Butuan in Agusan appeared in Chinese annals where Butuan’s (Pu’tuan) trading activities were recorded from 1001 A.D. to as late as 1373 A.D. Agusan’s story in the years between 1373 and 1521 were more of archaeological and geomorphologic inferences. After 1521, documentary sources relating to Agusan’s history were primarily written by the Spaniards.
During the 9th and 10th century A.D., Agusan was a fertile floodplain with lush vegetation and rich wildlife. Being a by-product of siltation, the area was swampy and thus the inhabitants’ houses were built on stilts. The settlements in the area were generally situated near a body of water, either near the coast, the Agusan River and its tributaries, or the swamps.1
From as early as 1001 A.D. to as late as 1373 A.D. Butuan was mentioned in the Chinese annals, where it is referred to as Pu’tuan. It was one of the important trading ports in northern Mindanao during the period. Sung Shih in particular, described Butuan in 1001 A.D. as a small country in the sea, located east of Champa, farther than Ma i (Mindoro), and having regular trade with Champa but rarely with China.2
From 1001 1007 A.D. Butuan was a tributary state of China. Mention of its trading activities, together with those of Borneo and Ma i (Mindoro, last appeared in the Chinese annals in 1373.3 After 1373, it continued to trade independently but was overshadowed by Borneo’s commercial expansion in the same century. Butuan later became a Bornean dependency.4
The Lapaknon Manobos, the inhabitants of Ilawud were generally mariners. They built balanghais and barotos to ply the seas. The oldest balanghai was about 1677 years old.5 The Agusanon Manobos, on the other hand, the inhabitants of the ilaya, were generally farmers.6 They planted rice and other crops.7 For trade, they gathered forest products8 and raid other tribes like the Mamanua and the Mandaya for slaves.9
During the 15th century, Butuan and its vicinity were dotted by small independent barangays. Oftentimes, however, the chiefs of these barangays were blood related. This was exemplified in the case of the chief of Butuan, who was the brother of the chief of Mazaua, then, a separate kingdom in Agusan. There were also seasonal tribal feuds.10
Also, in the 15th century, the ilawud of Agusan was a trading port famous for its gold. It was an important port of call among the Chinese and Moro traders in northern Mindanao. As a trading port, ilawud deal business in terms of gold and slaves. Although slaves were traded, the ilawud did not have a reputation for piracy or slave raiding, unlike Cebu, Jolo, and Maguindanao at that time.11
Through trade, the ilawud’s culture was enriched. Raia Siaui of Butuan and Raia Culambu of Mazaua dined on porcelain dishes, drunk on porcelain jars and wore imported silk clothes. Gold bound some of Raia Siaui’s teeth, some of his dishes were made of gold and, as he claimed, even some parts of his house.12 This was the situation of the ilawud in 1521, as witnessed by Ferdinand Magellan and his men when they dropped anchor on 29 March 1521.
Although the settlements in the ilawud were slave markets, this did not exclude it from the devastating attacks of the slave raiders. Mazaua, for instance, was almost depopulated by the Ternatan-Portuguese raid in 1562.13 Nor was the ilaya, with its rugged terrain and thick vegetation, safe from slave raids. Seasonally Moro marauders, plundered Sagunto and the whole of ilaya through Agusan and Hijo river openings in Davao.14
In the summer of 1565, Miguel Lopez de Legazpi came to the Philippines. He planned to go to Butuan from Canuguinen (Camiguin), but tides and contrary winds drove them to the coast of Bohol. From Bohol, legazpi dispatched a Patache named San Juan to Butuan to reconnoiter the place: to “sail along its coast, and to find out in what part of this island the cinnamon is gathered, for it grows there. They were also to look for a suitable port and shore where a settlement could be made." 15
Legazpi’s men were able to observe the socio-political situation of Butuan during the reconnaissance. Rodrigo de la Isla (Espinosa) noted that Butuan traded primarily in gold. He also observed two Moro boats from Luzon came to Butuan for trade. The Moro boats brought with them iron tips for spears, Chinese porcelain, swords and jars. These trade items were bartered for gold, beeswax and slaves.16
Legazpi’s expedition was the most successful of all the Spanish attempts to explore and subsequently colonize the Philippines. As the colonization of the Philippines started, Spanish incursions, in Agusan also began. This was the prelude to the integration of Agusan into the mainstream of Spanish colonial rule in the Philippines.
