Siquijor
This article is about the province. For the municipality, see Siquijor, Siquijor.Siquijor is an island
province of the
Philippines located in the
Central Visayas region. Its capital is the
municipality also named
Siquijor. To the northwest of Siquijor are
Cebu and
Negros, to the northeast is
Bohol and to the south, across the
Bohol Sea is
Mindanao.
Siquijor is the third smallest province in the country both in terms of population and land area, after
Camiguin and
Batanes. For a time it was sub-province of
Negros Oriental. Called
Isla del Fuego of the "Island of Fire" by the Spanish before, Siquijor is considered by many Filipinos to be a mystical island, full of witches and other supernatural phenomena.
Population. According to the 2000
census, there are a total of 81,598
Siquijodnons, as the residents of Siquijor call themselves. This makes Siquijor the 3rd smallest province in terms of population. The same census also states that Siquijor has 17,351 households with an average household size of 4.70 persons. The annual growth rate is 2.19%, lower than the national growth rate of 2.36%.
Languages. The main language spoken in Siquijor is
Cebuano.
English as well as
Tagalog is also spoken by many of the residents.
Education. Literacy rate, one of the highest in the country, is at 92.5%.
Political
Siquijor is subdivided into 6
municipalities.
Siquijor is the capital and most important
port.
Municipalities
Physical
Terrain. Siquijor is an island province in the
Visayas. It lies southeast from
Cebu and
Negros across
Cebu Strait (in some references called Bohol Strait) and southwest from
Bohol. Bohol is also located north of
Mindanao separated by the
Bohol Sea.
With a land area of 343.5 km² and a coastline 102 km long, Siquijor is the 3rd smallest province of the Philippines. The highest peak at the center of the island is
Mount Bandilaan.
Climate. The climate in Siquijor like most of the rest of the country is very
tropical. It is dry from January to May and wet the rest of the year. Annual
rainfall is 1000 to 1300 millimeters with November having the heaviest rainfall and April having the least. Siquijor has an average temperature of 28 °C and a
humidity of 78%.
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Ph_map_siquijor.png |
The
Spaniards called Siquijor
Isla del Fuego or "Island of Fire," because the island gave off an eerie glow. This glow came from the great swarms of fireflies that harbored in the numerous molave trees on the island.
The island was first sighted by the Spaniards in
1565 during
Miguel López de Legaspi's expedition. Since then, the island came under Spanish rule and the present municipalities, with the exception of
Enrique Villanueva were established as
Catholic parishes. The first parish,
Siquijor, was established in
1783 under the administration of secular clergymen. In the years that followed until
1877, the parishes of
Larena (Cano-an),
Lazi (Tigbawan),
San Juan (Makalipay), and
Maria (Cangmeniac) were founded by priests of the
Augustinian Recollects.
From
1854 to
1892, the island was administered by Spain under the politico-military province of
Bohol. In
1892, it became a part of
Negros Oriental, and then its sub-province in
1901.
On
September 17,
1971, Siquijor became an independent province by virtue of
Republic Act No. 6396. The capital which was formerly Larena, was transferred to the municipality of Siquijor in
1972 with Proclamation No. 1075.
*MySiquijor.com (tourist site)
http://www.mysiquijor.com
*
The shamanistic healing & sorcery culture of Siquijor*
Siquijor.com
