ON THE NORTHEASTERN flanks, more would-be ‘pioneers’ were making headways, – laying hands to unoccupied lands or lot portions; building shacks temporary, or the more permanent Dansos; making ditch-irrigation canals for their newly-made little fields, Shekko; or making Baoks – ‘ground boundaries’, to secure their own control or possession over the lands they’ve (finally!) occupied and given or made fences, or Alads.
‘OCCUPIED LAND’ WITH obvious evidencies of: the fence or Alad, a shack or (a more permanent) Danso, a ditch irrigation Kolokol (Bagan in related languages) first earned from the owner’s co-pioneers – who stand up during (later) ‘claims’ as witnesses. They refer to a land ‘first occupied and tilled’ as Sinakalan to (Lit. “first-tilled by him”); or, they may give the name, as in: Sinekalan noman Polano, ‘first tilled by Mr. So and So.’
MOST OF THOSE ‘pioneers’ who came over to yet-unoccupied Ytogon, were Ipasdung – or Ifasdung, meaning “from Northwards of here”, it appears, the early Ytogonians who encountered them didn’t care if the guy came from ‘Near North’ Pasdong (today’s Bokod areas), or from far North Kebajan (Kabayan), or even farthest Andimay (now Amlimay, Buguias); or yet far further.
ON THE EXTREME Northeast flank, came Contales Kipis of Makhangan (now a part of Tikey, Bokod). His dominion extended from NE Debkow, to extreme East Soybo [Even today, some of his descendants are in actual occupancy of the areas cited. Supra].
AFTER HIM, HE was blest and so too were his other descendants, by the rise (later) of a powerful daughter-Abundia, who was to lead her father’s and her husband’s clan members in later turbulent years. Some of her descendants say: the famous pre-war Dongbaan/Horse racing grounds is still – listed under her name – though said area now is the portion near the two visible islands of the Binga Dam Reservoir.
WESTWARD TOWARDS THE South – from the Soybu Baok ‘cattle boundaries’ of Contales – later the Abundia Bias families, old man Damsis (now Lamsis) of Daklan (part of Northern Bokod) laid claim up to what is now the Westerly side of Saybuan. Meanwhile – uphill from said Saybuan, was ‘occupied’ by: the Cabson families; still uphill, by Esoy Canite (Agpao), and Mino Balbines (Mt. Inuman portion).
SOUTHWEST AND WEST of Debkow Dongban, Supra just across the River (Agno), lived the Itogonian Tadeo Sinizin and his wife Rosenda, daughter of Binga (later) Impanama, Aliw-iw, with ‘adopted’ sister-(in-law) Jovit and husband Ernesto/Cournesto. They were later joined by Aliw-iw’s youngest son – Picad, after marriage in 1950(?) On top of the mountains, where the Pastureland of Jose Smith Fianza – ‘the kinglet of Eastern Benguet’ – in later times (see Supra). Said lands were to be titled by his eldest son – Don Mariano Fianza; and, of course his siblings.
CLAN NARRATIONS INDICATE that Shomingkis – the father of Jose Smith Fianza, was an adopted son of Pinao-an. Did Pinao-an ‘bequeath’ his. Binga pasture lands to Shomingkis?
THE LATE INFORMAT Alvaro Claudio of Baloy (his descendants still live there) used to narrate:
‘THERE WERE THREE original ‘pioneers’ of (now) ‘Binga and Suburbs’. Otot of Kabayan, Pinao-an of Magangan, and Pucay of Andimay.
‘EVENTUALLY, OTOT left; later, Pinao-an too. Only Pucay remained in Binga, until his first wife died in Daklan. He later re-married there – they had four children; but only one of his grandsons – Aliwiw, came back to live permanently in Binga. Ayo, Ayo, Ino!
