BANAUE RICE TERRACES Great destination that religion built

Ifugao known for its Banaue Rice Terraces, which has been dubbed as the Eight Wonder of the World, is the product of the religion and culture of the Ifugaos.

It has stood for thousand of years as a symbol of human ingenuity. As a major Philippine tourist attraction, it is an awesome sight rising from the base of the mountains to several thousands of feet above sea level.

Viewed from any vantage point, they appear to be massive green stairways reaching to the sky. Their length put end to end will encircle half of the globe.

It is a credit to the inherent wisdom of their forefathers that they instituted a forest management system. Families are allocated small patches of forest which they carefully protect and manage for the provision of food, for fuel, housing and as a watershed from which come the much-needed water for irrigating the terrace.

There are five major terraces sites in Ifugao, namely: Banaue; Batad; Mayoyao; Hapao and Kiangan. These terraces are similar yet distinct from one another such that UNESCO has included all of them in the World Heritage List, the first to be inscribed as a continuing living cultural landscape.

To endure as a living landscape in the face of the present day challenges to its integrity and survival, it is necessary that the traditional lifestyles of the Ifugao be preserved. The harmony between culture and nature is the essence of the terraces.

The Ifugao culture is currently undergoing dramatic social changes brought about by the influence of several factors. Christianity and education have weaned young tribal people away from their tribal customs and from their land and agriculture.

Many tribal people are assimilating lowland ways and moving to the lowlands where many economic opportunities outside farming beckon. Many government systems have intruded into tribal leadership structures thus weakening the observance of tribal rituals.

Economic pressures due to limited opportunities in the province are forcing many Ifugaos to migrate to other provinces, abandoning rice terraces farming in favor of more lucrative livelihood opportunities.

Social prestige associated with rice production is waning in favor of the cash economy as shown by the shift to the vegetable farming and commercialization of culture in relation to tourism.

Several causes have been blamed for the disintegration of the rice terraces: lack of good irrigation system, earthworms that bore holes through the terrace walls and cause irrigation leaks and erosion, forest denudation that have destroyed the watersheds and caused flooding, erosion and water shortage during the dry months.

Former Tourism Richard Gordon said that, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) chaired by Undersecretary Evelyn Pantig has allocated the amount of R50 million in its 2002 budget to continue its effort to save the rice terraces.

Gordon, who is now running for Senator, was invited by Gov. Macario Duguiang of Kalinga, Apayao to attend the 9th Foundation Day of Kalinga and Apayao provinces.

Acting provincial tourism officer James Gullayan said that Gordon made the day for the Apayao residents during the simultaneous celebration.

It will be noted that two of the platforms of Gordon is to protect the environment and enhance the agriculture sector. Environment will follow the example set by Subic volunteers in protecting the environment and empower the people to be stewards of natural resources in their localities.

Today, most of the rice terraces are still being planted but many are in a sad state of disrepair. Weeds and patches of barren earth, and clusters of iron-roofed houses have distorted the perfect green contours seen in the postcards.

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