Qualla: Cuyo, Palawan https://qualla.com/cuyo-palawan en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:37 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/w/9/y/j/cuyo-palawan-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Cuyo, Palawan https://qualla.com/cuyo-palawan Cuyo, Palawan: Introduction https://qualla.com/cuyo-palawan/ Photo credit LuzViMindaLife, CC BY-SA 4.0. The cannons at Fort Cuyo face the sea, but they have not fired in anger for centuries. Today they boom only during town celebrations, a festive echo of a time when Moro raiders could appear on any horizon and the entire population would shelter behind walls of stone and mortar ten meters high. Cuyo is the oldest town in Palawan, a municipality scattered across the western Sulu Sea on islands that have been trading crossroads, colonial outposts, and contested ground for longer than anyone can document precisely. The town and its cultural environs are being considered for nomination to the UNESCO World Heritage tentative list.

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Image: LuzViMindaLife | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/9/y/j/cuyo-palawan-wp/w9yj-cuyo-palawan-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Cuyo, Palawan: Traders, Chiefs, and a Goddess in the Forest https://qualla.com/cuyo-palawan/ Photo credit Uploadalt, CC BY-SA 3.0. Long before the Spanish arrived, Oriental traders discovered the Cuyo archipelago and established barter networks with the islanders. Malay chief Matuod arrived in large boats called sakayan and formed permanent settlements. The Islamic chieftain Datu Magbanua consolidated power ...

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]]> Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/9/y/j/cuyo-palawan-wp/w9yj-cuyo-palawan-traders-chiefs-and-a-goddess-in-the-forest.mp3 0:06 2 full Cuyo, Palawan: Faith, Force, and a Forbidden Feast https://qualla.com/cuyo-palawan/ Photo credit Uploadalt, CC BY-SA 3.0. In 1622, the Conde de San Agustin and five Spanish missionaries colonized the island. They quickly baptized some 500 inhabitants, but many Cuyunon continued honoring their indigenous deities. Diwata ang Kagueban, the goddess of the forest, was celebrated with feasts atop Mount Ca...

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]]> Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/9/y/j/cuyo-palawan-wp/w9yj-cuyo-palawan-faith-force-and-a-forbidden-feast.mp3 0:06 3 full Cuyo, Palawan: Raiders, Priests, and a Fort That Endured https://qualla.com/cuyo-palawan/ Photo credit Uploadalt, CC BY-SA 3.0. In 1636, a fleet under Muslim Datu Tagul raided Cuyo, burned the town, attacked the church, and carried off prisoners including a priest, Fr. Francisco de Jesus Maria. The raiders continued to Agutaya and Culion, where they abducted another priest mid-Mass. A Spanish flotilla of ...

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]]> Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/9/y/j/cuyo-palawan-wp/w9yj-cuyo-palawan-raiders-priests-and-a-fort-that-endured.mp3 0:06 4 full Cuyo, Palawan: An Archipelago Preserved https://qualla.com/cuyo-palawan/ Photo credit United Kingdom Hydrographic Office, Public domain. Cuyo Island itself is modest in size -- 13 kilometers long, 7.5 kilometers wide, covering 57 square kilometers -- but the municipality encompasses a constellation of smaller islands: Bisucay, Caponayan, Manamoc, Pamalican, and others scattered across the Sulu Sea. From the sea, t...

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Image: United Kingdom Hydrographic Office | Public domain

]]> Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/9/y/j/cuyo-palawan-wp/w9yj-cuyo-palawan-an-archipelago-preserved.mp3 0:06 5 full