THE HISTORY OF BARANGAY EUREKA
EARLY DAYS
Eureka was just one of the sitios of Barangay Malibud when it was still part of the logging concession of the defunct Anakan Lumber Company (ALCO). The inhabitants of this place were natives called Higaonons. Higaonons were one of the loosely grouped tribes in Northern Mindanao extending as far as Iligan in the West and Agusan Del Sur in the East.
Higaonons trace their ancestry to Datu Pabuloson their legendary progenitor from Patag, Tagoloan, the original enclave of the Higaonon tribe. From Patag in Tagoloan the Higaonon people made their trek to the mountains of Misamis Oriental. According to Apo Mandilguhan Ansihagan a Datu of Baliguihan, they were guide by a crow who they thought was the spirit of their ancestor. Whenever the crow alighted and rested on a tree branch, the Higaonons would camp out for several days. Then the bird would hover around their camps, signaling that they should break camp and continue with their sojourn. When they reached Agsabu, the bird was gone
The Higaonons led by Apo Pabuloson reached as far as Agsabu in Agusan Del Norte. Then they spread out and some came to Ojot near a big river. Then some of the tribesmen went down to Baliguihan, a hidden valley in the outskirts of the then Barangay Gingoog, of the Municipality of Talisayan. Some found a place to the east of Baliguihan and liked the flat topography of the place. They called it Kamahan, which means a beautiful place. At present, Higaonons were spread out in different sitios like Kipunay, Ojot, Otao, Kalaanan, Impadiding, Kalipay Sangalan and in Eureka and as far as Las Nieves in Agusan Del Norte.1
The first settlers of Kamahan were purely Higaonons. But then a certain Mr. Walter, an American businessman came with a group of men and started the concession of Anakan Lumber Company, a sister company of Nasipit Lumber Company which also had a plywood company in the Municipality of Nasipit, Agusan Del Norte. When some executives of ALCO visited the place, they were impressed by the centuries old trees which abound in the area. They reportedly exclaimed “Eureka!” which is a Greek word for “I found it!” They called the logging settlement Eureka since then. The place was well-off than any other place in Gingoog. It has electricity through the huge generators that the company put up in the place near the Baliguihan River. It has a steady water supply through the huge water tanks which contains thousands of gallons of water for the consumption of the big population of logging workers. Big log carriers ran through the well-maintained highway from Barangay Anakan up to Impasug-ong in Bukidnon! In fact even a luxury car has easy time traversing the road from Anakan to Bukidnon.
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
Eureka is situated 37 kilometers southeast of Gingoog City proper. Its topography is mainly hilly except in the areas of Dukdukaan were there is a wide swath of plain. It is bounded in the East by the Province of Agusan Del Sur, East by Barangay Dinawehan, West by the municipality of Impasug-ong, Bukidnon, and North by Barangay Sangalan. The elevation is six hundred thirty meters above sea level.The land area is twenty thousand hectares, with 4o hectares allocated for Barangay site.2
There are seven (7) sitios or puroks namely: Purok 1, 2 and 3 which were in the Barangay proper, Panagkita, Dukdukaan, Impaluhod and Natingob, near Impaluhod. Twenty five percent (25%) of the area steep elevation (beyond 45 degrees), fifty percent (50%) has rolling topography, while only twenty five (25%) has a flat elevation.
An ancestral domain claim located in Baliguihan and Dukdukaan was approved by the DENR through CADC No. RX-019. Much help was given out by the members of the New Tribes Mission, an evangelical group doing language and cultural research for the Higaonons in the paper works and in the satellite survey which uses the radar scope of their five-seater plane to plot the grid and determine boundaries which would take more or less a hundred days for men to do with their manual tools. Of course the National Commission for Indigenous People, and the DENR were there along the way.
However, due to internal bickering and outside interference, the master plan for the ancestral domain was never materialized.
Eureka, as Kamahan came to be known, became a sitio of Barangay Malibud. According to the research done by Balay Mindanaw, a non-government organization, the first acknowledged leader was Apo Lonio Manlipania who served as sitio leader from 1964 to 1970. During his incumbency, Eureka Primary came into being. He was replaced by Mambalkuhan Manlipania who served from 1971 to 1976.During the incumbency of Mambalkuhan, Eureka Primary School became Eureka Elementary School with the addition of Grades IV and V. Then Telem Mandokita also known as Datu Balan Balan came in and served from 1977 to 1982.During Telem’s incumbency the first five (5) classroom buildings were built. Dukdukaan, Baliguihan and Minabtan became regular sitios. Eureka became one of the eight (8) regular barangays on June 25, 1986 after a referendum. Allan Mandokita became the first Barangay Captain.
From 1989 to 1992 Ernesto Magto Sr. became the Barangay captain when Allan Mandokita no longer ran for re-election as he was keen on pursuing his college education. But from 1993 until 2007 he returned as Barangay Captain. He was replaced by then Kagawad Plemio Maanyag when he became a City Kagawad of Gingoog, representing the indigenous people.
