Bukal, Taysan, Batangas: Historical Data Part I

PART I

PART I | PART II

Full transcription of the so-called “Historical Data” for the barrio of Bukal in the Municipality of Taysan, 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.

HISTORY AND CULTURAL LIFE OF BUKAL

[p. 1]

HISTORY AND CULTURAL LIFE OF BUKAL
PART I

The present official name of the barrio is bukal.

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

Bukal means a source of water. This word Bukal was derived from the spring in the river where people got water for their home consumption. There are two sitios within the territorial jurisdiction of the barrio, namely Balindes and Pulo ng Simon. Bukas was established in the year 1861.

Original Families.

Tenientes from the Earliest Time to Date.

The early settlers of Bukal [were] composed of several families settled or living not so far away from the spring in the river between San Marcelino and Bukal, which lies in the southern part of the barrio. This river in the southern part of the barrio is a connection of the river called Mahanadiong, which lies in the eastern part of the poblacion of Taysan. The people who live in this barrio get water from the spring for their home consumption. They suffered hardships in getting water for cooking food and washing dishes, because there was no well yet during that time. They did not know yet to make

[p. 2]

or dig it in the ground. As the people increased after a few years, the old folks called a meeting and planned to establish a barrio. They agreed to give [the barrio] the name of Bukal. Since that time until the present, the barrio has been called Bukal and [it] became the official name. The sitio of Balindes, which is in the northern part of the barrio, derived its name from the road which is slanted toward the center of the barrio. The sitio of Pulo ng Simon, which lies in the northwestern part of the barrio, derived its name from the name of Simon, who was the oldest man and almost the owner of the whole land in the sitio.

[p. 3]

PART II
Birth

When the woman feels she will give birth, she calls a midwife to assist her. After the baby is born, the midwife does all she can to take care of the baby and the mother. The baby is kneaded for one week while the mother is kneaded for two weeks. In the first week, the mother is kneaded twice a week while in the second, once a week. After two weeks, the mother takes a bath and the kneading ends. At night, many people in the neighborhood houses go there to see them. Some people stay until morning without sleeping to enjoy and watch them. They play there juego de frenda, teresite, or sonca. They do this for about a week. In the first birth, the parents of the baby’s mother choose the padrino or godfather while in the second birth, the parents of the child are allowed to choose.

Baptism

In christening the baby, the parents of [the] well-to-do prepare food to eat for the day. They invite their neighbors and other people in the barrio. They carry the baby to town to [be] baptized in the Catholic Church. After baptizing, they go home to the barrio. On this day, many people are gathered attending the christening. There are dances, songs and drinking of wine. They stay there until four o’clock in the afternoon.

[p. 4]

Courtship

In courtship, the young man visits the girl every night whom he loves. He helps the work in the home of the girl [for] one to three years. Then the parents of the girl favor him, they tell him to come with his parents to talk about the marriage of their children. In this talk, the parents of the boy prepare food to eat. They talk [of] the “bigay kaya” or donation. Sometimes, the “bigay kaya” is land, money, jewelries or animals. They talk also about the wedding and the date to marry. In this wedding, the parents of [the] well-to-do kill [a] cow and pig for the wedding.

Marriage

When the two parties agreed to marry their children, they choose the padrinos. Then, they go to town with their children to register their marriage in the Catholic Church. The boy and girl are announced by the priest for three Sundays during the mass. On the third Sunday, they all go to town to marry on the next day. After the marriage of the couple has been solemnized, they go home to the barrio. On this day, many people are gathered at the home of the girl attending the wedding. There are dances, especially rigodon, subli, telibio, abaruray, etc. There are also songs and guitar to enjoy [entertain] the people. After the people have eaten, the couple sell some things such as bread, cigarettes, suman, kalamay and wine to have money. This custom is called “sabugan” [in] which relatives and friends of the two parties donate money, jewelry, land, or animals. After this, the girl will be taken to [the] home of the boy, while the boy stays for one day at the home of his wife.

[p. 5]

Death

At the death [of someone], many people go to the house of the dead. They contribute a certain amount of money for candles. Some people of the neighboring houses stay until morning without sleeping to watch and to enjoy [the writer probably means “console”] the members of the family. They read the book of [the] Passion of our Jesus Christ. Other people play teresite, that is, playing cards. If the dead is a member of a well-to-do family, he or she is put in the coffin while the poor is just wrapped in a mat.

Burial

On this day, [a] pig or cow is killed for food to eat. The dead is carried to town to be solemnized in the Catholic Church. Many people in the community go to attend the burial. If the dead is a member of a well-to-do family, he or she is assisted [accompanied] by the priest and a band of music till the cemetery. The dead is buried into a pantheon or monument while the grave of the poor is just a hole dug in the ground. At the fourth, ninth and fortieth days and after a year has elapsed, food is prepared to be eaten by the people who gather at the home of the deceased. The people pray to God for the salvation of his soul in Hell or Purgatory.

Visits

Every year on All Saints’ Day, some people go to the cemetery to visit the graves of their dead, but many people in the community do not go and just prepare food to eat and then pray for the salvation of the souls.

Festivals

Every year in the month of May, there is Novena in the barrio. The people in the community build a chapel like a camarine [?] where people gather here every night to hold a Nove-

[p. 6]

na. The altar with a Virgin is decorated with flowers. Many people in the community attend the Novena. After the Novena, there are dances, especially subli, telivio, abaruray and others to enjoy [entertain] the people. There are also songs and guitar, besides a drum. At the end of the month, there is a great festival. People in the community voluntarily contribute either money, rice, and chickens for the feast. When there is much collection, food is prepared to eat and the priest is summoned to hold a mass in the chapel of the barrio. On this day, the people in the community do not work but attend the mass. They wear their pretty clothes and jewelries. After the mass, there are juego de anillo and games. In the evening, there is a procession of the Virgin with the ladies of well dressed [?]. After the procession, there are folk dances, especially subli, abaruray, telivio and rigodon. There are also songs and guitar to enjoy [entertain] the people. At midnight, the people eat food. They stay there until morning to enjoy themselves.

Punishment

If someone makes a minor crime in the community, he is taken to the Teniente del Barrio for punishment. The punishment is just wept [?] by him. If someone makes a serious crime, he is taken to the town for investigation and [a] court trial. If he is found guilty, he is imprisoned in the jail for several years or for life imprisonment.

PART I | PART II

Transcribed from “Historical and Cultural Life of Bukal,” 1953, online at the National Library of the Philippines Digital Collections.