Танхай қаласы: Филипиннің Негрос Ориентал провинциясының құрамындағы қала

Component city in Negros Oriental, Philippines

Tanjay, officially the City of Tanjay (; ), is a 4th class component city in the province of Negros Oriental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 82,642 people. It became a city by virtue of Republic Act 9026 otherwise known as "An act converting the Municipality of Tanjay, province of Negros Oriental into a component city to be known as the City of Tanjay". The Act was approved and signed by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on March 5, 2001. This act, which is a consolidation of House Bill No. 8880 and Senate Bill No. 2256, was finally passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate on February 8, 2001. Tanjay was finally proclaimed a component city on April 1, 2001, after a plebiscite was conducted for the purpose. The city is part of the 2nd Congressional District of the Negros Oriental and is located north of Dumaguete. It is bounded on the north by Bais, on the south by the Municipality of Amlan, on the east by the Tañon Strait and west by the Municipality of Pamplona. The municipality is home to two indigenous languages, Minagahat and the Cebuano as listed by the Komisyon ng Wikang Filipino. The city is known as the City of Professionals.

Here, in much earlier times, lived men whose relics and artefacts, dating back to 200–500 AD and the 12th century Song dynasty have turned up in recent excavations were said to have ventured perhaps in the area we now know as Támpi in Amlan.

In 1563, a surprise raid by undercover Ternatean forces aided by Portuguese upon the Dauis Mansasa lungsod in southwest Bohol resulted in destruction of much of the settlement, from mass looting to enslavement. Consequently, a majority of the local Bol anon survivors dispersed in an exodus to nearby islands, notably eastern Negros, Siquijor, and the northern coast of the Zamboanga peninsula where they founded Dapitan. The majority, however, settled in the lowlands of southeastern Negros and founded Tanay, the old pronunciation of present day Tanjay.

Two years later in 1565, Esteban Rodríguez of the Legazpi expedition, caught by storm on his way back to Cebu from Bohol, sought refuge in the eastern shore of the island and met local Negritos called ata, agta, or ati. The first map of the Negros Island, dated 1572 and charted by Diego López de Povedano identified it as Buglas, the native reference derived from the tall cane like grass which ranged thick and persistent over the island (now known as cógon). His report upon returning to Cebu prompted Fray Andrés de Urdaneta to visit the island, landing in what is now Escalante in Negros Occidental. In the same year, Capitán Mateo de Cádiz led a small expedition which reached an area near present day Tanjay. Capitán Miguel de Loarca followed with a larger expedition and force and proceeded to lay claim to what the Spaniards called the Island of Negros. Both Povedano and Loarca pointed to the Tanay Dumaguete area as the most densely populated in the eastern half of the island. Tanay, considered the more important settlement, was made the administrative capital of Negros Island. It however, remained under the jurisdiction of the province of Cebu. It was the first archdeacon of Cebu, Fray Diego Ferreira, who sent Fray Gabriel Sánchez and other Augustinian priests to the new territory. Thus, on June 11, 1580, Tanjay was founded as the Missión de Santiago de los Ríos de Tanay, the center of religious supervision for Dumaguete, Marabago, Siaton and Manalongon. When it officially shifted from Tanay to Tanjay is not exactly known, but may have started as a typographical error on an official document sometime in the 18th century. From these few parishes along the coast, the priests administered the sacraments to the people in the hinterlands and served as mission to the wandering locals, converting them to Christianity. Evangelization began very slowly because of the great distance over hills from one hut to another. By 1587, the Augustinians had almost abandoned all missions in Negros due to lack of manpower. Evidence, however, points to a secular priest in charge of the Parish of Tanjay before 1602. It was in 1600 that these missions regained pastoral attention when the Jesuits were assigned in Negros. The first priest of Tanjay, Fray Diego Ferreira, was appointed in 1589. Tanjay parish, under the patronage of St. James the greater is the oldest in the Orient.

