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The Banaue Rice Terraces ( fil, Hagdan-hagdang Palayan ng Banawe) are
terrace Terrace may refer to: Landforms and construction * Fluvial terrace, a natural, flat surface that borders and lies above the floodplain of a stream or river * Terrace, a street suffix * Terrace, the portion of a lot between the public sidewalk ...
s that were carved into the mountains of
Banaue Banaue (or alternatively spelled as Banawe), officially the Municipality of Banaue is a 4th class municipality in the province of Ifugao, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 20,652 people. It is widely known as t ...
,
Ifugao Ifugao, officially the Province of Ifugao ( ilo, Probinsia ti Ifugao; tl, Lalawigan ng Ifugao), is a landlocked province of the Philippines in the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon. Its capital is Lagawe and it borders Benguet to the ...
, in the Philippines, by the ancestors of the
Igorot people The indigenous peoples of the Cordillera Mountain Range of northern Luzon, Philippines are often referred to using the exonym Igorot people, or more recently, as the Cordilleran peoples. There are nine main ethnolinguistic groups whose domains ...
. The terraces are occasionally called the "
Eighth Wonder of the World Eighth Wonder of the World is an unofficial title sometimes given to new buildings, structures, projects, designs or even people that are deemed to be comparable to the seven Wonders of the World. Candidates for the Eighth Wonder of the World ...
". It is commonly thought that the terraces were built with minimal equipment, largely by hand. The terraces are located approximately above sea level. These are fed by an ancient irrigation system from the rainforests above the terraces. It is said that if the steps were put end to end, it would encircle half of the globe. Locals up to this day still plant rice and vegetables on the terraces, although more and more younger Ifugaos do not find farming appealing, often opting for the more lucrative hospitality industry generated by the terraces. The result is the gradual erosion of the characteristic "steps", which require constant reconstruction and care. In 2010, a further problem encountered was drought, with the terraces drying up completely in March of that year. Anthropologist Otley Beyer has estimated that the terraces are over 2000 years old, but several researchers dispute this and contend that they were built much later. Nevertheless, rice is an ancient ancestral crop of the Philippines, having been carried by Austronesian migrations into the islands since at least 1500 BCE (3500 years ago). Current threats to the terraces include the giant
earthworm An earthworm is a terrestrial invertebrate that belongs to the phylum Annelida. They exhibit a tube-within-a-tube body plan; they are externally segmented with corresponding internal segmentation; and they usually have setae on all segments. Th ...
s ("olang" in
Ifugao Ifugao, officially the Province of Ifugao ( ilo, Probinsia ti Ifugao; tl, Lalawigan ng Ifugao), is a landlocked province of the Philippines in the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon. Its capital is Lagawe and it borders Benguet to the ...
) of the genus ''
Pheretima ''Pheretima'' is a genus of earthworms found mostly in New Guinea and parts of Southeast Asia. Species belonging to the genus Pheretima have a clitellum, which is a band of glandular tissue present on segments 14 to 16. Individuals are hermaph ...
'' or ''Polypheretima elongata'' which are blamed for causing damage to the terraces, as well as rodents of the genus '' Chrotomis mindorensis'', and snails.


Cultural significance


Ifugao rice culture

The terraces are found in the province of Ifugao and the
Ifugao people The Ifugao people 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 pro ...
have been its caretakers. Ifugao culture revolves around rice, the Black Rice kalinayan, and the culture engenders an elaborate array of celebrations linked with agricultural rites from rice cultivation to rice consumption. The harvest season generally calls for thanksgiving feasts, while the concluding harvest with rites called ''tango'' or ''tungul'' (a day of rest) which entail a strict taboo on any agricultural work. ''Bayah'' (rice wine), rice cakes, and
betel nut The betel (''Piper betle'') is a vine of the family Piperaceae, which includes pepper and kava. The betel plant is native to Southeast Asia. It is an evergreen, dioecious perennial, with glossy heart-shaped leaves and white catkins. Betel pla ...
are also consumed as part of the festivities.'' World Heritage Sites and Schlessinger Media and '' The Ifugao people practice traditional farming spending most of their labour at their terraces and forest lands while occasionally tending to root crop cultivation. The Ifugaos have also been known to culture edible shells, fruit trees, and other vegetables which have been exhibited among Ifugaos for generations. The difficulty of planting kalinayan and other rice varieties with the soil type in these areas leads to the building of the rice terraces entailing construction of retaining walls with stones and rammed earth which are designed to draw water from a main irrigation canal above the terrace clusters. Indigenous rice terracing technologies have been identified with the Ifugao’s rice terraces such as their knowledge of water irrigation, stonework, earthwork and terrace maintenance. As their source of life and art, the rice terraces have sustained and shaped the lives of the community members.


