Arts and Culture: Heritage, Practices and Futures

Presented at the 10th DLSU Arts Congress

De La Salle University
Manila, Philippines February 16, 2017
De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines
November 24 & 25, 2016

The Contribution of Dr. Florentino H. Hornedo

to the Ethno-Cultural History of the Ivatans

Jose Victor D. Jimenez*

History Department, De La Salle University
*jose.victor.jimenez@dlsu.edu.ph

Abstract: Drawing inspiration from his Ivatan roots, the late Prof. Dr. Florentino
Hornedo, a cultural historian, strongly advocated the preservation of the Ivatan
cultural heritage, which he deemed indispensable in understanding and appreciating
the Filipino culture. In pursuit of his advocacy, the professor, who was the foremost
Ivatan scholar, pursued studies on the different aspects of the Ivatan culture.
However, there exists no study that looks into his pioneering efforts in cultural
studies on the Ivatans. This paper thus seeks to assess his contribution to the ethno-
cultural history of the Ivatans. Appropriating the concept of “Today’s Native is
Yesterday’s Visitor,” which was waged by Fr. Frank Lynch, S.J. and to which Dr.
Hornedo subscribed, the writer asserts that what the Filipinos are today are
explained by how they borrowed and assimilated the foreign cultural elements, and
adapted them to local setting. The writer employs the historical method, that is the
descriptive-narrative and analytical method. Describing the social organization of
the Ivatans at the Spanish contact based on a report written by the Dominican
missionaries in 1786, Dr. Hornedo established that the Ivatans accepted Christianity
as it presented an “option” to attain peace in the face of the hostilities in their
communities. Tracing the evolution of the “traditional Ivatan house,” the savant
wrote that the Ivatan made use of borrowed technology from the Spaniards to build
houses that would endure the harsh environmental conditions. Concerning ethno-
medical practices and beliefs, the guru noted that the Ivatans adopted those beliefs
and practices of other cultures and learned how to utilize substitutes for traditional
medicines. In his study of Ivatan religious beliefs and practices, Dr. Hornedo made it
clear that the Ivatans had been acculturated to Catholic teachings, but he hastened
to add that the pre-Spanish beliefs in death and after death and even in the añitu
still persist.
Keywords: Dr. Florentino Hornedo, Ivatan, acculturation, cultural heritage, cultural
studies

1. INTRODUCTION
The culture of the Ivatans, who constitute Educated at Saint Louis University and
an ethnolinguistic group that inhabits the small the UST Graduate School, Prof. Dr. Florentino H.
Batanes Islands situated on the northernmost part Hornedo blazed a trail for cultural studies on the
Ivatans. Taking pride in his Ivatan cultural roots,
of the Philippines, was shaped by the harsh
the venerable professor was a staunch advocate of
environmental conditions (Hornedo, 1997a) and the preservation of the Ivatan culture and heritage,
contacts with the West and local cultures. which he proudly considered an important
(Hornedo, 2000) component of the country’s rich cultural heritage.
 Arts and Culture: Heritage, Practices and Futures

Presented at the 10th DLSU Arts Congress

De La Salle University
Manila, Philippines February 16, 2017
De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines
November 24 & 25, 2016

Employing the interdisciplinary approach, he because of “receptivity to other cultures.” Speaking

