Thousands of years before Spanish colonization, about a thousand pre-Hispanic Ivatans utilized the strategic high ground, living in villages on fortified cliffs and hilltops scattered across today’s Uyugan. These fortified settlements near rocky natural fortresses were called idjangs, derived from the Ivatan word idi or idian, which means “home” or “hometown.” Much of what is known now about idjangs, only initiated in the 1990s, comes from the oral tradition of Ivatans. These were compiled by native Ivatan Dr. Florentino Hornedo of UST, leading historian on anything relating to Batanes.
These castle-like structures, on elevated rock formations, resemble the gusuku castles of Okinawa (Japan) and some stone-terraced formations in Taiwan. Pre-Hispanic Ivatans lived in communities of small clans. During tribal wars for possessions or territory, the clans would climb the idjangs when attacked and throw stones down upon their attackers.
The idjang of Basco
There are 17 of these remnants of stone fortresses on large stone outcrops. They are located at Brgy. Savidug (Sabtang), Itbayat, Ivana, Mahatao, Brgy. Itbud and Chapidan in Uyugan, Basco and Ivuhos Island (Chuhangin) and Adekey Island off Sabtang. Artifacts found here include stone tools and implements, earthenware beads, pottery, glass, Chinese ceramics, and human and animal bones. boat-shaped burial markers.
Geologists surmise that the idjang in Basco is molten magma from Mt. Iraya that cooled off to form a plug for an extinct volcanic crater. The idjang in Brgy. Itbud (Uyugan) is located at a promontory at the southern end of a beach.
Mt. Iraya
Ancient limestone columns, with holes drilled at one end, are found littered on the idjang slopes. They may have served as king posts for dwellings or may have once held down cogon dwellings against strong, battering winds. Some have been recycled as posts for stone houses on Batan Island. A wall at the idjang’s base (where a creek forks), was made with stones piled on top of each other. Instead of mortar, they are just held together by pressure from the adjacent stones.
The Chuhangin idjang, in Ivuhos Island (Sabtang), is located on a ledge overlooking the sea and the island’s famed burial grounds. This idjang is the only one whose sides were built by the ancient Ivatans with stones placed on top of the other without the use of mortar. The Nahini Votox idjang of Itbayat Island has a spectacular view of Dinem and the island’s eastern coast.
The idjang of Brgy. Savidug in Sabtang
The picturesque Savidug idjang, considered to be the most beautiful and perfectly shaped among the idjangs, appears to have been terraced by human hands to assume a castle-like formation. It is distinctly different from all the others in the province because its sides were carved to make entry more difficult.
Here, archaeologists have recovered, from different levels of the site, various earthenware shards, remains of wild boar and deer teeth, glass beads, shell, coral and bone fragments and some 12th century Sung type greenware.
Savidug Idjang: Brgy. Savidug, 3904 Sabtang.