This ethnographic work provides a detailed, first-hand account of the life and customs of the non-Christian tribes of the Mountain Province in Northern Luzon, Philippines, primarily focusing on the Ifugao people. Written by an American who served as a colonial-era supervising teacher and ethnographer in the region during the early 20th century, the book documents a period of significant cultural transition. It describes the traditional societal structures, the intricate system of Ifugao Law mediated by the monkalun or go-between, and the remarkable engineering of their vast rice terraces. The narrative is set against the backdrop of the American colonial administration's efforts to integrate these tribes, suppress the practice of headhunting, and introduce Western education and governance to a population that had largely resisted Spanish colonization.
The half-way sun: life among the headhunters of the Philippines