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n a masterly study Willy Henry

Scott classifies the Cordillera

houses into the northern

andsouthern strains. Thenorthern is exemplified in the

Isneg and Lower Kalinga house,

and the southern, in the Ifugao,

Ibaloi, Kankanai, and Bontoc

houses. The octagonal Kalinga

house is a combination of both

strainsThe northern style is characterized by a gable roof,

sometimes with bowed rafters; a three-section, two-level, reedmatfloor; and two sets of posts, one; floor-bearing and the other, roof-bearing. The space below the floor is not used.

The common features of the southern strain are a steeppyramidal or hip roof; a house cage, which among the Ifugao,

Kankanai, and Ibaloi is the living area, and among the Bontoc andSagada, a granary; and the house cage support consisting of fourposts carrying two girders, in turn carrying three beams or joists.The space below the floor is used. Except in the Ibaloi style, thehouse has no windows. The prototype of the southern strain is theIfugao haouse, which probably developed from a granary. This isapparent from the use of stilts and rat guards, features of granaryconstructions.


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The Kalinga octagonal house combines four posts-two girders-three joistssupport of the southern strain with thefloor and roof construction of thenorthern strain. The space under thefloor is not used.

Igorot houses religiously employpost and-lintel construction to theexclusion of diagonal bracing even inthe roof frame. Roof supports consist ofking posts, and queen posts in somecases, resting on beams and stabilized

by horizontal straining members

House size and structural design the latter limited to short spans and insome cases multiple supportsappear to result partly from the custom of cutting

timer in the forest to sizes that could be easily carried by men.

The interior design of both northern and southern strain houses appearsas an attempt, conscious or otherwise, to visually expand the one-room space bymeans of levels and defined sections. The Ifugao house has a peripheral shelf atwaist height. The Mayoyao and Kankanai houses have a low platform around thefloor, or in fact, a two-level floor. The Kalinga and Isneg houses have lateralplatforms which are used as head-rests or pillows and which provide space forstorage. Platforms wide enough for sleeping create a play of levels in the Sagadahouse. In the Bontoc house, levels and clearly defined sections exemplify both apractical and ritual organization of space. In spite of its minimal area, the interior

of the Igorot house is, like the far larger houses in the lowlands, a spacesurrounded by space.

RICH HOUSE/ POOR HOUSE

Even before Christian lowlandersencroached on their lands, the Cordillerapeople were alreadydivided by class.Some families had plenty of Riceland,enjoyed full granaries, and hosted feastswhere their many guests ate and drankfor several days at their expense. Otherfamilies had limited land, had little tostore, and never knew where their nextmeal would come from. In between thesetwo extremes were those who, thoughnot wealthy, were not destitute either.These extremes in social class are


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reflected in house types.

The poor mans dwelling, among the Ifugao, is called the abong, while thedwelling of the more fortunate, the bale. Barton says that the former does nothave uniform dimensions, is built of poorer materials, is but slightly raised from

the ground, has not rat fenders on its posts, rarely has a pyramidal roof, and hasbut one door. The abongs walls do not slope outward from below, as in a bin,rather they stand perpendicular to the ground. Not only does the poor mansdwelling have less rice to store, it is also less protected from rats.

Some bale dwellers are very wealthy. They commission carved posts intheir interiors, flutings on their exteriors and underneath their roof eaves, a publicstatus marker: the hagabi . The opposite ends of this carved wooden long seathave animal heads. Some claim the animal is a carabao or a pig, others say it is a

goat. Whatever the heads stand for, the several days or feasting and drinkingbefore and after the hagabisinstallation plus the months of labor that went intoits making will forever remind everyone of its owners preeminence.

Wealthy Bontoc live in the fay-u,the poor in the katyufong. The fay- u holds a granary at its center and haswalls less than a meter hight at the frontand back, as though to openly boast ofits resources. A display of carabaohorns signifies bravery in battle and the

owners wealth. In stark contrast,the katyufong, according to Jenks, hasonly a single story structure built on theground with the earth as its floor, hasmud walls that completely enclose it,and has no granary to show off.

Among the Kankanai, the binangiyanis for the prosperous, whilethe ap aand the allao are for the less fortunate. One type of apa is more simplybuilt than the binangiyan, according to Bello. Like the poor Ifugaos dwelling, thewalls are perpendicular to the ground, while the four main posts stand directly at

the corner, thus making it easier for the rats to scurry up. Instead of ine narra;split bamboo and runo sticks make-up the floor, while runo sticks and woodenboards comprise the walls. Though conical, as in thebinangiyan, the roof is lowerand extends cloer to the ground. Rather unique is the allao, for its floor isrectangular and its roof a gable. Since the roof slopes down beyond the floor, itslong sides may dispense with walls. The roof has no space for an attic, white thefloor, being low, needs not stairway. Poor or young families intending to save fora binangiyan, live in an ap a; the aged and the widowed in the allao.


