HEIRLOOM BEADS OF THE CORDILLERA: Jewels of Identity, Memory, and Mountain Sovereignty

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12 Dec 2025
18 mins
Out of Town Blog
Melo Villareal

Author: Melo Villareal

High above the sprawling lowland plains, where the crisp scent of pine forests lingers and cold mountain air snakes through timeworn valleys, the Cordillera peoples of Northern Luzon have nurtured a vibrant tradition of body adornment, each piece bearing a story. Among their most cherished cultural objects are heirloom beads—intricate relics of trade, handcrafted artistry, […]

Out of Town Blog

HEIRLOOM BEADS OF THE CORDILLERA: Jewels of Identity, Memory, and Mountain Sovereignty

High above the sprawling lowland plains, where the crisp scent of pine forests lingers and cold mountain air snakes through timeworn valleys, the Cordillera peoples of Northern Luzon have nurtured a vibrant tradition of body adornment, each piece bearing a story. Among their most cherished cultural objects are heirloom beads—intricate relics of trade, handcrafted artistry, and ancestral legacy. These multicolored beads, made from gemstones and others from glass, some predating the pre-Spanish colonial era, traveled across distant Asian maritime routes before finding their place in mountain settlements nestled in the heart of towering ranges.

In the Cordillera, beads are far more than mere ornamentation. Worn with dignity, they embody social status, serve as conduits for spiritual protection, signify economic wealth, and function as living family archives passed through generations. To study these beads is to witness how the communities of Kalinga, Ifugao, Bontoc, Kankanaey, Ibaloy, and Isneg shaped their world—from the vibrant hues and tactile patterns they crafted to the intricate ties of kinship and tradition that endure in each strand.

The Roots of a Mountain Jewel

Before colonizers reached the Philippine archipelago, beads had already reached the northern highlands via extensive and sophisticated trade networks. These networks linked the Philippines to powerful civilizations, including China, India, Vietnam, Indonesia, and as far away as Venice, Italy.

Through these maritime and overland routes, traders not only exchanged beads but also brought a variety of luxury goods, including silk, ceramics, precious stones, metal ornaments, and spices. The influx of these items influenced local culture and craft traditions, with beads becoming highly valued as status symbols, ritual items, and markers of social prestige among mountain communities.

Traders from each region contributed distinct styles, materials, and techniques, making the bead trade a vibrant part of pre-colonial Filipino history. Traders brought:

Chinese glass beads
Indian agate and carnelian beads
Venetian Chevron glass trade beads
Southeast Asian glass and shell beads
Austria’s agate beads
South Africa’s premium carnelian beads
Venice, Indonesia, and India’s glass beads with gold foil, also called Pang-ao in Ifugao

Because the Cordillera communities lacked local sources of glass, these beads became highly valued. With each trade exchange—often involving gold, rice, salt, or forest products—beads accumulated prestige.

Over the centuries, beads transformed into potent symbols of spiritual connection and family continuity. They became heirlooms—objects imbued with ancestral presence.

Tribal Traditions and Their Heirloom Treasures

KALINGA:

Adornment of Prestige, Beauty, and Warrior Lineage.

Historically, the beauty of Kalinga women was closely linked with power. Beads layered across the chest or worn as headpieces signified a person’s rank, age, and family lineage.

1906 Photo of a Kalinga Women wearing Bongor

Among the Kalinga peoples, beads hold a significant place as cultural treasures. They meticulously preserve these beads as multi-strand necklaces, which are never separated. Instead, each necklace is handed down as a complete piece from mother to first daughter, maintaining both its ancestral assembly and emotional value. This deliberate practice prevents the addition of unfamiliar beads to their collections and preserves the historical and cultural integrity of these necklaces. In this way, Kalinga bead collections remain ‘closed,’ resisting external influences and maintaining a lineage of tradition.

The necklaces can be short styles, such as the ‘dalisdis’—a traditional, intricately crafted multistrand necklace measuring approximately 16 to 18 inches in length. This design often features delicate beads as small as 5mm, typically made from glass, shell, or finely polished stones, and painstakingly strung together to create an elegant, layered appearance around the neck.

In contrast, the ‘winayway’ showcases an arrangement of much larger beads, some measuring up to 3 inches in length. These beads are commonly made from materials such as carved wood, bone, or vibrant stone. They are displayed on a long strand that can be draped from the shoulder across the torso to the opposite hip, serving as both a striking accessory and a statement piece that reflects tribal artistry and status.

