The History, Archeology, Folklore and Ancient Songs of Bauan and Its Vicinity by Celedonio P. Goria, 1923 Part 1

PART I

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This page contains the complete transcription of the 1923 ethnographic paper written by one Celedonio P. Gloria from .jpeg scans of the originals made available by the National Library of the Philippines Digital Collections. Corrections for grammar had been made in certain parts but no attempt was made to rewrite the original paper. Original pagination is indicated for citation purposes.

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HISTORY, LEGENDS, TALES, AND ARCHEOLOGICAL REMAINS IN AND AROUND BAUAN, BATANGAS.
By
CELEDONIO P. GLORIA.

Up to this day, there exist old man in Bauan and its vicinity who can relate many interesting things about the town and its suburbs. I have approached some of them and i have put down in the following pages what i gleaned from what they recounted.

ERUPTIONS OF THE TAAL VOLCANO.

So tradition exists witch tell of the origin of Taal Volcano. However, according to a certain Joaquin Mañibo of Bauan, Taal Volcano erupted in the years 1572, 1709, 1716, 1880, 1903, and 1911. Those eruptions cost many deaths, but the most destructive both of lives and property where the eruptions of 1572, 1716, and 1911.

HISTORY OF THE TOWNS AROUND TAAL.

Tradition has it that the eruption of 1572 cost the removal of three towns of Batangas province from their sites near the Taal lake two places farther away. Thus, Tanauan, Taal, and Bauan which used to border the lake have been moved away. Successive eruptions cost the removal of Tanauan from the north of Mt. Makulot to the interior, of Bauan from the southern shore of the lake to Batangas bay, end of Taal from the south western shore of the lake to the shore of Balayan bay.

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FIRST SEAT OF BAUAN.

The first seat of Bauan was in a place now called Diñgin, south of the lake. From that place, Bauan had been moved further and further south, so that the present site of Bauan is the place where the town was moved for the fourth time.

Bauan or Bauan (onion) [obviously, garlic] was thus called because the town of Bauan was then known for the production ofbauang; (onions) [garlic]. In former times, Bauan was a part or barrio of Taal. Bauan was then ruled by a Teniente Absoluto.

Upon the removal of Bauan from Diñgin, a relatively large family was left in the place. In the course of time, this family multiplied and today forms the inhabitants of the town of Alitagtag.

ENCANTOS AND GIANTS.

About the year 1716, the people of Alitagtag came to fear the way to the place where they got water after the sun had already set. They said that they saw a very big man on horseback who used to ride on the water. At times, they saw at night a big bonfire floating on the water. Tradition has it that when anybody who saw this things exclaims wonder or surprise, a strong wind accompanied by torrential rain would immediately occur.

CHARM AGAINST THE GIANT.

The inhabitants of Alitagtag conceived an idea of

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erecting a cross near the place to drive the spirits away. They fashioned a very hard black [blurred word] in the shape of a big cross and erected it near the road to the place where they got water. The giant on horseback, however, did not cease to appear around the place. In the course of time, the place around the cross was converted into a forest and nothing was heard of it again until later.

THE MALTREATED WOMAN.

A story tells of a faithful wife who had been wretchedly treated by her husband. One midnight, the husband arrived in their little hut very thirsty, and asked the woman to go to the Diñgin to get water. The woman, with tears in her eyes, proceeded to get water; however, because the night was very dark, she lost her way. She arrived in a forest and saw a cross (the same cross erected by the people of Alitagtag).

A MIRACLE.

The woman kneeled before the cross and prayed. She left her jar near the cross. She was astonished when she saw that water was dripping from one flank of the cross into her jar until it was full. She told her story to her neighbors and soon pilgrims came to visit the place to see the miraculous cross.

THE HOLY CROSS.

The authorities of Bauan heard of the cross and they caused it to be removed to Bauan. According to the wri-

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ings of Fr. Gaspar de San Agustin in 1756, that cross is the one that exists today in Bauan. The cross has been plated with silver and, to this day, it is worshipped in Bauan. On May 3, every year, the people of Bauan celebrate feasts in honor of their patron saint – the Holy Cross.

ANOTHER MIRACLE.

During the eruption of Taal Volcano in 1911, the town of Bauan was threatened by falling lava and fire. However, the people contrived to get the cross from the church and take it along the town in [a] procession. The danger soon abated; the wind turned in a direction away from Bauan.

SUBTERRANEAN PASSAGEWAYS.

An old man of Mulauin, Alitagtag known as Nemesio Magboo recounts that in 186 [blurred last number], when the chief of the town of Bauan was Mr. Norberto Cusi, the town-chief, or Capitan, caused the digging of a well in Mulauin. When the depth of the well was about thirty meters, the diggers encountered a hollow passageway whence issued great gusts of wind. At the middle of the passageway, a big trunk of worked wood was found. The length of the log was about ten yards while the width was about one foot. There were holes on one and apparently for fastening rope. The excavators were not able to lift the log. For fear of the strong winds which prevailed in the passageway, the fall was again filled with earth.

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THE SECOND SEAT OF BAUAN.

