The Ayangan Tribe of Ifugao

The Ayangan Tribe is an important tribe in the province of Ifugao, Philippines. They form the majority of the people in at least three municipalities (Lamut, Asipulo, and Aguinaldo) and arguably in 3 other municipalities (Lagawe, Kiangan, and Mayoyao). The seat of the tribe however is in Ducligan, a barangay of Banaue Municipality and the surrounding barangays. These barangays are the main origin of the Ayangan diaspora.

Ifugao Province is composed of 11 municipalities, namely: Aguinaldo,Alfonso Lista, Asipulo, Banaue, Hingyon, Hungduan, Kiangan, Lagawe, Lamut, Mayoyao, and Tinoc. There are three important tribes in the province. Aside from the Ayangans, the other two are Tuwali and Kalanguya.

The Ayangans are distinct from the other two tribes in language and other cultural aspects such as dance and beliefs. They are called derisively as Illagud, Ifiahe, or Iyayangan. At present, however, the Ayangan people are proud of their cultural identity. They are also more united than ever and are now a political force to reckon with. Though they have long ago clamored for a municipality they can call their own, none of the political leaders have taken them seriously.

Like the other two tribes, the Ayangan people have ventured outside their province and are now important tribal residents in the nearby provinces particularly Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, and Isabela.

A view from Barangay Ducligan

 

    The Ayangan people are normal people and many of them have become professionals, officials and leaders.

Map of Ifugao (Credit: By Sanglahi86 - File:PhlMapCit.svg by User:Felipe_Airaderivative work: Sanglahi86, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=38361829)

The Dawn

“A dawn always promises a new beginning,
Whereas… A sunset always promises a beautiful ending.” ― Anthony T. Hincks

I am glad to have a new day...again.

(Photo taken in Samut Prakan, Thailand.)

New Morning, New Day

A new day. The sun is up and I decided to update this site.

I love this photo. One bird is flying "close" to the sun while another is sitting on top of a building. Wow, it means so much to me, a struggling blogger.

I took this photo three years ago when I was still living in Chachoengsao, Thailand.

Welcome 2019

The new year 2019 has arrived. Vacation is over and it is back to work. But is it
business as usual?

The coming of a new year is always the best time to hope for better things to come. For many people, it is RESOLUTION time again. It is this time that they would promise (again?) to do this or achieve that. "I will really have to look after my figure this year", said one person. "I will save money and travel this year", said another. Indeed, most people look forward to something better. To me, it means they are hopeful. They still dream for change. Nothing is wrong here except that they may have  forgotten that they can always do the things they wanted at any time of the year.

Yet, I was amused to see some facebook posts saying that the coming of the new year is just a change of calendar and nothing more. Maybe they are pessimistic. Maybe not. But they have a point, too. There may not be nothing to look forward to in the coming new year. It would be the same as usual. Life is just the way it is. Why look for change?

Whatever your point of view is, life goes on and as it moves forward in time or in cycle, something happens for better or for worse. Whether or not we believe that this is due to our decisions or  to Karma, accepting what happen is what truly makes us happy. So let us be happy that a NEW YEAR has come.

I would like to wish everyone a better year. To those who have been blessed the past year (2018), may you have more blessings this new year 2019. To those who were not very happy with their lives the past year, may you find better oppportunities to be happy this year. And for those who suffered injustices and extreme poverty, may you never lose hope that somehow this new year will bring you reliefs and comforts.

Some Things Are Better Written Than Spoken

“A drop of ink makes a million think.” - George Gordon Byron

Writing is an art and like any other art, it needs practice to make improvement. Even then, I just wanted to write for writing's sake. Let us read Kurt Vonnegut:

"Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem. Do it as well as you possibly can. You will get an enormous reward. You will have created something." 

It doesn't really matter whether I am a good writer or not. With the advent of social media, everyone has become a writer, an analyst, a photographer and therefore everyone has become an artist! What matters to me at the moment is I am able to express myself through writing. I like to write because I feel some things are better written than spoken.

This is why I created this blog in the first place - to express my thoughts and feelings. 

Yes Kurt, I agree. When I write something, then I have created something. Thank you for the inspiration to write. Thank you too Lord Byron.  I may not make a million think but I would be very happy if one day, somebody will pat me at the back and say' "I appreciate what you have written."