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History of Siquijor

Society and Religion under Spain

Siquijor boasted a population of about 40,000 during the Spanish period, making it the most densely populated island in the Visayas in spite of its poor soils (see Economy). The population of each town in 1884-1885 is listed below:

Town

Canoan

Lazi

Maria

San Juan

Siquijor

Population

9,622

7,142

5,013

5,179

9,464

Even during the Spanish period, Canoan was Siquijor’s largest and busiest town. All of the island’s business converged here, and it retained the island’s only notable port (see Economy). That is why the Spanish developed it into a cabezera (administrative capital).

 

Lazi was founded on 8 August 1857. A Moro raid appears to have occurred here during this time–the Moros wielded spears, and the townsfolk, aided by the police, defended themselves with bolos (traditional Filipino knives, fashioned similarly to machetes).

 

In 1880, some Spanish proselytizers settled in Maria (then known as Kangminya; see Precolonial Siquijor), led by a Spanish priest: Fr. Ramon Cabas Orza. That same year, they changed the town’s name to honor its new patron saint, Our Lady of Providence, and founded its parish. These priests led the town until 1911.

 

The town of Siquijor was established in 1785. Its capitanes (literally “captains;” local officials) were Panong Tano, Besin, Julian Selim, Kikoy Gimenes, and Colas Jumawan. During this time, the island’s witchcraft and sorcery were concentrated in San Antonio. The Spanish period saw one episode of unrest unfold there when a band of men led by someone named Bolongon tried and failed to overthrow the Spanish.

 

San Juan was created in 1863. Its territory derived mostly from Siquijor, while its eastern fringes came from Lazi. Both of those town’s municipal officials, along with their clergy, representatives from Cebu, and prominent residents from San Juan, negotiated the Acta del Año 1863. This document, written in Spanish, granted San Juan independence and greatly reduced the town Siquijor’s territory.


Though it would not formally become a town until 1925, the Spanish did not ignore Talingting. They appointed several capitanes and cabezas de barangay to oversee the village, three of whom stand out in the historical record. Kapitan Anong, known fondly as Tan Anong, governed the southern barangays and is the ancestor of the Tejano family, who hail from Libo and Olave. The Spanish gave central Talingting to Kapitan Indong, from whom the Dominguez and Aquino families are descended. The northern areas were given to Kapitan Pasyo, the patriarch of the Orquillas and Concepcion families from Tulapos.

The Municipalities

Public Society

Each town had a church, convent (Lazi’s is the most famous), and tribunal. The last one served as a sort of town hall. There, local men conducted their business, troops (if any) were garrisoned, and travelers stayed if they wished. To protect those new to the town from extortion, a list hung on the wall providing the prices for rice, eggs, meat, and other food, as well as for hiring horses, water buffalos, and porters. All buildings were lit by coconut oil candles at night.

 

The highest-ranking municipal official was the gobernadorcillo (literally “little governor”), a representative of the provincial governor whose duties combined those of a mayor, a justice of the peace, and a port captain. He was always a mestizo or native Filipino, typically wealthy, and was headquartered in the town’s tribunal. Elections were to nominally be held every two years, but in practice, this was rarely followed, and the position could simply be filled by appointment when needed. In some cases, men were kept as gobernadorcillo for years against their will due to a lack of alternate candidates.

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Siquijor's belfry, 1891

Siquijor's belfry and one-time watchtower, 1891.

Siquijodnon gobernadorcillo, c. 1887-1890.

The sport (in which, for the unfamiliar, chickens are made to fight against each other as spectators bet on them) was hugely popular among all Filipino men during this period. Nearly all owned at least one bird, and in Siquijor, seeing a man walking around with a trained bird under his arm, stopping often to caress it as if it were his child, was a very common sight. The Spanish did not bother to crack down on cockfighting beyond limiting it to Sundays and feast days. They instead tried to profit off of it as much as possible via taxes.

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A Siquijodnon gobernadorcillo, c. 1887-1890.

