The ifugao tribe are the ethnic group inhabiting Ifugao Province. They reside in the municipalities of Lagawe (capital of Ifugao), Aguinaldo, Alfonso Lista, Asipulo, Banaue, Hingyon, Hungduan, Kiangan, Lamut, Mayoyao, and Tinoc. The province is one of the smallest provinces in the Philippines with an area of only 251,778 hectares, or about 0.8% of the total Philippine land area. As of 1995, the population of the Ifugaos was counted to be 131,635. Although the majority of them are still in Ifugao province, some of them have moved to Baguio, where they work as woodcarvers, and to other parts of the Cordillera Region. The term “Ifugao” is derived from “ipugo” which means “earth people”, “mortals” or “humans”, as distinguished from spirits and deities. It also means “from the hill”, as pugo means hill. The term Igorot or Ygolote was the term used by Spanish conquerors for mountain people. The Ifugaos, however, prefer the name Ifugao.
Henry Otley Beyer
Henry Otley Beyer is a prominent figure in Ifugao History, he believed that the ifugao people originated from southern china around 2,000 years ago. According to his theory, they embarked embarked on a remarkable journey, migrating from Lingayen Gulf and the west coast of Northern Luzon before eventually settling in the Agno and Kayapa river valleys and, subsequently, the ifugao valleys. This said migration was driven by a quest for fertile land and a desire to live in harmony with nature, a characteristic deeply embedded in their culture.
Manuel Dulawan
Another theory, according to Manuel Dulawan the Ifugao people originated from western Mountain Province. This theory draws from striking similarities with the Kankanaey language, architecture, clothing manufacturing, design, and the many names and places that have their roots in this region, featuring prominently in ifugao myths and songs.
Wigan and Bugan Theory
According to Ifugao mythology, Wigan and Bugan are the ancestors of the ifugaos who had lived in a village called Kiyyangan (now Kiangan) They are believed to be children of deities in Kabunyan or the Skyworld. By some force of circumstance and with the consent of their father, Wigan and Bugan married each other and went to live in Daya or the Western world where they begot two boys and three girls. Years after, their descendants inhabited the Ifugao world. After the occurrence of a great flood, it is believed that only Kabigat and his sister Bugan survived. Eventually, they married each other and settled in Kiyyangan where they had many children.