'Igorotak, mensilsilponak' Inayan and Other Expressions of Indigeneity Through the Mobile Phone

• In Event: Use of Mobile Services in Different Contexts (High-Density)

Abstract

Deeper than forbidden, more profound than taboo, this is how the Igorot of Mountain Province, Philippines describe inayan, an indigenous code intensely interwoven into their social fabric. Inayan loosely refers to the community’s don’ts. The phrase “ay, inayan!” is culturally thick, invoking all of the tribe’s ancestral values and history.
Ethnographic data from three Igorot villages show how their indigenous code inayan permeates their mobile phone use, from simple “Do not bring your mobile phones on the table” to more morally imposing “Do not use your mobile phone to philander”. This concept of inayan remains integral to the Igorot culture although elders account that the younger generations have a somewhat shallower understanding and therefore a lesser sense of accountability to the code.
As the Igorot struggle to keep their lifeways and traditions intact, the mobile phone continues to both facilitate this and at the same time get in the way.

Author

• Dazzelyn Baltazar Zapata, National U of Singapore