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he Bontoc have large, compact settlements, built among rice terraces anddivided into wards called ato,each at ohas 15 to 50 houses and acommunal center consisting ofthe chap-ay, a circular open space

paved with flat stones; the fawl , a housewhere old men gather , andthe pabafunan, a common dormitory foryoung men and boys in theiradolescence. Corresponding tothe pabafunanis theolog , the commondormitory for girls, where young menvisit them during courtship and trialmarriage.

The Bontoc house, fayu, is about

3.50 m. in frontage and 4.50 m. the roof is hipped with the ridge parallel to thefront. It projects about 1.20 m. beyond the sidings of the ground floor that ends at1.20 to 1.50 m. above the ground. The basic form is like that of the Ifugao house,except that the house cage serves as a granary, fal ig, and the living quarters areon ground level. The granary, resting on three-joists-on-two girders-on-four-posts, is about 1.50 m. above the ground and about 2.00 m. square. As in theIfugao house, the walls of the house cage support the roof. The extent of the roofnecessitates additional posts, one at each corner to receive the end of eachdiagonal rafter. Each outer post is provided with a rat guard directly under therafter.

The ground floor is enclosed at the front and sides by horizontal woodenboards up to waist height, lashed to the outer posts, and at the rear by a stonewall of the same height, leaving a continuous opening from waist to head level,an opening well protected by eaves.

Through the doorway one enters the ground floor called cha-la-nanwhichincludes the space under the granary. To the left of the entrance a mortar forhusking rice is embedded in a square sunken area, measuring about 1.50 m.square. Beyond this area, between the two left posts of the granary and bounded

at the rear by a low interior wall, is an area containing a fireplace and a shelfalong the outer wall for jars. On the right side of the entrance, a platform about.30 m. high and 3.60 m. long and 1.20 m. wide extends from the front wall to therear interior wall. On this platform sit baskets and implements, underneath arechicken cages.


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he Chico riveror the Rio Chico de Cagayan, so named to distinguishit from the Rio Grande de Cagayanruns north-northeast into the Kalingaregion from Bontoc, and past Lubuagas,

swings eastward to the Cagayan Valley.Flanked by ridges rising 1,500 to 2,000meters, the Chico divides Kalinga intothree sections and its people into threemajor groups. A north-south ridge eastof the Chico divides Southern Kalingafrom Eastern Kalinga. The Pacil Riverrunning from the southwest, and theeastern course of the Chico divideNorthern Kalinga from Southern andEastern Kalinga. The settlements are

about 500 to 700 meters above sea level.Natives refer also to Upper Kalinga andLower Kalinga, the former being the region on the heights along the Chico, andthe latter being the area including Balbalan, Pinukpuk, Tabuk and Conner.

The Northern Kalinga, who are swidden farmers, live in scattered hamletswith six to 30 houses. A village consists of a nuclear group of a dozen houses,near each other arranged in two rows, and houses scattered singly or in twosand threes near the swiddens. Preferred sites are leveled sections of slopes orpockets which have an unobstructed view of the surroundings.

The Southern Kalinga, who farm on both wet terraces and swiddens, havetown-like settlements, some with up to 200 houses, as well as small villages. Inlarge settlements houses are built close to each other and are sometimesgrouped around open spaces. Early in this century Kalinga villages wereprotected by bamboo stockades, and on the trails leading to them were warning

devices, deadfalls with heavy logs, orpits with sharpened stakes at thebottom.

The octagonal housecalled binayonorf inaryonis found in

Upper Kalinga, in settlements along theChico River. It is not, however, the onlyhouse type in the region. Rectangularhouses are just as common, if not morecommon. It has been suggested that theoctagonal houses were houses of therich. This, however, may be disputed. Ithas also been suggested that the


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octagonal house is the older type. This has yet to be verified. An account writtenin 1887 by Alexander Schadenberg mentions the octagonaland even roundhouses of the Guinaanes, the name given to the inhabitants of the region aroundpresent-day Lubuagan. The scholarly eye of the German traveler noted thathouses were painted on the outside with round designs or figures, representing

men and women with strongly marked genital parts. Whether this was traditionaldecoration or juvenile graffiti not cleaned up by time is open to question.