Bongor

Bongor (also spelled bongey) refers to traditional beads that are an essential part of Kalinga culture and heritage. Here’s what they represent:

Bongor beads were worn by the Kalinga people as:

Decorative pieces – for adornment and beauty
Status symbols – to show social status and wealth
Identity markers – to indicate gender and religion
Healing tools – some beads were used by priestesses for healing purposes
Trade items – high-value bongors were used for trading commodities

Bongor are typically worn as strings of beads like necklaces. The beads are genuine gems and are valuable. The larger the beads, the wealthier the person: Kalinga women who owned bongors were usually affluent and held high positions in the village.

Yellow, red, blue, brown, black, and white are the dominant colors in the patterns of both bracelets and necklaces.

Types of Beads used in Bongor

Adchongan

Adchongan (also spelled Addongan or Adiongan) are highly valued agate beads that are prominent and notably priced in the Kalinga culture. These are stone-banded agate beads, ranging in size from 5mm to 5cm, making them among the largest traditional beads in Kalinga collections. Adchongan beads are abundant in Kalinga and are considered among the most precious heirloom pieces of the Kalinga people.

Adchongan beads are of particular importance, as they serve as the centerpiece of the winayway, described as the most valuable adornment of the Kalinga. The winayway is a long two-strand bead ensemble that features the largest number of valued agate beads among Cordillera societies. In this ensemble, the larger adchongan beads are paired with smaller agate beads called impit.

Like other Kalinga beads (bongey), adchongan are part of the native social fabric and attire, intimately woven into the lives of the Kalinga people. These beads have been handed down from generation to generation as precious heirlooms, representing wealth, status, and cultural identity. The ownership of adchongan beads, particularly the larger specimens, traditionally indicated affluence and high social standing within Kalinga communities.

Paraggi / Chumat

The Chumat bead is a uniquely crafted Venetian chevron bead, celebrated for its distinctive aesthetic and deep cultural significance within Kalinga society. The paraggi, also referred to as palaggi or panggi, is a barrel-shaped bead with six facets. Made from seven layers of blue, white, and red glass, its layers are arranged in detailed, complex patterns.

These beads, typically small to medium in size, are skillfully shaped into cylinders featuring a rich, opaque blue color. Elegantly adorned at each end with intricate red-and-white wave patterns, these embellishments form bold chevron motifs that catch the eye. The bead is named a chevron, star, or rosette bead due to the star-like pattern generated by multiple glass layers, visible when viewed from above. This layered design not only highlights the bead’s craftsmanship but also enhances its visual appeal and uniqueness.

Paraggi beads, considered precious heirlooms, are believed to have been crafted on the island of Murano, near Venice, Italy, a center of glassmaking, in the early 1500s. These intricate beads were part of a thriving trade that linked Europe to many parts of the world. Today, however, many Chumat beads found in Kalinga have a more recent history, having been introduced by an anthropologist keen to collect and study cultural artifacts of the local community, despite the variation in when and how they arrived, paraggi or Chumat beads have acquired lasting economic importance and enduring symbolic significance in local customs, ceremonies, and as family treasures.

Historically, their value was considerable—a single large bead could be traded for a small pig, and a smaller bead was worth as much as a hen. Such beads are not merely decorative; they are thoughtfully incorporated into complex necklaces worn during important community events—weddings, funerals, and harvest celebrations—to convey wealth, prestige, and the wearer’s social rank. Through these displays, the beads reflect both personal adornment and the cultural wealth of the Kalinga community.

Agate/Jar Beads/Buyod

The Buyodor “Jar” beads are unique and rare, and are usually worn as pendants on necklaces. They are shaped like little jars, hence the name. Sung, Ming, and Ching porcelain jars, as well as Annamese and other earthenware jars, are considered heirlooms in Kalinga, thus adding significance to the jar beads.

A relatively large and frequent agate is the burod. This is distinctive and elegant, with a whitish band around the middle. They are sometimes found in pairs on twin-stranded bead arrangements in the same manner, with their traditional value equivalent to that of a large boar (gangao). Various large agates are exceptional, well-known in Kalinga, and commonly used as the centerpiece of necklaces.

A few examples of long strands of agates with several big beads have been documented, but these cannot be considered typical.

Pilampalay

Pilampalay is a traditional heirloom bead recognized by the Kalinga people of the Cordillera region in the Philippines. It is among the common types of Kalinga beads, alongside other varieties such as Adchongan, Carnelian Beads, Paraggi (or Chumat), Jar Beads (Buyod), and Impit.

