BATANES

The Province of Batanes is an island province in the region of Cagayan Valley. Its comprising ten islands that are located in the Luzon Strait between the islands of Luzon and Taiwan. It is the northernmost province of the Philippines and is also the smallest province, both in terms of population and land area. The provincial capital is Basco on Batan Island and the only other inhabited islands areItbayat and Sabtang

Batanes

 They lived in fortified mountain areas called idjangs and drank sugar-cane wine, or palek

They were also seafarers and boat-builders.In 1687, a crew of

English freebooters headed by William Dampier came 

 Itbayat was named "Orange Isle" after William of Orange, and Batan was named "Grafton Isle" after Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton. Sabtang Isle was named "Monmouth Isle" after James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth.

History

In 1783, the Spanish claimed Batanes as part of the Philippines under the auspices of Governor-General José Basco y Vargas

 In 1790, Governor Guerrero,  decreed that Ivatans were to leave their idjang and to live in the lowlands, thereby giving them more people to tax. Basco and Ivana were the first towns. Mahatao was then administered by Basco, while Uyugan and Sabtang, by Ivana.

 Ivatans were then ordered to dress like the other Filipinos

Ilocanos were being put in the islands, so as to control the native population there.

Limestone technology were used by the Spanish By 1890, many Ivatans were in Manila, and

became ilustrados These Ivatans, who were then discontented with

Spanish rule, killed the ruling General Fortea and declared the end of Spanish rule.

Batanes was made a part of Cagayan. In 1909, however, the American authorities organized it into an independent province. 

During the American colonial period, public schools suddenly boomed, and more Ivatan became more aware of their place in the Philippines. One of the first School Superintendents was Victor de Padua, an Ilocano, who in 1942-45 during the Japanese occupation was made Provincial Governor.

In 1920,  Roads were constructed and the Batanes High School was instituted.

In the morning of December 8, 1941, the Batan Task Force from Taiwan landed on the Batan Islands.

During the Second World War,   the United States regained the country, Batanes regained its provincehood.

The island group is located about 162 km north of Luzon and about 190 kilometers south of Taiwan, separated from the Babuyan Islands of Cagayan Province, Luzon, by the Balintang Channel and from Taiwan by the Bashi Channel.

Location

AreaTotal219.01 km2

(84.56 sq mi)

MunicipalitiesBascoItbayatIvanaMahataoSabtangUyugan

LanguageThe people of Batanes are

called Ivatan and share prehistoric cultural and linguistic commonalities with the Babuyan on Babuyan Island and the Tao people of Orchid Island.

The main languages spoken in Batanes are Ivatan, which is spoken on the islands of Batan and Sabtang, and Itbayaten, which is spoken primarily on the island of Itbayat. The Ivatan which is dominant in the province is considered to be one of the Austronesian languages. From college level down to elementary level, the language is widely spoken

PeopleThe people of Batanes are called Ivatan and share prehistoric cultural and linguistic commonalities with the Babuyan on Babuyan Island and the Tao people of Orchid Island.An Ivatan woman wearing a vakul, an abaca fiber-made headgear for sunlight and rain protection

The borderline subtropical climate of the province is similar to those of neighboring southern Taiwan and Okinawa. Sometimes the island experiences below the normal low of 13 °C (55 °F) in the winter months.

There is a misconception that Batanes is constantly battered by typhoons. If Batanes is mentioned in connection with weather disturbances, it is because its capital, Basco, holds the last weather station in the north. It is a reference point for all typhoons that enter the Philippine area.

Climate

EcologyAn extensive survey of the ecology of Batanes. provided the scientific basis for confirming the need for a national park in Batanes protecting the Batanes protected landscapes and seascapes, proposed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, submitted on 15 August 1993

TopographyThe islands are the northernmost islands of the Philippines. They are located between the Babuyan Islands (belonging to Cagayan Province) and Taiwan. The islands are sparsely populated and subject to frequent typhoons.

IVATAN HOUSE

Ivatan House

The Ivatan House is a unique vernacular architecture developed in the province ofBatanes. Its compact structure is divided into four areas: the main house, the cooking house, toilet, and bathhouse. During the cold seasons, the cooking house also serves as sleeping quarters. The houses of Ivatan are constructed and repaired through a cooperative system called kayvayvanaan or kamanyiduan. Through this system, houses are fixed with immediate action.

Most of the Ivatan houses are built with limestone walls, reed and cogon roofs, strong enough to withstand the numerous typhoons and earthquakes that visit the island on an average of eight times a year. Some houses have roof nets which allow the roofs to last from 25 to 30 years. These nets serve as the roofs' protection against strong winds during typhoons. Only three walls of the house have windows; the fourth wall faces the direction of the strongest typhoon winds. The inside is relatively cool during summer and warm during the rainy season.

Structure

TypologiesSinadumparanThe sinadumparan or maytuab is the most common type. It is a one-storey structure with a partially submerged basement that functions as a storage area. It has thick stone and lime masonry with walls topped by either a dos aguas or a cuatro aguas roof which is made of an elaborately crafted wood truss system with bamboo, reed rattan, and thatch cover. It has a distinct roof system built with a meter thick cogonbundles done by by no less than twelve persons at the same time. The roof nets, called panpe, are made of strong ropes thrown over the roof and fastened to the ground.

RakuhCompared to the sinadumparan, rakuh has bigger floor area with a lower level which functions as the storage area. The walls are made of lime mortar that binds the stones of different sizes. It has two doors and three windows.

Jin-JinInstead of thick stone and lime mortar walls, the jin-jin house has walls made of woven cogon thatch with bamboo or wood framework. The roof is made with the distinctive Ivatan multi-layered cogon system.

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