Valle de Benguet

“I have heard some Igorot say that beyond the great mountain called “Tonglo” which overlooks Santo Tomas and Agoo, and is one of the noteworthy mountains of Luzon, there was a very large town situated in a broad and fertile valley the inhabitants of which were very rich and brave people and made war upon the pagans of the foothills.” (Espedicion al Valle de Benguet en Enero del año de 1829)

The expedition diary of Lt. Col. Guilermo de Galvey in 1829 is a fourteen-day account of his voyage to “Valle de Benguet” (present day ‘La Trinidad Valley’). Galvey is without a doubt, “the greatest despoiler of the Igorots Spain ever sent to the Cordilleras”.

Seventy years after the punitive expedition of Tonglo by Pangasinan Governor Arza, Galvey marched to the mountains with his Igorot friend, Pingue, about a dozen officers and a troop of  fifty,  and some 200 ‘Polistas’ (Filipinos forced into labor). They crossed wild rivers and climbed steep rocks. For days they shielded themselves from the traps of ‘pagans’ and heavy rains, until the eight day where they finally ‘came upon the pine trees’.

At 4 am that day, they finally arrived at the valley where Galvey wrote: “…we discovered from the heights the beautiful valley of Benguet, the lovely sight of which surprised us all, so that even the soldiers gave vent to their admiration by joyous shouts”.

Galvey’s troops were advancing when two drunk Igorots with spears planted themselves and confronted them furiously. They were later bound after a brief scuffle and another group of Igorots were brought to Galvey for interrogation. He set them free and told them to go back and tell the headmen to see him the following day and assured them that no harm would be done to them, but that if they attacked, he would burn their village.

That afternoon he described Valle de Benguet as: “…a valley of a league and a half or more in circumference; it is surrounded with springs and forms a basin. The soil was very well cultivated, with immense fields of sweet potatoes, gabe and sugar cane, but no paddy in this tract of land. All was irrigated and fenced in by dividing lines of earth after the manner of Spain, and provided with wells. The houses which had numbered some 500, were of broad pine boards and very dirty. He finally decided that it is in the valley that he will establish the capital of the district.

At 8 pm however, their camp was attacked by Igorots, and Galvey, in response, killed a number of natives and captured twelve Igorots – all of whom were drunk and were shouting savagely.

On the next day, Galvey found himself surrounded by more natives who were angrier than the night before. It is at this tipping point that Galvey decided to “give them a lesson”. He and his troops stormed the village firing at the natives and burning down some 180 houses.

After that unforgettable violence, Galvey and his troops went southwest with twenty-eight Igorot prisoners. They continually descended towards the west for days until they arrived at Aringay in the fourteenth day.

As a final reflection, Galvey wrote: “…the expedition, though short , served well for those I made later, as the Igorot of Benguet shortly afterwards asked me for peace and have since been my friends. On different expeditions I have passed eight or ten times through their valley, and far from attacking me, they have treated me with kindness, providing me with rice, cows, and other food. Still, as a consequence of this expedition and of smallpox, this town has been reduced to about a hundred houses. I am, however, doing everything to make it flourish again, and my highroad reaches there”.

Ten years later after the expedition, Don Guillermo de Galvey died in 1839. Despite popular tradition that La Trinidad was named after his supposed wife Dona Trinidad de Galvey, his military records in Madrid revealed that he is in fact unmarried (soltero).

In 1875, one of Galvey’s successors, Commandante Manuel Scheidnagel renamed “Valle de Benguet” to La Trinidad.

***

In my ridiculous moments, I wonder why our Igorot ancestors had to get drunk before they took any action against the foreigners (or just about anything). Maybe it has something to do with the “shy mangu” and “agbainbain, ngem nu nabartek ket mang-ibabain” stereotype. Just maybe. But then, we have a history of even defending our “right to get drunk”, just read the case of People vs. Cayat.

Valle de Benguet

Valle de Benguet

VALRED OLSIM, (Published by Sunstar.Baguio for Eternal Student,June 6, 2017)

“I have heard some Igorot say that beyond the great mountain called “Tonglo” which overlooks Santo Tomas and Agoo, and is one of the noteworthy mountains of Luzon, there was a very large town situated in a broad and fertile valley the inhabitants of which were very rich and brave people and made war upon the pagans of the foothills.” (Espedicion al Valle de Benguet en Enero del año de 1829)

The expedition diary of Lt. Col. Guilermo de Galvey in 1829 is a fourteen-day account of his voyage to “Valle de Benguet” (present day ‘La Trinidad Valley’). Galvey is without a doubt, “the greatest despoiler of the Igorots Spain ever sent to the Cordilleras”.

