Batangas Community History and Folklore

This page contains links to the history and folklore of the towns and cities in Batangas.

Articles Based on the Henry Otley-Beyer Anthropology Collection

• 12 Marriage and other Customs Observed in Calaca, Batangas in 1931
• 13 Superstitious Beliefs of the People of Santo Tomas, Batangas in 1925
• 22 Beliefs Held in San Jose, Batangas in 1925
• 6 Batangueño Amusements to Pass Time in 1916
• A 1922 “Tiyanak” Story set at the foot of Mount Makulot in Cuenca, Batangas
• A Folkloric Tale of a Marian Apparition that Led to the Building of the Lipa Cathedral 
• A Legend of the Calumpang River in Batangas City
• An Encantado Tale Told in Santo Tomas in 1925
• Batangas Legend: the Origin of the Locust
• Beliefs Held by the People in Lian, Batangas in 1924
• Beliefs Held by People of Lipa in 1924 with Regards Natural Phenomena
• Documented General Characteristics of the Batangueño in 1915
• Gurumay: a Traditional Game Played in San Jose, Batangas in the 1920s and Earlier
• Life and Economics in Lian, Batangas Early in the 20th Century
• Marriage Customs in Batangas in 1916
• Methods of Catching Fish in Balayan, Batangas in 1916
• More Superstitious Beliefs in San Jose, Batangas in 1925
• Superstitions of the People of Taal, Batangas Circa 1925
• Taysan’s Relative Isolation from the Rest of Batangas in 1916
• The Eclipse of the Moon: a Batangas Legend
• The Economic Roles Women in Batangas played in 1916
• The Folkloric Origin of the Subli Dance of Batangas from a 1916 Ethnographic Paper 
• The Legend of the King of Taal Volcano
• The Mariang Ilaya and Engkanto Legends of Mount Makulot as Told by Elders in Cuenca in 1922
• The Merchants of Taal in 1934 and a Business Model Based on Filipino Honesty
• The Miraculous Well of Our Lady of Caysasay in Cuenca, Batangas
• The Physical Characteristics of the People of Batangas in 1916
• The “Procesion Civica,” Highlight of Cuenca, Batangas’ Fiesta Celebration c. 1930 
• The Revival of the "Haybing" Religious Drama in Taal in 1929 
• The State of Agriculture in San Juan, Batangas in 1919
• The State of the Pottery Industry in Pallocan, Batangas in 1917
• The Story of Juanang Ilaya, Supposedly a Legend Started in Lipa Town
• When Batangas was the “Orange Capital” of the Philippines

City/Town Histories from NLP Historical Data

• 100 Old Tagalog Sayings with English Translations Told in Balayan, Batangas 
• 19th Century Tulisanes Banditry in Calaca, Batangas
• 5 Steps to Finding a Wife the Batangueño Way – Old Batangas Courtship Traditions 
• 5 Strange Batangas Beliefs when there are Deaths in the Family
• A Bauan Native’s 1945 Escape from Certain Death at the Hands of the Japanese 
• An Old Tourist Spot in Taal Called the Pansipit Fishery
• A “True” Tigbalang Story Set in a Barrio of Lipa City 
• Barrios in Lipa where Concentration Camps were set up during the Fil-Am War 
• Brief History of the Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Conception of Batangas City
• Captain Roberto Lemery, the Spanish Outpost Commander after whom a Town is Named
• Cuatro Santos: the Four Barrios Disputed by Lipa and Tiaong during the Spanish Era 
• Examining a “Tale” of Corruption during Spanish-Era Tanauan, Batangas
• Forgotten Historical Trivia about some Towns and Cities of Batangas Part I
• Forgotten Historical Trivia about some Towns and Cities of Batangas Part II
• How American GIs Helped Revive Batangas’ Balisong Industry 
• How Mount Batulao Got Its Name – a Folkloric Story 
• Mataasnakahoy’s Role in Lipa’s 19th Century Grandeur
• Nasugbu in World War II: A Historical Narrative 
• Nasugbu Right after World War II 
• Stories about the Liberation of Batangas City from Japanese Occupation
• The Amusing Stories of Suan, Batangas’ Version of Juan Tamad 
• The Legend of the Gabi (Taro) as Told in Malvar Batangas 
• The Roundup of Katipunan Sympathizers and Two Other Stories set in Batangas Town in the Late 19th Century
• The Tree after which Ibaan was named and other Historical Trivia about the Town
• Traditional Ways by which People of Lipa Estimated Time and Predicted Weather
• When the Holy Cross Refused to Leave Alitagtag to Save Its Inhabitants from Taal Volcano 
• When the Japanese Massacred Bauan’s Male Population in 1945 