undertook field work and published his studies on of “cultural growth,” he maintained that it was
both the material and non-material culture of the “nourished by selectivity to external influences.”
Ivatans. He is acknowledged as the foremost Reiterating his point, he wrote that “as in the plant
Ivatan authority. world, so in the cultural: today’s foreign element,
In recognition of his “contributions to the readily received, is the likely progenitor of a new
development of the discipline of cultural studies in cultural form, distinctly Filipino.” Referring to the
the Philippines,” the Gawad CCP Para sa Sining “foreign elements of yesterday” such as “the
(Cultural Research) was awarded to Dr. Hornedo in mestizo dress, Christianity, Islam, and even the
2012. He was commended for “choosing ‘to take a jeep,” these became the “native elements of today.”
prodigious path to inquire and theorize about the In short, the growth of the Filipino culture was
breadth, depth, and complexities of the Filipino made possible by “development and addition from
mind and identity” (“Cultural Center of the within and successful innovations from without”
Philippines,” 2015). (Lynch, 2004, pp. 410-412).
For sure, his achievements in the field of In the context of the study, the writer
cultural studies cannot be overemphasized. endeavors to explain how the Ivatans appropriated
Lamentably, no study has been done to assess such and assimilated foreign cultural elements.
contribution. It is in this context that this study is
being undertaken.
The purpose of this study is to assess the 2. METHODOLOGY
contribution of Dr. Hornedo to the ethno-cultural
history of the Ivatans, taking into account his The writer employs the historical method,
studies on their social organization, the evolution of that is, the “descriptive-narrative and analytical
their traditional houses, their ethno-medical and method,” (Lemon, 2003, pp. 294-301), which entails
beliefs and practices and their pre-Spanish beliefs an examination of the primary and secondary
in death and after death, and the añitu.
sources, analysis and synthesis of the data
The writer deems it imperative to include
extracted from these sources into a cogent
a section on the “processualist perspective” of Dr.
Hornedo. historical narrative. After describing the traditional
This paper is grounded on the concept of Ivatan beliefs and practices and the cultural
“Today’s Native is Yesterday’s Visitor,” which was elements introduced by the foreigners, the writer
advanced by the anthropologist, Dr. Frank Lynch, analyzes how the Ivatans assimilated these
S.J. Fr. Lynch made a distinction between elements into their culture and reworked them to
“resistance against that is alien and bad, and
suit their particular needs, and how the traditional
resistance against something that is alien, but good
or neutral.” He contended that “foreign practices persist.
introductions can be extremely profitable, and the
Philippines, like many other island worlds, has [sic] 3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
gained greatly from the contributions of neighbors
near and far.” He argued that “foreign cultural 3.1 Recreating the Cultural History of the
introductions,” if they are “worthwhile” and “well
suited to their host country,” they “will not be Philippines: The “Processualist
foreign very long.” To illustrate his point, he cited Perspective” of Dr. Hornedo
the introduction of foreign plants in the
Philippines. The “dependence” of the country “has Dr. Hornedo had always advocated the use
not been one of passive receptivity.” He pointed out of a theory in the writing of history, whose object of
these foreign plants “have likewise adapted study is already gone. He remarked that “how life
themselves to local conditions and produced an was lived” entails a “cultural process” which
abundance of new forms native” to the country. Fr. becomes meaningful if it is contemporized. In
Lynch allayed the “fear” of “any loss of identity,” recreating the cultural history of the Philippines,
saying that “as long as we screen out obvious he adopted a “processualist perspective.” By this
cultural weeds,” there was nothing to “fear” he meant that Filipino culture can only be
 Arts and Culture: Heritage, Practices and Futures

Presented at the 10th DLSU Arts Congress

De La Salle University
Manila, Philippines February 16, 2017
De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines
November 24 & 25, 2016

understood if it is situated in its historical context. 3.2 Acculturation and the “Nativization”
(Hila, 2016)
Dr. Hornedo had espoused Fr. Lynch’s of the Visitor”: The Ivatan Case
dictum “Today’s Native is Yesterday’s Visitor,”
which undergirded his cultural studies. In Social Organization
explaining this concept, he spoke of the
“nativization process,” or the “process which Dr. Hornedo described the Ivatan social
transformed the visitor into a native.” He did not organization at the Spanish contact, particularly
see any “need” to “invent wheel all over again, and during the latter part of the 18th century, perusing
a nation can choose to adopt rather reinvent the report written by Fr. Balthazar Calderon, O.P.,
things.” Adverting to the case of the Filipinos, he and Fr. Bartolome Artiguez, O.P. in 1786, three
commented that they recognized “certain values in years and a half after they had established
foreign ways,” and as such, they deemed it themselves in Batanes.
appropriate to resort to cultural borrowing “for The report took note of the hierarchy
their own convenience.” Identifying the structure in the barangay and the administration
“responsibilities of today’s native,” he noted that of justice.
the “process of borrowing has been both selective Apropos of the hierarchy structure, the
and creative.” He went on to say that “the leaders had clearly defined powers. The mampos
nativization process is both a contextualizing of exercised “absolute powers” over the barangay,
imported material and an upgrading-updating of dispensing justice, and protecting and assisting the
traditional material, and that it is possible to turn whole barangay. The mampos could not change the
the immigrant and the indigenous into a hybrid.” different districts of the barangays and the
To buttress his claims, he called attention to the authority and rights of the mapalones. Subject to
“culinary and the other related arts.” Specifically, the authority of the mampos, the mapalones
he was referring to the “carrots, potatoes, likewise administered justice and ensured the
strawberries (in the Cordilleras), even apples (in protection of the people in their respective districts.
Bauko, Mountain Province) and grapes (in Cebu The mapalones had jurisdiction over their subjects
and the Ilocos-Pangasinan regions),” which have since the barangay had been further divided into
been cultivated to “improve the diet of the native small units, which were governed by four chieftains
and free him from traditionally scarce foodstuffs” who had their “respective rights, privileges, and
(Hornedo, 1997b, pp. 86, 88-89, 94). preeminences.” The mampos, the mapalones and
In another essay entitled “The Visitor and their “subalterns” administered justice within the
the Native in the Jeepney and the Tricycle,” Dr. range of their respective authority. “Powerful
Hornedo dealt with American Willys jeep and the barangays” were called “barangays of refuge”
because they could lend assistance to anyone who
Japanese Honda motorcycle as “yesterday’s
sought protection in them (Hornedo, 2000, pp.
visitors” that had been “nativized.” The Filipinos 47,49).
had appropriated them and utilized them for With respect to the administration of
transportation and convenience. In the process, the justice, the Dominican missionaries reported that
jeepney and the the tricycle had been “Filipinized.” the Ivatans imposed harsh punishment on cases
But Dr. Hornedo made it clear that the “Filipino pertaining to the ”disruption of peace” in the
addition” to these modes of transportation was not barangay. For those who committed homicide, they
were made to suffer capital punishment “without
simply an “appendage,” but an “identity, a
any chance of remission.” Robbery and adultery
habitation and name.” The transformation, he were punishable by fines. The Ivatans observed
added, was a “growth, an adaptation to “very little or no formality at all.” For those meted
environment.” By way of conclusion, he defined the death sentence, the “culprit” was not “informed
“Filipinizing” as the “process of exorcising the until they get him for execution.” In the event that
alienness of the borrowed technology by bringing the crime was not subject to death penalty and the
parties involved belonged to the same barangay,
into it the familiar and social marks and features of
the mampos took charge of administering justice.
Filipinicity” (Hornedo, 1997b, pp. 112-114). On the other hand, if the lawbreaker resided in
 Arts and Culture: Heritage, Practices and Futures

