Join us for a walk-through of the new exhibit Mountain Spirits: Rice and Indigeneity in the Northern Luzon Highlands, Philippines at the Fowler Museum.

Sunday, April 12, 2026
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM (Pacific Time)
Fowler Museum at UCLA

Join us for exhibition walk-throughs of Mountain Spirits: Rice and Indigeneity in the Northern Luzon Highlands, Philippines, led by guest co-curators Stephen Acabado (UCLA) and Marlon Martin (Save the Ifugao Terraces Movement). The walkthroughs offer unique perspectives on the research, community partnerships, and ancestral knowledge that shaped this exhibition. Visitors will gain deeper insight into the tinawon (rice cycle), mumbaki rituals, and the intricate relationship between ecology, spirituality, and craftsmanship that define Ifugao life.

About the exhibition

For generations, the Ifugao of northern Luzon have transformed steep mountainsides into rice terraces—astonishing feats of engineering that are also sacred landscapes shaped by ritual, community, and a profound connection to land. Mountain Spirits: Rice and Indigeneity in the Northern Luzon Highlands, Philippines immerses visitors in this world through carved guardians, ritual bowls, woven blankets, farming tools, soundscapes, and video installations. Together, these works reveal how sustenance and spirituality are entwined, and how generosity, labor, and environmental care nurture Ifugao life. Recognized by UNESCO for embodying ancestral knowledge and sustainable practices, the terraces remain enduring testaments to human ingenuity and ecological balance. They are not monuments to the past, but living sites where memory, work, and spirit continue to converge.

Sponsor(s): Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Fowler Museum at UCLA