RESEARCH ON IVATAN HOUSE

The Ivatan are an Austronesian ethnolinguistic group from the northernmost Philippines'
Batanes and Babuyan Islands. They are genetically connected to other ethnic groups in
Northern Luzon, but they also share linguistic and cultural links with the Tao people of
Taiwan's Orchid Island.

The environment of Batanes has an impact on the Ivatan culture. Unlike the traditional
nipa huts seen throughout the Philippines, Ivatans have adopted their now-famous
stone buildings built of coral and limestone, which are meant to withstand the harsh
climate.
Ivatan Origin

It is possible that the Batanes Islands were merely utilized as "stepping stones" in the
beginning of the maritime Austronesian invasion from Taiwan into the Philippine Islands
(c. 3000 BCE), according to a 2011 DNA analysis. Around 1200 BCE, Austronesians
from northern Luzon, who would subsequently become the ancestors of the Ivatan
people, recolonized it.
The islands were a part of the vast network of trade in jade artifacts (lingling-o), which
reached as far as Taiwan, Vietnam, Palawan, Luzon, and northern Borneo, according to
archaeological digs. In addition, the Ivatan people engaged in close commercial
contacts and intermarried with the Tao people who lived nearby on Orchid Island in
Taiwan.
Batanes archaeological assemblages can be split into four main stages, with minor
differences between islands. Red-slipped and delicate cord-marked pottery, similar to
that found in prehistoric Taiwan, characterizes Phase 1 (2500 to 1000 BCE). The
second phase (1300 BCE to 1 CE) is distinguished by circle-stamped and red-slipped
pottery, which later evolved into rectangular and "fishnet" forms. Fengtian nephrite from
Taiwan is also used in Phase 2. Plain red-slipped pottery characterizes Phase 3 (500
BC/1 CE to 1200 CE). Imported pottery characterizes Phase 4 (c. 1200 CE onwards),
demonstrating trade relations with China's Song and Yuan dynasties.

History of Ivatan

In 1686, Father Mateo Gonzalez, a Dominican missionary in Fuga, Babuyanes, and

Father Diego Piero arrived in Batanes. Gonzalez returned to Luzon for extra assistance,
leaving Piero in the islands to learn the Ivatan language. From August to October 1687,
while Gonzalez was abroad, the English freebooter Captain William Dampier and his
company of Dutchmen came and purchased supplies from the islands. He named
Itbayat "Orange Island" after Prince William of Orange, Batan "Grafton Isle," and
Sabtang "Monmouth Isle" after the Duke of Monmouth.
Batanes was included into the Spanish East Indies on June 26, 1783. [8In 1786, Ivatans
were forced to resettle in the lowlands of Batanes. The Ivatans were under to Spanish
control for 115 years before gaining independence on September 18, 1898. However,
June 6 is commemorated as Batanes' founding day.
In 1688, Gonzalez and another priest, Father Juan Ruiz, returned to Batanes. Piñero
had mastered the Ivatan language by that point. However, Piñero left Batanes without
missionaries until 1720 when Father Juan Bel and Father Alonso Amado restarted the
Dominican mission there after Gonzalez and Ruiz passed away shortly after. Bel and
Amado, finding it very hard to exist there, asked the Ivatan if they would consent to
move to Calayaan. Many of the more than one hundred Ivatan who were resettled
perished from malnutrition and illness. Another group was relocated in 1741 across the
town of Camalaniugan on the Cagayan River bank, but they soon sailed back to
Batanes.