Juan Gutierres Cortes and some of his soldiers surveyed Agusan in 1577. A year later, a second survey was conducted under Capt. Gabriel de Rivera upon instruction by Gov. Gen. Francisco de Sande. This second survey aimed to ‘discover the people and ascertain their number and location.’17 In compliance with this Sande’s instructions, Rivera, on 14 April 1579, directed Sgt. Lope de Catalinaga and fifteen of his men to pacify and subsequently collect tributes on the river and the hill tribes of Agusan. 18 As far as surveys were concern, the Spaniards were successful, but the same cannot be said in the collection of taxes.19
It was only through the efforts of the zealous Christian missionary priests that Agusan was gradually incorporated into the mainstream of Spanish colonial designs. Slowly, the inhabitants of Butuan and the neighboring areas were reduced into the plaza-complex type of settlement. 20 By 1582, Agusan became an encomienda of Guido de Lavezaris. 21
As the encomendero of Agusan, Lavezaris was successful in pacifying the Lapaknon Manobos. 22 But the same cannot be said with regards to the Agusanon Manobos in the ilaya. They remained virtually unconquered, until the establishment of a Spanish fort in Linao, in what is now Bunawan. The fort named Real Fuerte de San Juan Bautista was made of stakes and earth. By 1624, a church and a convent named ilaya, were built near it. 23 This signaled the Christianization of the Agusanon Manobos and incorporation of the area into the mainstream of Spanish colonial rule.
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1 History of the Balangay Site, Diorama Exhibit, Philippine National Museum, Caraga Region Branch, Butuan City.
2 Sung Shih, in William Henry Scott, Prehispanic Source Materials for the Study of Philippine History, (Quezon City: New Day Publisher, 1984) p. 66.
3 loc. cit.
4 William Henry Scott, Barangay: Sixteenth-Century Philippine Culture and Society, (Quezon City. Ateneo De Manila University Press, 1994) p.164.
5 Erlinda M. Burton, “Settlement and Burial Sites in Butuan City. A Preliminary Report,” Philippine Studies, Vol,25, First Quarter (1977) p.109.
6 Pablo Pastells, Letter to Father Provincial Juan Capelle, Manila, 20 April 1887, Blair and Robertson, Vol.43, p.277.
7 Aniceto Beray, Letter to Sr. Exmo. Capitan Grãl de estas Islas Filipinas, Talacogon, 20 June 1886: Philippine National Archive, Exp. 9, Fol. 180.
8 Joseph Montano, “Voyage Aux Philippines et en Malaisie,” Peter Schreurs (trans.), Kinaadman Vol.5 (1983) p.320.
12 Antonio Pigafetta, “First Voyage Around the World,” Blair and Robertson, Vol.33 pp.120-123.
13 William Henry Scott, Barangay: Sixteenth-Century Philippine Culture and Society, (Quezon City, Ateneo de Manila University Press, 1994)p.164.
14 Peter Schreurs, “The odyssey of Bunawan and Talacogon: 1867-1879, Kinaadman Vol.7, No.1 (1985) pp.1-2. Also, Joseph Montano, “Voyage Aux Philippines et en Malaisie,” Peter Schreurs (trans.) Kinaadman Vol.5 (1983) p.345
15 Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, “Relation of the Voyage to the Philippines (1564-1565),” in Gregorio F. Zaide and Sonia M. zaide (trans.) Documentary Sources of Philippine History, Vol.2, (Manila: National Bookstore, Inc. 1990)p.9.
16 Rodrigo de Espinosa, “Derrotero del Piloto Rodrigo de Espinosa del Discubrimiento de las Yslas del Poniente (From Navidad, 17 November 1564 to Bohol, 4 April 1565),” in Horacio de la Costa, S.J., Readings in Philippine History (Manila: Bookmark, Inc.,1966)pp.12-13.
17 Francisco de Sande, “Captain Ribera’s Instructions, January 15, 1597,” Blair and Robertson, Vol.4, p.238.
18 “Expeditions to Borneo, Jolo and Mindanao,” Blair and Robertson, Vol. 4, p.295.
19 Dionisio A. Sy, Butuan through the Ages (Cebu City. Our Press, 1970). pp.20-22
20 ibid, p.33.
21 Miguel de Loarca, “Relation of the Filipinas Islands,” Blair and Robertson, Vol.5, p.63.
22 ibid., p.20-22.
23 Peter Schreurs, “The Odyssey of Bunawan and Talacogon: 1867-1879, Kinaadman Vol.7, No.1 (1985) pp.1-2.
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