The province of Benguet, situated in North Luzon, the Philippines, holds a large number of ancient mummified remains, mostly located within the municipality of Kabayan. Such bodies are mainly associated to the Ibaloyone of the indigenous groups collectively known as Igorot -and are stored in natural rockshelters or caves carved into the stone, inside wooden coffins often obtained from hollowed pine tree segments. Recent inspections of some of these corpses, carried out in 2002 and 2012, indicated the nature of their mummification process as well as some details regarding their bioanthropological features. Although very little information was initially available on these bodies, the authors have gathered significant oral information on funerary rituals and attitudes towards the ancestors via interviews with the local elders, as well as data on the vegetal materials employed and the practice of tattooing. This paper is the first critical evaluation of these mummies and demonstrates the uniqueness and preciousness of this biocultural heritage now in danger.
Tattooing, in terms of both practice and tattoo design, has become a significant component of popular global culture and the focus of anthropological studies worldwide (for example, Gell, 1993; Allen, 2005; Kuwahara, 2005; Thomas et al, 2005). Tattoos also played a role in twentieth century identity politics (De Mello, 2000; Atkinson, 2003) and they take on a similar role within the Filipino diaspora. This paper examines how diasporic Filipinos are turning to tattoos, and tattoo designs from the Kalinga ethnic group in particular, to formulate specific expressions of cultural authenticity and identity. Appropriating such tattoos reinvents a Filipino tradition as a way of sustaining and reshaping ties to a newly imagined homeland.
This novel study examined the physiological aspects of weaving among 20 female weavers from the Cordillera Region of Northern Luzon, Philippines. Demographic profile and anthropometric measures were gathered, heart rate (HR) and posture were continuously monitored while the weavers performed a 30-min weaving task. Data were analyzed using mean ± standard deviation and Pearson’s correlation coefficient to identify any relationship. Analysis was conducted using a commercial statistical package (SPSS version 25, IBM, Chicago, IL) with alpha set at 0.05 level. Data revealed that the weavers’ blood pressure is at the prehypertension stage, body fat percentage relative to age is average, BMI value is classified as overweight, and WHR value showed that they are at risk from metabolic disorders. Results also showed that the occupational demands of weaving presented low cardiovascular workload and increased task difficulty resulted to more forward lean among weavers. Additionally, there was a linear relationship between HR and posture. These findings suggest the potential for increased risk for musculoskeletal injuries with weaving.
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