The Pandayan

 The Pandayan of Idong: An Ancestral Forge of Fire, Iron, and Memory

Tucked within the quiet rhythms of Barangay Idong is a humble yet powerful testament to craftsmanship, courage, and continuity—the pandayan, an ancestral blacksmith’s forge that has shaped not only iron but also the history of a community.

Belonging to Daniel de Guzman Mandapat, this ethnographic work implement dates back to the early 1800s, making it more than two centuries old. The pandayan was inherited through generations, beginning with Mandapat’s forefather—recognized as the very first blacksmith of Barangay Idong—passed down to his grandfather, then to his father, Tianong Mandapat, and finally entrusted to Daniel himself. Each generation did not merely own the forge; they carried forward a living tradition.

At the heart of the pandayan is a simple yet ingenious system: an iron furnace paired with a hand-operated air pump carved from a redwood log. This particular wood is known for revealing a deep, blood-red hue when its bark is stripped—an arresting visual that mirrors the intensity of the forge’s fire. A long metal rod is used to pump air into the hollowed log, feeding oxygen into the flames and raising the heat to levels capable of bending iron to human will.

The blacksmithing process was painstaking and slow, demanding strength, patience, and mastery. Coal was burned until it reached searing heat, into which a wheel axle was placed until it glowed red.

With rhythmic hammer strikes, the smith flattened the metal, reshaping it again and again until it emerged as a barang or jungle bolo—an essential blade for both survival and labor.

Beyond its technical ingenuity, the pandayan holds profound historical significance. During the Second World War, it became a silent ally of resistance, producing weapons for local guerrillas who fought for freedom. In times of peace, the blades forged here served farmers, helping them clear land and sustain livelihoods. The bolos were also sold within the barangay and neighboring towns, making the forge a modest yet vital source of income for the Mandapat family.

Today, however, the future of the pandayan hangs in delicate balance. Although Daniel Mandapat’s two nieces—its prospective heirs—know the craft of making jungle bolos and weapons, they have chosen different professional paths. Like many traditional practices, the forge faces the quiet threat of fading relevance in a rapidly modernizing world.

Yet the pandayan remains—a powerful symbol of ancestral knowledge, wartime resilience, and the dignity of manual craft. More than an object of iron and wood, it is a vessel of memory, carrying within it the echoes of hammer blows, the glow of fire, and the enduring spirit of Barangay Idong.

Profiled on May 27, 2019, through the invaluable testimony of key informant Daniel de Guzman Mandapat, and documented by cultural mappers Raymund R. Marcos, Marjorie FM. Bravo, Glaiza W. Seguin, Diana Rose D. Reyes, Lyza Gwen M. Iglesias, Al Chris DG. Junio, and Mark Bryan DG. Gonzalez, with Christopher Gozum as project adviser, all of whom were from Bayambang National High School.

Insert: yubayb (bellows) - Melchor Orpilla