The exterior of the octagonal house does not have the architectural impactof other Cordillera houses, since its features are not strongly defined. Thethatched, hipped roof is not high and steep, and the eaves form a rough edgedcircle. The octagonal form is not clearly pronounced in the wooden and bamboowalls. The octagonal house is about 6.00 m. long and 5.20 m. wide. The floor ofthe living quarters is 1.20 m. above the ground. The height from the ground to theroof ridge is about 4.50 m. Unlike in the Cordillera houses previously described,the roof ridge is parallel to the sides.

The visitor enters the housethrough a ladder leading to a narrowplatform on the front wall. A low dooropens to the platform. Beside the ladder,on the left wall diagonal to the front wall,a door at ground level opens into a smallground level working space within thehouse. Opposite the front door, on theback wall is another door. The wallsfrom floor level to eaves are of wooden

boards placed vertically. From groundlevel to floor level, the walls are ofplaited bambooorsawali . Logs are piledagainst the lower section of the wall.

The interior of the octagonalhouse is remarkable for its patialconcept and organization. The floor isdivided into three parallel sectionsrunning front to back, the central portion being lower than the sides. The eightsides are more clearly defined inside the house than outside because of theexposed structural frame of walls and roof. The roofs inner configurationdominates the interior space. In the Cordillera houses previously described, a loftor granary conceals the roof from the living space. The Kalinga roofs vault andoctagonal plan create a sense of expansion within the interior. The floor,consisting of reed mats that can be rolled up, gives the interior a play of textures.

The Kalinga houses unique form is made possible by 12 short posts: four inner

posts marking a square at the center and eight outer ones forming an octagon.


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Girders and joists passing over these posts support the floor laths, while

rabbeted beams on the eight outer posts receive the wall boards. Four tall posts

are mortised on to intersections of the beams and joists. They carry two

crossbeams, each of which supports a pair of queen posts. The crossbeams that

connect the tops of the queen posts allow rafters to rise in a slight curve over the

roof beams to end at three ridgepoles.

To the left, as one enters the house, and towards the rear, is the fireplaceslightly raised above floor level.

The Kalinga house is not anequilateral octagon, the four diagonalwalls being shorter than the front, backand side walls. The floor is not aperfect octagon, since the corners arenot all floored over. At one side of the

entrance a large portion of the floor iseliminated to provide a working spacethat reaches from ground level to roofheight. As one sits inside theKalinga binayonthe walls and roofseems to form a dome-like and evenspherical space, which suggestsexpansion rather than enclosure.

The traditional house in Lower Kalinga is about 6.00 m. long, 5.00 m. wideand 5.75 m. high from ground to roof ridge. The roof is gabled and its ridge is

parallel to the sides of the house. Houses are generally located near the river,and the roof ridge, which marks the axis of the house, does not follow thedownstream flow of the river, but rather lies crosswise, crossing it, as it were,like a dam, in order to prevent misfortune. The roof, of moderate pitch, may beof thatch or bamboo. The floor rises about 1.50 m. above ground level; a ladderconnects it to the ground. The walls from ground to floor level are ofhorizontally laid bamboo poles, and from floor to eaves level are of vertically setwooden boards. In front and at the back, the wooden walls end at height ofabout 2.50 m., and from there on to the roof ridge horizontally laid bamboo slatscover the gables.

The floor consists of a wide middle section, dattagon, and two narrowslightly elevated side sections,s ip i , each about 1.20 m. wide. It is basically abamboo mat woven with rattan strips and laid on laths. At the middle sectionthe bamboo strips of the mat run crosswise; at the side sections, lengthwise,thus further defining the levels and spaces. Front door and back door do notface each other directly. Windows open at opposite ends of the house diagonalto each other. Or they may be at both ends of the same s ip i . As in the UpperKalinga house, the roofs inner configuration is a prominent feature of the


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interior space.

On the left at the rear of the room is the fireplace, bounded by sills. Riceis stored on the s ip i beside the fireplace, and water jars on the s ip i opposite it.Clothes are kept in rattan boxes on the side floors.

Four inner posts forming a square or rectangle constitute the housescore support. The posts are partly sunk into the ground. They should be ofchest or abdomen heightor above a mans height but should never coincidewith eye or mouth level. With the posts at eye level, evil spirits can look into thehouse and cause misfortune; at mouth level, all the familys savings will beeaten up. Opposite each inner post, and at each corner of the house is an outerpost, tall enough to support the roof. These eight outer posts stand on stones.Their bottom ends may fork to rest like clamps on partly embedded stones. Thefloor is a bamboo mat which can be rolled up and taken to the river for washing.

