The Origin of Name

The name Hilongos is derived from the language "Ilonggo" (Spanish "Ilongo"). This language is a dialect of the Philippine one finds in the regions of Iloilo, Capiz and Negros Occidental. It also will be spoken in other provinces of Panay Island group, as well as in Antique, Aklan, Guimaras and large parts of Mindanao including Koronadal City, South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and parts of North Cotabato.

This dialect belongs to the group of Austronesian languages and has the ethno-linguistic group of the natives of Iloilo (5.000 BC – 2.000 BC). We do not want to shed more light on this, as the historian William Henry Scott has discussed this matter in detail with the settlement of this language. The distinctive feature is her the singing cadence (accent) as it is also encountered in the Italian language, which is spoken by a large number of Chinese mestizos (Mestizos de Sangley).

If you are looking at the distribution area even closer, it is found that these regions, which have no continuous geological surface, coincident with the former known trade centers of the 9th - 14 Century.

This dialect has been used as a trade language in order to purchase or exchange various goods. With most assumable security surrounding residents of the mountainous areas and the fishing folk, who wanted to offer or trade sale their goods have said to other farmers and traders: "Go to them who are talking in Ilongo, …down to the Ilongos at the big river, there you can exchange your trade products”. To exactly these residents who were exclusively specialized to maintain brisk trade with other trading centers in Borneo (Indonesia), Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and China. Another sign therefore that Hilongos already played an important role as a trading center for more than 1000 years.

The Spaniards were the ones who took up the name and wrote it down. But since they do not speak in their language the letter "H", they designated the location in their transcription as

HILONGOS