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BOHOL FOLKLORE

A Thesis Presented to

the Faculty of the Graduate Schoo!

University of San Carlos

In Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in English

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By

Maria Casenas Pajo

MARCH'1954

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The Thesis attached hereto, entitled

B 0 H 0 L

FOLKLORE

prepared and submitted by Maria C. Pajo in partial fulfillment of the degree of MASTER OF ARTS IN ENGLISH

is hereby accepted.

.1 !

Co-censor

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Dean

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and dances, t.ation of songs

~ Ld have been :;~s thesis wou

extremely

The writ

d thanks to 1

an .

leg."

Visayan Gol i'

collecting myts Echol.

PAJO (MRS.) MARIA c ..

To Reve

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f

uate School /?J . 's dUf itude a s .'

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ervatl !

reading ofr..

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tive . I .•.. ~

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.7the mally gOlle!'nl1wnt and school officials and P!'1-

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vat;e.~rens ot: Bohol who IDost Willingly g""e their part

C-".-,," -'f'L.

and ·:,jr]bl e tim" end e>rtended th ail" ai d in IDany wayS, the

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. authlP'eby ~res s e S lJ e,.. IDost gra t et:Ul. a cknowl edgIDent

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aqa~~",ci ati on,

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help in the notltion of songs and dances, .

..,ut his

cooperation, this thesis would have been extremely difficult.

(MRS.) MARIA C. PAJO

Cebu City 1~lai:' c h.·-l954

-, ... y- - .... ~

FoJ..~· ~pnc e •• • • ~--.-------~.~.-- _

/Folk song Fable.

• • •

. .

ill • ... •

• •

,

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.. . . .

';Proverb /Riddle

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• •

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~ . .. ..

. .

. . . . . ~ .

• .. II .. .. a • tI

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Organization of the s t udy • • ~ • • .. ., • ~

II

Methods of. study • • 0 • • 0 • • • ~ • • •

CUSTOMS, BELIEFS, ,AND SUPERSTITIONS • • • • ~ Some customs among the Boholanos • • ¥ ~

13

13

Marriage customs in early Bohal e • ~ • • Bohol marriage customs in the nineteenth

1 ' -4

('

and twentieth cr.

16

. . .

• • •

.. .

• • •

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60

71

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

THE PROBL~~~ND DEFINITIONS OF TERMS USED

& •

The problem .. . • • • • . • •

II( • • " • • •

Statement df the problem Importance of the study ..

Definitions of terms used

I • " • ;0 • • "

• • •

.. II • .. •

· . ... .

• • • • •

-,

Folklore

.. • • • .. • ~ • • .. I • • • • •

Myths •• ' •

• •

· . ~ .

· . .

• ... • • do •

Legends .. ..

.. .. .. 4 .- •

. . .

vFolk tale • . . · . . . · . • • • • • • .
. -
Be.J..';to~s • . . . ,0 • • . . · .. . · .. • ~
BOHOL MYTIiOLOGY • • • .. • · • • • ... .~ · • · •
Myth of creation .. .' • · • · • '" • • •
.. Origin of the first man and woman ~ ~ • • ~ /'

#The story of the eclipse '# • .. .. .. • •

Origin of the social classes • • ~ .. • • ..

,.Myth on the fall and redemption of man .. ..
~th of Bohol .. .. . . • · · · • . • • .. .. ~
The ascension into-heaven · · • .. • .. .. · • ,yin'e origin of ri ce ... • • • • .. ~ • • .. • ~y Bohal kinampay is delicio:}!~ and

fragrant ••••• 4 " • • • • • • • • •

The bleeding tree' ~ e

Diwata

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Feasts and entertainments • ..

. .

• •

PAGE

1$

19

20

21

2'~

.'-.. ..... ----' ..

26

29

. rIb

146

149 150

152

153 156

160

166

J .. 68

A feast in honor of Anitos

• • • 0' .. • "

A christening feast or barrio fiesta

· "

Ceremonies of the dead

III: • • .. • • • • •

Customs and moral conduct,

• • II' IJ

• •

Some other Boholano customs

• • •

c •

· ..

The ceremony when sickness arrived

• • •

Ceremony before beginning a caingin e ~ '" Boholano Halloween customs

. '" . . .. . .

Some easter customs •

r .

• • ..:!- • • .". 11 e !II '!

·/The my e c er y witches. " -+':;tinl~-.

If .. • e

/"The ghost wi.th the r-ope

.. ..

The greedy uncle
The lost Juanito
\J/The magic prison
The rain of stones w .. •

e •

• • • .. ... • -!f

. ~ . . .

• • • ~ ~ • D

The amulet (Anting-anting) • ~ •• ~

The flower man

• •

• • • ~ • • • • • • 4

The firebug • 0 • • • • • • • • ~ ~ • • e

~e Bingag cave .•

~ . .

.. .. e • ... .' • c -!:..

.~aria Loon •• .,. • • • The magnifi cent mar-b.le

. .., . .. ~ .. . ... ..

.- ~ • • - * • ~ ~

The -greedy man

• e

Buyagan. .e ., ~

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The carabao knoc'red down by a man •

The mango tree and the lampakanay

• • • •

vii:1 ..
PAGE
123
12h
125
127
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130
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131 ./
133 ...
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149
150
152
153
156
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160
163
166
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Soft-boiled rice

,. • e _ .. e 0 .. • .. • •

The trigamist' •

· .

o q. • •

. . .. .

. .. ..

The carabao and the rice bird •

. ..

• • Q

Magic '~tories

• • ~ • c

· . . . . .

A haunted balite tree •

· .

The duendes

. . .

c .. .,.

vThe mystery witches

· .. .

.. ~ .. .. 0

,/The ghost with ·the rope

. .

.. .. ... .

· . ..

The greedy uncle • • • .. · • • .. • .. .. .
The lost Juanito • · ~ ~ .. .. .. · • .. .. .•
v'The magic pri-son 0- • .. .. · . • · .. " · 0
The rain of stones · · • · .. .. • .. • · • The amulet (Anting-anting) The flower man

..: 0 .. ... It • *

The firebug • •

• • •

.. .. . ..

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~e Bingag -~aria Loon

cave. w

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The magnifi cent marbl-e The -greedy man

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Buyagan .. e .,

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PAGE
168
171
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171
172·
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175
175
] ...,. ,
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~, 178 131

1.8::

187 1.$$ 190

192

193

194

VI.

FOLK SONGS AND FOLK DANCES

.. . ..

• •

.. "

. ~

Folk songs • Lullabies

4" .. • _ • • • • • .. III • •

.. • • 0' • • .. • • • .. ,II • ., ..

Katulog na Inday (Sleep my Darling)¥ ~

Tingkatulog (Be(,ltimej

••• ~ 0 Q ~ ._.

Nursery rhymes and children's songs "R

Pd na Langa ko (I'm the Pet) • " S • ~ "

~nday Kalachuchi (Darling Kalachuchi).

~..,.Arhg P~breng Kahoy (The Frail Tree) Ang Atong Langam (Our Philippine

" "

Birds). " Q " •

• • to • II III • • .. ill. ,

May Langgam (There is a Bir4)

• •

.. .

Batang Diutay (Little Child)

• • •

. "

r10 nga Bata (An;Orphan)

• •

· " ..

" .

Humorous Songs

, . .. ..

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• _. .. II

. "

~ng T010 Ka ?vlga Daga (The Three

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Sisters) .. ~ i •

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AKOY Kahoy Lauan (I am Lauan Tree)

• •

Dandansoy /. • . • . • . .. • • • • w ~

Owak ug Banog (The: Crow and the Hawkl.

~Y Taquia ..••• Occupational Songs Q

~.~ ~ e • • •

• •

• •

If .. f' "'" ~. •

'Ang Mga Ngane ni Tiyo Doroy {The Rice.

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PAGE

195

200

/3i Nanay , 8i Tatay J "Namasol sa Dagat;

-t

(My Mother and Father Went Fishing). 202

203

204

206

---_._.

209

211

213

219

22C}

222

224

228 229 230 231 232

23/· 272

Harvesters of Old Doroy). , Ang Muchacha (The Servant)

• • • • • ft

· ~ . .. . .

Ang Mamasol (The Fisherman) • •

.. . . .

Kabus nga fvIangingisda (The Poor

Fisherman) .••••••••.••• - .' Autong Balanghoy (Ca sava Cak as ) • • Ang'Magbabaul (The Farmer).

• • •

· . .

Ang Kawadon (Poverty) ~ Filipinas fPhilippinesj

• • •

· . .

· .

~ . .

· .

Dalagang Tagabukid (A Country Maiden) • Arkelinya ~e Songs

"

Ang Bulak

•• ••• c .... ·.e"" ..

."" ..... tJ.a •• a •••••

(The Flm'.1pr) •

· . . .. ..

· .. ..

. Ang Pongpong nga Bulak (A Bouquet).

"

Langkata sa Dughan. • • .

. . .

• • e -0

pgkagarbuso (How Arrogant)

· ~ . . . ,

Hain Kana (Where are You Lovs},

" '" • II!

Religious Songs . •

... 'III • •

.. . ..,. . ..

· .

Daegon Ta (Let Us Carol). Sa Be~en (In Bethleh~m)

. .

• • ~ r •

· . .

· . .

. .

. .

" .

. ..

• • •

· .. .

· .

Folk Dane as •

• • .• 0 ~

• .-.. • OIl

opepfo~ Further Research.

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rCarinosa·.:. -

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. xi -

PAGE 238 239 240 242 244 245 249 250

'251

253

253

253

254 25..8 261

262 263 264

.-~'~

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268 270

'270 272

- '., ....

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.. ..

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. . .. .

.. . .

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.. . ..

~~1l~\~g9:-. '-f.'" .~._... • •

. Man~'~$~ete_ Dance .. .. •

. '..,. ;' ". .. ' .. ~ ~ ;.~ .~ ..

Maramibn ';".

~. , . , ' '. '-:'~',

--\

Rel~gi'o~~,panges

. .

.. .. .

.. .. ..

.. . ..

. ..

.- .. ' ...

.. .. ..

II: III • • •

. .

.. .. ..

. . . ..

.. . .

. ·iWa.~ _"panc~'~ --...:1- •. -.«. .,- • ~ ." • .. .. ~"-.-',,, .••. '.

,p6s~i,I1I:P~D-E;$JAND' PROVERBS;. - • .. '- .. ' ..

.: ; "'. -...:.. ~.- . - ::; - -. .. ' ~. -' . -~'. .

_~a.:ttire of _ E~h~l~no Poetr.y • •• • .. .. ~ ..

.. . ... . .. --,. ,. .

.. " ..

Riddles'

.. s :

... eo • •

.. .

.. '" ..

.......

. - . .

.~overbs .• '\~,:: •

· .. ..

. .. ..

. .. . "

.. ..

.. . ..

• •

· .' .....

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. '. A,sa -K,a~,pai~~tq1?-' . Hinoyohoy (TRpi ther'

, .

.. : .. G()8S:t 'Tholl~·--Cold Breeze) ~

· ...

. .. ..

. ' .

ill .....

. ..... . .

. .

.B·0hol-. .- .• .• .' .... ~.

. .. -.

,. • ... .•. ~ ... :.~·.o _ e.o• •

... -.'

, •• c

.- .. • •• - c • i .- , •• :<:- •. : .~ .. -.:: ... ;. . .•. •

. Tn Def'ens~, ·of Bohi;:ll{ll'io Character. • • •

. -

• •

... ' .T~e;::·.~~.~_~l?nos.'-ha(k::p'~i,mi::i v¢ -Li t .era1!~t~: __ : .. Bo.J:iorf.qJkiore6peit-:'fc)y~' Further Research.

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and Educational Value of Folklore.

274

•

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278

•

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CHAPTER I

THE PROBLEM AND DEFINITIONS OF TERMS USED

There are, generally speaking, two opinions about the

Boho Lanos , The first opinion is one of praise-for the

Boholanos. They are called the nIlocanos of the South"

be-cause of their daring and pioneering, their industry and

t,ru~ift, their modesty and hospitality, their conservatisDl and hardihood.

The second op l ni.on is one of contempt and humi Li at.f.o o

for the Boholanos. They are despised and laughed a t ; t.h oy are even made the target of jokes and anecdotes just because they are simple,peaceful, silent and unassuming people. Their thrift is misconstrued for tightfistiness and selfishness; thair simplicity and modesty is mistaken for ignorance and stupidity and old-fashionedness; and

·their hospitality is taken for mere pretense and display.

The first opinion is based upon actual contact wi t h Boholanos in their own homes in.Bohol and of Boholanos

. elsewhere in the archipelago for a certain length of time.

The second opinion seems t.o have- ~en. ba.s~d upon hearsDY and upon certain peculiarities displayed by Bohola-

~ ".

~- no peddlers who visit other provinces-and cities of the

This conclusion -has been made aft er- a limi t-

,Philippines.

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ed observation only and upon one class of Boholanos~ the

-peddlers, who do not represent the true Boholano. Because of this conflicting opinion, it is an obligation of a true Boholano to make a survey of its past, and of i tis folklore in order to support the first opinion.

I • THE PROBLEIVI

Statement of the Erobl§.m. It is the purpose of this

t'.

i: study (1) to attempt a survey of BohoLano Folklore for t hi.e

1.-

L

r: has never been tried so far; (2) to find out if Bohal is

~:

'really a fertile field for folklore as has been

1· d 1 c alm.e~i

(J) to make a collection of folklore- to be read and to b<.

enjoyed for its own sake; (4) to i'ind how much folklore

has

influenced the Ii ves of the people as revealed through ·Jb-·

servation and study; (5) to collect folktales and other

~

~. 'i folkloristic data of Bohol in order to help provide mate= l..

~:'

rials for such comparative studies, since the present r.:!ate~

t . rials are still insuffi ci ent ; . (6) to record in w:ti ting' oral. r

r

! .

