KALINGA

TRIBE

Figure 1: Kalinga Provincial Capitol (Photo by: Liza T. Agoot)

Figure 2: Location Map of Kalinga
“peacocks of the north”

landlocked province

Heart of the Cordillera Administrative Region

(CAR) North Luzon, in the Philippines

distinctive body art

enemy

headhunting attacks

Ibanag and Gaddang dialects

split-up in 1995 (24 years)

“bodong”
 ARTS
a. Mambabatok/Tatooing
 It is a practice performed by indigenous people for
centuries and a thousand-year tattooing tradition that is bit
more painful than modern methods.
 Females too were tattooed. One reason was to enhance
their beauty, another for fertility and sometimes as a
means of clothing.

 Apo Whang- od (Maria Oggay) is the last mambabatok

(tattooist) of her generation and uses a small wooden
tool tipped with a thorn from a pomelo tree to apply her
ink.
a. Arrow head – movement or direction,
b. Crab – traveler protection world before creation guide,
c. Dog – protection, guide, loyalty,
d. Centipede – safety long life, spiritual messenger protection
guide,
e. Compass – guidance,
f. Fern – Fertility, strength, health, safe passage to the land of the
dead,
g. Scorpion – strength and protection,
h. Serpent Eagle – heavenly guidance, protection, courage,
i. Holding hands/Family – harmony and unity,
j. Python – protection, good fortune, health,
k. Standing eagle – strength, freedom, guidance,
l. Sun and Moon – life,
m. Day and night/ Hourglass/ Rice Mortar – spiritual
shield, creation, fertility, sustenance,
n. Lightning/People praying–unity, union, faith,
o. Shelf – strength and sturdiness,
p. Snake skin – safety, protection, health, shield,
strength,
q. Snake Tongue – strength, protection,
r. Mountain–journey in life, strength, sturdiness and
s. Ladder – to reach the heavens, achievements
 BELIEF
animists the spirits or anitos
a.) BAIN – It was interpreted as “feeling shame”.

b.) NGILIN – It is strict adherence to taboos regarding

social and economic activities

c.) PANIYAW – is the restriction on oneself acts looked

upon as degrading, immoral and punishable by the mighty
“kabunyan.”
d.) DAGDAGAS – It pertains to the relationship between a
man and a woman without the intention of getting married.

e.) CHATUM – It is a festivity by which a young warrior

accepted to be brave after participating in a bloody man-
to-man combat.
FOLKLORE
Among supernatural’s, Kalinga believe in the ngilin a
malevolent water spirit in the form of a human pigmy
who prevents women from conceiving; it also victimizes
newborn. Also feared are the alan or kotmo, giant
ghouls who feed on corpses.
RELIGION
Anito are supernatural beings in general. The Kalinga
recognize a creator god, Kabuniyan, but invoke him
only in moments of extreme and sudden crisis, such as
an accidental death or the destruction of the rice crop
by a storm. They take for granted the good will of the
mandodwa (benevolent spirits) and focus their
prayers, chants and sacrifices on appeasing malevolent
spirits who, if neglected, bring illness and misfortune ion
humans by capturing their souls.
 MARRIAGE
1.) During weddings the venue of the celebration is the
bride’s residence. Everybody in the community is invited
where two carabaos are butchered for a wedding feast. The
relatives can give gifts in the form of money or rice. The
celebration would last for two nights and one day of
singing and dancing. In the case of inter-tribal marriage,
an alternate “plans” must take place first before the
wedding. The bride and the groom will take turns in invite of
the other tribe the relatives. A pig is butchered for the
visitors. Each of the visitors from other tribe is given a token
after the “palanus” These items are normally donations
from the relatives of the bride and groom.
2.) These items are normally donations from the relatives of
the bride and groom. The “man-i-la” or “mandawak”, an
old woman will be invited to wed the couple. She
performed the wedding ritual in the first evening. A prayer is
recited to call for the spirits to bless the couple with children
while using coconut bowls and a winnowing tray to cast
away the bad spirits. A hen butchered and shared the meat
with the family. The second ritual will be performed late in
the afternoon, a pig butchered to seal the “songa” activity.
DANCES
a. Salip - A courtship dance and this dance celebrate important
events in life such are birth, wedding, victory in war and thanks
giving.
b. Lumagen/Tachok - A drum dance .When the Kalinga gathered to
celebrate a happy occasion like the birth of a first born baby boy,
a wedding, or a budong (peace pact) the Kalinga Festival Dance
(Tachok) is performed. The dance imitates birds flying in the air.
Music is provided by Gangsa or Gongs which are usually in a
group of six or more.
c. Banga - It is a literary means pots and a contemporary
performance that illustrates languid grace of a tribe otherwise
known as fierce warriors. Heavy earthen pots, as many as seven
or eight at a time are balanced on the heads of maidens as they
trudge to the beat of the “gangsa” or wind chimes displaying the
stamina and strength as they go about the daily task of fetching
water and balancing the banga.
d. Ragragsakan - This dance portrays the walk of the
industrious Kalinga women, carrying water puts on their
head and wearing the colorful hand woven “blankets
of life” around their necks. Their work imitates the
climb upon the Rice Terraces in the Mountain Province
of the Philippines.
e. Salisid – It is the Kalinga courtship dance,
performed by a male and a female (and thus is
sometimes called the “cayoo” dance.) The dance
starts when it’s of the Dancers are given a piece of
cloth called ayob or allap.
 SONGS
a. Salidummay –is a word with no direct translation but is
widely used in countless cordilleras songs that express
thanksgiving, worship, and courtship among other positive
themes. The gibberish phrase “dong-dong ay si dong ilay,
insinali-salidumay” is commonly heard in songs during
festive occasions and celebration.
b. Dong-dong-ay
c. Paliwat
d. Owawi
e. Dandanag
 “Ay’Ay Salidummay”

