Indigenous cultural reconstruction and dynamism: the Kankanaey clan reunion and other contemporary Igorot cultural innovations ∗ Gaston P. Kibiten 1 Contrary to claims about “culture loss/ culture death” among Igorots being lamented about by some sectors, this paper aims to argue otherwise. The Igorot cultures are not dying out, they are transforming. True enough, various dimensions of traditional cultures have been given up or are currently being done away with. However, this reality does not capture the whole picture. The other side of this, often subtle and less talked about, is the phenomenon of cultural reconstruction occurring in these various Igorot cultures. By cultural reconstruction, I refer to the process by which local actors reshape their given cultures vis-à-vis modern-day needs and circumstances. This reshaping of cultures indeed entails change, yet it does not spell loss or death of culture. Instead, it points out to cultural dynamism, showcasing how Igorot cultural actors manage to creatively adjust and thus perpetuate their cultural traditions amidst external challenges calling for transformation. To support its claims, this paper takes a look at and presents an analysis of the novel practice of clan reunions among the Kankanaeys as well as other recent cultural innovations occurring elsewhere among present-day Igorots. The Kankanaey clan reunions The clan reunions refer to an annual gathering among the descendants of an apical ancestor or couple. 2 This is a new practice among Kankanaeys, with the first clan reunion taking place in Mountain Province, particularly lower Bauko, only in the mid-70s. 3 This practice has slowly gained popularity over the last three decades, however, spreading as it were all over the Kankanaey areas and on to the neighboring Ibaloy communities in Benguet. This is now a common practice in almost all Kankanaey villages, including the urban centers of Baguio and La Trinidad and other areas where Kankanaeys have migrated. Why have these clan reunions come about? First, these clan reunions were organized in order to address the problems of loss of contact and unfamiliarity among blood relatives that have resulted primarily from the Kankanaeys’ out- migration from their traditional territories in recent times. These phenomena of loss of contact and unfamiliarity among kin have, by the way, caused other woes like the violation of kinship taboos (e.g., marriage or cohabitation of unknowing blood relatives and the commission of acts of violence among these) as well as the decline in the performance of traditional kin obligations (e.g., participation in major family rituals like mortuaries and weddings, and assistance in major family needs as in death and serious ailment). These present-day clan reunions provide the occasion for the reconstitution of the geographically dispersed blood relatives and, thus, alleviating these various problems cited. ∗ Paper presented during the 7 th Igorot International Consultation (IIC-7) in Banaue, Ifugao on April 12- 15, 2008