Pidjanga

(Glossogobius giuris) is a freshwater fish native to Mainit Lake. It is called “biya” in Tagalog and “white goby or tank goby” in English. The term “pidjanga” is also sometimes fondly used to refer to the Mainitnons, the people of the Municipality of Mainit, a town in Southern Philippines. This blog hopes to capture potentials of Migrants Pidjangas for the Development of our Town by attempting to document development issues, folk stories, and current concerns, about the Pidjanga — both the fish and the people.

Lake Mainit was Lake Sapongan

CONFIRMED... Lac de Sampongan or Lake Sapongan is the old name of Lake Mainit

I wrote two years ago (here) that I suspected that the French Geographer of Mindanao who included 'Lac de Sampongan' in his 1752 map must be referring to the Lake of Habongan or the present-day Lake Mainit where Jabonga shares part of the lake.

Thanks to Project Gutenberg Philippines, I was able to read relevant historical data, and got the following from the digitized version of the History and Geography of Mindanao published in 1894 under the section Lagunas (Lakes).

Sapongan, en el extremo NE. de la isla, provincia de Surigao, está á bastante altura sobre el nivel del mar, profunda y abundante en pesca, desemboca por el río Tubay al E. de la ensenada de Butuan, tiene 8 millas de N. á S. y 4 de E. á O.
Roughly, it says, Sapongan is in the northeast of Mindanao, in the province of Surigao, abundant with fish, and flows into the Tubay River through the inlet of Butuan.

This reminds me two important tasks for myself, and a call to you, readers, to help...
1. Continue research on the history of Mainit (I have started the timeline and some related posts) through available online resources such as the Project Gutenberg, Filipiniana.net, and UMich Filipiniana ; and
2. Continue project on digitizing archives in Mainit (e.g. Parish Baptismal and Marriage records). I've researched on available service providers and equipments on digitization, and I 've found interesting ones (here and here). My office and some friends have also the same needs (to free their steel cabinets from their old files), so I am contemplating of partnering with existing service providers or opening a business on this e.g. Pidjanga E-booking, Inc (hehehe).

What do you think?
Zimm/Peter

Post: Zimmbodilion (www.pidjanga.blogspot.com)
Jan 11, 2008

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Maradjao karadjao, Pilipinas!

Welcome to the online home of the Pidjangas from the Municipality of Mainit, Surigao del Norte, PHILIPPINES . Pidjanga, Pedianga, Pijanga, Pedjanga... amo ra ton... gikan sa ato danao! For comments and suggestion contact me at pidjanga@gmail.com.

CBCP News: Mining threatens 4th largest freshwater lake in PH

SEVEN are in the town of Mainit, Surigao del Norte... of the 15 exploration permits (EP) that the Regional Office 13 (CARAGA) of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) of the Environment department approved as of June 30, 2010.

Read more at www.cbcpnews.com and Surigao Today.

If you want to support the protection of Lake Mainit, contact me at pidjangaATgmailDOTcom or 0917-800-4557. Zimm/Peter/Pidjanga

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