PH
In Hapao, Hungduan, the Tuwali Ifugao traditionally held a harvest ritual known as Punnuk. Three community groups would converge near the meeting point of the Hapao River and a tributary.
They competed by pulling a rice-stalk object called the kina-ag using a wooden implement called a pakid.
The winning group was believed to represent the community that would have the more successful harvest season.
After the competition, the kina-ag was thrown into the river so downstream communities would know that the harvest had been completed.
What looks like an ordinary tug-of-war was therefore embedded in agricultural symbolism, community identity, and ritual.
© NCCA — TALAPAMANA