History of Mataasnakahoy Based on Ceferino Capuchino's Narrative (ordered by publication)

• The Wealthy Silvas and Templos of Lipa and the Original Families of Mataasnakahoy
• Mataasnakahoy and the 19th Century Coffee Boom in Lipa 
• Mataasnakahoy: Recovering from the Abaca Decline in the 1920s
• Particulars of Mataasnakahoy’s Separation from Lipa in 1932
• Mataasnakahoy: World War II to Martial Law Years 
• Mataasnakahoy: on to the Golden Jubilee Year of 1982 
• Mataasnakahoy: the Celso Landicho Mayoralty 

Other Historic and Folkloric Articles on Batangas' Towns and Cities

• 20 Forgotten Filipino Superstitions from an Obscure Lipa City Historical Document
• 24 Superstitions from San Jose, Batangas 
• 4 Different Versions about How Taal Got Its Name
• A Forgotten Mariang Makiling Legend Set in Balayan, Batangas 
• Alternative Stories about How Lipa City Got Its Name
• Badong and the Legend of the House Lizard as used to be Told in Tanauan, Batangas  
• Balandis: the Slanted Houses Along a Road in Cuenca/Alitagtag
• Balisong, the famed Batangas Butterfly Knife, May Not Have Been Invented in Batangas
• Batangas Province’s Oldest Towns and Cities
• Batangas Uno and other Antique Furniture that Sell for at least ₱1M
• British Troops Chase after Treasures in 18th Century Batangas
• Finding Ferdinand: the Search for the Irish Ancestor of the Mayo Clan of Lipa
• Folkoric Stories about the Names of Batangas' Towns and Cities
• How Churches in Balayan, Bauan, Ibaan, Lemery, Lipa, San Jose, San Juan, Tanauan and Taysan Looked Like in 1911
• How Taal, Batangas Looked Like in 1911 as seen from Pictures of the Luther Parker Collection
• Hypotheses on the Difference in Accents between Eastern and Western Batangas
• Know the Life and Culture in the Town of Lipa, Batangas in the 1800s
• Old Beliefs about Birth, Baptism, Love, Weddings, Death and Burial in Lemery, Batangas
• Old Courtship and Marriage Customs in Taysan, Batangas
• Old Courtship, Marriage and Birth Traditions in Taal, Batangas
• Searching for Nasugbu’s Lost Airfield
• Teodoro M. Kalaw’s Version of Juanang Ilaya and other 19th Century Scare Stories Told to Children 
• The 1749 Eruption of Taal Volcano which Forced 2 Pueblos to Become One as Tanauan
• The Amusing Folkloric Tale of How Lipa Got Its Name 
• The Appearance of the Devil According to the Lipa Marian Visionary
• The Augustinians and their Role in the Founding of Taal, Batangas, Tanauan, Bauan and Lipa
• The Folkloric Story of the Beginnings of Batangas City
• The Legend of the Miraculous Holy Crosses of Alitagtag and Bauan
• The Magic Book of a 19th Century Jesuit Priest in Alitagtag, Batangas 
• The Mysterious Our Lady of Caysasay Story as told in Old Tagalog by the 18th Century Agustinian Friar Francisco Buencuchillo
• The Oral History of the Sawali Industry of Taal
• The Original Locations of Some of Batangas' Towns and Cities
• The Towns of Batangas that used to be Part of other Towns in the Province
• When Alitagtag was a “Resort of Ghosts and Devils,” and the Cross that Purged These 
• When Passenger Train Service Ran from Calamba to Batangas City
• When the Town of Bauan was founded along the Shores of Taal Lake
• Why Once There were no Chinese in Taal, Lemery and Bauan in Batangas