HIGAONON_Beliefs and Practices

HIGAONON People of the living mountains

(Mga panuos daw mga hinang ku Higaonon)

The Higaonons believed in supernatural beings that dwelt in mountains, forests, trees, or simply existed in some portion of the universe. They also believed in the existence of beneficent spirits like those of their dead datus as well as in malevolent ones, and in the creator of all things — the God Magbabaya. Rituals and ceremonies have remained a part of the Higaonon way of life until   the present. The tribal community held a Kaamulan Festival any time during the year either to give thanks for a good harvest, to celebrate a victory, a wedding, a baptism, or a family

The Higaonon tribal people follow the habitual laws of Bunkatol Ha Bulawan Daw Nang Ka Tasa ha Lana, which means treasured unity of Love and Peace. In fact it is a code of conduct that is the sacred bond that unites the entire Higaonon community. For decades the Higaonon people have struggled tirelessly for their independence as a tribe, their rights to cultural integrity and the right to selfdetermination. the Higaonon, have managed to maintain the skills and knowledge that will protect its forested mountains. They need to secure their Ancestral Domain and forest home against destruction by loggers who started cutting their way into the forested homeland more than sixty years ago.