Catholicism was brought to this part of Oriental Negros by the Augustinians. The Definitorium dated June 11, 1580 mentions of the foundation of the Parish of Tanjay, with the communities of Dumaguete, Siaton, Marabago and Manalongon. Due to the lack of personnel on the part of the Augustinian Fathers, the spiritual care of this new foundation was entrusted to the care of the Diocesan Clergy of Cebu. This is why the reason Tanjay Parish became part of the Diocese of Cebu. Later in 1851, at the request of the Bishop of Cebu, the Augustinian Recollect Fathers took over the spiritual care of the Parish and up to the time the diocesan clergy again took over. Then when the Diocese of Jaro was erected in 1865, Tanjay as part of Negros became part of the Diocese (since the whole island was made part of the new Diocese). And then, when the Diocese of Bacolod was erected in 1933, again, Tanjay became part of this new Diocese (since Oriental Negros and Siquijor were made part of the new Diocese). And in 1955, Tanjay became part of the Diocese of Dumaguete. Up to the present, it is still part of the Diocese of Dumaguete. From the Parish of Tanjay, came later the following parishes: Dumaguete was separated in 1620; Amlan in 1848; Siaton in 1848; Bacong (Marabago) in 1849; San Jose (Ayuquitan) in 1895. And when Dumaguete became a Diocese, again two more parishes were taken from Tanjay: Pamplona in 1960, and Santa Cruz in 1969.

The Sinulog is purely Tanjay tradition. It is a religious devotional festive dance with a mock battle depicting the war between the Moros and the Christians in Granada, Spain in centuries past. It is based on the legend that St. James miraculously aided the Christians by riding on white horse from the heavens and slew hundreds of Moors. Thus, the Sinulog is a religious exercise glorifying the Christians and honoring the feast day of Señor Santiago who is the patron saint of Tanjay and also of Spain. The Sinulog was first performed in this town in 1814, under the auspices of the Catholic Church with Fray Fernando Félix de Zúñiga (1814–1816) as Parish Priest. It then became the highlight of every fiesta celebration during the incumbencies of succeeding parish priests from the brothers Fray Pedro Bracamonte (1816–1839; 1843–1847) and Fray Luciano Bracamonte (1839–1842) to Fr. Jorge Gargacilla (1885–1889). Fray Jorge Adán (1889–1898) dispensed with the Sinulog in 1897 for reasons known only to him, but then his successor Fray Baldomero Villarreal (1898–1929) revived it in 1904 until the end of his term in 1929. There was Sinulog performance for two fiestas during the term of Fray Gregorio Santiagudo as Parish Priest in 1930–1931. In 1932, through the initiative of group of laymen from Tabúc (now Barrio de San Isidro) and Iláud, the Sinulog was again a part of the Tanjay fiesta celebration through the years until the outbreak of the Second World War in the Pacific in 1941. The war ended in 1945 but the Sinulog came to be resumed only in 1947 and continued to be an annual fiesta spectacle until 1970 when most of the long time devotee participants were already too old to perform, or had already died. In the early 1970s, the Sinulog devotion was taken over by a group of elementary school children from Ilaud under Alfred Garcia, a schoolteacher and lone survivor of the old time Sinulog team. Until the 1987 fiesta, the Sinulog had been a children's affair. Although the children's Sinulog bore the spirit of the Tanjay fiesta celebration, it was evident that they lacked the right expressive moments and authenticity of the former groups which were composed by matured men. Because of its high historical and cultural value, the Sinulog de Tanjay was featured at the Folk Arts Theater in 1981. Later, in the year 1988, a significant milestone in Tanjay's Sinulog history was attained. In the spirit of love and concern – of cherishing what is really ours, and of keeping and preserving a beautiful Tanjay tradition – then Tanjay mayor Arturo S. Regalado introduced a Sinulog contest as the highlight of that year's fiesta celebration. His purpose was to revive the real Sinulog de Tanjay, and for the different participating groups to recapture the art and skill as well as the logical movements and sequence of the Sinulog in the past. It was the then mayor's aim to let the contesting groups portray the Sinulog dance and mock battle with the right grace and ability, the right logical sequence of movements, and the ability to elicit the air and spirit of festivity. Above all, he also wanted the contestants to re live the authenticity of the Sinulog that Tanjay used to witness in the past which our forefathers proudly termed as the "Sinulog de Tanjay", the original Sinulog. There was a short period during the tenure of the then mayor Baltazar T. Salma that the name Sinulog de Tanjay was changed to Saulog de Tanjay for reasons that they say it connoted the Sinulog de Cebu and thus had it changed to Saulog de Tanjay. After some time, the original name was preserved to reinstate the original Sinulog de Tanjay. Choreographed street dancing with a finale is incorporated with the mock battle to make for a more artistic and colorful Sinulog. Also present is a Sinulog Merry Making Contest in the evening of July 23. The Sinulog de Tanjay finale on July 24 is immediately followed by an endurance contest.

