Baguilawa, Bauan, Batangas: Historical Data

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

[p. 1] HISTORY AND CULTURAL LIFE OF BAGUILAWA

Part I – History
1. Present official name of the barrio - - - Baguilawa

2. Popular name of the barrio:


NAMES OF SITIOS

Silangan - - - Kanluran

Ibaba - - - - - Ilaya
3. Date of establishment - - During [the] Spanish Administration

4. Original families - - - - (a) Dalangin family

5. List of tenientes from earliest time to date


6. Story of old barrios or sitios within the jurisdiction that are now depopulated or extinct:

In the middle part of the barrio, there are now few houses because most of the houses were moved to the field, for the people prefer to stay near the fields so they could attend to their poultry and

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hog raising. There is plenty of space for raising vegetables and fruits for home use.

7. Data on historical sites, buildings, structures, old ruins, etc. – None

8. Important facts, incidents or events that took place during:

a. Spanish Occupation
1. Appointment of cabeza or cabezas in each barrio.

2. [The] Cabeza assigned a person to teach the children of the barrios [a] little of Arithmetic, the “doctrina” and writing in Tagalog.

3. People evacuated to different places, for fear that with the coming of the Americans, they would be affected in their daily lives.

b. American Occupation
1. Building of schools made of nipa, cogon, and bamboo.

2. Sending of children to school was compulsory.

3. The changing of the cabeza to the teniente as head of the barrio.

c. During and after World War II
1. People in the barrio evacuated to different places.

2. [The] Japanese lived in the barrio. There was destruction of properties.

3. The Japanese bought the people’s field crops and animals at a very good price, so people had plenty of money. The people had plenty of money, but nothing to eat for production of food and merchandizing of same was scarce.

4. When the Americans came, the people of the barrio killed some of the Japanese that were hiding in some places in the barrio.

5. Many people of the barrio owned some firearms that were left by the Japanese.

6. More roads were opened in the mountains.

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9. a. Destruction of lives, properties, and institutions during wars, especially in 1896-1900 and 1941-1945



10. Traditions, Customs and Practices in domestic and social life, birth, baptism, courtship, marriage, death, burial, visits, festivals.

Marriage
The marriage festival is celebrated in the girl’s home. The parents of the boy shoulder all the expenses and responsibilities. The girl’s parents spend nothing. The girl receives [a] dowry, sometimes, land, money, animals, jewels, or other valuable things. There are times when marriage is postponed, for there is disagreement between the parents of the boy and the parents of the girl. After the marriage is over, the girl is taken to the boy’s house. The boy follows the next day. The couple stays at home for four days. They are not allowed to go elsewhere.

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Death
When someone dies in the house, the rest of the family should not take a bath for four days. They can take a bath after four days, with the belief that the flesh of the dead might fall from its bones. In case a wife dies, the husband should not peep at the grave for if he does, he at once will seek a wife; if he could not secure at once, he will be very much troubled, and even neglect his work and children. If a husband dies, and the wife does the same, the same thing will happen to her.

Punishment
According to old traditions and beliefs, it is not good to punish a child by tying him with a rope to a post or walls of the house, for when he grows old, he will be imprisoned.

Courtship
A boy courting a lady brings wood, water, and helps in all the work at home. If the girl likes him, he will not be questioned, but if the girl does not like him, she will tell her mother to tell the boy to stop helping them or stop bringing water or wood to their home to discourage [him] and then leave her eventually.

The boy who is admired by the girl continues to help at the girl’s home. Later, the parents of the girl will call the parents of the boy to talk about their marriage.

Baptism
A newly-born baby should be baptized at once, otherwise some sort of anitos will take him, or play with him, thus making the baby sick. The Godmother or Godfather of the baby selected should be [the] one who possesses good characteristics for, according to their beliefs, the baby inherits from him or her.