Organic farming

In March 2009 the Ifugao rice terraces were declared free from genetically modified organisms (GMO). An event declaring this achievement was organized in Dianara Viewpoint in collaboration with local and municipal government, Greenpeace, and the Miss Earth Foundation.


Official heritage designation

The Banaue Rice Terraces refer to the cluster close to the Banaue
poblacion ''Poblacion'' (literally "town" or "settlement" in Spanish; ) is the common term used for the administrative center, central, downtown, old town or central business district area of a Philippine city or municipality, which may take up the a ...
as seen from the viewpoint. Contrary to popular belief perpetrated by its inclusion on the twenty peso banknote, the Banaue Rice Terraces are not a UNESCO World Heritage Site. They were not included in the UNESCO inscription Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras due to the presence of numerous modern structures, making it score low in the integrity criterion of UNESCO. The five clusters inscribed as part of the Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras are Batad, Bangaan, Hungduan, Mayoyao Central and Nagacadan. Batad and Bangaan are under the jurisdiction of the Municipality of Banaue but are not called the Banaue Rice Terraces. The Banaue Rice Terraces were declared by the Philippine government as a National Cultural Treasure under Ifugao Rice Terraces by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 260 in 1973.


Tourism

Another thriving economy in the Banaue Rice Terraces is tourism. The Tourism industry has developed a number of activities for visitors which may include traditional
sightseeing Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...
of the terraces and visits to the tribes at the foot of the terraces. A '' Mumbaki'' (traditional Ifugao witch doctor) is also recommended to visitors: these doctors can perform spiritual healing rituals. Domestic tourism however has gone down over the past few years. A contributing factor to this is the treatment of domestic tourists by the local guides in the area where it has been reported that local guides are more willing to entertain foreign visitors. The Batad Environmental Tour Guides Association (BETGA) in association with the Batad Baranguay authorities are currently laying a concrete track down from the Batad Saddle to the village proper. The park is featured on the reverse side of the New Design series one thousand peso note printed from 1991 to 2012 as well as the reverse side of the New Generation Currency twenty peso note that was printed from 2010 to 2021.


Other notable rice terraces in Ifugao

Aside from the Banaue Rice terraces there are 4 other similar terraces: the Batad Rice Terraces, Mayoyao Rice Terraces, Hapao Rice Terraces, and Kiangan Rice Terraces. Soil types in this mountainous province are similar to that used to fabricate clay pots or clay jars (also used in construction by firing clay). The Batad Rice Terraces are located in Barangay Batad in Banaue, these terraces resemble an amphitheatre. The Mayoyao Rice Terraces are for a rice variety called "tinawon", a rare type of organic rice which is grown in red and white varieties in these terraces. The Hapao Rice Terraces are located in Hungduan and are stone-walled from Sagada rock formation and date back to 650 AD. The Kiangan Rice Terraces are in Banaue, on which are grown the rice varieties of nagacadan and julungan.


See also

* Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras *
Tourism in the Philippines Tourism is an important sector for Philippine economy. The travel and tourism industry contributed 5.2%% to the country's GDP in 2021; this was lower than the 12.7% recorded in 2019 prior to the COVID-19 lockdowns. The country is known for ha ...


References


External links

*
Ifugao Archaeological ProjectBanaue Rice Terraces informationThe seed keepers' treasure (Rice Today, International Rice Research Institute)Bird's Eye View of an Enduring Rice Culture
{{Philippine Registry of Cultural Property Agricultural terraces Geography of Ifugao Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks National Cultural Treasures of the Philippines Tourist attractions in Ifugao Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems