Literature

of
Butuan City
Butuan

The City of Butuan (Lungsod ng Butuan; Butuanon: Dakbayan hong Butuan) is the regional
center of Caraga, serving as an administrative region of the Philippines; it is a highly urbanized
city. It is located at the north-eastern part of Agusan Valley, Mindanao, sprawling across the
Agusan River. It is bounded to the north, west and south by Agusan Del Norte, to the east by
Agusan del Sur and to the northwest by Butuan Bay. According to the 2010 census, it has a
population of 309,709 people.

History Of Butuan

Historic Butuan

The City of Butuan is the regional center of Caraga Region, Philippines.it is located in
the northern part of Mindanao sprawling across the Agusan River. It is bounded to the
north, west and south by Agusan del Norte, to the east by Agusan del Sur.

The name “Butuan” is believed to have originated from the sour fruit “Batuan”. Other
etymology sources say that it comes from a certain “Datu Buntuan”, a chieftain who
once ruled over Butuan.
It is said that before there was Philippines, there was already Butuan. The evidence to
prove this fact is the discovery of 9 balangays (the Butuan Boat) and other archeological
remains found in the vicinities of Butuan City, particularly in Ambangan, Libertad near
the old El Rio de Butuan and Masao River which reveal much about Butuan’s history.
By 11th century, Butuan was the center of trade and commerce in the Philippines.
Butuan was already in contact with China. The Chinese Song Shih (Song History) has
recorded the first appearance of the Butuan Tributary mission at Chinese Imperial Court
on 17 March 1001 AD and described Butuan (P’u-tuan) as a small country in the sea
that had a regular connection with Champa ( a kingdom in Central Vietnam) and
intermittent contact with China. The numerous jars/artifacts [Chinese (tenth to fifteenth
centuries AD), Khmer/Cambodian (ninth to tenth centuries AD), Thai (fourteenth to
fifteenth centuries AD) Pre-Thai Satingpra (900-1100 AD) and Haripunjaya (800-900
AD), pre-trade Vietnamese (eleventh to thirteenth centuries AD) and Persian (ninth to
tenth centuries AD)] dug within the vicinities of Ambangan, Archeological Site, in
Libertad well attest to the historical account that Butuan traded with the Chinese and
Southeast Asia countries in the past.

History

By the 10th century, Butuan had established trading relations with the Kingdom of Champa, in
what is now southern Vietnam, and Srivijaya empire of Sumatra.

By the 11th century, Butuan was a center of trade and commerce in the Philippines and was the
location of the prehispanic Indianized Kingdom of Butuan. Archaeological finds from that era
include the nine balanghai called "the Butuan boats," and the finds in Ambangan, Libertad near
the old El Rio de Butuan and Masao River.

First mass On March 31, 1521, an Easter Sunday, Magellan ordered a mass to be celebrated
which were officiated by Friar Pedro Valderrama, the Andalusion chaplain of the fleet, the only
priest then. The other priest, the French Bernard Calmette (Bernardo Ca lmeta) had been
marooned at Patagonia with Juan de Cartagena for being implicated in the mutiny at San Julian.
Conducted near the shores of the island, the Holy First Mass marked the birth of Roman
Catholicism in the Philippines. Colambu and Siaiu were the first natives of the archipelago,
which was not yet named "Philippines" until the expedition of Ruy Lopez de Villalobos in 1543,
to attend the mass among other Mazaua inhabitants, together with visitors from Butuan who
came with the entourage of Rajah Colambu, king of Butuan

Controversy has been generated with regard to the holding of the first mass—whether it was held
in Limasawa, Leyte in Masao, Butuan City, in the hidden isle made up of barangays
Pinamanculan and Bancasi inside Butuan, in the latest discovered site in between agusan sur and
surigao sur, the little barangay of Barobo, or elsewhere. It is sure, however, that Ferdinand
Magellan did not drop anchor by the mouth of Agusan River in 1521 and hold mass to
commemorate the event which was held at Mazaua, an island separate from 1521 Butuan which
was in the geographical conception of Europeans who wrote about it was a larger entity than
what it is now. Antonio Pigafetta who wrote an eyewitness account of Magellan's voyage
described in text and in map a Butuan that stretched from today's Surigao up to the top edge of
Zamboanga del Norte.
The first municipal election in Butuan took place on March 1902 in accordance with Public Law
No. 82 which coincided with the American occupation of the place.

