The Coming of Islam in Cagayan de Oro
The Coming of Islam in Cagayan de Oro
The Coming of Islam in Cagayan de Oro
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.
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.