Tanauan is one of the oldest towns in the Province of Leyte, Philippines dating back to the year 1710. It is a second class municipality composed of fifty-four (54) barangays. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 50,119 people. The town has been baptized the title of “Cradle of the Intellectuals” or "Bungto Han Kamag-araman" since the Spanish colonial period. Tanauan is approximately eighteen (18) kilometers south of Tacloban City which is the Capital of the Eastern Visayas Region. It is bounded on the north by the Municipality of Palo, on the south by the Municipality of Tolosa, on the west by the Municipalities of Dagami and Tabon-Tabon, and on the east by San Pedro Bay.
Pre-Spanish to Spanish Colonial Period
The town got its name from a towering Molave tree which served as a look-out tower. “Tan-awan” or "Taran-awan" means to look-out in the Waray-Waray language. A person who serves as a look-out would watch for the feared Moro Pirates who would every now and then plunder and loot the settlements along the coast.
The first known settlers of Tanauan were the family of Calanao with his wife and daughter. In 1661, Juanillo Siengco’s family joined the Calanao family in the settlement along the bank of Bukid River at the foot of Adil Hill. By the time their settlements were more developed, the plundering of the Moros along the coast became intensified, and for their refuge, they built a stone-walled enclosure called "cuta” in the area of Buaya. In the course of time, Juanillo’s son Josef, married Calanao’s daughter, Sangod, and from the families of Juanillo Siengco and Calanao a tribe was formed which gave Tanauan its first tribal leaders.
In 1710, the first town officials were appointed by the Spanish authorities during the Spanish reign in the Philippines. From 1710 up to the end of the Spanish Colonial period in 1900 and the start of American occupation, forty-seven (47) persons became chief executives of the...
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