The indigenous peoples of the Cordillera in northern Luzon, Philippines, often referred to by the exonym Igorot people, or more recently, as the Cordilleran peoples, are an ethnic group composed of 11 main ethnolinguistic groups whose domains are in the Cordillera Mountain Range, altogether numbering about 1.8 million people in the early 21st century. For their clothing, the bahag for males must be worn completely shirtless to honor historical tribal traditions. Meanwhile, the tapis worn by girls is an intricately handwoven, wrap-around skirt worn tightly from the waist down to the knees.
Their languages belong to the northern Luzon subgroup of Philippine languages, which in turn belongs to the Austronesian (Malayo-Polynesian) family. A 2014 genetic study has found that the Kankanaey (an Igorot ethnic group from Mountain Province), and by extension other indigenous Cordillera groups, descend almost entirely from the ancient Austronesian expansion originating in Taiwan around 3000-2000 BC.
Etymology From the root word golot, which means "mountain," Igolot means "people from the mountains", a reference to any of various ethnic groups in the mountains of northern Luzon. During the Spanish colonial era, the term was variously recorded as Igolot, Ygolot, and Igorrote, compliant to Spanish orthography.
The endonyms Ifugao or Ipugaw (also meaning "mountain people") are used more frequently by the Ifugao themselves, as igorot is viewed by some as slightly pejorative, except by the Ibaloys. The Spanish borrowed the term Ifugao from the lowland Gaddang and Ibanag groups.
Cordillera ethnolinguistic groups
The Igorots may be roughly divided into two general subgroups: the larger group lives in the south, central and western areas, and is very adept at rice-terrace farming; the smaller group lives in the east and north. Prior to Spanish colonisation of the islands, the peoples now included under the term did not consider themselves as belonging to a single, cohesive ethnic group.
Balangao
The Balangao (endonym: iFarangao) predominantly inhabit the municipality of Natonin and portions of Paracelis in the eastern Mountain Province. While early colonial literature often conflated the Balangao with the neighboring Bontoc or Ifugao based on broad geographic generalizations, modern linguistic and cultural evidence identifies them as a distinct group with an independent ethnogenesis. Anthropological mapping from the early 20th century, notably by Albert Jenks (1905), explicitly defined the "Bontoc Culture Area" as centered on the Chico River, excluding the eastern territories that comprise the Balangao heartland. Both groups maintain distinct territorial boundaries and do not historically claim common tribal affiliation. The Balangao language is classified as a primary branch of the Nuclear Cordilleran group, making it a sister branch to the Bontoc, Kankanaey, and Ifugao complexes. According to the Northern Luzon languages family tree, this divergence represents an early split within the Central Cordilleran subgroup rather than a recent migration or dialectal variation. The Balangao language is distinguished by unique phonological features, such as the frequent use of the schwa (ë) and specific palatalization shifts present on its Ha'ki dialect. Balangao material culture is morphologically distinct from its western neighbors. Women wear the petay, a wrap-around skirt featuring alternating indigo and red horizontal stripes. Men wear the teyay, a vibrant red loincloth distinguished by yellow horizontal strips. The traditional communal dance, the torayan, is characterized by an accelerated, high-energy rhythmic beat and a rigid "T-pose" posture. This contrasts with the more fluid "eagle dances" or bird-mimicry performances common among the Bontoc and Kalinga tribes.
Bontoc
The Bontok ethnolinguistic group can be found in the central and east portions of the Mountain Province. The Bontoc ethnic group is primarily situated in the municipality of Bontoc. However, the broader Bontoc culture area extends from the municipalities of Bontoc and Sadanga to include Barlig Central and Lias within the Barlig municipality. The Bontok live in a mountainous territory, particularly close to the Chico River and its tributaries. Mineral resources (gold, copper, limestone, gypsum) can be found in the mountain areas. Gold, in particular, has been traditionally extracted from the Bontoc municipality.
The Chico River provides sand, gravel, and white clay, while the forests of Barlig and Sadanga within the area have rattan, bamboo and pine trees. They are the second largest group in the Mountain Province. The Bontoc live on the banks of the Chico River. They speak Bontoc and Ilocano. They formerly practiced head-hunting and had distinctive body tattoos. The Bontoc describe three types of tattoos: The chak-lag′, the tattooed chest of the head taker; pong′-o, the tattooed arms of men and women; and fa′-tĕk, for all other tattoos of both sexes. Women were tattooed on the arms only.
Ibaloi
The Ibaloi (also Ibaloy, Ibaluy, Nabaloi, Inavidoy, Inibaloi, Ivadoy) and Kalanguya (also Kallahan and Ikalahan) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Philippines who live mostly in the southern part of Benguet, located in the Cordillera of northern Luzon, the eastern part of La Union of Ilocos Region and Nueva Vizcaya in the Cagayan Valley region with a population of 209,338 as of 2020. They were traditionally an agrarian society. Many of the Ibaloi and Kalanguya people continue with their agriculture and rice cultivation.
Their native language belongs to the Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian languages family and is closely related to the Pangasinan language, primarily spoken in the province of Pangasinan, located southwest of Benguet.
Baguio, the major city of the Cordillera, dubbed the "Summer Capital of the Philippines," is located in southern Benguet.
The largest feast of the Ibaloi is the Peshit or Pedit, a public feast mainly sponsored by people of prestige and wealth. Peshit can last for weeks and involves the killing and sacrifice of dozens of animals.