Mr. Mandokita exercised strong leadership. He has a good grip on the likes and dislikes of the people that he is said to have a command vote every election time such that many politicians would approach him to get a command vote. His rise to councillorship of the city is an evidence of how wide his scope of influence is to the indigenous people in Gingoog City.
As of 2005 the population of Eureka consisted of 684 dumagats, who were mostly Cebuanos and Boholanos, 1497 Higaonons, and 441 Kulibog or creoles (natives who intermarried with the lowlanders or dumagats.)
CULTURAL PRACTICES
The Higaonons
The Higaonon tribe is a major branch of the Manobo ethnic grouping. As such many of the practices can be observed in the other major tribal aggrupation along the stretch of Agusan and Misamis Oriental.
The village head, called Datu, leads his tribe in war and in peace. The Datu has a council of elders, usually the influential members of the tribe. The Datu has a number of warriors called “alimaong”. A woman can become a village head. She is called “Bae”. The Datu usually inherits his position but an alimaong can become a datu or elevated to such a position by the majority in the tribe. Such situation can happen when there is a dearth of leaders from the royal family.
When a Higaonon got well from illness or fulfills his vow, he would perform a ceremony called Kaliga, which is a solemn thanksgiving for blessings received. This practice is similar to a fiesta celebration where a family would slaughter pigs and other animals and invite people to partake of the foods. They would then dance the Dugso, inamo or binanog. Higaonon dances mimic animal actions. Inamo imitates the actuations of a monkey while Binanog to that of a hawk (Banog).
The Higaonons practice a sort of animistic or nature worship. They would offer foods to appease spirits of the woods, spirit of the rocks and spirits of the rivers and streams. They believed that an evil spirit which they call manlalawag can cause illness or even physically kill a human being. When they open a new kaingin, they would perform a ceremony called pangapog to invoke the permission and blessings from the spirits which reside in the area.
When a Higaonon dies, the survivors would wrap the cadaver with a mat, and place it on a crevice or protruding tree roots and leave the area several miles away. The act of leaving is practical since the strong odor of decaying flesh would be unbearable. Death in the family would always be a sign for the Higaonons that the spirits of the area were not happy and could not be appeased. Hence, they would usually move to another area after burying the dead in the family. When a child dies, the parents would bury the child below the house, raze the house and leave the area.
Arranged marriage is prevalent in the old Higaonon society. Parents would arrange the marriage of their boy or girl as early as twelve years old. Even at present, some Higaonon families force their children into arranged marriages.
Higaonons of old also believed in polygamy. The practice is useful in the nomadic setting. The more wives one has, the more people who can farm, and carry their produce. Higaonon males do not work on farm chores except to hunt. When walking together, the Higaonon woman would carry the food crops while the male would carry the spear and bolo, watchful on Magahats (marauding Higaonons) which could pounce on them anytime out of nowhere.
Magahats were Higaonons on vengeance mission (pangayaw). They usually starve themselves for several days before going on a killing rampage on any living being they would meet on their way. Magahats were said to be invincible such that their presence strikes terror in the heart of the nomadic community.
When a native fell ill, the Babaylan (tribal shaman or medicine man) is on hand to give herbal cures or offer gifts to appease the gods. The Babaylan is usually the most influential man in the village and almost always, is the tribal head. Foremost in the recent memory of Higaonons is Datu Salvador, thought to possess magical powers that he could turn a bag of sand into a bag of coffee (which was the cash crop during that time) or leaves into paper money. Many natives went to him to be cured of their illnesses.
A system of retribution is also present in Higaonon society. When a member of a tribe kills a person of another tribe, blood money would be given to appease the survivors. When the culprit refuses to make amends with the survivor family, the aggrieved party would launch a pangayaw or vengeance mission to exact retribution from the guilty party. This pangayaw if unchecked would create a vicious cycle which would go on until the last member of each party would fall to the ground dead. This killing rampage would even include innocent lowlanders who happen to cross the path of a marauding Magahat.
The basic respect for elders, honesty, fidelity to partners were very much practiced by the Higaonons. Word of mouth is enough to effect what was agreed upon, even several years after the agreement, or even when the agreeing parties were already dead. Word of honor is a basic tenet of the Higaonon moral philosophy of “Bongkatol ha bulawa daw nangkatasa ha lana” which is roughly equivalent to the Golden Rule.
The Lowlanders or Dumagats
The dumagats in Eureka are mostly Cebuanos or Boholanos, majority of which came from the munipality of Medina. Their ancestors migrated to Eureka in search of farmland which they can call their own. Many of these families intermarried with the Higaonons. Their offspring are called “kulibog” or half blood.
The dumagats usually follow the cultural practices of mainstream culture. They dress like the Visayans or Tagalogs and uses the standard amenities used by lowlanders in the urban areas.
Religion. Majority of the people in Eureka are Roman Catholics. A few, in sitio Impaluhod and Baliguihan, were recent converts to evangelical religions like Baptist, and those planted by the missionaries of the New Tribes Mission who has named their group Bible Believers. A catholic chapel overlooks Eureka Integrated School campus.
