𝗛𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗬 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗘𝗧𝗬𝗠𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗚𝗬 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗖𝗘-𝗡𝗔𝗠𝗘𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗖𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗘𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗠𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗣𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗘𝗦 𝗢𝗡 𝗦𝗔𝗠𝗔𝗥 𝗜𝗦𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗗
𝗦𝗔𝗠𝗔𝗥 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗩𝗜𝗡𝗖𝗘
1. 𝐂𝐚𝐭𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐚𝐧 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐲 (𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥) – “BALAUG”; a certain plant that once thrived in the river bank and on the mouth of the Antiao River. It could also come from the word Katbalonga to refer to the medicinal plant, Pepita de Katbalonga or Pepita de San Ignacio which was named by the Jesuit missionaries in the 17th century. Catbalogan was founded as a visita in 1596 and was elevated into a pueblo, residencia, and cabecera in 1616.
2. Calbayog City – “CAL” and “BAYOG”; from Bayog tree which once flourished in Taboc and these were cut down and burned for fuel to make “Cal” or lime out of seashells and corals. Thus, the two words adjoined and became Calbayog. In old records, its ancient name was Hibatang, and was one of the mission-stations of the Jesuits in the 17th century. It became a component city of the province in 1948.
3. Almagro – “AL MILAGRO”; after the settlement survived a long drought that affected many areas in Visayas and Mindanao. It could also be named after the convent of the Franciscans in Almagro, Spain as suggested by the Franciscan parish priest of Calbayog, Fray Policarpo Nadador, OFM.
4. Basey – “BAYSAY”; this was based on the legend of Bungansakit, a female foundling so beautiful and radiant of the face and figure that all who came to know her, loved and admired her.
5. Calbiga – “BIGA-A”; According to Atty. Filomeno Singzon was derived from a certain plant which is partly tree and partly vine that thrived in the place in abundance. Having observed the place filled with numerous white stones, the real source of lime, a missionary later changed Biga-a to Calviva (from the Spanish Cal for lime and viva for alive or living) thus, Calviva stands for alive lime (piedra viva).
6. Daram – “DARANGSIYAO or DARAMSIYAO”; a local bird
7. Gandara – was named after Gov. General José de la Gándara y Navarro, the Spanish Governor General of the Philippines from 1866 to 1869 after the pueblo of Bangahon (old name) was rebuilt after the disastrous fire of 1876. Its old name was Bangahon which came from the word “banga” full of jars or pots.
8. Hinabangan – “HINABANG”; a place for bater and trading.
9. Jiabong – “HIA-AN and BONG”; Hiyaan means a place of preparation before an attack and Bong is actually the sound of the cannon gun. Hiyaan is the nearby visita or barangay adjacent to the present town.
10. Marabut – named after Assemblyman Serafin Marabut of Basey. He was Samar’s former Provincial Treasurer and later Budget Commissioner of the Commonwealth President Manuel Quezon. Marabut’s old name was Lipata after lipata trees (Excoecaria agallocha Linn).
11. Matuguinao – “MATUGNAW”; means cold or cool. The place was named by Gandara’s parish priest, Fray Manuel Benavente, OFM in 1887 while visiting the place.
12. Motiong – “MUTYA”; abundance of pearls. It was formerly a visita of Paranas until became an independent municipality in 1948.
13. Pagsanghan – “PAGSANGA-AN”; refers to the two branches where the Gandara river forks. It used to be a visita of Dapdap and later a barrio of Tarangnan. It became a municipality in 1979.
14. Paranas – “PALANAS”; the slippery stone that can be found on its coasts. It was renamed Wright in 1901 but was reverted back in 1988 by virtue of Republic Act No. 6681.
15. Pinabacdao – “PENA” and “BACDAO”; came from the Spanish “pena” means punishment and “bacdao” to stand. Formerly, this was a visita of Calbiga until it became a separate pueblo in the 1890s, then was aggregated back to Calbiga as a barrio in 1902. It became an independent municipality in 1947.
16. San Jorge – “KAN JORGE”; named after the first American military Governor of Samar, George Curry. It used to be one of the barrios of Gandara until it became a separate municipality in 1979.
17. San Jose de Buan – “BUAN”; a soft variety of rattan and suitable for making bastes and the like. San Jose was already its name, a visita under Paranas since the 1800s. It became a separate municipality in 1969.
18. San Sebastian – was named after a Spanish city, San Sebastian by the first Franciscan parish priest of the town, Fray Demetrio Sanz, OFM. Its old name was Balugo having been situated at the mouth of the river of the same name. It was a visita of Paranas until it became a pueblo in the 1890s and was eventually created as a municipality in 1950.
