THE PEOPLE: Socio-cultural development

Socio-cultural development:

The inhabitants of Tadian municipality came from different places of origin. The early settlers that inhabited the barangays of Zone III or Demang in the local vernacular that covers the barangays of Bana-ao, Cadad-anan, Cagubatan, Dacudac, Lenga and Pandayan came from Miligan or Namiligan. A place just below the Inodey falls and Lesseb, Bauko. The people here are now called to belong to the Kankanaey Tribe. The early settlers that inhabited the rest of the barangays of Tadian that covers the central part (Zone I) and Sulumaside(Zone II) were believed to have came from Dallican and Cayos of the Ilocos Coast and are now called to belong to the Applai tribe.

The Socio-cultural characteristics of these two tribes of Tadian can be traced back to the early ages. As in the past, they still have common cultural practices such as conducting yearly begnas or festivals (before planting and before harvesting) and other form of kanao or sida. At present, they wear no more their G-string and tapis as their main clothing, they wear these clothings during special occasions and festivals as their special clothings.

It is said that the dead remains as their spiritual adviser in such a way that the family should leave their place when the crop is not bountiful, or when a member feels ill or when bad luck besets them. It is their belief that the spirit of the dead does not want to stay there anymore and not blame on any outside circumstances. Thus, explains their being migratory or nomadic.

At present, most people of the municipality are christianized which saw the declined of conduct of the so many cultural practices in the past. People already are selective, only the goods ones are continued while the considered hindrances to their growth economically and spiritually are being left and sometimes forgotten by this generation.

Mother Tongue

there are 16,165 or 98.40% of the total population in 1995 speaks kankanaey followed by Ilocano at 0.60% or 98 persons and the rest are distributed to the different dialect found in the locality. Kankana-ey is the commonly spoken dialect in the municipality, the tone however differ from different locations.