Indang

History of Indang

Indang, whose original name was Indan, was established as a municipality in 1655. Indan was
derived from the Tagalog word indang or inrang, a tree, which according to the inhabitants of the
town, grew there. A description of Indang by two Augustinian friars, Fr. Manuel Buzeta and Fr.
Felipe Bravo, OSA, in mid-nineteenth century reads in part.

During the Philippine Revolution, Indan was known by its Katipunan name "Walang Tinag." It
was also during this time that the letter "g" was added to its name; thus it is now called Indang.

The town of Indang played a crucial role in the Philippine Revolution. It was in barrio Limbon,
Indang, where Andres Bonifacio, defeated in the Tejeros Convention, arrested and prevented
from pursuing his counter-revolutionary plan to set up a separate government and army. He and
his follower were brought back to Naik, tried by a military court, finally convicted of sedition
and treason against the Revolutionary Government headed by General Emilio Aguinaldo.

What is glossed over in history books being taught in schools and colleges is the fact that the
Bonifacio capture in Limbon and his subsequent trial, conviction and execution constituted a
blessing in disguise because he died, in the words of General Aguinaldo, " a great apostle and
hero of the Filipino race." It goes without saying that had Bonifacio succeeded in setting up a
separate government and army. He would have plunged the country into a bloody fratricidal
strife, and thus insured the defeat of the revolution against Spain.

A part of Silang for about 70 years, the municipality of Indang was organized in 1655 with a
prominent native, Juan Dimabiling, as the first gobernadorcillo. The distance between the barrio
of Indang and the poblacion of Silang caused the residents of the former great difficulty in
transacting officials business and attending religious services. This led the people of Indang to
petition higher authorities for the conversion of the barrio into a separate municipality. The
petition was granted, and Indang became full-fledged town in 1655.

Town with parish priest and gobernadorcillo province of Cavite, diocese of the archbishopric of
Manila; situated on the level land, at the bank of a river, which passes at the east of the town, and
not far from another which runs at the west Its climate is temperate and healthful. Have some
2,809 houses notable among them being the casa parroquial and the casa de comunidad There is
a primary school where plenty of students concur, endowed from the community funds, and a
parish church served by a secular priest Communicates with its neighbors by means of good
roads, and receives weekly mail from the capital Population: 16,855 souls.

About the same time that Eduardo Camerino, the peasant leader, was stirring the agrarian reform
unrest in Imus and nearby towns, another native stalwart in the person of Santiago Mojica
Espineli, described by Spanish writers as a " famous bandit," was keeping the cuadrilleros
(native police) of Indang on their toes. In the eyes of the Spaniards Camerino and Espineli were
bandoleros.

But from the Filipino point of view, it was these so-called bandits - Luis Parang (1822), Sta.
Maria (1837), Santiago Mojica Espineli (1864) and Eduardo Camerino (1872) - who set a long
tradition of Caviteno insurgency against Spanish domination, culminating in the Philippine
Revolution of 1896.

Indang revolutionary name of Walang Tinag (Immovable) was part of the revolutionists
objective to wipe out all vestige of the countrys colonial past.

Although a poor municipality in terms of annual income, Indang compares favorably with many
towns in the Philippines in the number of outstanding revolutionary figures who sacrificed so
much that the Philippines might enjoy the blessing of freedom and independence.

These distinguished sons of Indang are the following:

1. Severino de las Alas, member of Aguinaldos revolutionary cabinet, who reported the
looting done by Bonifacios men in Indang, prompting Aguinaldo to order their arrest;

2. Raymundo Jeciel, who was with Aguinaldo during his retreat to Northern Luzon and
former governor of Cavite.

3. General Ambrosio Mojica, politico-military governor of the First Philippine Republic in

Samar and Leyte.

4. Hugo Ilagan, and (5) Jose Coronel, Cavite delegates to the Revolutionary Congress in
Tarlac, Tarlac.

Baranggays

Indang is politically subdivided into 36 barangays.

