Ajanas

Ajanas, later known as Aritao, lies in the upper Cagayan country of northern Luzon, near the headwaters of the Magat River. Local history associates its later name with Ari Mengal, a highland leader. In 1767 the missionary Manuel Corripio persuaded Mengal and his people to settle in the lowlands, where another friar, Tomás Gutiérrez, converted them to Christianity. In 1777 Aritao and neighbouring places were joined into a single pueblo with the approval of authorities in Manila.