Where did the word Benguet come from?

Answer 1

Benget, the original reference to La Trinidad and which eventually became the name of the province La Trinidad belongs to, has two meanings: foul smell and the turban part of the Ibaloi womenfolk costume. How Trinidad looks today -a valley engulfed with mountain ridges, owes it to the traumatic volcano eruption and earthquake in 1641, such that the apex collapsed and decimated into a lake of sulfur. Hence, La Trinidad is a crater. As time went by, the lake dried up. Even though it stunk from sulfur, it attracted farmerfolks from nearby and surrounding villages that included Kafagway (today's Baguio City). The place was found to be perfect for their payew or farmlands and animal pastureland. Benget, pronounced in the typical Ibaloi schwa sound, eventually became home to La Trinidad's ancestors: Baban and his children, Capdin and Agmaliw, Berang married to cCoranay, Pa-ang married to Tamec, among others. They would be referred to as i-Benget (one from Benget). Guillermo de Galvey, the Spanish conquistador that made it to the heart of Ibaloi land, immediately fell in loved with the place and named it in honor of his wife Trinidad, in honor of the majestic awesomeness the valley represented which reminded him of his wife. The anecdote that La Trinidad earned its name from a misinterpretation, of course, could have been corrected thereafter. Nonetheless, the Spanish conquistadors took note of the coincidence between the two meanings of that one word and the prominence the turban brought about, thus found the place appropriately named. The reference to Benget expanded to include all other areas the Spaniards found to have womenfolk wearing the benget. Thanks to their mission for expedition and adventurous spirit. Spanish records, understandably would have the name written in the manner the Spaniards would pronounce and spell it, Benguet. La Trinidad and Benguet became official names in 1846. -Esther Dawn Paclim ( for the Historical booth of Puguis, La Trinidad -March 2009)