The Legend of Princess Kansilay

A local legend tells of how Silay City got its name. It is said that in the days of the datus and rajahs, there once lived a princess named Kansilay. An attack on the settlement by pirates was thwarted when the princess bravely led the people in the village's defense. The fight was furious and the princess fought like a seasoned warrior. Murals that used to grace some of the city's public buildings depict her as a fierce fighter wielding a huge talibong, a short native single-edged sword. The pirates were routed, but at the cost of the princess' life. Her paramour arrived in time to see her die. In grief, the people lovingly buried her. To their surprise, a tree grew right over her grave, the first Kansilay tree, a final gift from the brave princess.

Spanish colonization

Silay was first settled in 1565, under the name "Carobcob", which means "to scratch" in Kinaray-a; residents of the settlement relied upon harvesting tuway clams, which involved "scratching" (or raking) the sands for the mollusks at low tide, as a means of livelihood. In early writings, the settlement was also referred to as "Calubcub", "Caracol" and "Caraco".^[10] The last two variations mean "snail" or a "spiral" in Spanish. Carobcob was built near the mouth of a creek; nothing is left of the village today. Carobcob was granted as an encomienda to Cristobal Nuñez Paroja, one of the seventeen soldiers of Miguel López de Legazpi on January 25, 1571.

In the second half of the century, Moro slave raiders escalated their incursions on the large island, forcing the Corregidor of Negros to adopt the policy of flight rather than resistance. People left their homes sometime in 1760 and settled in a new location between two small rivers, Matagoy and Panaogao. A paloisades or estacada (Spanish for "palisade" or "stockade") was constructed to protect the populace from Moro raiders. The place is now known as Sitio Estaca, its name derived from the Spanish word estacada.

In 1760, Silay was recognized as a town being referred to in a letter from Governor Juan Jose de Mijares (1772–1775) mentioning Silay as a leading town in the north. In 1776, the bishop of Cebu considered Silay as the center of the parish. In 1760, it became a pueblo or town. By 1896, it had become a leading sugar-producing area because of the Horno Economico (sugar mill) built in 1846 by a Frenchman who became a permanent resident of Silay, Yves Leopold Germain Gaston.

Negros Revolution

Balay Negrense on Cinco de Noviembre Street

With the outbreak of the Revolution of 1896 came a division between the sugarcane planters of Silay and the clergy. Some planters and clergy supported the rebels while others were against the revolution. On November 5, 1898, at about 2:00 in the afternoon, residents of Silay gathered in the street corner now known as Cinco de Noviembre Street and from there they proceeded to the Spanish garrison near the Catholic Church. The encounter was bloodless. The Spanish civil guard commander, Lt. Maximiano Correa, refused to surrender. After negotiations with the revolutionaries mediated by Juan Viaplana, a local Spaniard, the Spanish garrison did surrender. A Philippine flag was raised for the first time at the Silay plaza later that afternoon. Aniceto Lacson became president after the signing of the terms of surrender. Timoteo Unson and the group of Silay residents then marched south to join forces with some residents of Talisay for an attack on Bacolod, the capital.

World War II

On the slopes of Mt. Silay lies Patag, the site of Imperial Japan's last stand in Negros during World War II. In 1945, U.S. military forces landed in the island. The occupying forces of the Nagano Detachment of the Imperial Japanese Army retreated to Silay and proceeded up Mt. Silay to Patag. There, they established a defensive position. Military forces of the Philippine Commonwealth and soldiers of the U.S. 40th Infantry Division proceeded up the slopes of Mt. Silay with help from Filipino soldiers of the 7th, 72nd and 75th Infantry Division of the Philippine Commonwealth Army and Negrense guerrilla fighters and defeated the Japanese defenders. Today, the site is marked by a monument dedicated to the efforts which led to the liberation of the island of Negros.

Post-World War II

Hugyaw Kansilay Festival

Every 12th day of June, the city celebrates their annual festival called Hugyaw Kansilay Festival. The theme is derived from the story of Kansilay, which is also the origin of the city's name. The festival reflects the growth of Silay; from a lowly pueblo to a city that can hold its own among the country's best. The city's festival dance depicts the setting, characters, plot, sub-plots, conflict, climax and the story of the Legend of Kansilay.^[11]

Barangays

Silay is politically subdivided into 16 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

Climate

Airports

The Bacolod–Silay International Airport terminal building

The Bacolod–Silay International Airport, serves the whole Metro Bacolod area and surrounding places. The P4.37-billion airport is capable of handling all-weather and night-landing operations. Its 2,000-meter (6,600 ft.) long and 45-meter (148 ft.) wide primary runway, and 678-meter by 23-meter taxiways can accommodate Airbus A320 family-size aircraft, and the Boeing 737, while the apron can hold five aircraft at any one time. The runway runs in a direction of 03°/21°. Provisions for a 500-meter (1,600 ft) expansion of the present runway in order to accommodate even larger airplanes like the Airbus A330, Airbus A340 and Boeing 747 are now in place. The airport is expected to be the primary entrance by air to Negros Island Region.

Silay is 50 minutes by air from Manila, 30 minutes by air from Cebu, 1 hour by air from Cagayan de Oro and 37.2 minutes by air from General Santos. Commercial airlines operating in the Bacolod–Silay International Airport are Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific Air, PAL Express, and Philippines AirAsia.

Public schools

High schools

• Doña Montserrat Lopez Memorial High School
• Barangay E Lopez National High School
• Barangay Guimbalaon National High School
• Don Felix T. Lacson Memorial National High School
• Doña Montserrat Lopez Memorial High School HPCO Extension
• Doña Montserrat Lopez Memorial High School Patag Extension
• Doña Montserrat Lopez Memorial High School Santo Rosario Extension
• Don Albino and Doña Dolores Jison Integrated School
• Lantawan Integrated School
• Don Serafin L. Golez Memorial Integrated School
• Napilas Integrated School
• Sibato Integrated School
• Violeta Integrated School
• Silay SPED Center
• Guinhalaran Integrated School

Private schools

• St. Theresita's Academy
• Silay Institute
• Cinco De Noviembre Learning Center
• Faith Christian Academy-Silay Incorporated
• St. Francis of Assisi of Silay Foundation Inc.
• San Diego Study Center
• Silay Hope Baptist Academy
• L'ecole Silay

Local

• Mandaluyong, Metro Manila^[24]
• Manila, Metro Manila

International

• Marseille of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France
• Amagi of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan