THE COMING OF ISLAM IN CAGAYAN DE ORO
Cagayan de Oro City has a lot to tell regarding its history.
From being an imperial tributary to being a highly urbanized city,
Cagayan de Oro City was able to stand against the odds. Cagayan de
Oro City is a symbol of endurance and industry in the Philippines.
Kalambagohan was the old name for Cagayan de Oro. The major
town, Himologan, was built on a hilltop eight kilometers south of the
city's current Poblacion. Cagayan de Oro City's history before the
arrival of the Spaniards in the Philippines.
The Maguindanao Empire of Cotabato used to have tributary
relations with Cagayan de Oro City. Kudarat is the empire's
Muslim Sultan. Despite being part of the empire, the natives of
Cagayan did not accept Islam. When the Spanish missionaries arrived
in Cagayan in 1622, many people converted to Christianity, and it
became a major religion in the city.
As a result, the Muslims began harassing the natives. The
priests convinced the natives of Cagayan to flee from the hilltops to
a safer location in defense. The Saint Augustine Cathedral is the
current location of that region in Cagayan de Oro City. Cagayan and
its people were able to defend themselves against Muslim harassment
for about 250 years as a result of this.
With the victory of Fr. Pedro de San Agustin, El Padre Capitan,
with Datu Salangsang and the Christianized natives in the defense of
Cagayan (Cagaiang), the rout of Sultan Kudarat became almost complete.
Although Kudarat still launched occasional raids from Maguindanao and
Lanao on the outskirts of Cagayan and Camiguin (then called Mambajao
Island), these raids lacked the strength in numbers of previous
Muslim attacks. In military parlance these are termed as merely
nuisance raids with little strategic value.
After Kudarat's death and his sons' collapse of his monarch, no
further Muslim tribal invasions were carried out. Following the 1636
triumphs, Fr. San Agustin rebuilt Cagayan and remained there until
1642, when he was followed by a succession of other Recollects until
the end of the 1600s. At 1653, he died in Romblon.
Although the first Battle of Cagayan is important to history,
it must not be used to portray Fr. As a hero, San Agustin, or any
Spaniard for that matter. In the name of the Catholic Church and the
Spanish monarchy, San Agustin was understandably converting as many
natives as he could. It was only natural for him to assist in the
defense of his community against Muslim invasions, because Cagayan
had the potential to become a Reduccion or Reduction Center.
A Spanish Reduccion in the church language is a base of
operations for the launching of priests out to the inland areas of
Mindanao on missionary expeditions.
A Reduction Center also ensured that it appears on the early
Spanish maps since it is also considered as a diocese.
Cagayan had already formed vistas (inhabitant hubs) as far as
Camiguin Island, Iponan, and Tagoloan, and had converted villages as
far as Camiguin Island, Iponan, and Tagoloan before the turn of the
century.
Being the largest kingdom in Mindanao, connecting the tribes of
Lanao and Maguindanao, it was only natural for Kudarat and the
Muslims to regard the Spaniards, and their conversions of indigenous
inside their area of influence, as invaders. Apart from that, Kudarat
had lost face for failing to convert the indigenous of Cagayan and
the surrounding territories to Islam. For generations, the natives'
ancient shamanist faith resisted Islamic adoption, but in less than a
decade, Himologan, eventually Cagayan, turned to Christianity and
refused to pay Kudarat tribute. This political slap in the face to
Kudarat led Muslims to take action to reclaim land and people they
considered to be under their control.
Although there was no separation of religion and state at the
time, the Catholic Church and the Spanish monarchy collaborating to
establish a new colony meant that natives were converted for
"pacification" rather than actual religious faith-based conversion.
The Spaniards were convinced through Christianization that the
natives would faithfully obey their colonial overlords since
rebellion would result in excommunication.
This is not to suggest that the Spaniards encountered no
opposition; on the contrary, while many tribes delighted in their
victory over the Muslims, many hated the Spaniards' gradual takeover
of the natives' life. Even though chronicles and archives from the
1600s to the 1700s are scanty at best, enough has remained to
demonstrate that Cagayan served as a Reduction Center for a number of
rebellions throughout this time period.