CULTURE

The climate of Batanes has had a great influence on Ivatan culture. Because of
significant climate disturbances to their agriculture, Ivatans have devised a number of
successful ways to maintain their food supply and way of life.
Due to the regular typhoons and dryness, they have historically planted climate-
resistant root crops. These crops, which have better odds of surviving in unfavorable
climate circumstances, include yam, sweet potato, taro, garlic, ginger, and onion. The
Ivatan use animal behavior, cloud cover, and color of the sky to forecast the weather.
When Ivatans notice that cows seek sanctuary in the payaman, or communal pasture,
and that birds are taking up residence in buildings or the ground, they typically gather
their animals and remain in their homes. An orange-hued pink sky also portends a
storm.
The sea is essential to Ivatan culture. They rely on the flying fish (dibang) and
dolphinfish (arayu) that can be found off the coast of Batanes from March to May. They
also have a native delicacy called uvod (banana stalk pith) that is served with the wine
palek on special occasions such as weddings.
Ivatans used cogon grass to build their dwellings before the arrival of the Spaniards in
the Philippines. The Spaniards introduced large-scale lime manufacture to the Ivatans
for the construction of their now-famous stone houses. Meter-thick limestone walls are
intended to guard against the severe Batanes environment, which is recognized in the
Philippines as a typhoon terminal route.
A ritual known as "mayvanuvanua" is part of the "Mataw" fishers' practices. Every
summer (March to April), the ceremony is undertaken to 'clean' the "vanua" or port
before the commencement of the fishing season (Mangahas, 2009). "Mayvanuvanua"
is organized by the Diura Mataw Association, a group of Diura "mataw" fisherman in
Mahatao. They have 45 fishing members and 13 non-fishing members, and officers are
elected for two-year terms. Every summer, the rite is performed at the crack of dawn to
coincide with the migratory migration of the "arayu," the goal catch of "mataw" fishing.
The ceremony normally begins in the first week of March.
The "Mataw" fishermen have a home in both Mahatao and Diura. They dwell in Diura
during the "mataw" fishing season and return to their home in Mahatao afterward.
"Mangahawud" is the first to fish for "arayu" after the rite is completed. He is usually the
best performing "mataw" from the previous fishing season, which means he has the
most "arayu" catches. Aris had mastered the procedure and tactics of "arayu" fishing as
a "mataw" fisher and had been one of the best "mataw" fishers in his prime years. After
the fishing season, we could catch 7-12 pieces of "arayu" every day, which we filleted
and dried for domestic consumption or sold to local markets.
The Ivatan are adjusting to climate change by caring for their environment and
employing sustainable agri-fisheries techniques and systems. They adapt to the new
climate conditions by using indigenous knowledge to determine what and when to plant
specific crops, practice indigenous fishing and cropping systems, begin specific agri-
fisheries activities, and predict upcoming weather events, among other things.
TYPES OF IVATAN THACH HOUSE
 Kamadid
- An Ivatan type of house with its enclosing’s lower portion built of wood, while
the upper portion is built of cogon grass. It has a thick hip type cogon roof.
 Rahaung
- An Ivatan structure used as a working area and a place of storage for fishing
implements. The structure does not have any wall enclosure, exposing posts
that support the roof, and the thick gable cogon roof, either with or without
gable wall, made from cogon and reeds.
 Jinjin Thach House
- A type of house with a timber- framed structure which uses reeds and cogon
materials for its walls and roof.

PARTS OF THE IVATAN HOUSE

 Pakaw
- 4” x 4” parallel wood beams attached to the ridge and the roof beams to
support the thick and heavy cogon grass roof.
 Sakong
- A think bundle of cogon laid to cover the ridge of the roof.
 Vuvong
- The lower portion of the ridge cover that is tightly pressed by the top layer of
yayis or battens.
 Supit
- A rattan strip parallel to the rafters laid above and tied to the reed mat.
 Pangañivucan
- A long piece of heavy 6” x 6” square timber resting above the longer wall of
the house to support the roof’s rafters.
 Sapawan
- A 4” x 4” wood beam at the ridge of the roof to support the upper ends of the
rafters.
 Jinjin
- Cogon grass wall securely tied to the wall studs.
 Pasunen
- A vertical piece of log, about 12” in diameter, situated at the center of the
shorter wall of the house to bear the ridge beam of the roof.
 Parey
- A vertical piece of log, about 7” in diameter, situated at the corner of the
house and buried at least 1.00 meter deep to hold up the roof beams.
 Paninjinan
- A 4” diameter piece of log vertically laid in parallel with the post to support the
lightweight cogon wall. Its lower end is buried about 24” underground and the
upper end is fastened to the roof beam.
 Tukah
- A 4” x 6” piece of timber with both of its ends connected by lap joints to the
roof beams to keep them from spreading.

(PDF) The Ivatan: Resilient Through the Years (researchgate.net)

Ivatan People of the Philippines: History, Customs, Culture and Traditions [Batanes Islands] -
yodisphere.com
Ivatan People of the Philippines: History, Customs, Culture and Traditions [Batanes Islands] -
yodisphere.com
The Ivatans: Home of the Winds | Ethnic Groups of the Philippines
(ethnicgroupsphilippines.com)