Barrio/Poblacion Alitagtag, Batangas: Historical Data Part I

Historical data from the National Library of the Philippines.

ALITAGTAG

Present: The present name is Alitagtag.

Past: The name of the whole barrio was Alitagtag. However, different sections of the place had different names. Mrs. Dimaandal’s neighborhood was named Pitpitan. Pitpitan was derived from the local word “Pitpit.” The present neighborhood of Mr. Enrique Rosales, the barrio lieutenant of that place, was called “Pinagtipasan.” This name was derived from the local word “Tipas.” That section was named so because in the past, lovers in that section eloped and lived together without the knowledge and consent of the parents.

a. Spanish Time – Kabesang Tasio was the

barrio lieutenant of the whole Alitagtag when it was still a barrio of Bauan.

b. American Occupation:

c. Japanese Occupation

d. After Liberation to the Present: Mr. Isidoro Castillo.

No story of old barrios could be given.

Only five Spanish type houses were there but they were all ruined during the Spanish-American War.

a. Spanish insurrectos one day came to the place and tried to get men to be soldiers. All men of the place fled and hid in Kabagan and Dingin, the two forests nearby.

b. Macabebes came to the place in an attempt to rape women. Women pretended

to be crazy and struggled to drive the Macabebes away.

1. [The] Japanese ransacked the place in search of food and women. The inhabitants fled from the barrio. Unluckily, two women were overtaken and abused.

2. A loud shot, which stirred and frightened the entire population, was heard one night in this barrio. Japanese soldiers stationed in the poblacion were notified about the alarming shot. The following morning, these soldiers rushed to the place and burned the houses including [a] few houses in Butang Kawayan.

3. A bomb dropped in the middle of the street, just after the American forces had landed at Lemery. The Americans were bombing Makulot mountain that time and the aforementioned bomb was believed to have come from them. The incident caused great destruction in the place.

a. Many houses were razed to the ground during the last days of the Japanese stay in this place.

The homeless filed claims to the War Damage Commission and were given proportional monetary aid by the said government agency. Homes were reconstructed.

The explosion of the bombs in Muzon incurred great destruction. The Johnlo Trading Company paid for the damaged properties of the people.

a. Birth – The newly born child’s head is made to touch the four principal posts of the house. It is believed that by doing so, the child will not leave his home [for a] long time and not forget it when he grows old.

A newly delivered baby is given a little sugar or sweet so that he may always speak soft and gentle words when he grows old.

b. Baptism – The child when brought to the church to be baptized is given money so that he may always have money when he becomes mature.

After the baptismal ceremony, the

child is carried hurriedly out of the church so that the child may be fast, clever and alert.

c. Courtship – The young man courting a girl brings water to the girl’s house. He gives food or any form of present during special holidays and during parties of the girl’s family as a token of great and genuine love.

d. Marriage – There was a pre-nuptial talk between the parents of the girl and the boy to decide the date of marriage and the kind of preparation to be served during the party.

The groom-to-be brings water to all relatives of the girl.

After the marriage ceremony, the newlyweds try to overtake each other in going out of the church, each aspiring to dominate the other in family affairs. Before the newlyweds enter the house, they are offered sweets at the door. The bride is the one to open the closed house of the groom when she transfers to the latter’s house. After reaching the house from the church, the new couple is showered with money or rice.

e. Death – Neighbors and relatives go to the house of the deceased to sympathize with the bereaved family. The sympathizers of the bereaved family give aid in the form

of money, cigarettes and others.

f. Burial – When the deceased is brought down from the house to be buried, somebody will close all windows of the deceased. When the coffin is lowered to the grave, many of the companions to the cemetery drop soil to the coffin. Close relatives of the dead do not look back when going to the cemetery in burying the dead.

g. Visits – Close intimates bring something to the person to be visited as a token of sympathy especially when visiting sick friends or newly delivered mothers. Hosts usually offer sweets or food to visitors as a custom of hospitality.

h. Festivals – On birthday parties or baptismal parties, close friends give drinks or food as aid to the host. After the lunch on a wedding day, relatives, friends and compadres give presents or gifts to the new couple. This giving is done during the so-called “sabugan.”

i. Punishments – In the olden times, a person proven guilty of an offense is brought to the house of the lieutenant and is given a punishment the officer deemed it wise. Usually, [a] penalty in [the] form of money or labor

are the punishments given.

1. When a cat wipes its face, a visitor is coming.
2. Do not take a bath during the last quarter of the moon, lest you will become sick.
3. A black butterfly entering your house is a sign of bad omen.
4. If you want somebody to dream of you, turn your pillow when you dream at night.
5. A girl should not sing at the front of the stove, lest she will marry a widower.
6. If a wife cannot deliver at once, the husband should at once pull out anything he has buried or nailed in.
7. A man and a woman to be married soon should not go out or go far from home to avoid accidents and love temptations to others.
8. If a gambler meets or happens to ride with a priest in going to the gambling den, he should discontinue his going, for it is believed that he will be unlucky if [he] insists on going.

Notes and references: