IFUGAO SOCYOP BALACKA O-KONG OKLOP HAT IFUGAO TRIBE PHILIPPINES DAVID HOWARD TRIBAL ART IFUGAO SOCYOP BALACKA O-KONG OKLOP HAT IFUGAO TRIBE PHILIPPINES

IFUGAO SOCYOP BALACKA O-KONG OKLOP HAT DAVID HOWARD TRIBAL ART

SOCYOP BALACKA O-KONG OKLOP IFUGAO HAT DAVID HOWARD TRIBAL ART

IFUGAO HAT IFUGAO HAT IFUGAO HAT IFUGAO HAT

THE LAST FILIPINO HEAD HUNTERS BOOK PAGE 43 IFUGAO FILIPINO HATS DAVIDHOWARD TRIBAL ART

THE LAST FILIPINO HEAD HUNTERS BOOK COVER DAVID HOWARD TRIBAL ART

IFUGAO TRIBE:
PUBLISHED TRIBAL USED ANTIQUE
HAND MADE CEREMONIAL HAT; CIRCA 1870

PUBLISHED IFUGAO TRIBAL USED ANTIQUE 19TH CENTURY HAND MADE CEREMONIAL HAT; CIRCA 1870! THIS IS A VERY OLD ANTIQUE IFUGAO TRIBAL USED PIECE THAT FEATURES A TROPHY BIRD’S SKULL, FEATHERS, DECORATED IN ANIMAL’S TAILS, RATTAN WEAVING AND A HAND MADE FIBER STRAP. FROM THE HEAD HUNTING TRIBE: "IFUGAO" IN THE CORDILLERA MOUNTAINS ON THE ISLAND "LUZON" IN THE PHILIPPINES. PUBLISHED ON PAGE #43 IN THE BOOK ENTITLED: “THE LAST FILIPINO HEAD HUNTERS.” (PLEASE SEE THE ABOVE PICTURES OF THAT MENTIONED PAGE #43 AND THE BOOK’S COVER FOR YOUR REFERENCE.) EXCELLENT TRIBAL USED ANTIQUE AUTHENTIC ORIGINAL CONDITION! THIS IS A RARE AND UNUSUAL PIECE THAT HAS A FINE, RICH, ORIGINAL, ANCIENT PATINA ON HAND WOVEN RATTAN; TRIBAL USED CEREMONIAL IFUGAO RITUAL “SOCYOP BALACKA O-KONG OKLOP” HAT. IT HAS A MUSEUM COLLECTION CATALOGUE NUMBER ON IT THAT READS: “541A” THIS UNUSUAL AND EXTREMELY RARE PIECE MEASURES 18 INCHES IN CIRCUMFERENCE; 7 INCHES LONG X 5 INCHES WIDE X 4 INCHES DEEP. IN NEAR PERFECT EXCELLENT ANTIQUE ORIGINAL TRIBAL USED CONDITION: NO DAMAGE, NO REPAIRS, NO RESTORATION AND NO MISSING PARTS. THIS IS AN EXTRAORDINARY PIECE OF ANCIENT IFUGAO TRIBAL ASIAN ART! IT SURELY IS THE VERY BEST, OLDEST, AND FINEST IFUGAO RITUAL CEREMONIAL “SOCYOP BALACKA O-KONG OKLOP” HATS THAT I HAVE EVER OFFERED! IT HAS GREAT OLD PATINA THAT SHOWS WEAR AND SIGNS OF TRIBAL USE.

Can we tell a rich story about the people who actually made, and first used, this 19th century ceremonial hat? This is an Ifugao ritual object. Indeed, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Australia, the Ethnology Museum of Barcelona, and many more institutions around the world say much the same about hats like this in their collections — generally cataloged under the name "Oklop," but this example is unique, surely one of a kind rare; unusual fetishistic example of an Ifugao ceremonial "Oklop" hat...

