Kabyawan Festival

The tradition & historical record

Cabiao, officially the Municipality of Cabiao (Tagalog: Bayan ng Cabiao, Kapampangan: Balen ning Cabiao), is a municipality in the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines. According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 89,497 people. Cabiao is the 3rd most populous, one of the richest, and fastest growing municipality in the province, only behind Talavera and Guimba. If cities are included, the town ranks 6th. According to the National Competitiveness Council in Cities/Municipalities Competitiveness Index 2018, Cabiao is ranked 10th in Overall Municipal category with 1,400 participating municipalities and 30th place in first to second class municipal category. The town also boasts of being 2nd place in the Resiliency category. The town is part of the so-called "Rice Granary Capital of the Philippines", and is also remarked as the "Sweet Sorghum Capital of Nueva Ecija". ¹

The executive branch of the Municipality of Cabiao is headed by the Municipal Mayor. Throughout the municipality's history, the title and term length of the chief executive have evolved—transitioning from the presidente municipal during the early 20th century to the elected Municipal Mayor under the Local Government Code of 1991. The following list details the individuals who have held the office and their respective terms in service. ¹

The name Cabiao is the old Kapampangan word for "a tool used for pounding rice" (modern Kapampangan: kabyo, Tagalog: kabyaw). Cabiao, along with Gapan, Aliaga, San Isidro, and San Antonio were transferred from Pampanga to Nueva Ecija in 1848. The desire of the populace of Cabiao to be free from Spanish domination and tyranny resulted in an uprising on September 2, 1896. Numbering around 700 men (461 listed in the Tablet of Heroes in the Municipal Compound), the townsfolk of Cabiao and the Cabiao Brass Band under the leadership of their Capitan Municipal Mariano Llanera together with the people of the neighboring towns of Arayat, Delinquente (San Antonio) and Jaen led the siege against the colonizing Spaniards stationed at the Factoria of San Isidro. The Spanish Colonial Government ceded the Philippines to the United States on December 10, 1898, via the Treaty of Paris. Once again, the Philippines was under colonial rule, this time by the American. In the last days of the Spanish occupation, the Cabiao heroes participated in the declaration of the Philippine Republic in Malolos on January 23, 1899. During the Philippine–American War, Cabiao was one of the fiercely contested positions of the American forces in pursuit of General Aguinaldo's Forces however most of the populated areas of Cabiao avoided the fighting. General Pio del Pilar held out in the marshes of San Vicente and Santa Rita to delay the intruding Forces of General Elwell Stephen Otis under the command of General Henry Ware Lawton. In 1903, the Americans established schools in Cabiao and used the English language as a medium of instructions. Pedro Oreta was elected as the first chief executive of the town under American civil regime followed by the then Mun. ¹

Cabiao is located at the south-western part of Nueva Ecija bordering the province of Pampanga. It also borders the municipalities of San Isidro and San Antonio in the province of Nueva Ecija; the municipalities of Magalang, Candaba and Arayat in Pampanga province; and to its north-west is the municipality of Concepcion in Tarlac province. It is 37 kilometres (23 mi) from Cabanatuan, 51 kilometres (32 mi) from Palayan, and 107 kilometres (66 mi) from Manila, and 39 kilometres (24 mi) from San Fernando. The land area is flat-bounded river with abundant fertile soil; very ideal for cultivation. The estimated 32%, classified as rural/sub-rural areas are related in agricultural land farming. Its surrounded by irrigations and sources of water supply needed in multi-cropping. The rest land area with an estimated of 89.6 km2 situated in the core-centered are residentials, households and commercial occupancies. It is classified as urban and sub-urban areas. ¹

Cabiao is politically subdivided into 23 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios. ¹

In the 2024 municipal census, Cabiao had a population of 89,497 people. The population density was 800 inhabitants per square kilometre (2,100/sq mi). ¹

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Cabiao”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ¹

Kabyawan Festival is recorded in open cultural data. The structured record cited below does not describe the practice, and this entry has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ²