FOR 1 Chapter 6

• Culture


  A complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society
• Cultural adaptation


  The problem solving, creative or coping element in human behavior
• Culture is a way of life known through its material or non-material manifestations
• Fundamental Qualities of Culture

  • Culture is learned
  • Culture is shared
  • Culture is based on symbols
  • Culture is integrated
• Three Cultural Communities in the Philippine Uplands

  • Bontoc of Mountain Province
  • Batak of Palawan
  • Ikalahan of Nueva Vizcaya
• Bontoc Tribe


  • Main source of living is agriculture
  • Terracing and land preparation are done by adult males; the rest of the agricultural cycle is done by females
  • Hunting, fishing and wood carving are pursued by males after their tasks in the paddy fields
  • Produce baskets mainly for storage, transport, and trade
  • Call their God Lumawig; All diseases or sicknesses are attributed to the anito
• Elements of the Bontoc culture

  • Rice terracing technology
  • Indigenous techniques for prevention and control of pests and diseases
  • Organic Farming Techniques
  • Forest protection and resource use
  • Role of tradition in sustaining rice production
  • The Ato system and decision-making in the village
  • Sense of community
• New Farming Strategies

  • Cash cropping/plantation establishment using temperate vegetables
  • Temperate (citrus) and tropical fruit production
• Batak Tribe


  • Batak is said to be an old Cuyunon term which means "mountain people"
  • The Batak live mainly in small settlements near Puerto Princesa, close to the coastal villages of Babuyan, Tinitian (the Spaniards called them Tinitianes), and Malcampo
  • Batak society has been severely affected by disease (malaria) and malnutrition due to poverty
  • The most endangered among Philippine tribes, Batak population has progressively decreased over the years
  • They are among the poorest in the country
• Subsistence economy of Batak Tribe

  • Collection of forest products and riverine foods remains the mainstay of Batak livelihood
  • Wild yams were once the major carbohydrate source; the most commonly gathered species were kudot (Dioscorea hispida Dennst.) and abagan (Dioscorea luzonensis Schaver)
  • Honey and wild pigs are also favorite foods and the focus of elaborate ritual activity
  • Much of the protein source comes from fish, eels, freshwater shrimp and mollusks derived from the rivers
  • Logging and in-migration of lowland farmers reduced the collection ground and food supply of the Batak
  • Frequent contact with lowlanders made the Batak to practice swidden agriculture to produce staples such as upland rice
  • Swidden agriculture has become the focal point of subsistence; all other subsistence activities are synchronized with the phases of work in the swidden fields
  • Fallowing is practiced by leaving the cultivated plots for 7 to 18 years after one year of cultivation
  • A household member guards the maturing swidden from monkeys; weeding is incompletely done
• Present Condition of Batak Tribe

  • Small groups of Batak are scattered along a series of river valleys to hunt and gather food, 5 – 10 km inland, and between 100 - 200 meters asl
  • Each local group of Batak may have 5 to 15 households and resides close to a river and its watershed. Each group is independent of others
  • Batak are now partially sedentary, partially horticultural, and fully enmeshed with external market system
  • Batak now imports significant quantities of agricultural and purchased foods to supplement their diet
• Market-based Economy: Collection of Manila Copal


  • Batak raised cash to purchase consumer goods, particularly tobacco, salt, matches, and sugar
  • Almaciga trees are found abundant at higher elevations of Palawan, requiring at least one day trek
  • A concessionaire parcelled out exclusive collection rights to individual Batak
  • The Batak were paid a meager sum to bring the copal to a coastal warehouse in Palawan for transshipment to Manila and then to other parts of the world
  • Collection of copal requires several days before they are paid once they reach the warehouse
  • Once paid, the Batak then purchases cereals, fish, canned goods, and non-food items sold by the concessionaire. Some Batak buy on credit. Prices are controlled by the concessionaire
• Why are the Batak disappearing?

  • NSO census in 2000 claimed there were 364 Batak (187 males and 177 females). They were about 500 in 1930s and about 360 in 1976
  • Caloric requirements for Manila copal collection is much higher than the old subsistence activities
  • The traditional food replaced by canned foods and rice are nutritionally superior. Yet, they are forced to depend on food that are manufactured or produced
  • Reduced forest area and collection ground of traditional foods of the Batak caused severe reduction of food supply
  • Malnutrition due to poverty and decreased food collection ground resulted in their susceptibility to malaria
  • Food production efficiency has since declined; Batak frequently complained of food scarcity, hunger and chronic undernourishment
  • Batak children die young; about one- fourth die before the age of one year and about half die before reaching the reproductive age
  • Hagedorn's office is pushing for the Make more Batak babies program in coordination with the City Health Office to save this endangered tribe
• The Ikalahan


  • Kalahan means forest; Ikalahan means people living in the forest
  • Ikalahan community is a sub-tribe of the Ifugao occupying the hinterlands of northern Luzon covering two provinces – Nueva Vizcaya and Pangasinan
  • This is the first community forest management ever allowed by the State through the community's initiative
• The Ikalahans, their activities, and their resources

  • The swidden or uma for planting obi and other subsistence crops
  • Cash crops like high value vegetables are planted in the valley
  • Blessed with nature's bounty, the Ikalahans have fought and protected their resources for their children's sake
• The Coming of A Messiah

  • Pastor Delbert Rice, an American missionary, an engineer and an anthropologist, arrived in 1965 together with his wife, Esther, a food technologist, to establish a Lutheran Church in Imugan, Santa Fe, Nueva Vizcaya
  • Being an anthropologist, he studied the language to preach Christianity in the local language
  • When the new converts to Christianity were increasing, the elders summoned Reverend Rice to help them file a case in court to stop the titling of the ancestral land of the Ikalahans to outsiders
  • The preaching job was assigned to one of the earlier converts who was deeply involved in evangelization work while Rev. Rice concentrated on representing the Ikalahans in modern courts
• Ikalahans got tenure on their land through Rev. Rice
• Integration under the Office of the President

