Bukal, Taysan, Batangas: Historical Data Part II
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| Historical data from the National Library of the Philippines. |
PART II
PART I | PART II
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Myths, Legends, Beliefs, Interpretations, Superstitions
Origin of the World
The world was a Divine Creation. It originated from darkness.
Land
God was not contented that the whole world was totally water. Water evaporated through God’s will until enough of it was free from water, thus forming the portion called ladn.
Mountains
The elevated part of the land which appeared irregular after the evaporation of water became the mountains.
Caves
Caves were formed as a result of water on the irregular highlands when still covered by water.
Sea
The bodies of water that remained after the formation of land became the sea.
Lakes
Still, God was not contented that all bodies of water were salty, because not all living things thrived in it. So, lakes were formed for the benefit of those things adapted to it.
Rivers
Rivers originated from springs. Water, following the path of least resistance, continued to flow, thus forming rivers.
Plants
The first plants on earth appeared on the place where the skull of Adam was buried. The seeds of these plants were
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brought by the angels from heaven.
Trees
Trees had the same origin as plants.
Animals
All animals that were inside Noah’s Ark during the deluge survived. All these animals were sent forth by God to multiply. This was the origin of animals.
Sun
At first, the whole world was very dark. While the “Three Persons” were conversing from where to get light, they heard a voice. This voice instructed them to go to a certain old woman. On their way, they found a crystal stone as big as [a] cacao seed. They picked it up, looked at it, and were surprised to see that [it] was extremely shiny. They put it again on the ground and hit it with the tips of their toes. It was broken into two pieces of equal sizes. They were amazed to see that one half of [the] crystal stone was not only very shiny but gave heat and light to them. This was the origin of the sun.
Moon
The other half of the crystal stone became the moon.
Stars
Stars were created by God as a sort of decoration.
Eclipses
The people’s interpretation and superstitions about eclipses were:
1. When there is an eclipse of the moon, [an] expectant mother will suffer hardships [in] delivery.
2. When there is an eclipse of the sun, something unusual will happen.
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Earthquakes
Earthquakes originate from intense wind under the ground. This wind trying to find an outlet exerts great force, thus causing a great portion of the earth to move and sometimes produces cracks.
Their interpretation regarding lightning is that when heat and cold oppose one another in [the] atmosphere, it produces light and this becomes lightning. It also produces sound which they call thunder.
Clouds
The first clouds originated from the smoke produced when set [?] burned all the things he offered God.
Rain
The people believe that rain originated from the water drunk by the rainbow from the bodies of water and taken to the atmosphere. The water is being turned into raindrops and when the atmosphere cannot hold it anymore, these drops fall as rain.
Wind
The wind was created by God to give life to all living things.
Storm
That storm originated when the four elements of nature met.
Changes of Climate
The people believe that the changes of climate depend upon the different formation of the planets.
First Man and Woman
The first man was created by God out of soil, given life and named this man Adam. Through God’s will, Adam slept.
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God extracted one of Adam’s ribs, laid it flat at the left side of Adam, given life by Him and this became Eve. Then, God woke Adam up and [he] found the first woman, Eve, beside him.
Birth of Twins or More
Some people said that those who gave birth to twins was through the will of God. Their superstition regarding this was that expectant mothers who used to eat twin bananas or any twin fruits were likely to give birth to twins.
Sickness
People believed that sickness was caused by evil spirits. When someone became ill, they attributed it that it was through the power of the “ingkanto,” “nuno,” “dwinde,” etc.
Witchcraft
The people believed that the “ike,” “aswang,” “mangkukulam” and etc. were a sort of sickness bestowed by God to certain people. When a sick person became seriously ill, they said that the “ike” and the “aswang” visited the sick person.
Magic
Not known to them.
Divination
Same as the practice at present.
Popular Songs and Amusements
A. Songs:
2. Awit (performed by a man and woman), the theme is love.
3. Ang Bayan Kong Pilipinas.
B. Games and Amusements:
2. Suong
3. Estokada
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5. Sipa
Puzzles and Riddles
1. “Ang mga pantas ay marunong, naruroon at nagpupulong, ay hindi rin mayari ang hatol kundi sa pepe tumanong.” (Sulat)
2. “Pinalalayaw-layaw kamukha’y may sakit, kinawiwilihan di naman ibig.” (Pirisuhan)
3. “Kapirasog tosena di mabayaran ang halaga.” (Kamahal-mahalan)
4. “May isang mayamang nalooban, nakuhang lahat ang kayamanan, nguni’t walang nawawala isa man.” (Aklat)
5. “Walang paa’y may kamay, nalumok ng taong buhay.” (Baro)
Proverbs and Sayings
1. “Masilab na ang pook, huwag lamang matanaw ang usok.”
2. “Masdan sa mira at sa gawa magkita.”
3. “Nasa Dios ang awa, nasa tao ang gawa.”
4. “Ang hindi lumingon sa pinanggalingan ay hindi makararating sa paruruonan.”
5. “Magpakapula-pula ng saga, maitim din sa kabila.”
6. “Malakas ang bulong kaysa hiyaw.”
7. “Kung anong bukang bibig, siyang laman ng dibdib.”
8. “Ang tubig na matining, tarukin mo at malalim.”
Methods of Measuring Time
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1. Sun 2. Moon 3. Stars 4. Flowers |
5. Rooster 6. Birds 7. Crickets |
[Sgd.] (Miss) Maximina V. Bandojo
PART I | PART II