Ay ay salidummay salidummay diway (no meaning)

Dong-dong ay si “dong-i-lay,” (is a name of a weed that happens to fit the rhyming)
Insinali dum-ma-ay
Ay, ay, salidummay, salidummay diway

Itako manlaglagsak (let’s be merry)

Uray adu un ligat (despite our many hardships)
Elallay, elallay (no literal meaning)
Kaykayngan mabaybay-an (it’s a pity to neglect)
Ugali kapintasan )a traditional so beautiful

No ay,ay, no ay, ay (no meaning)

Lagsak intay ipap-papas (let’s enjoy life to the fullest)
Kasta koma ti panagbiag (that’s how we should live)

Lilallay, lilalilallay (no meaning)

Dong-dong ay si dong-ilay
Insinalidummaay
INSTRUMENTS

a.

b.
c.
d.

e.
CLOTHING
a. Male Costume - “Baag” (Bahag) is the common
costumes for male Kalinga. Its main purpose is to cover
the man’s private parts. It’s firmly secured at the waist
to prevent the clothing from falling off and to ensure
that it covers the male organs safely and properly.
Traditionally, there are no upper clothes for men.
Tattoos are common in the upper body. Some Kalinga
costumes include a head gear adorned with feathers
and some arm bands.
b. Female Costume–“Tapis” is a rectangular
cloth that is worn as a wraparound skirt by
Kalinga women costume consists of large
rectangular woven clothing. It’s simply worn like a
skirt and secured around the waist. Woven using
back strap body tension looms and embroidered
with patterns drawn from nature, the tapis
reflects the beautifully rugged mountain terrain of
the Kalinga natural environment.
 Men didn’t eye women with impure thoughts, and
there were no cases of rape. It was like Adam
and Eve existing in the Garden of Eden before
eve got tempted by the devil. During those times,
being nude is pure and innocent and not an
indecent exposure. The native beds or
“bongols” and the Kalinga dialects usually adorn
the woman’s upper body. The weight and amount
of beads in the “bongol” indicate the status of the
woman. Richer and nobler women have heavier
and multi-layered “bongols”.
 RITUALS
a.) Death and Its ritual
b.) Ontab
c.) So-ob
d.) Katkat
e.) Bangungon
 TRADITIONAL HOUSES
Octagonal House- Kalinga have a types including; forny,
buloy, fulong, buyoy and binalyon or finaryo which is
the distinctive kalinga octagonal house of the elite. The
binalyon/finaryo type however is distinguished by the social
ranking of the owners, who are usually pangats the most
respected persons in the community. Only ranking families
can own such houses. The “baknang” class of wealthy
families is distinguished by their octagonal house. And one
distinguishing characteristics inside the octagonal houses
of the baknang families are racks or shelves on which
heirloom pieces such as gusi (jars), bongor (beads), panay
(Chinese plates)and gansa (gongs) are shown.
 FOODS
a. Linudag - it is a bamboo cooking.
b. Binungor – It is a mix of string beans, squash, and bitter gourd,
eggplant, young, jackfruit, kidney beans and bamboo shoots all
medium boiled in coconut milk. But the star ingredients are
“tenngang-daga” jelly fungus and “ot-an” a succulent river
shellfish. It is usually served as an appetizer with a dash of red chili.
c. Sinursur - It is particularly dish traditionally uses “kiwat” or catfish
with “ungal” or banana stalk along with “ot-an” shellfish.
d. Sinilian/Pinalatan - it is a chicken dish that sans the too brutal
preparation. It comes with pomelo leaves that slight kick in the
palate.
e. Inandila - it is so famous that the heritage village of Naneng in
Tabuk celebrates it with a festival. It is palitaw in other parts of the
Philippines. But theirs is longer, thicker and shaped like a tongue.
Instead of grated coconut toppings, their version comes with “latik”
or coco caramel and crushed nuts.
 DIALECTS
Examples of Kalinga dialects

