The People of the Mist: Daring the Long Road to Buscalan
The Buscalan, Kalinga Adventure Series Part I
Buscalan, a quiet village on top of the mountains in Kalinga is home to the legendary mambabatok, Whang-od Oggay.
Kalinga, is a mountainous province located north of Luzon, it is also part of the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR). Up until the present time, there is still a common misconception that it is still part of Apayao, thus Kalinga-Apayao. In the year 1995, they are split into two separate provinces.
The province of Kalinga is enigma to travelers and locals alike. But there is always a peculiar surprise waiting for the brave of heart who sets foot in the province, and I was not an exception.
From scenic rice terraces to towering mountains, Kalinga has too much too offer if you explore enough. There is the legendary Sleeping Beauty which is a mountain range consisting of Mts. Patukan, Mating-oy Dinayao and Mantingoy, Kalinga still has a lot in store for us to see.
The Long and Winding Roads of the Cordillera
I still recall this documentary by Lars Krutak on Discovery Channel about a traditional tattoo artist living high up in the mountains in the Philipines around the year 2009. This documentary featured the unique culture of the village and its people that opened a portal for the global audience to see.
Fast forward 2017, I found myself joining mountaineer friends on a journey to meet the last traditional “Mambabatok” named Apo Whang-od.
Amidst fog blanketing the mountains and light rain drizzling all over, one should definitely not miss the Banaue Rice Terraces. Moreover, some of these hand-carved terraces are declared by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites.
A quick breakfast did the trick and still we are half a world away from Kalinga. Further up, we then travelled to Bontoc, Mountain Province. From the town center we took a right turn to Kalinga.
The journey took up a notch higher as the perpetually zigzagging roads of Ifugao and Mountain Province seems to bow down out of respect for the Bontoc-Tabuk Highway.
The road carved out of the mountains seems to snake gracefully through the wholeness of the vast landscape. Moreover, it turned wildly through hairpin curves through this dangerous mountain road.
Perpetually Shrouded in Mist
From Bontoc, it took as another two hours before reaching, as what locals call, as the Turning Point. There is a community nestled at the first half of the mountain, while the other half of the settlement is the Tinglayan rice terraces that can rival one of those in Banaue.
This is the farthest point that the vehicle can take us. It was a fifteen hour butt numbing ride, but the fun never stops in there. Upon meeting our guides, the village of Buscalan as they point out, is located on top of one of those mountains from where we were.
It was an easy trek I must say, it took us around half an hour to reach the village. Also, there were several stopovers to admire the view before the fog rolls in again.
The trail is well established along the mountain side. Farther in, it will descend down into a small river at the foot of the mountain then a short but steep assault before reaching the village proper.
How to reach Buscalan Village? Read: Buscalan, Kalinga Budget Travel Guide
Buscalan
Upon reaching the souvenir store, and still gasping for breath, I can’t help but marvel at what I am seeing. A whole mountain with carved terraces stands opposite from where we were as it is dotted by hordes of sunflowers.
There’s traditional wooden huts with elevated floorings and cogon roofs. Also, there are locals preparing dinner with firewood while chatting with neighbors smoking tobacco. I must say that these people are prolific terrace builders as they are blessed with arable land for farming and their craftsmanship are uniquely Kalinga.
Although modern technology has touched the lives of the locals, it is still farfetched from what we are currently having now. We were then guided down to our homestay through narrow, maze-like alleys.
Domesticated pigs seem to outnumber the population of cats and dogs and chickens in the village. Finally, we settled into a small hut located adjacent a church that is shadowed by mountains at the back.
I am expecting the room to be like of those in Banaue and Sagada, instead it was literally a home stay. Thus, we occupied the home of an elementary teacher, her books and teaching materials are all neatly tucked up in the wooden panels of the room. She prepared mattresses and thick blankets beforehand for her us to use.
It was around 3:30 in the afternoon after we finally settled in that room, our gracious host served us a flask full of brewed Kalinga coffee.
Then my companions broke the silence and yelled that we should start washing up to get our signatures done by Apo Whang-od.
Tattoo, Taboo, and the Voice of the Ancestors
Kalinga has been void and has been long standing in the history as a semi autonomous province during the colonial period.
This is downright caused by their fierce nature of head hunting and enemy engagements. Hence, preserving their culture and their way of life as how it used to be back in the days.
To celebrate these forms of bloody victory, a tattoo is then rewarded to the deserving men of the tribe. The more marks on the body there is, the more people he has killed and beheaded.
A tattoo is a form of body modification where a design is made by inserting ink, dyes and pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment. Tattoos fall into three broad categories: purely decorative, symbolic, and pictorial. Tattoos have long been associated by ‘the west’ with the uncivilised and over the last 100 years with sailors and working men. By the end of the 20th Century many western stigmas of the tattoo culture had gone and it moved into the realm of being a fashion accessory for people of all genders. (Wikipedia.org, 2016)
Tattoo has been viewed by the society as a taboo and only for criminals. Contrary to popular belief, it has been in the bloodstream of our ancestors and it commonly denotes and carries specific meanings. Moroever, it is highly regarded as symbols of social status, achievements, and spirituality.
One of the best examples of this centuries old tradition is the Kalinga Batok. Although the practice of headhunting has been long banned in the year 1972, “Pambabatok” is still practiced by a traditional Kalinga centenarian tattooist Whang-od Oggay.
Although decades of missionization, colonial administration, and modernization have gradually led to the abandonment of Kalinga batok, enduring fragments of this rich tradition of body art continue to be worn by Kalinga elders: including the last generation of headhunting warriors whose numbers have perhaps dwindled to some thirty men. (Larskrutak.com)