: to point out the literary and educational value of Boholano '~.

r:

~... folklore.

literature of our own native dialect into English; and (7)

Importance of the study. The habit. of telling sto~

1 Circulo Boholano (Cebu: Falek's Printing House, p. 25. ·

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ries is one of the most important characteristics of the

hUman race. The most ancient civilizations, the mo-s.t bar...,

barous savages, of whom we have any knowledge have yiel~ed to investigations clear tra cesar the possession of this

. practice. The specimens o:f their darrative that have been :gathered .from the remotest times from all the ends of the ·earth show traces of purpose, now religious and didactic;

now patriotic and political; but'behind the purpose, one c3n discern the permanent human delight in 'the story for its. own ~.ake.. Folklore contains such a wealth of materials for the story teller. Folklore spurred narrators toa self discovery of their La tsnt talents, and roused an ambition to searer: new levels of performance&2

iirst, folklore was used as a recreative device in school and home, simply for amusement and individual ent.eZ'-

r' tainment.

F

Second,. folklora has been the means of approach to a study of the mind 01 anct errt peoples and to the acqut.s t t.t on of scientific information regaz-df.ng the past history of t.he

[,peopleof a certain land.

,.

t·

['it is-possible to trace the history of a civilization or

k

.. ~'-

,

I

~

?

Through an analysis of folklore,

, 2 Clifford H. Nowlin,. The Story-Teller Bnd His Pack (Springfield, Mass.: Milton Braa:fey Company, 1929)-;F3"p:= l:r- 23.

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.::cultilre type) t{.-

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Third, folklore is important for it has shaped behav-

. for

.. ,

transmitted laws, customs, and traditions; gave mental

k ~:.:>:~fel:i..ef and entertainment; fostered appreciation for arts;

ib·" . !F.

t.·, hospitality and other sterling qua l.L ti es; firad the h ear-t.s

~>'Qf the young with a nobl e ambition to excel their fathers or

[.'

t;: .: heroes in forti tude and valor; and instructed the youth as a

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glorified st~rling qualities like the beauty of loyalty and

book', magazine, motion picture, drama, lecture, sermon, atl

'condensed into a single personality. 4.

Fourth, folklore is an appreciation-fostering device.

,

. Our likings are as important as our knowings.

Our apprecia-

f

l

~., . tions and aversions,' our desires and di sgusts, are the t

!'

supreme potencies in character education.

Sensing good lit-

;;

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t" erature and liking good literature come only from exposure

t:,.· .

~.:"

['~. c_ tQ _good Ii terature *

One should not forget that our Great

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f:::h::e::;r::v::: ::::: e: 0 b ::::r t: h; :1::: : :r:::s ~t eps of

Teacher, used the parable as a vehicle of truth.

His hear-

In

F' ·t·he Ma st er Tea ch ar •

1':

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Folklore., therefor.a, when well-chosen and wisely

f' .

f' ,.

.sal ect ed will develop in a child a taste for the good and an'

3 H. Otley Beyer, Lecture on.AnthroEologX

College of Liberal Arts, U.P .. , 1927): .

4" '.

Nowlin, op. £i1., pp. 13-~3.

I (Manila!

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aversion for the bad; attitude of a L truisti c emotions s aG~ thetic emotions, and moral emotions, are all worked and

established by folklore •

'.

L Lastly, folklore is a conduct-governing device. To

~: ". '

~:. modify conduct is one 'of the oldest conscious purposes of

t··

,."~: .

t' . folklore. It' has stood the tests of time and of various

r

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conditions.

Professor Beyer of the Uni versi ty of the .. Philippines emphasized the study of folklore as having t\oJO distinct objects~

First, the history of popular literature and the lit~rary development which it contains; second, as an aid to the ethnological study of a group of people for determining the history of their culture and migrations.;)

II. DEFINITIONS OF TERMS USED

.....

Folklore. The 'word f'o LkLor-e was adopted in the middl.e of the nineteenth century by Eur-opean scholars engaged in the. study of popular Lt t.er-at.ur-e , The literal meaning z.s simple "lore" or knowl.edge of the "f'o'Lk" or people. For its

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original form, folklore"referred to oral knowledge which

"t i I

f'was -preserved for many years among i11i terata masses of ci v-

, '"

Lilized countries but now, it refers to all peoples irrespec-

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5

H. Otley Beyer, Philiwine Prose and Poetry (Manila:

Bureau of Education, 1946), Vol. I, pp~ 150-153.

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t"ive of whether they have a wri tten language or not"

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r' ,cbherefore. includes traditions, customs, beliefs, tales, rtd=

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~' '·'.<dl.es ,.prov erbs , legends, myths, poetry, folk songs, and. folk

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('.' . dances'. Therefore, folklore is a total mass of "tradi tional

t'·'matter in prose and poetry. in music and arts, in the minds

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Df a given people at a given time.

Folklore is not som8=

thing far away and long ago, b1.,lt real and living among us ..

Hera the past has something ~o say to the present 2nd the bookless world to a world that likes to read about itself, concerning our basic oral and democratic culture as tge roots of the arts and as a side light on history.

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t .; .t oms , and practi ces ; in bri ef, the mind skills and the hand ~.

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F.61klore"is the s cho.Lar-t s word for something that is simple

and nat ur a I as singing songs and "spd nnag yar-ns" among the

folk who know the nature and the meaning but not the name of

The essence of folklore is something that cannot be

qontained in a definition but that grows upon with folklore

exper-Lenc as like old songs, stories, sayings, beli ef's ,

cus-

skills that have been handed down S0. long that they seem ~~O

i ~ ,. have a life of their own} a life that cannot be destroyed by

!. .

t 6 B. A. Botkin, lh.£ Pocket Treasury of American Folk~

t,. lore (New York: Pocket Books, Lnc , , 1950T, pp. xv-xvll. --~-

l~ 7 Carl Sanburg, Fore"lOrd to the OriQnal Edition by

~: .. Botkin, B. A. (;'Jew York: Crown Publfihers CompanY, -1944)-

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Myths.

A

A myth is an imaginative explanation or inter-

'p:retation by man of' himself.or of the obje.ctives and everrt~

in nature outside of himself, including their appearance,

and the still greater mystery of their

causes ..

a historical event which will serve to expJaj.n

some practice, beli ef , institution, or natural phenomenon,

It isassoci~ted with religious beliefs and rites.

It is

always counted as part of religion~

It is a sort of sacred

Ji.teratur e of man.

In brief, it discloses man's scientific

spirit, his -religious nature, and his philosophy of life.

. .

The myt'h is considered not merely as a vehicle of truth but

truth itself; its brief characters are deities with heroes, cornman mortals, and animals in subordinate roles. 8

Legends.

A legend is any story coming from the past

which may be historical in character but cannot be proved as such, or may be a fictitious story in which the char-ac-

ters are human beings or humanized animals.

The hero of a

legend by his wit, skill, or energy, or by the lack of ."")

these abilitiep, performs deeds that-are either marvelous

The hero may be a humble shepherd or an ances-

tor, or he may be a. fool of the family, or he may be a

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·.drudge, or he may be a weak but clever animal. The interest 'ofa legend centers upon the na tural, although it may be

· unusual, the amusing, or even the absurd. Legends generally glorify the heroes who had won large measures of success.9

~ Tale • Folk tale is a tal e handed down by word of mouth among the common people; it is a comprehensive

term including fairy tales, magic tales, legends, sagas, fables, and myt.hs, This has to do with any narrative in folklore both prose and poetry, ,excluding group of thoughts ~ dances, songs, and traditions. A folk tale is a story that

just grew representing what simple peop12 learned from

experi ence. Since many of the same things happen to every·-

one, the lessons learned from such happenings are often

· similar and the stories in which those lessons had been

wrapped 1 bear a marked resemblance to one another. Thus in

l . every land one finds variations of the same folk tala.10· ~'.

f->-

Customs. Customs are social habits of doing things

· which are common to the group.

They are the habitual ways

. 9 UOahWBbster, l.vebster t s Collegiate Dictionary

~fifth edition; Springfleld, Massachusetts: G. & C. Merriam Company, Publishers, 1947), p. 572.

10 Luella B. Cook, et aI, Qgallenge to Grow (New York & Chicago; Harcount, Brace & Company, 194117 p:-23l.

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of thinking J feeling s and a cting that ar e common to the

. 'group .11

Folk dance. It is the term given to rhythmic move-

-

"ments, one of the most primitive of human rea ct.Lons , whi ch 'develop into dances characteristic of the natural reflex and

response of the various ethni c groups. It is a dance or:l.g-

irtating from and characteristic of the common people of a country and transrni t.t.ed from gene:t:'a tion to genBration.12

folk song. This is a song originating from tradi. tionsamong the common people of a country, and hence -2mr bodying the characteristiq qualities of form and feeling. f"

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~: Folk songs have an impersonal origin, composed by anonymous

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{, that a ct.ua.l Ly Li.ves among the folk, one that strikes

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authors.

They are contrasted with art songs which are the

known works or individual composers.

A folk song is a

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ponsive chord in their hearts; its theme is being anything

that concerns its life; the text and tune are ips6parable,

it is' transmitted orally; it is render~d ~~ithout the aid

of a conductor; the name of the author i s unknown , 13

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~: . come down to us generally by t h <.' wor-d of mouth, or may be t

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Fable. A fable is a story of a supernatural or highlYmarvelous happ srri ng intended to enforce some useful truth

. ., - -

or precept, specially one in whi eh animals and even inanimate objects speak and act like human beings. It entertains; it may be an inductive method of instruction; it is a satire

which exposes' the weakness of hu;nan natura in general; or

-the rashness, arrogance, or stupidity of rulers in general.

Fables may aid in argumentation. They suggest t.wo reactions; one against evil conduc t , and the other in favor of virtuous cnnduct.14

Proverb. It is a bri ef epf.gr-amma td c wi.s e old saying that lJ.as become popular by word or maxim; words whi eh cont ain obscure truths. It is full of wisdom and is regarded .asthe embodiment of moral truth and lessons. This has

by the written wor-d and has guided us to succ e s s or failure

according to the.' ways ow:' app l L 2S

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them In oTIe's daily

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It is an enigma or a conondrum propounded

for solution by guessing, especially as a'form of play. It

. l~ Clif~ord H,. Nowlin, !he Story-Teller ~ Iii..§. Pack t (Sprlngf~eld, r,haSs,,1cnusatts: M~lton Bradley Company, 19~ f p. 189.

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~, • v: a st sr , .QE • .,2i t.) p. 1994.

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is generally ,in rhymed verse. It is usually expressed i.n a

~ round about way.16

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III. ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY

For conveni ence, t.h e subj ect is divided into six

main heads:

1. Customs, Beliefs, and Superstitions of Bohol

2. Bohol fIythology

3. Folk Tales and Legends

4. F~bles 8nd Magic Stories

5. Folk Songs and Folk Dances

6. Poetry, Riddles, and Proverbs

IV. METHODS OF STUDY

Two methods have been used in gathering materials for this study: (I) St.udent s in mythology and folklore 1rJe:re

asked to report on local legends, folk tales, and folklore

in general. The results have be en embodied in this study; (2) Materials were gathered from the different towns dir,3ct-

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ly by asking the mayor of each municipality for his halp in guiding the writer to the old folks W!10 are authenti cally

and genuinely ''i'ell versed with the folklore of the communi ty.

The wl"i ter has found some parallel versions of st o-

16 Ibid., p. 2144.

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rips from other province~ specta~ly from Cebu, Mindan8o~ and

Leyte. This is to be expected fer communications from B~hol to these provinces have been easy.from time immemorial. This parallelism will be pointed out in footnotes under the sto-

.. ri es in questions ~

Qui te a few tal es have panllels in other parts of' thB world, particularly in India, Eur~pe, and Indonesia" These parallels will also be pointed out in footnoteS6

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CHAPTER II

CUSTOMS, BELIEFS, AND SUPERSTITIONS

Some customs of the Boholanos. The Boholano woman

- ---

occupies a high social position. This is true to all Fili ... -.pi::1os. During the pre-Spanish times, she occupied positions in the socia~ economic, political, and religious life_ of the people. She played an important role in social functions. She acted as the mouthpiece on those occasions

where the han~ of a girl was asked for. She was a good

- - - - trader. She had decisive influence in busf.nas s , If er hue+

band co nsul ted her about his business and he would not

enter "into any contract of importance without the kno,.."ledr;v

and the approval of the wife. Equality between rna nand woman was another striking characteristic of the high SOCl,'"i_ position of woman. She could succeed to the headship Of3 barangay. She had the right to dispose of property which

-- -- she had brought into the marriage. She shared her hus.band f s honor s, The widow succeeded her husband as head of the family. She was calledbaylag1 by the Visayans. She

presided over religious functions and marriage ceremonies~

1 B 1 ~'l'" d d

ay an means a l<Lr.lplno pr-t e st.as s ; Sr. E mUD -:

-,' Del,?eke, Religion ~nd Morals. _of ~ Early ffiiBinos cJt the .. - Qomlng of the Spanlards (Manlla! Sto _ Tomas Um.versi ty Press, 1928)," p~ 94.

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~.' parents of the bride to ask for the lady's hand or f'cr mar-t: ~' riage arrangements. f~'

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r the groom and when he arrived at the bride's hous e , h e

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f. ·threw the spear pointing it at. the stairs and prayed to God

f" ·to bl es s thi s marriage.

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L dealt with the marriage proposal) the dowry , the other

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ii. S,. T. Press, 1936/, p. 33. --

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During the Spanish period, Christianity ele~ated her social position.2 Women were active in ':lgrlculture or as

administrators of laborers. Some engaged in various indus-tries. Some took active parts during the rebellions and

revol utions. Today, the Boho Lano women have wider opportu.-

di~i.·.::·S and greater educational opportuni ti es for employment. They have invaded almost all professions. They enjoy the right of suffrage. They can be candidates for elective posi-

tions or. offices.

/'Marriage customs in early Boho l . During Pre-Spanisb Bchal, there were many customs and ceremonies for different

classes of people. This had been true to many parts (If t h e

The most typical was the parents of '1:1'10

groom or some respectable elders acted as go-betweens to t,n':'

One of the elders carried a spear of

The elders then entered the house

'and conferred with' the parents of the bride.