When Bauan was moved from Diñgin, the town was moved to the east of Mt. Duruñgao. The second site of Bauan was occupied for only a short time. Another eruption drove the people southward to a place near Batangas bay. At the fourth seat or present site of Bauan, there still exists a Castillo (castle) which used to serve as [a] stronghold against the depredations of the Moros.

Mt. Duruñgao was thus called because from the top of the mountain, Duruñgao (Look-Out), one can see Cape Santiago, the island of Lubang, the island of Maricaban, and the island of Mindoro to the south; towards the east, the whole region around the town of Batangas can be seen.

ARCHEOLOGICAL REMAINS.

To the east of Mt. Duruñgao, there is a level slope about ten hectares in area. An old man, Saturnino Evangelista, says that when he was still a little boy, he discovered many things around the place. While plowing, he would sometimes unearth unbroken plates, cups, and small earthenware.

He would sometimes see copper coins and silver plates labeled Peru. At times, he would see small pieces of gold in the form of a parallelogram, and copper medals. At other times, he would discover bolos (big knives) covered with rust.

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To this day, the place is called Saguintoan (Goldenland).

COMMUNAL LANDS.

To the western slope of Mt. Duruñgao, there is a small area, about three hectares, known as communal land. Nothing grows in this place except trees or shrubs called alagao. The flowers and buds ofalagaowhen boiled in water are good for [the] cold. This communal land must have belonged also to Bauan.

SPRINGS.

To the east of Saguintoan (Goldenland), there used to be three strong springs which could reach the sea in former times. These springs exists to this day; however, their waters do not reach the sea anymore.

SUBTERRANEAN CONNECTIONS.

To the east of Saguintoan (Goldenland), a certain man, Mariano Hernandez, caused the erection of a sugarcane mill in 1872. Policarpio Abante, one of the workers of Mr. Hernandez, relates that after they had erected the mill and the boiler, he was surprised one night when he saw a very big man whose hat was about one and a half meters in diameter. The big man was leaning, sitting rather, on top of the chimney. This big giant expressed himself in this wise: “Do not erect her a sugarcane mill because the place is located just above our subterranean

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road which goes from Mt. Makulot (east of Taal Volcano) to Mt. Mainit (region of hot springs on the southern part of Batangas province).” After uttering those words, the giant disappeared.

DOINGS OF THE GIANT.

The next morning, the owner and workers discovered that the chimney was destroyed. Stones were scattered here and there. The workers continued in their daily work. The mill was functioning normally despite the loss of the chimney.

One noontime, when Policarpio was ladling the boiling juice of the sugarcane, he was pushed by a big giant into the tank. The poor workman suffered burns.

FOOTPRINTS OF A GIANT.

Many old people wonder about the two footprints which had been found around Bauan. One big footprint, about three feet long and one foot wide, of the left food had been found on a rock in Mt. Makulot; another big footprint, of the same size, of the right foot had been found impressed on a rock at the top of Mt. Mailayin. The distance of Mt. Makulot and Mt. Mailayin is from twenty to thirty kilometers.

GROWTH OF AN ISLAND.

To the east of the island of Pagal was a small projection from the bottom of the sea whose top was only a

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square meter in area. This small area has now grown to about five hundred square meters. The island is covered with forests today.

The island is called Pulong Balahibo (Feather Island). Tradition has it that when the island was only one square meter in area, some fishermen who happened to come near the place saw near it beautiful chicken feathers floating with the bubbles of the sea. From that time on, the island which had attained considerable size has been called Pulong Balahibo (Feather Island).

SKELETAL REMAINS IN COFFINLAND.

An old fisherman from Lobo tells that a very long time ago, skeletal remains were found to the west of Mt. Malabrigo. West of Mt. Malabrigo is a small mountain whose top is now level and covered with forests. The foot of the hill is a precipice and the precipice rests from the sea. Tradition tells how a coffin-like depression was found on the top of the hill. In the coffin, a skull as large as a big pot was found. What were supposed to be the extremities of the dead body were very enormous. Some slender bones were found to measure about three feet.

Up to this day, the place where the skeletal remains of a big giant was supposed to have been found is called Sacabaong (Coffinland).

BIG SEASHELLS ON LAND.

Lumbermen state that on top of Mt. Malabrigo

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there can still be found very big seashells. One such big shell has been found to be two meters long and one meter wide. There were shells of considerable size around. Mt. Malabrigo, together with Verde Island, are abundant sources of shells and lime for the surrounding towns.

VISAYANS IN MALIMATOC.

West of Bauan, there is a place called Malimatoc. The name of the town suggests a Visayan origin. Tradition tells how this place west of Bauan was in very early times was deforested by adventurers from Capiz. The place abounded in leeches (limatic in Tagalog; limatoc in Visaya). Because of this fact, the region had to this day been called from the Visayan name Malimatoc (Many-leeches).

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TAGALOG SONGS.
Translations by CELEDONIO P. Gloria.

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Transcribed from “The History, Archeology, Folklore and Ancient Songs of Bauan and Its Vicinity,” by Celedonio P. Gloria, 1923, online at the Henry Otley-Beyer Collection of the National Library of the Philippines Digital Collections.