Clad in their traditional loincloth or ‘wanes’ for males and ‘tapis’ or ‘gateng’ for women, Igorot residents from Barangays Hapao, Ba-ang and Nungulunan in Hungduan, Ifugao province participate in the 2024 “Punnuk” festival along the Hapao River to mark the end of the annual agricultural cycle.
“Punnuk” is a yearly tradition in the province that features a ritual called “ginuyodan” or a game of tug-of-war by men in the village at the river to celebrate a bountiful harvest. Participants pull each with a ‘pakid’ or a rope made from the stem of the attoba tree.
The main objective of the opposing sides is to tug an object called “kina’ag,” a figure made of rice stalks tightly bound by vines. It is believed that the winners will be rewarded with abundant harvest while the losers risk consuming everything that they produced until the next farming season.
The festival closes with a ritual that releases the “kina’ag” to symbolically appease the deities protecting the river. In August 2023, “Punnuk” was officially recognized as part of the Ifugao cultural heritage events by the Municipality of Hungduan, which is known for its rice terraces.
UNESCO also acknowledged the cultural festival—together with other tugging rituals and games in Cambodia, South Korea and Vietnam—in its 2015 “Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity” list. The event has likewise become an annual attraction for visiting tourists.
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