Northern Samar
Encyclopedia
Northern Samar is a province
of the Philippines
located in the Eastern Visayas
region
. Its capital is Catarman
and is located at the northern portion of the island of Samar. Bordering the province to the south are the provinces of Samar and Eastern Samar
. To the northwest, across the San Bernardino Strait
is Sorsogon
; to the east is the Philippine Sea
and to the west is Samar Sea
.
, a variation of Waray-Waray
. Cebuano
is spoken in the island municipalities of San Antonio
and San Vicente
. A third language Inabaknon is spoken in the island of Capul
.
Norte Samarnon
usually is further subclassified into Balicuatro, Central and Pacific speakers.
You can find famous old churches, beautiful falls, rivers, caves, virgin forests, beaches, and other secret places.
Three of these “secret” places are the island Municipalities of Biri, Capul and Dalupirit (San Antonio), all off the coast of Northern Samar.
Remote and desolate, and definitely off the normal tourist track, forgotten Northern Samar evokes powerful images.
Among the last frontiers in the country, its rugged coastline of limestone cliffs along the Pacific Ocean is a historical landmark. During the Spanish colonial era, Samar island was the first Philippine landfall seen by the Manila galleon
s as they approached the end of their long voyage from Acapulco.
Entering the waters of the Philippine archipelago, the galleons called at the fortified island of Capul off Samar, offered thanks for a safe crossing at the Jesuit church, and then negotiated the rough waters of narrow San Bernardino Strait toward Manila, their final destination.
Capul also became the last stop on Philippine soil of the departing galleons before the long, often treacherous trans-Pacific sail to Acapulco in Mexico.
, on the east by the Pacific Ocean
, on the west by the Samar Sea
, on the southwest by Western Samar and on the southeast by Eastern Samar
. Its total land area is 3,498 km².
The province is composed largely of low and extremely rugged hills and small lowland areas. It also has small and discontinuous areas along the coasts and its rivers are usually accompanied by alluvial plains and valleys. The province is endowed with relatively rich and fertile soil that most crops can grow on it.
first began. One of the trusted co conspirators of Sumuroy, David Dula y Goiti
, sustained the Filipino quest for motherland in a greater vigor. He was however wounded in a battle, was captured and later was executed in Palapag, Northern Samar by the Spaniards together with his seven key lieutenants. They were accused of masterminding several attacks on Spanish detachments. The place where David came from was named later as Candawid (Kan David) in Isla De Batag, Laoang, Northern Samar. Some of David's descendants changed their surnames to Dulay to avoid Spanish prosecutions. Some maintained their surname Dula, which up to these days is the source of minor internal frictions among some descendants of David Dula y Goiti in Laoang, Northern Samar accusing each side as "sigbinan", a native waray folklore which originated in Isla de Batag, which connotes "a family secretly keeping bear-like creatures", which are being fed with all kinds of meat, sometimes, including flesh of dead Spanish Guardia Civil. Several famous Northern Samarenos are tracing their ancestry among the seven co conspirators executed with David Dula y Goiti in Palapag , Northern Samar.
During the Philippine-American War
, the Siege of Catubig
was fought in the town of Catubig.
Provinces of the Philippines
The Provinces of the Philippines are the primary political and administrative divisions of the Philippines. There are 80 provinces at present, further subdivided into component cities and municipalities. The National Capital Region, as well as independent cities, are autonomous from any provincial...
of the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
located in the Eastern Visayas
Eastern Visayas
Eastern Visayas is one of the two regions of the Philippines having no land border with another region, MIMAROPA being the other, and is designated as Region VIII...
region
Regions of the Philippines
In the Philippines, regions are administrative divisions that serve primarily to organize the provinces of the country for administrative convenience. Currently, the archipelagic republic of the Philippines is divided into 17 regions...
