On Cantilan the only traceable large native settlers are the Manobos and the Mananwas which compose of the dominant group mountain dwellers at present. They are said to be the direct descendants of the Shri-Visayans. Until the present time several of them still can be found o

Years later before the coming of the Spaniards Cantilan dwellers already engaged in barter trading specifically on the port of Butuan. Some of them is said to be inter married with the different tribes which makes the races mixed.

On the time of the Spanish regime on the Philippines some of the native of Cantilan married Spaniards which

The Surigaonon is basically of rich Malay stock with a sprinkling of Chinese, Japanese and Arab Blood. Glints of European and American culture could also be identified in the Surigaonon Culture. The province has a population of roughly 450,000 and it is hard to distinguish accurately the lines between the stocks.

During the later periods, migrants from Luzon and Visayan flocked to the province in a hope for greener pastures. Inspired by the "gold rush", they decided to permanently settle here. This resulted to intermarriages with the natives.The people are peace-loving and gentle. The favorable climate makes them non-temperamental. They have the humor of the Visayan, the frugality of the Ilocano, and other traits that still surface. All of which are inherited from their forebears who ventured into this part of the archipelago.The people are predominantly Roman Catholics, Spain's lasting legacy. The rest of the population are Aglipayans, Protestants and other religions.

LANGUAGES/DIALECT. The National Census and Statistics Office revealed that out of the total population, 94% speak Cebuano as their mother tongue. This could not be pure because there's Surigaonon dialect which has a unique character. Influence of the Boholano dialect with a strong accent of the Tausog dialect can be traced. A few percentage speak Samar-Leyte (1.79%) and Tagalog while the rest speak one of the several dialects being spoken in the province 0.42% of the people are able to speak English, 30% Filipino and merely 2.2% Spanish. Most of the city residents speak Surigaonon tongue which is a mixture of the Cebuano dialect. Letters L and J are pronounced Y like Bayay for Balay (house) and Sija for siya (he/she). Commercial/trade names however still retain their original pronunciation