Iza and I were born to families with very humble means. Both of us have surnames which may sound to belong to privileged families but, well, they're just surnames.
We walked for about 2 kilometers, going up and down the slopes on the side of the mountainous terrain, before arriving at our destination. Bagnen has an altitude of about 1,800m ASL (while Baguio is only at 1,500m ASL) and quite cool (actually way cooler than in Baguio) even during summer. What caught my attention was that there were dug-out stone-walled pens for wild boar in every house.
According to Iza's father, boars are important to the Kankanay/Kankana-ey (and other Cordillera peoples) as they figure in traditional religious and other celebratory rituals. After the boar is butchered, a tribe elder reads the omens supposedly written on the boar's liver to guide the people in their decisions. The tusks of a mature boar are also collected and used in headdresses and necklaces.
While the adults went about their business inside the church, the children very patiently waited outside with their serious chatter frequently punctuated by bites on their ice candies.
After the wedding, the couple and the guests all marched towards the reception. I can't remember anymore if it was the man's or the woman's house but I'm guessing it was the woman's. As the house was about 2 kilometers from the church, it again afforded us, newcomers, a view of Bagnen but this time opposite Bauko Oriente.
What amused me at the reception was that the guests -- friends and close to distant relatives -- came not only from Bagnen and nearby barangays but also from as far as Nueva Ecija, Isabela, and Cagayan, even Manila. As a result, the reception also became a large reunion: a chance for old friends to rekindle old flames, for the younger generation to meet their elders and know their roots, and for the old to pass to the young the tribe's age-old traditions.
I was born and raised in Alimodian, Iloilo, while Iza was born in Baguio and raised in Nadsaag, San Juan, La Union (see entry about Nadsaag here). The first time I went to La Union was in November 2005. Until then, the farthest I have been to in the Philippines was Manila. It was rather daring of me to attempt to visit a place I had no idea how to get to except for very short instructions sent through text messages. (NOTE: Iza and I first met each other at a seminar in Pasay only six months earlier. I must have really wanted to see her again.)
So La Union was 278 kilometers away from Manila. When I arrived there early that November morning (the Partas bus left Pasay at 12:00 midnight), it was now easily the farthest province I have been to. I was thrilled. I was not only away from home -- really far away -- but also immersed in a culture quite familiar yet different from what I grew up in. I was listening to conversations I could not understand! I was enjoying being in a different place! I was enjoying it there.
But Iza had other other plans. Now that I had a taste of being somewhere else, she wanted to bring me to someplace farther, another somewhere else. Iza brought me to Baguio. And that was the start of our many travels together.
Fast forward to 2010. Iza and I again traveled to somewhere far. This time, the bus took us another 133 kilometers from Baguio, deep into the heart of Northern Luzon: Mt. Province. Our main stop was Bontoc. I liked it there but we still went further. And there, in Bagnen, Bauko, I felt how it was to be transported to a place where the sky touched the earth.
A little back story
Iza was born out of wedlock. She was raised by her grandmother, Nanang Rita. Her mother had another daughter and stayed mostly in Baguio tending to her business of selling Laguna-made shoes. When business turned bad, she returned to La Union. Iza was already in college. Her father, on the other hand, was unknown to her until they met for the first time just a few months before her graduation. It turned out that he got married (several years after Iza was born) and already had his own family in Bagnen, Bauko, Mt. Province. That was where we were going.
It was Iza's father who decided to bring us to Bagnen. He wanted to show us around and introduce us to their relatives.
Bagnen, Bauko is about an hour's travel away from Bontoc. I remember very well how I enjoyed the trip the first time we went there. From Bontoc, we drove through the Halsema Highway back to Sabangan. From Sabangan we crossed the bridge then started our way up the mountains. As we ascended the slopes higher and higher, the trees and the vegetation became lusher, the skies bluer, and the mountains grew wider. I was truly awed by the sight of mountains from horizon to horizon. I never imagined the Cordilleras to be that wide. The only thing that amazed me more was the driver's skill in maneuvering the very narrow roads and steep bends that turned at the very edge of cliffs.