. Its capital is Catarman
Catarman, Northern Samar
Catarman is a first class Municipality in the Philippines. It is the capital and largest town in terms of both land area and population in the province of Northern Samar. According to the 2007 census, it has a population of 81,067 making it the most populous municipality in Eastern Visayas...
and is located at the northern portion of the island of Samar. Bordering the province to the south are the provinces of Samar and Eastern Samar
Eastern Samar
Eastern Samar is a province of the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is the city of Borongan.-Location:...
. To the northwest, across the San Bernardino Strait
San Bernardino Strait
The San Bernardino Strait is a strait in the Philippines. It separates the Bicol Peninsula of Luzon island from the island of Samar in the south.-Filipinos and San Bernardino Strait:...
is Sorsogon
Sorsogon
Sorsogon is a province of the Philippines located in the Bicol Region; it is the southernmost province in Luzon and is subdivided into fourteen municipalities and one city. Its capital is Sorsogon City and borders the province of Albay to the north...
; to the east is the Philippine Sea
Philippine Sea
The Philippine Sea is a marginal sea east and north of the Philippines occupying an estimated surface area of 2 million mi² on the western part of the North Pacific Ocean...
and to the west is Samar Sea
Samar Sea
The Samar Sea is a small sea within the Philippine archipelago, between the Eastern Visayas and Luzon.It is bordered by the islands of Samar to the east, Leyte to the south, Masbate to the west, and Luzon to the north...
.
People and culture
Most people speak Norte SamarnonWaray-Waray language
Wáray-Wáray or Samarnon is a language spoken in the provinces of Samar, Northern Samar, Eastern Samar, and in some parts of the Leyte and Biliran in the Philippines...
, a variation of Waray-Waray
Waray-Waray language
Wáray-Wáray or Samarnon is a language spoken in the provinces of Samar, Northern Samar, Eastern Samar, and in some parts of the Leyte and Biliran in the Philippines...
. Cebuano
Cebuano language
Cebuano, referred to by most of its speakers as Bisaya , is an Austronesian language spoken in the Philippines by about 20 million people mostly in the Central Visayas. It is the most widely spoken of the languages within the so-named Bisayan subgroup and is closely related to other Filipino...
is spoken in the island municipalities of San Antonio
San Antonio, Northern Samar
San Antonio is a 5th class municipality in the province of Northern Samar, Philippines. According to the 2007 census, it has a population of 8,151 people.-History:San Antonio was established in 1904...
and San Vicente
San Vicente, Northern Samar
San Vicente is a 6th class municipality in the province of Northern Samar, Philippines. It is an island-municipality composed of seven islands - Sila, Tarnate, Sangputan, Panganoron, Maragat, Mahaba and Destacado where the town proper is located...
. A third language Inabaknon is spoken in the island of Capul
Capul, Northern Samar
Capul is a 5th class island municipality in the province of Northern Samar, Philippines. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 10,619 people in 2,071 households...
.
Norte Samarnon
Waray-Waray language
Wáray-Wáray or Samarnon is a language spoken in the provinces of Samar, Northern Samar, Eastern Samar, and in some parts of the Leyte and Biliran in the Philippines...
usually is further subclassified into Balicuatro, Central and Pacific speakers.
Tourism
Northern Samar has a lot of tourism potentials that are still undiscovered and unknown by many tourists.You can find famous old churches, beautiful falls, rivers, caves, virgin forests, beaches, and other secret places.
Three of these “secret” places are the island Municipalities of Biri, Capul and Dalupirit (San Antonio), all off the coast of Northern Samar.
Remote and desolate, and definitely off the normal tourist track, forgotten Northern Samar evokes powerful images.
Among the last frontiers in the country, its rugged coastline of limestone cliffs along the Pacific Ocean is a historical landmark. During the Spanish colonial era, Samar island was the first Philippine landfall seen by the Manila galleon
Manila Galleon
The Manila galleons or Manila-Acapulco galleons were Spanish trading ships that sailed once or twice per year across the Pacific Ocean between Manila in the Philippines, and Acapulco, New Spain . The name changed reflecting the city that the ship was sailing from...
s as they approached the end of their long voyage from Acapulco.
