Dayapan, Ibaan, Batangas: Historical Data - Batangas History, Culture and Folklore Dayapan, Ibaan, Batangas: Historical Data - Batangas History, Culture and Folklore

Dayapan, Ibaan, Batangas: Historical Data

Historical Data graphic
Historical data from the National Library of the Philippines.

Full transcription of the so-called “Historical Data” for the barrio of Dayapan in the Municipality of Ibaan, 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 DAYAPAN)
PART I: HISTORY

1. Present official name of the barrio – Dayapan

2. [The] Popular name of the barrio is Dayapan. It is derived from a tree called “dayap.”

3. Date of establishment – 1708

4. Original families – Torralba, Semira, Mendoza, Rena, Saez, Dimaano, de Castro, Villanueva.

5. List of tenientes from the earliest time to date –

1. Valentin Torralba
2. Basilio Patena
3. Juan Torralba
4. Apolonio Villanueva
5. Benito Panganiban
6. Pio Saez
7. Santiago Semira
8. Calixto Rena
9. Nazario Vernao

6. Story of old barrios or sitios within the jurisdiction that are now depopulated or extinct – None

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

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

a. During the Spanish occupation – None
b. During the American occupation to World War II – None
c. During and after World War II – Dayapan became the evacuation center during the Japanese occupation.

9. a. Destruction of lives, properties and institutions during wars, esp. in 1896-1900 and 1941-1945 – None

b. Measures and accomplishments toward rehabilitation – None

Part II – Folkways

10. Traditions, customs and practices in domestic and social life:

It is the custom of the people of this barrio that when a child is born, neighbors visit the newly-born babe with gifts as eggs, chickens and others. Every night, there is a puyatan. People enjoy different games as Huego de Frenda, dama and others. After the baptismal party, the puyatan is over.

11. Myths, legeds, beliefs, interpretations, superstitions:

In ancient times and even up to the present generation, the people of this locality have many queer beliefs regarding the different phenomena of nature and associate them with myths, legends, and superstitions.

The eclipses are believed to have bad effects all the suitors whose proposals to young maidens will meet their doom as in the case of Pinaglahuang Pag-ibig and to those who are newly engaged, it means a temporary break, as a third person has intervened in the happiness of the two lovers. But to those who have long been engaged, it means and everlasting happiness.

Earthquakes are believed to be the wrath of God. Others believed that it is the meeting of heat and cold under the earth. They didn't know that earthquakes of the tectonic type are caused by the loosening of huge boulders and falling one after another.

When a setting of eggs has been subjected to an earthquake, the eggs will not be hatched.

When lightning flashes are accompanied by thunder, old people say, close all the openings or leave them all open.

Do not go near a door, window or post but kneel and pray. Sometimes, the entire family sits around a dish of live charcoal placing dried coconut leaves which have been used in

[p. 2]

during Palm Sunday and blessed by the priest with holy water. The smoke from this gives relief from fear of lightning and thunder bolts. The old even sprinkle the corners of the house with vinegar. All these ways are believed will save the people inside the house from being struck by lightning and thunder bolts.

When clouds are moving fast, it is believed a typhoon is brewing somewhere. The rain is believed to have been brought up to the sky by a rainbow, and when the load becomes heavy, the rain falls.

The storms are believed to be God's wrath upon the many sins of man. The changes of the weather are believed to cause sickness, and the change of climate is attributed to [the] growing old age of the earth. All other natural phenomena are often attributed to the will of God.

12. Popular songs, games and amusements – Lulay, Bayan Ko, Abaruray, Tubigan, Pata, Subli.

13. Puzzles and Riddles –

14. Proverbs and Sayings –

1. Birds of the same feather, flock together.
2. Iron is destroyed by its own rust.
3. A faithful friend is better than gold.
4. Bend the tree while young.
5. There is no smoke without fire.
6. The sleeping shrimps are carried by the current.
7. Shallow water makes much noise.
8. A lazy man’s garden is full of weeds.
9. A rolling stone gathers no moss.
10. He who believes in tales has no mind of his own.
11. A santol tree never bears a guava fruit.
12. The greatest talkers are the least doers.
13. Do not count your chicken before they are hatched.
14. Never put off until tomorrow what you can do for today.
15. Study as if you would never reach the point you seek to attain.
16. Do not do unto others what you would not have others do unto you.
17. The earth has ears, and gossips have wings.
18. In every forest, there is a snake.
19. A liar is [the] brother of a thief.
20. Walk slowly, then if you step on a thorn, it will not go deep.
21. A whisper is louder than a shout.
22. Wisdom comes from experience.
23. Speech is silver but silence is golden.
24. If you want knowledge, you must toil for it.
25. One good turn deserves another.
26. Trifles make perfection.
27. Work and suffer to win ease.
28. Lose money but keep your work.
29. A wound from a bolo will have [heal?] faster than one from a tongue.

15. Methods of measuring time, special calendar

A young owlet commonly called “bahaw” in the locality makes a loud shrill noise early in the dawn and the time is five o’clock. At daybreak, it is usually reckoned as six o’clock in the morning. When the sun is overhead, that is, in the zenith, it is called twelve o’clock.

Another method is when the patula [patola] vine opens its flowers which is almost exactly five o’clock in the afternoon.

Signed: Nazario Verano
Notes and references:
Transcribed from “History and Cultural Life of the Barrio (of Dayapan)” 1953, online at the National Library of the Philippines Digital Collections.
Next Post Previous Post