Ibalon, or Ibalong, is the ancient name of the

Bicol Region Bicol, known formally as the Bicol Region or colloquially as Bicolandia ( bcl, Rehiyon kan Bikol; Rinconada Bikol: ''Rehiyon ka Bikol''; Waray Sorsogon, Masbateño: ''Rehiyon san Bikol''; tl, Rehiyon ng Bikol), is an administrative region of ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. The center of settlement is believed to be either beside the

Bicol River The Bicol River is the eighth largest river in the Philippines in terms of drainage basin size with an estimated catchment area of . The river drains a large part of southwestern Bicol Peninsula of the island of Luzon and passes through Camarines S ...

at the present-day

Libmanan, Camarines Sur Libmanan, officially the Municipality of Libmanan ( bcl, Banwaan kan Libmanan; tl, Bayan ng Libmanan), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Camarines Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 112,994 people. ...

(as based on the

Ibalong Epic The ''Ibálong'', also known as ''Handiong'' or ''Handyong'', is a 60-stanza fragment of a Bikol languages, Bicolano full-length ethnopoetics, folk Epic poetry, epic of Bicol Region, Bicol region of Philippines, based on the Indian Hindu epics Ram ...

) or in

Magallanes, Sorsogon Magallanes, officially the Municipality of Magallanes, is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Sorsogon, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 37,411 people. According to renowned historians and anthropologists ...

, renowned as one of the first Spanish settlement in the island of

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

. At some point, the name Ibalong was also been used by the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

to refer to the entire

Bicol Peninsula Bicol, known formally as the Bicol Region or colloquially as Bicolandia ( bcl, Rehiyon kan Bikol; Rinconada Bikol: ''Rehiyon ka Bikol''; Waray Sorsogon, Masbateño: ''Rehiyon san Bikol''; tl, Rehiyon ng Bikol), is an administrative region of ...

, and to some extent the entire island of

.Reyes, J. C. (January–February 1979). The Ibalen Epic - A Window to Bicols Pre-history. Boletin Eclesiastico de Filipinas v. 53 nos. 590-591, pp. 61-92. The Epic of Ibalong, at the present times, is being celebrated by

Legazpi City Legazpi, officially the City of Legazpi ( bcl, Siyudad nin Legazpi; fil, Lungsod ng Legazpi), is a 1st class component city and capital of the province of Albay, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 209,533. Legazpi ...

in Albay. The

Ibalong Festival The ''Ibalong Festival'' is a non-religious festival in Legazpi City, Albay, Philippines based on the Ibalong Epic, and is held on August. The festival celebrates the epic story Ibalong who was accompanied by three legendary heroes, namely Baltog, ...

celebrates the epic story of the Kingdom of Ibalong with three legendary heroes, namely Baltog, Handyong, Bantong and other ancient heroes. People parade in the streets wearing masks and costumes to imitate the appearances of the heroes and the villains, portraying the classic battles that made their way into the history of Bicol. The Ibalong Festival aims to express warmth and goodwill to all people; visitors and tourists are encouraged to celebrate with the Bicolanos.

References

History of Sorsogon History of the Philippines (900–1565) {{Philippines-stub

See also

References