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Kalinga’s Awichon Cultural Village is an lodging that defines the very that means of a homestay stripped of resort facilities but full of the comforts of house, and enriched with a heritage character, because it was constructed by the cultural bearers of Kalinga.
Whereas the famed tattoo artist Apo Whang-Od stays in sturdy consideration for the celebrated Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan (GAMABA), Kalinga already holds the excellence by Alonzo Saclag, a grasp of conventional dance and performing arts, who obtained the award in 2000.
Saclag and his spouse, Rebecca, established Awichon Cultural Village in Barangay Higher Uma, Lubuagan, as greater than only a heritage web site. It’s a dwelling area the place traditions are sustained by tribal homes, ceremonies, and immersive experiences.
Rebecca shares that her husband, Alonzo, was captivated by the normal dances and music of Kalinga from an early age, a fascination that later formed his life as a cultural practitioner of the province’s heritage.
With the founding of Awichon Cultural Village, the couple sought to share that heritage extra extensively, providing guests an opportunity to witness performances that deliver Kalinga’s traditions to life.
Showcasing conventional Kalinga structure, with visitor homes constructed from wooden and roofed with cogon grass. These design parts stand as testaments to indigenous craftsmanship.
Every construction embodies an structure rooted in symbolism, with interiors that replicate centuries-old practices reminiscent of clay pots boiling over clay stoves, and small fireplaces that after served as the guts of household life, drawing everybody collectively throughout the chilly season.
Past the structure, the village incorporates a assortment of native devices, from the reverberating gongs to tiny bamboo flutes, every carrying the rhythms of Kalinga heritage.
Visitors are invited not solely to watch however to immerse themselves within the tradition by attempting out handwoven clothes, becoming a member of performers in conventional dances, and partaking in actions that provide a glimpse into the day by day lives of Kalinga’s previous.
Easy life
On our first night, dinner was not merely a meal however an immersion into Kalinga custom. As we sat beneath a starlit sky, friends have been served native dishes as college students from the native highschool carried out dances that after marked group gatherings.
The regular beat of gongs guided their steps, echoing a rhythm lengthy carried out by their elders. Between dances got here the Salidumay, an indigenous folks chant handed down by generations. For guests, the night unfolded as greater than leisure, it was a glimpse right into a cultural reward that the folks of Kalinga proceed to protect and share.
For Mary Khrystelle Luha, a content material creator whose work calls for fixed connection to gadgets and social platforms, a brief keep on the Awichon Cultural Village gave her a much-needed social media detox.
“In experiencing how a real Cordilleran used to stay, particularly on this a part of Kalinga, I used to be reminded of how easy life actually is — and the way typically we’re those who make it difficult,” she mentioned.
The pause from Wi-Fi, she added, felt virtually important. “It seems you may sleep on a easy mattress and nonetheless get up absolutely energized. And with out Wi-Fi connection, you uncover extra probabilities for real conversations.”
Inked, the Kalinga means
I’ve but to satisfy the dream of sitting earlier than Apo Whang-Od for one in every of her signature dotted tattoos. However receiving my first tattoo in Kalinga, the place the custom runs deep, gave me one other memorable expertise.
At Awichon, three ladies educated within the province’s conventional tattooing came around. Quickly, a line had shaped, virtually everybody from our group looking forward to a flip.
There appeared no higher means than by Kalinga’s conventional “batok,” the traditional hand-tapped methodology that makes use of a thorn, or gisi, mounted to a bamboo stick and rhythmically struck with one other piece of wooden.
Every faucet carried the sting of formality, a gradual six out of ten on the ache scale, but in addition the load of a promise I had lengthy made to myself. For my first physique ink, I selected the native image for “prayer.”
Earthing expertise
Since our journey earlier with the Tourism Promotions Board of the Philippines goals to spotlight Kalinga’s idyllic setting for wellness fans, we have been joined by wellness advocates together with author and entrepreneur Stephanie Zubiri of Soulful Feasts.
Set amid thick greenery and open fields, the village provided a becoming backdrop for grounding rituals and conscious connection.
In a single earthing session, Ophelia, an area cultural bearer, led a chant to Kabunian, the supreme deity in Kalinga perception.
“We have been informed that sitting on their native weaves connects Kalinga folks to their ancestors,” Zubiri later shared on Instagram. “At that second, she mentioned, the spirits have been with us, grateful for our presence.”
One other participant, mannequin and wellness advocate Kelly Misa, mirrored on the expertise: “From hearth ceremonies to cacao rituals at dawn, historical dances to intricate weaves, our time in Kalinga reconnected us to land, spirit, and self.”
Awichon isn’t solely outlined by its panorama as represented by pockets of rice terraces carved into the hillsides, the sharp ridges that turns golden by sundown, and plush timber inhabited by totally different chicken species, but in addition by the way in which it slows time itself.
Guests converse of shedding themselves within the second whereas embracing each second, as if the land asks you to be ever current. Right here, a connection to nature occurs alongside a deeper understanding of Kalinga traditions, providing vacationers not solely an unforgettable keep but in addition a glimpse into the historical past and tradition of the province. – Rappler.com
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