Bontoc or Igorot Wedding Rituals

The Bontoc or Igorot wedding rituals

usually spans several days. It starts with the delivery of
thefaratong (black beans) from thegirl to the bachelor
signifying the brides intentions to marry.

Afterwards, the brides family sends out what is

known as the khakhu (salted pork) to the grooms
family. This
is
countered by the sending
of sapa (glutinous rice). These food items are
distributed to their respective family members,
including their relatives.

An
important
rite
called insukatan nan
makan(exchange of food) follows. Here, one of the
grooms parents, after receiving an invitation, must go
to the brides house and have breakfast with them.
Later, the grooms parents also invite a brides parent
for a similar meal.

The next step is the farey. The bride and

a kaulog(girlfriend) will visit the house of the groom.
This is when they start entering each others houses.
They will have to leave immediately also, but they will
be invited again on the following morning for
breakfast. This is the start of the tongor (to align).

The next day, the brides parents, bearing rice and

salted meat, will go to the grooms house for
the kamat(to sew tight). A kaulug of the bride and the
grooms best friend is likewise invited. The evening will
be the start of the karang or the main marriage ritual.
This is when the bride and groom are finally declared
as a couple to the whole community.

The following morning is the putut (to half). Here,

only the immediate relatives are invited for breakfast,
signifying the end of the ritual. Two days after
theputut, the couple can finally live as husband and
wife, but may not sleep together for the next five
days, known as the atufang period.

The atufang serves to validate the marriage. The

groom is instructed to bathe in a spring, taking note of
every detail that comes his way, such as the characters
he meets, weather changes, among others. Should
anything peculiar occur, he must make his way to the
mountain to cut some wood. The bride, on the other
hand, is sent off to weed in the fields.

Any untoward incidents serve as warnings that the

new couple must postpone their living together
ormangmang. The final stage of the atufang involves
covering smoldering charcoals with rice husks
overnight. The marriage is considered null and void if
the fire goes out the morning after.

The final step is the manmanok where the brides

parents invite the groom and his parents and declare
that the groom could officially sleep with the bride.
This signifies the end of the marriage ritual for most
Igorots. An optional lopis (a bigger marriage feast)
could be done should the couples finances allow.

Here are some photos of Bontoc Igorots.

Credits

to

Sagada Igorot Wedding Rituals

www.baliktanaw.wordpress.com

The Igorot tribes of the Mountain Province have a

wedding practice called the "trial marriage." The
Sagada Igorot, for instance, have a ward or "Dapay" where boys at an early age live and sleep with
their agemates. This ward is connected to one or more
girls dormitories called "Ebgan" used for courtship.

In this dormitory, the girls gather at night to sleep

and to be visited by their suitors. When a boy develops
a real attachment to a girl, they live together in a trial
marriage until the girl becomes pregnant.

The young man then sends gifts to the girls family.

Chickens are sacrificed and omens are read. When all
the signs are favorable, the wedding ceremonies take
place. In these ceremonies, the couple drink from the
same cup, eating rice together, and make rice
offerings.

Olog -

The

Betrothal

House

There is a practice among the Ifugaos of northern

Luzon of segregating "marriage-able" girls in a
communal abode called "Olog" or "Agamang". (The
marriageable boys are accommodated in another

communal house called the "Ato".) The boys from the

"Ato" regularly visit the "Olog" and performed the first
stage of courtship known as the "Ca-i-sing." They
unburden their feelings in native songs rich in
meanings and insinuation.

The girls respond likewise in native verse. All these

are done under the watchful eye of the "Olog" head -an elderly and married woman or a childless widow
who keeps the parents of her wards informed of the
developments of the courtship.

The practice, unique to our Northern Mountain Tribes

is also known as "Ebgan" (Kalinga) or "Pangis"
(Tingguian).
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