Travels Here and There

Magellan arrived in the Philippines in 1521 at the shores of Mazaua, a small island just across the island of Butuan. It is also in this same place that the first mass in the Philippines was held. Though there were not any church pews chairs then, it was attended by Mazaua inhabitants, together with visitors from Butuan who came with the entourage of Rajah Colambu, king of Butuan, the brother of Rajah Siaiu, King of Mazaua. To gain favor, Magellan befriended the two, Rajah Colambu and Rajah Siaiu; and all three of them did the first recorded blood compact between Spaniards and Filipinos.

Currently, Masao is one of the coastal barangays of Butuan City. It extends some two kilometers to the sea adjoining the Bohol Sea. The other coastal barangay is Lumbocan, and together they make what is known as Butuan Bay, Butuan’s fishing ground. And in that very shore now stands a shrine, as seen on photo above.