Another hallmark of Siquijodnon society that was apparent even in the 19th century is its hospitality. This is best seen in the account of Dean C. Worcester. In 1887, he reached the island with an expedition under stormy conditions, washing ashore cold, soaked, and starving. A local family found them and happily cooked six of their nine immature eggs for them. It is likely that the hen and those eggs were all they had, proving just how welcoming Siquijodnons were even back then.

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Word quickly spread to nearby families, who all came over to have a look at Worcester’s group (mostly because white men were unheard of in Siquijor). Many saw how miserable they were and felt great pity. The men stripped off their shirts, while the women stripped off their outer skirts, to try to make these newcomers more comfortable. Unfortunately, it did little to warm them, so they left for the town of Siquijor, where they met a well-off mestizo. He immediately prepared them a hot meal, dry clothes, and a room.

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The next day, countless townsfolk came by their room to offer various trinkets at what Worcester described as an “alarming rate.” According to him, “every few minutes [they] had to drive out the crowd and shut up [their] room.” Considering that the people had never seen an “inglés” before, their curiosity is understandable, albeit perhaps too intrusive: they took every opportunity to peer into the room, whether through a window or keyhole and from morning to nightfall. On a more serious note, plenty of men were willing to feed the group for five cents a day, which was a very generous bargain considering the fact that coconuts sold for six cents, chickens for four to five, and eggs for four. Because of the hospitality he and his group were shown, Worcester gradually overcame his racist, paternalistic prejudices (he described non-Westernized Filipinos as “unregenerate savage[s]”) and came to have “a very sincere regard” for the Siquijdonon people.

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Not all was well, though. Siquijor faced constant Moro raids and invasions throughout the Spanish period. In fact, during one such incursion in 1818, 20 Siquijodnons were hauled off as captives. To defend against this seaborne threat, the town of Siquijor built a watchtower that is now the church’s belfry as well as a fort that later became the local convent.

Fights played out in those days exactly as they do now. As the birds were brought in, bets would be made and money would be deposited. The law supposedly capped bets at $50, but nobody actually cared. Two chickens fought at a time with 2-2.5 inch (5-6.4 centimeter) blades tied to their left legs. Their owners would hold the birds close together, pulling them backward by their tails to agitate them and prepare them for battle. When they were released, each chicken would have to attack the other immediately or be declared the loser. Sometimes, one would die at the first swipe, but usually, the fight would last several minutes. When the fight ended, the winner and all those who betted on him would immediately jump up in loud celebration, crowding the stands.

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Every Sunday, the people descended from the countryside in the hundreds to attend Mass. Afterward, the women went to the marketplace to gossip and sell their goods, while the men went off to the cockpit to enjoy some cockfighting.

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Architecture

Nearly all buildings in Siquijor were built of reeds, bamboo, and nipa (dried, thatched palm leaves), such as the famous Cang-Isok house in modern-day Enrique Villanueva. Only municipal buildings and churches had more solid foundations (i.e. stone and wood), such as the large tribunal in the town of Siquijor, which had a limestone foundation, boarded floors and walls, and a nipa roof.

 

Churches were typically built of stone (occasionally wood) and roofed with nipa, such as the one in Lazi, which was built to an exceptional height with mortar and lime. Interior walls were often built with a unique wattle-and-daub technique known as tabique Pampango, which is believed to have flourished in Pampanga (hence the name) but only survives today in Bohol, Cebu, and Siquijor. Builders would construct an interwoven scaffolding of bamboo or another wooden material (the wattle), then patch it with a mixture of lime and sand (the daub) to finish the wall.

 

The clergy spared no expense when filling their churches’ interiors, endowing them with icons, ornaments, and sacred vessels. All had bells–those of Canoan and San Juan were blessed in 1881, while those of Siquijor were blessed in 1882. Siquijor’s church even had an organ.


By the end of the 19th century, the churches of Siquijor, Lazi, and Maria were all built with stone. Only Lazi’s convent was built of stone, while those of Canoan and Siquijor were built with masonry (not fully of stone, though; likely mixed with other materials) and tabique Pampango.

The Recollects were very active in converting the people to Catholicism. The most notable such priest is Fr. Juan Félix de Encarnación, who served as the priest of the parish of Siquijor from 1832-1849, then from 1852-1861. He explored the island, spreading the word of the Gospel and studying the Bisaya language along the way. In doing so, he gradually unified the people under the Catholic faith and promoted stability where he went, catching the attention of civil authorities in Bohol.

