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HISTORICAL/CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE OF BITA-OG TREE FOUND IN CALOC-AN, MAGALLANES, AGUSAN DEL NORTE
Titanic. Massive. Awesome. Just few of the
many superlatives one can attribute to the arboreal
giant belonging to the Guttiferae family, genus calophyllum
that now stands majestically as a natural landmark in
the North Agusan province, the 500-year old Bitaug.
What is so special about this tree can be traced to the
local history and culture of the region specifically the
place where it is located - the present municipality of
Magallanes, the Butuan Viejo of Agusan history.
The following may be eyebrow-raising but integer history
has this for us: the region was not always named 'Butuan'.
This, of course, can be found in a set of maps in the
possession of this writer which are photocopies of the
original ones now extant in Biblioteca Real, Turin,
Italy. The first shows the island of Mindanao with its
northeasterners side named 'Bitau", undoubtedly referring
to what comprised of the ancient Butuan region, i.e. from
the rivermouth and coastal areas to the interior and far
up to Talacogon. This 1523 Nuno Garcia de Torreno map
was made based on the sketch two years earlier by the
Venetian chronicler Signor Antonio Pigafetta who also had
the privilege of meeting the first natives.
Another is that one by Fernao Vaz Duorado. It
was made in 1568 based on reliable accounts of the Legazpi
Expedition members. The map show Mindanao with the northern
side labeled as 'Betauo' referring to the same region.
The two names are in general obviously phonetically and
morphologically reconciled with 'bitaug', only that the
final ug is absent as it has been also observed absent
in both Italian and Portuguese phonetics. The 500-year
old Calophyllum Inophyllum giant at Barangay Caloc-an,
Magallanes, Agusan del Norte or its like must have been,
based on existing documentation, the tree referred to by
the European cartographers as it was the custom of Filipino
of naming places after trees.
However, Bitaug population on shore areas dwindled
due to the practices of using its lumber as ship planks
notably in the large Spanish galleons during the Colonial
era.
This surviving specimen has also been witness of the many
historic events that occurred within what is now the
present Municipality of Magallanes (so named on in 1909).
Among these are:
"For one whole month, forced labor had to gather the
biggest rocks that could be found in the area (Magallanes -
Butuan Viejo) and dump then into the passage between the
islet of the Pungtod and the shore to prevent big ships
from entering the Agusan river."
From this account, Cabadbaran Katipunan force participation
under Capt. Andres Atega cannot be discounted as the
effort at the rivermouth was a supreme exercise of the
whole Agusan Katipunan command to keep the enemies out
of the region. Thus, the revolutionaries could have
rested under the shade of this giant Bitaug on their way
to and home.
Today , this gargantuan green giant stands proudly
watching beyond the horizon for whatever events to unfold
in the next century.
It has remained a silent but a patient witness
of our past, our companion in the present and one inevitable
survivor in the future.
Sources:
1. 1523 Map by Nuno Garcia de Toreno |