Landlocked: The Igorot Ili in the Cordillera Regional Autonomy Pageants
Jose Kervin Calabias
The present essay intervenes in the resurgent discussions on Cordillera regional autonomy by relocating “autonomy” as it is showcased in the 2023 pageant “Search for Mr. and Ms. Cordillera Autonomy Youth Ambassador” (CAYA). This government-organized pageant simulates the simultaneously isolating and relational understanding of islands through the ili, an Indigenous form of self-governance, embodied by the youth “ambassadors” in the pageant. Through cultural analysis of the pageant space, contest