Located at the Northeastern part of
Agusan Valley sprawling across the Agusan River is
Butuan City known for it’s colorful history and culture.
BUTUAN is believed to have originated from the sour
fruit "Batuan". Others opined, it came from a certain
"Datu Buntuan", a chieftain who once ruled Butuan.
Scholars believed, it came from the word " But-an",
which literally means a person who has a sound and
discerning disposition. Whichever theories appear
credible depends on the kind of people residing in
Butuan, for whatever is said about them, Butuan
continues to live on.
Butuan’s history, culture, arts and
people date back to the 4th Century as showcased in
museums and festivals, makes Butuan an exiting source of
cultural artifacts in Mindanao.
As early as the 10th Century, according
to the Chinese soong Shi (history), people from Butuan
had already established trading relations with the
Kingdom of Champa in what is now South Vietnam.
By the 11th Century, Butuan was the
center of trade and commerce in the Philippines. The
best evidence to prove this fact is the discovery of 9
balangays (The BUTUAN BOAT) and other archaeological
finds in the vicinities of Butuan City , particularly in
Ambangan, Libertad near the old EL RIO de BUTUAN and
MASAO river.
Welcome to a City that has seen over
1,677 years of recorded history! The original site of
the First Easter Mass in Philippine Soil. Here, the
present nurtures the past and vice-versa. While the
future waits promisingly in the wings.
BRIEF HISTORY
Agusan´s Prehispanic cultural history
is traced back to the great influence of the Majapahit
Empire through the discovery of an eight inch tall image
of a woman in pure gold at Maasam, Esperanza, in the
early 20´s and 60´s.
The coming of the Spaniards was a visit
to Rajah Siagu, a native chieftain along the Limasawa.
Spanish galleons dropped anchor after an apparent long
and weary journey commanded by Pernao Magalhao to visit
his place on the occasion of Easter Sunday, on April
6,1951, the first mass in Agusan and for that matter in
Mindanao was celebrated. Spanish troops came with friars
who converted the natives into Christians.
Administration of the affairs of the government was
later centered on the church.
The revolt of Luzon had repercussions
in Agusan who also took up arms against Spaniards. After
the signing of the Treaty of Paris on December 10,1898,
the Americans took over the civil government and again
Agusan took arms this time against the American
soldiers. But bolos and spears were no match to powerful
guns, so in January 1900, Agusan yielded. This was then
followed by peaceful road to self government which was
halted by the treacherous attack on Pearl Harbor on
Dec.7, 1941. The day of liberation came and in 1945
Agusan was very busy picking herself up for
rehabilitation.
A very interesting sideline in the
history of the province is her name. In the long time
past Agusan was only known as "AGASAN" or "Where the
Water Flows. In the ensuing years, the archipelago was
discovered by a Portuguese navigator flying the Spanish
flag. The greatest impact on this severe winding river
was when it laid itself as a highway for the penetration
of the Spanish explorers. These intrepid
"Conquistadores" had their penchant of corrupting
pronunciation and the place where the "Water Flows" or
"Agasan" came to be called "Agusan" to the civilized
world.
LANGUAGE/DIALECT
The population of Agusan del Sur
predominantly consists of migrants from the Visayas
regions and, therefore, the Visayan dialects are widely
used by the populace. Of the Visayan dialects, it is
Cebuano that is spoken by about 67% of the total
population. In the native cultural communities, "Manobo"
dialect is the most popular among the native tongues.
Other native tongues are Banuaon, Hiligaynon, Kamayo,
and others. There are only few foreigners in the Agusan
Del Sur, majority of whom speak Chinese. The rest speak
English, Dutch and Spanish of whom are the
priests.
MAJOR
INDUSTRIES
The large scale enterprises in Agusan
del Sur deal mainly with logs and lumber productions and
mining. This area had establishments consisting of
logging firms; a lumber yard; rice and corn mills, and
others. Commercial establishments has been growing
steadily but most of the business activities are in
small scale.
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