IJCH 2016 Vol.2(4): 132-137 ISSN: 2382-6177
doi: 10.18178/ijch.2016.2.4.051

Sacred Economics: Sharing in the Higa-onon Tribe of Iligan City, Philippines

Artchil C. Daug
Abstract—The Higa-onon tribe is one of the major indigenous groups in Iligan City, in Northern Mindanao in the Philippine Islands. At present, they continue to live as farmers and are trying to keep their tradition alive. In their development as a tribe, they were able to develop moral and ethical concepts that became the backbone of their culture. This study examines these concepts and, through interviews, community immersion and participant observation, argues that the Higa-onon concepts of Ginagawa, Gantangan and Batasan Adansil came as a product of the kind of farming tradition they were able to develop. Oral narratives and accounts of the tradition tribal elders called the Baylan show that there is a strong link between these concepts and how they were derived from the economic activities of the Higa-onon. Furthermore, basing from the Higa-onon experience, a change in paradigm to bring sacredness to the current prevailing capitalist paradigm may require a change in the system itself; one that is based on sacred valuations and not of the market system.

Index Terms—Higa-onon, Batasan Adansil, Gantangan, Iligan city.

A. C. Daug is with the Department of History of MSU-IIT. He is also with the Graduate Anthropology Program of the University of San Carlos in Cebu City, the Philippine Islands, Philippine (e-mail: artchildaug@gmail.com).

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Cite: Artchil C. Daug, "Sacred Economics: Sharing in the Higa-onon Tribe of Iligan City, Philippines," International Journal of Culture and History vol. 2, no. 4, pp. 132-137, 2016.

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