11. Myths, Legends, Beliefs, Interpretations, Superstitions, Origin of the World, Land, Mountains and other Natural Phenomena:

A. Origin of Rice:


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C. Origin of the Gold Mines in the Mountain Province

Many, many years ago in the hills of [the] Mt. Province, there laid a little Igorot village called Suyok. Every year, they celebrated the Igorot feast with a canyao. Canyao is a dance. In one of these celebrations, a great change came into the life of the village.

One day, Kunto, the bravest and strongest man of Suyok, went to the mountains to hunt. He had not gone so far when his keen eyes caught sight of a blackbird standing some distance ahead. Kunto paid no attention to the bird for it was only an ordinary crow and he thought it would fly away upon his approach. Instead of flying away, however, the bird came hopping toward the hunter. For the first time in his life, the brave Igorot hunter was afraid. He decided to give up his hunt for the day and returned to the village. He

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went to see the wise men of the village and asked them the meaning of that meeting with the bird.

“The blackbird is a messenger from our gods,” said one of the men. “Since the messenger of displeasure appeared to Kunto, let him decide how we can win back the goodwill of our angry gods. Let us celebrate a canyao to please the gods.” At last, on the day of the celebration, the people assembled around an altar build on the hill.

The pig above the village that was to be offered to the god as a sacrifice was securely tied when all at once it got loose and ran away. Just as Kunto was about to seize it, the pig vanished and in its place stood a trembling old man who was so weak that he could hardly stand. The people stood back. Kunto led the old man to a fallen tree nearby and bade him to sit down and rest. The people rushed to his aid but he held them back with his hand and said, “Don’t raise me anymore, my children. Let me lie where I have fallen. Go on with your feast and if you will obey the command that I shall now give you, you shall prosper. Your village shall grow rich. Bring me home some cooked rice, then cover me with a big kettle. On the third day of your feast, return to this spot. You will find a tree the like of which you have never seen before. Remember, let no one have the trunk or roots of this tree. Now go and leave me here.” There, they left him. They continued their feasting and dancing. Kunto lifted the kettle wondering if he would still find the old man under it. To his surprise, he found a tiny tree under the big kettle. It was the most wonderful tree for its trunk, branches, twigs, leaves and fruits, were all gleaming gold.

Kunto put out his hand and picked one of the shining leaves. As soon as a leaf was taken, another grew in its place. For a time, there was peace and contentment. Everybody was rich. The tree kept on growing and growing until finally it seemed to touch the sky. The earth shook and the ground opened where the tree fell. The tree sank down, into the earth and disappeared before the very eyes of the frightened villagers.

To this day, the gold remains buried into the depths of the earth at Suyok. Only by patient mining can the gold be gathered. If we go to [the] Mt. Province, we will see the mines near Suyok and maybe hear the story of their origin from the old men of the hill.

D. Why Crocodiles Keep on Eating Men and Monkeys

In the olden days, animals and men were friends. They could talk with one another without fear. The crocodiles and monkeys played together in the forest and whenever there were any disputes or troubles between them, they always let people whom they could contact settle the matter.

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In a thick forest by the side of a great river, there lived an old crocodile name Buwaya. Buwaya lived contentedly. Very often, his old friend Chongo came to him to chat. Day by day, Buwaya and Chongo sat by the bench in front of Buwaya’s bound, narrating each other’s experience and adventure. Buwaya had a son whom he loved very much. Since his son was very intelligent, he called him Buwayaito. One day, Buwaya’s house, which was the home of merriment in that thick forest was turned into a very lonesome one. His beloved son had fallen sick. Old Buwaya had tried all medicines he knew, but Buwayaito’s sickness became worse than ever. He had called all the best medicine men in the village but no one was able to make Buwaya well. Buwaya was afraid he would lose his son. One day, he went to the forest to the oldest Crocodile. This Crocodile was the best doctor. This doctor told him that Buwayaito will not get well unless he was able to eat the liver of a monkey. Buwaya was worried, but how he could get a liver of a monkey. The monkeys were his best friends; what will become of their friendship if he will kill one of Chongo’s tribe? But he must do it. He loved his son more than anyone. So, directly he went to Chongo’s house and decided to kill Chongo.

