Why It's Called That
Caraga: the name that vanished and came back
They say Caraga comes from calag, spirit. Pigafetta wrote Calagan in 1521. The province was split in 1849, the name returned as a region in 1995, and the town called Caraga sits in Davao Oriental.
0:59 · Caraga · October 9, 2026
The story
They say the name Caraga comes from calag: soul, or spirit. In 1521, Magellan's chronicler wrote down a ruler's island as Butuan and Calagan. Mariners after him spelled it Cadigar, Caragna, and finally Caraga.
Old accounts, the story goes, called it the region of spirited men. Under Spain, Caraga was a province on the Pacific coast, ruled from Tandag. Then, in 1849, it was split in two: Surigao in the north, and in the south, the land that became Davao.
The name Caraga vanished from the map of provinces. In 1995, a law brought it back for a new region, with its center at Butuan. And here's the twist. The town still called Caraga is not in the Caraga Region.
It's in Davao Oriental, at the country's easternmost point. Surigaonon, Agusanon, Butuanon: do you call yourself Caraganon? Tell us in the comments.
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