Asingan : "na-asing"

When the Malays began to emigrate to the Philippines, some reached Pangasinan and those who were able to reach Asingan were met with hostility by the Aeta warriors led by their woman chieftain. Because the Malays were better armed and wiser in the tactics of war, the Aetas were forced to retreat and moved their stronghold to a hill on the east now called Pinmantay. These Aetas were determined to regain their lost territory, so every now and then they tried to harass and attack the settlers but were always repulsed. Finally the settlers became furious and made a counter attack upon the stronghold of the Aetas. It was in this encounter that the Aetas were badly routed and when they saw their chieftain killed, they fled to the mountain fastnesses of the Sierra Madre Mountains in the east where their descendants still live today.

The settlers found this place to be very fertile and full of promise so that they also became hostile to other people who tried to come and settle. When the Spaniards came to this place, they found the people to be "very hostile" or "na-asing" in the Ilocano language. It is this characteristic of the people that made the Spaniards name this town "Villa de Asingan" meaning town of the hostile and later shortened to Asingan which is its name today. The hostile attitudes of the people waned as the years passed until other people from neighboring towns and provinces began coming and made this town their permanent residence.

Today the people are peaceful, religious, industrious, and hospitable. About eighty percent of the population are Catholics and twenty percent comprise other religious sects, such as Protestants, Methodists, Philippine Independent, Catholi,c Iglesia ni Kristo, Spiritistas, and Seventh Day Adventist. #