With Muslim power weakening and increasing numbers of natives
in Mindanao becoming Christianized, Manila's Governor-General Fajardo
issued an edict ordering the involuntary recruitment of able-bodied
men from Mindanao to serve in Luzon's galleon shipyards. Many
families were separated off this unlawful labor conscription, and it
is widely documented that hundreds died in the shipyards due to
slave-like working conditions. Similarly, many widowed young women in
Mindanao would provide a constant supply of "harems" for Spanish
priests and other authorities, who would find these mistresses more
than willing to give up their bodies for the sake of their children's
economic survival. Insurgencies and rebellions were bound to flourish
under these conditions.
Sumuroy was one of the first village datus to revolt, but the
insurrection was quickly put down. This was followed by a revolution
at Linao (Bunawan), an inland village some distance from Butuan Bay,
led by a Manobo chieftain called Dabao. In 1649, the parish priest
was assassinated by this insurrection. Dabao then launched an attack
on Cagayan, intending to assassinate the parish priest. Because the
priest was able to flee, the community, including the church, was set
on fire in revenge.
Due to the church's reaction to the natives merging the
Catholic religion with the natives' shamanist traditions, there were
several rebellions in Iligan and Camiguin about 1651. A female
native called Salud (from whom the Salud family lineage would descend)
launched an insurgency in Cagayan to restore the shamanist religions
of the past and build a small fortress in the hill forests of what is
now Indahag. When Fr. When Francisco de la Madre de Dios discovered
this, he planned a campaign to put an end to the insurrection. Salud
was convinced to return to the Catholic Church by Madre de Dios.
Salud and her son were taken when she refused.
Muslim tribes in Lanao and Maguindanao began invading and
burning settlements near Camiguin, Cagayan, Tagoloan, Butuan, and
Surigao as if to crown it all. In terms of the number of people
killed, the razed villages, and the plunder sought by the raiders,
these raids were very brutal and severe. To counter the raids, the
Spanish crown ordered a fleet of six galleons armed by marines to
Iligan. Despite the fact that attacks continued, the Muslims were
eventually halted by this fleet. In Iponan, Tagoloan, and Iligan, the
last Muslim raids occurred in 1754, but the Muslims were halted and
pushed out by further Spanish ships and men from Cebu.
In the absence of Spanish troops, the Spaniards discovered that
they could train and rely on a huge army of conscripted native
Christians to battle the Muslim raids. This Christian native army was
similarly trained and armed like Christian native soldiers in Luzon
and Cebu. After decades of this behavior, these native troops would
become the forerunners of the Guardia Civil, which would be formed
later in the century.
In 1738, Cagayan felt the effects of Spanish rule. Misamis
became a province in 1818, with Partidos de Cagayan as one of its
districts.
Partidos developed from a district to become the capital of
Misamis Province in 1871. In 1883, Partidos de Cagayan became the
center of the Spanish government in Mindanao.
The arrival of the Americans in Cagayan in 1898 began Cagayan's
war era. On June 4, 1900, the famous battle of Macahambus took place.
Major Apolinar Velez led the Cagayan native forces in repelling the
Americans at first.
Following the war, Cagayan's economic activities were restored,
along with peace, under American rule. St. Augustine School was
founded in 1928. This is where today's Lourdes College and Xavier
University, the forerunners of Cagayan de Oro City, are located.
The Republic Act of 1950 established Cagayan de Oro City as a
chartered city on June 15, 1950. President Elpidio Quirino signed No.
521.
Cagayan de Oro City became the administrative center of
Northern Mindanao. The city's socioeconomic activity expanded
significantly.
Cagayan de Oro City is one of the fastest developing cities in
the Philippines. Cagayan de Oro City evolved from a low-income
municipality to an urbanized region throughout time. On November 22,
1983, the Ministry of Local Government designated Cagayan de Oro City
as a Highly Urbanized City.
Cagayan de Oro has seen several changes over its history.
Cagayan de Oro City, on the other hand, was able to overcome the
challenges of the period. Cagayan de Oro City is presently a thriving
metropolitan center with expanding commercial, industrial, and trade
prospects.