The conference

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~ifts, and the date of marriage.3

After the conference,

they carried the bride to the groom's house. The bride had to, appear shy, tried to say that she did not want to go up into the house and persisted that she was timid. The father of·the groom tried to offer her a gift, may be a slave,

money 2 or another gift so that she would go up. As soon Ei::.'

she arrived at the top step, she began to demur and the . father of the groom offered heC another gift of jewels or articles of the home. Another gift was offered to make her

·sit; and another to make her eat; ~nd still anq-ther, when

she drunk. A drinking bout followed. One of the elders

· stood up and annouriced in loud voice that if the groom

. broke the marriage vows and would not support her anyrnorG)

· the 'bride would not be obliged to pay back the dowry anc .. :;,.,

· could marry another man. That if the bride broke the marriage vows, the groom could keep the dowry and he could remarry. All those who attended the pre-nuptial c or-emoru t;S became witnesses of the vows made. After the drinking bout, a plate was filled with rice and one of the elders joined hands of the bride and groom over the plate as a sign of mar--

r'Lage , Rice was then scattered on the bride and groom and

~ .. \ . over all the people present and everyone would shout with ~.

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joy. The poor did not follow the above ceremonies. Their marriage was devoid of fanfare. The bride and groom would drink from one glass and the people would shout, "Long livet f! After this, everyone wouLd consider them married.

Th~ slav~s had the ·simplest marriage ceremony.

They would

only say to one another in the presence of other slaves that they would marry and they were already married.4

Bohol marriage customs :Ln the nineteenth and twen- .

....-. - -*'-

tieth centuries.

Both parties may have or may not have an

understanding.

The par2nts of the groom employ a promin8nt

elder to become the go-between •. This part of the

ceremony

is known as hatod.5 ·This elder will visit the bride's pRrents and bring with him some bottles of wine and cooked

meat.

When he gO.BS up, he makes known the purpose of his

vi~it and at the same time he places on the table a

sum of

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~. parents of the bride confer with the relatives as to wheth~~ t.

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five pesos in silver coins (billst not acceptable).

Th,.~

the sum is acceptable or not.

If the sum is not acc ept.ab l e ~

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p the parents would say so and the elder doubles the sum unt.I L

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f the parents of the bride see the desired sum on the table. t-

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V 4 Eufronio M. Alip and Diosdado C. Capino, Philippine

f .soct a l Life ~ Progress (Manila: Manlapaz Publishing Company

11946). ~P~~:::9::ans to present.

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" d t Bef'or s the elder zoss home he is

Then they drink an ea. ~ ~

told to come back after three days. The second step of the

. th nda 6 The e.l.d er' .visi ts again the bridef's

ceremony 1S e su. _

home. By then the parents have conferred to .accept the groom. The parents of the bride would fix the date of marriage bet-ween ana to six month's time. During this time

che ~Tvvm stays In the bridel s house and do the household

.cnor-es at home.? But at night he goes home. He does this every day until the period of probation expires. Both parents go to the curat e and' r egi star th e names of their chi Lrlren for the ban:: Nhich will take three Sundays. The mar-

riage ceremony is performed in the church, the degree of solemni ty depends upon the amount that the groom could pay.

Af.ter t.he marriage ceremony, ri ce i s thrown at the new couple before they leave the church in order to wish them riches and fecundi ty. When the bride and groom arrive .at

the house of the bride, they 'will be m 8t by one of the r81.s..~ tives who lets them drink from onc glass and Who combs the the bride and groom wi t.h one comb. Then they are

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to the parents of the bride for blessing. and advice.

1: Then the feasting begins and is continued generally. after

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6 Sunda means follow-up. This marriage custom is fOllowed in many towns.

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In some localities, this is no longer followede

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breakfast. The groom and'his relatives take the bride away ,t6~the home of his parents. This is ca I Led gana.§. 8 There

, the feasting will ccnt.Lnus depending upon their preparation.

The new couple will settle with the groomts parents until final arrangements could be made with the, family with regards to their own home and living conditions. Sometimes the parents of the bride tell the groom to prepare a house

for the new couple. If this happens, the new couple will

live in their new house and feasting wiYl be made as soon

as they arrive.

Feasts ~ entertainmen~§. Early Boholanos'were fond of merrymaking and feasting, and they still are so t oday ,

On, the slightest pretext, they eel ebrate and the whole -':'::/1;';:;' is invited. The occasion may be the christening of a cbi,':;,d or a new house, or it may be a confirmation of the child, or death of a member of the family or the barrio fi e s t a O,L~

a fiesta in honor of visitors. To many, the feast is more import8nt than tomorrow's n.::eds. Mortgaging land or getting a loan from a Usurer is not an U!.'lUs~al thing before such a feast. Their idea is th er e rnus t, be a .feast: II cost ,9

,.: what it may. n

8 Ganas is a means of carrying the bride to the ... groom's house.

9 To educated Boholanos, this is no longer an idea.

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A feast iQ honor £f Anitos.10 If the feast is in honor of the anitos, a plate of food will be placed on one end of a table and a selected elder will get a handful of

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l! ed and left for sometime. After it had been placed and

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f: exposed in the field, the harvesters began to harvest corn

t or ri ce. s.

f They answered that many times when they forgot this cere-

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~: mony, the harvesters would get sick, so 'they always did it

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the food and will scatter it as a token of respect to the

anitos.1l When persons are invited to eat, they ·will sur-

:-ound a short table and all will eat with their hands~

Aft,er eating, they put away the table) and singing and

dancing accompanied by shouts begin, and the feasting would

continue for days.

They stop when they become drunk and

No feast will be complete unle~s there are songs

In bar-r-Lo Tuga s , a mum cf.pa La ty of Candijay,

the writer had witnessed a feast held in honor of the spir-

p La c ad them in platt ers or flat ri ce baskets called nigo.§.. _ ......

They wer0 asked by the writer why they did it.

means spirits or diwatas .

11 ThO t' 0 1 f' "

15 eus om ~s a surV1Va 0 Pre-Spanlsh tlmes

is still continued in villages, r2mote from the towns.

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12 Winnowing baskets for cleaning rice.

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to avoid ill-healthQ After the harvest, everyone present partook of the food and they became merry and drunk.

A Christening feast 2! barrio fiesta. If it is a christening feast or a barrio fiesta, the first thing that the people would do is to make their homes ready for the big event_ Unsightly 401es in th~ roofs' and walls are patched up. Ugly slits on th'e bamboo floor ar-e repaired ~ The whole house is gi ven a general cleaning v--Jith water,

,.

coconut husks, an~ IGBves. To give it a festive air, they

decorate the house with curtains and family pi ct.ur-e s or pl!o,tographs from magazines, or multicolorad calendars, or pictures of sa'i nt s and of great men , Chairs ar c r epaa r-ed Bad arranged or borrowed from more fortunate neighbors. Th.:.~:>'

may be benches or pott ed plants, too. The o c ca s i on tak e·s

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~' on a, communal nature. The tables may be placed out.s t d e f'or

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,. the occasion. No feast will be complete without a lechvn.13 [:

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f. ' Two days before the feast, fri ends and relatives from othe,~.'

"

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~ places arrive and help with the cleaning, decorating, ann

f. cooking. When the day comes, every member of the family f! is dressed in the best clothes. "There is a happy bristle

.i.:,)~." and hustle in the house.

r, ' Early in the morning, ,the women of the house, go from

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[i 13 Leehon is a Spanish word for roasted pig.

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J house to house to extend a personal and elaborate invitation.

The invited ladies invite their friends and they may come al.ong , too. The poor host has to receive and feast them. The most important person of the group is asked to sit at the head of the table while the rest sit on the seats provided for them. The feast continues until evening. Those who have eaten, go home and others come to take their

places •. When they go home, a pabaun14 is given by the ho st., "Thank you" will fill the a ir a nd the fi esta ends when the

lL:; relatives and helpers bring their plates and fiambreras. /

The good host is expected to fill these with the choi~ed

left-overs. The next day the ladies are busy counting and wiping the dishes and silverware, and if borrowed, they a:;'r.

returned to the owners~

It is.an extravagance but the host

feels proud-that he has given a feast and a treat to the whole town.

It may be once in a lifetime, so he can afford i to laugh at it.

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Ceremonies for ~ daad.

Boholanos during pr-e-hf s-.

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} .. toric times, believed in the existence of heaven and hell

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14 It is a Visayan term for a package of food given to visitors, when they leave, intended as a share for those who remained behind.

15

A Spanish word for dinner packs.

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They beli eved in the exist ence of life after death .16 A future life was believed to exist for ev er-ybcdy , It was

al so believed that the next life is (,t errial , that souls disappeared for they were car-r-Led by the God of the underworld

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f continuation of the earthly life. When a chieftain died,

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I of work. They believed that the soul would continue to

l. lead in heaven the same life they had led on earth. When P r- person died, everyone in the family should mourn for him. ~' 'While musi c was played, they washed the deceased with frag'~ i-

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~' rant leaves and herbs which were mixed with the wat er , At,

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~: other times, pr-aser-vat.I VeS like lime and buYOlS were mixed ~.

a number of slaves were buried w i.t.h him together lPJi th b.l an-

kets, e hi.nawar-e , and golden ornaments.

When an Lmpor-t ant

frsherman died, his boat and oars-men were interred wlth

It was believed that these persons continued to serve

their masters in the next world.

According to Father

women were given their weaving looms and other implements

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~!,.' nta ng , 0 0 ~ ga 0 anon POI 5. .

t:· -. 17 Francisco Colin, S~ J., Labor Evangelica nueva

r<edicion por e1 P. Pablo Pastelles,-S:-J., (Barcelona: Imprenf·ta y Litografia de Henrich y Compefi i a , 1900) , Vol. I, p. 69.

~.' _ rs Buyo, (p~per betel); t h e leaf is used with lime and

.I~'.~.: ... bet~lnut (Arec? cat.e?h~). ~or chewing: John W. Ri tche and

.~~JUIJ.a EchevarrJ.~, ?h~lJ.TPJ.ne flant ~ (New York: Silver i\BllI'dett & Company, 1930 , p , 235.

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to prese~ve the dead. The deceased was placed in a coffin. < Some £ood, jewels, and clothes were also placed in the coffin. The mourning family would not eat fj.sh and meat; ); during the mourning period", They ate vegetables and rice.

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'~>Then the coffin was interred under the house. If the deceased ~ -.

~; was achier" a warning was placed near the river not to al1(y,,;r

~':a:hY one to &nter or go out the river under punishment of

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r death ,while the corpose is still being mcur ned , With Chris-

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Vtian principles now enforced, these' customs have ceased.

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t.Visa.yans strictly followed the

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fe'ethics, 'known as Lagda. 19 Some

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Customs on moral conduct.

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The Boholanos like other

famou$ Visayan moral code of contents of the Lagda wer e ~

'. Res:arding .. ~d_,habits~ Good habits -shouf,d be formed 1n ch11dfioon t ougnout the. years and become second nature in one's old age. These rules ~ll be taught ~o that he will become a good man or a good woman~ A Christian child avoid sinful children and go only with the good, the upright, and the serious ones of his age. The child will try to ba amiable to everyone and do not take sides with anybody. He avoids arguing or quarrelling with others. He is advised to keep reasons to himself to avoid losing his- temper. He is taught not to be unkind to people as this will cause their resentment"

He is warned not to be always asking things from his

r ,friends because they will consider him a brother. He is

r told not to criticize his fel1otvmen, nor mock them, and

t: never to speak harshly to anyone. If' a friend of hi s

~;:o ... makes a .qstake he 1s to invite his attention privately.

f;l~","b!:i ~~t~ ~~e a £!!~~~a~i ~:~n £~~r~;U ~~de~~e~~hi~! ~s i:t"

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He is told never to meddle in anybody~s affairso He is admonished not to listen to conversation carried on privately, and not to ask questionso He is cautioned not to be suspicious of' eV~EY step and not t.o have too

much confidence in anyone. .

Conduct during bed time. After the Angelus bells ring, a good girl puts-OU-the lights and prays the Rosary because if she puts it off until late at night) she might get sleepy. At eight o'clock she should

pray for the souls of the dead and when she has finished she is told to make a moderate dinner. After dinner she is to occupy herself in a useful way until it is time to go to bed. She is cautioned not to sleep early~' She should converse with her companions or entertain herself by playing some instruments or sing~ ing but must choose good songs and music and avoid the bad ones. She may als 0 read good books, and just before lying down she should review her prayers so that these may not be forgotten. Before going to bed, she must make a mental examination of the mistakes she has committed that day. If there has been any, she must repeat and pray the Act of Contrition; then ask the

help of the Blessed Virgin Mary and that of her guardian Angel to keep her safe through the night.2l

Rules f2£ ~ good husband. Wh?n·8 .man marries, he is not free to do as he pleases. As a good husband, therefore,. he should stay in the house to take care of his home .va nd he should try to be close with his wife. He is advised to love her as Jesus loved His Church to whom He gave His Blood. He should not be selfish with her becaUSe he will haVe troubles in his house. He should love her so that she will be in good temper. He should not frown at her as if he were looking for trou-

. ble, but he should show her always a happy disposi t.Lon , Criticisms should 'be avoided for everything, but he should not let all her faults pass without calling her attention. If she is still young forgive her little faults because these do not necessarily show that she

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t> .) 20 Lagda, Chapter IX, Char-a c t er- Education Magazine J

f:- II , (August,~ 1940, P. 0 .. Box 1894, 726 Taft Av enue , Maru La , i:P.I • ), p. 72 ...

ri' .

t 21 Ibid., Chapter XII; 116, pp. 20B-209c

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is bad; it is merely the characteristic of youth to fall into error once in a whil e. Let your wife get us ed to ·good habits so that she shall strengthen herself against temptation and learn to love him.22

Conduct 2! ~ young girl. Avoid places of entertainment, .especially drinking places for they are haunting places of the devil. Do not separate yourself from

the group nor go out alone like a dove; but if it is necessary for you to go out alone, take care of your-

.s al.f and never stay out until La't e as if you are a ticarol,23 wandering around.. .Do not sleep anywhere like a tamsi,24 but go to a reputable house. Do not be talkative and laugh loud like a breaking bamboo. Do not wriggle your body like an earthworm but walk slowly and straight.25

. Conduct before· other ~oEle .26 First of' all, you should avoid bad manners. Be friends with the obedient, the intalligent, and the·respectful, who are of .your age and condition.

