The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1922-05-05

Prepared by the National Geographic
Society, Washington, ID. CO
The decision of the Igorrotes, one Of
The few Philippine tribes which may
now be, called b~arbarous, no longer to
eat dogs, emphasizes the march OF civ
iliZatiOn in the out-of-the-way portions
Of the islands, and gives promise that
soon it will be difficult to find the
primitive customs that a decade ago
marked some of the islands inhabi-
tantS.
There are perhaps 100000 Of the
various lgOrroteS-thOSe Of Benguet,
Lepanto, Amburayan and Bontoc. Only
the latter have been h~ead-hunterS in
recent decades. The Igorrotes are a
robust and vigorous people. Both men
and women are, as a rule, short, heav-
lily built and strongly musced, with
broad, spreading feet. Their hair is
perfectly straight. Many Of them have
large and beautiful eyes. AS q rule
the men wear their hair short, al
though some individuals, especially In
Lepanto, allow it to grow to a conSid-
cradle length.
A few years ago the usual dress Of
the men was the clOut, supplemented,
when the means of the individual per
mitted, with a cotton blanket. They
were, however, glad to wear flannel
shirts and coats of khaki or blue army
cloth when obtalnable. They also
took early and kindly to hats. Indeed,
many Of them wore hats of their w
make
In view of the scanty costume of the
men, it was "a surprising fact that the
women were ordinarily careful to keep
their bodies fully covered, although
when working about the house, weed
Ing rice fields, or washing clothes, they
frequently omitted upper garments.
Wealthy women, even in the early
days Of American control, often wore
several superimposed skirts and near
ly all bound towels about their heads.
Neither sex has any very elaborate
ornaments. Some of the men adOrn
themselves with large bands Of beads
or wire and with a ornaments Of
brass or silver. They often tattoo the
backs Of their hands.
In Benguet a number OF wealthy
women possess beaten plates Of thin
gold, which they wear between their
lips and front teeth on special occa-
sions, thus completely closing their
mouths. Doubtless many American
men would rejoice IL ornaments Of this
character were to become fashionable
I'm the United States. When they are
worn the male sex monopolizes the
conversation!
Are Industrious Agri~eufturlsts.
The IgorrOtes are now peaceful, in
d%ustrious agriculturists. They live
chiefly on yams, but raise some taro
and considerable quantities Of rice,
much Of which is grown on terraces.
The most wonderful Of these ter
races are constructed by the Bontoc
%Igorrotes. Irish potatoes and coffee,
introduced years ago by the Span
lards, are raised for sale. Pigs and
chickens are kept in considerable num-
bers, but are, as a rule, eaten only on
ceremonial occasions. Dogs have
been a highly appreciated article Of
diet and were brought in large num-
bers to Baguio from the lowlands for
sale. On Sunday mornings the Baguio
dog market presented a unique spec
tacle.
The Benguet Igorrotes raise good
horses in considerable numbers, and
both men and women ride with skill,
differing absolutely In this respect
from the Ifugaos, Bortoc IgorrOtes
and Kalingas, who neither keep horses
nor know how to use them.
In the. vicinity OF Kabayan the Ben.
guet Igorrotes build good houses,
which have floors and sides Of boards
and are even possessed Of windows,
while near Baguio and Cervantes q
number Of individuals have construct
ed up-to-date dwellings with galva-
nized iron roofs, furnished with chairs,
tables, beds and American stoves.
The houses are usually grouped In
small villages, but sometimes stand
singly in very Isolated places.
The Benguet and Lepanto Igorrotes
have mined gold for centuries and are
the only native miners tn the Philip
pines. Ancient gold ornaments Of un-
known origin are still to be found
among them
Like the other tribes Of northern Lu-
zon, they are a mus!e-loving people.
They sing very pleasantly and some
times use bamboo flutes to accompany
vocal music. Their dance music Is pro-
duced by gansas and lo~ng-barreled
wooden drums with skin heads. The
zone Of such O drum is varied by fin