Upon reaching Chongo’s house, old Buwaya said, “Friend Chongo, please accompany me to the other side of the river so that I could get some medicine for Buwayaito.” “But how can I cross the river? I cannot swim,” answered Chongo. “You can ride on my back while I swim,” convinced Buwaya.

Ignorant of Buwaya’s intention, Chongo joined him. On their way to the river, Buwaya was thinking of how to kill Chongo. He was afraid he might miss him. Chongo might know his intention, and he might climb a tree. So, Buwaya thought that the best time to kill Chongo was while swimming in the river. They were on the river at last. Buwaya dived into the river and asked Chongo to ride on his back. When they were in the middle of the river, Buwaya dived underwater, and Chongo was very much afraid, so he cried. But Buwaya laughed at him and said, “I will kill you because I need your liver.” After saying these words, he again dived into the water. When they came to the surface, Chongo cried for help. It so happened that a fisherman favored his side. Chongo wept in front of the fisherman. Upon knowing their dispute, the fisherman said that it could only be settled by a race. If the Crocodile won the race, he could get the liver of the monkey.

The Crocodile grew angry upon hearing the fisherman’s judgment. Angrily, he shook his long tail to whip Chongo and the fisherman. With hatred in Buwaya’s eyes, he shouted, “From now on, I will keep on eating men and monkeys.” From this time on, he killed and ate up every man and monkey that he saw.

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SUPERSTITIOUS BELIEFS
1. It is said that when we are in the river or in the sea and we happen to see broken twigs carried by the current in a vertical position, it is a sign of a coming typhoon.

2. It is also said that when we are sleeping and we dream that one of our teeth is pulled, it is a sign that a nearby relative of the family will die.

3. When trees shed some of their green leaves without [a] strong wind, it is also a sign of [a] storm according to their beliefs.

4. In time of a meal, when a spoon or fork unholds [?] or falls from the table, it is the expectation of many people that somebody will come.

5. Another belief which is also a sign of visitors coming is when we see that [a] cat is wiping his face in front of the door, together with the hens fighting in the yard.

6. It is also said that when the moon and a star appear together in very nearest position, it is a sign of marriage in a certain place.

12. Popular Songs, Games and Amusements:

13. Riddles:

1. Nanganak ang birhen, itinago ang lampin.
2. Baboy ko sa pulo, ang balahibo’y pako.
3. Bahay ni Kiring-kiring, butas-butas ang dingding.
4. Dalawang magkapatid, sabay magbuntis.
5. Lingosin ng lingosin, hindi mo abutin.

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1. Dalawang langit-langitan, ang gitna’y karagatan.
2. Dalawang tindahan, sabay buksan.
3. Hinila ko ang hangin, namatak ang buhangin.
4. Gu-gulong gulong pa parang loko, ng magbangon ay medico.
5. Hinalo ko ang nilugaw, tumakbo ang inihaw.
6. Bangka ni Simeon nasa gitna ang timon.
7. Pisong hindi magasta, pisong malakas kumita.
8. Tinta puti, plumang bakli, papel na berde nasulat ay babae.
9. Kaloob-looban na pinaghalo-halo, niluto sa init ng pagkakasundo.
10. Tapis ni Kaka, hindi mabasa.
11. Buhok ng pare, hindi mahawi.

14. Proverbs and Sayings:

1. Ang taong matiaga, magtatamong pala.
2. Ilagay ang lahat sa dapat kalagayan.
3. Ang taong masabi at kulang sa gawa, tulad ng halamang sa damo ay sagana.
4. Magpaka-habahaba ang procession sa simbahan din ang urong.
5. Ang lakad na matulin, matinik man ay malalim. Ang lakad na marahan, matinik ay mababaw.
6. Ang maagap ay daig ang masipag.
7. Aanhin pa ang damo, kung patay na ang kabayo.

15. Methods of Measuring Time





Notes and references:
Transcribed from “History and Cultural Life of Baguilawa” 1953, online at the National Library of the Philippines Digital Collections.