Butuan Wonders: Home of the Balangays

Curious about the place called The Home of Balangays (ancient sea vessel used by early settlers of the Philippines)? Wondering about the so-called Timber City of the South? These nicknames are attributed to the wonderful city of Butuan. The place is as well known as the ‘Ancient Kingdom of Butuan’. Its name was derived from, according to sources, a certain ruler of the land during the ancient times. The place is the Caraga’s regional center where offices and various agencies of the government almost situated. History asserted that as early as the tenth (10th) century, the Kingdom of Champa, which is now Vietnam, had established commercial affairs with the locals of Butuan. The Srivijaya Empire of Java as well, had been undergoing trading pacts during those times. Since then, the place developed in terms of financial stability and urban lifestyle.
 

 

Balangay also known as "The Butuan Boat".

This wooden boat was excavated in 1979 in northeastern Mindanao near the city of Butuan at a depth of about two meters and the original boat is said to have a measurement of about fifteen meters long and three meters wide across the beam. These boats were constructed using a very ancient technique. The planks were joined together edge-to-edge with the use of wooden pegs, and the hull is further made strong by bindings of fibre cords through holes in raised lugs on the inside surfaces of the planks - an ancient Southeast Asian method of boat-building. The wood of the boat has been dated to 320 A.D. 

 

 

These boats are evidence that early man in the Philippines was seafaring and was relatively technologically advanced. The discovery reveals too that there was already a contact and trade with areas outside of the Philippine islands as shown not only by the artifacts dating to this period that could only have come from other place, but is also suggested by the ability of local peoples in reaching outlying areas through the use of sea-going crafts. 

Today this historical figure, Balangay 1 lays at the Balangay Shrine Museum in Ambangan, Libertad five kilometers east of the city proper and so far, nine (9) balangays have been documented to exist. The National Museum excavated three of these boats while the rest are still waterlogged in specific sites in Butuan City.

 


These are only one of the glimpse of the historic wonders of Butuan. Through those discoveries, they bring us back to the greatness of our ancestors and how colonialism robbed these away from us and produced the FILIPINO today.