Like other Kalinga beads (bongey), pilampalay beads are part of the Kalinga people’s rich cultural heritage and are available in various colors. However, some may be simple and plain. The beads exhibit various polyhedral and non-polyhedral shapes, demonstrating the mathematical concepts employed in traditional Kalinga bead making.

Carnelian Beads

Carnelian beads are reddish-orange to brownish-red semi-precious stone beads that have been highly valued in Kalinga culture as part of their traditional heirloom bead collections (bongey).

These beads likely originated from ancient trade routes connecting the Philippines with India, the Middle East, and other parts of Asia, as carnelian stone is not naturally found in the Philippines but has been traded across Asia for thousands of years.

In the Kalinga culture, carnelian beads are one of the recognized traditional bead types, and the beads serve as critical cultural items representing beauty, memory, wealth, and social status within Kalinga communities. Carnelian beads are incorporated into necklaces and other ornamental pieces, with their warm red and orange hues complementing the dominant color palette of yellow, red, black, and white found in Kalinga beadwork.

The ownership of carnelian beads, particularly larger or more numerous pieces, traditionally indicated affluence and high social standing; wealthy Kalinga women who possessed such valuable beads often held prestigious positions within their villages. These ancient trade beads continue to be restrung and actively worn, connecting past generations with the present and ensuring they remain a living part of Kalinga cultural heritage.

Impit

Impit beads are smaller agate stone beads that form an essential component of traditional Kalinga heirloom bead ensembles, particularly the highly valued winayway necklace, where they are paired with larger addongan/adiongan agate beads.

These agate beads likely originated from ancient trade networks connecting the Philippines with India, Southeast Asia, and China, regions known for agate deposits and bead production, which traded extensively across maritime routes for centuries.

The smaller size of impit beads allows them to be strung in multiple strands and used as spacers or accent beads in elaborate necklace designs, contributing to the visual complexity and value of Kalinga beadwork.

These beads represent the rich history of the Kalinga people and their connections to ancient trade systems, and they continue to be worn and treasured as heirlooms passed down through generations, embodying cultural memory, beauty, and the enduring traditions of Kalinga society.

Bongor represents the rich history of the Kalinga people (IKalingas) and remains integral to their cultural identity. Women and men wear different styles to denote social status, gender, and other distinctions.

IFUGAO:

Wealth that Echoes the Rice Terraces

Pango

Pango (also called pangao, pangaw, or pang-o) are highly prized traditional beads among the Ifugao people of the Philippines.

Pango are two-layered translucent glass beads with a gold foil inserted between the layers. This unique construction makes the bead resemble yellow amber, with a glimmering metal trapped inside. A necklace of pangao beads is usually strung together with red glass beads.

Pango is considered the most valuable bead ensemble among the Ifugao. The gold-encased glass beads represent significant wealth and prestige.

Cultural Significance

Status Symbol: Pango beads serve as a symbol of the kadangyan class – the wealthy, elite class in Ifugao society
Worn by Both Genders: Numerous beads are strung together and worn by both Ifugao men and women as a necklace
Cultural Heritage: These beads are an essential part of Ifugao material culture and represent the sophisticated social stratification and wealth systems of Ifugao society

BONTOC:

Minolting

Minolting is a traditional beaded accessory from Bontoc, Mountain Province, Philippines. The minolting is composed of multiple strands of seed beads. It is one of at least five bead types recognized by the Bontoc people. The Bontoc people of Mountain Province have a rich tradition of beadwork. Beads serve multiple purposes in their culture:

Aesthetic purposes – for beauty and adornment
Practical purposes – some bead ensembles serve as hair ties
Status markers – indicating social position and identity

The Bontoc recognize various types of traditional beads, with the fekhas (also spelled fukas or bukas) being another notable ensemble. The fekhas is worn exclusively on the head by married women and combines decorative and functional elements.

The minolting, along with other Bontoc beadwork, represents an essential part of Mountain Province’s indigenous heritage, arts, and crafts.

The Lasting Strength of Cordillera Beads

Across the highlands, these artisanal treasures hold shared meanings:

Wealth: A bead can be used to purchase livestock or settle disputes.
Identity: Colors, patterns, and bead types signal tribal affiliation.
Spirituality: Worn during rites to call ancestors and request blessings.
Memory: Passed down to children, carrying the stories of generations.
Global Connection: Proof of ancient trade routes long before foreign rule.

In the Cordillera, heirloom beads continue to live—not as relics behind beads, but as cultural threads woven into festivals, rituals, weddings, and everyday life.

They are jewels not of gold, but of memory, identity, and mountain sovereignty.