the CHAMP

KARAGAS: 3rd TYPE OF PIRATES IN SAMAR

Captive-taking in Samar between the years 1601-1850 wrought endless devastation, destruction and displacement to established pueblos. It was a major problem, aside from the insurmountable difficulties of geography and terrain, faced by the Samareños as well as the religious fathers who were taking ministry in the island.

The pirates were not all Muslims but many were such. Some were pagans. But it is good to note that all did come from Mindanao and its satellite islets especially from the Sulu Archipelago.

By the way, there were five types of pirates/plunderers: Maguindanaos (Mindanaos), Joloans, Karagas (Caragas), Kaugmokanos (Camucones), and Sangils (Sanguils).

The Mindanaoans (or Maguindanaos as identified by Francisco Combes, S.J.) was the first in the oppressive and destructive line. Today, if we are to locate their location many years ago is in the South Cotabato province of Mindanao.

The second ruthless group was the Joloans. Combes, described the marauders as “malayo-mahometano” who spread out from Cape San Agustin, deep south of Davao Oriental, as far as Punta Flechas, which is today’s Zamboanga del Sur.

The third group was the Caragas or more appropriately in Bisayan as Karagas. They were vicious plunderers. This group was scattered along the eastern coast of Mindanao from Cabo de San Agustin in the province of Davao Oriental, in the south going up north toward Surigao del Sur. There is still a town of Caraga on the eastern coast of Davao, and those coming from Surigao were mostly situated in the area of Tandag.

In a Samarnon-Bisayan Lexicon of Mateo Sanchez (1711), the word ‘karaga’ means “to loose something, to make something perish, to destroy”. In Diccionario Bisaya-Espanol, its meaning was “to break a tree-branch by hanging onto it; also the noise made by a cloudburst, the wind or something else”. An entry ‘karag-kasag’ is also found which means “a kind of bird”. Under ‘kasag’, it is presented as a crab or a small bird, which perhaps could cause some nuisance.

Camucones or more properly Kaugmokanos were non-Muslims. They came from the region known by an ancient name as Ugmok (present Ormoc). The term means in Samarnon-Bisayan as ‘a low place, a depression in the land topography’. It was believed that the term ‘ugmok’ was derived from the original root or its variant dugmo, dugmok, or rugmok.

The Sanguils (or Sangils) was simply described by Mateo Sanchez as “cierta nacion de gente y llaman sangil unas campanas aque de all vinieron, buenas y sonoras’. The entry also notes that there is a kind of banana ‘sinangil’.

Fr. Ignacio Francisco Alzina, author of the ‘Historia de las islas e indios de Bisayas 1668’, introduced us to the first vicious and destructive plunders of the Mindanaoans and the Caragas. He narrated how these pirates succeeded at their first attempt since there was little opposition from the Bisayans.

The first pirate encounter by the Jesuits took place in 1608. The Mindanaoans and Caragas returned to their lands heavily laden with spoils from the churches and with captives from the pueblos (towns).

Jesuits in Samar

When Jesuits arrived in Samar in 1596, they established their cabeceras (centers) in two regions: Tinago (now Tarangnan) and Catubig. But since Catubig was distant and inaccessible, it was transferred to Palapag on the northern coast.

Tinago was devastated by piratical plunderers, and was transferred to Catbalogan (circa 1614-1618).