 Agus-us
 Alulod
 Banaba Cerca
 Banaba Lejos
 Bancod
 Buna Cerca
 Buna Lejos I
 Buna Lejos II
 Calumpang Cerca
 Calumpang Lejos I
 Carasuchi
 Kayquit I
  Daine I
 Guyam Malaki
 Guyam Munti
 Harasan
 Kaytambog
 Limbon
 Lumampong Balagbag
 Lumampong Halayhay
 Mahabangkahoy Lejos
 Mahabangkahoy Cerca
 Barangay 1 (Pob.)
 Barangay 2 (Pob.)
 Barangay 3 (Pob.)
 Barangay 4 (Pob.)
 Pulo
 Tambo Balagbag
 Tambo Ilaya
 Tambo Malaki
 Tambo Kulit
 Buna Lejos II
 Daine II
 Kayquit II
 Kayquit III
 Kaytapos
 Mataas na Lupa (Checkpoint)

Historical Background:

The town of Indang takes a significant part in the Philippine Revolution when Gat Andres
Bonifacio was arrested at Barrio Limbon after being defeated in the Tejeros Convention. It was
also in Indang when Andres Bonifacion was barred from setting up a separate government and
army. Some of the outstanding revolutionary figures who are considered as the distinguished
sons of Indang were Severino Delas Alas who is a member of Aguinaldo during his retreat to
Northern Luzon; General Ambrosio Mojica, a politico military governor of the first Philippine
republic in Samar and Leyte; Hugo Ilagan and Jose Coronel, both delegates of Cavite to the
revolutionary Congress in Tarlac. Its revolutionary name during the Spanish era was “Walang
Tinag” which means immovable.

The exact month and day of the municipality’s establishment has no verification. However,
existing documents proved that Indang was instituted during the cold month of 1655. Therefore,
the municipal government decided and declared December 1st as “Indang Day” which was
annually celebrated and thereafter by its peopl
Geographic Location:

Indang is an upland municipality in Cavite composed of (36) barangays with a total of 8,920
hectares. It is centrally located in the upland of Cavite with a bearing of 120 degrees and 11”
longitude. It is bounded on the north by the municipalities of Naic and Trece Martires City; on
the south by the municipalities of Mendez and Tagaytay City; on the west by the municipalities
of Alfonso and Maragondon and on the east by the municipalities of Amadeo and Trece Martires
City.

The Municipality is highly accessible from the major points within the province and to the major
market areas like naic and Alfonso, while it is only 13.5 kilometeres from the seat of provincial
government at the City of Trece Martires, Indang is about 12.8 kilometers from Tagaytay City.

The topography is characterized by gently sloping or rolling terrain. Almost 40.36% of its total
land area is within the slope grade of 3-8%, while 2,135 hectares is within the slope range of 8-
15% which is characterized by undulating/sloping terrain. The land elevation range from 230 to
380 meters above sea level. The land area is furthermore fairy well dissected by numerous creeks
and streams that are deeply cut., characterized by steep and abrupt banks. Rivers, creeks and
spring supply the water needed for both agricultural and households purposes. These rivers and
creeks also serves as natural drainage into which storm water is discharged and flow in northern
direction to discharged into either Manila Bay or Laguna de Bay. Based on hazard Mapping and
Assessment for effective Community – Based Disaster Risk Management conducted by
PHILVOCS-DOST, Indang is susceptible on the strong ground Shaking when the earthquake
intensity scale reached PEIS intensify VIII and above, but not susceptible on earthquake-Induced
landslide. However, there are a possible landslide deposits along major rivers. Generally, the
municipality has low susceptibilityon Rain-Induced landslide.

Major Income Sources:

 Agriculture,
 Agri-Tourism, Commercial
 Service Centers

Tourist Destinations:

 Bonifacion Shrine (Barangay Limbon)

Located in Brgy. Limbon, Indang . This is one of the historical landmarks dedicated to
the Father of Revolution , Andres Bonifacio. The shrine marks the location of the nipa
hut where Andres Bonifacio was seized and captured by the soldiers of his political rival
and fellow revolutionary Emilio Aguinaldo 1897. It was also here that Bonifacio was
 gravely injured after he was shot by an arresting soldier when he was being dragged to
Indang town proper to be imprisoned.

 Indang Heroes Park

Indang's public park, Heroes Park commemorates Indang-based heroes and the defenders
of Bataan and Corregidor. Central to the park is a bust of Severino de Las Alas, a teacher
and philanthropist in the late 19th century. He was a Councilor at the 1897 Tejeros
Convention, and was one among those who signed the Pact of Biyak-na-Bato in San
Miguel, Bulacan. He was also a guerilla leader in Cavite, and served as Municipal
President twice in the early 20th century. Meanwhile, five other Indang-based
revolutionary heroes are commemorated on one marble wall in the park. They are Jose
Elias Coronel y Rosal, Hugo Ilagan, Ambrosio Mojica, Raymundo Jeciel y Tamio, and
Jose Mojica y Diokno.

