Anao, Tarlac

Anao, officially the Municipality of Anao (Baley na Anao; Ili ti Anao; ), is a 5th class municipality in the province of Tarlac, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 12,208 people, making it the least populated municipality in the province.

The smallest town in terms of land area in the whole of Tarlac, Anao covers a total land area of 23.87 km2.

Formerly a part of Pangasinan province, Anao was founded and organized into a municipality on March 16, 1870. Every year on the March 16, the foundation of the town is celebrated along with the Ylang-Ylang Festival.

History
The area where Anao is located was inhabited before 1800 by people from the Ilocos Region. In 1835, a group of immigrants from Paoay, Ilocos Norte reached the region and first settled near a creek on the bank where there were balete trees. These immigrants called their settlement Balete. The immigrants found the region where they settled to have many agricultural prospects and this attracted more immigrants who came from the north, especially from the town of Paoay.

The settlement expanded and later changed its name to "Barrio Anao" (deriving authentically from the Ilocano word danao which means creek and due to the anahao leaf that grows in various area they derive the name Anao). By that time, balete trees were extinguished and the barrio was adjacent in all directions by creeks.

Paniqui had a road extended towards the east to Anao. Paniqui claimed Anao as its barrio and the people of the barrio accepted the claim. Years went by and Anao expanded. In 1870, a petition was made and approved that Anao be made a municipality.

Geography
Anao is 41 km from Tarlac City and 165 km from Manila. Located in the north-eastern part of Tarlac, it is bound on the north by San Manuel, on the east by Nampicuan, on the south by Ramos, on the west by Paniqui, and Moncada.

Barangays
Anao is politically subdivided into 18 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.


 * Baguindoc (Baguinloc)
 * Bantog
 * Campos
 * Carmen
 * Casili
 * Don Ramon
 * Hernando
 * Poblacion
 * Rizal
 * San Francisco East
 * San Francisco West
 * San Jose North
 * San Jose South
 * San Juan
 * San Roque
 * Santo Domingo
 * Sinense
 * Suaverdez

Demographics
In the 2020 census, the population of Anao, Tarlac, was 12,208 people, with a density of undefined PD/km2.

Anao is predominantly an Ilocano-speaking town although most are fluent in Tagalog. Other languages like Kapampangan and Pangasinan are spoken by about 10% of the population.

Aglipayan and Roman Catholicism are two of the predominant religions in the municipality. Other groups having a large number of members in the municipality are the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Iglesia ni Cristo, and Protestantism.

Tourism
The Saint John Nepomucene Parish Church of Anao can be found on the center of the town near the municipal hall. It belongs to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tarlac.

The Ylang Ylang Festival is celebrated by the municipality every 16 March to take pride of their main local products, which are perfumes and essentials oils made from the ylang-ylang flower. The town has over 10,000 ylang-ylang trees, many of them lined on the local main road, which are harvested and highly valued for its perfume.