Entering the waters of the Philippine archipelago, the galleons called at the fortified island of Capul off Samar, offered thanks for a safe crossing at the Jesuit church, and then negotiated the rough waters of narrow San Bernardino Strait toward Manila, their final destination.
Capul also became the last stop on Philippine soil of the departing galleons before the long, often treacherous trans-Pacific sail to Acapulco in Mexico.
Political
Northern Samar is subdivided into two (2) congressional districts, 24 towns or municipalities, and 569 barangays.Municipalities
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Physical
Northern Samar is bounded on the north by the San Bernardino StraitSan Bernardino Strait
The San Bernardino Strait is a strait in the Philippines. It separates the Bicol Peninsula of Luzon island from the island of Samar in the south.-Filipinos and San Bernardino Strait:...
, on the east by the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
, on the west by the Samar Sea
Samar Sea
The Samar Sea is a small sea within the Philippine archipelago, between the Eastern Visayas and Luzon.It is bordered by the islands of Samar to the east, Leyte to the south, Masbate to the west, and Luzon to the north...
, on the southwest by Western Samar and on the southeast by Eastern Samar
Eastern Samar
Eastern Samar is a province of the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is the city of Borongan.-Location:...
. Its total land area is 3,498 km².
The province is composed largely of low and extremely rugged hills and small lowland areas. It also has small and discontinuous areas along the coasts and its rivers are usually accompanied by alluvial plains and valleys. The province is endowed with relatively rich and fertile soil that most crops can grow on it.
History
Northern Samar is where the Sumuroy Rebellion of 1649-1650 led by the Waray hero Juan Ponce SumuroyJuan Ponce Sumuroy
Agustin Sumuroy was a Waray leader of the Sumoroy Rebellion, a rebellion of native Filipinos against colonial Spanish forces that occurred in eastern Visayas in 1649-1650....
first began. One of the trusted co conspirators of Sumuroy, David Dula y Goiti
Rajah Lakandula
Lakan Banaw Dula or Gat Banaw Dula , often referred to simply by his title Lakan Dula, and later baptised Lakan Carlos Dula, was the Lakan of the pre-colonial Philippine Kingdom of Tondo when the Spaniards first conquered the lands of the Pasig River delta in the 1570s...
, sustained the Filipino quest for motherland in a greater vigor. He was however wounded in a battle, was captured and later was executed in Palapag, Northern Samar by the Spaniards together with his seven key lieutenants. They were accused of masterminding several attacks on Spanish detachments. The place where David came from was named later as Candawid (Kan David) in Isla De Batag, Laoang, Northern Samar. Some of David's descendants changed their surnames to Dulay to avoid Spanish prosecutions. Some maintained their surname Dula, which up to these days is the source of minor internal frictions among some descendants of David Dula y Goiti in Laoang, Northern Samar accusing each side as "sigbinan", a native waray folklore which originated in Isla de Batag, which connotes "a family secretly keeping bear-like creatures", which are being fed with all kinds of meat, sometimes, including flesh of dead Spanish Guardia Civil. Several famous Northern Samarenos are tracing their ancestry among the seven co conspirators executed with David Dula y Goiti in Palapag , Northern Samar.
During the Philippine-American War
Philippine-American War
The Philippine–American War, also known as the Philippine War of Independence or the Philippine Insurrection , was an armed conflict between a group of Filipino revolutionaries and the United States which arose from the struggle of the First Philippine Republic to gain independence following...
, the Siege of Catubig
Siege of Catubig
The Siege of Catubig was a long and bloody engagement fought during the Philippine-American War, in which Filipino guerrillas launched a surprise attack against a detachment of U.S. infantry, and then forced them to abandon the town after a four-day siege. It began on April 15, 1900, and lasted...
was fought in the town of Catubig.