Arriving at our destination (we took our stop at Bagnen Oriente; the van went further to Bagnen Proper), we were greeted by a grand vista of houses (hut-like structures) made minuscule by the surrounding trees and mountains. At a distance can be seen the narrow valley in the middle where the locals plant their crops (rice and a variety of vegetables), and a little farther to the left the Bagnen Rice Terraces.
So La Union was 278 kilometers away from Manila. When I arrived there early that November morning (the Partas bus left Pasay at 12:00 midnight), it was now easily the farthest province I have been to. I was thrilled. I was not only away from home -- really far away -- but also immersed in a culture quite familiar yet different from what I grew up in. I was listening to conversations I could not understand! I was enjoying being in a different place! I was enjoying it there.
But Iza had other other plans. Now that I had a taste of being somewhere else, she wanted to bring me to someplace farther, another somewhere else. Iza brought me to Baguio. And that was the start of our many travels together.
 |
| Iza and I inside a tricycle. San Fernando, La Union. May 2011. Photo by Emmanuel Lerona. All rights reserved. Please do not download and/or use without prior permission from the photographer. |
A little back story
Iza was born out of wedlock. She was raised by her grandmother, Nanang Rita. Her mother had another daughter and stayed mostly in Baguio tending to her business of selling Laguna-made shoes. When business turned bad, she returned to La Union. Iza was already in college. Her father, on the other hand, was unknown to her until they met for the first time just a few months before her graduation. It turned out that he got married (several years after Iza was born) and already had his own family in Bagnen, Bauko, Mt. Province. That was where we were going.
It was Iza's father who decided to bring us to Bagnen. He wanted to show us around and introduce us to their relatives.
Bagnen, Bauko is about an hour's travel away from Bontoc. I remember very well how I enjoyed the trip the first time we went there. From Bontoc, we drove through the Halsema Highway back to Sabangan. From Sabangan we crossed the bridge then started our way up the mountains. As we ascended the slopes higher and higher, the trees and the vegetation became lusher, the skies bluer, and the mountains grew wider. I was truly awed by the sight of mountains from horizon to horizon. I never imagined the Cordilleras to be that wide. The only thing that amazed me more was the driver's skill in maneuvering the very narrow roads and steep bends that turned at the very edge of cliffs.
 |
| A view of Sagada from Bauko. This was taken at a stop on our way to Bagnen. May 2010. Photo by Emmanuel Lerona. All rights reserved. Please do not download and/or use without prior permission from the photographer. |
 |
| Bagnen Rice Terraces. May 2010. Photo by Emmanuel Lerona. All rights reserved. Please do not download and/or use without prior permission from the photographer. |
 |
There's a wild boar in every home. May 2010.
Photo by Emmanuel Lerona. All rights reserved. Please do not download and/or use without prior permission from the photographer.
|
 |
| Iza's grandfather, one of the local elders, wearing his traditional necklace made of boar tusks. May 2012. Photo by Emmanuel Lerona. All rights reserved. Please do not download and/or use without prior permission from the photographer. |
 |
| Iza with her brothers Keem & Lag-iw and sister Ambet. October 2012. Photo by Emmanuel Lerona. All rights reserved. Please do not download and/or use without prior permission from the photographer. |
A Kankanay wedding
It was also lucky that the day after we arrived, we got to witness a wedding in Bagnen. I won't call it a traditional wedding because it was actually a Christian wedding held at St. Gregory's Church, an Episcopalian Church in Bagnen Proper about 4 kilometers from Iza's grandfather's house where we stayed. But what followed was practically a preview of a traditional Kankanay wedding.
It was also lucky that the day after we arrived, we got to witness a wedding in Bagnen. I won't call it a traditional wedding because it was actually a Christian wedding held at St. Gregory's Church, an Episcopalian Church in Bagnen Proper about 4 kilometers from Iza's grandfather's house where we stayed. But what followed was practically a preview of a traditional Kankanay wedding.