Outside the eight outer posts a rabbeted still receives the vertical wallboards. Beams crossingthe tops of the outer postssecure the upper ends ofthese boards.

On the sills thatdefine the lower centralsection of the middle floorstand posts, each one setaround 40 cm. from the

front or back wall boards.A transverse beamconnects each pair of suchposts and carries a taperedking post. These kingposts pierce a horizontalbrace and support theinner roof ridge. Raftersrun over the beams to this inner roof ridge,oton . Purlins on the rafters receivearuno sheath woven with rattan, and over which thatch is laid. Where thatch isused, rafters may be curved or bowed.

Another kind of roof is made of bamboo. Halved bamboo is laid one overthe other in concave-convex fashion. In the k in impal style of roofing, severallayers of bamboo are used; the pieces are shorter at the eaves, becominglonger towards the center of the slope, then becoming shorter again towardsthe ridge. In the t inalob style, only two layers of bamboo are used. The roofridge has a thatch cover, bubong .


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Isneg

n the rugged landscape of the

Cordillera, Apayao is the only region thathas a navigable river, the Apayao, after

hich the region is named. Thus, among

the Cordillera people, only the Isneg are

boatmen and boat builders. The Isneg

boat, baranayorbankl, consists mainly of

three planks; a bottom plank, which tapers

at both ends, and two side planks, which

are curved to receive the bottom plank.

House design appears to have been

influenced by boat design. The roof of the

Isneg house suggests an inverted hull, andthe floor joists, which are visible outside,

suggest the profile of a boat. The Isneg

house is about 8.00 m. long, 4.00 m. wide,

and 5.50 m. high from ground lefel to the

roof ridge.

The binuron house rests on a total of 15 posts, which are visible, the floor being

about 1.20 m. above the ground. The slanting wooden walls on the sides are about 1.50 m.

high from floor to eaves. The main section of the house has a gable roof and is about 6.50

m. long.

Attached to one end is an annex, tarakip, as wide as the house and extending 1.50m. from it. Its floor is slightly higher than that of the main section, but its roof is lower,

sloping downward from the base of the

gable.

The posts, girders, joists and walls

are of wood; the roof is of thatch or

bamboo. Most Cordillera houses have

pyramidal or hip roofs; the Isneg house,

like the Lower Kalinga house, has a gable

roof. Some Isneg houses have annexes at

both ends.

A ladder leads to a door on one endof the side wall, actually the front. In some

houses the entrance opens at the gable and

under the protection of a lean-to roof.

Inside the house the space expands because

the walls slant outward. No ceiling hides the roofs woodwork. The space immediately

visible within corresponds completely with the external form of the house. The floor,

made of reeds, seems transparent, as light filters through, suffusing the house with a


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gentle glow. The floor is a space surrounded by space. The main

section, datag or xassaran, is surrounded on three sides by narrow, slightly raised

platform, tamuyon, and at the remaining end by the slightly raised floor of the annex.

To make windows, three or four of the side walls vertical planks are removed.

Indeed walls are constructed in such a way that al the planks can be taken out, thereby

converting the house into a roofed platform for festive occasions.The following is a summary of Morice Vanoverberghs description of a typical

house:

Of the 15 posts of the Isneg house, eight sinit or inner posts support the floor six

inner posts for the main section of the house, and two additional ones for the annex. Six

other posts, the adixi, carry the roof and one, the atobtobo, supports one end of the ridge

pole.

The six inner sinit posts, there on each side, support the girders running lengthwise.

Laths are mortised onto 11 floor joists

hich run crosswise across the girders. As

among the Kalinga, mats made of reeds

form the floor and can be rolled up andashed. The floor frame is so constructed

that it accommodates the lateral platform

and allows wallboards to be removed.

The frame actually consists of two:

an inner one and an outer one, running

parallel to and mortised one to the other

but enclosing the roof-bearing posts. They

receive both the floor platforms and the

lower ends of the wallboards. An upper

horizontal frame mortised to the

crossbeams and girders grips the boards

upper ends.

The ridge-pole at the roof rests on a

variety of posts. A special post, the atobtobo, rises outside the house wall; an ensemble

consisting of a carved king post and two queen posts, rides a central crossbeam. Purlins

running horizontally, three on each side of the roof, touch the ends of the straining

beams. Across the purlins pass rafters, thin pliable boards and rattan stems. They are

laid alternately from the ridgepole to the wall beams in akind of pointer arch. A reed

sheath covering the rafters and rattan stems serves as a base for the thatch.

