The IGOROT People

Inhabiting the rugged terrain of the Cordillera Region of Northern Philippines are six ethno-linguistic tribes known as the Ibaloy, Kankana-ey, Ifugao, Kalinga, Apayao/Isneg, and the Bontoc. They are referred to by a generic term, Igorot, a word coined from the root word, "golot" meaning mountain.

Unlike most of the Philippines, which were ruled by Spaniards for about four hundred years, the Cordillera region was generally unfazed by Spanish colonization. The Igorot tribes are held together by their common socio-cultural traits as well as their geographic proximity to each other. During pre-Christian Cordillera (and to some extent, the present), the six different tribes shared similar religious beliefs, generally nature-related, and they make proprietary offerings to "anitos" (spirits) as well as to household gods.

The topics covered in the IGOROT section of this blog are the following:

Igorot Dances
Igorot Discrimination
Igorot Ethnic Groups
Igorot Events
Igorot History
Igorot Identity
Igorot Pictures/Videos
Igorot Recipe
Igorot Websites/Blogs
Igorotland News
Igorots in the News
Igorots Worldwide

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How to Make Etag / Innasin

Etag / Innasin - also known as Igorot smoked meat. Some foreigners call this as Igorot ham. It refers to salted pork and is cooked best with pinikpikan, legumes, or plain vegetables. It can also be deep fried and then eaten with vinegar or hot sauce. Yum.

Needs:

- Pork (1/5 of it should at least be fat).
- Plenty of Salt
- Garlic (optional)
- Pepper (optional)
- Storage container (Preferably wooden or clay jars)


(Note: Traditional Igorots use the meat on top of the neck of the pig. The Chops are a good alternative. The container must not be metal, because of the reaction of the salt with the metal. If you are using plastic, make sure you use the hard ones and the meat should be used before six months are over otherwise, the meat would taste like well .. plastic... )

Ways:

Rub the meat with generous amounts of salt. You may also add garlic or pepper. Look for a suitable place where the meat can be hanged so it will undergo the curing process. The best way is to smoke it in the shade.

(Note: You can use any of the varieties of redwood, oak, dried birch, or "dapong". As much as possible, avoid any of the Pine family. If you have no choice but to use Pine wood, make sure the wood is dry, and avoid using resin-packed wood, since the meat will have a bitter taste. The best wood to use is rosewood.)

Make a fire under the meat. The meat should be high enough so that the flames and excessive heat won't reach it, but low enough so that the smoke reaches the meat. Smoke it for a minimum of thirty minutes and a maximum of three hours per day, for at least two weeks. If you used rosewood, and the place you are curing it is clean, surely free from insects, dust, and dirt, the meat can actually be eaten raw. The result is the best type of innasin/etag. Store in container for future use.

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How to Make Tapey (Igorot Rice Wine)

TAPEY, or Igorot rice wine is traditionally served when a host invites someone to partake of his rice wine at his house. It is also drank in volumes during public festivities and celebrations. Tapey is nowadays available in stores around the Cordilleras.

Needs:

- half a pound of bubod
- a kilo of diket preferrably of the red variety
- a labba (or any wide space) to spread the rice to dry
- a gosi or any closed container

(Note: One of the most high-grade kind of bubod is available from the vendors of Abatan, Benguet. Don't try plastics as containers, they add a plasticky flavor.)

Ways:

Cook the kilo of diket with a little less water than you would cook an ordinay rice. Just after the boiling water has been absorbed (na-ilowagan), set aside the diket.

(Before continuing, tell everyone not to disturb you until everything as not to destroy the spirit of the tapey. The oldies even ask, 'Maid um-umtot' or 'No farting".)

Spread the diket on a labba covered with banana leaves (or just spread the diket around any open space) and wait until its a little bit dry. Crush the bobod into very fine powder. Then, spread the bobod evenly. (This is a crucial part - you have to do it very evenly. My mother told me that one of the secrets to a good tapey lies in the quality of the distribution of bobod in the diket).

Put this in your container and seal tightly. If you are in a cold place, put it in a warm location. (usually near the dalikan or in the corner of the house) Wait for at least 4-5 days, after which the tapey is now ready. Remember, the sweetness of the tapey decreases with time.

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How to Cook Pinikpikan

PINIKPIKAN is a chicken dish extremely popular in the Cordilleras and amongst Igorots. It is served on special occassions. The recipe below was copied over from my existing sagada-igorot.com website. I wrote the recipe down, around 12 years ago, with the help of Lakay Badu.

Needs:

- A live Chicken
- Sayote (Quantity is variable)
- a head of Chinese cabbage/pechay
- one half to one kilo of innasin/etag
- enough knowledge in butchering fowls
- wood for fire
- a clean, flat surface, preferably smooth
- a piece of stick for beating.

(Note: The common Barn Chicken is preferred to Broilers, and Cobbs preferred to other broiler chickens. The Igorots use a species that produces the best of this dish. The meat, when cooked, is dark in color. After the introduction of broilers in the Philippines, it became increasingly known as "nitib" for "native".)

Ways:

DO NOT DRESS THE CHICKEN (or should I say, undress? :-) ). Start a fire. Put one wing of the chicken on the flat surface. Using the stick, beat the wing from the inside, not to soft, but not to hard that it will break the bones and the skin of the chicken. (Of course, the chicken will squawk and fight back, so you have to hold the head, the other wing, and the legs in the other hand.) Beat it from the tip of the wing to the side, then back. Do it again. Now do the same to the other wing. After beating the wings, lay the neck of the chicken sideways on the flat surface. Beat the neck from end to end.

Now KILL THE CHICKEN! Of course... But to kill the chicken, hold the chicken by the feet and wings in one hand. Hit the back of the head with the stick, just below the comb. Not too hard, or the chicken will bleed, and not too soft either, or the chicken will get mad, and may peck at you. One well placed blow will do it without breaking the skin.

Afterwards, burn all of the feathers off the chicken on the fire you made. You can use your gas range, but it will be very messy afterwards. Better burn the feathers off using an outside fire.

After the feathers are removed, remove excess charred feathers from the chicken. Chances are, the chicken has also started to look like roast chicken. Now, butcher the chicken, slice it, and put the slices into a cooking container. Cut the innasin/etag into pieces as large as the chicken pieces. Put them into the cooking container. Do not put the sayote if there is very little innasin/etag. On the other hand, if you think it will be very salty, add sayote to minimize the salty taste. Clean the vegetables and separate the leaves. It is better to cook this over heavy heat. When the meat is done, Put the vegetables into the container, remove from the fire/heat, and cover. Leave for two minutes. Stir, and serve.

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