LUSOD, Kabayan, Benguet—On Nov. 12, my heart sank when I received word from Lilia Waclin that Supertyphoon “Uwan” had triggered landslides that wiped out not only the roads but also the crops.  

How different it was when I traveled to Lusod on Oct. 25. I heard the gongs long before I saw any of the people playing them. Amid the towering mountains, the acoustics were fantastic, seeming to invite everyone to join the celebration. 

Our host, Lilia, bounded toward our group from behind the barangay hall to welcome us with a wide smile and warm hug. She is a long-time volunteer catechist and the Indigenous People Mandatory Representative to the Sangguniang Barangay.

We were at Lusod (from luhod, or fenced-in area), the most remote village in the town of Kabayan in Benguet province, to attend the Camote (or sweet potato) Festival. Lusod is part of the Mount Pulag Protected Landscape. At 2,928 meters above sea level (masl), Pulag is the highest mountain in Luzon.

Time was when the only way anyone could get between Lusod and the poblacion and vice versa was by hiking about 24 kilometers through sometimes steep, rocky, definitely leech-infested mountain trails for at least nine hours. To get here on Oct. 25, we hitched a ride with Fr. Ricky Belino of the St. Francis Xavier Parish.

It was a bumpy but scenic ride, with breathtaking views. We saw the majestic Mount Timbac (2,717 masl) from a distance, passed by the inviting Tabeo Lake, went through some chilly mossy forests, admired small but gushing waterfalls, and tried not to flinch as we went up then down single-lane roads chiseled from a mountainside. Thank goodness we did not meet any oncoming vehicle on that early, sleepy morning. We arrived at our destination in a little over two hours. The sun was shining: It was a good day for a harvest festival.

Kalanguya 

Lusod shares borders with Kayapa in Nueva Vizcaya and Tinoc in Ifugao. It is home to about 800 persons, some 100 of whom are Roman Catholic. Most are Kalanguya, who trace their roots to Tinoc. Kalanguya also live in Asipulo, Ifugao; Ambaguio, Kayapa, Santa Fe and Aritao, Nueva Vizcaya; Buguias and Bokod, Benguet; and some parts of San Nicolas in Pangasinan and Carranglan in Nueva Vizcaya. Their language is distinct from Ibaloi and Ilocano.

Because of Lusod’s remoteness, many of the locals have chosen to migrate to other parts of Benguet or the Cordillera, and even to other countries. The farm-to-market road reached near the village in 2003, though it became truly accessible only in 2005. The locals’ lights and appliances were hooked up to electricity only in 2015. Much of the road is still rough, and public transport does not reach Lusod.

There are a few routes to get here. Some wend through Ballay, involving driving through mossy forests; one traverses the more stable concrete road network of Tinoc, but necessitates crossing a wide, roaring river.

In the Diocese of Baguio, the ratio of priest to Catholics is about 1:10,000. As in most towns, only one priest is assigned to Kabayan, which is why Sunday Masses are celebrated regularly only at the parish church in the poblacion. Most times, the priest comes to Lusod once a month to celebrate Mass. During the rainy season, it is not unheard of for a Mass to be cancelled on the scheduled day because landslides have made the roads impassable.

On some Sundays, the locals hold prayer services in their respective gimong (the local term for the basic ecclesial community). Certain sacraments like matrimony and baptism are held when the priest is present. Community members trained in the service may distribute communion or minister to the dead and dying. Some gimong have a chapel, but most gather in common spaces like the school, barangay hall, or a community member’s house.  

Embracing tradition

Lusod’s Camote Festival is not some fancy tourist trap. It is a gathering spearheaded by the local gimong dedicated to St. Catherine of Siena, which coincides with the priest’s visit in the month of October. It is a time for giving thanks for the harvest and asking for blessings for the coming planting season. It is not exclusively for Catholics.

It is my second time to attend the festival, the first being last year. My awe at the lush vegetation, fresh air, serene surroundings was unchanged. Sweet potato in Kalanguya is ubi, and it grows so much in different colors: yellow, purple, and white. Our welcome snacks consisted of a sampling of the village’s culinary interpretations, such as the common camote-cue, and boiled camote, of course. But there were small camote donuts, too, and even a camote float—mashed camote with crushed Graham crackers on top. My favorite is what I call a tri-color sweet potato mash, consisting of three layers of different colors of the tuber, paired with hot arabica coffee that grows well in these elevations.

The Mass was ushered in by a parade of men and women beating gongs and dancing the tayaw. During the Mass, the congregation offered various vegetables but mostly a lot of sweet potatoes. Then, a community elder led the badiw, a prayer chant, to open the program featuring men, women and children singing traditional songs, and messages from Vice Mayor Sario Minas and Councilor Marlon Nginsayan, as well as gimong leaders.

Communitarian spirit

The community then shared lunch, consisting of dishes locally made and organic by default: kiniing (smoked pork meat), native black chicken soup, and beef soup. The best pairing for these? Homemade red and white rice wine, locally called tapuey. (You haven’t lived if you haven’t enjoyed tapuey, especially the homemade one that involves you chewing the actual rice! It’s deceptively sweet and tangy, then the “hit” creeps in.)

The construction of the St. Catherine of Siena chapel began in September 2024 and is still ongoing. From donations and the community’s savings, many of the supplies were purchased in Baguio, but the lumber came from their own forest. They practice da-ngah, in which they pitch in with their time and effort to build a structure; no one gets paid. 

After lunch, we were all invited to join the community dancing. (Aha, I thought, that’s why they got us tipsy first!) Residents and guests of all ages took part, with some trying their hand at playing the heavy gongs. I was fascinated by how the children were all enthusiastic about dancing and playing the instruments. They were nimble on their feet, confident in the steps that have been passed on through generations.

After slipping her watwat (food shared with the community) into her bag, a guest bid me goodbye. She had to walk four hours to get back home,” she said, smiling, and pointed up one mountain to indicate where her house’s location.

Though the mobile signal is spotty in Lusod, Wi-Fi was made available in 2022, to the ire of most of the adults. Now, although many of the children still play outdoor games together, I saw some of them huddled silently around someone’s gadget, engrossed in whatever comes up on the small screen.

Lusod is about 300 km from Manila. The community grows rice, coffee, many vegetables and fruits, and an endemic bush with medicinal leaves that they call gipah. They also raise poultry and pigs, even cattle. They could very well be self-sufficient. With the introduction of road and internet infrastructure, they are opening up to the rest of the world. Is it only a matter of time before the annual Camote Festival becomes part of social media feeds worldwide?

---