In 1942, Imperial Japanese Army arrived in Tanjay. During the Japanese occupation of Tanjay, and at the height of enforced collaboration to the community by the Japanese imperial forces under the threat of summary execution, the following were appointed mayors for brief intervals: Concejo Calumpang de Martinez, Perfecto Calumpang and José E. Romero who at the time had just returned from Manila while the Commonwealth government was in exile and after having just survived the sinking of SS Corregidor, which resulted in the death of former senator Hermenegildo Villanueva, his son Jesus Pablo Villanueva, the academic supervisor of Negros Oriental Juanito Calumpang and his daughter Carolina Calumpang, among many other Visayans. In 1945, Filipino soldiers of the 6th, 7th, 73rd and 75th Infantry Division of the Philippine Commonwealth Army and the 6th and 7th Constabulary Regiment of the Philippine Constabulary were helped by the recognized guerrillas to fight the Japanese imperial forces to liberate Tanjay.

In 1950, the barrio of Pamplona was made into a separate municipality.

Tanjay's land area is and is utilized for agricultural, residential, commercial, industrial, educational, forestral and other purposes. It is the only city in Negros Oriental with a very wide flat lowland, although mountainous and rolling hills are found in the hinterland barangays of Santo Niño and Pal ew. Rugged areas can also be found in barangays Bahi an and Santa Cruz Nuevo.

Tanjay is politically subdivided into 24 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

Tanjay has a moderate and pleasant climate. It is characterized by a relatively wet season from May to February and dry season from March to April. Rainfall occurs throughout the year with the heaviest volume during the months of July and August. The months of March and April are the hottest months and the coldest is December. January is the humid month while April is the least humid period. The months of November and December have the strongest wind velocities throughout the year.

