Ayangan ritual, community feast wraps up IP, Museum Month celeb
Marking the end of this year’s Indigenous Peoples and Museum Month, Saint Mary’s University (SMU) wraps up the month-long celebration through ‘Mangipad Ta-u’, a thanksgiving ritual performed by the Ayangan culture bearers of Barangay Cabuluan, Villavede, Nueva Vizcaya, November 3.
Clad in their native attire, the Indigenous group showcased a sacrificial ceremony through butchering a pig and a chicken as part of their traditional ritual ‘Ipad,’ where a husband and wife gather the community to give thanks for the blessings of a bountiful harvest and pray for continuous prosperity.
Following the ritual, the Marian gathered in a community feast where students, faculty, and staff enjoyed ‘watwat’ in a banana stalk that served as a plate, sharing various dishes contributed by different departments of the university at Father Cornelius Tonus Gymnasium.
The event also featured a community dance led by the members of SMU Benguet, Ifugao, Bontoc, Apayao, and Kalinga cultural performers, Teatro Publiko, Chorale Society, SMU Band, and the Marian dance troupe.
More so, the official student publication of SMU, The MARIAN, was tapped to document the ritual and produce a documentary featuring the Ayangan culture bearers that shall materialize as an instructional output for the course subject Philippine Indigenous Communities (GPIC), which became part of SMU’s curriculum last academic year.
With the theme “Indigenous Peoples and AI: Defending Rights and Shaping Futures,” the ritual is one of the month-long activities conducted by SMU through the Community Engagement and Indigenous Peoples Studies Center, focusing on community development initiatives and programs that underscore cultural appreciation, understanding, and protection.
Marking the end of this year’s Indigenous Peoples and Museum Month, Saint Mary’s University (SMU) wraps up the month-long celebration through ‘Mangipad Ta-u’, a thanksgiving ritual performed by the Ayangan culture bearers of Barangay Cabuluan, Villavede, Nueva Vizcaya, November 3.
Clad in their native attire, the Indigenous group showcased a sacrificial ceremony through butchering a pig and a chicken as part of their traditional ritual ‘Ipad,’ where a husband and wife gather the community to give thanks for the blessings of a bountiful harvest and pray for continuous prosperity.
Following the ritual, the Marian gathered in a community feast where students, faculty, and staff enjoyed ‘watwat’ in a banana stalk that served as a plate, sharing various dishes contributed by different departments of the university at Father Cornelius Tonus Gymnasium.
The event also featured a community dance led by the members of SMU Benguet, Ifugao, Bontoc, Apayao, and Kalinga cultural performers, Teatro Publiko, Chorale Society, SMU Band, and the Marian dance troupe.
More so, the official student publication of SMU, The MARIAN, was tapped to document the ritual and produce a documentary featuring the Ayangan culture bearers that shall materialize as an instructional output for the course subject Philippine Indigenous Communities (GPIC), which became part of SMU’s curriculum last academic year.
With the theme “Indigenous Peoples and AI: Defending Rights and Shaping Futures,” the ritual is one of the month-long activities conducted by SMU through the Community Engagement and Indigenous Peoples Studies Center, focusing on community development initiatives and programs that underscore cultural appreciation, understanding, and protection.
SDG 10 – Reduced Inequalities
SDG 17 – Partnership for the Goals
Written by: Marielle Camonayan, CEIPSC Staff
Photos by: Marielle Camonayan, CEIPSC Staff
