Tam-awan Village: a haibun

One of the most interesting sites to visit in Baguio City is Tam-awan Village. This is a reconstruction of a typical community of the Ifugaos, one of the indigenous peoples located in the north. To date, the place consists of seven Ifugao huts and two Kalinga houses.

is it the bamboo leaves
chirping?
this village of seven huts

In its art gallery, "paintings" done through solar drawing are displayed. In solar drawing, the artist uses sun's rays through magnifying glass as paint brush.

solar drawing--
for best results
be still

Visitors of Tam-awan village can rent any of the huts if they want to stay a night or two. The place is therefore ideal for retreats.

another transient
in this village:
a black hairy worm

An Ifugao hut is made of hand-hewn timber, except for the roof which is made of reed or cogon. The brochure for the place states that, with periodic re-roofing, the hut can last several generations. At the time of our visit, we had a chance to witness what I think is the start of the re-roofing process. In one of the huts, an old man is tying bundles of thatch.

for an old hut
that has weathered many storms,
new thatch ready