EDUCATIONAL HISTORY
There was no definite record on the official beginning of public elementary school in Eureka. Some say it began in 1964, some say it began in 1968. According to the research done by Balay Mindanaw, the official beginning of the public education in Eureka was in the year 1965 when the people under the leadership of Datu Apolonio Manlipania requested that a school be put up in the heart of the logging concession of ALCO. The logging company did not encourage the establishment of schools within their concession because it would mean people would farm the area thus destroying their reforestation project. The establishment of schools in Kamanikan, and Sangalan came with strong opposition from the logging company.
But the company could not say no to the natives who wished to avail of education. At that time there were many adolescent boys and girls who were illiterates and stayed that way until they get married and got offspring of their own.
The logging concession at that time was already deep into the virgin forest of Muya. The company decided to move their field office, which also served as their provision center to Muya. The classes were first held at the house of Datu Mambinongkas Mandokita, the father of Allan Mandokita, which is located on top of a hill. Later on they moved downhill to the office building of ALCO, which the Datu requested to be used as classroom building.
The office building of ALCO was situated near the road leading to Muya. However, due to the difficulty in maintaining the long bridge, they transferred the road to its present location, way beyond the present school site. The old road traverses though the center of the school site.
The first teacher of Eureka Primary School was Mr. Segundino Pinat, who taught Grade I and III. Stories were told that the first pupils of Mr. Pinat were grown up boys and girls who were still steeped in their tribal ways. Mr. Pinat brought them to Baliguihan River and taught them how to use soap in taking a bath and how to brush their teeth. He has to provide them soap and toothbrushes and tooth paste. In return, the parents would give him chicken and other farm produce as gifts.
The school site was originally three hectares. However, due to incursions of squatters, what was left is roughly over a hectare. Until the present, there is still no ownership document to perpetuate the possession of the school site for educational purposes.
In 1967 Grades IV and VI were opened.3 Eureka Primary School became Eureka Elementary School. Mr. Baldomero A. Vinco was assigned to teach the additional two grade levels. In succeeding years, additional teachers were assigned. Mr. Vinco was later promoted and became the first full-fledged Head Teacher of Eureka. Mr. Vinco served in Eureka Elementary School from 1967 until 2004 when the then Superintendent Gomez ordered a reshuffling of school heads. He was transferred to nearby Sangalan Elementary School until his retirement in 2005. He was replaced by Mrs. Susan Hurtado Gundaya, a Head Teacher III who served from 2004 to 2005. Superintendent Myrna S. Motoomull heeding the request of the Barangay officials for the establishment of a secondary school in Eureka sought ways by which she could finally accede to their request. Prior to that there has been requests which were turned down due to lack of catchment elementary schools which could sustain it through the years. Impaluhod and Dukdukaan were small schools which could only produce less than 30 graduates each year which would be less than the forty five (45) students per class as ideal secondary school class size.
One of the ways she could surmount the stringent bureaucratic requirement was to integrate the secondary department into the existing elementary school. The department could save money because only one principal will head both levels of education. Dr. Motoomull directed Mrs. Gundaya to work on the necessary barangay and PTCA resolutions requesting the Division and Regional Offices to establish an integrated school in Eureka. In the summer of 2005 everything was in place and the request was approved in principle by Regional Director Jesus Lazo Taberdo. A principal was needed to carry the double responsibility of an elementary and secondary administrator. Since Mrs. Gundaya was still a Head Teacher III, she was transferred to her home barangay Daanlungsod, to head Daanlungsod Elementary School.
Mr. Edgardo V. Abanil, the principal of Sio-an Elementary School, was summoned to head the fledgling integrated school. Dr. Motoomull has previously planned to establish two integrated schools in Gingoog. She directed a parallel paper works to be prepared in Sio-an. But realizing that a public secondary school would compete with an existing private high school Mt. Sio-an Academy, she relented and instead focused her energy on the Eureka integration process.
Mr. Abanil reported to Eureka as the first principal on June 6, 2005. Eureka at that time has seven elementary teachers. The first secondary teacher was an English major Farah A. Abucay, a graduate from Central Mindanao University.
On June 15, 2005 the Regional Director Jesus Lazo Taberdo together with the Division of Gingoog officials led by Dr. Motoomull and witnessed by the residents of Barangay Eureka officially announced the approval of the request for the establishment of Eureka Integrated School. The people were ecstatic! At last their dreams came true.
The second high school teacher was Mathematics major from Mindanao State University; Mr. Wilfredo Postrano was assigned in August. He later became permanent in September that year. However, he resigned in December 2005 when he was hired as a high school teacher in Consuelo National High School, Division of Misamis Oriental.
The first batch of secondary students were 76 in all.
Eureka Integrated School is the second to be established in Misamis Oriental and even in Region X. The first was in Sultan Naga Dimaporo. Bukidnon’s Can-ayan Integrated School was the third.
Comments