Utod, Nasugbu, 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 Utod in the Municipality of Nasugbu, 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 UTOD
Part One: History
1. Present official name of the barrio – Utod
2. Popular name of the barrio, present and past – Utod|
Kaysambahin-Sambahin Bilog-na-Parang-Pinagbitinan Amaralina Koloong |
Pinagtawagan Sampalukan Kalamundingan Manirapa |
3. Date of establishment – 1901
4. Original families in the corresponding sitios:2. Koloong – Tandang Martin
3. Kaysambahin – Pablo Destreza
4. Bilog-na-Parang – Juan Panaligan
5. Sampalukan – Agaton Villajin
6. Kalamundingan – Guya Rodriguez
7. Manirapa – Ricardo Destrez
2. Agaton Villajin
3. Eugenio Liwanag
6. Stories of the sitios within the jurisdiction that are now depopulated or extinct – see the other pages
7. Data on historical sites, structures, buildings, old ruins, etc. – None
8. Important facts, incidents or events that took place:
A. During the Spanish Occupation, a few inhabitants joined the revolutionary forces who were stationed in Cavite.
B. During the American Occupation to World War II.[p. 2]
1. [A] School was constructed to lessen illiteracy in the community.
2. Burglary occurred and about twelve families were deprived of working animals, clothing and other belongings. Two men were hit by bullets in the counterattack between guerrillas and thieves in 1950.
HISTORY OF UTOD
It is necessary that one has to keep with an expounding world a record of a certain locality he is staying in to provide and impart information to the coming generation who will, in later years, necessitate the urgent need for it. Thus, the history of Utod is indispensable.
During the previous years, Utod was a forest area. Its first settlers were composed of five families scattered in the portion of the land owned, each marked by an old sugar mill, as traceable today. There was no barrio lieutenant but, instead, the Kabesa headed the room of people. Kabisang Abong Destreza was the first head since its establishment in 1901. However, the moros who occupied a certain portion of the land, exercised authority over the people they mingled with. But the Filipinos who were clever enough to discover their injustices flip to another place. This place was then called Pinagtawagan. This place today is extinct and depopulated.
Utod have a few inhabitants. There existed also the so-called “bungisngis,” “tigbalang,” “kulanting,” “piritay,” and “aswang.” These were true as verified by old persons who had witnessed situations that happened to their relatives. It was said they even inflicted injuries. The people found a hard time in dealing with them. The “aswangs” assume other forms like the dogs, cats, or pigs in search of prey, particularly expectant mothers. At times, the people we're prevented from doing their chores with their interference and encounter.
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However, the forest area provided the people with wild animals for food like deer, hogs, monkeys, etc. Rattan was in abundance that some engaged in selling it as a source of their income.
The name of this barrio originated from the word “tuod,” meaning leftover cut trees as a result of the kaingin system. The persons who headed this barrio from the past to the present where Kabisang Abong, Agaton Villajin and Eugenio Liwanag. This place is a peaceful one as compared to nearby barrios who are constantly visited by the Huks. Previously, during the Spanish occupation, members of the revolutionary army went to Cavite by way of Utod and Magallanes. No victims could be mentioned since the Spanish occupation to the American occupation. The outbreak of World War II, no destruction of lives or property where met whatsoever. The only event that took place which could hardly be erased from the minds of the inhabitants and whenever [someone] mentioned the word “burglar,” sets a person's teeth to chatter. Burglary has figured largely in their lives today. One time, the people were robbed of their personal belongings as well as animals. The men were forced to accompany them, driving the animals to their hideouts. Somewhere tortured on the way for a certain mistake. But when met by the guerrillas, there was an encounter at the exchange of firing, Isabelo Lozano and Jose Cortañes were hit by the bullets. However, they were able to survive.
Now, the people of Utod are living peacefully. Their records are good for no criminal acts are committed by them. They are ready to face defeat and are unafraid.
There are no authors or poets but Tomas Bukol is popular to them as the “Makata sa Nayon.” He has the most outrageous memory of men I ever met. He wishes memories could be kept in bottles like a certain scent of perfumes when he wanted memories to come back, he’ll just have to uncork it and like having the memories all over again. But this man is between life and death. Thus, the history of Utod is ended for the meantime.
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SITIO OF KAYSAMBAHIN
People of today worship God and spirits as off yester-years. In this site, as it was told by an old man of the barrio, it was so called because there was seen a man worshiping a spirit and offering sacrifices to free himself from [the] apparition, so then, Kaysambahin was adopted as its name.
Its first settler was my old, old grandfather Pablo Destreza, known as Kabisang Abong, serving the duty of the barrio lieutenant today. During the Spanish revolution, he received orders from higher officials of Cavite and Nasugbu which he transmitted to the people within his jurisdiction. Macario Destreza, Enal, Faustino Bayoneto and others wear among his men in the revolutionary army.
Today, this sitio could be traced ask marked by railroad and a bridge which the latter is a haunted place as it was a cemetery during those days. People from different sitios who died where buried here. The burying of the dead was so shallow that wild pigs from the forest took and ate them as remnants could be found by other people near the brooks.
