I am an Igorot, a Filipino, an earthling. My ethnicity may have made me different, but so does yours and the others out there. Our disparities may be glaring at times, however, if we look through our heart, we will notice our commonality as human beings.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

I'm Human, I'm Not An Igorot...

... statue!


Look at the pic again? Do I look one? Tao po talaga ako! (I'm a real person!)

Alright, I'm human. But do I still look like Igorot even without my wanes (G-string)?

Most of my acquaintances got this "are-you-serious look" plastered on their face whenever I told them the first time that I am an Igorot. A real FBI - Full Blooded Igorot. In short, a GI - Genuine Igorot. After asking a few what they think an Igorot looks like, I really don't want to prod some more for they almost gave same desription - Igorots are short people, dark skinned, with curly hair and thick lips. Worst, they seem perplexed when I gently told them that they have just described an Aeta or an Ati.

But, there are also some first time acquaintances who can immediately tell that I am from the Cordillera. All of them have visited an Igorot town or have known other Igorots before. Getting this type of reaction from lots of people tells me that even if I am speaking fluently in other language and am not wearing my wanes, I am still distinctly Igorot.

How about you? Can others still distinguish your ethnic root?

Friday, June 19, 2009

Cassava Wine - My Mom's Recipe

I don't know if there are other people who makes cassava wine, but so far, I haven't seen anyone making this except my mom.

We call it binubudan ay pad-paddi and sometimes, tapey ay pad-paddi. I think it is more appropriate to use the former for tapey specifically refers to rice wine while binubudan means "yeasted" (something fermented with yeast). The yeast used here is the local bobod - rice cake yeast. Cassava wine can also be called arak di pad-paddi since any alcoholic drink is called arak in Igorot.

Ooops, other Igorot term for cassava is balinghoy (like some Visayans do) and kamoteng kahoy (which is also the Tagalog and Ilocano term).

My mother made cassava wine more for the fermented cassava itself than the alcoholic beverage. Just like tapey, the ingredient used in making the wine is consumable specially on the early stages of fermentation. Mom would take out and serve most of the cassava from the fourth until the seventh day of the processing. The unconsumed stocks will be left for additional ten days or more to obtain a strong wine.

Cassava wine is easy to make and the process is very similar to tapey making. The cassava roots are first peeled, washed, cut into strips about four inches long (stout ones are cut into half or four) then boiled until cooked. The cooked cassava are then spread in a container, allowed to cool down and then sprinkled profusely with bobod. My mom use to roll the cassava in the pulverized bobod for even coating. Onwards, the mixture is transferred in a gusi (a glazed earthen jar), covered tightly, and stored in a dry, warm place. If there is no available gusi, plastic and glass jar will do.

After 4-5 days of fermentation, the binubudan ay pad-paddi is now ready to be served. The cassava is eaten as it is and good for afternoon snack or dinner desert. Its alcohol content is still low and the sweetness of the root crop is enhanced during the fermenting period thus children can also enjoy the food.

Fermented cassava exudes less wine than fermented rice, hence, it has to be stored longer. Usually it takes more than two weeks fermenting time to have cassava wine while it only takes a week to produce tapey. The longer the wine is kept, more wine is produced, sweetness diminishes and the alcohol content increases.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Tapey! Rice Wine! Anyone?

(There are already articles in the web about "tapey", the only rice wine in the Philippines specifically from the Cordillera, and I did have second thoughts making another one. I fear that I have nothing new to add about this popular Igorot alcoholic drink. However, my desire to write about what I know and still can recall about my culture compels me to write on. So, if it appears that I'm just mimicking what has already been written about "tapey", please indulge me. I am just trying to see how I gorot I am.)

