Hello itinerants all over the world and steemit community! Let me share to you an experience of a lifetime. I got the hang of its tradition and culture. Baguio is best known as a gateway to rice terraces built by the Ifugao Tribe more than thousand years ago. The term basically came from the word "i-pugao" which means inhabitants of the known earth For a long time, the true locals of the town are actually the Igorots. They can be seen anywhere in Mountain View part of Baguio City. The tribe is famous for their unique and traditional dress made with a vivid fabrics and colorful headdresses.

Just right at the Botanical Garden of Baguio, there are group of Igorots who are actually camera ready. Igorot means "mountain people". They let tourist to have picture with them with a fee. It depends on you how much you are gonna give them. Seeing life in a mountain province like Baguio is truly inspiring knowing that they have valued and preserved their culture, tradition and identity.

The Igorots are said to be divided into subgroups. The group which lives in the South, Central and Western areas are known to be the larger group. And those who live somewhere east and north are the smaller group. In the modern world, most people are not aware of the different tribes of the people of Cordillera or known generally known as "Igorots". As the word "igorot" seems to sound offensive for the people of Cordillera, they have been debating which word is politically appropriate to use to refer them. Some are actually just fine being called as "igorots" in general but some wants to be called on their specific tribal names. Just everyone knows, the word "igorot" is a loan word from Spain which was used by Spanish people to refer the savages people in the mountain. When in fact, the Spanish colony wasn't really able to colonize the tribes and doesn't have any influence to their culture and tradition.

They mostly make a living by farming and cultivating the natural resources. Nowadays, some people have learned to adapt the life in the City. Some of them are seeking for better opportunity by going down the mountain, seek for jobs and adapt its way of living. It's just really sad to know that because ignorance and lack of knowledge about the culture and tradition of Igorot tribes, people tend to have misconceptions, misjudgments and discrimination towards them. Even me when I was little, had experienced bullying and called with so many perojative words including "igorot". The word is used by some people to refer someone who has dark complexion, thick curly hair with broad shoulders and bigger legs. BECAUSE OF LITTLE KNOWLEDGE, DISCRIMINATION EXISTS.

That's basically it, I hope people would fathom that the Philippines is actually blessed to have these magnificent ethnic groups for they are intrinsic unique features of the country which maintains and preserves the Filipino Heritage and gives us an impression as a democratic nation. NO MATTER WHICH TRIBE YOU BELONG, WE ARE JUST ONE! WE ARE ALL THE FORMIDABLE TREASURE OF THE PHILIPPINE CULTURE!

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