Bulul Couple (rice deities)

19th century, Wood, wire, residue of organic offerings, Philippines, Northern Luzon, Ifugao, 2005.181–182

Learn about it!

Bulul couple (rice deities) once watched over the fields of rice grown by the Ifugao people, and such figures sometimes still do. Bulul watch over the rice fields because rice is the most important food for most people in the Philippines and other places in Asia. Members of Ifugao communities also give thanks to the bulul figures during celebrations.

Towering Terraces

  1. This photo shows the land that Ifugao figures like the Bulul couple (rice deities) would watch over. What do you see? Why do you think this was an important place to watch over?
  2. When you leave the museum today, use a grown-up’s smartphone to take a photo of a special place in your life. Why is this place special to you? How do you watch over it?
Sagada Rice Terraces, Sagada, Philippines. Photo by Sebastian Herrmann.

A Great Grain

For hundreds of years, rice and rice farming have been very important to the Ifugao people in the Philippines. Many Ifugao traditions have to do with rice and the ancestors who planted and grew it. The picture above shows someone making binakle, an Ifugao rice cake. The rice is pounded into a powder that is mixed with water and other ingredients. Then it’s wrapped in banana leaves to be served and eaten.

Is there a food in your life that is especially important to your family or who you are? What kind of food is it, and why is it important?

Photo by Dwight Pumihic Malanta, Philippine Information Agency.

Objects Tell Stories

Like Bulul couple (rice deities), this food bowl is also made of wood and comes from the Ifugao culture in the Philippines.

In Ifugao communities, people hold feasts to honor gods with food, drink, stories, and proverbs. During this time, bulul figures are brought out to share the bounty of rice, chicken, pig, caribou, and rice wine. This bowl is another of the many Ifugao objects in the museum’s collection related to feasting.

Do you share stories and sayings during special meals like at holidays? What else do you share during that time?

Food bowl, Ifugao, Northern Luzon, Philippines, 19th century, wood, 3 x 14 1/2 x 12in. (7.6 x 36.8 x 30.5cm), Gift of Georgia Schwartz Sales, 2003.73.
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