19. Santa Margarita – was named after Doña Margarita de Nouvelas, wife of the Spanish Governor of Samar, Don Ricardo Nouvelas y Aldar (1891-1893). Its old name was Magsohong. Derived from SUHONG; a pig, a name with which they differentiate the pig from a deer.
20. Santa Rita – named after the patroness of the town, Santa Rita de Cascia which was instituted by the Augustinians in the 1770s. Its former name was Lalawiton.
21. Santo Niño – named after their patron, Señor Santo Niño. In the olden times, it was called Limbangcawayan which was derived from the red (limba) bamboo that was in abundance in the area. In 1890, the Governor of Samar proposed the renaming of the island groups of (Limbancawayan, Buenavista, Tacot, Talahib, Sugud, Guibarocan, Tagapul-an, and Camandag) to be named as Guadalajara but this was not approved.
22. Tagapul-an – “TAGA-PULA”; named after the red soil found in its vicinity. It became a municipality in 1969.
23. Talalora – named after a certain plant with hardy, thorny, and durable rattan vines. Formerly part of Villareal until it separated as an independent municipality in 1947.
24. Tarangnan – No one knows how the place got its name. But according to the 1711 Vocabulario and 1914 Diccionario it could probably come from the following words: [1] talang – to lack [2] talangan – carcax of arrows [3] talang – to take along the dogs [4] talaga – to make a hole, to open a hole in the fence of bamboo, to miss that sent, to create a lack (Fr. Mateo Sanchez, SJ & Fr. Antonio Sanchez de la Rosa, OFM).
25. Villareal – “VILLA REAL” royal villa or royal town. This was the name given by Governor-General Rafael Echague when he decreed the creation of the parish separate from Calbiga on March 12, 1863. The old name of Villareal was Umauas to describe the rapid flow and rushing surge of the Umauas river.
26. Zumarraga – named after the birthplace of Adelantado Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, the first Governor-General and Conqueror of the Philippines. It was formerly called Buad Island.
𝗡𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗡 𝗦𝗔𝗠𝗔𝗥
1. 𝐂𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧 (𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥) – “TAGAM” – According to Fr. Antonio Sanchez de la Rosa, OFM, the word Catarman was derived from the word Cataragman (de Tagam) which means danger or risk (peligro y riesgo).
2. Allen – named after Maj. Gen. Henry T. Allen who later served as Military Governor of Leyte in 1901 after the series of campaigns to end the insurgency in Samar. The town was known in the olden times as Minapaa.
3. Biri – a rough leaf tree “arbol de hoja áspera”.
4. Bobon – [1]a fountain or spring; [2] to put soil around the plant (de la Rosa, 1914).
5. Capul – was said to derive from the word Acapulco on which the Spanish galleons passed through the perilous waters of the embocadero from Manila to Acapulco Mexico. According to the lexicon of Fr. Antonio Sanchez de la Rosa, the word capul means [1] dirty; [2] to cover as a bee does with its honeycomb; [3] paint as with lime or something similar. Its old name was Abac, a certain datu who ruled on the island during ancient times.
6. Catubig – “TUBIG” – simply water. Named after the river of the same name. The first cabecera and residencia of the Jesuits in Ibabao.
7. Gamay – means “thin” or “fine”.
8. Laoang – “LAWANG”. According to the Franciscan historian Fr. Cantius J. Kobak, OFM, it came from the word “Bukitlawang” a village in Sumatra Island in Indonesia, the origin of the Pre-Colonial settlers of Laoang.
9. Lapinig – “wasp” (avispa in Spanish); these winged insects live in society and make honey, which is not eaten.
10. Las Navas – named after the famous Spanish battle of Las Navas de Toledo. Its original name was Binungtuan which was the old town site of Catubig.
11. Lavezares – named after the Spanish Governor General Don Guido de Lavezares. Its old name was Pinunayan derived from the word “punay” a bird like turtledove.
12. Lope de Vega – named after Félix Lope de Vega y Carpio, the great Spanish playwright, poet, and novelist. It was formerly part of Catarman until it became an independent municipality in 1980.
13. Mapanas – derived from the word “panas” which refers to the river bank, the slope of equal terrain and with silt, even if it is covered by water.
14. Mondragon – it was named after the birthplace of Doña Pastora Oquendo de Chacon, the wife of the Spanish Governor of Samar Don Enrique Chacon y Lopez, who was a native of MONDRAGON, Guipozcoa, Spain at the time when the pueblo was created on May 23, 1882.
