Historia nad diam mi

Related to our volunteer placement work, I give Philippine history lectures.  Being a proud son of the North, I inevitably touch up on the history of the region I came from—Ybanag country.

       Ybanags were named after our word for river: Bannag.  This means, like the Taga-Ilogs or Tagalogs, we are river people.  Our homes are along the mighty Cagayan River; our farms, other livelihood and hearts are never far away from it or from its many tributaries.

       According to my uncle Humberto Guzman Bauza, who has written the most definitive study of our language I know, there are three Ybanag groups.  There are the Ybanags who live in Northern Cagayan, then those who live in Southern Cagayan around Tuguegarao City and, lastly, those who live in Northern Isabela.  I belong to the last.  (See Bauza’s graduate thesis at the Filipiniana section of Ateneo de Manila’s Rizal Library.)

       Before the creation of the Province of Isabela in 1 May 1856 by virtue of a Spanish Royal Decree, the towns of Cabagan and Tumauini belonged to the Province of Cagayan. There are now more towns than just these two in northern Isabela, but the story how these two old towns came to be is very interesting.  But let me just focus on Cabagan-San Pablo here.

       In 1622, Fr Pedro de Sto Tomas established a Catholic mission in Balasig, now a barangay of Cabagan. Some accounts also say that the place was originally called "maquila" which means “sparkling”.  What exactly was sparkling there then, I have no idea. In November 30, 1646, the mission was made into a town and Sto Tomas was named the founder. (Others say that his name was Fr Pedro de Santos but I am inclined to believe the former because the nearby town of Sto Tomas may have been named after him.) 

       My research has given me two plausible etymological explanations on how Cabagan got its name. 

       The first was based from the term “abbag” which means “from the other side of the river”. By this we mean not just the Cagayan River because a Pinacanauan River (there are several Pinacanauans) dissects the area from East to West.  Thus, families who lived at the other side were called “taga-abbag”, which later evolved to Cabagan.

       The second version comes from the word “cabaguang” or “young carabao” which is yet to be hitched to a plow. Because of ideal pasture lands, wild and young carabaos abounded in the area, which were then caught and sold, thus giving the place its name.

       There are two other versions.  One, that it came from the word “ba-ag” or “g-strings” that the natives wore.  And, two, that Cabagan came from the word “cabaguang”, which also means “new” underscoring the fact that it was a new town then.

       The Cabagan of old was a trade center, aided by the riverine traffic nearby. It was so prosperous that it was like two towns in one.  What is now Cabagan was Cabagan Nuevo while San Pablo was called Cabagan Viejo. In 1861, a new Spanish Royal Decree formally separated the two.  In the early 1900s, another town was created at the west bank of the river called Sta Maria.  Although the three towns have separated they remain intrinsically connected.  They share the same marketplace, the same district hospital, the Pancit Cabagan, the longganiza, and the same history.

      

       As an aside, Sta Maria was where my father and mother first met.  Mama was then a new teacher transferee from Balanga, Bataan to Mozzozzin Elementary School. “Mozzozzin” means “reddish” after the color of the barangay’s clayish soil that remains as the main material of the town’s famous pottery industry.  Papa was a new Presidential Agency for Community Development (precursor of the Department of Interior and Local Government) officer.  In 1986, Papa briefly served as the town’s officer-in-charge after the first People Power uprising. 

      What distinguishes Cabagan and its neighboring town Tumauini is their old churches.  They are destinations in themselves.  They were the centers of evangelization in the old Ybanag country.  The San Pablo de Guerrero church prides itself for having the tallest bell tower in the entire region.  Tumauini’s St Matthias Church has the country’s only circular bell tower, now painted white making it look like a bridal cake.  Both are grand edifices and must have been very imposing to the natives then as now. (See their pictures in my "Isabela, a home" blog.)

      One of my recent discoveries is that, as early as 1763, Cabagan had been a center of rebellion against the Spanish colonizers. The revolts were led by Dabo and Juan Marayag who were influenced by Diego Silang’s rebellion in Ilocos. To this day, Dabo and Marayag are thriving families in the many barangays of the three towns.  I promise to dig in deeper into this.  This is something I feel proud about already.

       The area also became the site of a historical event at the turn of the last century. From Tirad Pass, General Emilio Aguinaldo, the country’s first (some say second) President, arrived at Aggub, Cabagan on May 29, 1900 and ordered the attack of the Americans stationed in the town and the neighboring towns. It was during the American regime that the town came to be known simply as Cabagan.

       All these research have given answers to three nagging questions in my mind.  First, why do we use as a derogatory adjective the word “kalinga” to refer to a person who has bad attitude? Two, were our bedtime stories about Biuag and Malana historical?  And three, what was the story behind the Ybanag folk dance Sambali?  The answer to all three was intrinsically connected as well.

       Cabagan was the hunting ground of the mountain-dwelling Kalingas in the earlier days.  They are the tribes that live in what is now Kalinga Province to the northwest of Isabela and they wore colorful attire.  The women wore multi-colored “tapi” and the men carried multi-colored bags with red as the dominant color. Both sexes had long hair. The men always carried hunting weapons, bows and arrows and sharp knives. They wore layers of bead necklaces of different materials stones, shell, seeds, glass, and metals like bronze, copper, and silver. Each bead stands for a certain property like carabaos, land, houses, and others.   Then, as now, the Kalingas are fierce people.  They were headhunters.  This must be one of the reasons why our language reflects this hatred—we Ybanags were usually their victims.      

       This now brings us to Biuag and Malana.  When I was a little boy, I was regaled with stories of their incredible feats. I was told that they were giants; that they were the ones who built our imposing church carrying huge stones with bare hands; that both were fierce rivals over a pretty maid; that they settled this with arm wrestling on top of the bell tower which explains deep indentions on its floors where their elbows rested; and that the church’s waterspouts were modeled from their faces.  Historically though, Biuag is believed to have been born in barrio Tallag. He protected the Christianized Cabagueños from the head hunting Kalingas by using amulets and his reputed superhuman strength. Malana succeeded Biuag following the death of the latter. It was Malana who initiated the first revolt in Cagayan Valley.

       The war between Christianized Ybanags and Kalingas is depicted in the “Sambali”. This hour-long dance is still performed today particularly in Casibarag, Cubag and other barangays of Cabagan and San Pablo.  Only old residents still dance it though.  I have yet to see a young Ybanag perform it or our schools teach it among the kids.  I will dance it if I am taught how to.  

       Among our generation, however, “sambali” has taken to mean “to prance about with no particular order or rhythm.”   

       How ignorant we have become.

Comments

[Ybanag]

Makakkasta y pinangitura mu ta istorya na cabagan...

Mabbalo!

[shoney]

i belong to mamauag family k icansay that is a nice story about aggub,,,,i ove it