a. “Napia un labi” means “good evening”

b. “Ambalu buya na” means “beautiful view”
c. “Manjamanak” means “Thank you”
d. “Napia un gidgidam” means “Good morning”
e. “ Paypay ok sika” means “I love you”
 FESTIVALS AND EVENTS
a. ULALIM FESTIVAL – is a tourism and industry promotional event
for three days (February 13-16) showcasing the rich cultural
heritage of the people and their bountiful natural resources. A
cultural festival showcasing the life and culture of the Kalinga
through sports and crafts including indigenous foods.
b. MATAGOAN FESTIVAL – celebrates the warm and peaceful
relationship between and among the different tribes that reside in
Tabuk. The festival highlights the indigenous practices, arts and
dances of the different sub tribes. It is celebrated on the 16 th June
every year.
c. UNOY FESTIVAL – This festival is held in thanksgiving to an
abundant harvest of the Unoy rice and other agricultural products of
the people of Tinglayan, a municipality of Kalinga. It aims to promote
Unoy rice as Kalingas most sought-after agricultural products.
 Kalinga is classified according to bodong holding groups or ili or
subtribes namely the Tinglayans, Lubuagans, Tanudans, Pasils, Balbalans,
Pinukpok and the Tabuks.
 Capital is “Tabuk”.
 It composed 152 barangays and (7) Municipalities and (1) Component City,
namely: Balbala of Tabuk (Capital), Tanudann, Lubuagan, Pasils, Pinukpok,
Rizal, City of Tabuk (Capital), Tanudan and Tinglayan. Kalinga was formerly
a part of the old province of Kalinga-Apayao. However on February 14,
1995, Republic Act No. 7878 authored by Cong. Elias K. Bulut of the Lone
district of Kalinga-Apayao, was passed converting the province of Kalinga-
Apayao into two separate and regular provinces Kalinga and Apayao.
 Palanus is a general or common term to mark any very important
celebration. This made to confirm the union of the would-be husband and
wife. It conveys the official pronouncement to the community regarding the
union of the couple.
REFERENCES/ONLINE SOURCES:
http://www.traveltothephilippines.info/2012/12/10/colorful-festivals-and-events-in-
kalinga/.com.ph
https://theculturetrip.com>articles.com.ph
https://www.encyclopedia.com.ph
https://virily.com.ph
https://www.seaste.niu.edu/pjilippine-_dances_cordillera.htm
http://www.likha.org/index.html
https://www.cmcrafts.org
https://nerbac-car.ph.visitmyphilippines.com
https://www.traveltothephilippines.info
https://hauteculturefashion.com/kalinga-tattoos-philippines
http://matagoan.blogspot.com/20008/12/cordillerra-music-1-kalinga-songs
http://www.Kaloobdance.com/Kalinga/Kalinga.html
http://www,google.com/#sclient=psy&hl=Kalinga’s wedding=1280&bih=634
www.e-kalinga.com
http://www.ecst.csuchico.edu/~mjw/philipines/culture.htm