Ilocano History

Ilocano history

Etymology[edit]

Aside from being referred to as Ilocanos (from "i" – 'from', and "looc" – 'bay'), they also refer to themselves as Samtoy, from the Ilocano phrase "sao mi ditoy", meaning 'our language origin'. The word "Ilocano" came from the word "Iloco" or "Yloco."

Ethnic homeland

Main article: Ilocandia

Provinces where Ilocano people are the largest ethnic group are shown in green.

Ilocandia is the term given to the traditional homeland of the Ilocano people. From the original western strip of Northern Luzon, Ilocandia has spread throughout the Cagayan Valleyand some parts of Central Luzon.

Demographics

Ilocanos number about 9,136,000.^{[citation needed]} A few Ilocanos living in the Cordilleras have some Cordillerano blood.

Language

Ilocanos speak the Ilokano language (also called Iloko), which is part of the Northern Philippine subgroup of the Austronesianfamily of languages. They also speak Cebuano (in Mindanao),Tagalog, and English as second languages.

Religion

Most Ilocanos are Roman Catholics, while a significant number^[quantify] belong to the Aglipayan Church, which originated in Ilocos Norte.

Diaspora

Many Filipino Americans are of Ilocano descent. They make up 85% of the Filipino-American population in Hawaii.

History

The Austronesian ancestors of the present-day Ilocanos came to the Philippines through bilogs, or outrigger boats during the Iron Age.

Spanish Era to the Philippine Republic

In 1572, Juan de Salcedo arrived to the town of Bauang.

Present

The mounting population pressure due to the substantial population density during the mid-19th century caused the migration of the Ilocanos out of their historic homeland. By 1903, more than 290,000 Ilocanos migrated to Central Luzon,Cagayan Valley, and Metro Manila. More than 180,000 moved to Pangasinan, Tarlac, and Nueva Ecija. Almost 50,000 moved to Cagayan Valley; half of them resided in Isabela. Around 47,000 lived in Zambales.

The Ilocano Diaspora continued in 1906 when Ilocanos started to migrate to Hawaii and California. Ilocanos composed the largest number of expatriates in the United States, though most are bilingual with Tagalog. There is a significant Ilocano community in Hawaii, in which they make up more than 85% of the Filipino population there.^[3]

Later migrations brought Ilocanos to the Cordilleras, Aurora, Mindoro, Palawan, and Mindanao provinces of Sultan Kudarat,North Cotabato, and South Cotabato.

Food

Pinakbet, one of the staples of the Ilocano diet.

Ilocanos boast of a somewhat healthy diet heavy in boiled or steamed vegetables and freshwater fish, but are particularly fond of dishes flavored with bagoong, fermented fish that is often used instead of salt. Ilocanos often season boiled vegetables with bagoong monamon (fermented anchovy paste) to producepinakbet. Local specialties include the "abuos," soft white larvae of ants, and "jumping salad" or tiny, live shrimp with kalamansi juice.

Literature

One of the most well-known Ilocano literary works written in Iloco is the Biag ni Lam-ang (The Life of Lam-Ang), an epic poem about the fantastic life and escapades of an Ilocano hero named Lam-ang. The ilocano writer Elizabeth Medina is probably the most remarkable living ilocano writer in Spanish language.