57 Interesting Banaue Rice Terrace Facts Revealed On Rice Paddies

The famed Banaue rice terraces of the Philippines are an example of early human innovations in science and agriculture.

UNESCO talks about how the ancient cultural landscape of the Banaue terraces beautifully illustrates human harmony with nature. Neighboured by the Mountain Province on the north, Banaue is a scenic landscape filled with rugged terrain, dense forests, and valleys that stretch out as far as the eye can see.

Remotely situated on the northern island of Luzon, the Banaue rice terraces are some 200 mi (322 km) away from the capital of the Philippines, Manila. The vast terraces that decorate the slopes of the mountains were painstakingly carved out by the Philippine ancestors of the Banaue indigenous people, with little use of tools and hence, are completely hand-carved.

Scaling the uneven terrain, they performed feats of engineering that are impressive even today. The builders followed the natural contours of the mountains and peacefully made space to integrate human life.

Thus, nature and humans were in complete harmony with each other. The forest-fed irrigation canals and self-watering systems were so effective that it has changed very little in the centuries following the constructions of the terraces. Truly, they're worth marveling at.

Though they play such a significant role in reminding us of what humans can achieve, the rice terraces are under imminent threat of devastation. The changing social and economic scenario has had a mixed effect on the lifestyle followed in the terraces.

The forests, rice plantations, and people have all been subjected to rapid changes with commercialization. The fight to protect these precious terraces is an ongoing one.

Below is a list of Banaue rice terraces facts that will tell you all you need to know about what these terraces are, and why we need to protect them.

What are the Banaue rice terraces?

The Banaue rice terraces are home to a thriving community sustained by generations of ancestral knowledge.

They are a vast group of impressive rice terraces on the slopes of the Banaue mountains in Ifugao province, Philippines.

The terraces' natural beauty has gained them the nickname the 'Eighth Wonder of the World'.

The rice terraces are locally referred to as 'Hagdan-hagdang Palayan ng Banawe', which quite literally translates to 'rice terraces of Banawe'.

The terraces are located at 4,900 ft (1493 m) above sea level and span across approximately 4,000 sq mi (10,300 sq km) of land.

A common notion is that the steps of the terraces, if placed end to end, would reach halfway across the globe. That's about 12,500 mi (20,116 km), roughly half the Earth's circumference, so it's not far from the truth.

Contrary to popular belief, the Banaue rice terraces are not one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. They do, however, hold the status of National Cultural Treasure under the Philippine government.

What Banaue usually gets mixed up with is the Rice Terraces of the Philippines Cordilleras. This group of five rice terrace clusters joined the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1995.

The clusters are namely Batad, Bangaan, Hungduan, Mayoyao Central, and Nagacadan.

The Bangaan and Batad rice terraces are located in the administrative municipality of Banaue but aren't actually part of the Banaue rice terraces.

While rice is the main agricultural produce of Banaue, there are also fruit trees and root crop cultivation.

The main occupants of the land are the Ifugao people. The word 'ifugao' has three distinct origins: 'i-pugo' meaning people of the hill, 'ipugaw' roughly translating to mortals, or 'ipugo' a type of grain mentioned in the local mythology.

The Ifugao ethnic group comes under the umbrella of the Igorot people, the indigenous inhabitants of the Cordillera mountain range.

The estimates of the age of the terraces range from two millennia to just a few centuries old.

H.Otley Beyer, an American anthropologist who spent a large part of his life in the Philippines, along with Roy F. Barton,estimated the age of the Banaue rice terraces to be around 2000 years.

However, the Ifugao Archaeological Project disputed this claim, instead proposing that the terraces had been built in the 1600s and 1700s as part of the Spanish colonization.

Beyer and Barton's estimates were based on how long it would have taken to carve the huge terraces. The studies that followed used methods such as radiocarbon dating, terrace-wall dating, and even linguistic investigation into Ifugao romantic tales.

History Of The Banaue Rice Terraces

The Banaue rice terraces have been preserved for centuries because of a long-drawn balance between humans and nature.

The expansive rice terraces, which are now a world-known living cultural landscape, would have been carved out entirely by hand. The work was carried out by the Igorot, a Tagalog word literally translating to 'mountain people'.

Rice, being a water-intensive crop, demands a plentiful supply of water, hence the irrigation canals that run across the terraces. The water spills over the terrace steps, one after another until every step has been irrigated.

The steps of the rice terraces are lined with stone and rammed earth walls to create the irrigation canal system.

Seated on the steps of the Banaue rice terraces, you can sometimes see carved wooden statues looking out onto the impressive terraces. These statues represent the Bul-ul, Ifugao gods who have been worshipped since the construction of the terraces.

The Bul-ul are believed to protect the crops and grain stores of the people. Rice, being a crop that requires heavy investment but gives little yield, meant the deities had an important role to play in the Ifugao community.

