The Rhythms of the Rice Terraces Grow Louder as the 2025 Culture Bearers-In-Residence Program Kicks Off

The 2025 iteration of UP Diliman’s Culture Bearers-in-Residence program kicked off last 6th October 2025 at the University Hotel. This year’s program is subtitled “Rhythms of the Rice Terraces,” commemorating the practice of the hudhud, the epic chant tradition of the Ifugao people. The ceremony welcomed three culture bearers from Asipulo, Ifugao: Mr. Ruben Gumangan, Mr. Elvis Lupais Hangdaan, and Mr. Karl Wyne Wanawan.

“Rhythms of the Rice Terraces” is this year’s installment of the Culture Bearers-in-Residence program. Culture bearers are resource experts expected to teach, mentor, and collaborate with students, researchers, and faculty members.

Mr. Gumangan is one of the last living munhaw-e (lead chanters) of the hudhud in Asipulo, Ifugao. Part of the Yattuka ethnolinguistic group, Mr. Gumangan is also skilled in playing the gangsa and performing traditional dances. He led the start of the ceremony with the I'ammod niya Immaknongan, a prayer ritual invoking the presence of forefathers, deities, and Maknongan (the creator).

Following the prayer ritual, those who attended the ceremony were invited to drink the sacred tapuy or rice wine. Among those who were present were Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Venice Lusung-Oyzon, UP Theater Complex director Josefina Estrella, UP Diliman Information Office director Sir Anril P. Tiatco, Office of the Initiatives for Culture and the Arts director Monica Santos, Department of Speech Communication and Theatre Arts Officer-In-Charge Amihan Bonifacio-Ramolete, and College of Arts and Letters dean Jimmuel Naval.

Prof. Bonifacio-Ramolete, in her opening remarks, recognized the importance of integrating these programs into the varying courses and curriculum of the department, Dean Naval spoke of the significance of holding the project in time for the commemoration of the National Indigenous Peoples Month 2025, while DIO Director and Culture Bearers-in-Residence Program Co-Chair Dr. Tiatco spoke of the wealth of knowledge that would be readily available to the students of UP Diliman through the indigenous knowledge systems and process that the culture bearers will be bringing with them to our classes.

“Rhythms of the Rice Bearers” is spearheaded by Theatre Arts Assistant Professor Roger S. Federico, who is a Cordilleran himself. The program will last for three weeks, lasting from 7th to 24th October. The culture bearers will serve as guest lecturers in sessions of the general elective class Theatre 11 (Dula at Palabas), where they will teach the hudhud chant to undergraduate students.

The culture bearers will also take part in activities of other major Theatre Arts classes: Theatre 100 (Theatre and Performance), Theatre 154 (Costume Design and Make-up), and Theatre 181 (Theories in Stage Movement and Dance). 

Students from various UP colleges were also invited to the opening ceremony, including members of the organization Paggawisan Tako Am-In (PAGTA) UPD. PAGTA UPD is the sole university-recognized student organization consisting mainly of Cordilleran students. The ceremony included performances from PAGTA members, where they sang “Taraki Kami nga Igorot,” an Igorot country song that celebrates the resilient spirit of the Igorot people. Another number featured “Nan Layad, Nan Likatan,” a love song that captures the bittersweet pain of parting and yearning for a loved one.

Members of performing arts groups such as UP Tugma and the UP Junior Music Educators’ Guild also attended the event.

Other non-Theatre classes that have invited the culture bearers include Kasaysayan 1 (Kasaysayan ng Pilipinas), Speech 120 (Oral Interpretation and Performance), as well as Speech 124 (Introduction to Chamber Theatre), among others. The culture bearers will guide students in these classes in the mimetic dances and customary practices associated with the Ifugao. 

Aside from serving as guest lecturers, the culture bearers will also participate in events and projects with the UP Center for Ethnomusicology. Several workshops will also be open to the public, including one on textiles and the proper wearing of cultural attires.

“Rhythms of the Rice Terraces” will culminate in a keynote lecture and recital on 24th October, 2025 at the Aldaba Recital Hall in the UP Theater Complex.