If you are with your fellowmen, show that you appreciate them by being respectful and serious in your dealings with them.

If you walk with superiors, always see to it that you ar-e at their right.

Do not examine and read letters that do not belong to you. Do not. talk nor laugh loud and think befcre .you speak.

Neatness and cleanliness go togethar with godliness,

22 Ibid., Chapter XVI, 1110, p. 279.

- 2J A kind of kingfisher (Halcyon winchelli); Jean

Dela cour and Ernst Mayr-, Birds of the Philippines, (New York:

The Macmillan Company, 1946), p:-134.

24 A kind of common tailor bird (Orthotomus atrogulIbid., p , 201.

25 7

Lagda·, .2.E- cit., II , Chapter xiii, p. 244.

26

Lagda, £E. cit., 112, Chapter viii, p. 47

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therefora, they should b~ practiced by Christian children.

Be modest iU ·dresso When the dress is torn, it should be patched and darned up right away. Wash your hair often, .cOOlb it, and keep it tidy and neat a Iways , Sweep the houSe often and see to it that all yow' things arB complete and clean. Always carry a handkerchief·for blowing your·nose~ Bathe yourself if your body Ls dirty; do not spit too much, and do not let your nails grow.

Gonduc'¥ .2! .::! boy. 27 During adol es c ence , a boy should value purlty and avoid occasions that will lead him to commit sins.. Avoid idleness and wandering around and talking Df obscur-e things. Avoid places where crowds usually gather wh~re time, money, and conscience are only was tad.. Do not i ndul ge in ov erdr ss si ng: gos ei p5. ng > and cr1ti<;::izing others.

Some other Boholano customs 0 Boholanos are accus-

-

.. tomed to family solidarity. They show respect for parents, relatives, godfathers, and godmothere, hy kissing their hands or by touching the ha~ds to thair foreheads.· This is

done too after prayers, after the Ang21us, upon returnin~

home, upon meeting them on special occasions. .Th ey greet. their elders with polite terms ~uch as mano~) mana~~ t~o, or ti a , 28 They give gifts to thE'tr ·"olks after a trip, at. Christmas time, on weddings , birthdaJs ~ and special o ccasiens. They help their parents sup.por\ the family, help

~7 p. 3Ig. 28

Lagda , .QQe cit~, II, Chapter ::tt'f, {January, 1941} ,

Appelates respeeti vely for ol~er l.rother, older sister; unc l e , and aunt. T:i"o and tia ar~ Sp.z;,nish.

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pey family debts, send the young to school. They ask permission ~ leave the house to attend social affairs~ They recognized the authority of the older sister or brother after the death of both parents. They show courtesy tow8rds neighbors and acquaintances. They show reverence for the dead. They have get-togethers during Christmas, weddings~ funerals, and birthdays. Ladies are properly chaperoned when they go out of the house. 29 These customs are true to the Philippines, and the same are also found in Bohol

·according to the observations of the writer.

The ceremony When sickness arrived •. When administeredmedicines fail, the following ceremony was observed ·by the writer, specially When it was believed that the illness had been caused by evil spirits that the sick person

·had displeased. In order that the spirits may restore the health of the patient they had to be propitiated by offer-

ing them a tribute consisting of tuba, or coconut wine, e;-"td food,leaves of certain plants and herbs, incense: a bottle of coconut oil which contains roots of several trees: a ring that had been worn by ths patient, a few clothes owned by the patient, and a drum. It was the custom tQ collect these in the evening. It WAS the custom, too, to call a

29 Eufronio M. Alip and Diosdado Capino, Philippine Social Life and Progress {Manila: Manlaoaz Publishing Com-

pany, 19m, P: 51. 4_

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tamltalan30 or quack doctor who leads t he ceremony by bur-ni~g the incense and ordering at the same time to place the wine, the ri ce , the her-bs J and the leaves in a plate to be placed in the middle of the house near the patient. He then anoints the body of the sick with the oil and blows at his forehead three times. The quack doctor sits on the

stool by the side of the patient in. front of the wine, rice, and leaves. All of a sudden he starts trembling to shake

off the evil spirits with force so that he perspires t.r e-

d 1 h f h b 'f' h" l~ 31

men ous y at t e per ormance, t ere y purl ylng lmse IQ

Then he mutters a litany of prayers in Latin which implores

the spirits to placate their anger~ to pardoD, and bless

the si ck . Then he burns the incense and anoints the pati unto

again with the oil. He takes the ring and the clothes of the patient and 'orders his relatives to accompany him to th~

place where there are trees, bringing with tham the winc;

r-i.ce , and leaves on a procession. As t.h e procession winds

its way under thd trees, the drum is played to summon the spirits. l.vhen the party arrives home, an altar is impro-

30 This custom is still followed in regions far from a a6ctoris habitation, even in towns where the belief of evil spirits is still present.

. . 31 This still done b~ many quack doctors in the

. barrios and in many remote p La cas where doctors are not available. This ceremony is called tal.h~:e which means to blow.

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vi~ed before which, more incense is burned. The quack doctor resum~s his appeal to the spirits. The incense is left burning and he continues his supplication. He buries the r:ing of t.he patient in the ground to summon the good spirit~ .prqt~ct.or of the sick, and places the patient's clothes on

the altar as a tribute to the evil spirits and again i7lplores the splrits to give back to the sick his former health. He th€n recovers the ringJ buried a while ago and says: "r will look for the spirit protector .. 1f Finding the ring he picks it up and places it on the head of the patient

and agai n blows at his forehead three times more to drive the evil spirits a~ay. He burns the tuba32 and the leaves~ He ex~orts.the spirit to go away. Again he burns the incense.. If the smoke rises, the patient will recover within a few days, but if the smoke is ~tationary, the patient will di-e. He gets his fee, receives some gifts, and de- . parts. If" the pati ent gets well, the family will eternally be grateful to him.

Ceremony before beginniQg ! caingin.33 Before cleaning an area of trees for planting, the one who clears the

32 Sap from coconut tree {Cocus nuciferQ~sWhi:l::b:0.f1

is .fermented into wine. )i '.

3',Caingin is the burning of trees to clear land for planting. This ceremony is still performed in remote placee of almost every town of Bchol.

o o o o o o o o B o D o o o o U J []

30

land invites a quack doctor and makes an appointment with him near the Lmd where the caingin will be made. At the appointed time and place the farmer and the quack doctor arrive with food for the spirits. The food has been made from the meat of a white ·chicken. As the quack doctor goes ~1'ound the land, he eXhorts the invisible inhabitants of the forest ~o leave it and allow the farmer to clean it for .8 caingin. As they go along, the quack doctor throws a bit of foad around and addresses the spi~its until the whole forest has been explored. Then they go home. After a f'ew days, they meet and exchange dr earns. If the dream is about. a bountiful harvest, then the spirits have conceded to his request. If they dream of rats or danger, or a pest, it ~ s interpreted that it is a denial.

The writer speaks from her observations of this c:us-tom in many places in Boho L, Old men of many towns told t.he Nri ter of this cuat.om, which is disappearing but still )f'rsists in some homes in remote localities.

Boholano Halloween customs. Halloween in the Philippines is celebrated on the evening of all Soul's Day, November first, instead of the evening of October thirty-first 3S in the United States and Spain& Halloween parties are held for fun, but in Bohal, Halloween is observed in remembrance Of t~e souls oi' the dead, with prayers, with ;feasting and

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merry-making combined. In Bohol, certain peculiar Halloween customs have been observed and are still practiced in some remote regions according to the writerts observations.

A tabl e was placed under the house just~ below the porch.34 The table was brightly lighted with candles and

upon it were set dishes that cmta}"n{~d the various foods and

delicacies that the departed souls liked best when they were alive. Grandfather's pipe lay upon the table before the

chair he used to sit in, on the other side there were some betel ~35 and lime for 2 dead uncle to chew after each meal. If the dead l~ved tUb~,36 a pitcher of it is also on the table. Fruit dnd candy were there, too, for the little boyar girl who had untimely passed away. When everything was ready, the head of the family called out the names of the dead and invited them to eat and feel at home. HA t.h s.i

would go up the house to begin the prayers ~ Everyone i1". "-:." house, also the servants, ,joined. in the prayers. No on e ''''3.'-

to go down stairs or look through the floor at the table laden with food. It was believed that. when the family

iJas a tic'ed

34 As tola to the writer by the late Fernanda Casecentenarian of Jagna, Bohol. This is no longer practoday except in remote regions.

35 §upra, p. 22.

36 Supra, p. 29.

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prayed, the departed souls got their fill of the food set

out for them and the souls could not bear to see anyone

watching them as they ate. When the DrJyer was over, the family and friends who had taken part in the prayers had their turn at the same table and everyone enjoyed a hearty supper. Story-telling and merry-making followed until late at night. No matter how poor the family might be, there

was always a good supper this night for this feast came during the harvest season of root crops like ubi,)? kinamE8y,38 and camotes)9 Naughty boys, sometimes tried to eat the food, for nobody watched it. The 'same naughty boys placed

some Lmpedi.ment s or obstructions on roads to delay the t.r av-

At other times, they sang songs under the houses

~,nd at t he aame time stole chi ckens or wooden slippers t.ha t were. placed outside the door. No one could detect them f::lI' everyone would be very busy praying. It was not thought

- wi s e to travel during this night for many pranks were plc} vc. , .t.o the travelers. These pranks are still played in some

~. municipalities.

Ritche Silver

37 (Dioscorea alata, L.), White non-flavor variety, and Echevarria, Philippine Plant ~ (New York:

Burdett,and Company, 1930),. p. 2J.9.

with

38 (Dioscorea alata, L.), The improved flavor and fragrance: loco cit.

--

39 (Ipomea batatas L.), Ibid., p. 236Q

violet variety

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~ Easter cust.oms. During Lent, p eop Le over the province observe appropriate ceremonies'. According to an old man met, .by 'the writer in Sevilla, one of the municipalities of Bohol, he sa~d that during the Spanish times, there were many flagellants. But on the advent of the Philippine revolution in Bohol these flagellants disappeared. Today

I never heQrd of any flagellant. Flagellants are people

who have vowed to try to earn God's grace and forgiveness

by submitting themselves to pain. They either whipped them~· selves or were whipped by others. They do not cry or show pain for they have gone into this willingly, believing that the more they are beaten~ the greater their grace will be in the eyes of God. After beating, they pray. Then they go to

t h e nearest river wh sr-e they wash their wounds to purify themselves, otherwis?, their sacrifices are rendered useles00 In almost every house the passion or ~abasa40 is chanted. For several days before Holy Friday, teams of m er; and women kneel before the altar of d chosen home in the

community and read or chant the passion of Jesus. These vestiges of Spanish piety are still practiced in many towns of Bohol. They read the text from an old raligious book

40 P b '. f f . .

a asa J.S one orm 0 praylng l.ll memory of the

sufferingpof Our Lord,Jesus Christ.

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. that. has been handed down from generation to generation.

The pages of the book ar-e frayed and dog-eared, the reading of the :e.aba·sa pr-oc eed s continually without a pause. Most of the time one team tries to outsing the others by improvising new tunes for the ancient words. When a team becomes tired

and wishes to rest, another team takes up the story and this one is in turn replaced by still another, and so on, to the far hours of the night, down to the early hours of dawn , from,one day to anot.hsr , till the entire story of the passion of Christ, is sung according to what is told in the

'gospel. The singing ceases on Holy Friday.

On Palm Sunday, platforms are constructed outside the church where a choir of angels sing as the priest wa Lks

with a palm leaf in hand followed by the crowd bringing palms passing from the main altar down the center aisle to the side door outside. The crowd stops at every platform

and a chorus of angels sing. Then th ey pass on to the nex.t altar and stop at the closed main door of the church. ", The priest knocks at the door, the choir of angels are together now ?nd sing together when the portals' of the church are opened, all enter to" the center aisle through up the main

altar and continue the ceremonies.

During Holy week laughter is frowned upon. The old shush 'the children into si Lence whenever they forget. No one is supposed to enjoy himself during this week. In con-

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vents and churches they do not use the church bells. They use a contraption of wood or bamboo wh i ch gives off a rattling sound when shaken. The bell is rung again on Saturday.

On Holy Thursday, people go from one door to another of the same church to visit the blessed Sacrament. On Holy Thursday and Holy Friday household chores are done early and finished. Water is prepared; food is stocked. ·Nobody

goes on a journey. The family stays at home on penitential quiet. In the evening, a procession of the Passion of Jesus Christ is passed around the town followed by a crowd of people who fervently pray and meditate upon the sufferings of Jesus Christ.

On Holy Friday, the mood of mourning deepens. Ev ery « body stays in church to make the stations of the cross.

Trees are decorated in chur-ch and a sermon is delivered on the Seven Last Words of Jesus Christ. In the evening th·.::·

procession of the Holy Sepulchre terminates the services cf the day.

But when Saturday comes, the mood of sorrow lifts,

and everybody moves lightly_ When the bells ring for the Gloria, mothers and fathers lift up their children into the air, to make them grow faster, taller,. and stronger; and trees are shaken to make them yield fruit bountifully. Those that are too big to be lifted up, jump up and down for great~, er skill.. Seeds are planted in the backyard because they

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would grow more Luxur-i.ant.Ly , People have a good bath, they freely pour water over their bodies.

