The "Inayan" Concept among Igorots

We can solve Graft and Corruption by having the Inayan concept!

                 So lucky that I was doctrined with the Inayan concept of the Igorot culture.
                 Inayan signifies fear to the perceived Supreme Being. Thus, this sense of Inayan prevent one person from doing unpleasant doings. Inayan has a religious overtone as it cites a moral from the Ten Commandments, illustrates the popular significance of inayan as a warning or caution in the conduct of things and uses inayan as an exclamation to express disappointment or annoyance.  

               Culture must not be forgotten. This was the advocacy of senior citizens who sat as official-for-a-day in Benguet on Monday, October 1. Customary laws are legislative by Council of Elders with attached moral or spiritual aspects found out later to be parallel to Biblical laws as subsumed in the Igorot sense of inayan, lawlawa baw, mangisiw, ngaag, and madmadi.

               Even the word value means has many different meanings, and placing Igorot to quality it, would only further complicate its meaning. Values could also have either good or bad implication.

              There are also Igorot attributes that are either good or bad depending on how it is taken or applied. The ba-in (meaning shame but perhaps best interpreted as shyness or dishonorable) of the modern-day Igorot could be a hindrance to his/her from showing his/her full professional development and advancement if it keeps him/her from showing his/her full potential.

              Similarly the inayan value could play for or against his/her day-to-day endeavors. Because of inayan (be careful attitude and fear of the unknown) one tends to avoid taking risks, but on the other hand it also keeps one from engaging in some bad or unwanted deeds. The spirituality of the Igorots in general is encompassed in their strong belief on the power of the Almighty referred as Kabunyan, Alawagan, Lumauig or sometimes termed as Adikaila, Nintootongdo or Manakaalin. With such belief, the core values of inayan, laaton, may kasiyana, lawlawa baw etc. are their   guiding philosophies in their everyday living.

            Inayan according to Solang is a community value similar to the popularly known karma or the concept of “you reap what you sow”. This value he said cautions as individual against   violating cultural norms or taboos. He said this is a cultural value that instills discipline, order and harmony among individuals within families and clans, within the village or tribe, and with the environment. In other tribes, inayan is called paniyew  or paniyaw.

              Inayan is a lexicon in the Kankanaey language, which is spoken mainly by the Kankanaey ethnologies   group inhabiting the western part of the Mountain Province covering the municipalities of  Bauko, Besao, Sagada,  and Tadian. Kankanaeys are also found in the found in the northern Benguet province area spanning the Mankayan,  Buguias, Kibungan, Kapangan and Guidzadan municipalities.

              Inayan means to hold back or to prevent from doing from doing something unpleasant. It is also a mild expression like “shucks”. This two meaning present the word as an ordinary verb and an exclamation. However, a deeper investigation of the presence of the word in the Kankanaey language culture, namely the fear of a Supreme Deity called Kabunian (God), forewarns or dissuades one from doing anything harmful to others. The concept of Inayan deeply rooted in the culture specifically of the Sagada and Besao Kankanaey tribes, as claimed by informants from these places. To them, inayan embodies all virtues   and morals of tribal members – humility, truthfulness, fidelity, honesty, and commitment, among others.

             In so far as these informants from Sagada and Besao are concerned, the Inayan belief recognizes utang na loob (the ‘I owe you a favor’Filipino concept)    which in this  political context, the Kankanaey native regards as “goodness”  and “kindness” coming from the giver, hence, requires a commensurate return the favor commitment.

              The Kankanaey people claim that they have a word, lawa which generically   used to mean “bad”. They also recognize that lawa does not signify a cultural value as intense as the Inayan concept.

These are some old spiritual and ethical Igorot values which are worth keeping for like the concept of Inayan. This fear  of  the perceived  Supreme Being affects  one’s  conscience , according to “Power from the Mountains”, a book by the Bakun Indigenous Tribes Organization or BITO, a people’s organization of the Kankanaey and Bago tribes of Bakun, Benguet. The perceived someone may not impose any sanction, but the offender’s conscience hurts him most, and this may mean sleepless nights for the person concerned.   Another is the paniyew or fear of the unseen or   the creator of humankind.

               A breach of the paniyew law could spell an eternal suffering for the offender, says BITO. One also is bain.  This literally means shame.  “The kankanaey and Bago society is a reproachful community. To live in such a community upon conviction of a crime is intolerable because of bain. Bain can be too heavy for a person to take so much so that   it becomes enough punishment in itself.”

            These  inayan, lawa,  and pamiyew concept carry a threat:   if you cheat  during your married life, this will  have a devastating effect in the family in the  future. The worst thing is that it is considered a curse, the misfortune does not affect the husband or wife, but   the curse may pass through  the innocent victims-the children or grandchildren.

             Melchora  Calang-ad  Chin, the composer of the “Onward IGO!” the anthem of the  Igorot Global  Organization said that “Real  Igorots are those  who learned the ways  of their ancestors, who taught us to be honest and trustworthy, implementing the virtue  of inayan.

              Here are some of the instances where inayan is applied: Inayan nan adi mangpati is ina nay a ama na, Ay no inchismis da sika, ichismis mo es daida?  Inayan, Inayan di  mangibubukod  si gawis, Inayan sa, Madi man  ongonga ay isnan dap-ay nu obaya tay inayan kanan nan am-ama and Pakay maid paylang chi?  Inayan sa.  

                A Northern Benguet tribe member, the informant associates the word with a more intense apprehension of the possible consequences as she relates inayan means scary.