During the Japanese occupation of the Philippines in World War II, Butuan was razed to the
ground when the guerrilla forces attacked the enemy garrison during the middle of 1943. In
1945, the Philippine Commonwealth troops in Butuan together with the recognized guerrillas
attacked the Japanese forces during the Battle of Agusan. On October 20, 1948, still recovering
from the war, the entire municipality was ruined by a fire.

The boom of the logging industry from the 1950s to the middle of 1970s made Butuan the
"Timber City of the South" and led to an influx of business and fortune seekers from other
provinces. The flourishing logging industry inspired and prompted Congressman Marcos M.
Calo to file a bill converting Butuan into a city and on August 2, 1950, Butuan became a city.

Butuan was reclassified from a chartered city to a "highly urbanized city" on February 7, 1995.

Barangays

Butuan City is politically subdivided into 86 barangays (abbreviated as "Brgy." or "Bgy."). Of

these, 36 are classified as urban and the remaining 50 are classified as rural.

 Agao (Bgy. 3)  Mahay

 Agusan Pequeño  Mahogany (Bgy. 21)
 Ambago  Maibu
 Amparo  Mandamo
 Ampayon  Manila de Bugabos
 Anticala  Maon (Bgy. 1)
 Antongalon  Masao
 Aupagan  Maug
 Baan Km. 3  New Society Village
 Baan Riverside (Bgy. 20)
 Babag  Nongnong
 Bading (Bgy. 22)  Obrero (Bgy. 18)
 Bancasi  Ong Yiu District (Bgy. 16)
 Banza  Pagatpatan
 Baobaoan  Pangabugan
 Basag  Pianing
 Pigdaulan
 Don Francisco  Pinamanculan
 Doongan  Rajah Soliman (Bgy. 4)
 Dulag  Salvacion
 Dumalagan  San Ignacio (Bgy. 15)
 Florida  San Mateo
 Fort Poyohon (Brg. 17)  San Vicente
 Golden Ribbon (Bgy. 2)  Santo Niño
 Holy Redeemer (Bgy. 23)
 Humabon (Bgy. 11)  Sikatuna (Bgy. 10)
 Imadejas (Bgy. 24)  Sumile
  Jose P. Rizal (Bgy. 25)  Sumilihon
 Kinamlutan  Tagabaca
 Lapu-lapu (Bgy. 8)  Taguibo
 Lemon  Taligaman
 Lumbocan  Tandang Sora (Bgy. 12)
 Tiniwisan
 Leon Kilat (Bgy. 13)  Tungao
 Libertad  Urduja (Bgy. 9)
 Limaha (Bgy. 14)
 Los Angeles  Villa Kananga
 M J Santos
 Maguinda

Festivals

Kahimunan Festival

The Kahimunan Festival is celebrated every third Sunday of January in celebration of the city
patron Sr. Sto. Niño. This celebration is a Butuanon version of the Sinulog festival of Cebu City.
Kahimunan is a Lumad term which means "gathering".

The Cultural festival/tourism consciousness week is a week long celebration that lasts from the
last week of July up to August 2 in celebration of the Charter Day of Butuan.

Abayan Festival
The Abayan Festival, a part of the Cultural Festival, is held in celebration of St. Anne, patroness
of Agusan River, which is celebrated every last Sunday of July.

palagsing festival

Adlaw Hong Butuan is the charter day celebration of Butuan, which includes a thanksgiving
mass, motorcade, palagsing festival, street party recognitions of outstanding Butuanons and city
government employees’ night.
Balangay Festival

Butuan celebrates its annual fiesta, the Balangay Festival, for the celebration of the city patron St.
Joseph every whole month of May, with the the exact feast day of St. Joseph on May 19. The city holds
many events such as summer league basketball championship games, thanksgiving mass, and more .
The Butuan Boat (Balangay)

The most well-known historical figure unearthed in Butuan is the Balangay also known
as "The Butuan Boat". This historical discovery boasts the name of Butuan City.

