Cabatuan, officially the Municipality of Cabatuan (; ), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Isabela, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 39,990 people.
Being a major rice producing town, it is the home of several rice mills and rice traders, dubbed as the Land of the Golden Grains.
Etymology
When the act of throwing stones called "ambatuan" then it was evolved to "cabatuan" when Ilocano people who settled in the area used stones to drive away Kalingas. The municipality's name is not to be confused with a municipality of the same name in Iloilo, Visayas.
History
Indigenous settlements
The early inhabitants of the vast forest land were the Kalingas who are indigenous to the mountain provinces. These settlers lived on tree houses which they built along the banks of Magat River. These sturdy, dark complexioned, G-stringed, soldier-like people depended on hunting, fishing and a little agriculture and poultry.
The land where Cabatuan now nestles was once teeming with vegetation, wildlife and fish, nurtured by the Magat River. Its history started when one of the indigenous people of the mountain provinces settled down in the Cagayan Valley where the Apayaos, Dumagats, Gaddangs, Ibanags, Ifugaos, Igorots, Itawes, Palananons and the Yogads were living. This tribe is known as the Kalingas, the name believed to have come from the Ibanag and Gaddang word, which means "headhunters". The Kalinga villages were strategically located along the banks of the Magat River in south-western Isabela near the boundary of Ifugao province, surrounding the locality now known as Sili, Bolinao, Dalig Kalinga (these places are now barangays of Aurora town) and Subasta (now a sitio of Barangay Saranay in Cabatuan). The early Cabatuanenses were generally known to be medium in height, with dark complexion and lissome with high nose bridges. Physically, they were very sturdy and well-built so that their war-like bearing feature made them more like soldiers. They lived on tree-houses and depended on hunting, fishing and a little of poultry and agriculture. The Kalingas were believed to be the descendants of the second wave of Malay who came to the Islands from Borneo. These pagans were headed by several able leaders like: Ronsan and Ngolan (both from Sili in Aurora town), Balindan, Melad and Gombi (from Bolinao, also in Aurora), Tullayao Bayudoc (from Subasta, Saranay in Cabatuan) and the grand old chieftain Materig (also from Sili in Aurora).
The Kalingas preferred to stay in the Cabatuan area of jurisdiction rather than in Aurora because the town proper of Aurora then was located in Dalig, now a barangay of Burgos town.
When the Christians arrived, the Kalingas attached the word "Infiel" before their native name to fulfill their yearning for a second name like those of Christians. The name "Infiel" was derived from "ynfieles", a Spanish friar's term for non-believers of the Christian faith.
Ilocano migration
In 1912, the Ilocanos started arriving with their families, relatives and friends. The Ilocanos settled away from the river but the Kalingas considered it an intrusion which later led to encounters where the Ilocanos used piles of stones to drive away the Kalingas. The act of throwing stones was called “ambatuan” which later evolved to “cabatuan”. The warring groups eventually became friends through a peace pact led by their respective leaders and the place became known as Cabatuan.
After the Ilocano migrants, several waves of settlers particularly locals from Pangasinan and Central Luzon came to Isabela as merchants. Some of the Pangasinan pioneers were: Nicolas T. Almirol (originally surnamed Lagasca), Benito Monte, Hermogenes B. Soriben and Zacarias P. Munoz.
Some of the Tagalog migrants were: Carlino O. Munsayac (Nueva Ecija), Atanasio H. Dayrit (San Fernando, Pampanga), Atty. Rafael M. Tomacruz (then Mayor of Hagonoy, Bulacan and Provincial Board Member), Anselmo S. Esmino (Licab, Nueva Ecija), a certain Pamintuan (Pampanga), Andres Alivia (Rizal, Nueva Ecija) and Antonio V. Altoveros (Rizal, Nueva Ecija).