THE
HISTORY OF CEBU IS
STEEPED IN DANCES both
bloody and business-like,
but most of all
spiritual. As far back as
the 13th century, it is
said that the natives on
the island of Cebu had
already been dancing as a
form of tribute to their
pagan idols carved of
wood and animistc spirits
(anitos). Even during
this time, Cebu was
already a busy bartering
hub known throughout
Southeast Asia as a place
where Chinese,
Indonesian, Malaysian and
other such traders would
come to exchange their
varied goods: spices,
silks, pottery, precious
stones and metals.These
traders from many
different places would
partner on the market
floor and make deals in a
place that has always
been popular for
it’s central
location, tropical
climate, and stubbornly
welcoming people.
However,
things changed when a
Portuguese explorer named
Ferdinand Magellan landed
on April 7, 1521 to claim
the island for Spain and
to spread the doctrine of
Christianity. He was
welcomed with open arms
and minds by the reigning
Datu, Rajah Humabon and
his Queen Hara Amihan
(later christened Juana).
On April 14, 1521, the
first Christian mass was
celebrated in the
Philippines, marking the
conversion of the two
leaders, their children,
and about 800 Cebuano
villagers.
It was
here that the intrepid
explorer presented the
Cebuanos with the image
of the child Jesus (El
Seņor Sto. Niņo) as a
gift to the newly
converted people, along
with a cross planted
along the Cebuano shore
(both of which still
stand as a historical
landmarks today). The
little wooden image of
the child Jesus and the
faith imbued within it
replaced the pagan idols
as the object of the
Cebuanos’ dances of
devotion- the origin of
the modern day Sinulog,
an annual pageantry of
faith that gives Cebu an
excuse to dress herself
up and go wild with a
Mardi Gras.
We return
to our intrepid
explorer’s sad
story- ten days after his
triumphant mass, on April
27, 1521, he stormed into
a dance of death on the
offshore island of
Mactan, territory of the
mighty Lapu-Lapu.
Overmatched and
undermanned, Magellan and
his compatriots were
slain by this first of
local heroes.
Today, a
statue stands as tribute
to the power of one
man’s pride in his
own territory… a
lesson in patriotism to
this day. It was 44 years
later until the the next
wave of Spanish
conquerors would attempt
another (more successful)
foray to the Philippines.
Based on the reports of
the survivors from the
last trip, they were
optimistic with the
willing conversion to
Christianity that they
had encountered in the
first journey. On April
28, 1565, Miguel Lopez de
Legaspi landed in Cebu,
forcefully taking over
the village there and
establishing the first
Spanish community in the
Philippines: the Villa
San Miguel.
He
established dominion over
Raha Humabon’s
nephew, Raha Tupas by
bombing the village and
setting fire to the huts.
Out of this dark episode,
the mythic power of the
Sto. Niņo was further
spread. For left
undamaged in one of the
burning huts was the very
image of the Sto. Niņo
given to Humabon and
Juana by Magellan. This
incident triggered the
town’s change of
name into the Villa
Santissimo Nombre de
Jesus. Throughout the
1800’s, Cebu
maintained its place as
an important trading
center in the
Philippines. It served as
a major distribution
point for sugarcane,
tobacco and hemp as well
as for foreign goods that
continued to come in. It
was also one of the major
sanctuaries for the
influx of immigrant
traders from China and
the southern regions of
the Philippines as a
direct result of its
distinctly central
location.
The
1900’s have been
very good to Cebu. Over
this century, it has
emerged as a fiercely
independent and
powerfully contained
second capital to the
Philippines. The American
regime brought with it
the country’s best
port, which in turn
brought the concurrent
rise in infrastructure,
urbanization, and
increasing commerce and
industry. Cebu today is a
constantly growing city
and province in terms of
economics and culture. It
is also the seat of one
of the country’s two
Archdioceses, along with
being established as the
premier commercial hub of
anything south of Metro
Manila. Through it all,
the dance of the Sinulog
has been performed year
after year to testify the
faith and gratitude of
the Cebuano people.
Entering
into the year 2000, Cebu
has not stopped growing.
Through crises and
depression, it has
remained almost untouched
in its forward momentum.
It has in the past years
garnered accolades for
being one of the most
livable cities in Asia
and looks to continue to
do so for the foreseeable
future. A bustling,
cosmopolitan metropolis
that nevertheless remains
true to its grass roots
origins.
|
