beloved hometown

Dapitan City

The City of Dapitan is a 2nd class city in the province of Zamboanga del Norte, Philippines. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 68,178 people in 13,560 households. It is historically significant as being the place where the national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal was exiled by the Spaniards and is known as the "Shrine City in the Philippines". see more.. Dr. Jose Rizal (Exile 1892 - 1896). more on this link.. http://dapitan.com/

History

Dapitan traces its beginnings long before the Spanish conquistadores set foot on the island of Mindanao. Its earliest settlers were the Subanens, a nomadic tribe of Indonesian stock known to have settled and lived along the banks of the river or “suba” out of which their present day tribal identify originated. Fear of pirates taking shelter during foul weather in the natural harbors of Dapitan’s irregular coastlines forced the timid Subanens to move further into the hinterlands.

Early cartographers of the Philippines showed Dapitan’s location in their maps of Mindanao in varying names in which they had known it such as: “Dapito” in Kaerius’ map of 1598, “Dapite” in Dudley’s map of 1646, “Dapyto” in Sanson’s map of 1652, and “Dapitan” in Moll’s map of East Indies 1729 and in Murillo Velarde’s map of 1734.

There are two versions of how Dapitan got its name. One is from Fr. Urdaneta, who called the place “Daquepitan” which was later changed to “Dacpitan” and still later to “Dapitan” because of the difficulty in pronouncing the former. The second version is derived from the word “Dapit” which means “to invite” in the local Cebuano dialect. This refers to the original group of Boholanos from Panglao, Bohol who were invited by Datu Pagbuaya, the acknowleged founder of the city, to go with him to the “Dakung Yuta”, that is Mindanao, and the settlement they established was called Dapitan. This is the traditional version of how Dapitan got its name.

In various historical reports, there are authentic accounts of trading voyages in the early periods and it is hinted that commercial relations may have been established with Dapitan, already a thriving settlement. It is probable that interaction occurred with the traders and there may have been a mingling of culture.

In addition, the divergent cultures brought by the European invaders, the Americans, the Japanese and the different Visayan groups of settlers in Dapitan which caused the emergence of a distinct culture the present crop of Dapitanons have.

The Transition to Township

Dapitan was already a thriving settlement when Miguel Lopez de Legaspi arrived in 1595. It is believed that with Legaspi in the expedition were some Agustinian friars who converted the natives to Christianity. Foremost of the converts were Pedro Manooc, son of Pagbuaya, and Manooc’s daughter, Maria Uray.

Even long before the Jesuits were expelled from the Philippines in 1768, they had already established mission stations in Zamboanga, Dapitan, Iligan and Butuan. Outside of these strategic beachheads, however, the whole Mindanao hinterlands remained untouched by the Cross. The permanent Dapitan mission was founded in 1629 headed by a Jesuit missionary, Father Pedro Gutierrez.

It was only after the establishment of the Jesuit mission that a strong and stable form of government was finally erected. The Spanish authorities adopted the local form of government that was already existing but placed the officials under the absolute control of the Spanish government. The settlement came to be known as the “pueblo”, and its head variously called either “Datu”, “Capitan” or “Cabeza de Barangay”.

The politico-military commandancia of Dapitan until the end of the Spanish domination in 1898 was still dependent on Misamis. It was only during the revolutionary period that Dapitan became an integral part of the Filipino forces in Zamboanga.

During the American occupation, Dapitan continued to be a part of Zamboanga, one of the two districts comprising the Provincia Mora. Dapitan remained a part of Zamboanga province until 1952 when it was divided into two provinces, Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga del Sur.

Kinabayo Festival

Kinabayo Festival which is celebrated every July 25 in Dapitan City Zamboanga del Norte Philippines celebrate a mysterious and colorful pageant re-enacting the Spanish-Moorish wars, mainly the Battle of Covadonga where the Spanish forces under General Pelagio took their last stand against Saracan. They were able to overturn the tide through the miraculous spirit of St. James. The addition of local color and modernism has made this annual celebration a popular attraction which brings thousands of tourists to Dapitan City.

History

St. James, the Greater is the patron saint of Dapitan City. Earlier on into the Spanish rule, Dapitan was still flooded by Moro pirates. The Jesuit priests fatefully set up St. James, to protect the Dapitanons from an attack of invaders. It was believed that in the fifth century, an apparition of St. James, atop a horse carrying a sword, guided the Spansih Christians into victory over the Moors in the Battle of Covadonga. Three centuries later, St. James still plays a significant part in the Dapitanons’ lives. For the past three years the Kinabayo Festival of Dapitan has been celebrated by city folk centering on his feast day, July 25. On that day a magnificent re-enactment of the Battle of Covadonga is unfurled before the city folk and tourists. It is 45 days of celebration that can only be rivaled by Cebu’s Sinulog and Aklan’s Ati-Atihan.

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