Geographical Relations and History
Reading edition
As one emerges from the jungle, which covers the eastern slopes of these mountains, and looks down over the province of Abra, he sees an exceedingly broken land (Plates I and II), the subordinate ranges succeeding one another like the waves of the sea. The first impression is one of barrenness. The forest vanishes, and in its place are long grassy slopes, broken here and there by scattered pines and lower down by dense growths of the graceful, feathery bamboo. But this lack of trees is more fancied than real, for as one proceeds down any of the valleys he meets with side canyons, where the tropical jungle still holds sway, while many a mountain side is covered with a dense undergrowth of shrubs, plants, and vines. It seems probable that the forest once covered the western slopes of the mountains, but accident and intention on the part of man has cleared broad sections. As soon as the shade is removed, the land is invaded by a coarse grass (the cogon), and this is burned over each year in order to provide feed for the stock and to make good hunting grounds. The young trees are killed off and reforesting prevented.
Numerous streams plunge from the high mountains toward the coast. In places they rush through deep gorges between high mountains, again they pass peacefully through mountain valleys. Everywhere they are fed by minor streams and waterfalls until at last, as they emerge into the broader valleys of the Abra and its tributaries, they are rivers of respectable size.
The rainfall averages about one hundred inches, and most of this precipitation takes place between May and the end of September. This, coupled with the lack of forest, causes the rivers to become rushing torrents during the rainy season, while during the balance of the year most of them are mere rivulets. Under these conditions there has been no development of navigation by the mountaineers. On occasion they may construct a bamboo raft, but they possess no boats of any description.
The great fluctuation of the streams makes fishing an uncertain occupation; yet at least a dozen varieties of fish are known, and enough are taken to add materially to the food supply.
Deer and pig are fairly abundant, and a considerable number is killed each year; wild carabao roam the mountain sides and uninhabited valleys, but they are dangerous animals, and can seldom be taken with the primitive weapons of the natives. Wild chickens are plentiful, and many are snared, together with smaller birds. In fact, there is sufficient game and fish to support a considerable population, if the people would turn seriously to their capture, so that the oft repeated statement that the mountaineers of Abra were forced to agriculture is not entirely accurate. It seems much more probable that, at the time of their entrance into the interior valleys, the Tinguian were already acquainted with terraced hillside fields, and that they developed them as needed.
The soil is fairly fertile, the rainfall abundant during the growing season, and the climate warm enough to insure good crops. The thermometer ranges between 80° and 85° during the day, but there is generally a land or sea breeze, so that actual discomfort from the heat is unusual. The nights are somewhat cooler, but a drop of a few degrees is felt so keenly that a person may be uncomfortarble at 70°.
Fogs and cold rains are not uncommon during the wet season, while one or more typhoons can be expected each year. Earthquakes are likewise of occasional occurrence, but the construction of the houses is such that storms and earthquakes do much less damage than along the coast.
There is no doubt that the natural ruggedness of the country and the long rainy season have had a strong influence on the people, but this has been chiefly in isolating them in small groups. The high Page 239mountains separating the narrow valleys, the lack of water transportation, the difficulty of maintaining trails, have all tended to keep the people in small communities, while the practice of head-hunting has likewise raised a barrier to free communication. Thus, the settlements within a limited area have become self-sustaining groups; a condition which has existed long enough to allow for the development of five dialects.
The traditions of the Tinguian furnish us with no stories of an earlier home than Luzon, but there are many accounts of migrations from the coast back into the mountains, after the arrival of the Spaniards and the Christianization of the Ilocano. The fact that there is an historical background for these tales is amply proven by fragments of pottery and the like, which the writer has recovered from the reported sites of ancient settlements.
The part played by this people in Philippine history is small indeed, and most of the references to them have been of an incidental nature.
Apparently, they first came in contact with the Spanish in 1572 when Salcedo was entrusted with the task of subduing that part of Luzon now known as the Ilocano provinces. The people he encountered are described as being more barbarous than the Tagalog, not so light complexioned, nor so well clad, but husbandmen who possessed large fields, and whose land abounded in rice and cotton.
