San Miguel, Batangas (Town), Batangas: Historical Data Part I
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| Historical data from the National Library of the Philippines. |
PART I
PART I | PART II
Full transcription of the so-called “Historical Data” for the barrio of San Miguel, Batangas Town, 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.
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HISTORY AND CULTURAL LIFE OF THE BARRIO OF SAN MIGUEL
1. Present official name of the barrio – San Miguel
2. Popular name of the barrio
a. Past – Sirang Lupa
b. Present – San Miguel
c. Names of Sitios
|
1. Maipa 2. Bulihan |
3. Kawa 4. Tanlayag |
3. Date of establishment – not known
4. Original families|
a Guico b. Closa |
c. Soriano d. Asi |
e. Mendoza f. Macatangay |
6. Story of old barrios or sitios within the jurisdiction that are now depopulated or extinct – None
7. Data on historical sites, structures, buildings, old ruins, etc. – None
8. Important facts, incidents or events that took place
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c. During and after World War II
9. a. Destruction of lives, properties and institutions during wars:
2. 1941-1945 - properties
PART II FOLKWAYS
Traditions, customs and practices in domestic and social life; birth, courtship, marriage, death, burial, visits, festivals, punishments
A. Birth
1. When the new house for a couple is built for a long time, it may mean long and hard delivery for the wife.
2. When the wife delivered and she died, it is said that her soul goes directly to heaven.
3. When the wife is suffering from hard and painful delivery, all the knots made by the husband are loosened and the ladle is placed at the waist of the wife.
B. Baptism
1. When a male child is baptized and all the others being baptized are girls, the boy will be loved by the girls very much.
2. When a girl is baptized and the others being
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baptized are boys, all the boys will be bachelors, and the girl will have many suitors.
3. An unbaptized child is always tempted by the devils.
C. Courtship
1. If a suitor gives stockings or any kind of footwear as gifts to the girl, the girl will be unfaithful.
2. When the gifts of the suitor are all sweets, it means he is much devoted to his lady love.
3. When he writes on pink paper, it means love; when he writes on a blue paper, it means his love is true.
4. Different placements of stamps on the envelope express different meanings in love affairs.
D. Marriages
1. It is the belief that when the wedding gown is worn by the bride before the ceremony, it means death for the bride or some bad luck.
2. After the wedding ceremony, rice is scattered on the path where the couple will pass so that it will bring prosperity and the future children will have light complexion.
3. Pots are broken before the couple goes up the house of the bride in order that they will have many children.
4. When the veil used during the ceremony falls from the bride or groom, it means death for one of them.
5. When the groom walks faster than the bride after the wedding ceremony, it means that he will dominate his bride in the years of their companionship.
E. Death
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2. When the deceased has unfinished obligations on earth, it is believed that the spirit comes back.
3. When the eldest child goes down the house with the coffin, he must not go back or it will mean death for another member of the family.
4. Tears are not allowed to drop on the dead or it [will] mean hardship for the soul.
F. Burial
1. It is the belief that in order that the relatives may be forgotten by the deceased, flowers or pieces of earth are thrown into the grave during burial.
2. When it showers during the burial, it is said that the deceased is kind.
G. Visits
1. If the cat faces the altar in the house when it washes its face, it means visitors will come.
2. When a fire laughs, a visitor is coming.
3. When either fork or spoon drops from the table while eating, a visitor is expected to come.
4. When the fly gets in the soup, a visitor is coming.
11. Myths, legends, beliefs, interpretations, superstitions, origin of the world, land, mountain, and caves, seas, lakes, rivers, plants, trees, animals, sun, man, moon, stars, eclipse, earthquake, lightning and thunder, clouds, rain, wind, storm, changes of climate, other natural phenomena; first man and woman, birth of twins or more, sickness, witchcraft, magic, divination.
Legend of the Duhat
Long before the Philippines was discovered by the Spaniards, a group of dark people inhabited one of her forests. These people had a ruler named Duhat who was loved for his kindness,
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strength and intelligence.
Notwithstanding all these good qualities, some of his men disliked him and finally shot him to death. Before he died, his blood was spilled on a plant that bore many fruits in clusters. By a trick of nature, the red fruit turned dark violet. Henceforth, people called this fruit Duhat in memory of the ruler, Duhat.
12. Popular songs, games and amusements
| 1. Kundiman | 2. Awit |
| 3. Pandanggo | |
|
1. Dama 2. Sungka 3. Huego de Prenda |
4. Huego de Anillo 5. Sabong 6. Tubigan |
13. Puzzles and riddles
1. You can carry what can carry you, you are carried by what you carry.
2. Grandmother is here carrying fire on her head.
3. Bamboo from the mountain has its end in Manila.
4. A rolling thing becomes a doctor when he stands upright.
5. A grain of palay can fill the whole house.
6. I pulled the string, all the monkeys ran.
14. Proverbs and sayings
1. No virgin can resist a patient suitor.
2. If you reserve something, you can get them in the time of need.
PART I | PART II