Lumbang na Matanda, Calaca, Batangas: Historical Data
 |
| Historical data from the National Library of the Philippines. |
Full transcription of the so-called “Historical Data” for the barrio of Lumbang na Matanda in the Municipality of Calaca, 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 LUMBANG NA MATANDA
Part One: History
The present official name of this barrio is Lumbang na Matanda.
The popular name of the barrio is Lumbang na Matanda which was derived from the word “Lumbang,” which means a big tree. It happened to be called Lumbang na Matanda to distinguish it from the neighboring barrios of the same name. Sitios which are included within the jurisdiction of Lumbang na Matanda are Kakawatihan and Coral.
Lumbang na Matanda was established in 1907. The original families were the Jolongbayan and Casanova families.
The following is the list of tenientes from the earliest time to date, arranged in their chronological order:
2. Marciano Enriquez
3. Martin de Villa
4. Policarpio Hernandez
5. Florentino Enriquez
6. Anselmo Malapitan
7. Epitacio Catibog
8. Marcelo Rivera
9. Ildefonso Mendoza
10. Emilio Manguerra
Pinagpoocan is now an extinct barrio. It was depopulated during the Spanish time because of the rampant robbery. At the spot of the depopulated barrio, the remains of the old houses that were constructed in this place still stand as relics.
During the Spanish occupation, Lumbang na Matanda was the scene of bloody battles between the Spanish soldiers and the Filipino Insurrectos.
During the American occupation to World War II, the people developed the desire to attain higher education, thus improving the people’s way of life.
During World War II, the people of this barrio cooperated with the guerrilla activities. They supplied the guerrillas with food and clothing, and some of them even joined the guerrillas under the command of Capt. F. Gagalac. In the year 1944-45, six Japanese soldiers were killed by the civilians at the northern part of the barrio.
In view of the activities of the guerrillas in the place, the Japanese often came to the place and looted the people’s belongings, especially in the latter part of the Japanese occupation.
[p. 2]
Following World War II, the people organized themselves into an association called Parents-Teachers Association. In their desire to rehabilitate and reconstruct the barrio, they asked relief from the National Government, but in spite of all the efforts they exerted, nothing much was accomplished.
PART II. FOLKWAYS
It is the common practice of the barrio folks to call for “quacks” when a mother delivers a baby, that is, when the mother and child are doing well. The baptismal party is often given by the parents, a grand one of course, when the baby is baptized. Oftentimes, parents interfere with the courtships of their sons. The parents usually arrange for the marriage and often without the knowledge of the bride-to-be. Every year, a barrio fiesta is celebrated.
The common belief is that the world was created by God, so with the trees, animals, rivers, moon, stars, lakes, mountains, plants and seas. According to their beliefs, lightning and thunder, rain, wind, storms and other natural phenomena are under the care of the god San Lorenzo. The first man and woman were Adam and Eve. It is the belief that Adam was created alone but he felt lonely, therefore God created Eve as Adam’s wife and companion. The birth of twins, especially when on is a boy and the other is a girl, means good luck to the family. Sickness such as headaches, light fever and other minor sicknesses are caused by a person a power which they call “ungab” or “gahoy,” and the person with such power is called “Manggagahoy.” The people believe in witches and “anting-anting.” Many influential men of the barrio are said to possess “anting-anting.”
The popular songs are the Tagalog folklore called “Palasintahan.” Softball is very popular among youngsters while cockfighting if the favorite amusement of the old folks.
Tagalog riddles are very popular, like the following:
Manok ko sa Talisay abot dito ang kaykay, etc.
One of the favorite sayings is:
People without watches measure time by means of the sun. It is said that the stars are the silver necklace of [a] very rich princess who was punished by God. The necklace flew away and went to the sky which became the sky and the starlets at night.