M14 Araling Panlipunan

Navarro, Edward Jr. J. Navarro

7F-St. Matthias
Pangasinan (Pangasinan: Luyag na Panggasinan; Filipino: Lalawigan ng Pangasinan) is a province in the Philippines. Its provincial
capital is Lingayen. Pangasinan is on the western area of the island of Luzon along the Lingayen Gulf and West Philippine Sea. It
has a total land area of 5,451.01 square kilometres (2,104.65 sq mi).[2] According to the 2015 census, it has a population of
2,956,726 people.[3] The official number of registered voters in Pangasinan is 1,651,814.[4] The western portion of the
province is part of the homeland of the Sambal people, while the central and eastern portions are the homeland of the
Pangasinan people. Due to ethnic migration, Ilocano people have settled in some areas of the province.

Pangasinan is the name for the province, the people, and the language spoken in the province. Indigenous Pangasinan speakers
are estimated to number at least 2 million. The Pangasinan language, which is official in the province, is one of the officially
recognized regional languages in the Philippines. In Pangasinan, there were several ethnic groups who enriched the cultural
fabric of the province. Almost all of the people are Pangasinans and the rest are descendants of Bolinao and Ilocano, who
settled the eastern and western parts of the province.[5] Pangasinan is spoken as a second-language by many of the ethnic
minorities in Pangasinan. The secondary ethnic groups are the Bolinaos (who are essentially Sambal people) and the Ilocanos.

The name Pangasinan (pronounced "Pang-ASINan") means "place of salt" or "place of salt-making"; it is derived from the prefix
pang, meaning "for", the root word asin, meaning "salt”, and suffix an, signifying "location". At present it is pronounced
"Paŋgasinan" based on the Spanish pronunciation. The province is a major producer of salt in the Philippines. Its major products
include bagoong ("salted-krill") and alamang ("shrimp-paste").

Pangasinan was first founded by Austronesian peoples who called themselves Anakbanwa by at least 2500 BC. A kingdom called
Luyag na Caboloan, which expanded to incorporate much of northwestern Luzon, existed in Pangasinan before the Spanish
conquest that began in the 16th century.[6] The Kingdom of Luyag na Kaboloan was known as the Wangdom of Pangasinan in
Chinese records. The ancient Pangasinan people were skilled navigators and the maritime trade network that once flourished in
ancient Luzon connected Pangasinan with other peoples of Southeast Asia, India, China, Japan and the rest of the Pacific. The
ancient kingdom of Luyag na Caboloan was in fact mentioned in Chinese and Indian records as being an important kingdom on
ancient trade routes.[6]

Popular tourist attractions in Pangasinan include the Hundred Islands National Park in Alaminos City and the white-sand
beaches of Bolinao and Dasol. Dagupan City is known for its Bangus Festival ("Milkfish Festival"). Pangasinan is also known for
its delicious mangoes and ceramic oven-baked Calasiao puto ("native rice cake"). Pangasinan occupies a strategic geo-political
position in the central plain of Luzon. Pangasinan has been described as a gateway to northern Luzon.