The cattle caravans of ancient Caboloan (interior plains of Pangasinan): Connecting history, culture and commerce by Cartwheel

• Main Author: Flores, Ma. Crisanta Nelmida
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2007
• Subjects: Pangasinan (Philippines)—Social life and customs; Pangasinan (Philippines)—Commerce; Farmers—Philippines—Economic conditions; Place and Environment
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/faculty_research/5245
• Institution: De La Salle University

Cattle caravans, once a feature of Philippine road scenery, are now disappearing. Originating from the Central Luzon plain, mainly from the province of Pangasinan, whose old name was Caboloan, the farmers leave their farms when the fields are parched during the dry season aboard covered ox carts bearing handmade goods made of rattan and bamboo. While traveling, they brave the uncertainties of the highways and the city streets much like the ocean mariners. After selling their products the farmers would return to their homes with hard-earned money to send their children to school and to prepare for the next planting season at the onset of the rainy season. Through a research grant from the National Historical Institute the author, Ms. Crisanta Nelmida Flores, conveys to us images of the intrepid rural folk of Pangasinan who engage in this annual ritual, which have become rarer with the onslaught of modernity.