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The fact remains that the Igorot is not Filipino and we are not related, and it hurts our feelings to see him pictured in American newspapers under such captions as ‘Typical Filipino Tribesman.’
– Carlos P. Romulo, (1943) Mother America. Garden City, New York: Doubleday, Doran & Co. p. 59.
Romulo was once General MacArthur’s aide–de–camp, Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines and President of the University of the Philippines.
I made a term paper showing that my Igorot sample (chosen for the sake of convenience — those residing and studying in Metro Manila at that time) wished to eradicate the negative Igorot stereotype by passing on those stereotypes to the Aeta. This was what Romulo tried to do in his book, Mother America. He wasn’t wild, primitive and black; the Igorot was.
Check this out: The Igorot: Filipino or not?
Clarification: Romulo’s original intent was to disassociate himself from the stereotypical image of the Igorot which to the Whites was the same as their (mis)conception of the Filipino (post-Hispanic rule definition). That means Romulo wrote that the Igorot was not Filipino kasi nahihiya siya sa balat niya.
Romulo eventually brought up the Filipino originally meant Spaniards who were born in the Philippines and much later, indios who agreed or were forced to become subjects of the King but not citizens of Spain. So technically the Igorot were not Filipino because they never became subjects of the King of Spain. argument — which is true, by the way — as a way of saving face.
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March 8, 2007 at 11:37 pm
Perhaps, Romulo was right that the Igorots were not Filipinos.
The Filipinos (Actually, they were indios. It was only in the 1800s that they were called Filipinos. The original Filipinos were the Espanoles on Philippine soul. At least, this is what I learned from Renato Constantino.) surrendered their sovereignty to the Spaniards. Among them were Romulo’s ascendants. The Igorots never had to bow down to the white men. They valiantly sustained their struggle for self-determination and did not slacken one bit, while many of the non-Igorots were paying tribute (bandala) and rendering polo y servicios to the Españoles. Definitely, the Igorots were of a distinct mold. They were several cuts above the rest.
If the Filipinos were those poor, unfortunate beings who bowed down to the Españoles, then the Igorots were, by all means, no Filipinos.
Lest I be misunderstood, we acknowledge that there were several revolutionaries among them Filipinos. The most famous was Bonifacio. But the Igorots were collectively revolutionaries, their heroism collectivized. How about that?
August 3, 2007 at 10:47 am
nothing to say…
February 7, 2008 at 10:39 am
in modern times, the igorots may be called Filipinos to manifest a national unity under the Philippine Archipelago. What makes the Igorot still distinct is that they still posses the ancient values and attitudes of valor and integrity which most Filipinos do not posses now (Look at the modern greek senate (Congress) and Joe De Venecia a clear example of a modern Julius Ceasar). The Igorots would not let themselves be oppressed, form the beginning since they do not want to be enslaved but to preserve their liberty whihc they loved thus they fight from the beginning. Unlike other Philippine historical events where others bow first and when oppressed; they fight; in my opinion there was a lot of fear within the pre-hispanic Filipinos or what may we call Romulo’s ancestors.
without prejudice to others, but i really hate it when a person talks ill about the igorots and describe us as if we are still cavemen especially so if the one speaking even looks like a dinosaur!!
mahiya naman sila!! still at this time Carlos Romulo is still alive.
it is up to us the modern Igorots to rebut his definition.
August 16, 2008 at 10:56 pm
I was just wondering if the igorots were really resilient in not submitting to the white man during their occupation of the Philippines. I was curious how the Spanish trails were constructed in the igorot lands like those found in besao,sagada,maligcong,barlig and natonin. I made some inquiries about these trails from residents who knew the historical background of these infrastructures whose length stretch to hundreds of kilometers, they replied that it was constructed through a contribution of labor as their tax [vines] to the espanyol by the local residents. So that claims of some that the igorots were never subjugated by the white man may not be true after all.