Reviving Heritage: Itawit Building Rituals and Sustainable Architecture

Michael Tabao

doi:10.51094/jxiv.1117

##article.authors##

Michael Tabao School of Architecture, Computing, and Engineering, University of Saint Louis Tuguegarao https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1075-9446 https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=mVkZAYQAAAAJ&hl=en&authuser=1

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.51094/jxiv.1117

Keywords:

Itawit, Building Rituals, Sustainability, Indigenous Architecture, Cultural Heritage

Abstract

This article dives into Itawit construction rituals, stressing its importance in the cultural identity and architectural practices of the Itawit people of Cagayan Valley, Philippines. It describes five main stages of these rituals: Arte, Makergo, Patunak, Mattaliguni, and Aggunet, all of which demonstrate a great regard for the environment and a spiritual connection to nature's invisible aspects. The study emphasizes how these rituals direct the construction process and represent sustainability principles by incorporating socio-environmental issues into traditional activities. Using locally obtained materials and involving the community in the construction process, Itawit architecture showcases ethno-sustainable techniques that respect cultural legacy and environmental sensitivity. The findings highlight the necessity of keeping these rituals as essential components of Itawit identity, as well as providing useful insights on sustainability that extend beyond their cultural setting. This investigation calls for the identification of indigenous knowledge systems as critical to contemporary sustainability discourse, supporting a holistic concept of architecture that balances human activity with the natural world.

Conflicts of Interest Disclosure

The author of this paper has no conflict of interest whatsoever including any relevant financial or nonfinancial competing interests to report.

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Author Biography

Michael Tabao, School of Architecture, Computing, and Engineering, University of Saint Louis Tuguegarao

Architect Michael Tabao is a fantasy of the Architecture Department, School of
Architecture, Computing, and Engineering of the University of Saint Louis, Tuguegarao
City; alumnus of MS Architecture of Mapua University, Philippines and Sakura Science
Exchange Program, Japan Science and Technology Agency ( JST ), Japan. His research
interests include language documentation, history, heritage conservation, indigenous
and sustainable architecture, and architectural history. He is a member of Sakura
Science Club, Japan Science & Technology Agency, Japan and International Council
on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), Philippines. He is happy married to Gay
Cabanayan Soriano-Tabao. He can be contacted at mtabao@usl.edu.ph.

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