Could this be the site of the first mass?

A.PaulitaRoa

AS a graduate student in Archaeology at the University of the Philippines, I have been taught about the importance of landscapes. An aspect of the study of landscapes is to consider the fact that they hold vital clues to ancient historical events that may have been lost in time. In this case, we are looking for a landscape that has a small river near the sea where the first mass in Cagayan was said in 1622. More importantly, this site should be within the ancient territory of Cagaiang and not just in the present land area of Cagayan de Oro City.

Another crucial factor that should not be overlooked is that the site must not be far from Himolugan. Why so? Because Fray Juan de San Nicolas and Fray Francisco de la Madre de Dios, being new in the place, were not foolhardy to venture farther in to the wilderness just to say mass. The spot that they chose must give them a sense of security and perhaps, it was a shouting distance away from DatuSalangsang and his men if they encounter any danger and needed help.So this is an added feature to that landscape where the first mass was said. And where is Himolugan?

A series of articles titled “Is this the Ancient Settlement of Cagayan de Oro?” by historian Mabel B. Nacasas came out in a local paper in April 2010. Nacasas was born and raised at the foot of Molugan hill that is along Macajalar Bay. She belongs to the prominent Bombeo clan that lived in the Opol and El Salvador area for several generations. Her articles dealt mainly on why Molugan is the site of the ancient Himolugan settlement. She presented her study on the etymology of the place names Himolugan and Molugan and the oral traditions of her people. Then, she compared the Molugan landscape with the 1622 Himolugan landscape as described in the Recollect journal of the two priests. The English translation of this journal is found in The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Vol. 21 by Emma Helena Blair and James Alexander Robertson.

But what caught my attention was about the Karib Creek of her childhood. Nacasas described the Karib (as what the locals call it) as a “small river near the Macajalar Bay and is not far from the theMolugan Hill”! She believes that the area besides the Karib was where the first mass was said. Who can argue with that? This clearly has the three landscape features that comprised that historic spot that we are looking for.

However, there are others who think that Himolugan is located on the site where the St. Agustine Metropolitan Cathedral now stands since it is situated on a small promontory by the river. But early Spanish colonial documents show that it was sometime after the first visit of the two Recollect priests to Himolugan that they were able to persuade Salangsang and his people to move to the site in today’s Cathedral and Gaston Park area. A fortified settlement was built there according to the design of Fray Agustin de San Pedro, an architect and warrior priest, who later became known as the legendary El Padre Capitan. This new settlement was named Cagaiang and sometimes Cagaian. Down through the centuries, the place flourished and has become the bustling metropolis of northern Mindanao–Cagayan de Oro City.

Unless another area that has the three landscape features mentioned above, will be discovered between El Salvador City and Barangay Agusan, suffice to say that for now, it is the land near the Karib Creek that is located along the bay and in the shadow of Molugan Hill, that is the place where the historic first mass was said in Cagayan in 1622.