A fetish (derived from the French fétiche; which comes from the Portuguese feitiço; and this in turn from Latin facticius, "artificial" and facere, "to make") is an object believed to have supernatural powers, or in particular, a human-made object that has power over others. Essentially, fetishism is the emic attribution of inherent value or powers to an object.

The term "fetish" has evolved from an idiom used to describe a type of objects created in the interaction between European travelers and Africans in the early modern period to an analytical term that played a central role in the perception and study of non-Western art in general and African art in particular.

William, who conducted an extensive ethno-historical study of the fetish, argues that the term originated in the coast of West Africa during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Pietz distinguishes between, on the one hand, actual African objects that may be called fetishes in Europe, together with the indigenous theories of them, and on the other hand, "fetish;" which is an idea of a kind of object, to which the term applies.

A Bulul is a carved wooden figure used to guard the rice crop by the Igorot peoples of northern Luzon. The sculptures are highly stylized representations of ancestors, and are thought to gain power from the presence of the ancestral spirit. The Ifugao are particularly noted for their skill in carving bululs. Bululs are used in ceremonies associated with rice production and with healing. Creation of a bulul involves alwen bulul ritual by a priest to ensure that the statue gains power. The bulul is treated with care and respect to avoid the risk of the spirits of the ancestors bringing sickness. The figures are placed in rice granaries to bring a plentiful harvest. A large granary may need two bululs, and a wealthy noble may also have one or more bululs in his house. Male and female Bulul statues are often found together, with sex-related symbols such as the mortar for the female and pestle for the male. A male bulul may sometimes be decorated with a g-string, and a female with a waist cloth, earrings and anklets. Although the form varies, the bulul is commonly represented as seated on the ground, with arms crossed over his upraised knees. The bulul has a simplified form, and is traditionally carved from narra or ipil wood or sometimes stone. The bulul is touched by hands dipped in blood of a chicken or pig in ritual called tunod during the rice planting season. Over time the blood imparts a dark color to the figures, overlaid with a patina of grease from food offerings. Bululs are handed down to the first child of a family. Typically the older statues have beetle holes made by insects in the granary.

Headhunting is the practice of taking and preserving a person's head after killing the person. Headhunting was practiced in historic times in parts of Oceania, South Asia and Southeast Asia, West and Central Africa, and Mesoamerica, as well as Europe. It occurred in Europe to the end of the Middle Ages in Ireland and the Anglo-Scottish border regions, and until the 19th century in Montenegro, Croatia, Albania and western parts of Herzegovina.

The headhunting practice has been the subject of intense study within the anthropological community, where scholars try to assess and interpret its social roles, functions, and motivations. Anthropological writings explore themes in headhunting that include mortification of the rival, ritual violence, cosmological balance, the display of manhood, cannibalism, dominance over the body and soul of his enemies in life and afterlife, as a trophy and proof of killing(achievement in hunting), show of greatness, prestige by taking on a rival's spirit and power, and as a means of securing the services of the victim as a slave in the afterlife.

Today's scholars generally agree that headhunting's primary function was ritual and ceremonial. It was part of the process of structuring, reinforcing, and defending hierarchical relationships between communities and individuals.

Some experts theorize that the practice stemmed from the belief that the head contained "soul matter" or life force, which could be harnessed through its capture.

Ifugao culture revolves around rice, which is considered a prestige crop. There is an elaborate and complex array of rice culture feasts inextricably linked with taboos and intricate agricultural rites, from rice cultivation to rice consumption. Harvest season calls for grandiose thanksgiving feasts, while the concluding harvest rites "tungo" or "tungul" (the day of rest) entail a strict taboo of any agricultural work. Partaking of the rice wine (bayah), rice cakes, and 'moma' (mixture of several herbs, powdered snail shell and betel nut/ arecoline: and acts as a chewing gum to the Ifugaos) is an indelible practice during the festivities and ritual activitiess. their retual and Agricultural terracing is their principal means of livelihood along with farming. Their social status is measured by the number of rice field granaries, family heirlooms, gold earrings, carabaos (water buffaloes), as well as, prestige conferred through time and tradition. The more affluent, known as kadangyan were usually generous by nature, giving rice to poor neighbors in time of food shortage(s) and/or hardship(s). Furthermore, their culture was known for their legal system, using one of the world's most extensive oral legal traditions specifying the offense depending on the use of custom law; trial by elders (influenced in part by public opinion); or trial by ordeal. The wealthy were subjected to greater fines than the poor.

