Both people who live in the mountains and people who stay on the lowlands enjoy rice as their main food. Growing rice, however is much more difficult in the mountains, especially in the craggy hills of Northern Luzon.
Planting and Harvesting Rice
People living in the mountains, such as the Ifugao, have very little land for raising crops, so they need to plant and harvest twice a year.
The chinacon (first crop) is grown from January to July, and the pak ang (second crop) is grown from August to December.
Mountain people face many difficulties cultivating rice, and they believe they need special help from the supernatural to raise successful crops. For the mountain people, giving thanks for a successful rice harvest is a great time to celebrate.
Cañao
Cañao are prestige feasts people use as occaions to celebrate. Cañao must reflect the giver’s status in the community.
Status in a community is measured by the number of livestock a family owns and the size of its rice fields. Wealthy Bontocs, Ifugaos and Kalingas traditionally offer this feast, at least once a year, to give thanks for a bountiful harvest.
During a cañao, people dance, eat, and drink rice wine day and night.
Appey
Bontocs celebrate Appey to give thanks for a successful rice harvest. Appey lasts three days and contains both Christian and pagan influences. In seeking a fruitful harvest, some Bontoc farming families set up small wooden crosses, which have been blessed by priests, in their fields and offer prayers. Other families prefer to set up paloke, the plant sacred to the pagad god Lumawig.
Appey celebrants feast on chicken and pork.
