Tandag

Tandag, officially the City of Tandag (Tandaganon/Surigaonon: Siyudad nan Tandag; Cebuano: Dakbayan sa Tandag; Lungsod ng Tandag), is a 5th class component city and capital of the province of Surigao del Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 62,669 people. Farming and fishing are the main economic activity for most of the people in Tandag. The chief farm products are rice, corn, and coconut. Livestock- and poultry-raising are also important sources of income. Tandag has a national secondary airport and a seaport. Tandag has a land area of 291.73 square kilometers or 112.64 square miles. This constitutes 5.91% of the land area of Surigao del Sur. The population density of the city is at 193 inhabitants per square kilometer or 500 inhabitants per square mile. Many versions have been given regarding the name of Tandag. One version states that Father Calan, Father Encarnacion, and another priest were on their way to visit chieftain Suba to baptize his people. When one of the missionaries asked a native rowing their boat what name of the place was with fingers pointing downward, the native thought the priest meant the school of fish. He answered "tamda", meaning 'look down'. This name later became Tandag. Father Encarnacion, a member of the group, was later killed by the natives. Another version states that when Spanish-Peruvian historian and explorer Inca Garcilaso de la Vega landed in Tandag to subdue the ferocious Caragas (as the rebellious natives were called then), he did not know the name of the place so he inquired from a native who was gathering the leaves of an herb locally known as tanglad. The native, who did not understand Spanish, answered "tangad". Later the name was changed to Tandag. One more account tells of a group of Spanish soldiers and missionaries who lost their way around the settlement. When they asked for correct directions, the natives, who could not understand Spanish, merely laughed at them, continually saying the word "tarantados", meaning 'lost'.