My first recollection of tapey is when I was seven or eight years old. I remember coming home from a practice for our town foundation day and got excited when I saw my mother spreading cooked red glutinous rice on a bigao (winnowing tray) covered with banana leaves. I really wanted to eat anything that very moment but Mom explained the rice is not well-cooked and without sugar for it is to be made into tapey. I was disappointed, nevertheless, I am still glad that I will witness then how she makes wine. The following recipe show exactly how my mother made tapey at home:
Tapey - Igorot Rice Wine , or
Follow-up on Tapey Making


Oh, my mom did not asked me to keep quiet or not to fart while she was making tapey. I guess she didn't believe that such things can make the wine sour or bitter. I remember her explaining though few years later in another of our tapey making session that:
a) Uneven mixing of rice and bobod (rice cake yeast) can result to awful tasting wine;
b) Adding the bobod when the rice is still too hot or very cold results to spoilage or sour-tasting wine; and
c) There are good bobod that can make a wine sweet and there are also some that can make the product bitter or sour. She claims that her mother (our grandmother) is one of the maker of the best bobod in their bario while she can seldom make a good one.

It's my grandmother who said to me that whole grain of rice will make a better tasting tapey than the un-whole or crumbled ones. Also, she emphasized that the rice should be cooked with less water compared to when cooking ordinary rice. She even insisted in using the red colored glutinous rice called balatinaw to have a red-colored wine. (I don't know how grain types and rice color can really make a difference but grandma's wine, as Mom said, is one of the finest in their place and I can attest to that.)

Another lesson I learned from my grandma is the right place to stock the wine. She pointed out that a damp cold places are not good because it takes longer time for the wine to be fully fermented and sometimes pungent smell is developed. Whereas, a warm, dry part of the house, such as near the dalikan (cooking area) makes excellent tapey. However, she did not recommend puting the jars too close to heat or keeping them in the cooking area during hot season. She said that too much heat makes the wine bland and sour.

I could have forgotten the tapey I first witnessed my mother made except that it also happened to be the first wine I tasted. I clearly remember when the big day (fiesta) came, my father gave me a small cup of tapey and told me to taste what Mom and I made. I can still recall savoring the sweet taste and feeling a little bit groggy after a few sips. After a few weeks though, I tried again to drink from what was left with my mom's wine, but I can not take it. It turned bitter-sweet. This article, "How Is Tapey Made", described the different ages of tapey.

Traditionaly, tapey is served only on special occasions - feasts, celebrations and wakes and funerals. And when opening a new jar of tapey, the man of the house or a male elder, tribal leader will always do the honor. It is also a custom that before serving the wine, a sipful have to be spilled first on the soil as an offering to the unseen creatures - this act is accompanied by a simple plea to the unseen beings not to touch or harm any human who partakes with the wine. Also, it is always the women who make the wine. (I do think that since wine making is considered as a part of household chores, this is more of gender role differentiation rather than a cultural thing.) There are still those who follow these practices but most tapey making and drinking nowadays have nothing more to do with customs and traditions.

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Igorots Forgive Candy

I feel proud when many Igorots stood up and corrected (some are even in combative mood) Candy Pangilinan's racial slur during her show in Baguio City last May, 2009. Such reactions proved once again that the Igorot community, as it has been doing ever since, knows how to assert its rights and will not take ethnic insults lightly. But, I am proud all the more and with great joy when many Igorots individually, and eventually as a group, extended their understanding and forgiveness when Candy profusely apologized publicly. The move of the Baguio City council to scrap the resolution calling the comedienne "unwanted person" and deciding not to pursue any case with regards to this incident are nothing but proofs that Igorots are human and humane. (Click here to read the news.)

To Candy, your sincerity and courage is admirable. You owned your mistakes, you never tried to make excuses. Much more, you reached out and with humility let your apologies be heard. Umad-adu pay koma nan ka-tribum! (May your tribe increase!)

To fellow Igorots who in a way helped others find forgiveness in their hearts, way to go guys! With so much hatred today, the world needs more peace makers like you. Matago-tago kayo! (May you live long!)

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Igorotak! Are You?

I can't help but laugh when I first heard this song. It was sung seriously but the lyrics are witty. And I think the song is best rendered that way because it will really makes one think how he/she takes and bears his/her "Igorotness". All the while, it also reminds everybody that we are all created equal.

Here are some lines from the song.
... nangnanganak si toge (I ate sweet potato)
nansibsibuak si sayote (and sayote/vegetable pear too)
uray no kudo kami, (though we are poor)
wada nan inadal mi (we finished school)
Igoroto tak (I'm an Igorot)

I'll try to get hold of the lyrics of this song (and translate it to Filipino/English maybe) and post it here soon. Meanwhile, enjoy listening to the song.