Uyugan, Philippines

History

Thousands of years before Spanish colonization, about a thousand people lived on fortified cliffs and hilltops scattered across today's Uyugan. The fortified settlements were called "Idiang", derived from the Ivatan word "Idi" or "Idian" which means home or hometown. They belonged to the Ivatan tribes and spoke the same Ivatan language, but with a different accent.

The Ivatan tribes who called the place home farmed - where the soil permitted - and fished. They were also a boat-making and seafaring people, and they traded with neighboring Taiwan to the north and Cagayan to the south.

The Ivatan tribal settlements had a de facto tribal government, not very much different from that of tribal governments in the earlier stages of human evolution. The tribal settlement was headed by a chieftain with a deputy.

Inter-tribal hostilities (Arap du Tukon) or War on the Hill were common in those days, but was for men only. Customary law prohibited the harming of womenfolk, who were the main providers of food in wartime.

From the History section of Uyugan on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.