KALINGA is a province of the Cordillera Administrative Region of Northern Philippines. The capital town of Kalinga is Tabuk City bordered on the south by Mt. Province, the east by Cagayan Valley, North by Apayao and West by Isabela.
Kalinga derived its name from a gaddang (people of Cagayan Valley) term which was used to refer to the people known to practice head-hunting during the Spanish era that continued to disturb the people of Cagayan Valley. These are the dwellers of the mountains which is now the Kalinga area.
Kalinga was recognized as a political subdivision when the old Mt province was established in 1912 but was merged with Apayao when Mt. Province was subdivided.
Kalinga used to be Kalinga-Apayao but in 1994 the people of both decided to split it into two provinces, Kalinga and Apayao. The province is composed of the municipalities of Pinukpuk, Rizal, Tinglayan, Lubuagan, Pasil, Tanudan, Balbalan and Tabuk City. Like the rest of the provinces in the Cordilleras, Kalinga is blessed with a temperature of 17-22 °C with rainy season from April to November and the rest of the months is dry season in the area.
Kalinga is dubbed "the peacock of the north" with its peoples' unbeatable belief in their independence and patriotism. The province boasts of legendary beauty, mystical sceneries, strong cultural beliefs and practices that kept them united for centuries to protect their lands.
This is a landlocked province where the Chico River drains. Tributaries to the Chico are the Tanudan River, Poswoy, Mabaca, Saltan and Dao-angan Rivers of Tanudan, Pasil River and Bunog River of Tinglayan and ends into the Cagayan River.
Kalinga is primarily an agricultural area with rice terraces found in some of the municipalities of the province. Tabuk City is the “rice granary” of Kalinga with its vast tracks of ricefields.
Kalinga boasts of sub-ethnic tribes with similar cultural practices that have been handed down from one generation to the next. The practices range from Birth, Weddings, Marriage, harvest, death and burial practices. You hear of terms such as "paliwat", Ullalim, Sapata, Tadok, kayaw, saosao-ay, Salidummay, batok and mambabatok, kabunyan, bodong (peace pact), which are native vernaculars that describe the cultural practices of the Kalingas.
The people of kalinga are referred to as ikalinga. They are hospitable people that enjoy entertaining guests and embrace them to their culture. These are proud people that do not want to surrender their lands and rights just to anyone. This is the reason why tribal wars were a way of life in Kalinga in the olden times. Even today, the ikalinga observe the “bodong” system of settling disputes. The different ethnic tribes in Kalinga are fierce in defense of their beliefs and loyalty to their people and tribe thus, they fight to unite.
