Mindanao

Aptly called the “Land of Promise” by early Christian settlers who sailed to this typhoon-free place to till its fertile valleys and cut timber in its green mountains, Mindanao, especially its eastern half, had a thriving gold industry hundred of years before the Spanish colonizers set foot on the islands in the 16th century. Fine gold jewellery, which where accidentally dug up during an earthmoving operation in Agusan more than 20 years ago, showed intricate jewellery designs that were comparable, if not better, than the 21st century gold adornments sold in plush jewellery shops along Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue. The Mindanao adage “just throw a seed on the ground and it would grow”is true. That’s why the world’s biggest pineapple plantation is in Bukidnon, while Cavendish bananas thrive in vast tracts of land in Misamis Oriental and Davao “as far as the eye could see”. Mindanao’s western half is mostly populated by five Muslim tribes, whose Islamic faith reached its south westernmost shores in the 15th century, while the eastern half is inhabited mostly by non-Muslim hill tribes. Now, Christian settlers from all over the archipelago, who brought progress and education to the island, dominate the non-Muslim provinces.