BONTOC, Mountain Province – The provincial government through its Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) Committee on Indigenous Peoples chaired by Provincial Indigenous Peoples Mandatory Representative (IPMR) Tomas B. Tawagen lauds the ongoing staging of the “manerwap” by the different “ato” in Bontoc Ili.
“I commend the people of Bontoc for continuously upholding their rich cultural heritage. This is one great way of ensuring that our traditions live on,” ex-officio SP Board Member and IPMR Tawagen said.
“We badly need the rains especially for our fields and animals, so I really appreciate the Bontoc community for initiating ways to accompany our prayers for rain,” he added.
“Manerwap” is a customary ritual unique to the Bontoc community performed to invoke rain during the dry season, periods of extreme drought, or any other circumstances necessitating precipitation. The four “ato” of Bontoc Ili—Ato Sipa-at, Ato Law-ingan, Ato Soysoyan, and Ato Maferfer—are spearheading the series of cultural activities.
Froilan F. Fakat, an elder and member of Ato Sipa-at, shared that the “manerwap” started last March 2024 wherein men from the community went to various “fawi” (sacred sites), bearing offerings such as “etag” (native ham), “tafako” (tobacco), “fayash” (basi or sugar cane wine) and “tapey” (rice wine) for the spirits of ancestors. Also, he said that the procession to the “fawi” was accompanied by the rhythmic beating of the “kalasag” (shield), which added to the significance of the said cultural undertaking.
Other traditional practices held in the previous days as part of the “manerwap” were the “chinet,” “tengaw” or rest day, “chepap,” “tungtungo,” “pasuk-ey,” and chaing, among others. chanting, continuous beating of gongs accompanied by the “sagni” or native dances, and butchering of sacrificial pigs or chickens were also performed as important elements of the “manerwap.”
According to the elders, the rain-calling festivities are set to continue in the following days until the conduct of the “sangat,” which will then signify the culmination of the traditional event.
