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
[1] These are Ballasio, Nagbuquel, Vandrell, Rizal, Mision, Mambog, and Masingit. Kadangla-an, Pila, Kolongbuyan (Sapang) and Montero are mixed Tinguian and Igorot.
[2] See Cole, The Tinguian (Philippine Journal of Science, Vol. III, No. 4, Sect. A, 1908, pp. 197, et seq.).
[3] Beyer (Population of the Philippine Islands in 1916, p. 74, Manila, 1917) gives the population as 27,648.
[4] North of Abra it is known as the Cordillera Norte.
[5] This river traffic is entirely in the hands of the Christianized Ilocano. Rafts seldom proceed up the river beyond Bangued, the capital, and at low water even this distance is negotiated with difficulty.
[6] Historical references to this trade, as well as to the Spanish invasion of Ilocos, will be found in Reyes, Historia de Ilocos, Manila, 1890; Fray Gaspar De S. Augustin, Conquista de las Islas Filipinas (Manila, 1698), p. 267; Medina, Historia, translated in Blair and Robertson, The Philippine Islands, Vol. XXIII, pp. 279, et seq. See also translation of Loarca and others in same publication, Vol. III, p. 73, note; Vol. V, p. 109; Vol. XV, p. 51; Vol. XVII, p. 285.