On September 12, 1982, the government formally created the Municipality of Hingyon through Batas Pambansa Bilang 239, pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 1527. Hingyon consisted then of eleven (11) barangays which were formerly parts of the municipalities of Lagawe and Banaue. On September 6, 1991, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan enacted Resolution No. 236, Series of 1991, which divided Barangay Cababuyan into Cababuyan North and Cababuyan South, thereby increasing the municipality’s total number of barangays to twelve (12).
Formerly Part of Lagawe
Anao, Bangtinon, Bitu, Mompolia, Namulditan, Piwong, Poblacion, Umalbong
Formerly Part of Banaue
Northern Cababuyan, Southern Cababuyan, O-ong, Ubuag
The people of Hingyon, like all other Ifugao’s, are descendants of the first man and woman on earth. The man is named “Wigan” and the woman “Bugan”. They had children and the intermarriages of their offspring produced the people of Ifugao.
In Hingyon, throughout the generations, there emerged three (3) distinct tribes. These are the “Munkalyon” Tribe (barangays Anao, Namulditan, Bangtinon, Bitu, and Piwong), the “Mun-alyon” Tribe (barangays Northern Cababuyan, Southern Cababuyan, O-ong, Ubuag, Umalbong, Mompolia and Poblacion), and the Ayangan tribe of Humalophop, Mompolia. The distinction is reflected in the pronunciation and intonation of the Ifugao dialect.
Based on accounts of American anthropologists like Samuel Kane, Harold Conklin, and Otley Beyer after Spain seceded the Philippines to the Americans in the early 1900’s, the early people of Hingyon (who were then included in Banaue and Lagawe) were pagans. They adored idols and practiced many rituals. Almost all occasions, whether merry making or mourning, call for the butchering of chickens, pigs or carabaos and drinking of the “baya” (native rice wine). In fact, one indication of the socio-economic status of an individual (or household) is the number of pigs or carabaos he has butchered, since this practice of butchering usually goes hand in hand with the collective wide area of his rice terraces. The more terraces he owned, the wealthier he is, the more respected he is in the village and the adjoining villages. The villagers perhaps adorn the house of the “kadangyan” (rich) with the skulls of carabaos butchered in the past to inform or impress strangers who come to the village.
As modernization came in, it brought changes in the villages including perceptions of people. Due to economic constraints (which has a direct impact to the butchering of ritual animals) and the entry of modern education and religion, many rituals have become things of the past. For instance, a new concept of “kadangyan” emerged in the villages. No longer were those who owned the widest terraces considered as rich, but rather, those who owned much money, or who earned much cash whether local or abroad. The terraces which were the symbols of wealth became symbols of hard labor, illiteracy, and poverty. People transformed the rituals and icons meant to please the “gods” for a bountiful harvest into idols of paganism, and the Christian community regarded the act of worshiping them as “unchristian.”
Respect shifted from the “kadangyan” or “muntonah” (who owned the widest terraces in the village) to people considered “educated”, and those who had much money. Fortunately, some favorable cultural practices still persist today, and the municipality has made arduous efforts to revive, preserve, and pass these practices on to younger generations.
Today, the municipality is a 5th class municipality of the province of Ifugao.
