Nabas, Aklan
Encyclopedia
The Municipality of Nabas (Filipino
Filipino language
This move has drawn much criticism from other regional groups.In 1987, a new constitution introduced many provisions for the language.Article XIV, Section 6, omits any mention of Tagalog as the basis for Filipino, and states that:...
: Bayan ng Nabas or Aklanon and Malaynon: Banwa it Nabas) is a 4th class municipality in the province of Aklan, Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. It is located before the town of Malay and Buruanga Peninsula at the northwest tip of Panay Island
Panay Island
Panay is an island in the Philippines located in the western part of the Visayas. Politically, it is divided into five provinces: Aklan, Antique, Capiz, and Iloilo, all in the Western Visayas Region. It is located southeast of the island of Mindoro and northwest of Negros, separated by the...
. It is a coastal town bounded on the north by Sibuyan Sea
Sibuyan Sea
The Sibuyan Sea is a small sea in the Philippines that separates the Visayas from the northern Philippine island of Luzon.-Description:It is bounded by the island of Panay to the south, Mindoro to the west, Masbate to the east, and to the north Marinduque and the Bicol Peninsula of Luzon Island.The...
; on the south by the municipalities of Pandan
Pandan, Antique
Pandan is one of the 18 towns making up the Philippine province of Antique. With an estimated 2010 population of nearly 34,000 , Pandan consists of 34 barangays , of which 15 lie along the coast, 12 are inland, and 7 are upland, as follows:-Barangays:Coastal Barangays * Bagumbayan *...
and Libertad, Antique
Libertad, Antique
Libertad is a 5th class municipality in the province of Antique, Philippines. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 12,955 people in 2,637 households.-History:...
; on the east by Sibuyan Sea and Ibajay, Aklan
Ibajay, Aklan
Ibajay is a municipality in the province of Aklan, Philippines. According to the 2007 census, it has a population of 42,742 people in 7,918 households.-Under the Spanish - "Panay Y Bayjay":...
; and on the west by Malay
Malay, Aklan
The Municipality of Malay is a first class municipality in the province of Aklan, Philippines. According to the 2007 census, it has a population of 32,110 people in 4,747 households....
and Buruanga
Buruanga, Aklan
Buruanga is a 5th class municipality in the province of Aklan, Philippines. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 15,077 people in 2,758 households. It is located at the most western tip of Panay Island. It is a coastal town bounded on the north by Malay; on the south by the...
.
According to the 2007 census, it has a population of 28,345 people in 4,691 households.
Barangays
Nabas is politically subdivided into 20 barangayBarangay
A barangay is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district or ward...
s:
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History
Accounts about the earliest community of Nabas are uncertain but the initial documentation for the town’s existence was recorded in 1845. Facing the Sibuyan SeaSibuyan Sea
The Sibuyan Sea is a small sea in the Philippines that separates the Visayas from the northern Philippine island of Luzon.-Description:It is bounded by the island of Panay to the south, Mindoro to the west, Masbate to the east, and to the north Marinduque and the Bicol Peninsula of Luzon Island.The...
, the town started as a small coastal village referred to as Barrio Alimbo which extends to the hills and mountains to the west. This small community occupies the floodplains
River delta
A delta is a landform that is formed at the mouth of a river where that river flows into an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, flat arid area, or another river. Deltas are formed from the deposition of the sediment carried by the river as the flow leaves the mouth of the river...
of Alimbo River where the village derived its name. Fishing and farming is the primary source of livelihood, even today except for the hunting which was common on that time because of the abundances of wild pig
Visayan warty pig
The Visayan Warty Pig, Sus cebifrons, is a critically endangered species of pig. The Visayan warty pig is endemic to two of the Visayan Islands in the central Philippines, and is threatened by habitat loss, food shortages and hunting - these are the leading causes of the Visayan Warty Pig's status...
, monkey and deer
Philippine Spotted Deer
The Visayan Spotted Deer , also known as the Philippine Spotted Deer, is a nocturnal and endangered species of deer located primarily in the rainforests of the Visayan islands of Panay and Negros though it once roamed other islands such as Cebu, Guimaras, Leyte, Masbate, and Samar...
in the area.
