The Caraga

Caraga is an administrative region of the Philippines, on the northeastern portion of the island of Mindanao. It is the newest region in the Philippines, and is also called Region XIII. The Caraga Region was created through Republic Act No. 7901 on February 25, 1995. The region is composed of five (5) provinces: Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Dinagat Islands, Surigao del Norte and Surigao del Sur; five (5) cities: Butuan, Surigao and Bislig; seventy (70) municipalities and 1,346 barangays. Butuan City is the regional center.

History

The history of Caraga can be traced back to the 15th century when explorers discovered the existence of "Kalagans", believed to be of Visayan Origin in one of the three districts in Mindanao. The word Caraga originated from the Visayan word Kalagan: kalag meaning soul or people, and a meaning land. The Kalagans have a long history of being brave and fearless. Thus, the region was called by early chroniclers as the "Land of the Brave and Fierce People".

The "Kalagans", called "Caragans" by the Spaniards, occupied the district composed of the two provinces of Surigao, the northern part of Davao Oriental and eastern Misamis Oriental. The two Agusan Provinces were later organized under the administrative jurisdiction of Surigao and became the independent Agusan province in 1914. In 1960, Surigao was divided into Norte and Sur, and in June 1967, Agusan followed suit. While Butuan then was just a town of Agusan, the logging boom in the 1950s drew business to the area. On August 2, 1950, by virtue of Republic Act 523, the City Charter of Butuan was approved.

The etymology of the word "Caraga" is said to have originated from the native word "Kalag" which means "spirit of soul". Hence, the whole Provincia de Caraga of AD 1622 was called "region de gente animosa", that is "region of spirited men". This being "spirited men and women" is grounded on its cultural, religious and political background. With culture, Caragans were spirited in view of their closeness to nature and attitude towards the creation.

With religiosity, Caragans were spirited as to their belief on the spirits of nature (like the trees "balete tree", the rivers and mountains, sun and moon); in fact , they have "anito worship" and "ancestor worship" led by the dancing priestess [balyan] and the singing priestess [catalunan]. With primitive politics, Caragans were spirited as they invited a "bagani system" of governance. A "bagani" is like a "warrior" kinglet or datu" who ruled by banditry and by occupation. They fight to end their capacity even chasing an enemy up until the bosom of the oceans and middle of the seas.

source: www.wikipidia.org