Resorts (Rio Villanuevo/Villa Colmenar/Alta Rios/Queen Anne/Villa Felicidad/Terre Verte/Lou

Fil/Balay Indang/La Felomena/etc.)

 Saint Gregory Parish Church

is one among the oldest churches in Cavite. Established in 1611 by Father Angelo Armano,
Indang Church is made of pumice, corals, and adobe. Inside, the church is unique in its hand-
painted trompe l'oeil ceiling, an optical illusion that makes objects appear to exist in three
dimensions. Like other old churches in the Philippines, Indang Church has commemorative
gravestones on its walls, near the pulpit area. Visitors can also climb up the belfry tower to see
the old church bells and have a glimpse of the town from its windows.

Miraculous 7 Archangel

Barangay Fiesta Celebration

Delicacies

 Kalamay Buna or Kalamay Indang, designated as a one-town-one-product (OTOP) by

Cavite’s Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), is a famous local delicacy for more
than a century to date. This traditional kakanin is described as sweet and chewy. It is
made of glutinous rice, coconut milk, brown sugar, and fortified with young coconut
meat or ripe jackfruit strips. hrough DOLE and DTI, their produce has been standardized
and well-packaged. There are two kinds of packaging – the square box contains 12
 pieces of smaller calamay worth P50 while the rectangular box with 10 pieces of large
Kalamay is worth P100.

The Indang municipality also facilitated the construction of a building near the old Indang
municipal hall to serve as outlet of kalamay, dubbed as Bahay Kalamay, the pasalubong center in
town.

The lifespan of Kalamay Indang is two weeks even if not refrigerated. Kalamay serves as a
favorite present or pasalubong to loved ones and friends.

Kalamay making in Indang is an old industry as exemplified by Librada Costa, a 95-year old
kalamay producer.

She started making kalamay at age 18. For more than seven decades in the industry, she was
able to send all her seven children to college and finished their respective courses – two of them
are optometrists, one dentist, one became captain of Philippine Navy, two agriculturists, and one
marine transportation graduate.

Indeed, Kalamay Indang is a thriving indigenous industry of the town and has contributed to the
economic welfare and development of this agri-tourism first class municipality and its populace.

 Balikutsa
 Bukayo Langka

Festivals
 Irok Festival

Irok (Arengga pinata) or sweet palm tree whose fruit – kaong – is sweetened and is a vital
ingredient in halo-halo and sweet breads. This beautiful palm tree, whose fruit is also made into
vinegar, grows wild in the historic town of Indang in Cavite.

Every Dec. 1, during the culmination of Indang’s foundation anniversary, the elongated leaves of
irok are woven into costumes of street dancers during its unique Irok Festival. This year,
however, simulated leaves of irok will be used only to protect this vital resource of Indang.

The name of this rustic, upland town in the southern edge of Cavite was derived from the indan
tree, which grew abundantly in the area in the olden days.

"Indang, which is the home of the 99year-old Cavite State University’s main campus, is better
known in the province as the hometown of six heroes of the Philippine Revolution, namely
Severino delas Alas, Jose Elias Coronel, Hugo Ilagan, Raymundo C. Jeciel, Ambrosio Mojica,
and Jose Mojica," says Indang Mayor Lope D. Tepora.
"From Nov. 28 up to Dec. 1, this year, we will hold the 10th Indang Day’s Celebration, which
will coincide with the town’s 350 years of existence since its establishment in 1655," adds
Tepora, who was instrumental in garnering the 2004 Gawad Pangulo sa Kapaligiran Award of
Excellence for being the eighth cleanest and environment-friendly municipality nationwide.

The Irok Festival on Dec. 1 starts at 6:30 a.m. with an ecumenical prayer followed by Indakan sa
Indang parade at 7:30 to be participated in by LGU officials, barangay officials from Indang’s 36
barangays together with their muses, members of NGOs, government employees and students.

Other activities include the hanging of Christmas lanterns from different barangays in the public
plaza, the opening of the Kubol ng mga Barangay where its residents will showcase their
respective products – from sinamay clothing to their famous kalamay buna and other homegrown
sweets.

Other highlights include blood letting at the ABC hall supervised by members of the Pugad
Lawin sa Indang, and a chess tournament in front of the municipal covered court under the
supervision of the Sangguniang Kabataan at the Indang Chess Club.