On the eve of Easter Sunday, FBople build a Gena-

culo41 where the Angels and Virgin Mary will meet Jesus Christ at dawn. One of the most beautiful features of the

Easter service is the sunrise service. At dawn a band plays

around the town that wakes up the people. The band procession is called dian~.42 The band then escorts the likeness of the Risen Christ toward the cenaculo. From the opposite direction approaches the image of the Blessed Virgin .Mary draped in black. They meet under a canopied arch called a

, c·enaculo, where a little angel drops through the canopy and ·sings n Alleluia, Ii then lifts the veil of mourning from the head of the sorrowing Mother.· On the corners of the £~ culo are raised platforms where the angels sing the chorus and scatter flowers all around. After the chorus is sung, the two images are carried to the church followed by a la~:,ge crowd of the devout to attend early mass. Sunrise services~ however, are differently celebrated in other towns. Afte.r their arrival at the church, the mass begins. Outside the church, an effigy of Judas Iscariot is hung on a tree

41 A local term for a temporary arched structure where angels sing under which Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ meet.

42 Diana (Spanish word for reveille) is a band procession around tIie town at dawn to announce the beginning of festi vi ti as.

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and burned with shouts of glee and joy by the children9

Beliefs, Auguries,~ Sup~rstitions. The early Boholanos, like any other Filipino in the early times believed in a God called Bathala or Laon.43 Their belief in God was

.:0:;;;';';';=_ _ -

accompanied by the cult of the dead and the cult of the spiri ts or ani tio s , 4.4. They also believed in the existence of life called ·animo,45 in every object of nature such as moun~ tains, hil1s,.brooks, and animals, such as birds and £tQ£odile.46 ,

Ani tas are believed to be t.h o highest spirits. Some of these spirits are benevolent, others are malevolent.

The people fear these spirits t even until today, and try t.o secure their favor, or to escape their ill will. In their loves. jealousies, hates, whims, and passions, deities were

like man magnified •. They believed these spirits as the

.,

spirits of the dead. They were supposed to be magicians or witches which were potent for good or evil. They believed that it was necessary to keep on friendly terms with them, if man had to be lucky. Without the favor of these spa.r-Lt s ,

43 .Vernacular names for the .Supreme Being.

44 A vernacular name for the spirits or the dead~

45 ~. fL'

~nlmo, rom at~n anima, the soul or spiritq

.... 46 Sr. Edmundo uDelheke, Religion and Morals 2f ~ FJ.llpJ.nos §.i ~ ComJ.ng .Q£ the s¥-aniards {Manila', P. I. = St~. Tomas Unlversity Press;-T92 ), pp. 4-36.

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his livestock would sicken, his children would suffer enchantment or death. These super-human beings playa great part in folk-literature, specially in myths, fairy tales, and legends.47

They also, believed in tree--spirits. It was the spirit that made the tree grow. That is why the Boholanos, before cutting a tr e e , .offer prayers to the tree-spirit so that it will not be offended, specially in cutting a Balet~ tree,48, which is believed to be a Iways the favorite home of

the spiri ts. Before the wood-cutter would make th e first crush in the tree he would pour oil on the ground as an offering to the tree-spirit. This custom is still practiced in the mountains. If the spirit is offended the person

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becomes an idiot, 'a maniac, an epileptic, or devil-possessed. When the anger of the spirits is placated by offerings, the

person recovers.

The early Boholanos also believed in magic. 'They feared greatly the magicians and £uyagan.49 Whenever a buyagan happens to call the attention of someone's beauty; that

47

Ibid~,'" p. 39

48 Baleti tree, (Ficus clusiodes): Ritche and Echevarria, Phil~pine-Prant ~ (New York: Silver Burdett and Company, 193 ,p. 235.

49 ~u!agan, s~me,people who by making casual remarks may cau.se 11 ness or deformations. A number of Boholanos still believe in this.

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someone should say, puyag,50 in order to count.er-a ct.. or to suppress the power of the one who called its attention. If that someone would not say anything, it is likely that she would become ugly or become an epileptic •..

They also believed in various auguries and eup er s t.L» tions.51 It was believed that if a woman who was in the

. family way would eat twin bananas, she would have twins too.

New visitors of a house would not be asked to wash dishes;

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otherwise; the riches of the host would transfer to the

guests. The cry of a crow at night was associated with mi6-

fortunes. Snakes, cats, and monkeys, were associated with ill'-fortune when brought in boats and ships. If a hunter met a lizard on the way, it was believed that he should return home, for he would catch no garne~ Dreaming that a tooth or some teeth were removed meant that a near relativp

would df.e, Sneozing before leaving the house was an augury of misfortune, or it meant that someone was thinking of you.52 If one prayed for a journey and he heard the chirp-

50

~~ means: don't call its attention.

51 Even until. today, this is a common belief among the illiterates in remote barrios in Bohol.

52 Eufronio M. Ali~ and Diosdado Capino, Philippine Social Life §.llii Progress (Manila: Manlapaz Publishing Company, 194bTt p. 64. This is still believed by a few Bohola~ nos to day , .

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~I.O ihg of an alimocon,53 he should not continue the jou;rney for it would surely bring ill-luck. They also believed in the existence of an pngo,54 witches, fairies, and enchantment which the people called encanto.55

There is some sup er s Lt.Lon connected with almost every native toy that the children play with~ The 1Q1£,56 which is a seasonal game, Ls according to old folks .an accursed game for it brings the mumps.57 It is also believed that flying kites will bring wind 2nd ric~ harvest which will be mostly chaff. Kite flying also stunts and dwarfs other'

crops, even root crops and corn_ Playing tops result in a bountiful harvest. Playing with shells may also bring crops. These beliefs have been strengthened by occasional events that happen. However, with thG spread of public school, education, these beliefs are disappearing .and vlill soon be forgotten. The study of sci ence, modern inventions,

53 A yellow-breasted fruit dove (Ptilinopus OCC1PJ.talis); Jean Delacour and Ernst Mayr, Birds of the Philip. pines (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1946T; p:-s47

54 An imaginary monster that eats people.

55 A Spanish word for enchantment.

. 56 A toy made of a small whirling wooden disk in which

a·· string is attached and is moved upward and downward accor-d-

ing to the principIa of a gyroscope. .

57 These superstitions are typically Bonolaho bUt:. similar practices have been observed by the writer in n?ighboring islands and evert in other parts' of the Philippines.

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and new.ways brought into the province Dre b~ginning to bring some relief from the fears Lnsp.i r ed by their many false beliefs.

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CHAPT~R III

BOHOL MYTHOLOGY

The mythology of the BohQlanos include.: legends~ fables, fol.k t~s .. .;rnd, droll.s.. They have their own exp La~on for the origin o£man, the origin of the worldr the social class~sJ and the life Qayond.

Myth of Creation,,l At the beginning, there was only sea and sky. One day a bird was saen flying. The bird

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~became tired of flying .f'or- there was no place to land. He

took ·water from the sea and threw it, against the sky. The

sky in turn got angry and threw back to the sea, rocks and boulders; that form~d part of the earth. From these sprang

the islands, t he mountains, the valleys, and the hills.

OrigiE 2f the first ~ and woman. The bird that made the earth rested on the seashore for a few days. A floating bamboo thrown by the wind hurt its feet. The bird

got angry and pecked it. It broke into pieces, and from its internodes sprang the first man and the first woman.

1 ~ufronio M. Alip and Diosdado G. Cap:i.llO, Phili-ppiq§:

Social ~ and Progress (Manila: Manlapaz PUbllc:at1ons, 1946), pp. 64-0'5. This story is 'told among old fo1.ks in t h e barrios. The writer has heard the sarna story told by ma4Y Boholanos today.

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U The first man was called Silalac, and the woman, Sibabay~2 Sil'alac and Sibal;>BI lived togather in the world s nd became rich for they were both industrious and God-fearing" A fe"·J

years after, a snake came and it gave 8. fruit to Sibab8Y and

Silalac, saying t.o them: "Lf you eat the fruit, it wilJ. open

your eyas." Then they both ate the fruit. This made Bathe-

La angry and did not give them any more blessings and they ~ould not sae Him anymore.]

. fth.!! story of ~ a,cli!>~. Bef'or-e time began, very long ago, a great bakunawa4 swallowed the moon. When the moon disappeared., alI the peopla began to shout and scream frantically and made 8 great noise. The people woul d shout : 1'M!., l!dli. If 5 When the bakunawa heard the noise, he peeped down to see' what was the matt <'r ~ He opened his mouth in

surprise,. A.s soon as he opened his mouth~ the moon would

2 Ibid., p. 65. The same story is told orally by many old l'OIlCs in Bohol. Also a parallel version of the first rna? and woman is found in the essay, Barrio Qlnth.~si§ by Franc~sco Icasiano (Bardavon Book Company, Kiko Printing Press, Caloocan, Rizal, P. 1o, 1950), p. 22),

3 This myth shows doubtlessly Christian influence; cf .. the narrati ve of the Gene s i s, This story was told to 'the writer by an old g ent.Leman, ~x-judge • .. • Valmor:i.-3 of T~libon, Bohol.

4 A name of very big bird believed to swallow t.he moon during an eclipse a nd to be as big 8S the island of Bohol~ It has a beak of st.eel and his claws are of s.teel t too.

5 Iuli means to r-e.tur-n,

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run away and the people became happy for the moon was return~ ing. This is a common myth circulated by the old folks in almost all the towns of Bohol~

Origin £! ~ ~~ classes. Silalac and Sibabay had many children. Their house was full of them. One early morning, Silalac vent . to the fields to woz-k , At sunset! he retl..lrnQCl homel... He was in an angry mood. The children were very much frightened. They hid in different places~ Some of them hid in the most private rooms of the house, and these children became the ancestors of the prominent peop12 or :erincipales. Those who hid near the entrance of the house became ancestors of the common people or timawas.

From those who hid under the house, descended the slaves. The rest of the childran got boats and ran into the Seao Those children became the fathers of the white men.6 This

is also told in Bohol. A similar version is circulated i~

other provinces of the Philippines.

MXth .Qll .ill .fall ~ redem}2tiqn ££ man.7 They believed that the origina~ home of the Boholanos was in heaven. That is \"Jhy they are peaceful, peace-loving, and

. 6 Eufronio M. Alip and Diosdado G. Capin?, ~l~£~~~ Social Life and Progress (Manila: Manlapaz Pub11cations,

1946): p:-55:-- .

. 7 Told to the writer by Mr. Anacleto Sevilla, Tagbi~ laran, Bahol.

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~M:.urad. One day the Bohc Lano s went out; fishing4 A strong wind blew and the people \fere thrown to an island tha~ was strange to them. This island was Bahol. There was 'only a Ii ttle vegetation and there were not so many big trees. They wand ar-ed around. There were enough edible fruits and water from the rivers that kept them alive~ They looked for means to return to heaven but they could not. No

one knew the way. They stayed on but their desire to return was still fresh in their hearts.. Only one group led by 1ig~ uas8 wa~able to find the original home* The majority still

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expec'ted to find it. They finally settled in the .. place and

;

they became the first Boholanoso Each year after harvest; the people offered sacrifices in the hope that deities might help them find their way to heaven again. But the 'evil spirits prevented them from finding their homes.

Myth ~ Bohol. A version of the origin of Bohol 'N€! S told to the'writ~r by Grandma Penanda.9 This is her version:

. -

The people were living beyond the sky. One day~ the chief's only daughter fell sick~ The medicine man of the

8 L" i

~guas' was supposed to be an ancient hero 0 > the

Visayan Islands.

9 As told to the writer by an old woman who J-ived just below the forest of Verde, Duero, Bohol. She was known as Qyang finanda; meaning Great Grandma Pcnanda ,

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1.:.6 bar angay said: nThe cure is in the roots of this wild Bali~,

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teo tree. Dig around it and let her arms touch the root. If

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They dug .around the root and they placed. the sick

.. girl in the trench, when sudd~nly, the woman fell through B hole in the sky , Below the sky was a big water.o Ti.~JO

.. gaki tsll saw the woman fall. They caught her lightly on their backs where she rested. The gakits found Big Turtle .. When Big Turtle saw the woman, he called a council of all .swimming animal.s. They said: uliJe must save the woman and

. make her a home. n

'The leader commanded the frog: "Dive and bring up dirt from the tree roots." The frog tried and failed.

The mouse tried also and failed. Finally, the Bi~ Toad volunteered: tIl will try .. tr

At this, all animals jeered and laughed except Big Turtle who said:. "You do well to t.r-y , Perhaps you will be lucky • ."

The old Toad took a long hreath and went down, down" At last a bubble of air came up and the old toad f'o l Lowed ; In its mouth she carried a few grains of sapd, which she

. spread around the edge of Big Turtle's shell. Then an

10 Supra, p. 38.

11 Wild ducks (Anas poecilorhyncha luz~nica); Jean Delacourand uErnstMayr, Birds of the Pfiilippines( New York ~ The Macmillan· Company, 194b),-p~3~

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island grew on Big Turtle's back, and it became Echo1 island, and the woman lived upnn it~

If anyone will examine carefully the shape of t.h e turtle15 back, he will find some similarity to the shape of the island 'of Boho L,

The woman seemed to feel cold. She needed more light, to keep her warm. The animals held a council againo Said Little Turtle: "If·1 could only get up into the sky, I could gather the lightning and make a light.ff

UYau do well to try, perhaps you \'Iill be lucky,U said the Big Turtle.

One day, not long after dark, a "\.'Jhirling cloud CBr·-

ried Little Turtle up into the sky where he gathered li,~ht·'" ning, and made sun and moon that gave ligbt to the woman. During all this time, the woman lived with an old man whom she found on the island. 'I'h ey lived together and gave bi+"th to twin boys. As they grew, one was kind and the ot.her-: was cruel. Good One pr-epar-ed Bohol for the comf.ng of the peop l e , . He made. smooth plains, forests, rivers, and many' animals. Good One made fishes without scales; Bad One lcoated them with large scales, hard to scrapeof~. Bad One

·.went to the west and di ed. ~ .:

and removing' evils brought forth by his brother.

Good One went on improving Bohol

Last of'

. ,

.. al.L, h£;3made th.e Boholanosbytaking two lumps of earth ~!I1d·

shaped them like human figures. Then he spat on them and

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they became man and woman. I'hey were endowed by Good One wi th sterling qualities; like industry, hospitality, obe-. dience, good-nature, and peace-loving ..