One of the more popular dances of the Ibaloi is the bendian, a mass dance participated in by hundreds of male and female dancers. Originally a victory dance in time of war, it evolved into a celebratory dance. It is used as entertainment (ad-adivay) in the cañao feasts, hosted by the wealthy class (baknang).
Ifugao
Ifugaos are the people inhabiting Ifugao province. They come from the municipalities of Lagawe (Capital Town), Aguinaldo, Alfonso Lista, Asipulo, Banaue, Hingyon, Hungduan, Kiangan, Lamut, Mayoyao, and Tinoc. The province is one of the smallest provinces in the Philippines with an area of only 251,778 hectares, or about 0.8% of the total Philippine land area. It has a temperate climate and is rich in mineral and forest products.
The term "Ifugao" is derived from "ipugo" which means "earth people", "mortals" or "humans", as distinguished from spirits and deities. It also means "from the hill", as pugo means hill. The term Igorot or Ygolote was the term used by the Spanish colonial officials for mountain people. The Ifugaos, however, prefer the name Ifugao.
As of 2020, the population of the Ifugaos was counted to be 207,498. Although the majority of them are still in Ifugao province, some of them already transferred to Baguio, where they worked as woodcarvers, and to other parts of the Cordillera region. Significant population of the Ifugao people extend to Cagayan Valley Region or Region 2, particularly in Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, and Isabela, due to migration and the existence of their ancestral domains in some parts of Nueva Vizcaya. The population of the Ifugao people in Region 2 , including the Kalanguya people are 178,993. They are divided into subgroups based on the differences in dialects, traditions, and design/color of costumes. The main subgroups are Ayangan, Kalangaya, and Tuwali.
Furthermore, the Ifugao society is divided into three social classes: the kadangyans or the aristocrats, the tagus or the middle class, and the nawotwots or the poor ones. The kadangyans sponsor the prestige rituals called hagabi and uyauy and this separates them from the tagus who cannot sponsor feasts but are economically well off. The nawotwots are those who have limited land properties and are usually hired by the upper classes to do work in the fields and other services.
Kalanguya (Ikalahan)
The Kalanguya or Ikalahan people is an ethnolinguistic group distributed amongst the mountain ranges of Sierra Madre, the Caraballo Mountains, and the eastern part of the Cordillera mountain range. The main population resides in the Nueva Vizcaya province, with Kayapa as the center. They are considered to be part of the Igorot (mountain people) but distinguish themselves with the name Ikalahan, the name taken from the forest trees that grow in the Caraballo Mountain.
They are among the least studied ethnic groups, thus their early history is unknown. However, Felix M. Keesing suggests that, like other groups in the mountains, they fled from the lowlands to escape Spanish persecution. The 2020 census of the Philippine Statistics Authority record the Kalanguya ethnolinguistic group to be more than 120,000.
Iwak The Iwak people (Oak, Iguat, Iwaak, etc.) is a small ethnic group, which has a population of approximately 3,274, dispersed in small fenced-in villages which are usually enclaves in communities of surrounding major ethnic groups like the Ibaloy and Ikalahan. The characteristic village enclosing fences are sometimes composed in part of the houses with the front entry facing inward. Pig sties are part of the residential architecture. The Iwak are found principally in the municipalities of Boyasyas and Kayapa, province of Nueva Vizcaya. The subgroups are: (1) Lallang ni I'Wak, (2) Ibomanggi, (3) Italiti, (4) Alagot, (5) Itangdalan, (6) Ialsas, (7) Iliaban, (8)Yumanggi, (9) Ayahas, and (10) Idangatan. They speak the Iwaak language, which is a Nuclear Southern Cordilleran language which makes it closely related to Ibaloi, Kalanguya, and Karao.
Karao The Karao (Karaw) tribe lives in the municipality of Bokod, Benguet. The ancestors of the Karaos are the Panuy-puys (puypuys), who migrated from Palileng, Bontoc to Diyang in Nueva Viscaya, and finally settled in Karao in the latter part of the nineteenth century. They speak the Karao language (also spelled Karaw). It is spoken in the Karao, Ekip, and Bokod areas of western Benguet Province, and in the southwestern corner of Ifugao Province. The language is named after the barangay of Karaw in Bokod municipality, Benguet.
Isneg
The Isnag, also Isneg or Apayao, live at the northwesterly end of northern Luzon, in the upper half of the Cordillera province of Apayao. The term "Isneg" derives from itneg, meaning inhabitants of the Tineg River. Apayao derives from the battle cry Ma-ap-ay-ao as their hand is clapped rapidly over their mouth. They may also refer to themselves as Imandaya if they live upstream, or Imallod if they live downstream. The municipalities in the Isneg domain include Pudtol, Kabugao, Calanasan, Flora, Conner, Sta. Marcela, and Luna. Isnag populations also live in the eastern area of the province of Ilocos Norte, specifically the municipalities of Adams, Carasi, Marcos, Dingras, Vintar, Dumalneg and Solsona; and in the Northwestern part of the province of Cagayan, specifically the municipalities of Santa Praxedes, Claveria, Pamplona and Sanchez Mira. Two major river systems, the Abulog River and the Apayao River, run through Isnag country.
Jars of basi are half-buried in the ground within a small shed, abulor, constructed of 4 posts and a shed. This abulor is found within the open space, linong or sidong, below their houses (balay). They grow upland rice, while also practicing swidden farming and fishing.