Presented at the 10th DLSU Arts Congress

De La Salle University
Manila, Philippines February 16, 2017
De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines
November 24 & 25, 2016

another barangay, the offended could “capture him The Ivatans continued to construct their
(if they can)”, and “they keep him captive in their “traditional houses,” notwithstanding the
own house.” Upon notification of their leaders of introduction of the galvanized iron in the 1890s and
the capture, the offended and their chieftains met
concrete in the early part of the American
to decide on the fine to be imposed on the
lawbreaker. He was apprised of the fine and death occupation (Hornedo, 2000, pp. 57, 58, 61, 62, 66,
penalty, “without hearing or paying attention to 70).
any matters regarding the case.” In the face of
“conflicts and hostilities,” if it involved a person, Ethno-medical beliefs and practices
the problem was acted upon “within the day”
because the “loser ends up dead.” In the event that Dr. Hornedo conducted field work in the
he lived, he had to be punished by the “winning island municipality of Sabtang and in other
party.” The same was applicable to squabbles municipalities on the Batan Island namely, Basco,
among families. (Hornedo, 2000, pp. 49, 51, 53-54) Mahatao, Ivana and Uyugan to study the
The relationship among the leaders was traditional medicine of the Ivatans. The field work
adversarial, regularly engaging in incessant commenced in 1975, the last one of which was done
conflict. If the conflict involved a barangay against from March 28 to April 6, 1988.
another, “killings on both sides” did not cease Investigating the “etiology” of the
because it was customary for them to “kill everyone sicknesses, Dr. Hornedo found out that the causes
caught off guard or unarmed wherever they meet emanated from the “(1) the spirit world, (2)
them” (Hornedo, 2000, p. 54). psychological forces, and (3) physical nature and its
In the face of such aggression, Dr. Hornedo laws.” Those factors that derived from the “spirit
commented that Christianity offered the Ivatans an world” included the “direct intervention of spirits”
“alternative way of life” which, “if not always easy and those that “come as punishment for the
and acceptable to some of them,” it presented violation of taboos.” Regarding the “psychological
them a possibility to attain “a different kind of forces,” the Ivatans believed that these were
peace.” Dr. Hornedo maintained that the religion “attributable” to “human malevolence” and
was “to a significant degree an option rather than a “personal or alien forces.” On the subject of
complete imposition” (Hornedo, 2000, p. 45). “physical nature and its laws,” these were the
natural forces based on the Ivatan’s concept of
Ivatan houses nature (Hornedo, 2000: 175-197).
Dr. Hornedo delved into the methods of
Writing on the evolution of the Ivatan diagnosis. The first method involved “observation
houses, Dr. Hornedo had aptly remarked that it and palpitation,” which were done through the
“eyes and fingers,” looking at the “general
was the “story of adaptation, assimilation, and
appearance” of the patient and “pressing through
creative use of locally available materials.” Citing the overlay of tissue” by the “trained fingers of the
the account of William Dampier, Dr. Hornedo folk orthopedist.” In the second method, the
wrote that before the advent of Spanish patient was summoned to a conference with the
colonization of the Philippines, the Ivatans built medic, who “may ask questions to be answered
“but small low houses.” By 1794, it was reported point by point by the patient”; or start a
that fango (mud) and stones were used in building conversation with the patient to determine the
cause of the sickness, resulting in “mutual
the walls of the houses. Eventually, the Ivatans
understanding” between the medic and the patient.
built the “traditional houses” made of lime-and- The third method had to do with group diagnosis,
stone with thick cogon roof. These houses could which set off a “freewheeling exchange of ideas and
withstand strong typhoon. Tracing the beginnings information” among the patient, the members of his
of such architecture, Dr. Hornedo stated that it family and the medic before a prescription was
made its “first appearance” in 1795 “in the form of given. In relation to the fourth method, the
patients undertook self-diagnosis if they suffered
Spanish public buildings,” which technique was
from “recurrent attacks of a particular ailment.”
appropriated and changed to “suit private needs.”
The fifth method concerned magical diagnosis,
 Arts and Culture: Heritage, Practices and Futures