The two were married and they lived together~ Good One gave them seeds of dif£erent kinds and planted them. Good One made the'gr~at ~,12 a snake-like fish in the river. He also made the great crab 13 and let it go where-

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ver it liked. When the great crab bit the great eel, it wriggled, and this mov emerrt produced earthquake. That is why Bohol has plenty of crabs (both land and sea), and eels, for they. were first created by Good One, Boholanos relish

them for food but they always respected the toad. The Boholanos do not eat frogs or toads or land turtles 85 other Visayans do, no matter how palatable they are as a

"dish. Mahy call the old toad grandmother even today. 'Grandmother toad endowed the BQholanos with sterling quali-

ties.

The Ascencion ~ Heaven.l-4 This tells'the story

12 A snake-like fi sh (J!ngui.11iformes); Robert W Q Hegn:er, qQllege ,?oology (New York: The Macm:fTlan Company, 1948) ~

p. 451. '\

13 A cru~\a c ean (Calli nect us .§Eidus); Ibi d.. p , 264. 14 Retold by the writ2.r from various versions found

in the province. A similar story was told to the writ€r by "one , Rufino Namoc, a Bohola nowho nowTd ve s+Ln Gingoog~IVlis'8mis Oriental~ It is possible that the same version is .found there too, possibly brought by Boholan06who migrated there~

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of how Bathala, the Almighty Creator, chose people who wera pure without sin to dwell with Him in Heaven, a place lJhere streams flow with honey, and where there is never any want. y

It tells of how a woman bore a child of wonder, who when he

. waS full grown, led men to heaven and how the last that

,were taken ascended. This story explains, too, why there are no people .going to heaven now by the same means , This story shows that it was pre-Spanish and was told orally from one generation to anoth€r1but there are parts that show some influences from the Bible. It is possible that the

influence from the Bible he d been added later on. The p,':lrt

. about magi c here must have been added in the t1'lenti ct.h century with the coming' of the circus and carnivals.

In a remote barrio of Carmen,15 Boho.l., there liv,~c. :::L

pure and virtuous woman. All her life she tried to do things which would please otherq, and there was not anything about her that one could not admire~ One sunny day, this woman was walking along the-river, and feeling warm, she sat down under a tree to rest. The shade was cool and refresh-

ing and she had not sat there long when she suddenly r-ea.L« ized that everything around her changed. The vegetation that was wilting in the heat was now green and df ademed \'d th

15 Carmen is the interior t.own of Bohol, a center t.cwn of the 'province ~

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silver dew-drops. ,ttSurely, fI she said to herself: f1 I must have sl ept overnight."

She started for home but all nature seemed to bid her stay. The wind whispered a song through the leaves of the trees, and the branches seemed to bow to her as she passed ~ The grass parted to make way -f'o r- her feet. Overl'Jhelmed by the reverence done on her, her limbs became numb, and heavy,

and she felt she would have to rest again. She stopped at a deserted house by the river. Strange it was, that she, who only in a dream had met her pur-e-hearted lover now dead. and sleepi.ng beneath the grass, should beat' the burd6n of' C'j mother~ In that desolate place, her boy child was born, She called him Tubig~n16 because he was born by the rj~7;; __ ::'-

-Tubigan was unlike other children. He grew very

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fast and soon was not a baby any~pre, but a half-grown boy.

One day he went down to the seashore, at Loay , 17 at Hinmi.ICi-, ~18 Beach. When he arrived th2re, he hid himself in the bushes. After a while there carne six fishermen to the place who began to divide their catch among themselves, putting the fi sh in six pil as ~ 1tt1hen everyone had taken his share,

16 Tubigan means plenty of water, derived from the Visayan word- tubig, water.

17 -

Loay is a town along the coast 18 kilometers south-

- east of Tagbilaran where Hinawanan beach is located.

1$ H" f h V·

~nawanan rom t e ~sayan dialect, means cleaned~

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there was one-rile left over. They re-divided the fish

several times, but there was always that one pile left over:

The oldest man among the fiShermen was a seer; he said that there was one man near by 0 They began to search and found Tubigan, and as it was a custom Oat that time for fishermen to share their catch with anyone who happened to be by f °they gave Tubigan a share o.f the catch •

•

As Tubigan grew older, he showed that he could do things others could not do. One day is Summer, when walking up a stream, he saw that the fish l.\f~ra dying because there had been a drought and the stream was drying up. Hr~

,

said that it was a pity that the 1'1 sh should di e, and o;~~-::rust

his staff·into the -ground.19 Immediately water began t;.J issue from the hol~ he had made and filled the stream, and the water also r os e in the river into whi ch it flowed. The

people wondered what caused tha water to rise and went up

o the stream to sea. They .found 'fubigan 5i tting on a rock and hetola them he had wanted the fish to live. He alsooadvis-

ed them not to fish in that stream and preached to them the purity of man and soul.

Another strange miracle that he performed before the

~ 19 This reminds us of' Moses 'who journeyed with the

Israelites to the promised land. And wi t.h his staff pr-o-

o ducedwat ez- from the rock.

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J people was to have his uncle cut into pieces, which he would cover with a cloth. When th-e cloth was removed, the

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man was a ways oun to e woe aga1n.

Every time he

performed this miracle, however, the man became smaller, and Tubigan did. it so many times that his uncle became as small

as a little boy~ The fame of Tubigan spread far and Wide and soon he had many followers. Among them were six whom he call$d his favorites. These were the mediators between him

and the many who sought after him. Whatever he wanted to tell the people, he told it first to the six.

At last came the time of: .great-blessedness. 'I'ub i.gan had announced that shortly Ba t ha La would send from h eav en a great boa t to take his peop l e , . ftThere would be signs, I: he said.' "Two suns would rise in the East and a gigantic pis

would appear and hide them from sight. This pig would have to be killed and all would partake of its meat. While waiting for the time; there was much rejoicing among the people~ The young men and women dancetl and sang. Stories of ~he olden times were told and there were also many tales about

'heaven. There were stories about the diwatas or men of

heaven and how they liked to marry the maidens on earth. These tales flattered the pride.of the young women, but the

20Th, f . h f . 1

. 15 per or-manc e 1.S s own at aa r-s and car-nt v a s

as part of the si-desho'Ws. This shows mOdern influence ..

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0 men were troubled, and soon marriages among them were frequent. 'I'o marry before going to heaven became th e aim of

every yong man. Among the young,gil"ls at that time there was one who was betrothed to Pari~g, the sixth's of Tubi"g::. an f s favorites. He 'was the strongest, bravest, and kindest :~, of all the followers of Tubigan ~ and possessed all the qualit~es that can be desired in a young man. The day for his marriage to the beautiful young ·girl had been set, but on the morning of that day, two suns were Seen rising in the east and then, suddenly, the light grew dim, as if the SU.DS were covered by a thick cloud. It was the giant bulk of

the pig that obscured the light. This was the sign 7 t.h en . The day of the ascencion had come , The marriage lr"r8S pu. aside. Tubigan assured Paring that he would be married ~n heaven, but the two lovers grieved, although all the people were jubilant. They reared that they might lose each other . and decided that thay would rather remain among the :unblessed on earth than to go to heaven and be separated there, Tubigan wa~ sorrowful at the sullenness of the lovers and exempted paring from any activity Ln connection with the

ascencion ..

Tubigan sent his five favorites to kill the monstrous pig. But at the very outset, two of his favorites were fatally bitten by the beast which had tusks like swords~ They were cut down by its bolo-like tail. The hairs of the

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brute, too, were sharp as needles, and each of them could kill. Tubigan thought his remaining favorites might suffer

"the same fate,.eo he halted fti5 followers and sent for ~ lng, promising him all honors, even though he did not accom~ pany the cho"sen people to heaven, provided that he would

aid in bringing the giant pig to death. Paring came and with the help of Tubigan's followers they killed the pig

with his spear.

Those preparing for the heavenward journey were

feasting on the f1 esh of the giant pig for those who could not eat of the flesh could not embark on the journey. Tubi,~ gan ~nsi$ted that Paring and his sweetheart should partake of the flesh though they were not going with the rest j J."'~'t so Paring and his betrothed at e • ./ Tubi gan had so many i:')l." lowers that only a small portion of the magic meat \>Jas given to each. The time came for th~ pilgrims to set out for the mountain top where the ship that would carry them to heaven was expected to alight. While the pilgrims were ascending the mountain, everything turned to gold. The stones, the grass, the trees, all flushed with golden colors. The flowers had golden petalss all things gleamed and glittered; 511 things spoke sweetly and softly to tempt the heavenly \·]ay·~ faret's.

The grass said: !tWe, too, are beautiful.ft· The stones spoke: If We are golden. n

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The flowers said: "Alas, will you forsake us? There are no flowers in heaven."

The birds sang: "Won't you stay and listen to our

songs?"

The frogs said: UHeaven is no better than the ear r.h , i,
The fruits; bananas, papayas~ jackfrui t s , b.Lackber=-
r-Le s , spoke in chorus: !tyou will fihd no sweeter fruits in
heaven than we are .. n All things they met spoke to the people in the same way but the pilgrims could not be tempted, they gave no heed to what they heard'. They were warned not to answer and not look behind, nay even turn their eyes. If they lisL.-tn,~d to the talking 'stones, they would turn to stones. 21 If ~,-.C"iC:; .. ;'

. e nswer-ed t t.he talking trees, ·they would turn into trees. Lf they talked with the birds, they would turn into birds •

As they neared the $ammit of the mountains~ they 'heard the sweet ringing of bells" The pilgrims looked up

, and saw the heavenly ship das cendt ng , Heaven had opened and the ship had 'come through a hole in the sky. Sweet. musi.c

. filled the air and a throng of heavenly sprites hovered near.

The ship rested on the top of the mountain and was so br-Ll »

21 This part shows Christian influence, it is a similar story of Lot and his wife in the Bible. This belief is -mwide-spread acco:-ding to Otley.H.8eyer in Origin ofriI¥..th.~ Among the Mountaln Peoples of the PhilipEines (Manila, Bvreau of-rrinting, 19I)}, pp .. ~9-rr.

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liant ~hat it lighted the surrounding mountains and valleys in all directions. Over the door of the ship J hung t,,,,\fO heavy swords which swang back and forth, crossing the cen= ter o.f the door-, To the tloJO swords at tha door were given

·;:.he power to execut 3 judgment. Any man unworthy of h eav en ~was d est.r-oyed by t.hem , As tha pilgrims approached t.h s heavenly ship, they fell to their 'knees, bowed their heads~ ·8ud prayed in chorus: "Protect us , d e'Lf.ver- us, bless us,

our Fathert Glorify us, Father of a l.Lt "

The swords c eas ad to move and the pilgrims ent er ed

the s hi.p , Nature lamented; rivers groaned; wind moan ed ; the:

Leaves and flowers drooped; all creatures want ad t.c go t.o

heaven. Even the ri v er-s wished to flow heavenward. The

clouds above echoed with heavenly m eLodd es. Amid t.hund e.. and lightning, the ship slowly rose heavenward. The ship

rose higher and higher, leaving the monsters of the air

I

below, but it had not yet reached the atmosphare of heaven. Upon looking down to earth Tubigan saw his granary and "\,'J8S reminded that it was full of rice. It made him sorry that t.h'e fruit of so much labor should go "to waste, and so he took a pair of bells that he found in the ship and dropped

. them down. They feli to earth, ringing. They became !1l~y:a~7"

22 (Lonchur a ferruginosa jagori); De.Lacour and tvIayr,

ou, ct~ .. , p. 249. ... -

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57 one male and the other female, the little birds that feed a n

·the ricefields! That is why the mayas have a song like t.h e ringing of little bells. When 'llubigan turned his eyes co another corner of the earth, he saw Paring and hi s sweet/·~ heart attacked by giants. He called to them shouting: "Flee for' your ~i ves s "

Paring answer ed r ' "You go to heaven, but we will di e

together. 11

Tubiganfs heart ached. He could not bear to see one of his favorites left behind. He called again in a louder voice: "You two must also live in Par-adi.s e ;"

Paring 1'J8.sfighti ng th e- giants. He cut off the h e ad . 'of one but the head returned to the body. He knew he c ')nld not defeat the giants. He looked at his betrothed besid2

him. She was pale, but of weariness and not of fright. S.be

grasped his head and looked up'at the ship sailing high

above the. clouds •. They looked at each other and new strength filled tbeir hearts. He lifted the girl to his shoulder and leaped suddenly upward after the heavenly ship. The weight

. of the big sword, which gave him fame and power, held him back. He broke off the tip of the weapon and let his sweetheart swallow it./ Then he dropped the sword to earth. 'I'o his surprise he now soared so swiftly upward that he passed

~

th~ ship and found himself standing near- the portal of

heaven. The ship was also nearing heaven. On His seat in

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U the Seventh Heaven, the Great God declared: ·uSvery earthly being must be glorified if he is to dwell among us. Things of the earth must be left behind. Nothing from earth can be

brought to heaven."

The people in the ship who had left all their earthly belongings behind, were at once glorified. The keeper of the ship was Maot,23 who was unmarried. He searched every- 01':8 from the ship. He opened their hands, turned t.hem 3round, looked into their ears, into their mouths, under t.heir tongues, and into their eye s , One young woman, whom he thought far more beautiful than all t·he others, he let pass with only a cursory inspection.

The new comers were given place in heaven and Tt:~)~.gan was made king over his people there to rule for all e·ternity. The unmarried men of heaven flocked to his domain for they found the{ women who had come from earth more bea'.ltiful than their own. Soon all the young earth-born women were taken to ~"Iife by the bachelors of heaven, except the

.most beautiful of all. ~,now the porter of heaven, fell in love with her but every time he sought to touch her! blood dripped from his hands, he was pra ck ed by a myster-ious thorn. No such, t.hing ever happened in heaven. The ladyts trait was traced to e~rth. The laws of heaven were

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23 ~, in Visayan means vain and proud.

