Tinawon is a generic term used to refer to local rice varieties in Ifugao. The name tinawon translates to “once a year,” reflecting its long cultivation. There are at least 21 varieties recorded in the 1970s, and about 11 are still being cultivated today (2020s). Pictured in this exhibit is tinglu, also known as Imbuucan (Oryza sativa subsp. japonica), which is a short-grained, sticky rice grown in the Ifugao Rice Terraces of the Philippines Cordilleras. The aromatic grain is a staple resource heavily intertwined with Ifugao’s cultural heritage and history.
In Ifugao mythology, tinglu gains its origins as one of the rice types of tinawon. The story is told that two brothers, Wigan and Kabigat, one day had to follow their hunt out of their land and into Kabunyan, the land of the god of plenty. When the brothers killed the pig they were hunting, they cooked the meat and shared it with the people of Kabunyan, who had previously eaten everything raw. They were so amazed at the taste that Liddum, the god of plenty, eventually gave the brothers his large grain rice to grow in their land in exchange for their fire. It is believed that it is this rice, now referred to as tinawon, that is still being grown in the Ifugao rice fields today.
The very name tinawon translates to “once a year,” reflecting its long cultivation. Grown in a span of six months, the rice is planted from December to February to be harvested in mid-June to August, based on its height placement along the rice terraces. A mumbaki (ritual specialist) then performs 12 rice rituals to ensure the bountiful harvest and maintain the good relationship between the Ifugao and their environment. At its ripping stage, the grain’s red stripe colors the field a reddish cast indicating the nearing of the harvest season. The people then hold a ceremony with a sacrificed chicken and the cultivated rice. Rice wine is a prominent dedication to the gods. It is believed that the Ifugao saw a bird eat a plant and become drunk, leading the elders to create the “binobok,” yeast cake, from the unwad root and gluttonous rice. They then use “binobok” to ferment the rice for the wine. A final offering is then made to the spirits/ancestors called “atang” to offer thanks for the successful agricultural yield. Despite the prominence of the rice to the Ifugaos’ everyday life, it is becoming more difficult for them to sustain this agricultural practice because there is a high demand for heritage rice varieties in the commercial market.