Dalig, Balayan, Batangas: History and Cultural Life of
 |
| Historical data from the National Library of the Philippines. |
Full transcription of the so-called “Historical Data” for the barrio of Dalig, Balayan, Batangas, the original scanned documents at the National Library of the Philippines Digital Collections not having OCR or optical character recognition properties. This transcription has been edited for grammar, spelling and punctuation where possible. The original pagination is provided for citation purposes.
[p. 1]
HISTORY AND CULTURAL LIFE OF THE BARRIO OF DALIG
The present official name of the barrio is Dalig. It has been its popular name from the very beginning. It is derived from a name of [a] stone.
Once upon a time, Sgt. Francisco Garcia and family came and built their home in the northern part of Dalig. He had followers to clear the land. They cleared, they planted rice, corn, tobacco, and some underground crops. The barrio soon became economically progressive than before. The sergeant and the leader of the crusade came to be known and familiar not only to the inhabitants of the place but also to the neighboring barrios and towns. From then, a sitio of the barrio was formed. The northeastern-most part of Dalig was called Sarhento, a Tagalog translation of the word sergeant, brought about by the coming of Sgt. Francisco Garcia.
The barrio was established during the middle part of the Spanish regime. Original families could hardly be traced due to intermarriages of the inhabitants with people of different places.
According to information, the barrio tenientes from the earliest time to date who served in the order as they appear are the following: Antonio Cunanan, Blas Consul, and Luis Abiog, Dalmacio Bagunas, and the present, Arcadio Caviteño and Emilio Rasdas.
From the occupations of Spain to the Americans, and from the Americans to the Japanese, and lastly from the Japanese to the Americans, the place had been very fortunate. There was no destruction of lives, properties and institutions, unlike most of the barrios of the province of Batangas, and consequently the towns and cities of the Philippines.
After World War II, as in other barrios, the school was reopened for grades one and two. Four years after, due to growing school population, grades three and four were added. The local PTA, with five hundred pesos (₱500) aid from the government, erected a semi-permanent two-room building.
FOLKWAYS
BIRTH …..
After the birth of a child, the couple talked about the godfather or godmother of the baby. If the infant is not in good health, a religious member of the community is requested to pour water over his head. The idea is – in case the baby dies, he is free from original sin. A year or more after, he is baptized by a priest.
COURTSHIP …..
Courtship of today is very much different from courtship before. The man visits the lady he adores and proposes to her as Romeo did to Juliet.
MARRIAGE …..
Marriage is simple. Usually, a breakfast is served for both sides, although there is much responsibility on the part of the man.
DEATH …..
When a person dies, it is bad to sweep the floor or yard for it may cause another death, according to them. Before a grave is covered, the surviving children are passed over
[p. 2]
[the] deceased in the coffin. They are dressed in red so they will not be accompanied to the outer world.
Women are in black for twelve months while men wear a piece of black ribbon as a sign of loyalty to the lost member of the family or relative.
FESTIVAL …..
The biggest affair of the place is the barrio fiesta. It is held every first day of May in honor of the Blessed Virgin de la Paz.
After the harvesting season, parties are usually held. They sang favorite songs. They danced the Lulay and the Subli. The partakers are usually the old folks of the said place.
The people have passed away from the old method of telling time. Instead of listening to the singing of birds and crowing of roosters, they have their watches or clocks by the walls of their homes.