The Ifugao art of woodcarving is universally known. Most notably are the carved granary guardians “bulul,” and the prestige bench; the “hagab,” but in addition to those free standing wood carvings: The Ifugao also incorporate beautiful architectural wood cavings into their hut’s house posts, exterior doors, kitchen shelving and a multitude of imaginative additions to nearly every element in, and on, their Ifugao huts!

Ifugao huts are well-constructed and characterized by wooden floors, windowless walls, and pyramidal thatch roofs. Elevated from the ground by four sturdy tree trunks, they feature removable staircases that are hoisted up at night to prevent entry by enemies or wild animals.

There are many varieties of Ifugao huts. They have heavy thatch roofs to serve as protection from rain and cold weather. The Ifugao inhabit the rugged terrain of the Cordillera Mountain Range in the Mountain Province of Central Northern Luzon Island. They have developed and maintained a distinct culture which resisted outside influence. Modern times ended their isolation; The only world they previously knew was an environment of towering mountains, rolling hills, windy plateaus, warm valleys, shallow but swift rivers, dense forests, rice paddies, and their immense rice terraces known as “The 7th Wonder of the World!”

"PUNAM-HAN" are used in sacrificial offertory rituals by Ifugao Mombaki Shamans; the blood of butchered animals are poured over the outside while rice in combination with wrapped textile bundles, small wooden carvings; "Hipag" figures, wrapped bamboo, animal sacrificial implements and any assortment of appropriate tribal sacrificial elements are placed inside as offering to the Ifugao gods. The Punamhan is regarded as a sacred tribal ritual object by the Ifugao tribe.

Untouched by the influences of Spanish colonialism, Ifugao culture value kinship, family ties, religious and cultural beliefs. They're unique among all ethnic groups in the mountain province, not only for their interesting customs and traditions but also for their narrative literature such as the hudhud, an epic dealing with hero ancestors sung in a poetic manner. Another feature unique to the Ifugao is their woodcarving art, most notably the carved granary guardians bului and the prestige bench of the upper class, the hagabi. Their textiles renowned for their sheer beauty, colorful blankets and clothing woven on looms. Houses were well-built, characterized by as a square with wooden floors, windowless walls, and pyramidal thatch roofs. Elevated from the ground by four sturdy tree trunks, they feature removable staircases that were hoisted up at night to prevent entry by enemies and/or wild animals. Lastly, their attire remain traditional for male Ifugaos, donning the wanno or g-string; there are six types of wanno which are used depending on the occasion or the man's social status. Ifugao women, on the contrary, wear tapis, a wraparound skirt; there are five kinds of skirts worn, depending on the occasion.

THE IFUGAO TRIBE, ON THE ISLAND: LUZON
IN THE PHILIPPINES, USE "PUNAMHAN"
HAND CARVED WOODEN BOXES THAT ARE
"ACTIVATED" THROUGH RITUAL ANIMAL
BLOOD SACRIFICE.

THE IFUGAO; ORIGINALLY REFERRED TO AS "IGOROTS" WERE
ONCE THOUGHT TO BE INCLUDED WITH THE BONTOC, KALINGA
KANKANAY, IBALOI AND GADDANG AS A SINGLE TRIBE!
IT WAS NOT UNTIL EXHAUSTIVE RESEARCH LATER REVEALED
THESE WERE INDIVIDUAL TRIBES WITH DISTINCT
CULTURAL DIFFERENCES AND BELIEF SYSTEMS!