Symbolisms of Headhunting: Egongot Ethnic Lifeworlds in Northern Luzon
Abstract
This qualitative study is an ethnography of the symbolisms and language narratives of an Egongot ethnic group at Ginguin, Nueva Vizcaya, a headhunting community situated at the borders of the provinces of Quirino and Nueva Vizcaya, in the Philippines. Egongot, also known as Ilongot or Bugkalot, connotes taga-gubat (from the forest). While Bugkalot is the predominant language of the ethnic group, the elders consider Ilongot as a lowland-appellation.
Although it is considered taboo, the headhunting tradition of the Egongot is a source of rich anthropological data. The elders of the community accepted my request to live and document the cultural and linguistic lifeworlds of the community, and to better understand the stark difference such an ethnic group has with those outside.
The paper seeks to contribute significantly to the notion that anthropology acknowledges difference in ethnic and ethnopolitical structure, and that these ethnic groups are gradually assimilating to current dominant and imperial ideologies, and in the process, relinquishing cultural and linguistic heritages.
Keywords: Egongot, Headhunter, linguistic anthropology, ethnography, Philippines, cultural anthropology