BANAUE, Ifugao – It was 3 a.m. and only the chants and murmurs of the four mumbaki (native priests) who were invoking the names of the ancestral spirits could be heard amid the silence on the rice terraces and huts in Batad village.

At the break of dawn, Raymond Macapagal and Dr. Raoul Bermejo III woke up to the sound of chants and the aroma of burning butchered chicken. They walked to the next hut to witness the ritual that was done to bless the native houses they helped restore.

Macapagal and Bermejo witnessed the first step of the ritual that would run for two days.

“I only came here as a tourist before but I have always been interested in the architecture of the Ifugao house. It is the quintessential Filipino design,” said Macapagal.

On June 1, Macapagal and Bermejo, together with their adoptive Ifugao families, hosted a “mamahang” (ritual feast) in the heart of Batad rice terraces to celebrate the restoration of two native houses locally known as “baluy.”

Villagers here joined in a whole day of drinking tapuey (rice wine) and dancing while feasting on the three native pigs and chickens, which were offered to the ancestral spirits.

Since 2005, Macapagal and Bermejo have worked on the cultural project of restoring Ifugao houses to save them from deteriorating.

Macapagal, a psychology instructor at the University of the Philippines, said the newly restored houses would be offered to tourists as part of the package tour of Batad and the neighboring villages.

The home stay program would be part of the eco-tourism project of the local residents, he said.

“We are hoping that this will prevent our friends from leaving Batad in search of employment so they could look after the terraces,” he said.

Bermejo, a medical doctor with the provincial health office of Capiz, said the restoration of the houses has become their personal mission out of love and belief in the ingenuity and craftsmanship of the Ifugaos.

“At first, we were only talking about renovation because it was a nice way to do it. But we also thought of sustainability and developmental projects such as the home stay program. We thought that with this project, we could preserve the culture and tradition of the place,” said Bermejo.

Macapagal said they never expected anything from helping the community restore the native huts.

“We were just happy that we were able to help and were able to do something. I really admire the Ifugaos for developing this architecture,” he said.

Having developed a personal relationship with the villagers, Macapagal and Bermejo were adopted and were given local names.

Macapagal was named Immatong, which means “warm” in local dialect, while Bermejo was named Bujah, a reference to a core of a wood.

The mission started in January 2005 when Macapagal first toured Batad to see the rice terraces. He traveled through the rough terrain and the rice terraces of the village, considered to have one of the steepest terraces in Ifugao.

Awed by the wonders of the terraces and the antiquity of the huts, he returned with Bermejo in May 2005 and inquired about the houses from their guide, Pio Mannod.

Macapagal said he was inspired by Ramon Binalit, 48, a local who preserved two native houses in the village.

Macapagal and Bermejo later coordinated with Mannod and Moises Ambojnon, 54, to plan the repair of their houses in 2006.

Macapagal said the two houses were already in a state of disrepair. Both more than a century old, the houses had been uninhabited for years. The roof made of assembled cogon grass and the walls made of narra were already decaying.

The repair of the houses took more than a month because the local materials were difficult to find.

Ambojnon said it took him more than a month to collect all the cogon grass for the renovation of the roof because one had to hike the forested mountains to harvest the cogon.

A woodcarver, Ambojnon said there were other native houses called “baluy” in the area, which were burned by the Spanish conquistadores.

“The Spaniards wanted to conquer our land so they burned some of the houses in our village. The only ones which were spared from the fire are now dilapidated because no one lives in them. But we are glad that there are people who have the concern to preserve our huts,” he said.

Aside from the huts, the houses of the bulul (rice diety) called “alang” are also deteriorating and need repairs.

The traditional Ifugao hut is made of local materials such as cogon grass for roofing, pine and narra wood for walling and floorboards and bamboo reeds for ceiling.

Just like other Igorot huts, the house is a one-room affair and has a removable bamboo ladder.

Villagers said Batad has 150 native huts, most of them in need of immediate restoration.

Both the Mannod and Ambojnon families designed the interiors of their newly restored huts with wood carvings and centuries old utensils such as the “ulbong” (a woven rattan basket rice container), “pamahan” (a rice wine bowl made of narra), and “ungot” (coconut shells used for drinking rice wine).

“This restoration inspired me to remain here. Others leave because they seek employment but I am determined to stay here,” Mannod said.

“But I cannot blame those who leave the village considering that life now is economically hard. I hope there will be others who will help the villagers restore the houses, so they can stay.”