HISTORY OF BESAO

The poetic of Besao is Golinsan. While the name Besao is believed to have come from the word buso meaning head hunters. In olden days, many places in the cordillera were known to be headhunters, and they were could buso or busol and the Besao people were believed to have been headhunters; hence, the word buso which later became Besao. Besao located within the Gran Cordillera Central range so it has a mountain terrain generally of moderately steep to very steep slopes with irregular height and altitude; the highest peak is Mt. Camaningel. Besao is bounded on the north by Tubo, Abra, on the south by Tadian municipality, on the east of Sagada town, and on the west of Quirino, Ilocos Sur. Its distance from the capital town of Bontoc is 28 kilometers and one can reach via BesaoSagada and Besao-Tadian road. Majority of Besao people belong to the Episcopal Church (Anglican). The first church in this town is St. Benedicts church, built in Kin-iway, Besao in 1908.later, these American Anglican Missionaries established the primary school in 1909 and opened the St. James high school in 1913. All in all, Besao has 16 public elementary school and 2 public and 2 private secondary schools. Besao boasts of many educated citizens who are now occupying key position in the government service and also in private institutions.

THE LEGEND OF PAYEO

A long time ago, somewhere in Besao, Mt. Province, there was once a village called Bangsinget. During the time when headhunting is widely practiced, the people in Bangsinget and Sagada were enemies. One day, the people of Sagada decided to attack the village of Bagsinget. When they reached the place, they found a man tending to his rice field. Since the Sagada warrior doesnt know the exact location of Bagsinget village, they decided to ask the man who just answered them Payeo. The man turned out to be deaf and that he thought of being asked what he was doing so he just answered them Payeo which means rice field. So, the warriors from Sagada moved on to another village looking for the village of Bagsinget. When the people heard of the story as told by the deaf man, they decided to change the name of their place to avoid being attacked their enemies. The village which was then called Bagsinget is still called PAYEO.

Riddles
1) Egnam nan skeet ko ta men lagto lagto ak. (Hold my waist and I will jump and jump.) Answer: pestle 2) Ingan Gawili, napnu as mani. (Ear of Gawili full of peanut.) Answer: pipe 3) Adi mangan nu baken sida nan ipangan nah. (It does not eat if its not meat.) Answer: knife for slicing meat 4) Baken batang, baken mula ngem adu-adu nan bolong nah. (Not a tree, not a plant but has many leaves.) Answer: book 5) Wada nan am-ama ay nang await si baey nah. (An old man carrying his house.) Answer: turtle 6) Bato ad Mogao, dubduble en nah nan kankanam. (Stone in Mogao, it repeats what you shout). Answer: echo 7) Baey ay adu-adu nan kwarto nah. (My tall house that has many room.) Answer: bamboo 8) No eganam matey, ngem no ebkas mu matago. (If you touch it will die. If you throw it, it will live.) Answer: top 9) Ipusipos mo nan engak ta denggem nan kankanak. (Twist my ear and hear what Ill say.) Answer: radio 10) Talak padi ay kasubli-subli. (Car of a priest goes back and forth.) Answer: coconut husk