Capiz
Capiz is a province of the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital is Roxas City and is located at the northeastern portion of Panay Island, bordering Aklan and Antique to the west, and Iloilo to the south. Capiz faces the Sibuyan Sea to the north...
Province. Ibajay’s municipal boundary was so vast but with poor road system. The natives of this municipality spoke two distinct Aklanon dialects. The eastern side of the municipality that is the Ibajay utters a dialect generally spoken by most municipalities of the province. On the other hand, those in the western side constituting now the municipalities of Nabas, Malay
Malay, Aklan
The Municipality of Malay is a first class municipality in the province of Aklan, Philippines. According to the 2007 census, it has a population of 32,110 people in 4,747 households....
and Buruanga
Buruanga, Aklan
Buruanga is a 5th class municipality in the province of Aklan, Philippines. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 15,077 people in 2,758 households. It is located at the most western tip of Panay Island. It is a coastal town bounded on the north by Malay; on the south by the...
spoke and continue to speak until today a dialect currently regarded as Malaynon but with softer intonation. The same dialect was also influenced and spoken by the neighboring Antiqueños, particularly the people from the towns Libertad
Libertad, Antique
Libertad is a 5th class municipality in the province of Antique, Philippines. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 12,955 people in 2,637 households.-History:...
, Pandan
Pandan, Antique
Pandan is one of the 18 towns making up the Philippine province of Antique. With an estimated 2010 population of nearly 34,000 , Pandan consists of 34 barangays , of which 15 lie along the coast, 12 are inland, and 7 are upland, as follows:-Barangays:Coastal Barangays * Bagumbayan *...
, and Sebaste
Sebaste, Antique
Sebaste is a 5th class municipality in the province of Antique, Philippines. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 14,973 people in 2,910 households.-Barangays:Sebaste is politically subdivided into 10 barangays.* Abiera* Aguila* Alegre...
of Antique Province
Antique province
Antique is a province of the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital is San Jose and is located at the western portion of Panay Island, bordering Aklan, Capiz, and Iloilo to the east. Antique faces the Sulu Sea to the west....
.
The developing populaces whose tongue
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
and customs diverge from those of the eastern community build awareness amongst people of the west. The invasion of migrants from the nearby province of Antique continued that further emphasized the difference in dialect and culture to some extent. In 1853, their notion of a separate municipality for better living and independence serves as the foundation for taking apart of Alimbo in concert with its adjoining barrios of Nagustan, Panaytayon (Toledo), Gibon, Namao (Rizal), Kabangrosan (Union), and Pakilawa (Unidos) ceased to be a barrio
Barangay
A barangay is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district or ward...
to form a new municipality inevitably.
The municipality was formed in 1854 and named Navas, after Governor Nava of the province of Capiz who came to inspect the area before its creation.
The Cartilla System, an early teaching methods that dominantly use the letter "b" than "v" cause the variable spelling of "Navas" and “Nabas”. In 1906, the Municipal Council in a resolution approved by unanimous vote adopted the name Nabas as the official name.
Nabas Bariw Festival
Isidore the Laborer
Isidore the Laborer, also known as Isidore the Farmer, , was a Spanish day laborer known for his goodness toward the poor and animals. He is the Catholic patron saint of farmers and of Madrid and of La Ceiba, Honduras....
, the town's patron saint
Patron saint
A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...
. It is celebrated annually from May 12 - 15. This celebration showcase the town's hat, mat and other bariw
Pandanus spiralis
Pandanus spiralis is shrub or small tree up to 10 metres in height native to northern Australia. It is found growing in the wild in northern West Bengal and Sikkim regions of India...
products as well as the town's unique tourism sites and natural attractions.
During this affair, various skills in mat, hat and bag making and designing are demonstrated. Among the events is a contest to produce the biggest hat and mat contest. The festival is highlighted by continuous street dancing by folks from the town's 20 barangays dressed in colorful bariw costumes accompanied by indigenous bamboo instruments.
The festival is intended to promote the town's cottage industry, which is thriving livelihood activity in Nabas. It also promotes the town's well preserved cold spring resorts, lagoons, long winding coastline, rivers, and low elevation intact forest home to various endemic flora and fauna.