HUNGDUAN, Ifugao – The municipality recently celebrated the annual ‘Punnuk festival, the post-harvest tagging ritual that had become a major crowd drawing event.
The said celebration was successfully conducted before typhoon Carina entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR).
The Ifugaos, who are rice-growing people, are famous not only for their rice terraces but also for their rice-farming culture. In the municipality of Banaue, Ifugao where the renowned Banaue Rice Terraces can be found, part of their culture is doing the Urpi. Urpi, a thanksgiving ritual after every household finishes planting in their rice fields, asking the Gods to protect the seedlings and for a bountiful harvest.
On the other hand, the municipality of Hungduan performs a similar but unique ritual–the Punnuk. It is a thanksgiving-tugging ritual after a bountiful harvest. The Punnuk is the last of the three post-harvest rituals practiced in Hungduan, collectively known as “Huowah”.
Before the Punnuk, the Baki and Inum are held on the same day in the Dumupag’s (designated lead family) house, led by the mumbaki (ritual specialist). For the baki, a chicken is sacrificed, and its bile will be inspected by the mumbaki to see if it is “maphod” (good). When declared as good, they will inform the community that the Punnuk will continue and that they need to prepare for it.
The Punnuk is held in the river where the waters converge in the Hapao river or the “nunhipukana” as called by the locals. Three adjacent barangays participate in the friendly game of tug of war– Barangay Ba-ang, Hapao, and Nungulunan. Each of the Barangays represents the directions of the converging waters.
Since Punnuk is one of the most awaited events in the province, neighboring municipalities, local tourists, and foreign tourists visit Hungduan to witness the Punnuk. The audience waits for the participating barangays, clothed in their vibrant red native attires, to parade down the nunhipukana. While most games of tug of war happen on land, for the Punnuk, it happens on the river.
There are two objects essential to the game of tug of war: the Kina-ag and Pakid. The kina-ag is the object for the tugging. A kina-ag is a ring-shaped or human figure made from rice stalks and tightly secured with vines. Instead of pulling ropes, they use the pakid–a sapling of the attoba tree, as the object for pulling the ring-shaped kina-ag.
Visitors are given the chance to participate in this friendly activity against locals. Aside from tug of war, the locals also play wrestling and the longest breath held underwater. But before all else, each Barangay recites a “gopah” asking for blessings of safety and abundant harvest.
After all the games, the human figure Kina-ag are thrown into the river to let the people of Hungduan who see it know that harvest season is done. For the last part of the activity, everyone is encouraged to step into the river to wash away misfortunes and negative energies. Public lunch is served after for all.
In 2015, Punnuk was recognized by UNESCO as one of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (ICH), along with Cambodia, Vietnam, and the Republic of Korea. Representatives from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) also attended this year’s Punnuk, supporting Hungduan’s Punnuk.
According to Kevin Joshua Mejos, one of the representatives from NCCA, the transfer of knowledge regarding the Hungduan culture and their cultural unity is very evident, as more children and youth are involved in the Punnuk. Furthermore, in the coming years, he hopes that the local government and the community of Hungduan will work together to keep their culture intact amidst future challenges. By Peachy Clarisse Tillay
