Brief History of Banaue

  • The name of the municipality of Banaue was derived from the term bannawor which is a primitive call for a now endangered medium sized swift flying bird.
  • Originally, “Bannawor” is referred to a sitio – now part of the Poblacion area, where these birds occasionally lark around and settle.
  • Incidentally, when the Spaniards came, the adjacent place of this sitio has been made the seat of the government.
  • Sooner, Bannawor became a by-word through the Spanish, Japanese and American times. It had not only became a by-word but has also extended the name for the whole place.
  • And after sometimes, Bannawor evolved into “BANAUE” brought about by language accent.
  • During the Spanish regime the status of government was not fully established.
  • But in 1901 under the American regime, it became a municipal district.
  • Then on June 25, 1963, by virtue of Executive Order No. 42, Banaue became a full pledge municipality.