  The appeal was favorably considered and the Ikalahans won their case in August 24, 1972
• Challenges after the first storm

  1. The government planned to establish a highway traversing the Kalahan Reserve to connect Nueva Vizcaya to Pangasinan

  2. The Ikalahans filed a petition against the construction of the planned highway, again through Rev. Rice
• Marcos City


  The government appropriated 6700 hectares of the Kalahan Reserve for the construction of a vacation center
• Ikalahans' opposition to Marcos City

  1. Rev. Rice wrote to so many well-connected people who had clout in the Philippines to inform them of the Ikalahan's opposition to the proposal

  2. The Marcos government finally yielded to civil society pressure and withdrew its proposal
• Ikalahans got tenure on their land

  1. The Ikalahans through Rev. Rice applied for a 25-year Communal Forest Lease Agreement to allow them to manage their own environment

  2. On May 13, 1974, the Bureau of Forest Development headed by Forester Edwin V. Payuan, a line agency under the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources approved the Ikalahan application called MOA No. 1
• Tenure


  Sustainable Forest Management
• Land use zones of the Kalahan Reserve based on the CADT

  • Old growth forest - 13%
  • Park and wildlife reserve - 5%
  • Watershed - 9%
  • Production (grassland/pine/dipterocarp) - 51%
  • Individual household claims - 17%
  • Titled lands - 5%
• Norms set under MOA 1

  • The agreement required that the Ikalahans implement agroforestry development, watershed preservation, and reforestation of at least 800 hectares
  • This was easily achieved because this was not totally new to the Ikalahans
  • MOA 1 did not drastically change any customary law of the Ikalahans
• Some Customary Laws

  • Ikalahans harvested timber and NTFPs based on their customary laws. They were allowed to cut trees for house construction and catch fish in their rivers
  • Access to the Reserve is exclusive to Ikalahans
  • Tribal members were required to manage their home and farm lots
  • Claimed land can be transferred to next of kin based on damat
• Conflicts in the Kalahan Reserve

  • Set fire went loose and burn adjacent farms
  • Abuse in tree cutting and NTFP collection (rattan, orchids, etc.) for commercial gain
• Kalahan Educational Foundation (KEF)


  Established to synergize and unify the clans comprising the Ikalahan community in planning and managing their forest, retaining their culture, and helping the tribal members gain access to higher education and sustain their livelihood
• 3 Events that triggered KEF establishment

  • Land grabbing was common in the Kalahan Reserve
  • Literacy of the children was a problem
  • Tribal members lacked sustained cash income so they were tempted to cut trees and collect more NTFPs
• KEF's role in forest management


  1. Enforced new regulations to avoid conflicts in setting fire during land preparation and in curbing excesses in forest utilization

  2. Required the women to establish contour composting known as gen-gen to ensure the conservation of soil and supply of organic fertilizer to crops

  3. When fallowing the farm lot, women are required to plant Alnus nepalensis, a fast-growing nitrogen-fixing tree species that shortens the fallow period to seven years only

  4. Crop fields are also prohibited in two watershed areas covering 703 hectares

  5. Kaingin making or field burning is highly regulated in areas with adjacent big trees or springs

  6. KEF staff monitors croplands, provides permit for use of the land, and recommends penalties for violation of rules

  7. 3000 has. of the top ridges have been maintained as wildlife sanctuary, genebank, or as protection forest for headwaters

  8. To preserve the waterfall and its surroundings, the KEF diverted the waterfall's overflow through the construction of a canal to pass through the homelots in the villages to facilitate washing of clothes and other uses

  9. Tree planting is a requirement for all students and their parents from June to September every year in production areas and protected zone
• Securing tenure through CADT

  1. In 1999, the KEF applied for a Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) with the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples following the enactment of the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act in 1997

  2. In April 2004, the KEF got its CADT covering 30000 hectares subdivided in 4 clusters
• KEF's accomplishments

  • Secured Ikalahan's tenure to their ancestral domain
  • Established the Kalahan Academy to provide high school education to Ikalahans with strong focus on culture, history, geography, Christianity, and ecology
  • Provided scholarship to Ikalahans and other indigenous peoples to obtain education higher than elementary
  • Prepared the land use plan and management zones for the CADT area
  • Established the Food Processing Center to take advantage of abundant wild fruits and other resources of the Reserve
  • Provided various skills and instilled values to tribal members to increase solidarity
  • Assisted other Pos, especially those of indigenous communities in securing CADT and preparing their land use plans
  • Preserved the fragile environment of the Ikalahans in accordance with their customary laws
• Sustainable forestry through enterprise development


  1. Earlier, people relied on collected rattan, cut trees, and harvested tiger grass for cash income. This was harmful to the forest

  2. Assessment of resources for possible enterprise development. Guava grows abundantly and left to rot on the ground

  3. Esther, a food technologist, trained the locals to process the guava into jams, jellies, and butter spread. This started the processing activity of wild fruits to give collectors the opportunity to earn additional cash income

  4. The Food Processing and Marketing Center was established in 1974, producing high quality products bearing the name Mountain Fresh. The products were sold in 10 supermarkets in Metro Manila in 2008

  5. Other activities were also tried and they were quite successful. Organic vegetable production, shiitake mushroom production, orchid growing, furniture making, and bottling of mineral water

  6. The processing center continues to provide skills on entrepreneurship, improved craftsmanship, and resource collection

  7. This motivated local people to refrain from collecting products from the wild without permit and to support the preservation of their forests