15. Palapag – means “a rock sliced from the sea”. It became a pueblo, cabecera, and residencia in the 1600s after the Jesuits transferred their central residence from Catubig.
16. Pambujan – came from “BUHANG” which means an open channel. Its old name was bayog, a certain tree that once thrived in the locality.
17. Rosario – named after their patroness, NUESTRA SEÑORA DEL ROSARIO that was brought to the place by Sra. Francisca de Vera from Sorsogon for veneration in the 1800s. Its original name was Mamban which is derived from a certain bark used to sew nipa. It became an independent municipality in 1969.
18. San Antonio – named after their patron saint, SAN ANTONIO DE PADUA in connection with their first town fiesta celebration in 1901. Its old name was Manuglaya which means a place for casting nets (laya).
19. San Isidro – named after SAN ISIDRO LABRADOR, their town patron. Its original name was Calagundian, one of the former barrios of the town of Allen. It was derived from the word lagundi (Vitex negundo), a tree with a somewhat large trunk and not very high; its leaf is narrow, and its fruit very small. Its leaves are used to relieve pain and cure piles.
20. San Jose – name derived from JOSE T. BALITE SR., the mayor of the municipality of Bobon to honor him for the creation of the Municipality of San Jose in 1949. It came from the native word CARANG which means a trap or a kind of box made of rattan to catch the ihalas (chicken) that abounded the area in the past. It could also came from the word Carangian, a certain tree whose bark is medicinal.
21. San Roque – named after their patron, SAN ROQUE. Its original name was Laoangan.
22. San Vicente – named after their patron, SAN VICENTE FERRER. Its old name was Destacado, from the Spanish word which means ‘outstanding’ or ‘prominent’.
23. Silvino Lubos – was named after Teniente SILVINO LUBOS (former town Councilor of Pambujan) of Barrio Suba who donated considerable tracts of prime land to the municipality. It was made an independent municipality in 1967.
24. Victoria – named after the daughter of President Elpidio Quirino, MARIA VICTORIA. Its original name was Mawo, translated as “that’s right”, when it was still just a barrio of Allen, along with barrio Calagundian (now San Isidro). The municipality was created on April 27, 1968.
𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗡 𝗦𝗔𝗠𝗔𝗥
1. 𝐁𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐧 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐲 (𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥) – “BORONG”; fog or mist that comes from the river.
2. Arteche – named after Samar Governor and Assemblyman Pedro Arteche who worked for the township. It was originally named San Ramon after their patron saint, San Ramon Nonato. It became an independent municipality in 1951.
3. Balangiga – “BALANGIGAN” – a tree called balangigan (cierto arbol, y deste arbol se de nomina el Pueblo llamado Balangigan) from Fr. Mateo Sanchez, SJ 1711 Vocabulario.
4. Balangkayan – derived from the word “BALANGKAY”, a certain grass that used to abound in the marshy areas of the población. It was formerly called San Buenaventura after its patron saint. It separated from Llorente and became an independent municipality in 1959.
5. Can-avid – “CANABID”; its meaning is hard to ascertain as it cannot be found in the old Bisayan lexicons. Its former name was Maria Angeles, used to be a visita of Paric (now Dolores). It became an independent municipality in 1948.
6. Dolores – came from the Spanish word DOLORES which means ‘sorrow’. This was to commemorate the suffering of the people of Bacod who participated in the Palapag Rebellion of 1649 led by Agustin Sumuroy where they were punished and some escaped and went to the place, they named Dolores. It used to be a sitio of Carolina. In 1887, the visita of Dolores was transferred to its new townsite (población). In Pre-Hispanic times, it was formerly called Jubasan and eventually became Paric during the Franciscan period.
7. General MacArthur – named after Gen. Douglas MacArthur, the Liberator of the Philippines. In the olden times, it was called Tugas, a certain kind of hardwood. It was also named Pambujan derived from ‘bobo’ which means trap for crabs. In 1913, it was also named New Hernani and eventually renamed Pambujan del Sur. It separated from its mother town Hernani and became an independent municipality in 1947.
8. Giporlos – “HI” and “PODLOS”; contraction of the two words, the prefix “hi” means person and “podlos” means to loosen a tie; get out of place; to escape, to slip away. During Spanish times, Giporlos was organized into one of the barrios of Balangiga by Fray Bernardo Aparicio, OFM. The barrio was established in 1899 and was named San Bernardo in honor of the parish priest. It became an independent municipality in 1949.