Along the gable edges thick boards are mortised on to the beam and purlin ends.

Where theatobtobo post stands, two beams are attached to these gable boards: one at thebottom, the other halfway to the roof ridge. Both beams are rabbeted to receive wall

boards, but the space above the upper gable beam is left open.

At the other end of the house, where the annex is attached, cogon grass pressed

between a pair of frames made of reeds covers the gables upper half. The annexs lean-to

roof covers the lower half.

In some areas, the roof covering consists of half-sections of bamboo laid on like

shingles. The roof is quite thick, having as many as 15 to 20 rows of bamboo sections with


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ide overlaps. A narrow, flat roof of bamboo covers the roof ridge.

Inside the house, next to the post

opposite the door a square hearth framed

by four sills welcomes the visitor.

There seems to be no standard

orientation for houses. Entrances may faceonce another or face the same direction or

any of the cardinal points. Granaries are

located near the houses or outside the

clearing. Since the Isneg are swidden

farmers and are often away from the

village for prolonged periods, small

temporary huts are built in their work sites.

Isneg hamlets, which are scattered a

few kilometers apart, have anywhere from three to 12 houses, and are located along

aterways, elevated areas inside the bend of a river being preferred. One comes upon an

Isneg village after traveling through groves and forests and across streams and stretchesof quiet landscape. A village may consist of one cluster of houses or several small clusters.

Formerly Isneg villages were surrounded by bamboo stockades or palisades of tree fern

trunks. At present the houses are built in a clearing, in more or less circular or elliptical

fashion, and surrounded by a fence. At the edge of the clearing are coffee, cacao and

coconut trees, and beyond, wild grass, bushes and ferns.

Emphasizing the age-old guidelines in the Planning of a house forthe Filipino Designers

In Cordillera

Introduction:

The

The experienced Filipino architect is familiar with the common folkbeliefs and usually follows them or applies these age-old guidelines

in the planning of one's dream house.

Many of these beliefs are based on sound planning practices that do

not have to be overly emphasized. Like, for example, orienting thebuilding to take in the healthful effects of the rays of the morning

sun by having wide windows facing the rising sun to take in thecleansing rays of sunlight during daybreak as well as to admit the

prevailing southeast breezes to cool your house.


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post in the middle of a room. It is said to bring misfortune to the

family. This belief is also common in Tagalog areas and it is said thatposts situated this way augur a "heavily laden" life (mabigat ang

kabuhayan). The Yakans do not use crooked wooden posts especiallythe ones with knotholes in them because they are said to symbolize

death. In the older communities of Bayambang, Pangasinan, it iscommonly believed that termites (anay) will not enter the house if

the bottoms of all wooden posts are first charred. Informed mastercarpenters, however, suggest that these bottoms not just be charredbut tarred as well. Others swear by the potency of rock saltsprinkled generously in all footing excavations as preventive

measures againstanayinfestation.

Old people also cautions against cutting old posts for reuse so as not

to lose one's wealth.

Stairs

An orientation towards the east is also required for stairs. Ilocanosposition their stairs so that they rise with the morning sun. To them,

if it were the other way around, meant turning one's back on fate.But builders in Pandi, Bulacan, just like many typical Filipinos,

believe that a stairway facing east is considered bad luck because,

they say, anything facing the early sun dries up ahead of all others,and in the same token, wealth taken into the house will dry up much

faster.

If there is no way one can make the stairs face east, at least makethem face any nearby mountain. If one's lot abuts a river, position

the stairs in a way that they are facing upstream. This is so in orderthat good luck from the house would never be washed away with the

river's flow. In the same way, if the proposed house is beside thesea, or if one is building a beach house, plan the stairs in such a way

that they run parallel with the shore. If the stairs are perpendicular

to the shoreline, luck may flow in but also flow out with the tides.

Also, it is not advised to place a large window in the wall directlyfacing the stairs so that good fortune will not easily go out that

window.

Most Western countries consider it bad luck to walk under a ladder.

Actually, this can be taken more as a safety precaution than asuperstition. Locally, one should not make a passageway any area

under the stairs. Tagalogs never use the space beneath the stairs as


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a sleeping quarters. The underside of wooden stairs of Ilonggo

houses are usually completed covered not because of peeping Tomsbut because the Old folks say so. For business establishments,

especially the small ones, the cashier or the place where money iskept should not be located under the staircase. In homes, neither

should rice be kept there because it translates to treading on thegrace of God whenever one goes up or down the stairs.

