Most of the
major cities of the world are located at the banks of rivers and history has it
that earliest civilizations evolved and developed in river valleys. Examples
are the Nile River of Egypt, the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers of the Fertile
Crescent, the Ganges River of India and the Yangtze River of China. Ancient
people converged to the river because of the water which is essential for life.
The area around the river creates an ecosystem conducive for humans and animals
to live dependently with each other. In addition, the overflow of river carries
with it sediments along the banks which makes the soil in that area fertile for
planting food crops. However, river can be destructive during events such as
typhoons and heavy rains that cause its channel to overflow and flood the
outlying areas near its banks.
In northern
Mindanao, in ancient times, indigenous nomadic people followed the course of
the river called Kalambaguasahan to search for games, fish and other foods.
Finding caverns on a promontory, they made it as their shelter and over time
made a settlement around that area which was 8 Kilometers south from the center
of the present day Cagayan de Oro. That place was conducive for their survival
since the river provided them source of food and water, and the promontory with
its elevated location afforded them security from other hostile tribes. As the
settlement called Himologan grew, interactions and trade with other places
developed. Its outside contacts even reached as far as Butuan and Maguindanao.
Sultan Kudarat, the Muslim chieftain of Maguindanao later imposed a tribute to
the settlement of Himolugan.
The payment
of tribute should be overemphasized because it was a sort of jizya which
is a tax levied by a Muslim ruler over his non-Muslim subjects in exchange of
his protection to them. The tribute to the Muslim ruler also carried with it
the implications that they recognized his authority, that his followers would
not attack or harass them, and that they would not be obliged to convert to
Islam. That practice is probably the reason why the early inhabitants of the
city were polytheistic animists and not Muslims despite the fact that the sultan’s
sphere of influence had reached that small settlement.
In 1622,
the Spaniards arrived and came upon the old settlement which was also called
“Cagayan” which is an Austronesian word for river. Fray Agustin de San Pedro
then successfully convinced the inhabitants led by Datu Salangsang to move to a
new settlement located in an area of what is now the Gaston Park and Saint
Augustine Cathedral. In the new Cagayan the priest converted the natives to
Christianity and told them to stop paying tributes to the Muslim Sultan. With a
more powerful new protector, the Spaniards, the natives were able to avoid
possible retribution from the Muslims for stopping the payment of tribute and
embracing Christianity..
Myths and
legends abound in relation to this great river. There is a story of a giant
fish that supposedly devoured a priest from the Saint Augustine Cathedral. That
tale was probably a misinterpretation of a tablet on a fence wall which was
long removed from public view which depicted the Biblical story of Jonah and
the whale. Superstitious people also believe that the river is inhabited by
supernatural creatures such as aquatic monster that drowns their victim to
death by grabbing his feet as he unsuspectingly swims in the river.
The river
is one of the venue on which the city government promotes tourism. Upstream is
a good place for whitewater rafting which is popular to tourists. Kayaking and
river trekking are also tourist promoting activities. At present, there are 6
bridges that span the eastern and western banks of the river which also serves
as a boundary between the 1st and the 2nd districts of
the city.
Despite its
scenic beauty and fantastic tales, Cagayan River at times can be
a bearer of death and destruction. There were some incidents in the past on
which the swelling of the river channel caused flooding that resulted to loss
of lives and properties. On December 16-17, December 2011, Typhoon Sendong hit
Northern Mindanao. The huge volume of rainwater falling on the mountain ranges of
Bukidnon sent massive volume of waters, mud, sediments, logs and rocks
downstream in an overwhelming force that swept away people, houses and animals
along the way resulting to thousands of deaths. That tragedy which claimed the
lives of 1,268 people was the biggest natural disaster that the city
experienced in decades.
The river
is vulnerable to degradation due to people’s activities such as illegal mining,
logging, quarrying and the irresponsible disposable of waste products by people
living along the river banks. Those bad practices cause bank soil erosion,
shallow river bed, pollution of the water and the overflow of river during
heavy rains which flood the nearby areas. To preserve the river, the city
government adopted measures to stop people from doing activities that will
adversely affect the river and its nearby environment. City residents also
voluntarily plant trees along the river banks and mangroves at the mouth of the
river.
From its
sources in Kalatungan and Kitanglad mountain ranges in Bukidnon, the waters of
Cagayan River run through a 90 kilometers course that traverses the
municipalies of Libona, Talakag and Baungon in Bukidnon and Cagayan de Oro
where they finally empty into Macajalar Bay.
Cagayan
River and the Malasag mountain range are two of the most prominent terrain
features that can be seen at the heart of the city. The river is associated
with the city’s name, history and cultural development. “Cagayan”, a name taken
from an old settlement aptly describes CDO’s location which is a city by the
river.