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violated. ·The young woman had been betrothed on earth to Paring who was now among the citizens of'heaven. The tip of his betrothed's sword was swallowed by her ~ that TtJ8S the reason why anyone who touched her, would be' pricked~

Maot, the Porter, appealed to the court of heaven

and to its laws, which had been broken by Paring and ht.s sweetheart. By common opinion they decreed that by'virtue of the same laws, once they had passed the portals of heaven they were glorified and no longer subject to persecution;

tt was further opined, that ~ was negligent in his search, of the woman, and was therefore to blame for his affliction. The final decision was that by virtue of precedence1 Paring might take the young woman for wife. ~ was greatly dejected by the decision of the court of heaven. He took the key to the portal of heaven and put it under his pillow. Then he said su.Ikf ng r "I will never wake up until a lady 2S beauti:ful as the one I love shall be born on earth, and only then, any more beings on earth are admitted to heaven",!! He went to sleep and until now he has, not awakened. No one

could replace the beautiful woman in Maot's heart.

According to Stith Thompson in ~ Folktale,24 a story like this belongs to a complex about extraordinary

$ 24

Stith Thompson, The F~lk Tale (New York: The Dry-

.. ',den Press, 1951), p. 510. - - -

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companions; as the companionship of Paring and Tubi gan,

Concerning the boat in the story, a parallel version and a simpler one is found in ~ Six Travelled Throug~ ]he ~. It is further stated by Thompson 'that this '. was a special development of the European stories and that it was not found elsewhe..re.. It .is possible that the European version must ,12~ve been told by a friar in the Philippines during the Spanish times, and other nations retold the story by giving

it a local setting and mythi cal background that cor-r-e sponc:». to the locality.

The origin of ~.24 In olden times, there came t.v the homes of the Gods a very beautiful maiden, whose equal was not to be found in the world,. When she lived with the

Gods, ev er-yona was kind' to her" When the God Lalahon saw h~', he was so attracted by her, that she named her~ Mut~

. 25

·2· Mutya grew to be .9 kind, wise1 lovely woman. So

beautiful was'she, that the God Lalahon almost lost his senses. He told all the Gods how much he wanted to make

Mutya his wife. The other Gods cried: UNo, not you must

not think of marryihg Mutya. She is beautiful but she is an

unknown creature. It is not proper for a God ·to marry a

24

Reported by Mrs~ Anatolia Deligero, Normal Depart~

CentralVi~ayan Colleges, Jagna, Bohol~

25 Mutya means Pearl.

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common woman. rr

But the God Lalahon was so sincerely and madly enamoured with ~ut~a that he determined never to give up. After a lang -deliberation over the matter, the Gods consent,ed to let the God Lalahon marry Mutya. \-... But LaLahon ' s troubles did not come to an end. Mutya was frightened at the ear-ns st r esol uti on of the God, so sh e r eso l ved a nd hop ed to 'Gu .. r-n him from his' intention. She said to him: "Before I fulfill your wish, I must have first a batter kind of food than any that the people on earth had ever tasted.!?

Lalahon thought that would be impossible to find hut he did not give up. He told Mutya ~ "I will do my best. If I can find such food, I shall come back to you. I am the God of plants and harvests, and let us see what I.can d0.H Lalahon started on his journey and bade goodbye to Mutya1 .saying: ttr may not be able to find one, but I'll try my best."

Weeks went by, the weeks grew into months, and the months into years, but still the God Lalahon never came

- back. Mutya thought about him every day and was very sor-ry and regretful that she sent him away. She grew thin and pale. At last, she could no longer end~re the absence of La Lahon , she decided to look for him. She l,'Jent -sad and lonely to the east" then to t he west, to the south 1 and then to the north; but La Lahon was never heard of or seen

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by Mutya. She did not find anyone who had seen him. After a while, Mutya became so tired a nd \'!leak that she fell exhausted. She became unconscious and did not revive for sometime. A few days after, she died. The Gods":'who saw her, covered her with earth. The sun rose and set over the grave of Mut~a. The rain fell on the grave and a plant sprouted from it. It grew tall and hardY4 Soon, it bore fruits and when the people saw it, they gathered the seeds and called it~. They pounded the rice, cooked it, and

ate it. The people liked it and since that time, rice has become one of the most important foods on earth, specially in the Orient. So, Lalahon, at last, gave the people another kind of food, but it came to earth at the cost of two lives, that of God Lalahon and that of Mutya.

~l Bohol kinampay26 is delicious and fragrant".27 Bohol kinampay seems to be a rare monopoly of Bohol as to its fragrance and flavor. Kinampay grows in many places~ but

its taste and sweet smell is not "the same as those that "grm .. ) in Boho l , Many emigrants from Bohol brought wi.t h them the

same tuber to the place that they have chosen to stay. When

26 Supra, p .. 32.

27 Reported by Mr. Bienvenido Ladera, San Pascual.

Ubay Boho.l., at Central Visayan Collegest Jagna, Bohc l , l.9hfL

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planted it there, it grew rich and big, but when they cooked it, it was not as palatable and agreeable in smell from Bohol. The story of this rare quality of runs thus:

In \olden times when the good angels walked on earth in the form of men, it happened that one of them, while he was wandering about very tired, saw night coming before him, .bef'or-e he had found a shelter. There were ,'3 few people who lingered around but hE saw that the place was a plain, big pasture land for <:OW'S. In fact, there were. many cows grazing on both sides Gfthe road. The road was near· San Pascual, Ubay." All of a sudden, he saw on the road close by 1 two houses opposite one another, one was large and handsome, ,··while the other appeared miserably poor. He .p er-cefv ed that the former belonged to a rich man, and the other to a poor

. man, so that the angel thought he could lodge with the former, because it would be less burdensome to him than to the other to entertain a guest. Accordingly, he knocked at th8 door, and the rich man, opening the window, asked the ~tranger Wh8t he sought. The angel replied: HI seek a

night 15 lodging. I.t

Then the rich ~an scanned the stranger from head to foot, and- p er c ef ving that he wore ragged clothes, and s e emed one who had not much money in his pocket, he shook his head and .sllid: "I cannot take you in. My rooms are full of herbs

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seeds, and should I ~helter everyone who knocks' at my tlpqr, I might soon take the b eggar t s staff into my own hand ,

welcome elsewhere."

The angel pleaded: "The night is darkt the way dif-

ficult, and the' houses are few. Take me in, even if you place me in the animal's shed until early1.in the morn- 1111 not bother you. Itll be gone before you wake

"That .canno t be; tf so saying, he shut the window, and . left the "good angel alone, who immediately turned his back

upon him and went over to the little house.

Here he bad

scarcely knocked, when the door was opened and the poor man bade the wanderer welcome and said: HStop here this night with us; it is quite dark, and today. you can go no furthe:~.~l

This reception pleased the,ang9l much, and he walked in; and the wife of the poor man also bade him welcome and holding out her hand sai d r "Make yourself at home, and

though it is not much, we will give to you everything with all our hearts." Then she placed some camotes o~ the fire, and while they roasted, she milked the only carabao that they owned for something to drink. Wherl the table was laid" the good angel sat down and ate with them, and the poor food tasted good, because they who partook of it had happy faces. After they had finished, wnen bedtime came, the wifE; ca:lel the husband dside and said to him: "Let; us sleep tonight

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the f'Loor , my dear, that this wander-er- may have our bed

, whereon to rest himself, for he has been walking all day long, and is doubtless very tired."

"With all my heart, my dear,H replied the husb8nd~ "I will offer it to him; n and going to the angel ~ he begged .him if he pleased, to lie in their bed that he might rest -his limbs thoroughlyc The good angel, at first refused to ctake the bed of his hosts, but at last he yielded to his entreaties Bhd lay down, while they unrolled their mats on the floor. The next morning they arose early and cooked their guest a breakfast of the best they had, and when the

. sun shone through the window? he got up, too, Bnd after 88ting with them prepared to set out again. When he stood in the doorway he turned around and said to the hosts: !1Because

--

you are so compassionate and pious, you may wish three times

and I will grant, each time what you desire."

The poor man replied, "Ah, what else can I wish but eternal happiness, and that we two, as long as we livG1 may have better health and strength and our necessary daily bread; for the third, thing, I knew hot what to wish. II

ttWill'you not wish for a new house and a fine garden?" asked the angel.

"Oh , .yes! If said the poor man} "If I may stay or; 'i:llis spot ,,"i t would be_ we Lcomed , n

Then the good angel fulfilled their wishes and

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changed their old house to a new one, and there was also a - garden at the back with a strange new plant in a row. The angel gave them once more his blessings· and. said: "Look to

the p'Larrt.s ,

When they grow high, provide a trellis so th(1t~

t. "

they can find support; when they bear fruits dig around the r oot.s and get the tubers. Cook them as if they are ~-

. 28

tes and they may be used as vegetables, too, to cook with

meat. Propagate and spread it allover the island. That plant will be a symbol of kindness and hospitality. Hay

your people prosper! GoodbyetU After saying this, he went out of the house,

It was already broad daylight when the rich man arose~ and looking out of the windm"" saw a .hands ome new hous e o.f red brick where formerly an old hut stood. The sight made him open his eyes, he blinked his eyes and called his wife

up and asked: "Tell me what has happened; yesterday evening, what stood opposite,.w8s an old miserable hut; but today, there is· a new fine house better than ours. RUn out and

28 SURra) p. 320 A similar story has been circulated in Europe LlS retold by Grimm in ~ Poor Mill!. and lli ~ Man; Grimm. Tha Fairy Tales (Harrlsburgh, Pa.:-Telegrapn Pre~s, 1937)-;-P. 227_ This version is parallel only to the· three lI'ishes and the saddle, but all the other elements S6em to be typically Boho.Leno . Thi sis similar too to the G:r.e,·;k ~yth, Bau~is and Philemon who when old were changed by

Jupi ter to the oak and linden trees, whi ch were considered the Greek symbols of hospitality~

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find how this happened, IY he commanded his wi.f'e,

The wife went out and asked. the poor man, who r-e Lat.ed to her how a wanderer had come that evening, seeking 9- night' 5 lodging.· Before he left next morning, he granted them three wishes, et-ernal happin,ess, health and food during their lives; and instead of their old hut, a fine new house,

The wife ran home. and told her husband all that had

passed and he exclaimed: nAh, had I only known it, I would have wished a fortunel The stranger had been here before and would have passed the night with us, but I sent him

away_

JlHasten then1" returned his wife, lTIvJ:ount your hor~8 and perhaps you may overtake the man and give him this bot-

tIe of wine to keep his thirst away. Be more. kind and dip~ lomatic so that he would give you three wishes for your s r Lf . ,;

The rich man followed this advice, and soon ov er-t.ook

the angelo He spoke softly, begging that the angel vrou Ld
not take it ill that he had not let him in at first, f'o r ]~. ~ .• ;
h3d gone to seek the key at the front door, and meanwhile,
he had gone away; but if the angel came back the same way, he would be glad if he would call- agai n, There wcul.d be no delay, next time. The angel promised that he would come on his return; the rich man asked if he m4sht not wish thrice what his neighbor was al1owed~

TtYes1tf said the angel, "You may certainly) but it will

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be good for you, and it were better you would not wish.H But the rich m?n pleaded and coaxed until at length -:the angel said: "Ride home, and the three wishes you wi Ll. 'make shall be answered. n29

The rich man had what he desired; he thought nov} of .obt.ad ni.ng s pmething that would tend to his happiness, so 118 rode homeward happily. He began to consider what he wou.l.d 't..ush. While he was thinking, he let his reins fall Loos e ,

_ and his horse presently began to ,jump ,. so that he was jerked about; so much, that he could not fix his mind on anything. He patted his horse on the neck and said, "Be qui.et ;" The hor-s e began -kicking and became savage until finally [,.:;

shouted angrily: "I wi sh you might break your neck. 1t :~(j

sooner had he said so, than down it fell and never mov e-i

again, and thus his first \o}ish was fulfilled. But tr~'~ ..'; <~

man who was covetous by nature, began to car-ry the sadd Lo and continued - his journey on foot. He ·was thinking th2t ~ .. ;\~' wishes still remained. It was already midday and he hih:' 'I~· -.yet decided what to wish f'or . The saddle at his back became heavier and heavier; a stone disturbed his steps and he

s t umb l ed , He cried with fury: nI wish I could get rid of

29 The writer has read the incident of the three wich· es in a French Folk Play, Thr2 Wishes by Constance D'arey

- Mckay, (Harcourt, Brace, and Company, New York, 1941), p , 232 f. -

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this 'saddle." As soon as his words were out of his mouth, the saddle disappeared from his back and he perceived that his second wi~h was fulf'illed~ He became furious, he ran

to his home and found ~~s wife away~ As he was waiting for his wife, the dcg howled .and howled. He was so tired th·9t he went tc bed and tried to sleep_ Suddenly the barking of the dog was heard. It bothered him so much that he utter" ed a sharp cry: fir wish that dog were dead! 11 His third wish was fulfilled. Thus the rich man gained nothing for his wishes but vexation, troubles, scolding, a lost horse and cladJle and the hatred of his wife.

The poor couple now lived happily in piety and contentment in their new house. Seven months afterwards, the root crops were harvested. The poor couple had gathered their k!nampay in big baskets and stored them for futur8 use ana sale. The poor man suggested: "Let us cook ki.nampay for supper, tonight. We have never tasted it yet. Did you notice that they are like ubi,30 only they are rounder Ln shape and fuller, and the smell is Sl'lleet. n

The wife picked up some-of the tubers and cooked them in the pot. / As' the water boiled, someone knocked at

I

the door. A man bending low over a staff, with long white

. hair over his shoulders, with a beard hanging to his breast~

)0

§upra, p. 32 ..

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He

was at the doore He requested for a night's lodging.

was welcomed by the cC\uple and was invited to eat their supi As the , • ..:.£e .di-vi.-ded t~ l{inanm~v J it smelled sweet and per. i

• .-18 sliced it and its fragrance attr£lcted every pas .. , go od ..

r.,,-,sby.} The beggar ate it by ~preading latic31 over each

slice and each felt content and satisfiedo I The husband and

I

wife looked at each other, and smiled; while the old man continued eating contentedly and with relish. He smiled continuously. The next morning, the old man thanked the couple and went away , .I Everyone who smelled the Kinampfly32

J

came to inquire what it was and tasted ito Everyone seemed

satisfied. The fame of the food became known allover the

prov.i.nc e , Boholanos began to flock to Ubay to secure some tubers for propagation. The old couple received everyone kindly and were charitable toward everyone in the village.

