Personal Adornments

In the Luzon Cordillera, personal adornments have long been associated with the wearer’s identity, social status, and wealth. This is also a reflection of the people’s access to raw materials through trade and barter, and also of their mobility to other neighboring places. For instance, materials like traded shells in a range of sizes and forms are often associated with very intricate adornments that are owned by the high-status members of the community. Some adornments, although used in everyday life, are also deeply tied to ceremonies as body ornamentations during rituals and other occasions. Some were worn as amulets for self-protection. Tattoo-like designs, human hair, elaborative basketwork, and animal parts such as teeth, snake vertebrae, and feathers are some of the materials primarily used to embellish personal adornments.