This wooden boat was excavated in 1979 in northeastern Mindanao near the city of
Butuan at a depth of about two meters and the original boat is said to have a
measurement of about fifteen meters long and three meters wide across the beam.
These boats were constructed using a very ancient technique. The planks were joined
together edge-to-edge with the use of wooden pegs, and the hull is further made strong
by bindings of fibre cords through holes in raised lugs on the inside surfaces of the
planks - an ancient Southeast Asian method of boat-building. The wood of the boat has
been dated to 320 A.D.

Called Balangay, a reference to the smallest political unit in Philippine society, these
boats are evidence that early man in the Philippines was seafaring and was relatively
technologically advanced. The discovery reveals too that there was already a contact
and trade with areas outside of the Philippine islands as shown not only by the artifacts
dating to this period that could only have come from other place, but is also suggested
by the ability of local peoples in reaching outlying areas through the use of sea -going
crafts.

Today this historical figure, Balangay 1 lays at the Balangay Shrine Museum in
Ambangan, Libertad five kilometers east of the city proper and so far, nine (9)
balangays have been documented to exist. The National Museum excavated three of
these boats while the rest are still waterlogged in specific sites in Butuan City

The Golden Tara

In 1917 after a storm and flood, a 21-carat golden figurine of a female deity of Hindu
was found by a Manobo woman on a muddy bank of Wawa River, a tributary of the
large Agusan River. This ancient figure seated in lotus position weighs nearly 4 pounds
which is the earliest known image identified to be an Indian in origin. The image
corroborates a single cultural sphere that developed in the archipelagic regions of
Southeast Asia during the height of trade between Butuan and the rest of the Sri Vijaya
Empire.
Folk Songs of Butuan City

Buyayang Buyayang

Buyayang buyayang
Buyayang sa tubig
Ako manakayan wa bay katigkatig
Di na mogaud
Tukon lang kanunay
Diin mikadahik
Sa bugan ni Nene.

Folk Dances

Tribes such as the T'boli, Bilaan, Manobo, Bagobo, and other groups inhabit the vast regions of
Mindanao. Regions include Caraga, where the City of Butuan belongs. In this case Butuanons are
influenced with these dances.

Binaylan Ethical Dance

Tribe: Higaonon

Origin: Agusan

The Bagobo tribe from the central uplands of Mindanao originated this dance which imitates the
movement of a hen, her banog, or baby chicks, and a hawk. The hawk is sacred, and it is
believed that the hawk has the power over the well-being of the tribe. The hawk tries to capture
one of the chicks and is killed by the hunters.
Sohten

Origin: Santa Maria, Agusan del Norte

The Manobo tribe once lived harmoniously with squirrels. They named these squirrels "kugsik"
and created a dance to imitate these cuddly and friendly creatures. Now an endangered species,
the Manobo tribe continues to dance the kinugsik kugsik to remember the once thriving squirrel
community of the region. This dance reenacts a love triangle between two male kugsik and a
female kugsik as they scamper about the forest.

Tig-ani

A dance sequence referring o the planting until the harvesting of rice. The activity of the manobo
is climaxed by the killing of a ferocious hawk that is a menace to the farmer.

The Manananggal
(sometimes confused with the Wak Wak in some areas by the Filipinos) is a
mythical creature of the Philippines

Manananggal is an aswang that can fly after separating itself from the lower half
of its body. A manananggal is described as being an older, beautiful woman (as
opposed to an aswang), capable of severing its upper torso in order to fly into the
night with huge bat-like wings to prey on unsuspecting, pregnant women in their
homes; using an elongated proboscis-like tongue, it sucks the hearts of fetuses or
blood of an unsuspecting, sleeping victim. The severed lower torso is left standing
and it is said to be the more vulnerable of the two halves. Sprinkling salt or
smearing crushed garlic or ash on top of the standing torso is fatal to the
creature. The upper torso then would not be able to rejoin and will die at
daybreak. The name of the creature originates from an expression used for a
severed torso: manananggal comes from the Tagalog, tanggal (cognate of Malay
tanggal) which means to remove or to separate. Manananggal then means the
one who separates itself from its lower body.