CULTURAL VIGNETTE : A tale on the Traditional Costume of the Isneg Tribe of Apayao Province in the Philippines
"Most people think Time is like a river that flows swift and sure in one direction. They are wrong. Sit down and I will tell you a tale like none that you have ever heard." ~Yuri Lowenthal Long ago, in the northernly end of the Cordillera central mountains, lies a province named Apayao. Here, a mighty river, savagely rough and deep, courses through steep mountain gorges down to the valleys and plains, straight to the Philippine Sea. This river, so blue in the mid-morning sun, is the life force for a tribe in Apayao called ISNEG. The Isnegs lived isolated in these expansive mountains with stunning scenery, adorned with small hills and steep cliffs along both sides of the river. A labyrinth of valleys and foothills, embraced by tropical forests and Savanna grass, led them to their paradise. To reach this haven, they navigated for hours on personalized bamboo rafts or small boats, then traversed long trails to their homes. The people cherished their l...