9. Guiuan – “GIGWANUN”; salty water (Alcina 1668). The town was formerly known Butag which means separated or secluded. This could refer to the geographical feature of the town.
10. Hernani – named after a Spanish town in Guipozcoa, Basque country. Its former name was Nag-as taken from the nearby brook of the same name.
11. Jipapad – named after the river of the same name. It became an independent municipality in 1965.
12. Lawaan – (Dipterocarpaceae) is derived from a corpulent and resinous tree; its wood is good for building boats smaller than one part. It became an independent municipality in 1969.
13. Llorente – named after Julio Llorente, the first appointed civil governor of Samar. It was formerly called Lanang and was established as visita in 1783. Lanang means a white stone; a sea froth or foam.
14. Maslog – “SOLUG”; strong current of the river; rapid movement of waters in some places of the sea. It became an independent municipality in 1965.
15. Maydolong – “DULONG”; bow of all kinds of boats. (proa de toda clase de embarcaciones). Its former name was MATNUG; without equal, without comparison, great. (sin igual, sin comparación, grande).
16. Mercedes – named after Maria de las Mercedes, the daughter of Queen Isabella II. It was formed as a pueblo from the visitas of Guiuan in 1864.
17. Oras – “URAS”; to rub, to be hurt against something (rozarse, herirse contra alguna cosa); the Spanish ‘rozar’ has a great number of meaning such: to grab, to stub, to weed; to clear land, to cut and gather small brancher or grass, etc. Separated as a pueblo in 1849-1850 from Paric.
18. Quinapondan – “PUNOD”; width, an ponud san palay; la anchura de la casa.
19. Salcedo – named after Juan de Salcedo, the Conquistador of Manila and grandson of Adelantado Miguel Lopez de Legazpi. Formerly, it was called Sudaw; to frighten, to drive away something. It was founded as a pueblo in 1862.
20. San Julian – was named after the zealous priest, Fray Julian Diaz, OFM who initiated the transfer of the town to a healthier place. Its old name was Libas, a certain tree whose lives and fruit are very sour.
21. San Policarpo – named in honor of Don Policarpo Obina, one of the founders of visita de Bunga. Bunga or Bonga; a certain palm whose fruit they call buyo.
22. Sulat – “SUL-AT”; an opening, a hole, boards joined as in flooring with space in-between.”
23. Taft – named after William Howard Taft, the first civil governor-general of the Philippines. In the olden times, it was called TUBIG, which simply means water. But it was first known as MALINAW derived from the word LINAW; quiet, times of tranquility, or calmness.
(Researched, Written, and Compiled by: MANUELITO S. UY, Local History Researcher | October 29, 2022)
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Sources
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Bureau of Public School Teachers (1953). Historical and Cultural Data Papers. National Library of the Philippines, Manila.
Cabardo, Charo (1997). Samar Day Souvenir Program. Catbalogan, Samar.
Cruikshank, Bruce (1985). Samar: 1768-1898. Historical Conservation Society, Manila.
Cruikshank, Bruce (2018). Samar Revisited Research Materials for Municipal Histories. Academia.org.
De la Cruz, Mio Galit (2014). Northern Samar: Our Home. Write it Right Editorial and Publishing, Quezon City, Philippines.
De la Rosa, Antonio Sanchez (1914). Diccionario de Español Bisaya y Bisaya Español para las Provincias de Samar y Leyte (Tercera Edicion), Imprenta de Santos y Bernal, Santa Cruz, Manila.
Diocese of Catarman (1996). North of Samar Island: 400 Years of Christianization. Most Rev. Angel T. Hobayan, Northern Samar, Philippines.
Huerta, Felix de la (1865). Estado Geográfico, Topográfico, Estadístico, Histórico- religioso de la Santa y Apostólica Provincia de San Gregorio Magno. Imprenta de M. Sanchez y C, Binondo, Manila.
Kobak, Cantius J. (2002). Historical Sketches of the Pueblos of Samar and Leyte: 1580-1900. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Unpublished.
Redondo y Sendino, Felipe (1886). Breve Reseña de lo Que Fue y de lo que es la Diócesis de Cebú en las Islas Filipinas. Establecimiento Tipográfico del Colegio de Sto. Tomás, Manila.
Robredillo, Lope (2012). A Brief History on the Origins of Dolores, Eastern Samar. From the Underside of History. (From https://msgrlope.blogspot.com/.../a-brief-history-on..., Retrieved October 29, 2022)
Roman Catholic Bishop of Calbayog (2011). 100 Years Diocese of Calbayog: The History of the Local Church in Samar. Calbayog City, Samar.
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