IN TRADITIONAL rites, the Ibaloys renew the importance and preservation of cultural practices.
Over the weekend at the Ibaloi Heritage Garden at Burnham Park, delegates from 13 Benguet towns converged after a parade at the city’s main thoroughfares as gongs played to usher the rites for the traditional “Owik,” a ceremonial butchering of pigs.
The annual Ibaloy Day celebration is themed “Kaugali-an, Adjowanan,” led by the Onjon ni Ivadoy, a non-profit organization geared to sustain public awareness for heritage.
Guest speaker Department of Health (DOH) Undersecretary Roger Tong-an said, “Let us all pay tribute to the rich heritage that helped shape our identity as people, let us cultivate, foster and preserve it for younger generation.”
Baguio Mayor Mauricio Domogan said Ibaloy Day is an official activity of the City as the celebration remains monumental and historical in honor of the Ibaloys, the original settlers.
"With Baguio becoming a metropolitan city, other tribes are coming in. Our homework continues to protect the respective communities and total identity of the City of Baguio and giving importance of the Ibaloy tribe.”
Ibaloy Day is celebrated every February 23 by virtue of City Ordinance No. 009 s. 2009.