Ibanag

Ibanag map
  • AKA: Ibannag
  • Location: Luzon, along Cagayan River; especially in Tuguegarao, Solana, Cabagan, and Ilagan
  • Languages: Ibanag, closely related to Itawit and Malaweg
  • Subgroups: North Ibanag, South Ibanag (dialect groups)
  • Subsistence: Lowland rice and corn; tobacco and cotton as cash crops. Some upland rice.
  • Population: 311,187 (1990)

The Ibanag originated in the region around the mouth of the Cagayan River and gradually dispersed southward within the last 200 years, influencing groups like the Itawis, Isinay, and Gaddang. Ibanag is the lingua franca for trade in the area. They were influenced to grow tobacco by the encroaching Ilokano from the west coast.