Northern Hospitality and the Origins of "Kasbang"

As a tenugui designer featuring Sagada city, my first audience are its people. It was crucial that their input was infused into this project's DNA. Their opinion mattered as I always planned to give them the product once finished. The goal was to receive their blessing and they would proudly display the tenugui in their homes. So, I soaked in as much information about Sagada rituals and searching for forgotten lore that should be shared to the world. One of them was the thanksgiving festival of Begnas. This spiritual event is done three times a year and meant to celebrate each part of the rice harvesting process. The entire town celebrates with a huge communal feast featuring their smoked pork delicacy "Etag". It is marked by a street parade featuring the elders chanting prayers dancing, and playing gongs in their indigenous loincloth attire. As I dug up more information about this tradition, my curiosity peaked upon reading about the pre-Bagnas ritual of "Iyag". The Iyag is a walk in the forest done by elders only and done before the new moon. The goal is to be one with ancestral spirits and look for an omen bird called an "Idaw". The presence of the "Idaw" is a sign that rice harvesting can begin. If there is no idaw, farmers can't plant their seeds.

The idea of hunting for an "idaw" excited me because it paralled by design journey. I would looking for my omen that would tie this story together into a visual narrative. As mentioned in the previous blog post here, the weaver Rose Ann was answering my iconography questions through Facebook messenger. However, she wasn't very familiar with the idaw because it is only male elders who were allowed to "hunt" for it. I wanted to know what exact avian species is is the idaw and how to they know that it is the right omen. She referred me to Archie Sumedca (pictured below) because he was one of the most active community elders. The title isn't bestowed lightly and given to only men who participate in the rituals, show ancestral knowledge by this experience, and uphold a high moral standing (i.e no cheating on one's wife). He was the bird that I needed to catch.

Once our schedules aligned, I booked a 12 hour bus to Sagada and planned to stay Sumedca's inn. There were and are no shortcuts like planes to make this trip faster.You leave Manila at 8 PM. The night envelopes your senses in its pitch darkness. Then, you sleep and open your eyes at 7 AM. It felt like being transported to another world by a wormhole. Furthermore, this journey was made memorable as Typhoon Carina flooded Manila overnight. I woke up to images of F. Manalo bridge colliding with raised barges. I escaped and was safe in the tranquility of the moutains.

As this blog gets any longer, forgive me for cutting to the chase. I did meet other remarkable personalities which I'll explain in the gallery below and future spotlight blog post. Yet, the charm of Sagada was how convenient meeting everyone would be. Everyon was open hearted enough to let me into their homes. Withing 2 days, I was able to hangout with 6 key people who helped me capture the essence of Sagada because they all lived or worked within the vicinity of the main road. From end to end, this main road is only a 10-20 minute leisurely walk. It is only a challenge because it inclines up to the town center. It all depends how fit you are.

Moving on from the slight detour, Manong/Uncle Archie was elusive omen because of his duties as an elder. There was a wake where he needed to perform burial rituals. Yet, we finally got meet on the night before leaving the next day. He imparted two words of sage advice:

• First, traditions and rituals go beyond its spiritual practice. We perform these sacred events to keep the community together. There is a practical use to catching up. By meeting during these life events, we can first get to know each other. And by knowing each other, we can at least help each other in celebrations and downturns. So, he wished Sagadans would slow down and not skip marriage feasts for a quick buck. It is a lesson we can all learn. Events like Christmas are not a chore but something to cherish

• Second, the idaw is known through intuition. In general, the omen is a healthy and happy chirping bird. It should fly high. It is determined mostly by gut. And once seen, the elders must shout "kasbang!". This means to catch that luck in the sky. You can find a snippet of our interview here:

  These words resonated with me as an entrepreneur as timing, opportunity, success are elements that at times can only left up to divine alchemy. As such, connecting us through this blog post is kismet itself and I thank you for meeting together in this digital space. Hope we can meet together in the next blog post where I share the actual process of tenugui creating in Osaka's Nakani Dyeing Factory.

The Sagadans

Northern Hospitality was truly felt because everyone was willing to share their perspectives on their hometown. These are new found friends who deserve a blog post each. For now, below is Manong Lope who is a coffee farmer and renowned pottery artist. He owns Baguilota Art Space. Under this space is the couple Pat and Mei Tirano. Pat is a music producer and Mei is a sumi-e ink artist. After, I met Chris Anyway who is Sagada's mushroom tour guide. He co-published a book with mushroom advocate Marco Lobregat.