A Wild Fickle River - the Aklan
by D. I. Ilio Sr.

The Aklan River as seen from outer space

The northwestern sector of the island of Panay in Western Visayas (in the Philippines), a rugged area of low terrain, narrow green valleys and limited coastal plains, is drained by three principal rivers: the Ibajay, on the west, the Aklan on the main valley, and the Jal-o on the eastern section. They are almost in a parallel north-south direction, emptying into the Sibuyan Sea.

The Aklan is the biggest of the three on whose alluvial banks most of the towns of the province (which had been named after the river) are scattered. The term aklan, which is really akean in the local language, is derived from the world akae, to boil or to froth. Beacuse of the swiftness of the river current, the water of the Aklan river seems to boil or froth. Akean therefore means 'where there is boiling or frothing.'

The Atis of Aklan

Historically, the region is the home of the indigenous primitives, the ebony-skinned Ati whose main abode were the highlands. According the the Maragtas legend, when the Bisayans from Borneo came to the island then known as Madia-as in about the 135h century AD, led by Datu Puti, they, the Bisayans, bartered a gold salakot and other trinkets for the lowlands from the Ati chieftain Marikudo. Datu Bankaya, one of the ten datus who came with Datu Puti, was assigned to settle in Aklan, originally setting up a community in a place called Madianos close to the present town of Numancia.

Datu Bankaya and his people settled in the region of Aklan principally along the banks of the rivers and their tributaries. But along the Aklan river, the location of many of the communities had been influenced (if not dictated) by the vagaries of the wild Aklan River.

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Aklan from space photograph is from nasa.gov