Ibanag indigenous religious beliefs: a study in culture and education / Marino Gatan.

by the Cagayan River, and on the north by the Casibarag Norte. It is a
kilometer from the poblacion, a walking distance from the centro. It has
become a fad lately, however, to go by a horse-drawn rig called calesa or
by tricycle. Casibarag is approachable from the poblacion. The Calle
Commercio12 of the poblacion, which is also a national road, forks out
into two roads as it reaches Luquilu. The one that turns north one block
ahead is the national road, the other part that goes deeper one block west
and also turns' north is the provincial road. The provincial road goes
directly to Casibarag and cuts across the length of the barrio. The national road cuts across Catabayungan and one can get into Casibarag by
turning left in any of the four municipal roads that connect the national
and provincial roads. Both the,national and provincial roads are
asphalted. This street was paved during the incumbency of Mayor Lorenzo Aggabao, a resident of Casibarag Sur. Since his retirement, there is a
very slim chance for the provincial government to repair or repave it.
The origin of the word Casibarag is explained in a couple of ways by
the residents. Most of them believe that theword Casibarag comes from
casi (wild chicken) and barag(to throw). The elders hold it that the barrio
was a hunting ground for wild chickens where hunters used implements
such as clubs, pebbles, and stones with which to chase their quarries. The elders also claim that Casibarag was a forested area where casi
(wild chicken) abound. Hunters went after these wild fowl by throwing
barag, thus Casibarag. Some people, however, explain it differently.
Casibarag comes from two words. But the first word is the prefix ka
denoting a companion, a confere, or partner as in ka-balay - people living in the same house. The main word is sibbarag which means people
with the same occupation of throwing (barag) or simply hunters.
Casibarag to them implies companions in hunting or co-hunters.13 This,
they further point out, unfolds the history of the first settlers of the barrio, that they were hunters foremost before they settled down as farmers.
The early settlers, therefore, identified themselves in relation to their kadubba (neighbor) as Kasibbarag - a companion in hunting, a co-hunter
or simiply - Casibarag. This theory, according to its exponents, speaks of
the unity of the early Casibarag settlers.
In the beginning, there was only one Casibarag. The concentration of
the early settlers was in the setting of this study, in the area now known
as Casibarag Sur. North of this (Casibarag Norte) was heavily forested
12It is customary in Cagayan Valley towns to call the main street Calle Commercio.
13To hunt in Ibanag is muaganu. The cxponent of the second claims that the Ibanags do
not manganu (hunt) for wild chickens, but for utna (deer) and bali na talun (wild pigs)
and therefore the prefix cannot be casi (wild chickens) but the word Ka which brings about
the common denominator among the early settlers, that of hunting.

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