Kibawe is a 4th class municipality in the province of Bukidnon, Philippines. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 32,955 people in 6,413 households.
History
In the early days of the American regime, Kibawe was populated by a tribe of mountain people. The Manobos people were nomadic by nature and subsisted on hunting and forest products. They maintained small plots of corn, camote and gabi in places where they built their temporary shelters. They practised a feudal type of government and were responsible only to their datus who governed as their political chieftain, judge, religious leader and armed-forces chief. The most famous among the “datus” was Datu Mambantayao. Datu Mambantayao’s bravery and love for his subjects were unexcelled and remain in the hearts and minds of the people to this day. One of the historic events of his life as a datu was the capturing of a lady whom he loved. She was abducted by a tribe from Bugcaon, Malaybalay, Bukidnon, seventy kilometers away from Kibawe. Datu Mambantayao, along with his armed trained warriors marched to Bugcaon, which they attacked heavily, plundering and killing the Bugcaons’ chieftain for the recovery of the lady who he later married. Datu Mambantayao named this place Kibawe from the word “Guibawe” meaning recovery.
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