we don't "hunt" heads. we TAKE them. headtaking serves as vengeance, form of payment, settle disputes, or displays of strength, and a rite of passage. as opposed to hunting (from the colonial anthropological gaze) that reduces this to unmitigated barbarism and "sport" https://twitter.com/ladeda_lalala/status/1279707065942814721

and since we're on the subject, "busol" or headtakers can only exact vengeance or settle whatever dispute this way if there's a clear breach in tribal peace pacts or bodong/vochong, which means that this practice is regulated to a certain extent by elaborate systems of peace.

You'll be surprised to know as well that this practice evolved into the earliest form of Igorot resistance during Spanish occupation where "kayao" (headtaking) was used by busols in ambush tactics.

The gangsa (brass/copper/gold hand-held gong) has a crescent-shaped handle, some are not carved from wood, some use the jawbone of the enemy. Rites of passage for men include the right to play the gangsa, and one can only do so by successful headtaking.

Some jawbones that have adorned our instruments came from colonizers. Gongs are not just for ritual music but also serve as calls for invitations in rituals/meets/feasts. This one held by a Sabangan chief has a jawbone taken from a Japanese captain. (from ARC family collection)

I cannot claim to know everything about my culture and this thread came from countless researches that came before mine. I cannot claim to represent the knowledge of an entire region with several ethno-linguistic groups lumped into the term "igorot."

And even tho I'm an igorot, I do not intend to gatekeep Cordillera Studies or the understanding of my culture from outsiders. You are very much welcome to start your own research, but do remember that it takes so much decolonizing of longheld beliefs to get started.

Done explaining my culture to everyone. I'm over subjecting myself as if I'm a museum artifact (look up: The 1904 World's Fair in St Louis). I think it's time to flip the colonial script where you begin interrogating yourselves. And learn how it feels to still read shit like this

I'm standing on shoulders of great Igorot scholars, who dealt with more BS in the insti than I could ever take. Who dealt with outsiders asking inane questions of us having tails or living on tree houses. I owe my scholarship to passionate Igorots like Dr. June Prill-Brett

Anyway, I'm out. Hoping to see more passionate discussions on ancestral land rights and genuine self-determination as we continue the call to #JUNKTERRORLAWNOW

Daga a nagtaudan, salakniban!