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Catholic Church

Priests like Encarnación usually stayed for many years, building churches and convents throughout the island. They worked with the Siquijodnon people, who were happy to help and pitched in money when needed. Some priests even used their personal savings. Lazi’s famous convent, built between 1882 and 1893 under the direction of Fr. Toribio Sánchez, is the best example of this: Sánchez invested his own funds, and all the townsfolk volunteered their time and labor for free. They lent their carabaos and carts to transport construction materials. Sometime later, between 1895 and 1896, they also donated money to buy galvanized sheets for their convent’s roof; excluding minor repairs, the original roofing remains to this day. The whole building was therefore completed with very minimal financial expenses. It has been preserved well and remains one of the oldest and largest convents in all of Asia.

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The clergy led education efforts throughout Siquijor as well, beginning in the 1850s. Naturally, they provided a religious education. Secular education was unheard of throughout the entire country during the Spanish period.

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Fr. Juan Félix de Encarnación.

The first clergymen to evangelize the Siquijodnon people were the secular priests (priests not affiliated with any monastic order). Though they were able to establish parishes, they lacked the resources to build churches or develop the area, so the Augustinian Recollects stepped in. Below is a timeline of the founding of every parish in Siquijor and its patron saint:

The Recollects were very active in converting the people to Catholicism. The most notable such priest is Fr. Juan Félix de Encarnación, who served as the priest of the parish of Siquijor from 1832-1849, then from 1852-1861. He explored the island, spreading the word of the Gospel and studying the Bisaya language along the way. In doing so, he gradually unified the people under the Catholic faith and promoted stability where he went, catching the attention of civil authorities in Bohol.

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Encarnación was responsible for creating new parishes for Canoan and Lazi, bringing their populations closer into the fold. His most important legacy, however, was the Diccionario español bisaya, bisaya español, a dictionary that he compiled during his time in Siquijor that helped Catholic missionaries all throughout the Visayas translate between Spanish and Bisaya. Its importance was not merely linguistic, either: Encarnación made sure to record local customs in his work, helping the Spanish better understand Bisaya culture.

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Fr. Juan Félix de Encarnación

Not all priests were as benevolent, however. The Siquijor priest that Worcester encountered in 1887 had a reputation for brutality, often calling men, women, and children to his office so he could scold them for their sins and beat them with his own hand. Unsurprisingly, he was a hypocrite: this supposed man of God fathered 10 mestizo children in only three years.

 

Nor were all of these priests well-educated, although this did not usually affect their ability to govern the people. For instance, when Worcester returned to Siquijor in 1890, he met a far more pleasant and talkative priest who confidently–and incorrectly–believed that George Washington had fought in the War of 1812 (he led the American Revolution). He also believed that Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, lay on the Mexican border (the city is over 1,000 miles, or just over 1,500 kilometers, away) and was surprised to learn that California was indeed a part of the United States.


Regardless, before every Mass, a procession of the cabezas de barangay would escort the priest and gobernadorcillo to the church. Onlookers would watch as a small band played their instruments to herald the officials’ arrival, first from outside, then from inside as the crowd settled in for the service. Everyone from peasants to officials, and from townsfolk to farmers, thus gathered in one place, unified by their faith.

Parish

Siquijor

Canoan

Lazi

San Juan

Maria

Founded

7 May 1781

14 Jun. 1836

8 Aug. 1857

14 Sep. 1863

16 Oct. 1880

Patron Saint

St. Francis of Assisi

St. Vicente Ferrer

St. Isidore the Laborer

St. Augustine of Hippo

Virgin Mary

Special Notes

First parish in the island.

Separated from Siquijor.

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Separated from Siquijor.

Encarnación was responsible for creating new parishes for Canoan and Lazi, bringing their populations closer into the fold. His most important legacy, however, was the Diccionario español bisaya, bisaya español, a dictionary that he compiled during his time in Siquijor that helped Catholic missionaries all throughout the Visayas translate between Spanish and Bisaya.

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