Mabayabas, Taysan, Batangas: Historical Data

Historical data from the National Library of the Philippines.

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

[Cover page.]

HISTORY AND CULTURAL LIFE OF THE
BARRIO
of
M A B A Y A B A S

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M A B A Y A B A S

People of the tropics enjoy mingled emotions in their experience in eating guavas with salt. You will marvel at the exceeding sweetness and delicacy of the guava jelly. Guava, when cooked with coconut milk as broth and added little sugar (ginataan), is a sovereign vegetable delicacy fit for a king. When a newly born baby has some gray and speckled red spots on the body after birth, the superstitious midwife and worried father and mother will substantiate their conclusions that the mother, when conceiving, was not able to eat the brittle tender ripe guava fruit.

The guava tree is an ordinary tree in this locality. The spear-shaped, dark green color leaf is a medicinal leaf when boiled. It is used as an antiseptic for [a] freshly cut wound. The juice of the fresh tender leaves, when crushed, is a good first aider. The stems and big branches are first-class firewood, which burn easily and gives intense heat. The fruit of these trees are good for both men and animals.

Such is the barrio of Mabayabas, the land of guava trees and whose name was taken from this tree. Far and near, you will see numerous guava trees for which it was named after. It is the haven of hospitable people, nice young ladies and brave-hearted young men. What a brittle and tender young guava fruit is to a conceiving mother are the young ladies and gentlemen to its nearby barrio.

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M A B A Y A B A S

1. Present official name of the barrio: M A B A Y A B A S.

2. The present and past name of the barrio is Mabayabas, which means plenty of guavas. Calbangan and Loob are both sitios of the barrio. The former means a place noted for the small bamboo-like plants locally called calbang, while the latter, Loob, got its name as a rendezvous for the robbers during the Spanish time, which is a good hideout for the tulisanes.

3. There is no written record as to when the barrio was established, but the old folks of the place said that it dates back somewhere when the town of Taysan was established.

4. [The] Original families were the surnames Capili and Amada.

5. So far, the following tenientes del barrio are the only ones remembered. Mr. Fortunato Capili is the present teniente del barrio.

6. Calbangan is a sitio noted for small bamboo-like plants which abundantly grow along streams and rivers that surround

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the place. It is the farthest sitio in the north of Mabayabas. Loob, another sitio, is the place noted during the Spanish time as the “Home of the Bandits.” It is very near the town and on the western part of Mabayabas.

7. There are no historical sites, structures, buildings and old ruins within the barrio.

8. Loob, during the Spanish time, was called the home of the bandits. In Mabayabas, frequent hold-ups occurred. The victims were both Spaniards and rich merchants of the municipality who come and go out of the municipality to trade and buy goods.

9. During the American occupation and at present, it was and still is the center of trade due to the network of country lanes where the farmers come and go to carry and bring their products for sale. Before the war, the market was in Mabayabas.

10. Mabayabas is proud of its 202 voters. There are 131 houses made of light materials. It has a population of 502 inhabitants.

The inhabitants of the place are fairly educated as to its nearness to the poblacion. Children study in both public and private schools in town. There are also some students enrolled in the city pursuing their studies.

Most of the people are farmers. The land is fairly divided among the people. The fields are raised with different kinds of crops, such as rice, corn, mongo; while the fruit-bearing trees are coconuts, citrus, jackfruits, and avocadoes. This is another source of the people’s income. Chickens and hogs are raised by the people, too. Economically speaking, the inhabitants are of average [income?] as every family has a lot to cultivate and

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[missing word] their daily living.

Religiously speaking, the population is 98% Roman Catholic, as evidenced that only two families in the barrio belong to the other sect. Early in the morning on Sundays and feast days, you will wonder at the caravans of different types of people dressed in their best Sunday clothes parading to town in multicolored attires; sometimes, suffering [missing] the morning meal for the Holy Communion. The old folks who belong to the Sacred Heart Society called “Seladeras” are proudly displaying their habitues of Sta. Rita and red scapulars. Children attend catechism at two o’clock in the afternoon.

Mabayabas is proud of these personalities both living and dead:

(a) Mr. Zoilo Barte, a veteran politician and at present the barrio’s leading personality, is a father of several careered sons and daughters. A faithful husband and a devout Catholic, he is the number one politician of the barrio and was [for] several years town mayor of the municipality, having run [a] several re-elections. He has filled several government positions and still rated strong in [the] line of politics.

(b) If the Philippines have a Tandang Sora, the people of Mabayabas are proud of their deceased tender-loving mother by the name of Braulia Alido, known locally as Nanay Veri. A noted educator with no diploma, she was one of those responsible for diminishing the barrio illiteracy. Her pupils excelled in Tagalog vernacular, Arithmetic and Religion. Most of the prizes donated by the parish curate were won by her pupils in the annual

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contest held by the religious orders. She was also known for her philanthropic acts. She received no remunerations from her teachings in the barrio. Her advice was sought, especially those separating husbands and wives.

(c) Another personality worth mentioning, who died many years ago, is Mr. Pablo Capili, the beloved husband of the late Braulia Alido. He was a medikillo [?] by profession though he had not had [to] burn the midnight oil to attain much skill in the line of medicine. He was sought far and near to cure common ailments of the different barrios of the town. He, like his wife, was philanthropic, too. He was a councilor of the municipality and his advice was respected in the community.

9. (a) During the Japanese time, Mabayabas suffered a great deal. Some of her inhabitants were killed by the Japanese army men. Houses were burned. Work animals were taken by force. Most were taken without pay and if someone was given money, it was not even sufficient to [cover] the price of both cattle or anything the Japanese soldiers laid their hands on.

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DIVISION OF BATANGAS
District of Lobo

TAYSAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

HISTORY AND CULTURAL LIFE OF THE BARRIO