Malindig, Bauan, Batangas: Historical Data
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| Historical data from the National Library of the Philippines. |
Full transcription of the so-called “Historical Data” for the barrio of Malindig, Bauan, 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 MALINDIG
PART ONE – HISTORY
1. Present official name of the barrio - - Malindig
2. Popular name of the barrio, past and present - - - Malindig or Munting Pook
3. The barrio of Malindig has no exact date of establishment. So far as information was gathered, its first name was changed to Malindig in the early Spanish occupation.
4. The original families were:
Caringal families
Dimayuga family
5. List of Barrio Lieutenants from the early time to date.
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(a) Mr. Anoy Ilagan (b) Mr. Roman Caringal (c) Mr. Leon Caringal (d) Mr. Matias Ilagan (e) Mr. Esteban Dimayuga (f) Mr. Roman Manigbas (g) Mr. Nicolas Ilagan |
(h) Mr. Alejo Dimayuga (i) Mr. Basilio Caringal (j) Mr. Brigido Manigbas (k) Mr. Ponciano Ilagan (l) Mr. Felipe Ilagan (m) Mr. Eduardo Ilagan - Present Barrio Lt. |
6. There is but one sitio of this barrio known as Pulo. In the said barrio, there is but one house.
7. As to some historical sites, structures, buildings, old ruins, this barrio has none to mention.
8. During the Spanish occupation, they had the so-called “rondahan” or “bantayan.” During the American occupation to World War II, no incident or event took place in this barrio.
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9. From 1941 to 1945, the tranquility of the people was disturbed. The Japanese intervened in farming. They forced the farmers to plant cotton in their lands. Failure to follow or to disobey meant a severe punishment.
In the latter part of the Japanese occupation, the Japanese soldiers went to the extent of getting foodstuffs from the barrio folks.
10. Traditions, customs and practices in domestic and social life.
B I R T H S
When a baby is born, money is placed in the basin of water where the baby is to be given a bath. When the baby is born sickly or when the baby gets sick a few days after birth, the baby is baptized by an old man in the barrio, the practice locally known as “buhusan.” This becomes a practice among the people in this place due to the fact that it is far from the town and the old folks said that the baby must be christened as early as possible. Later on, the baby is baptized in the church.
B A P T I S M
With regards to baptism, the barrio people have a usual and common practice. The godparent of the baby buys the baptismal dress for the child. The godparent also pays the registration fees. After the baptismal rites in the church, every godparent tries his best to be ahead of the others in going out. It is their belief that in that act, the baby becomes alert and skillful when he grows old. Upon reaching the child’s home, the baby is handed to the mother. The child is taken afterwards to the kitchen and slightly held over the stove for a second, perhaps to prevent chill.
M A R R I A G E
There is a common practice followed by the people pertaining to marriage. The women to be married should not wear her wedding gown for the sake of ascertaining that it fits her. When she dresses up for her wedding ceremony, she must not look at the mirror. The women take money to the church in silver coins.
It is also their custom that when the newlyweds arrive at the man’s home, the mother pours uncooked rice over the head of the daughter-in-law. She offers her sugar and water to drink.
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D E A T H S
If a member of the family or a very near kin dies, no one in the house of the dead or no one of the relatives of the dead takes a bath. They do not sweep the floor nor the environment of the home till after the fourth day. Then all the members of the family take a bath. They do not cook any fresh vegetables, especially malunggay. Dishes are taken from the table one by one and not in files or one on top of the other. For one year, the relatives of the dead wear black garments.
S U P E R S T I T I O N S
(a) When the people her noise from the mountain, it is a sign that a typhoon is coming.
(b) If a fork drops while eating, it means a male visitor is coming; and if a spoon drops, means a female visitor will come.
(c) When a cat wipes his face with his paw facing the stairs, a visitor is coming.
(d) When a black butterfly hovers over a person, it means that a relative died.
(e) According to the old folks, when a star and moon are close to each other, a young man and a young woman will elope.
Popular Songs
In this barrio, the people have the Lullaby as their popular song. Aside from this, they have the song for the “subli” locally known as “Awit.”
Puzzles and Riddles
Similar to those of Alagao.
Method of Measuring Time
Time is measured in this barrio by a look at the position of the sun and moon, by the crowing of the cocks and by the noise of the mountain birds.