Presented at the 10th DLSU Arts Congress

De La Salle University
Manila, Philippines February 16, 2017
De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines
November 24 & 25, 2016

whrereby the patients turned to “ritual, plebeyo, are refused entry in heaven, “but remain
incantation, and such objects as tawas and knots in the atmosphere as wandering añitu, causing
for divination” (Hornedo, 2000: 197-203). harm or doing good depending on their whims.”
Dr. Hornedo looked into the “procedures Contrasting this with the “recent Christianized
and techniques of medication.” These consisted of view,” Dr. Hornedo stated that the souls are
“(1) massage, (2) the use of organic and non-organic categorized “between those in peace and those
substances, (3) psychological remedies, (4) rituals suffering from either damnation or purgation,” the
and prayers/spells, (5) use of substances which “distinction” being placed on the “moral state at the
believed to repel evil, (6) returning the evil spell to time of death” whether the person is a “sinner” or a
its origin, and (7) supplication for Divine Mercy” “saint.” Another important point raised by Dr.
(Hornedo, 2000, pp. 203-213). Hornedo has to do with the functions of food and
Dr. Hornedo learned that the Ivatans drink. In the context of the aboriginal religion, food
managed to acquire ethno-medical “beliefs and and drink were offered to sympathizers and at the
ideas” from other cultures when they travelled to same time, they were considered as “sacrifice to the
Luzon, particularly to Manila. He found out that souls.” On the other hand, looking at the “recent
the Ivatans learned how to use “non-traditional practice,” the offering of food and drink is a
Ivatan medical materials such as the tiger balm or “hospitable act,” and is no longer considered as an
tigre, the mentholatum and the eyedrops from the act of “sacrifice.” Although no sacrificial offering to
drugstores in Manila. He observed that the a dead person has been performed, the Ivatans
Ivatans have readily agreed to take “modern offer food and drink “sacrifices to the añitu,
scientific medication.” He ascertained that the hoping to obtain “protection and favor.” Dr.
“folk medics” underwent seminars and training on Hornedo affirmed that the concept of the diablo was
“scientific hygiene and disinfection” (Hornedo, borrowed from the Spanish colonizers, but it had its
2000: 215-218). precursor in the aboriginal period as the Ivatans
drove away the wicked añitu by “frightening it with
Religious Beliefs and Practices bolos and sharpened sticks placed near the head of
the sick person.” In recent times, “holy images”
Relying on the observations of the Spanish and “sacramentals such as Holy Water or blessed
chroniclers at the Spanish contact (referred to as palms” are used to expel the bad spirits. Some
the “aboriginal sources”) and the data culled from Ivatans still make use of “odoriferous substances”
his field work (denoted as “recent data”). Dr. like garlic to drive out the wicked spirits—an
Hornedo rendered an account of the Ivatan affirmation of the “cultural mix” (Hornedo, 2000,
religious beliefs and practices, particularly those pp. 249-251).
pertaining to death and after death and the añitu.
The account revolved around the cult, code and 4. Conclusion
creed, the first two being “practices,” and the third
one, “beliefs.”
The late Dr. Florentino Hornedo, the
Analyzing the data, Dr. Hornedo
established that the Ivatans were acculturated to foremost Ivatan authority, had made significant
Catholic teachings relating to death and after contribution to the ethno-cultural history of the
death, but there were certain aspects of Ivatan Ivatans of the Batanes Isles. Guided by his
religion that persist despite professing the Catholic conviction that the study of Ivatan culture could
religion. Nonetheless, while there were differences facilitate the understanding and appreciation of the
between the “aboriginal belief system and the
country’s diverse cultural heritage, the guru
acculturated Catholic Christian worldview in the
matter of ritual,” Dr. Hornedo took note of the dedicated his time to the lofty ideal of promoting
continuing belief of the Ivatans in the aboriginal and preserving the culture of the Ivatans, his
añitu. Clarifying the idea of the “division of the cultural roots. In adopting a “processualist
souls in the other life” in the “aboriginal” sense, Dr. perspective,” he saw the importance of situating
Hornedo pointed out that the souls of the upper the study of Filipino culture in its proper historical
class-“principalia”- are admitted to heaven and context. Appropriating the dictum “Today’s Native
“become stars,” and those of the common people-
 Arts and Culture: Heritage, Practices and Futures