Their villages were of considerable size, and each was ruled over by a local headman who owed allegiance to no central authority, There was a uniform, well recognized code of law or custom, and a considerable part of the population could read and write in a native script similar to that of the Tagalog. They also possessed gold, which was reported to have come from rich mines in the interior, and on primitive forges were turning out excellent steel weapons, but the use of fire-arms was unknown. According to Reyes, their weapons consisted of lances, bows and arrows, bolos, great shields which protected them from head to foot, blow guns and poisoned arrows. The newcomers also found a flourishing trade being carried on with Manila and the settlements in Pangasinan, as well as with the Chinese. This trade was of such importance that, as early as 1580 pirate fleets from Japan frequently scoured the coast in search of Chinese vessels and goods, while from time to time Japanese traders visited the Ilocos ports.
With friendly relations so long established, it is to be expected that many evidences of Chinese material culture would be found in all the northern provinces; and it is not unlikely that a considerable amount of Chinese blood may have been introduced into the population in ancient times, as it has been during the historic period. It does not seem probable, however that either the influence of Chinese blood or culture need have been stronger in the Ilocos provinces than in the other regions which they visited.
As before, the natives abandoned their homes and retreated several miles farther up the river, where they established the settlement of Lagangilang.
As Spanish rule was extended into the Tinguian territory, Ilocano settlers pressed in and acquired holdings of land. This led to many bitter disputes which were consistently settled in favor of the converts; but at the same time many inducements were offered the pagans to get them into the Christianized village. All converts were to be exempted from paying tribute, while their villages received many favors withheld from the pagan settlements. This failing to bring Page 243the desired results, all the nearby villages of the Tinguian were incorporated with the civilized pueblos, and thereafter they had to furnish the major part of all taxes and most of the forced labor.
Following the appointment of Gov. Esteban de Penñarubia in 1868, the tribesmen suffered still greater hardships. Under his orders all those who refused baptism were to be expelled from the organized communities, an edict which meant virtual banishment from their old homes and confiscation of their property. Further, no Tinguian in native dress was to be allowed to enter the towns. “Conversions” increased with amazing rapidity, but when it was learned that many of the new converts still practiced their old customs, the governor had the apostates seized and imprisoned. The hostile attitude of Penñarubia encouraged adventurers from the coast in the seizure of lands and the exploitation of the pagans, and thus a deep resentment was added to the dislike the Tinguian already held for “the Christians.” Yet, despite the many causes for hostility, steady trade relations have been maintained between the two groups, and the influence of the Ilocano has been increasingly strong. A little more than a half century ago head-hunting was still common even in the valley of Abra, where it is now practically unknown. As a matter of dire necessity the mountain people made raids of reprisal against the hostile Igorot villages on the eastern side of the great mountain range, and it is still the proud boast of many a man in the vicinity of Manabo that he took part in the raid which netted that village a score of heads from the towns of Balatok and Lubuagan. But, as will be seen later, head-hunting was by no means limited to forays against other tribes; local feuds, funeral observances, and the desire for renown, all encouraged the warriors to seek heads even from nearby settlements. Those incentives have not been entirely removed, and an occasional head is still taken in the mountain districts, but the influence of the Ilocano, backed by Spanish and American authority, is rapidly making this sport a thing of the past.
The rule of Governor Penñarubia had so embittered the Tinguian against the “white man” that a considerable number joined the insurrecto troops to fight against the Spaniards and Americans. These warriors, armed with spears, shields, and head-axes, made their way to Malolos, where they joined the Filipino troops the day of the first American bombardment. The booming of cannon and the bursting of shells was too much for the warriors, and, as they express it, “the first gun was the beginning of their going home.”
Friendly relations with the insurgents were early destroyed by Page 244bands of armed robbers who, posing as Filipino troops, looted a number of Tinguian villages. In several localities the tribesmen retaliated by levying tribute on the Christianized villages, and in some instances took a toll of heads to square accounts. At this juncture the Americans appeared in Abra, and the considerate treatment of the pagans by the soldiers soon won for them a friendly reception. Later, as the result of the efforts of Commissioner Worcester, the Tinguian villages were made independent of Ilocano control, and the people were given the full right to conduct their own affairs, so long as they did not disturb the peace and welfare of the province.
Under American rule the Tinguian have proved themselves to be quiet, peaceable citizens; a few minor disturbances have occurred, but none of sufficient importance to necessitate the presence of troops in their district. They have received less attention from the Government than most of the pagan tribes, but, even so, a measure of progress is discernible. They still stoutly resist the advances of the missionaries, but the few schools which have been opened for their children have always been crowded to overflowing; trade relations are much freer and more friendly than a decade ago; and with the removal of unequal taxes and labor requirements, the feelings of hostility towards “the Christians” are rapidly vanishing. It now seems probable that within one or two generations the Tinguian will again merge with the Ilocano. Page 245