For generations, the precious art of terrace maintenance has been passed down in the communities through oral tradition.

The water for irrigation purposes is supplied from the 'pinugo' rainforests at the top of the mountains. The forest acts as a water reservoir for the terraces.

The Banaue rice terraces are a great example of sustainable farming practices, and it's no wonder why the techniques followed by the farmers haven't changed much.

Purpose Of Banaue Rice Terraces

Various socio-economic factors have threatened to change the scenario of the historic terraces for the worse.

One of the biggest threats to the age-old rice terraces is the fact that younger generations of the Ifugao people no longer want to plant rice on the terraces, and have begun to plant vegetables instead.

The high investment, low yield nature of rice crops has made it increasingly difficult for the Ifugao to support their families and so they've begun to look for alternate means of livelihood.

Around 540 hectares (1334 acres) of the Banaue rice terraces have been abandoned.

Another reason why the land gets vacated temporarily is because of changing rainfall and climate patterns.

The abandoned land is typically turned into commercial plantations for vegetables. Rice production has decreased, and one might see bright red tomatoes being grown on the slopes instead.

The growing of vegetable crops allowed for the Ifugao residents to increase their income, but a whole new set of problems arrived with the introduction of chemically treated crops to the land.

Bringing in new crops and chemicals meant that the soil composition, and the insect population, would undergo rapid change. Soon, soil erosion and run-off became areas of heightening concern.

Earthworms and mole crickets began to infest the soil and have only been an increasing concern since the 1990s.

The government took notice of the deteriorating state of the rice terraces and established the Ifugao Rice Terraces Commission in 1994 to help return the precious slopes to their original condition. However, due to a lack of funding and authority, the Commission was ultimately done away with.

Deforestation has caused much loss of Banaue's forest cover, and as a result, a water crisis followed. This further put the main crops of the terraces at risk.

While the tourism sector generates a lot of revenue, it has also been a rising threat to the Banaue rice terraces.

According to the Department of Tourism of the Cordillera Administrative Region, the revenue generated by tourists in Ifugao reached almost $18 million.

Due to the tourist influx, age-old systems of cooperative farming have come under threat of disappearance.

'Muyong' are lots of forest lands owned by a clan, communities, or families. It has long been a system of management in the terraces.

Now, much of the wood lots provide wood for carving purposes to make hand-carved souvenirs to sell to tourists.

With wood production increasingly getting commercialized, forests are being depleted to feed the tourism sector.

It's not just the forests, however. The community is also being drained of its water resources, with much of the water being sent to lodges and other accommodations housing tourists.

With resources becoming more and more scarce, many of the Ifugao families have been forced to shift to other professions and give up their land for commercial use.

After fervent requests from the Philippine Government, the Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordillera were put on the UNESCO World Heritage Site In Danger List in 2000.

Save The Ifugao Terraces Movement (SITMO) has been carrying out initiatives to preserve the remaining rice terraces and provide sustainable alternatives to farming practices.

SITMO oversaw the development of three turbines for generating hydroelectric power to improve the standard of living in the area, hence making sure fewer people left.

The already available irrigation channels were used as the main source of power for the turbines.

The government and international donors maintain most of the costs, but following a community-centric approach, the connection costs are paid by the villagers.

The hydro-power systems cut down kerosene usage by 75 %, and also provided electricity for basic activities.

SITMO was also responsible for replanting the trees which had been wiped out through deforestation. Through a slow and steady effort, the forests of Banaue are being healed by the people.

The NGO has been encouraging honey production as a means of sustainable livelihood for the people.

Significance Of The Rice Terraces

Much of life in Banaue revolves around rice cultivation, but the Ifugao culture is one that puts community first. This is one reason the terraces have been managed in harmony for so long.

Tinawon is the main rice variety, largely grown on the Banaue rice terraces. Unlike commercial varieties of rice, tinawon is cultivated only once a year.

During an event organized at Dayanara Viewpoint in 2009, the rice in Ifugao was declared to be free from GMOs, which means that the crop is 100% organic.

Though the rice plantation in Ifugao happens on a large scale, the actual crop is not meant for commercial use.

As of 2000, the average household size in Ifugao was five. Taking into account the low yield of rice and an average family of five consuming rice three times a day, it is naturally very rare for the families to end up with surplus rice for the market.

The Ifugao celebrate a festival where they allow themselves to take a well-deserved break from all the agricultural work.

Tapuy (called 'baya' by the locals), a kind of rice wine made from pure glutinous rice, finds its origins in Banaue and the Mountain Province.

The festival of Tunggul is an occasion where tapuy can be found in plenty, along with rice cakes. The day is meant to be spent away from the rice terraces, and instead to be celebrated with feasts and merry-making.

One other noteworthy practice during festivals is the consumption of moma. In local lingo, moma typically refers to chewing of betel nut, paired with herbs and powdered snail shells.