Home > Op-ed | To bottom

Kibungan’s Kintoman

The Ibaloi and Kankanaey of Benguet have utilized indigenous rice varieties since time immemorial. Among these varieties is the red rice kintoman, which is raised in the villages for their rituals and special occasions - like weddings and thanksgiving. There are two kinds of kintoman, namely the glutinous and the non-glutinous. The glutinous type is usually fermented to produce tapey, a type of rice wine used during various rituals and occasions.

Patricio Bokilis, elder in Kibungan, Benguet shared the system of raising the kintoman in the villages. They have two seasons for the rice production and these are their busiest period. The first runs from December to February while the second runs from July to August. The kintoman is usually raised during the first season but they can have it also planted during the second season. The second season is the period where the introduced high-yielding varieties are usually planted.

Bokilis claims that kintoman is the most delicious indigenous rice variety. Its aroma is also very notable which can tempt anybody to try it. Kintoman, he said, is appropriate in the area because of the weather and the fertile land near the Mt. Pulag, the second highest mountain peak in the country.

Producing kintoman requires simple technology. Lidas, a local grass, is utilized as fertilizer. Lidas is dumped in the rice fields and left there to fertilize the area during the fallow period just before planting season. After harvest, villagers bring their cows and carabaos in the rice fields for them to eat the rice stalks, thus clearing the area for the next season. Animal wastes are left in the fields to supplement fields’ fertility. Aside from these villagers also apply chicken manure in rice fields for a better agricultural yield.

Water is abundant in Kibungan, considered as a natural gift from the Creator. Bokilis claims that they have at least 290 hectares of communal water reservation in the Badilaan, Lusong, and Sipsip mountains. These forests are nurtured by the community members collectively as a part of their life support systems. Their indigenous communal forest management ensures the water supply to irrigate their rice fields. The abundant water supply assures the villagers of sufficient irrigation for the two agricultural seasons.

The villagers of Kibungan also practice seed selection and storage. A farmer, usually a woman, selects the rice seeds which are not lepes (empty grains) but instead prefer the robust grains. The select grains are wrapped well after being dried in the sun. It is then hung just above the dakilan (stove). The seeds have to be checked regularly to ensure that it is free from insects such as the bangaw (rice bugs).

Kibungan villagers also practice rituals in relation with rice production. In the baneng (rice fields pathway), an elder prays and offers to their gods, ancestors or spirits a leg of a butchered pig, cooked rice, and tapey contained in a labba (open woven basket). After the prayer, a pudong (bamboo leaf tied in a knot) is staked in the baneng, a sign for the community that a ritual had just been officiated in the area. The pudong also signals that it is a taboo to trespass in the area. A ngilin, (abstinence from any economic activity) is necessary so that the rituals are not disturbed. Usually a ngilin lasts one to three days or a week, depending on the ritual.

Kibungan is a rich agricultural area. Various agricultural products are raised. Aside from the different rice varieties – both indigenous and non-traditional varieties – people also plant legumes, fruit trees, vegetables and root crops. Legumes include the indigenous varieties like the batong (black beans) and itab (lima beans). Their fruits include loquisen (orange), banana, avocado and mango. Root crops include the sweet potato (camote), ubi, and gabi (yam). Vegetables raised include cabbages, potatoes and sweet peas. The fruits and vegetables are introduced in the area during the boom of the vegetable industry in Benguet after World War ll.

Problems beset the farmers due to the effect of the GATT/WTO (General Agreement and Tariff and Trade/World Trade Organization) which liberalized the Philippine economy and allowed the entry of foreign products. These products, like the rice varieties, are threatened by the commercial and imported agricultural products. Bokilis claims that they already felt the effect of the competition. Their agricultural products are displaced by imported produce which now finds its way even in the La Trinidad and Baguio markets.

The indigenous rice varieties are also threatened not only for the market of their products but due to the entry of high yielding varieties (HYVs) geared for commercial production. The patenting is not much a problem they face at the moment but a real possibility comes the future.

Farmers interviewed during the Adivay Festival, the gathering of the different residents from the municipalities of Benguet, claimed that their products should not be only showcased. There must be a clear program and policy by the government that should ensure the livelihood of the farmers from the flooding by imported agricultural products due to the Philippine government’s membership to the WTO that ensures the implementation of GATT, including patenting. Like the indigenous rice, our farmers and sustainable communities cry for protection from the influx of the imported agricultural products. #

Home > Op-ed | Back to top