ILOCANO INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

INTRODUCTION
• When the Spanish first encountered them in
1572, the inhabitants of Ilocos (then called
"Samtoy") were living in large villages at
sheltered coves or rivermouths. Although
massive churches in a distinctive style give
evidence of Spanish-Ilocano collaboration, the
colonial period was marked by frequent revolts;
the most famous of these was that led by Diego
and Gabriela Silang during the British occupation
of Manila in 1762–63.
 LOCATION
• The four provinces of the Ilocano homeland
(Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, and
landlocked Abra) stretch from Cape Bojeador
at the northwestern tip of Luzon down to the
Gulf of Lingayen. Most of the population is
concentrated along a narrow coastal plain that
has only a few good harbors. This
environment is harsh, forcing Ilocanos to be
hard-working and thrifty.
 LANGUAGE
• The Ilocanos speak a Western Austronesian
language of the Northern Philippine group,
whose closest relatives are the languages of
neighboring mountain peoples. Ilocano has
become the lingua franca of northern Luzon.
 FOLKLORE
• According to one Ilocano origin myth, a giant
named Aran built the sky and hung the sun,
moon, and stars in it. Under their light, Aran's
companion, the giant Angalo, could see the
land, which he then molded into mountains
and valleys. The giants found the world they
had created windswept and desolate.
• Like other Filipinos, Ilocanos recognize an array of
supernatural beings, such as the katawtaw-an (the
spirits of infants, who died unbaptized who in turn
victimize newborns).
• The karkarma, the souls of living persons, leave the
body at death but linger in the house until after the
post-funerary offerings of food are made to the
deceased.
• The al-alia, the spirit doubles of humans, appear at
their human doubles' death as the groaning of the
dying, the cracking of glass, the rattling of beds, and
the banging of doors, (at night). These signs remind the
living to pray to God for the forgiveness of the
deceased's sins (otherwise, the al-alia may visit
misfortunes upon them).
 RITES OF PASSAGE
• When a couple decides they'd like to marry,
the first step is for the young man to ask for
the consent of his own parents. His parents
will pay the dowry and finance the wedding.
Next, the future groom makes a formal
announcement (panagpudno) to the young
woman's parents of his intention to marry
their daughter.
• The families set the choice of wedding sponsors
(an equal number, ranging from ten to fifty
people for each side), the dowry (land for the
couple, or the money to buy such land),
• The sagut (the wedding dress, jewelry, and
accessories that the groom is to provide for the
bride).
• The parawad (cash that the groom gives the
bride's mother as a reward for raising his bride).
• To announce a death formally, a piece of wood
(atong) is lit in front of the deceased's house
and is kept burning until after burial, at which
time it is extinguished with rice wine. The
corpse is kept in the house. It is dressed in its
best clothes and a kerchief is tied around the
jaw;
• Money is placed in the coffin to pay the "ferry
man" who takes the soul to the other world.
In the days before burial, relatives keep vigil
over the body, wailing and recounting the
deceased's good deeds (sometimes,
professional mourners perform the
lamentation (dung-aw) .
 RELATIONSHIPS
• Ilocanos share the same basic values as other
Filipinos, such as bain, which corresponds to
hiya or amor propio ("face" or sense of
shame). The fear of gossip and the desire to
avoid the envy of others serve as strong
pressures for conformity.
• Life-passage parties and fiestas provide teenagers
their main opportunity to chat and joke. For a
young man to initiate a courtship is a serious
matter, since the only proper end is marriage. On
his first visit to the house of a young woman, the
young man takes one or two companions with
him so that he can get their opinion. During the
second visit, the companions excuse themselves
to allow the young man to confess his feelings to
the young woman. Love notes are an important
means of courtship.
ILOCANO CUISINE
• Ilocanos are especially fond of bagoong (a
salty shrimp or fish paste).
• One regional specialty that has entered
national cuisine is pinakbet.
• Other favorites are dinardaraan— cooked pig's
blood ( dinuguan in Tagalog-Pilipino);
 ILOCANO CULTURAL HERITAGE
• The Ilocanos have an epic, the Biag ni Lamang
(Life of Lam-ang), which, however, exists only
in the form of a highly Hispanicized metrical
romance composed in the nineteenth century.
Ilocos is also the only place in the country
where the Spanish zarzuela (operetta) is still
performed.
 SPORTS
• One uniquely Ilocano game is kukudisi . A stick
(the an-anak ) is placed on a baseline
scratched into the ground. One player makes
the stick jump in the air; the other player tries
to catch it before it hits the ground.