Place:Antique, Western Visayas, Philippines

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Antique, officially the Province of Antique (; ; ; ), is a province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital is San Jose de Buenavista, the most populous town in Antique. The province is situated in the western section of Panay Island and borders Aklan, Capiz and Iloilo to the east, while facing the Sulu Sea to the west.

The province is home to the indigenous Iraynun-Bukidnon, speakers of a dialect of the Kinaray-a language, who have crafted the only rice terrace clusters in the Visayas through indigenous knowledge and sheer vernacular capabilities. The rice terraces of the Iraynun-Bukidnon are divided into four terraced fields, namely, General Fullon rice terraces, Lublub rice terraces, Bakiang rice terraces, and San Agustin rice terraces. All of the rice terrace clusters have been researched by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts and various scholars from the University of the Philippines. There have been campaigns to nominate the Iraynun-Bukidnon Rice Terraces, along with the Central Panay Mountain Range, into the UNESCO World Heritage List.

History

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Precolonial

Historians believe that the earliest people who settled on the island of Panay were tribal Negritos or Atis. Oral history, relayed as the "Maragtas", states that ten "datus" or minor tribal Malay chieftains escaped persecution from a city called Odtohan from Borneo due to a tyrant ruler called Makatunaw. The ten datus, led by Datu Puti, sailed northward with their families and communities, landing on Panay after departing Borneo. There are claims that the narrative of the Maragtas is dated to 1212 to fit with the transition of the Srivijayan Empire to Majapahit but there are no written evidence about this, nor there are any existing claims that links the datus to Borneo. Nevertheless, the Maragtas narrative is to be considered as part of the local history of the people.

Upon arrival, the Malay datus met the Ati chieftain Datu Marikudo and his wife Maniwantiwan. They offered the chieftain a salakot (wide-brimmed hat) (out of exaggeration, the present day locals believed to be of pure gold) which includes a golden necklace, earrings, bracelets and trinkets they wore when they fled Borneo among other gifts of pearls and fine clothes as a display of respect and to buy the land for them to live. Datu Marikudo responded to the datus' generosity by giving the Malayans the lowlands and moving to the mountains with his Ati tribe as the mountains are sacred to them. The legacy of this landing is commemorated annually in Antique during the Binirayan festival.

The island of Panay was then divided into three : Hantik, Akean and Irong-Irong. Irong-Irong became Iloilo, Akean became the present-day Aklan and Capiz, and Hantik (also called Hamtik or Hamtic) became Antique. Hantik was named for the large black ants found on the island called "hantik-hantik".

The of Hantik was given to Datu Sumakwel, one of the ten datus, and who, according to tradition, was a sword master and wisest of them. The three were later governed as a political unit called the Kedatuan of Madja-as, also under Datu Sumakwel. Datu Sumakwel founded the town of Malandog, considered to be the first Malay settlement in the country. Malandog is now a barangay in the present-day municipality of Hamtic, which was named after the historic .

Spanish colonial period

During the Spanish colonial period, the coastal province was vulnerable to attacks by Moro raiders. Under the direction of the Spanish friars, a series of watchtowers, like the 'Old Watchtower' in Libertad and Estaca Hill in Bugasong, were built to guard Antique.

Second World War

In 1942, the Imperial Japanese Army landed in Antique and occupied the province during the Second World War.

During the Japanese Insurgencies and Occupation (1942-1944), the military general headquarters and camp bases of the 6th and 62nd Infantry Division of the Philippine Commonwealth Army was active from January 3, 1942, to June 30, 1946, and the military general headquarters and camp bases of the 6th Constabulary Regiment of the Philippine Constabulary was re-activated between October 28, 1944, and June 30, 1946. Additionally, during the implementation of the anti-imperial Japanese military operations on Panay Island between 1942 and 1945 in the Antique province, Filipino military forces aided the local guerrilla resistance against the Imperial Japanese Army.

Between 1944 and 1945, Philippine Commonwealth forces of the 6th Constabulary Regiment of the Philippine Constabulary and the 6th and 62nd Infantry Division of the Philippine Commonwealth Army defeated the Japanese troops and liberated the province. The liberation was achieved with the active support of recognized local guerrillas.

During the Marcos dictatorship

One of the significant events of the Philippines's Martial Law era was the Bacong Bridge Massacre, which took place in the town of Culasi, Antique on December 19, 1981. Sometimes also known as the Culasi incident, it involved the Philippine Constabulary killing 5 protester-farmers at the Bacong River bridge in Culasi's Barangay Malacañang. The victims were identified as Leopoldo A. Anos, Aquilino M. Castillo, Fortunato M. Dalisay, Remegildo P. Dalisay, and Joel B. Plaquino, and were later honored at the Philippines' Bantayog ng mga Bayani, which recognizes the heroes and martyrs who fought the authoritarian regime.

Discovery of the Antique Rice Terraces

In 2014, the first ever Philippine rice terraces found outside the Cordilleras was discovered in Antique through satellite and a team of scientists and locals. The heritage site, known as the Antique Rice Terraces of the Panay-Bukidnon people, is believed to be at least 200 years old. In 2017, the province hosted the Palarong Pambansa for the very first time.

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