Presented at the 10th DLSU Arts Congress

De La Salle University
Manila, Philippines February 16, 2017
De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines
November 24 & 25, 2016

is Yesterday’s Visitor,” of Dr. Frank Lynch, S.J., and Publications, School of Arts and
that underpinned his ethnographic studies, the Sciences, Ateneo de Manila University.
renowned cultural historian endeavored to study
how the Ivatans borrowed and assimilated the Hornedo, F. H. (2000). Ivatan Social Organization
foreign cultural elements, and modified them to According to Fr. Baltazar Calderon, O.P.,
suit their particular needs and local conditions. and Fr. Bartholome Artiguez, O.P. In F.
These processes were evident in such aspects of H. Hornedo. Taming the Wind: Ethno-
their culture as social organization, houses and Cultural History on the Ivatan of the
ethno-medical and religious beliefs and practices. Batanes Isles. Manila: University of Santo
Tomas Publishing House.
5. References
Hornedo, F. H. (2000). The Traditional Ivatan
Cultural Center of the Philippines. (2015, House: A Historical Survey. In F.H.
December 15). Cultural Studies Pioneer Hornedo. Taming the Wind: Ethno-
Florentino H. Hornedo dies. Retrieved Cultural History on the Ivatan of the
November 15, 2016, from Batanes Isles. Manila: University of Santo
http://culturalcenter.gov.ph/press- Tomas Publishing House.
room/cultural-studies-pioneer-florentino-h-
hornedo-dies/ Hornedo, F. H. (2000). Ethnomedicine of the
Isabtangs. In F.H. Hornedo. Taming the
Hila, A. C. (2016, November 12). Homage to an
Wind: Ethno-Cultural History on the
Iconic Legend: A Tribute to Prof. Dr.
Ivatan of the Batanes Isles. Manila:
Florentino Hornedo. Remarks delivered
University of Santo Tomas Publishing
during the First Memorial Lecture in
House
honor of Dr. Hornedo at the TARC Bldg.,
St. Antoninus Hall. Hornedo, F. H. (2000). Death and After Death:
Ivatan Beliefs and Practices. In F. H.
Hornedo, F. H. (1997a). Laji: An Ivatan Folk Lyric
Hornedo. Taming the Wind: Ethno-
Tradition. Manila: UST Publishing House.
Cultural History on the Ivatan of the
Hornedo, F. H. (1997b). Today’s Native is Batanes Isles. Manila: University of Santo
Yesterday’s Visitor. In F. H. Hornedo. Tomas Publishing House.
Pagmamahal and Pagmumura: Essays.
Lemon, M. C. (2003). Philosophy of History: A
Quezon City: Office of Research and
Guide for Students. London: Routledge.
Publications, School of Arts and Sciences,
Ateneo de Manila University. Lynch, F., S.J. (2004). Today’s Native is Yesterday’s
Visitor. In A.A. Yengoyan & P.Q. Makil
Hornedo, F. H. (1997b). The Visitor and the Native (Ed.). Philippine Society the Individual:
in the Jeepney and the Tricycle. In F.H. Selected Essays of Frank Lynch (Rev. ed.).
Hornedo. Pagmamahal and Pagmumura: Quezon City: Institute of Philippine
Essays. Quezon City: Office of Research Culture: Ateneo de Manila University.
 Arts and Culture: Heritage, Practices and Futures

Presented at the 10th DLSU Arts Congress

De La Salle University
Manila, Philippines February 16, 2017
De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines
November 24 & 25, 2016