Ifugao Epics: Hudhud and Alim

In Filipino epics on October 19, 2009 at 1:43 pm

The Ifugao is not only world-renowned for the 2000-year old rice terraces that are carved into the mountains, which in 1995, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. They are also famous for their weaving, metal and wood work, numerous rites and prayers (called Baki), and their epics Hudhud and Alim.

Hudhud Hudhud features the characters Aliguyan (Aliguyon), Bugan and their families, and the elements of the early civilization which rose in the mountain province. Consisting of more than 200 episodes and chanted in Ifugao dialect, the Hudhod narrates the creation of the world and the journey of Aliguyan, a man from the village of Gonhandan, who is endowed with supernatural and limitless powers. One episode recounts his duel with Pumbakhayon, a warrior, who is of equal strength and agility, from a village called Daligdigan . Until today, parts of Hudhud are chanted and sung in special occasions such as weddings, nightly vigils for the dead family member, harvest season, and local celebrations. The hud-hud include several titles, namely: Hud-hud Bugan Nak Pangaiwan during the rice harvest, Bugan Nak Pangaiwan ad Gonhadan, Aliguyon ad Dayyagen, Alighuyon ad Hildungan, Hi Aliguyon ad Habiyan, Bugan nak Dulnuan nak Pangaiwan, Aliguyon Nak Amtalao, Kulbabang Bugan and Aliguyon an Hi Duwog chanted during death or Binogwa.

The United Nations Scientific, Educational and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared the Ifugao Hudhud as a masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

Alim Alim explores the character of their god-bathala called Makanungan, the lives of their several gods, and deities, and their idea of heaven. Alim is sung as part of their ritual religious songs. One famous episode tells about a great flood. It is said that after the flood, the heroine Bugan, started a fire which Wigan from Amuyaw sees. Wigan and Bugan, thinking that there are only the two of them left on earth, traveled far and wide in search of people. Bugan later discovers that she is with a child. In fear of disgrace, she decides to commit suicide by jumping into the river. However, an old man with white beard appears and stops her from killing herself. This old man is actually their bathala, Makanungan, in disguise. Source: http://rizhau.wordpress.com/2009/10/19/ifugao-epics-hudhud-and-alim/

QUICK REFERENCE
1. (*cultural determinism, social shaping) In theories of the relationship between society and technology or media, a stance which asserts the primacy of social (and political) factors rather than the autonomous influence of the medium (whether this is language or a technology). Social determinists reject the causal priority given to language by linguistic determinists and to technology by technological determinists. Those who emphasize social determination focus on such issues as the circumstances of production, modes of use, values, purposes, skill, style, choice, control, and access rather than on the structure of the text or code or the technical features of the medium. Like any strong determinism, extreme social determinism is a form of reductionism. An extreme social determinist position relating to the decoding of texts (more specifically, audience determinism) would reduce individual decodings to a direct consequence of social class position. A more moderate stance would stress that access to different codes is influenced by social position. Structuralist semiotics tends to be allied with textual determinism and is criticized for ignoring social determination. Compare sociologism. 2. (environmental determinism) In the nature vs nurture debate, the stance that the social and physical environment, or nurture, is the stronger factor. Compare biological determinism. Show Less

Source: Oxford reference online

http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100515931