The Kalingas of the Philippines
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The Kalingas of the Philippines came into the news a decade ago because they were threatened by a plan by then-President Ferdinand Marcos to build four large hydroelectric dams and one smaller diversion dam in the Chico River Valley. This was to be the largest hydroelectric facility in Southeast Asia and would have flooded 1,400 kilometers of land, displacing some 85,000 people, primarily of the Bontoc and Kalinga tribes. The Kalingas, however, have a strong religious bond with their land and believe that their well-being depends upon the ongoing collective efforts of the living and the dead, and so they believe they must remain where the dead have been buried throughout their history. The Kalinga attribute most illnesses, accidents, and misfortunes to displeased ancestral spirits, and allowing their burial grounds to be submerged would bring down the wrath of angry spirits and produce further disaster (Fay, 1987, 22). The Kalinga have a long history and have been closely examined by anthropologists seeking to understand their customs, laws, and rituals, and the current state of the Kalingas has much to do with the strength of their beliefs and their willingness to fight back when threatened. The Kalinga are one of several ethnolinguistic peoples in the mountainous terrain of northern Luzon in the Philippines. In the past, the lives of these peoples were marked by feuds, warfare, and frequent headhunting forays, but since the turn of the century, head-taking has subsid
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ty in group tasks involving the extended household as direction and discipline both seem unstructured, but extended household decisions and work projects emanate from the older relatives, particularly the senior couple. Orders are so subtly given, though, that the extended family seems to act by precept rather than by a perceptible familial authority system (Dozier, 1983, 17-20). The kinship system is based on the kinship circle and is organized bilaterally and generationally so that the terms, behavior, and obligations toward relatives extend outward (Dozier, 1983, 23-24).
Childhood in the first year-and-a-half includes a number of complex ceremonial rituals called kontad or kontid. The child at this age is considered vulnerable to malevolent spirits, and these spirits must be placated through rituals performed by mediums who know the appropriate prayers and chants. These rituals involve characteristic Kalinga ceremonial features and practices such as the sacrifice of chickens and pigs, the singing of chants, the examination of the liver of the pig for omens, and sometimes the erection of a spirit house or platform. The baby is given a name during the kontad, and a name might be changed later if a child becomes ill so as to
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Kalinga Dozier, Bontoc Kalinga, Luzon Philippines, Kalinga Kalinga, Council Elders, World Bank, Protestant Dozier, Western Christian, Kalingas Bontocs, dozier 1983, Development Project, malevolent spirits, extended household, peace pact, fay 1987, northern luzon philippines, chico river, murphy 1980, ancestral spirits, provide house, belief spirits,
Approximate Word count = 1552
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)
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