THE IFUGAO EPIC "HUDHUD" (Ifugao)

The UNESCO World Heritage List has recognized the Ifugao epic ""HUDHUD,"" citing it as among the ""Masterpieces of the oral and intangible heritage of the humanity."" The HUDHUD Epic is the only Southeast Asian Cultural Piece selected in the UNESCO list. This was the first time that the UNESCO gave the awards. It was the second time that UNESCO honored Ifugao, after the province's famous rice terraces was included among UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1995. The HUDHUD, once chanted, will go on for two to three days. The epic is chanted by Ifugao women, usually at harvest time, funeral wakes, and wedding time. There used to be many versions of the HUDHUD but the advent of Catholicism in the province has helped dilute this heritage. The late anthropologist Fr. Francis Lambrecht, CICM brought HUDHUD to the international scene, which he claims has been sung by generations of Ifugaos since the late 17th century and still is a central part of the Ifugao life. The social characteristic of the ancient Ifugaos as seen in the HUDHUD showed a strong matriarchal society.