Two significant books regarding tribal groups in the northern Luzon Gran Cordillera area recently caught our eyes here at WoWasis. They’re both valuable for scholars as well as travelers, and are available at the bookstore in the Bontoc Museum, if you happen to be traveling in the area. 

Masferre: a Tribute to the Philippine Cordillera (1999, ISBN 971-91712-0-0) is a wonderful revision of the out-of-print large format book that detailed the photographic world of Eduardo Masferré, who documented ethnic groups in the Cordillera, beginning in the mid-1930s. Masferré’s father was a Catalan immigrant, his mother Northern Kankana-ey. Securing a camera by mail order, Masferré, who was self-taught, produced important and artistically significant photographs all over the Cordillera until his death in 1995. This book contains dozens of photographs, a biography, and ethnographic information on the subject material. 

Ethnography of the Major Ethnolinguistic Groups in the Cordillera (2003, ISBN 971-10-1109-3), written by the Cordillera Schools Group, Inc., is a magnificent work describing the history and culture of nine ethnic groups. These include the Bontoks, Ibaloys, Ikalahans, Ifugaos, Isnegs, Kalingas, Northern and Southern Kankana-eys, and Tingguians. In addition to information relating to everything from geographical setting to kinship and religious beliefs, each chapter includes a brief study guide, useful for a review of the more important elements of each group.