Dinas, officially the Municipality of Dinas (;
Subanen: ''Benwa Dinas''; ,
Jawi: ايڠد نو دينس;
Chavacano
Chavacano or Chabacano () is a group of Spanish-based creole language varieties spoken in the Philippines. The variety spoken in Zamboanga City, located in the southern Philippine island group of Mindanao, has the highest concentration of spea ...
: ''Municipalidad de Dinas''; ), is a
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 ...
of
Zamboanga del Sur
Zamboanga del Sur ( Cebuano: ''Habagatang Zamboanga;'' Subanen: ''S'helatan Sembwangan/Sembwangan dapit Shelatan''; , Jawi: سلاتن سامبواڠن; ), officially the Province of Zamboanga del Sur, is a province in the Philippines located i ...
,
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 36,291 people.
History
Several theories have been woven and advanced to explain the origin of the now famous municipality of Dinas, which had been the cradle of Islamic Culture and civilization and the bulwark of anti-Hispanic colonization of the entire Baganian Peninsula in Zamboanga del Sur.
According to ancient history which has been accepted and educated by the scions of the great grand Sultan Kudarat, a descendants of the renowned Shariff Kabungsuan of Maguindanao was that the name Dinas was taken from a Maguindanaon term Di Nas where "Di" means "Not" and "Nas" means "Bad Luck or Unlucky".
Hence, the early settlers who migrated from the province of Cotabato found their new haven as not unlucky or "Di Nas" because the mouths of all rivers emptying into the coastlines are facing East which according to their belief is a sign of good luck.
The most popular legend handed down to this generation is that Dinas got its name by coincidence as a result of communication gap between a native and foreigner.
When the Spaniards came to our shores, there was already a little settlement in Dinas organized by the followers of Shariff Kabungsuan. Within the community, there was only one sari-sari store wherein household necessities being supplied by the Chinese traders, who frequently visited the place from Zamboanga City.
One day, a group of Spaniards happened to visit the place as part of their Christianization campaign. They roamed around until they reached the only store within the settlement. They asked what the name of the place was. The store owner did not understand a single word from the Spaniards. He thought that the Spaniards were asking what he was selling because they were pointing at the piles of sardines inside the shelves. Immediately, the store owner replied, "Sardinas", the native word of sardines. The foreigner nodded convincingly, "Ah, Dinas" and the Spaniards thought that the name of the place is Dinas. This is how Dinas got its name.
Geography
Barangays
Dinas is politically subdivided into 30
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 while 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 ...
.
* Bacawan
* Benuatan
* Beray
* Don Jose
* Dongos
* East Migpulao
* Guinicolalay
* Ignacio Garrata (New Mirapao)
* Kinakap
* Legarda 1
* Legarda 2
* Legarda 3
* Lower Dimaya
* Locuban
* Ludiong
* Nangka
* Nian
* Old Mirapao
* Pisa-an
*
Poblacion
''Poblacion'' (from Spanish '' población'', meaning "population"), sometimes abbreviated as Pob., is a term used in the Philippines to refer to the administrative center, downtown, old town, or commercial area of a city or municipality. It ...
* Proper Dimaya
* Sagacad
* Sambulawan
* San Isidro
* Songayan
* Sumpotan
* Tarakan
* Upper Dimaya
* Upper Sibul
* West Migpulao
Climate
Demographics
Economy
References
External links
Dinas Profile at PhilAtlas.com*
Philippine Standard Geographic Codebr>
Philippine Census Information
{{Authority control
Municipalities of Zamboanga del Sur