Apayao
The Apayaos are a river people, getting their name from the warm waters of the Apayao River. They can be found in the northwestern end of the island of Luzon from Abulog up to the Apayao River. This mountainous area is rich in life with its dark tropical rainforests.
These virile people are said to have come to this region in two waves, a few thousand years ago; the Indonesians by way of Southeastern Asia, and the Mongolians by way of Central Asia. These two waves found a home in the northern end of the Cordillera Central Mountains. Their cultures amalgamated into a new one. Physically, the Indonesian strain dominated; but Mongoloid features are present, especially the short Mongol.
The Apayaos are kind, hospitable and generous. They are highly aesthetic in temperament, are self-reliant, and honest. If by some ill fate you drop something, even money, on the trail, the finder will return it to you. They believe that if a man steals, his wife will leave him; or, if they acquire money unfairly and buy rice with it, the rice, when eaten, will give them no strength. As born psychologists, they enjoy working on you so that you will think and act as they desire. They like a practical joke even when it is on themselves. In fact, even accidents are taken as jokes and the one who has been injured is the one who laughs the hardest. When going through hardships, they show true endurance. Their code is to laugh and joke near the end just as if they had only awakened from a good sleep
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