Significance and Social Being in Ifugao Agricultural Production

The Ifugao of northern Luzon, Philipppines, have been the subject of numerous ethnographic accounts in the present century. All of these convey the centrality of rice, both agronomically and as a cultural idiom. The impression gained from these ethnographies is that everything truly Ifugao emerges in some degree from rice. However, one consideration that all take note of but none fully account for is that the sweet potato comprises over half of the Ifugao diet. The following discussion considers the implications of Ifugao subsistence production for the interpretation of structurally constituted events and notions of social being. Ifugao agricultural production is first generally described, and the differential significance of rice and sweet potato is considered. Ifugao social structure is then discussed in terms of a key principle, that of family solidarity. The generative significance of this principle is demonstrated with reference to Ifugao stratification. Finally, the manner in which social structure is manifested in the distribution of products is discussed. Production and social existence are seen to be linked by significance; that is, by the meaningful qualities with which products are imbued.