Kabayan 5.23

Kabayan, officially the '', is a of the Philippines in and the easternmost town of the province of in the of the Philippines. The population was at the.Kabayan is the site of centuries-old Ibaloi mummies buried inside caves scattered around its villages.The third highest mountain in the Philippines, Mount Pulag, is located in the territorial boundary of the vegetable farming town.EtymologyThe name Kabayan was derived from the term Kaba-ayan, from the Ibaloi word ba-ay, a root crop vine thriving in the place. Most of the early Ibaloi settlements, in the area, which include Eddet and Duacan, were named after grasses in the heavily-forested area.HistoryPre-colonial periodThe first Ibaloi settlers in Benguet arrived at Imbose, located in present-day Kabayan.Mummification of the dead was practiced long before Spanish colonizers reached the place.Spanish periodIn the late 1800s, Spanish colonizers reached Kabayan via trails constructed throughout the mountain region. Organized into three rancherias, namely Adaoay, Kabayan, and Lutab (or Dutab), Kabayan was registered under the comandancia politico-militar of Benguet in 1846. Lutab (currently barangay Poblacion or Kabayan Central) was later integrated into the Kabayan rancheria.