Simlong, Batangas (Town), Batangas: Historical Data

Historical data from the National Library of the Philippines.

Full transcription of the so-called “Historical Data” for the barrio of Simlong, 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.

[p. 1]

HISTORY AND CULTURAL LIFE OF THE BARRIO OF SIMLONG

The present official name of the barrio is Simlong. This was derived from a river named Simlong. This name was derived from a river termed as “Saim-sim” which was a small brook. The word long was added by an American stranger who happened to pass that barrio during the Spanish-American War. This Saim-sim was very long which formed the suffix of the river, which from that time on, the barrio was named Simlong.

The popular name of the barrio past and present is Simlong.

Long ago, this barrio was connected with the barrio of Pinamuk-an and Simlong was only a sitio. As time progressed, the population of this sitio increased and it almost outnumbered the barrio to which it was formerly connected, that in 1899 the people of this sitio protested that they be given their own name and teniente del barrio. Finally, in the year 1900, Simlong became a separate barrio of the town.

From the year 1900, Simlong being a separate barrio has different sitios. Some of which are:

Piit, named after the geographical location of the sitio. Located on the eastern part of the barrio, this sitio is surrounded by steep, rugged hills.

Malibayo is another name of the sitio named after a tree called Malibayo. It is located on the eastern part of the barrio south of Piit. So far, this is the widest sitio of Simlong which at present requests the town officials that their sitio be made another barrio. They have their own school at present.

Punta is another sitio of Simlong located by the mouth of a river dividing Pinamuk-an and Simlong toward the sea, the name of which was derived from its geographical location similar to that of Piit.

[p. 2]

Tigbalang is a sitio in Simlong. This pook got its name from the superstitious belief of the old folks that long ago, a tigbalang or a ghost could be seen roaming about this pook on moonlit nights. According to the stories, one time, this tigbalang was able to take with him a little boy from the place. From that time up to the present, Tigbalang is its popular name.

Kulayo is another pook almost in the central part of this barrio and is said to [be] the most thickly populated portion of this barrio.

Nabulid is another sitio situated in the boundary of Mabakong and Simlong. This pook got its name due to a land slide that took place on the steep mountain sides that surround this place many years ago.

The original families of this barrio are the Arellanos, Mendozas, Purtos, Comos, Culises, and the Fajardos. These families settled still during the Spanish time and began clearing the lands, engaged in fishing and farming. At present, the majority of the population bear these names.

These are the names of the tenientes del barrio:

At present, the sitios mentioned above are all inhabited.

The present public school building was established in 1923 and still existing at present, repaired but not rebuilt.

During the Spanish occupation, the people of Simlong were not bothered so much because during that time, there were only few inhabitants in this place. Most of the people evacuated to Mindoro and to the uplands during the Japanese occupation.

FOLKWAYS

Naging ugali sa nayong ito na kapag mayroong binyagan o ano mang pasinaya ay ang mga tao ay nagtitipon-tipon. Bago magtapos ang binyagan ay mayroon munang ginaganap na kung tawagin ay pabuhos.

[p. 3]

Kapag ang isang binata ay nagkagusto sa isang dalaga, sila-sila na ang nag-uusapan at kapag sila ay nagkasundo, sila ay nagsasabi sa kanilang magulang.

Pag may namatay sa isang bahay, ang mga talubata sampo ng mga magulang ay nagpupuyat doon sa namatay. Habang sila ay nagpupuyat, iba’t-ibang palaro tulad ng pirindahan, kantahan ay ginagawa ng mga binata’t-dalaga upang sila ay malibang at huag mag-antok. Ang mga taga nayo ay may paniniwalang kapag hindi binantayan ang patay ay nanakawin ng aswang.

Mga paniwala ng tao: Kapag ang kwago ay humuni sa araw ay oras na ng pagtatanim ng mga halaman. Kapag may namatay na dalaga ay may mamamatay ring binata. Kapag ang buwan ay kasiping ng tala, mabait ang dalaga sa binata. Kapag ang manok ay nagpuputakan sa gabi ay may sakunang nangyayari. Kapag ang aso ay tumahol sa gabi ay mayroong nadaang maligno.

Popular songs:

Riddles:

Proverbs:

[p. 4]

The method of telling time is by the position of the sun. Some use the clock. The special calendars used are the different seasons and the position of the moon.

No documents and books about the Philippines.

No Filipino author resides in the community.

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