Seventy years after the punitive expedition of Tonglo by Pangasinan Governor Arza, Galvey marched to the mountains with his Igorot friend, Pingue, about a dozen officers and a troop of  fifty,  and some 200 ‘Polistas’ (Filipinos forced into labor). They crossed wild rivers and climbed steep rocks. For days they shielded themselves from the traps of ‘pagans’ and heavy rains, until the eight day where they finally ‘came upon the pine trees’.

At 4 am that day, they finally arrived at the valley where Galvey wrote: “…we discovered from the heights the beautiful valley of Benguet, the lovely sight of which surprised us all, so that even the soldiers gave vent to their admiration by joyous shouts”.

Galvey’s troops were advancing when two drunk Igorots with spears planted themselves and confronted them furiously. They were later bound after a brief scuffle and another group of Igorots were brought to Galvey for interrogation. He set them free and told them to go back and tell the headmen to see him the following day and assured them that no harm would be done to them, but that if they attacked, he would burn their village.

That afternoon he described Valle de Benguet as: “…a valley of a league and a half or more in circumference; it is surrounded with springs and forms a basin. The soil was very well cultivated, with immense fields of sweet potatoes, gabe and sugar cane, but no paddy in this tract of land. All was irrigated and fenced in by dividing lines of earth after the manner of Spain, and provided with wells. The houses which had numbered some 500, were of broad pine boards and very dirty. He finally decided that it is in the valley that he will establish the capital of the district.

At 8 pm however, their camp was attacked by Igorots, and Galvey, in response, killed a number of natives and captured twelve Igorots – all of whom were drunk and were shouting savagely.

On the next day, Galvey found himself surrounded by more natives who were angrier than the night before. It is at this tipping point that Galvey decided to “give them a lesson”. He and his troops stormed the village firing at the natives and burning down some 180 houses.

After that unforgettable violence, Galvey and his troops went southwest with twenty-eight Igorot prisoners. They continually descended towards the west for days until they arrived at Aringay in the fourteenth day.

As a final reflection, Galvey wrote: “…the expedition, though short , served well for those I made later, as the Igorot of Benguet shortly afterwards asked me for peace and have since been my friends. On different expeditions I have passed eight or ten times through their valley, and far from attacking me, they have treated me with kindness, providing me with rice, cows, and other food. Still, as a consequence of this expedition and of smallpox, this town has been reduced to about a hundred houses. I am, however, doing everything to make it flourish again, and my highroad reaches there”.

Ten years later after the expedition, Don Guillermo de Galvey died in 1839. Despite popular tradition that La Trinidad was named after his supposed wife Dona Trinidad de Galvey, his military records in Madrid revealed that he is in fact unmarried (soltero).

In 1875, one of Galvey’s successors, Commandante Manuel Scheidnagel renamed “Valle de Benguet” to La Trinidad.

The Benguet People (Buguias)

 Mythical Origin

The legendary origin of the indigenous people of Buguias began with a creation folktale. Kabunyan, the Almighty God, brought into existence the first couple, Bangan and Bugan, after the great flood. The couple lived in Mount Kalawitan, the highest mountain north of Benguet. From the mountain, the couple’s descendants came down. Some followed the Chico River downstream and settled in the northwest, at Gonogon and Bontoc. Others made their way south to Ahin, Tococan, Ambanglo, Tinoc, Awa, Palatang, Baugan, Amlimay, Man-atong, Bogey-yas, Tanggawan, Labay, Amgaleyguey, and Togtogyon (Loo) while still others went farther south to Embusey, Batan, Kabayan, and Bokod. The rest went westward to Mankayan, Bakun, and Kibungan, and from thence to Kapangan.
Tales included the legend of Tugtugaka, a Nabalicong warrior, and Cuyapon, a beautiful fairy, who fell in love with each other and had begotten Anno. Anno’s generation flourished and peopled many villages far and wide from Benguet to Ifugao and Vizcaya. The Agno River was named after him. Another tale involved Gatan who came to earth as the representative of Lumawig (God) in order to teach, lead and protect humans. The other folktales related to “Biyew,” the source of all prayers; and the origin of mountains, lowlands, earthquakes and lightning, the story Samiklay, The first Rice in Loo Valley, The antique Jar of Buguias, The Bellian Dance, The famous Tiking Agindang . The Annex included descriptions of rituals involved in the “Family Life Cycle” and “Death.”

