The Bugkalots are found in the provinces of Nueva Ecija, Nueva Viscaya, Quirino and Aurora, occupying no less than 62 widely scattered village-communities. Records reveal that the Bugkalots arrived during the early part of our history. Presently, they inhabit the easterly central part of the Caraballo and Sierra Madre Mountain ranges.
The Bugkalots subsist on the kaingin system of agriculture with root crops as their main product. Their main occupation is hunting wild game in the forest and Cownap rivers, head streans of the mighty Cagayan River. The group found along the banks of the Casecnan River is known as the Italon tribe whose members are of regular build and with Mongolian features such as narrow slanting eyes and aquiline nose. The same characteristics are observed among the other groups known as Abacas, Tamsis, Dakgans and Kadayakans, the latter found in the Ditale, Dipaculo and Bayanihan, Baler, and Aurora. Th eKadayakans speak fluent Tagalog aside from their own dialect due to the influence of the Tagalogs who inhabit the Province of Aurora. The Bugkalots found along the rivers of Bua and Tubo and a part of Conwap speak Ilokano culture. This group is found in Kasibu, Nueva Viscaya.
Presently, no less than 5,000 Bugkalot head families reside in the aforementioned provinces. Although they live far apart from another, their iguistic similarities, customs and arts show that they belong to one distinct group.
The Bugkalots are known for their colorful attire, musical instruments, and artifacts, which are shown in their blow-up pictures in museums, patronized by foreign tourists in Eastern and Western Europe. Their popular festive dance is called baleleng. Their more hideous ritual which rallies all Bugkalots, male and female, is seen in the buayat, but this is not shown to the Christians.
