Igorot people

Igorot, or Cordillerans, is the collective name of several Austronesian ethnic groups in The Philippines, who inhabit the mountains of Luzon. These highland peoples inhabit the six provinces of the Cordillera Administrative Region: Abra, Apayao, Benguet, Kalinga, Ifugao, and Mountain Province, as well as Baguio City and the adjacent province of Nueva Vizcaya.

Etymology

The word "Igorot" is an exonym, derived from the archaic Tagalog term for "mountain people" (formed from the prefix i-, "dweller of" and golot, "mountain range"). During the Spanish colonial era, the term was variously recorded as Igolot, Ygolot, and Igorrote, compliant to Spanish orthography.

The endonyms Ifugao or Ipugao (also meaning "mountain people") are used more frequently within the Igorots themselves, as igorot is viewed by some as slightly pejorative.

Cordillera ethnic groups

The Igorots may be roughly divided into two general subgroups: the larger group lives in the south, central and western areas, and is very adept at rice-terrace farming; the smaller group lives in the east and north. Prior to Spanish colonisation of the islands, the peoples now included under the term did not consider themselves as belonging to a single, cohesive ethnic group.