On the sides of the railroad today is a tract of land devoted wholly to farming purposes. This is now depopulated and extinct. Tillers of the land are living in Utod proper.
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SITIO OF SAMPALUKAN
The barrio of Utod formerly was a thick forest inhabited by wild animals and other miraculous beings. The first settlers were engaged in making kaingin.
One time, an old man happened to go to his kaingin very early to start for work. He met a man of extraordinary size and features known to them as “bungisngis” or “kulating.” He was so frightened that he applied his knowledge of contradiction, saying “asawana” and exposed his male organ. This made “bungisngis” laugh to the highest point that his eyes were closed and the man ran to free himself. He ran without any di-
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rection till he reached a place with many tamarind trees and a few people living in it. It was called by them as Sampalukan. But today, this is Utod proper. The original family till the present is Agaton Villajin. This land is still marked by a few tamarind trees.
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SITIO OF AMARALINA
This sitio, according to some old settlers, was established in 1901. Among the first settlers was the family of Tandang Tobang Villaluna. On the northern part of Amaralina is called Kihupar, Humakling on the southern part, Kihabayo on the west, so-called because of the road shaped like a horse, while the eastern part is called Antipolo, the site having a shape like the trunk of an antipolo tree with rounded corners. However, the southern and central portions of Amaralina today are inhabited by the people. The residents today had just come from neighboring barrios. They are engaged in farming, livestock raising and fishing.
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SITIO OF BILOG-NA-PARANG
Bilog-na-parang is the present official name of the sitio. It was called Pinagbitinan formerly. However, the latter’s name was so-called because those persons suspected or had committed crimes or rather did a thing not in conformity with the rule of the Moros were hung on the trees. Sometimes, the flesh was sliced and cooked for their food.
Today, it has been renamed Bilog-na-parang because of the rounded shape of the vast farm. During the establishment of Utod in 1901, the original family who settled there was the Panaligan family. In 1950, the family moved to Kalamundingan. So, it is now depopulated.
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SITIO OF KALAMUNDINGAN
This is the sitio where the school site is now located. It has the most population among the sitios of Utod. The name originated from the five citrus trees growing along the road during the
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first settlement. The land [was] owned formerly by the Guya Rodriguez family. The construction of the school serves as a good asset in the moral, spiritual, economic and educational development in the lives of the people. The people find it more pleasant and enjoyable when their homes are near each other than when their houses are so secluded from each other. They would be often seen in groups having some sort of discussions about news of the day and politics, after the day’s work in the field is over. At times, they engaged themselves in some worthwhile activities such as indoor drama and others.
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SITIO OF KOLOONG
This sitio gots its name from the shape of the land it bears, that is, it is encircled, aside from being narrow. The first settlers were named Sagitay, Tiya, Seinal and Tandang Martin, the rattan vendor. The latter used to get rattan from the forest to be sold as a means of his livelihood. The former three people were engaged in farming. This sitio today is populated by [the] intermingling of people of Utod and Bunducan.
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SITIO OF PINAGTAWAGAN
This sitio is now extinct and depopulated. The Moros, having reached the Pantalan River (today), came to a portion of land for their settlement during the early days. The place served as a meeting place of people whom the Moros called to assemble. The Moros wanted to place the Filipinos in those days under their supervision. Whenever they wanted a meeting, their calling was so loud that the people residing in Pantalan, upon hearing it, declared “nagtatawagan.” Since then, it was called “Pinagtawagan.”
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SITIO OF MANIRAPA
The sitio was settled by the family bearing that name as early as 1901. At about 1925, it was inhabited by the family of Ricardo Destreza. There are brooks situated [in] the “Tirona,” the “Berto Brook,” respectively, so named after the early settlers. On the western part of Manirapa, the land has a
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reddish soil called by the people “pulang-lupa.” Now, this vast land is depopulated. Tillers of this land are now residing in Utod proper.
PART II – FOLKWAYS
10. A. Culture:
The settlers have are relatively advanced state of culture. Their occupations are mostly agriculture. Their houses are made of wooden posts, bamboo floor, nipa or cogon walls and roof. In the sitios, they use dry agriculture, dry farming, kainging system while wet farming is applied in the western part of Utod. They worship God and spirits. They offer sacrifices in their own homes for they seldom attend mass in the church on Sundays and other Holy Days of Obligation.
B. Birth:
Common practices to them are to cut the cord of a newborn child and hang it on the roof to prevent them from losing it or eaten by rats, if so the child will be crying always. Mothers must be very careful not to let their children cry at night because they believe if heard by the “patianak,” the more they will not cease crying.
C. Baptism:
It is the common practice that a newborn child be subject to “buhos tubig,” before he receives the formal baptism ceremony in the church. During the real baptism in the church, and it so happened that there is only one boy among girls, the former will be flattered by girls during courtship. The girls will be after him always and vice-versa. They have a feast in connection with the baptism. The whole family, including friends and relatives, attend the party. Usually, it lasts the whole day.
D. Courtship:
Previously, courtship was done through the head of the family approaching the other
PART I | PART II