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Philippines
Banaue Rice Terraces province of Ifugao
The Banaue Rice Terraces (Tagalog: Hagdan-hagdang Palayan ng Banawe) also called Payew, are 2000-year old terraces that were carved into the mountains of Ifugao in the Philippines by ancestors of the indigenous people. The Rice Terraces are commonly referred to by Filipinos as the "Eighth Wonder of the World".[1][2][3] It is commonly thought that the terraces were built with minimal equipment, largely by hand. The terraces are located approximately 1500 meters (5000 ft) above sea level and cover 10,360 square kilometers (about 4000 square miles) of mountainside. They are fed by an ancient irrigation system from the rainforests above the terraces. It is said that if the steps are put end to end it would encircle half the globe.[4]
Locals to this day still plant rice and vegetables on the terraces, although more and more younger Ifugaos do not find farming appealing, often opting for the more lucrative hospitality industry generated by the Rice Terraces. The result is the gradual erosion of the characteristic "steps", which need constant reconstruction and care. In 2010 a further problem was drought, with the terraces drying up completely in March of that year.[5]
Ifugao rice culture
The terraces are vastly found in the province of Ifugao and the Ifugao people have been its caretakers. Ifugao culture revolves[6] around rice and the culture displays an elaborate array of rice culture feasts linked with agricultural rites from rice cultivation to rice consumption. Harvest season generally calls for thanksgiving feasts while the concluding harvest rites tungo or tungul (the day of rest) entail a strict taboo of any agricultural work. Partaking of the bayah (rice beer), rice cakes, and betel nut constitutes an indelible practice during the festivities and ritual activities.
The Ifugao people practice traditional farming spending most of their labor at their terraces and forest lands while occasionally tending to root crop cultivation. The Ifugaos have also been known to culture edible shells, fruit trees, and other vegetables which has been exhibited among Ifugaos for generations. The building of the rice terraces, work of blanketing walls with stones and earth which is designed to draw water from a main irrigation canal above the terrace clusters. Indigenous rice terracing technologies have been identified with the Ifugao's rice terraces such as their knowledge of water irrigation, stonework, earthwork and terrace maintenance. As their source of life and art, the rice terraces have sustained and shaped the lives of the community members. Ifugao previously belong to the Mountain Province as a municipality but on June 18, 1966 in effect of Republic Act No. 4695, Ifugao became an independent province.
Organic farming
In March 2009 the Ifugao rice terraces were declared[7] free from Genetically Modified Organism (GMO). An event was organized in Dianara Viewpoint for this announcement where it was graced by Gov. Teodoro Baguilat, Mayor Lino Madchiw, Greenpeace campaigner for Southeast Asia Daniel Ocampo, and Cathy Untalan who was executive director of the Miss Earth Foundation. Before the announcement ceremonies, 3 Mumbakis performed an Alim, a tribal ritual to ask for blessings where an animal is offered to the gods.
Tourism
Another thriving economy in the Banaue Rice Terraces is tourism.[8] The Tourism industry has developed a number of activities for visitors which may include the traditional sight seeing of the terraces and visits to the tribes at the foot of the terraces. A Mumbaki[9] (traditional Ifugao witch doctor) is also recommended[10] to visitors, these doctors can perform spiritual healing rituals. Domestic tourism however has gone down[11] over the past few years. A contributing factor to this is the treatment of domestic tourists by the local guides in the area where it has been reported that local guides are more willing to entertain foreign visitors. The Batad Environmental Tour Guides Association (BETGA) in association with the Batad Baranguay authorities are currently laying a concrete track down from the Batad Saddle to the village proper.
National Cultural Treasure
Evidence of erosion
The Banaue Rice Terraces refer to the cluster close to the Banaue poblacion as seen from the viewpoint. Contrary to popular belief, the Banaue Rice Terraces are not a UNESCO World Heritage Site. They were not included in the UNESCO inscription Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras due to the presence of numerous modern structures, making it score low in the integrity criterion of UNESCO.
The five clusters inscribed as part of the Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras are Batad, Bangaan, Hungduan, Mayoyao Central and Nagacadan.[12] Batad and Bangaan are under the jurisdiction of the Municipality of Banaue but are not referred to as the Banaue Rice Terraces.
The Banaue Rice Terraces are however a National Cultural Treasure under Ifugao Rice Terraces.
The Ifugao epic Hudhud
Aside from the Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras, UNESCO inscribed the Hudhud Chants of the Ifugao,[13] another National Cultural Treasure, on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2008 (originally proclaimed in 2001). The Hudhud consists of narrative chants performed mainly by elder Ifugao women usually during the rice sowing season, at harvest time and at funeral wakes and rituals.
Other notable rice terraces in Ifugao
Aside from the Banaue Rice terraces there are 4 other similar terraces,[14][15] the Batad rice terraces, Mayoyao rice terraces, Hapao rice terraces and Kiangan rice terraces. The Batad rice terraces are located in Barangay Batad in Banaue, these terraces shaped resembles an amphitheatre. The Mayoyao rice terraces are for a rice variety called tinawon,[16] a rare type of organic rice which are grown in red and white variety in these terraces. The Hapao rice terraces are located in Hungduan, these terraces are stone-walled and date back to 650 AD.[17] The Kiangan rice terraces is similarly located in Banaue, here they grow the rice varieties of nagacadan and julungan.
Banaue province of Ifugao
Banaue (can be spelled as Banawe) is a 4th class municipality in the province of Ifugao, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 21,448 people in 3,952 households. It is widely known as the site of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Batad Rice Terraces and Bangaan Rice Terraces.
