Ibaloy of the Igorots

Material Culture

Their native tongue is Ibaloy, a Nuclear Southern Cordilleran language with 116,000 speakers currently at EGIDS level 5 ‘developing’ [5]. It is more closely related to Pangasinan and Ilongot languages than neighboring-highland languages [1]. It consists of 19 phonemes and is one of the few Philippine languages with [f] and [v] allophones [6,7].
Rice is the Ibaloy’s principal and ritual food and rice terracing is one of their identified cultures alongside with animal husbandry (traditionally, meat is only limited for rituals) and mining of gold and copper [8].
Their balay/baeng ‘house’ are near their farm and fields, traditionally on a tokod ‘post’ about five ft from the ground, a single room with a door but no windows. The baknang ‘house of the wealthy family’ comprises chital ‘wooden floors’ and chingching ‘walls’; the poorer’s floors and walls are made of bark bamboo, a cogon grass roof, and a fence to prevent marauding animals.
The Ibaloy are recognized by perfecting the art of mummification alongside the Egyptians, and central and South American natives. Their process involves: a. pouring large amount of salt water into the mouth of the deceased (prevent decomposition of internal organs), b. corpse is bathed with cold water and tied to death chair and stays for some days, c. when the fluids start losing from the soul and body, the relatives bring the corpse down to a lying position, and peel off the kubsitan ‘decaying outer skin’, d. the corpse is washed with cold water, covered with a blanket and tied back to the death chair, e. worm-infestation is avoided by regularly applying the juice of pounded guava and petani leaves everyday until it dries up with the help of smoking, f. When the body begins to shrink, the legs and hands are tied up to the chest in a crouched position (removing the string only when the desired position is achieved), g. the body is alternatively sun dried and smoked during the night (4-12 months) until hardened, smoothly dried, and intact [4].