Carasi Ilocos Norte Philippines

Origin of the name Carasi

The people are not certain regarding the origin of the name of their town.The first settlers were characterized with carayo (love) and caasi (charity). Those characteristics made the people very cooperative to the government. Thus, to perpetuate these traits, the people combined the two words (cara + si) to form Carasi as the name of the municipality.

The people who first settled in Piddig were Apayaos (Itnegs). Coming from the poblacion of Piddig, they migrated and cleared the place which is now covered by the municipality of Carasi.

Honorable Bulil-lit mentioned that the clearings made by the Itnegs were occupied by Christians; however, the Itnegs did not retaliate. Instead, they continued to clear other forest areas in the place.

The Itnegs learned to live peacefully with the Christians. They are now integrated through intermarriages with the Christians in the three barangays of Carasi.

The present population of the town consists of a mixture of migrants from different towns of Ilocos Norte, especially from Dingras, Piddig, Laoag, and Solsona. However; all the residents of Angset, which is 17 kilometers from the poblacion, are Itnegs.