings of the past have
contributed to the state of things in the present day. Because of this, I was able to learn a
lot about my surroundings, particularly the culture and the people in my surroundings,
and as a result of this learning, I would be able to adapt, help, and share these knowledges
with others. This was really beneficial to me as an audience member because, as I always
say, it made me understand a lot about my surroundings. In addition to this, it enables us
to understand things such as their narrative, the way they live their lives, and the bravery
of Iwak's Tribe. It is my strong recommendation that any future scholars use this work as
their primary source for gaining a deeper understanding of the subject matter. Putting
this research to use might make it possible to learn more in an easier way. For the purpose
of the research itself, we need to encourage people to participate in, or at least take an
interest in, research because it has the potential to be truly beneficial, while also
providing them with more opportunities in life.We need to undertake more study and
invest additional resources in it since it is the key to comprehending not only ourselves
but also others and the vestiges of our own history.