The Higaonons, The Early Inhabitants of Cagayan de Oro

 

The name Higaonon is derived from three Bukidnon words which are “higa” or living, “goan” or mountain and “onon” or people. And it goes to say that Higaonon means people living in the mountain or people living in the wilderness. Another version of the origin of the word is that “higa” means coastal plain, and “goan” a verb that means to ascend to the mountains. This suggests that Higaonons were once living in the coastal areas who later moved to the mountains.                                                                                                                                                                 

Before the Spaniards came to this place which is now called Cagayan de Oro, there was a Higaonon village called Himologan which was along the river called Cagaiang. Its leader was Datu Salangsang. During that time Islam was already the widespread religion especially in the western and south western parts of Mindanao. A Muslim leader named Sultan Kudarat from Cotabato was the paramount ruler in great parts of Mindanao, and his area of influence reached as far as the Himologan village. Despite the predominance of the Islamic faith, Datu Salangsang and his people remained polytheistic animists although they had to pay tribute to Sultan Kudarat for protection.

In 1622 recollect missionaries Fray Francisco de la Madre de Dios and Fray Juan de San Nicolas with the help of Magdalena Bacuya, who was the Christianized grandmother of Datu Salangsang, sailed from Butuan to Himologan. Reaching there, they wanted to Christianize the natives, but realizing that doing so might provoke a reprisal from the Sultan and might put the village at risk of a Moro attack, the priests withheld their action. They went back to Butuan to seek help, and Fray Agustin de San Pedro, later known as El Padre Capitan went to Himologan. After a brief stay there, he decided to move the village inhabitants to a promontory which is now the site of Saint Augustine Cathedral and Gaston Park. El Padre Capitan trained the natives on fighting skills and built a wall fortification which he called “Fuerza Real de San Jose” to repel Moro attacks.

Over the years, migration of people particularly from the Vizayas such as Cebu and Bohol have shaped the present demographic character of Cagayan de Misamis, now Cagayan de Oro which is a largely Christian and Cebuano speaking city. There are also considerable number of minorities such as Chinese, Maranao and people coming from other parts of the Philippines and Mindanao. Higaonons who mostly live in the hinterlands of the city call people living in the lowlands as “Dumagats”. The Higaonons have considerable population in barangays such as LumbIa, Besigan, Bayanga, Tumpagaon, FS Catanico, Tignapuluan, Pagalungan, Tablon, Dansolihon, Tagpangi, Cugman, Mambuaya. Taglimao, San Simon, Tuburan and Pigsag-an.

Higaonons speak dialect which is different from the mainstream Cebuano. Their dialect which is called “Binukid” is a variant of the Manobo dialect. It is not intelligible with Cebuano, Maranao or dialects of other ethnic groups living in the surrounding areas. Although most Higaonons are conversant with Cebuano, their dialect is not intelligible to Cebuanos or to Maranaos. With the passing of time, younger Higaonons have become more fluent with Cebuano than the dialect of their parents. And there is a danger that the succeeding generations might lost the dialect of their ancestors due to their adaptation of the language spoken by the mainstream population of Northern Mindanao.

Although the Higaonons have embraced the Christian faith, they retained some traces of their animistic beliefs and practices. Some still invoke the help of nature spirits in activities such as planting, hunting and other endeavors. Higaonons subsist mainly on farming as their means of livelihood. They also engaged in gold panning and fishing in the river, and on hunting games in the wild. Parts of their social, cultural, political and other activities revolve around the Datu who is a respected person in a community who acts as a leader, a counsellor, a dispute mediator or even as a medicine man.

The Higaonons are gentle and friendly people who are also fierce when provoked. They are an indigenous people in the city who remain proud and loyal to their traditions and cultures despite the political, social and demographic changes that have taken place with the passing of time.