Ironwork

Most larger Cordilleran villages possessed an iron smithy. The smiths of the Buguias region, however, had long been noted for their expert work; others simply could not match the temper they imparted to their implements. Accordingly, they worked in secrecy. The German naturalist Carl Semper (1862 [1975]: 29) could not even learn the locations of the local workshops. Buguias wares—and the smiths themselves—were thus in demand through much of Benguet. Local traders often carried iron goods on their rounds, while outsiders traveled to Buguias to purchase them directly.

In the late American period, iron forging was centered in the small village of Lingadan just north of Buguias proper. The smiths had to live and work in remote, wooded areas, so great was their demand for charcoal. Although legends tell of iron ore once being gathered in the river bed, it is more likely that raw iron was always obtained through coastal trade, its ultimate source being eastern China (see Scott's note in Meyer 1890 [1975]: 63). Buguias smiths fashioned sundry iron tools, most notably bolo knives, culinary knives, digging trowels, iron or iron-tipped bars, and axes. Different grades of iron served for different kinds of bolos: soft but cohesive metal for rough tasks, such as smashing bones, and harder but brittler steel for finer work.