Could this be the site of the first mass?

A.Paulita Roa

DON Jose Maria Caravallo, military governor of the 2nd District of Mindanao, also known as the Misamis Province, was a man with a twisted sense of history. During his term as governor, he ordered the complete demolition of the fort known as the Fuerza Real de San Jose (the Royal Fort of St. Joseph). Built in 1738, it once enclosed the old town then known as Cagaian or Cagaiang.

Caravallo reasoned that the fort has ceased to serve its function as a stronghold against Moro raids. For Cagayan never experienced any incursions from the dreaded Moro pirates. Historian Filomeno M. Bautista lamented the wanton destruction of this fort. He wrote that the governor used the stones taken from the fort to pave the streets of Cagayan instead of preserving it as a historical landmark.

However, when Caravallo heard the oral tale of the first mass said in Butuan in 1521 from several old residents there, it moved him to erect a memorial in honor of said event and for Ferdinand Magellan. This memorial is located on a barrio aptly named Magallanes. Herein is the inscription of the memorial that was originally written in Spanish and is translated into English:

To the immortal

Magallanes

The village of Butuan with its parish priest 

And the Spaniards residing here

To commemorate his arrival and the celebration of the First Mass on this spot on 8 April 1521

Erected in 1872 when the Governor of the district was Jose Maria Caravallo

This memorial has, for the past century, helped in boosting the claim of Butuan as the site of the first mass said in 1521 by the chaplain of Magellan’s fleet. But many historians to this day are divided on the controversial issue regarding the true location of the first mass–is it in Limasawa Island or in Mazua near Butuan? Wherever it is, let us turn our attention to Cagayan and this little known fact that there is a record of the first mass said here in 1622.

Even if the first mass said is 101 years after the historic mass in 1521, nevertheless, it is an important historical fact for us, Kagay-anons. And herein lies the mystery and in a sense, a wonder that Butuan has an oral history about the first mass said in their land in 1521. We have a written record of our first mass but we do not have an oral tale about it.

It was the Recollect chronicler, Fray Luis de Jesus who wrote about how two Recollect priests first entered the  Cagaiang territory in year 1622 to spread the faith. This is found in a book written in Spanish with a kilometric title, “Historia General de los Religiosos Descalzos del Orden de los Hermitanos del Gran Padre y Doctor de la Iglesia San Agustin, de la Congregacion de Espana y de los Indias.” This book was printed in Madrid in 1681 and was translated in English in by two prominent historiographers from the United States namely, Emma H. Blair and James A. Robertson. They started translating and editing Spanish colonial documents from 1903 to 1907. The result of their diligent and scholarly work when completed and published was an astounding 55 volumes. Today, it is known as the Blair and Robertson’s “The Philippine Islands 1493-1898.” The part where the two Recollect missionaries became the first Spaniards to enter Cagaiang (Cagayan) territory in 1622 can be found in Vol.21.’

In the search for the actual site where the first mass in Cagayan was celebrated in 1622, it is important for us to know the size of the ancient territory of Cagaiang during the prehispanic and early Spanish periods.

Do you know that the El Salvador city and the Municipality of Opol were once part of Cagayan de Oro for over a century? It was only a year or so before 1950 that the people of El Salvador, formerly known as Tagnipa and Opol publicly expressed their desire to separate from Cagayan once it becomes a city.

I mention this historic fact because it is important for us to know that as we study the early history of Cagayan, we should not limit our knowledge on the present political boundaries of the city. Rather, we must consider the size of the ancient territory that once stretched to present day El Salvador to the west and perhaps, even beyond that; and on the east, the area was up to barangay Agusan.

Another interesting fact is that Iponan, which is before Opol, was first mentioned in a 1636 Spanish colonial document as “Yponan.” It was such a prosperous place that Opol was under its governance in the 18th century. Today, this barangay is the political boundary of the city on the west and together with Opol, Molugan and El Salvador, they formed one of the oldest and continuously populated areas in Northern Mindanao.

Then we also have to take in to account the fact that the earliest poblacion of Cagayan de Oro, then known as Cagaiang, could have been established by the Spanish Recollect priests sometime after 1622. However, the records and documents of the Recollects placed 1622 as the year when this second settlement was founded.

Many historians agree that it would take more than a year to move Datu Salangsang and his 500 followers out of Himologan and settle them on this new fortified village along the Cagaiang River. This second settlement is located in the present area of Barangay I of the city and its environs.

I am giving this historical data because these are important things to be considered in the search for the site where the first mass in Cagayan was said. This mass was probably said a little after Fray Juan de San Nicolas and Fray Francisco de la Madre de Dios arrived in Himologan. And that Salangsang wanted them to perform the Catholic rites outside of the promontory in deference to his “diwatahan” or little temple that was prominently placed in the middle of  their community. I wish that the priests wrote lengthily and gave detailed descriptions about the two sites–that of Himologan and the land “by the river that was near the sea.” The latter site is the mute witness to the first mass that was said in Cagaiang in 1622. (to be continued)