Coordinates: 16°55'8N 121°3'32E / 16.91889°N 121.05889°E / 16.91889; 121.05889 Location: Philippines Region: Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) Province: Ifugao District: Lone District Founded: Barangays 18 Government: Mayor Jerry U.Dalipog Area: Total 191.20 km2 (73.8 sq mi) Population (2007): Total: 21,448 - Density: 112.2/km2 (290.5/sq mi) Time zone: PST (UTC+8) ZIP code: 3601 Income class: 4th class Website: banaue.gov.ph Barangays
Banaue is politically subdivided into 18 districts:
Amganad; Anaba; Bangaan; Batad; Bocos; Banao; Cambulo; Ducligan; Gohang; Kinakin; Poblacion; Poitan; San Fernando; Balawis; Ujah; Tam-an; View Point; Pula
Ifugao Rice Terraces
The Sometimes called by locals as the "Eighth Wonder of the World", the Ifugao Rice Terraces begin at the base of the mountain range and extend several thousand feet upwards. Two of the terrace clusters in Banaue, namely Bangaan and Batad, are part of the UNESCO World Heritage inscription. It is said that their length, if put end to end, would encircle half of the globe. Built 2,000 years ago, the rice terraces manifest the engineering skill and ingenuity of the sturdy Ifugaos. They are irrigated by means of mountain streams and springs that have been tapped and channeled into canals that run downhill through the rice terraces.
The rice terraces once stretched northeast to Cagayan and as far south as Quezon. However they are now slowly being abandoned and showing signs of deterioration. A severe 1990 earthquake damaged some of the terraces' irrigation systems, while El Niņo triggered droughts that led giant earthworms to erode the terraces' soil. Furthermore, the rice variety most suited to the area's cool climate is not a high-yielding crop; because it takes so long to mature, some Ifugao families have abandoned their land in the rice terraces in favor of land that reaps faster rewards.
An Ifugao Terraces Commission was created in 1994 but has since been superseded by the Banaue Rice Terraces task force, which was closed in 2002.
UNESCO has listed the Batad Rice Terraces and Bangaan Rice Terraces as a World Heritage Site since 1995, under the designation, Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras.[1]
Contrary to popular notion, the Banaue Rice Terraces as seen from the viewpoint are not included in the UNESCO inscription. However, it is a National Cultural Treasure under the Ifugao Rice Terraces.
The Banaue Rice Terraces was chosen as one of the two green globe destinations of the country by the World Travel and Tour Council. It received an "International Historic Engineering Landmark Award" from the American Society of Civil Engineers. It was also acknowledged by the World Travel and Tour Council as a green globe destination in the Philippines.[2]
The stone walled rice terraces were built by means of primitive tools and early methods in order to maximize the use of land space, They exceed the height of the world's tallest building if the vertical distance between top and bottom row are measured.[2]
Transport
Banaue can be reached by jeepney, bus, or private car from Baguio City, or can be reached from Manila via Cabanatuan City MANILA-BANAUE Manila is approximately 348 km to Banaue, Ifugao. You can travel by bus through Ohayami Trans with their terminal located at J.Fajardo, A.H. Lacson Avenue,Sampaloc, Manila. They have 2 trips daily from manila at 9PM and 10PM and 1trip daily from Banaue at 7PM and 1 trip daily from Lagawe at 8PM. You can contact them at +639175060817 or 02-516-0501. BAGUIO-BANAUE Baguio City is approximately 333 km to Banaue, Ifugao. You can travel by bus through Ohayami Trans with their terminal located at Otek St,Burnham Park,Baguio City.They have 3 trips daily from Baguio at 8AM, 8PM and 9PM and 2trips Daily from Banaue at 6:30 AM, 4:30 PM and 1 trip daily from Lagawe at 6PM. You can contact them at +639175060817.
Web References: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banaue_Rice_Terraces
References:
1 filipinasoul.com, 'The Best' of the Philippines - its natural wonders 2 nscb.gov.ph, FACTS & FIGURES, Ifugao province 3 About Banaue - Tourist Attractions 4 Department of Tourism: Ifugao Province. Accessed September 04, 2008. 5 Agence France-Presse [1] Drought ravages famed Banaue rice terraces. 9 March 2010. 6 World Heritage Sites and Schlessinger Media and ISBN 9781417103423 7 Ifugao rice terraces are GMO-free--officials". Philippine Daily Inquirer. http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/ 8 Eighth Wonder of the World". Visit Banaue. http://www.visitbanaue.com/. 9 The Mumbaki. Philippine Daily Inquirer. http://blogs.inquirer.net/beingfilipino/2009/03/23/preserving-the-ifugao-heritage/ 10 Tribal rituals cleanse, unite towns. Philippine Daily Inquirer. http://services.inquirer.net 11 Down on Domestic Tourism". Philippine Daily Inquirer. http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/ 12 UNESCO World Heritage Centre. UNESCO. http://whc.unesco.org/ 13 The Hudhud Chants of the Ifugao. UNESCO. http://www.unesco.org/culture/ 14 Banaue Rice Terraces. PhilSite. http://www.philsite.net/banaue.htm. 15 Ifugao Is Famous For.... Wow Philippines. http://www.tourism.gov.ph 16 Ifugao exports 2.5 tons of 'Tinawon' rice". PIA.gov. http://www.pia.gov.ph 17 Rice Terraces-Banaue. Luz Palma. http://www.luzpalma.com Web References: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banaue,_Ifugao
1 Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras, UNESCO World Heritage Site. 2 Banaue, e-philippines.
Editor for Asisbiz: Matthew Laird Acred
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