Butuan ~ Kingdom by The River

In order to have a good grasp of what is Butuan City of Today is to have knowledge of its storied golden past.

More than five hundred years ago, the old Butuan poblacion site used to be located at the mouth of the Agusan River delta. It was a thriving settlement that has both comanding control of trade along the upstream communities of the river and the neighboring settlements along Butuan Bay. However, its deltaic location made it prone to inundation by the converging tides of the bay and the mighty river. To escape the perennial deluge, a second Butuan settlement was then built furher upstream to what is now known as Banza. However, the old town did not escape nature as waters from the river perennially submerged the low lying parts of the old settlement.

More than a hundred years ago, the old Butuan settlement was finally built further higher upstream to what is now known as Agao. Here, the old town further grew and became the template to an expanding, growing and rapidly urbanizing city that is the Butuan of Today.

The monument marking the ruins of  the cathedral in Banza

The ancient remains of the Butuan cathedral now deeply entrenched within the roots of this old Balite Tree that now remains one of the living witnesses to the resilience of the kingdom that thrives by the mighty river.

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Explore Butuan History today ~ www.butuantoday.tumblr.com

photo owned by Joy Morano