Oral Traditions: Origin of Settlers
Oral tradition stated that the first settlers that peopled Buguias were descendants of Talgen who lived in Ambanglo, east of Bot-oan, in the 13th century. Talgen had eight (8) sons who all left in search of greener pastures. Odan, the eldest, went to Hapaw (now in Kiangan, Ifugao). The second son, Baglaw, a hunter and trader, roamed around the place and finally settled in Mangkew, at the southern part of Buguias. Mantac the third son traveled all the way to Lubon (now in Tadian, Mountain Province). Kitongan the fourth son went to Tad-ew and farmed at the mountain now known as Mount Kitongan, above Loo Valley; the fifth son, Malawmaw, settled at Sanil (Tococan). The trader Belka, sixth in the line, migrated to Bauko (now in Mountain Province) while Padyog, the seventh brother settled at Embusey (now Lutak). Capsola, the youngest, went to Benalian (now in Nueva Vizcaya).

Baglaw, Kitongan, Malawmaw and their descendants, thus, were the earliest known ancestors of the natives of the municipality. In the later part of the century, some of them gathered and settled at Patlatang and Baugan at the northern part of Buguias, where they raised vegetables and domesticated animals. They also cooked asin (salt), which they bartered in other places. They worshipped Kabunyan as God and Creator, and performed the sida (or cañao), caon (wedding), pidet/pudan and other festive rituals to invoke his blessings and graces. Among the present descendants of Kitongan are Posnget Dayawen and Pio Toyaoan of Loo.

Another oral account had it that the Buguias forebears were the early pagan Malay settlers in the Philippines who landed in the Lingayen Gulf, Pangasinan, but were driven into the hinterlands by the second wave of Malay settlers with superior arms. The people moved upward from Lingayen, following the Agno River towards the mountains and reached a place good for hunting and raising animals and crops; there, they established their abode. Others moved on to Tinoc, Ahin, Hungduan, Hapao and other parts of Ifugao – only to come back at the start of the 15th century.

There is an “unwritten” genealogy that most settlers in Buguias traced their roots to Ifugao Province. There was once a couple named Lumawig and Bangan who resided in the eastern part of the mountains that is now Ifugao. Their descendants were hunters who came to Buguias. They were Taak, Tuwaok, Agmaliw, Dagol, Balaigan and Mayengmeng, who by intermarriage became the early settlers of Buguias particularly at Gueoeng, Amlimay, Sebang, Poblacion and Loo. (It is noted that the names of these first settlers are still used by the present generation of Buguias). As they grew in number, others migrated to other places of Benguet because of a leprosy epidemic (“bulutong”). Another cause of migration was the “bongkilaw” a strange sound (like a funeral hymn) at night, which caused fear among the settlers.

If there are many Kankana-ey speaking tribes outside Buguias (i.e., in Benguet), they were believed to be blood relations who left Buguias, particularly tracing their roots in Amlimay. On the other hand, though the Kankanaeys originally peopled Buguias, social contact, migration, and trade have transformed the Buguias into a melting pot of ethnicities, languages, and customs.


Culture and Dialects

In his book, “History of Buguias” (1979), Pedro Bestre stated that generally, the Indigenous People of Buguias are Kankanaey speaking. Nonetheless, the residents came from three (3) major culture groups. The Kalanguya speaking people dominate the barrios of Catlobong and Amlimay. On the other hand, the Ibalois inhabited Kabuguiasan. The Kankanaeys peopled the rest of the barrios: Baculongan, Calamagan, Abatan, Bangao, Loo, Buyacaoan, Amgaleyguey and Natubleng. A fourth culture group, although less significant and pronounced as the major groups, can be found in the heart of the municipality – Poblacion – where the dialect known as Mandec–ey predominates. This dialect carries the combination of the three major dialects, hence the residents of Poblacion can understand and can even speak any of the three other languages.
In 1978, of the total population of Buguias was 17,068, about 75% are Kankanaey, 15% Kalanguya and some 10% Ibaloi. Geographically, Kalanguya dialect is situated in the eastern part of the municipality, in the south is Ibaloi, while Kankanaey is North West and North east near eastern part of Mt. Province.