Capul, officially the Municipality of Capul (; ), is an island

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Northern Samar Northern Samar (; ), officially the Province of Northern Samar, is a province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Catarman, the most populous town in the province and is located at the northern portion of ...

, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 12,323 people. The natives of Capul are known as the Abaknon or the Capuleño people. It is the only town in the province of

with a distinct language, Inabaknon (also known as Capuleño, Abaknon Sama, or Capul Sinama), instead of Waray, the native language spoken by the locals of Samar island. Inabaknon is unique in it being only distantly related to the languages spoken in the entire Visayas and Luzon regions. Instead, it is classified by linguists as a Sama-Bajaw language. A lighthouse was built on the island which served as a guidepost for the Acapulco-Manila galleon trade vessels passing through the treacherous waters of

San Bernardino Strait The San Bernardino Strait () is a strait in the Philippines, connecting the Samar Sea with the Philippine Sea. It separates the Bicol Peninsula of Luzon from Samar (island), Samar of Visayas. History During an ill-fated expedition, only one ship ...

. It also served as the capital of the former province of Samar from 1848 to 1852.

Etymology

According to folklore, the name Capul is said to be derived from the word

Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , ; ), is a city and Port of Acapulco, major seaport in the Political divisions of Mexico, state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Located on a deep, semicirc ...

, an old trading post in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

History

According to oral folk history, the native Abaknon people of the island of Capul were originally from the island of Balabac, off the southern coast of

Palawan Palawan (, ), officially the Province of Palawan (; ), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in terms of total area of . The capital and largest c ...

. They were originally a

Sama-Bajau The Sama-Bajau include several Austronesian ethnic groups of Maritime Southeast Asia. The name collectively refers to related people who usually call themselves the Sama or Samah (formally A'a Sama, "Sama people"); or are known by the exonym ...

group. In the 1300s, their island was annexed by the

Sultanate of Sulu The Sultanate of Sulu (; ; ) is a Sunni Muslim subnational monarchy in the Philippines, Republic of the Philippines that includes the Sulu Archipelago, coastal areas of Zamboanga City and certain portions of Palawan in today's Philippines. H ...

. The people who refused to submit to the Sultanate and convert to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

fled Balabac under the leadership of a ''

datu ''Datu'' is a title which denotes the rulers (variously described in historical accounts as chiefs, sovereign princes, and monarchs) of numerous Indigenous peoples throughout the Philippine archipelago. The title is still used today, though no ...

'' named Abak. They sailed northwards until reaching the island of Capul. Here, they established a settlement which they called Abak. By 1610, Spanish

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

arrived in the island and construction of the first church began around this period. The Inabaknon language of the Abaknon people are still classified by linguists as a Sama-Bajaw language, though the Abaknon people have converted to Christianity and have become culturally Visayan due to proximity with Visayan groups. On June 18, 1966, barrios Mahaba, Maragat, Mongolbongol, Panganoron, Sila, Ternate, and Sang-putan were excised from Capul to form the new municipality of San Vicente.

Geography

The municipality is contiguous with Capul Island, located at the southern entrance to the

Barangays

Capul is politically subdivided into 12

barangay The barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as ''barrio'', is the smallest Administrative divisions of the Philippines, administrative division in the Philippines. Named after the Precolonial barangay, precolonial po ...

s. Each barangay consists of

purok A ''purok'' () is an informal division within a barangay in the Philippines. While not officially considered a local government unit (LGU), a ''purok'' often serves as a unit for delivering services and administration within a barangay. ''Pur ...

s and some have

sitios A ''sitio'' (Spanish language, Spanish for "site") in the Philippines is a territorial enclave that forms part of a barangay. Typically rural, a ''sitios location is usually far from the center of the barangay itself and could be its own bar ...

. *Aguin *Jubang *Landusan *Oson *Poblacion Barangay 1 *Poblacion Barangay 2 *Poblacion Barangay 3 *Poblacion Barangay 4 *Poblacion Barangay 5 *Sagaosawan *San Luis *Sawang

Climate

Demographics

Economy

Language

Capul has a different language from the rest of Northern Samar and the rest of Eastern Visayas. The native language in the island-municipality is Inabaknon. Inabaknon has been classified by linguists as a Sama-Bajaw language closely related to those found in Mindanao, rather than a Visayan language. Nonetheless, the Capul people can speak and understand the Waray language as it is spoken by the majority of the people in Northern Samar.

Tourism

Capul Church and Fortress :The Capul Church, built during the Spanish colonial period, is dedicated to St. Ignatius of Loyola and is surrounded by a square

fort A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...

with bulwarks of dissimilar designs. The church structure was actually the third that was built on the site. The first two structures, made of hard wood and nipa roofs, were razed when Moro pirates plundered the island in 1615 and 1768. In 1781, Fr. Mariano Valero, a Spanish architect-priest led the restoration of the church and built the stonewall fortress similar to that in

Intramuros Intramuros () is the historic walled area within the city of Manila, the capital of the Philippines. It is administered by the Intramuros Administration with the help of the city government of Manila. Intramuros comprises a centuries-old hist ...

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

that would fortify it against Moro attacks. Capul Watchtower :Located on a hill near the Capul fort overlooking the town harbor, a stone watchtower was erected to serve as a sentry or warning system and a refuge for indigents during Moro raids. Bitō Cave :Bitō Cave, also known as Beto Cave, is a popular natural attraction located in Sawang. Timon-timon Rock :Timon-timon is a rudder-shaped rock formation located near the southern point of the island. Capul Island Lighthouse

References

External links

* Philippine Standard Geographic Code
Philippine Census Information

Local Governance Performance Management System
{{Authority control Municipalities of Northern Samar Islands of Northern Samar Island municipalities in the Philippines