When planning a structure with two or more storeys, the stairway

should not be positioned at the center of the structure so as not todivide the building into two equal parts.

It is believed that the dried umbilical cord of a son or daughter ofthe house owner inserted in the staircase will strongly bind the

stringer with its supporting girder.

Oro, Plata, Mata

There are guidelines, too, governing the number of steps in one's

stairs. Starting with the first landing, count the steps using thewords oro(gold),plata (silver), and mata(death). The perfect last

step should be oro. Ending upplatais not too bad either but,understandably, do not ever end up with mata. This ruling is strictly

observed especially if it involves the first steps going into the house.If your home has a slight elevation, choose four steps but never

three.

This building belief is not limited to stairs alone. It also applies to

walkways that are made of individual flagstones or the popularcircular or square slabs of pebbled concrete or even an entireconcrete walkway or ramp that is divided into sections by linesdrawn onto the pavement itself, especially if they lead to the main

entrance of the house.

The Yakans of Mindanao, however, believe in odd numbering ofsteps. They also require an odd number of bedrooms. Chinese

Filipinos, on the other hand, count their steps by fours.

Doors

It is advised that doors should not face each other. The people in the

north associates this with the easy passage of a coffin through twodoors that directly face each other. Most regions in the country also

avoid positioning the main gate of the lot opposite the main entrance


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of the house itself. In Sta. Maria and San Miguel, Bulacan, however,

wide doors facing each other are considered lucky, especially if theylead to the terrace or garden. One's door also should not directly

face one's neighbor's to avoid future conflicts with the saidhouseholds and to avoid wrestling with each other for the

possession of the luck that passes in front of both your houses.

Living Rooms

Sunken rooms, like basements are looked at as pockets of caves

where evil spirits can hide. It is balanced off only when an exit lowerthan the said room is provided. Some Ilocanos do not want

basements altogether because of the belief that only coffins shouldbe found under the ground. Old folks of Sta. Maria, Bulacan advise

that the floors of the living and dining rooms must be of the samelevel. They say the imaginary "ball of fortune" must be able to freelyroll across both floors. Overly ornate living and dining room ceilings,especially those with cornices, moldings, and other superficial

decorations are avoided as it tends to make the ceiling look like acoffin. Even the "mansard" or flat type of roof invented at the turn of

the century are avoided as it reminds people of a coffin.

Beds and Bedrooms

It is advised that one must plan the doors of one's bedrooms in such

a way that when it is opened, one would face neither the foot nor

head of the bed. There should always be ample space between thedoor and the bed itself. Position the bed such that the headboarddoes not rest against a window opening. Neither should you put any

bed under a cross beam, regardless of whether the beam is of wood

or concrete, and position the bed so that the occupant will not belying perpendicular to the beam. Overly strict homeowners do not

have exposed beams at all even if these are veneered with differentmaterials.

For houses with second floors, it should be observed that no

drainage pipe runs inside or under the floor where the bed islocated. Drainage pipes contain unclean fluids associated with bad

energies which may affect the good spirits of the people sleepingover these pipes.

Do not place bedrooms in the basement portion of the house. It isalways preferred (luck-wise) that the bedroom floor is higher than


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the living room. Non-sleeping rooms like library, den, foyer, storage,

etc. can be at a lower level than that of the living room.

Bright Dining Rooms

As anyone who knows Filipino cuisine, Pampangos love to cook (andeat), so most of their dining rooms are situated in the sunniest and

brightest locations of the house. Ilocanos, on the other hand, prefer

subdued lighting because they consider eating a solemn occasion.


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Introduction

Background of the Study

Cordillera, situated on the northern part of the Philippines one of the region that had not beencolonize by the Spaniards........this leads to the preservation of a very rich culture and beliefs ofthe indigenous people.

Nowadays Cordilleran Culture and beliefs are slowly being forgotten due to fast modernization of

our generation that their old way of living, their traditional beliefs such as superstitious beliefs ontheir environment and most likely building their own houses had been affected.

Nowadays, Most of the Highlanders are setting down to the lowland to seeking for a greenerPasteur in which we cannot avoid.

This implies a necessity of emphasizing the forgotten culture and beliefs to the community in

cordillera.

Culture and beliefs plays a very important role to our society because this symbolizes ethnic

differences of each tribe in the entire region, that

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