Karl Proposal

IN REMEMBRANCE OF THE SPANISH COLONIAL

AGENDA’S IMPACT ON THE LIVES OF THE
ANCESTORS OF CARAGA’S PEOPLE

Karl M. Gaspar CSsR

This year, we Catholic Filipinos have been exhorted by the

Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines to celebrate
the 500th year anniversary of the arrival of Catholicism to the
Philippines. Five centuries ago, Ferdinand Magellan was
commissioned by the King of Spain to head an expedition
meant to establish trading contacts with the Moluccas. This
expedition reached Humonhon Island in Leyte on 16 March
1521, then proceeded to Limasawa Island and then on to Cebu
before Magellan met his tragic death.

Three more expeditions reached the Philippines after the one

of Magellan also meant for Moluccas, It was the expedition led
by Miguel Lopez de Legazpi’s that had a direct order from
the King was to establish a Spanish colony in these islands.
Legazpi began his colonization campaign in Cebu in 1565,
expanded to other parts of the Visayas before moving to
Manila.

Mindanao did not immediately figure in the colonial regime’s

agenda. In fact, the first recorded contacts of Europeans with
Mindanao inhabitants were in 1538 when a Portuguese ship
under the command of Francisco de Castro, found itself
stranded somewhere in either Sarangani or possibly, Butuan.
However, in reference to the colonial agenda that goes back to
the Patronato Real, the Jesuits arrived in Mindanao in 1571,
or 425 years ago. The first formally organized missionary
campaign in Mindanao took place in Butuan with the arrival
of two Jesuits. Thus began not just the Christianization of the
indigenous ancestors in this part of the archipelago but also
their colonization.

This paper intends to do the following:

1. To trace the evangelization approaches of the Spanish
Jesuits leading to the conversion of the indigenous people of
Caraga to the Catholic faith
2. To analyze the impact of the imposition of the Catholic
faith on the indigenous belief system of the indigenous people
(mainly the Manobo)
3. To show how the “chauvinist Catholicism” that was
introduced ultimately led to the collapse of an indigenous
cultural fabric that would in the long-run demolish many of
the rich values constitutive of a more humane and
compassionate living among peoples in communities (seen
from a decolonial perspective).
4. To propose ways through ways the Local Church of
Caraga today can revisit the richness of indigenous
knowledge, skills, practices and spirituality as it attempts to
promote more inter-faith dialogue with IPs who are still
connected to their indigenous tradition or inculturation to
those who have lost much of their indigenous roots.