 |
| Inside St. Gregory's Church, Bagnen Proper, Bauko, Mt. Province. May 2010. Photo by Emmanuel Lerona. All rights reserved. Please do not download and/or use without prior permission from the photographer. |
 |
| Christian Kankanays of Bagnen wearing a combination of traditional and modern clothing singing inside the Episcopalian Church. May 2010. Photo by Emmanuel Lerona. All rights reserved. Please do not download and/or use without prior permission from the photographer. |
 |
| The newly-married couple with their ninangs/godmothers. May 2010. Photo by Emmanuel Lerona. All rights reserved. Please do not download and/or use without prior permission from the photographer. |
 |
| Iza's father signing as one of the godfathers of the couple. May 2010. Photo by Emmanuel Lerona. All rights reserved. Please do not download and/or use without prior permission from the photographer. |
 |
| Lag-iw with friends outside the church. May 2010. Photo by Emmanuel Lerona. All rights reserved. Please do not download and/or use without prior permission from the photographer. |
 |
| Kankanay children in traditional clothes outside St. Gregory's Church. May 2010. Photo by Emmanuel Lerona. All rights reserved. Please do not download and/or use without prior permission from the photographer. |
 |
| A view of Bagnen Oriente from Bauko Proper. May 2010. Photo by Emmanuel Lerona. All rights reserved. Please do not download and/or use without prior permission from the photographer. |
 |
| The guests trooping to the house where the reception was held. May 2010. Photo by Emmanuel Lerona. All rights reserved. Please do not download and/or use without prior permission from the photographer. |
 |
| Sharing stories at the reception. May 2010. Photo by Emmanuel Lerona. All rights reserved. Please do not download and/or use without prior permission from the photographer. |
 |
| Neighbors, friends, and relatives at the reception. May 2010. Photo by Emmanuel Lerona. All rights reserved. Please do not download and/or use without prior permission from the photographer. |
 |
| A boy inspecting the gangsas for the wedding dance. May 2010. Photo by Emmanuel Lerona. All rights reserved. Please do not download and/or use without prior permission from the photographer. |
 |
| One of the boys tries playing the gangsa. May 2010. Photo by Emmanuel Lerona. All rights reserved. Please do not download and/or use without prior permission from the photographer. |
The celebrations lasted all the way up into the night, with the sound of the gangsas filling the valley and reaching us across at Bagnen Oriente.
The following day, we just walked around to enjoy the place a little more. The people were warm (despite the really cool weather) and the children always wore a smile on their faces. Of course they were curious at the newcomers who seemed to be enjoying Bagnen a lot. Some were only too willing to join Iza's siblings for some picture-taking.
 |
| A priceless smile from one of the kids. May 2010. Photo by Emmanuel Lerona. All rights reserved. Please do not download and/or use without prior permission from the photographer. |
 |
| The smiley kid with her friends. May 2010. Photo by Emmanuel Lerona. All rights reserved. Please do not download and/or use without prior permission from the photographer. |
 |
| Two boys peddling tomatoes to neighbors in Bagnen early in the morning. May 2010. Photo by Emmanuel Lerona. All rights reserved. Please do not download and/or use without prior permission from the photographer. |
A few more things
Every time I think of Bagnen, I remember that one afternoon when we went down to the valley to check on the crops planted by Iza's brothers. The sky was quite clear as we climbed down but just about an hour after that and the clouds suddenly descended and rained so we had to make a retreat. As we climbed back to Bauko Oriente, I glimpsed back at the valley, and what I saw, that image -- of the clouds rolling as if it were a time-lapse video playing right before my eyes -- would forever be etched in my memory.
For food, we were able to try itag and pinikpikan. Itag is smoked salted meat while pinikipikan is beaten chicken in broth. By beaten here I mean the chicken is beaten until it is dead. The Cordillerans have discovered that by lightly beating the chicken, the meat of the chicken swells and the blood rushes to the swollen meat thereby making the meat a lot more flavorful. What Iza's father and grandfather prepared for us one time was a dish of pinikipikan flavoured with itag. The burnt flavor of the pinikpikan complemented the saltiness of itag very well.
Another thing I truly enjoyed in Bagnen was when Iza's father prepared sauteed fresh young sayote leaves for lunch. The crisp but tender leaves made me forget for a while that I actually prefer meat for food.
I always look forward to going back to Bagnen.
 |
The obligatory wacky pose with Iza's siblings. May 2010.
Photo by Emmanuel Lerona. All rights reserved. Please do not download and/or use without prior permission from the photographer.
|