The last capitán municipal of Tanjay at the end of the Spanish regime was Don José Muñoz. Prior to this, he was gobernadorcillo. Don Agapito Calumpang, who was a cabeza de barangay, was also a former gobernadorcillo of Tanjay. Upon the arrival of the Americans and the reorganization of local political structures, Don José Muñoz was appointed as presidente municipal while Don Agapito Calumpang was appointed as vice presidente municipal. Andrés Molas was appointed as town secretary, Don Lucas Rodríguez as town treasurer, Don Pelagio López as municipal chief constable, and Felix Calumpang Barot as justice of the peace. The following is a list of mayors and vice mayors of Tanjay from 1901 to the present. +No. NameTermTitleNameTermTitleAdministrationEra1José Muñoz y Teves1901 1905Presidente MunicipalAgapito Calumpang y Silva1901 1903Vice Presidente MunicipalWilliam Howard TaftInsular GovernmentLuis Muñoz y Calumpañg1904 1909Vice Presidente MunicipalLuke Edward Wright2Pelagio López1906 1909Presidente MunicipalHenry Clay IdeJames Francis Smith3Francisco Domingo Romero (Sr.)1909 1916Presidente MunicipalMateo Dael y Vea1909 1912Vice Presidente MunicipalWilliam Cameron ForbesGonzalo Calumpang y Silva1912 1916Vice Presidente MunicipalNewton W. GilbertFrancis Burton Harrison4José Benito Atilano Joaquín Villegas y Teves1916 1922Presidente MunicipalFelipe Calumpang y Mananquil1916 1922Vice Presidente MunicipalCharles YeaterLeonard Wood5Joaquín Villegas y Teves1922 1931Presidente MunicipalMarcos Regalado y López1922 1928Vice Presidente MunicipalEugene Allen GilmoreHenry L. StimsonSimón Reyes y Flordeliz1928 1934Vice Presidente Municipal6Crispiniano Limbaga y Villareal (Sr.)1931 1942Presidente Municipal / Municipal MayorEugene Allen GilmoreDwight F. DavisGeorge C. ButteTheodore Roosevelt Jr. Frank MurphyRicardo Teves y Regis (Sr.)1935 1937Municipal Vice MayorCommonwealth of the PhilippinesMiguel Díaz (de Prendes) y Público1937 1940Municipal Vice MayorPaul V. McNuttFrancis Bowes Sayre Sr. Graciano Banogon y Balaon (Sr.)1940 1951Municipal Vice Mayor Concejo Valencia Calumpang de Martinez1942Municipal Mayor (acting)Masaharu HommaJapanese occupation of the PhilippinesShizuichi Tanaka Perfecto Calumpang y Valencia1942Municipal Mayor (acting) José Romero y Muñoz1943Municipal Mayor (acting)Shigenori Kuroda 7Ricardo Teves y Regis (Sr.)1942 1946Municipal Mayor (in exile)Tomoyuki YamashitaPaul V. McNuttCommonwealth of the Philippines8Baldomero Limbaga y Villareal (Sr.)1946 1951Municipal MayorManuel RoxasThird Republic of the PhilippinesElpidio Quirino9Ricardo Teves y Regis (Sr.)1952 1961Municipal MayorJulio García (de Melgar) y Arnaiz (Sr.)1952 1955Municipal Vice MayorRamon MagsaysayFernando Ramon Canuto Calumpang y Flores1956 1959Municipal Vice MayorCarlos P. GarciaGaspar Villegas y Reyes1960 1962Municipal Vice Mayor Julio García (de Melgar) y Arnaiz (Sr.)1959Municipal Mayor (acting)Diosdado Macapagal Gaspar Villegas y Reyes1962 1963Municipal Mayor (acting)(vacant)1962 1963Municipal Vice Mayor10Ybarra Teves y Regis1964 1980Municipal MayorAngel Mira y Aguilar1964 1967Municipal Vice MayorFerdinand MarcosCrisostomo Villegas y Colina1967 1980Municipal Vice MayorFourth Republic of the Philippines11Uldarico Ramirez y Cuevas (Sr.)1980 1986Municipal MayorAngel Mira y Aguilar1980 1986Municipal Vice Mayor Rodulfo Navarro y Olis1986 1987Municipal Mayor (acting)(vacant)1986 1992Municipal Vice MayorCorazon Aquino Arturo Regalado y Salma1987Municipal Mayor (acting)Fifth Republic of the Philippines Dominador Regalado y Salma (Jr.)1987 1988Municipal Mayor (acting)12Arturo Regalado y Salma1988 1998Municipal MayorAndres Gayo y Dael1992 1995Municipal Vice MayorFidel RamosJovencio Bumanglag y Simpliciano1995 1998Municipal Vice Mayor13Baltazar Salma y Torres1998 2001Municipal MayorLawrence Teves y Solis1998 2001Municipal Vice MayorJoseph Estrada2001 2007City Mayor2001 2007City Vice MayorGloria Macapagal Arroyo14Lawrence Teves y Solis2007 2016City MayorNilo Tam y Rosales2007 2010City Vice MayorJose Orlino y Torres2010 2016City Vice MayorBenigno Aquino III15Reynaldo Concepcion y Setenta2016 2022City MayorLawrence Teves y Solis2016 2019City Vice Mayor (suspended)Rodrigo DuterteJovencio Bumanglag y Simpliciano2016 2019City Vice Mayor (acting)Neil Salma y Teves2019 2022City Vice Mayor16Jose Orlino y Torres2022 2025City MayorNeil Salma y Teves2022 2025City Vice MayorBongbong Marcos

The public schools in Tanjay are administered by the Schools Division of Tanjay City.