They.gave the kinampay to the poor and sold them to the rich. The peasants repaid them with many kindnesses. Soon the plant was grown allover the island.; The, story of the

./

and fragrant kinampay was spread and told from

one village to another, from one generation to another, even >after the old, poor couple di ed ~ The kinampax, therefore

3.1 Latic is a thick syrup of brown sugar and coco-
milk.
32 SUE,ra, 32 ..
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is the gift from the gods for kindness and hospitality. It will remain in the province exclusively, as long as its people are kind and hospitable. A peculiar feature was found in connection with kinamppy. Its .fragrauce and taste I s more improved if it is grown in rocky soil. The best kinampay in Bohol today is grown not in Ubay but in rocky regions like Tagbilaran, Dawis, Panglao, Corella, and B80-

layon.

lli bleeding ~.33 Many years ago, an old coupf o once lived in a tiny hut near the present site of the cemetery in Valencia, a town in Bohol. They were simple, good~

and reltgious. The man was a farmer named Florencio. Every ?h day he tied his carabao on a stub of a tree calledtaongon~ .

When he csm ert o visit it at noon, the carabao was Loos e ,

He tied it again around the same stum~ of' the tree. This happened every day for a we.ek. Finally, he decided to watch it so he told his wife that he would take his breakfast and lunch with him early in the morning for he would work on

the caingin the whole day. He wanted to find out who was the rascal who untied his carabao~ After several hours of

33 Told by Mr. Pablo Namoc , a councilor of Valencia, Bohol, who lives near the church.

34 A shrub (unclassified) which bears unedible frui ts like eggplants. Taong is the local ne.me for eggplants.

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~igil, t~e carabao was loose ~nd he did not see anyone doing it. What was wonderful was that, he was there all the time; he did not leave the carabao by itself. He tied the carabao again, and ·went to the shade to watch= Shortly after, the carabao was unti ad agai n, he was very infuriated by this, but once more he tied it. When he saw the carabao was loose again, he became angry and he shouted to himself: "Something drastic will happen if this carabao will be·released again.tt He watched the carabao closely, he

followed it vJith his eyes, Lt s every movement was detected, meanwhile his hand was on the handle of his sharp bolo, See·~

;_ng no one, he cut off the tree saying: "How arrogant. ar8 'you'2ii His ey es .wi.dened in surprise for the tree bled pro~·

fusely 23 if it was the flesh of a living man or an animal. He ca l.Led hiS neighbors and the news spread' like fire. Feo-pIe fJQcked to the place and they held. a council. Because of the unusual occurrence,these simple folks decided to carve an image fu:m the t.r ee to the likeness of the Holy Child of Gebu. The-man CQuld not sleep the whole night. He tossed in his bed and tried to unravel the mystery of the bleeding tree. Accordingly, an image was ordered and carved by the old couple. When it was ,eo'mpleted, they improvised an altar in the house and venerated it. A novenaJ5 was held

35 Nine days pr8yer~

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73

and at the rri nt.h day a procession iovC1S held around the t own , The whole town attended its celebration. Every year this celebration was repeated.

i'fhen the first, curate arrived in Valencia, negotia~ tions were made with the townspeople to erect a church3

The people acceded and suggested thPt the patron saint of'

.. the town would be the Holy Infant Jesus of Cebu. Volunteers to ;"lOrk and to get materials for the church were many.

Ev:ery barrio contributed logs and these Nere piled besid e the hut where th.::l image was placed. At night nany barrio people obs er-v ed th;,t whenever they passed by the logs, they fj3·v! a child j!..UlJping fearlessly and contentedly from one leg to. another. After one year, the Valencia church was finishede Then. the people with the' blessings of the curate transferred the Holy Image of Jesus to its permanent place in the church. It was first painted. A nine day prayer was held and the .great town fiesta was c e.l.eor-at ed on the ninth day. The fiesta is c e Lebr-a t=d every January, the exact

date is to be fixed by the people. Until at present it is the patron saint of' Valencia. The p sop Le still beli.eve today that it has some miraculous power. They are always ready to give you many instances of its power~ Pablo, the one who related this story to the writ e'r t could relate

after stories to show how it aided and protected

the town ..

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One of these stories is the following: One time oR grea~ drought visited Bohol. Because of the intense heat"; crops failed, which resulted in a famine and the people suffered much. A fire of mysterious origin occurred near th'e hut of the old couple. The fire spread allover the meadows. The people who witnessed it saw the hut enveloped in flames and smoke. Everyone thought that the old couple were burned in their hut. But wonder of wonders! When the

fire was extinguished the people saw the hut intact and the old couple were standing by the door smiling. The Boly Image was there but it was blackened a little by the smoke. '!'he old couple continued to live in the hut. When they were old, t~ey found it difficult to go out and fetch water. The water was only one hundred yards from the house, but since they were very old, they could hardly get 'water without th0 help of someone. One summer day t the old man v1i th a §...§,.:..~~36 came down the rickety stairs very slowly. As soon as he reached a few yards downstairs, a spring sprouted before him; he knelt down with joy and thanked God for it. The

old couple lived to more than a hundred years} but they did not mind old age for water was near. When they died the water from the spring became less and less- every year until

36 A bamboo tube, from one to two meters Long , used. for convey:~ng water from the well to the house.

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_ finally it entirely disappeared. There are no traces of the spring today except an old well.

Another story that was told by Pablo which was relat=

v

ed by his grandfather, was about a Spanish friar who occu-

pied the parish of Valencia. His name was Padre Echevarriac When he arrived, the townpeople introduced their patron saint to the curate. He was told of the miracle that happened, When the friar saw it, he laughed hilariously and said: "How could this carboneroJ7 produce miracles? He is

blacker, than an African s l ave , 11 A few days afterwards, his

llpper lip began to swell, later on1 it grew into a boil,

and finally it became a carbuncle. Since there were no do ctors at that time in v ,:-:1 sno i.a, he left for Manila. He di od in Cebu on his way to the capital.

In the year 1910, when Reverend Father Telesforo

Florido was the curate of ValenciaJ a fire happened during the procession of the Holy Imag~e This strengthened the people's faith in this wonder Child. On the eve of the 'fiesta, it was JclUuary 14, just after the v e sp er s , the procession came out of the church. Before it W8S halfway, the car on which the Holy Child was placed was burned due to the paper flowers which were caught by the flame o~ a falling candle. They thought that everything was destroyed. They

37 Carbonero means a coal feeder.

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put out th-e fire and left the car inside the chur-ch, The next morning, Reverend Flo~ido told the sister of Pablo to buy a new dress for the Holy Child. The old woman entered the church and to her amazement she found the garments of the Holy Child intact, not even smoked. Of course, she found some whitish spots on the face which disappeared after a few months 11

During the last World War, the Japanese began their mopping operations. Their plan was to land troops in Valen= 'cia for it was the fiesta of the neighboring town, GarciaHernandez, and there was a competition of the Bolo volun~ teers f'r-om different towns in Bahol. People from the Lnt.snor.: and southeastern towns were concentrated that· night in Valencia. The competition was opened in the afternoon, snd.

. there was to be a reception and dance in the Commercial Emporium that evening. The Japanese battleships,were seen tn the afternoon in the sea maneuvering their positions~ They knew about this competition through their intelligence service. When they were about to shell the town, ready for

_the landing, a thic~ fog covered the town. The town was so enveloped with it that good sight was impossible. They

: stopped operations and waited. But the fog did not clear out so the Japanese moved to the next town, Dimiao, but found _.themselves stranded in the shallow water. 'Valencia .was being spared from shelling. The people pinned their

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77 faith upon their patron saint, and it was not in vain~ The next day, the Japanese c~nstabulary arrived at Valencia from Dimiao. Dimiao is only five kilometers. They were the

ones who told the story of the>mys.terious fog and their change of maneuvers because of that. In Valencia there was no such fog, so the people smiled and understood.

The Japanese garrisoned themselves in the house of Reverend Fatner Pelagio Torrefranca, which was near the municipal building. The Japanese guards asked the people. Nho was the child wbo at nights was sean jumping from one b~cl. to another while the soldi,ers were sleeping. The child did nothing except to urge "them by signs to go away. This was repeated several nights. The garrison turned,into con~ ftl.sion. The people when asked by the 'Japanese could not answer who the child was. When the mayor was asked, he fell into a·great predicament for he knew nothing of the child except through his imagination of the Holy Child. Finally, since the Japanese questioned the civilians urgently about it, the civilians pointed to the church. When the Japanese went to the church and saw the Holy Image, they told the· people that th e child was similar if not the same one that frequently visited them at night~

It is, therefore, not a wonderful thing, that people. who migrated to far-off Mindanaos always come to Valencia

to celebrate the fiesta. These people are like homing

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. _ .... "pigeons who come back to see the progress of the town, visit relatives and friends, and pray to the Holy Child to give ,them continuous blessings.

Diwata.38 Diwatas39 are spirits called anitos. To

". these diwatas, sacrifi ces are m2de or tributes are given .. This is a superstition that still survives among simple, illiterate folks. Diwata is also a ritual in honor of the

spirits. The object of this cult is two-fold: first, to prevent the ani t os from harmi.ng them; second, it is a means

by- which they try to obtain what they desire.

In the town of" Anda, there is a cave near the point

of g IvIanok. 40 Duru ng Holy Week, th ese simple folks go to

the cave to offer sacrifi cas. Before Holy Thursday come s , they prepare 'a pig and chi ckens, and bring them t.o the C8\,.;: < Whem they arrive there, they gather different kinds of h~;,.,-cs. They begin to slaughter the pig and dress the chickens~

They cook them \'lJi thout putting sal t for they beli eve that salt is not used by the anitos. Early on Holy Thursday,

< they enter the cave and bring these things. They serve the

38 Reported by Mr. Melecio Deligero from the town of Anda, Bohol; Normal College, Central Visayan Colleges.

39 Spirits that are found in mountains, seas, and hills. They are vener'ated by the people in order to prevent sickness.

40 Name given to a sharp-pointed"landscape extending to the. sea. !dl Manok is a Visayan e~pre5sion which means~

the ch1cken. .

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food to the spirits in the cave. The people who bring them fast for two days- Holy Thursday and Holy Friday. After these days, they look 'for the food that they served. They believe that the 'spirits have eaten some of the' food.. The people who fasted, eat the food left by the ani tos. Then they mix the herbs that they gathered with oil and place the mixture in bot.t.Les , They believe this mixtur e to possess some medicinal properties that will make them the possessor-s

of magic charms and love potion that will attract adamant Nomen; it might be a magic charm that may make them tnvisihLe t.o human eyes. Before leaving the cave they offer some white checkensas tribute for the auitos. That is why this

cave is known as 13. Manck, for people do not leave it without giving alive chickens as tri but e to the diwata s . EVE"r',

bancas that pass the point of La ~nok which is near ths cave leave white chickens in the place so that the spirits may give them favorable winds. Fishermen who fish in this place pay tribute of one chicken for a big catch of fish.

.h. myth Q£ Lungsod-Daan River, £MQi,iar.41 Many YE!Elr3 ago, the Lungsod-Daan River had no crocodiles. But when the myst.erious Minday and hi's wife Ii ved near the /r'1. v er , the

41 Report-ed by Paz Bayron, Lungsod-Daan, Candijay, Bohol; Normal College, Central Visayan Colleges, Jagna~ Bohol.

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crocodiles appeared. They multiplied fast~ specially in one of its tributaries called !.§.~hus.42 Any animal that would pass the j)J.ace~ :was. sar-ely devoured by the cr-ocodf Las. Peo',~ pIe stopped taking a bath in the river. The people during

summer fenced a part of the river so that they could take a bath and wash clothes 'without be.i ng molested by crocodiles ~ Every night the crocodiles crept to the fields near the river, and people noticed the loss of many animals. One day, a young woman took a bath in ,the fenced araa of the river,

a crocodile appeared. The crocodile jumped over the fence and bit the woman. The monster brought the woman through the fence in hast,e , 'When the people arrived, the woman was

dragged by the crocodile down t he s trr eam , No matter how t.h s people tried to help her and look for her, the woman could not be found. The people ,of the barrio held a meeting to sdi ve the Lncd derrt , Capi t'an Emoy was the teni ente of the barrio. They agreed to celebrate St. Nicholas as their pat-

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ron saint of the bar-r-Lo, All -appr-oved of it unanimously.

It was on November, 1885, t.ha t they first celebrated the barrio fiesta in honor of St. Nicholas.. They held a fluvial

pr-o c.es sd on in the river: the patron saint was loaded in a

gaily decorated banea. They sailed on up stream. Suddenly, the boat moved to one side and the image fell into the river.

42 Name given t-o a tributary of a r-i vsr in Candi,jay&

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Capi tan Ernoy ordered his people to get the image from the· river, but no one tried to risk his life. At last CapitCl.n Erney dived; the other men followed him to the bottom and

.. succeeded to get the iz.nage of St. Nicholas. From that timB on, crocodiles were never seen to infest it.

In 1948, they decided not to celebrate the fiesta

'of the barrio on account of a famine and scarcity. The one who gave the motion was killed by a crocodile two days afterwards. A few days after, a woman who came horne after fish~ tng with her husband, mysteriously disappeared as she waded waist deep on the bank of the river. She was presumably taken by a crocodile. The people of the barrio ever since never failed to celebrate the barrio fiesta even if there

was famine for fear the crocodile would come back to in:[\::L t.

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. the river. Sinca that time no tragi c happenings have bean ·heard of~until today.

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-i CHAPTER IV

FOLK 'l'ALES AND LOOENDS:>1

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A folk tale is a story that just grew. Long ag6~ perhaps, a wise mother and father whom no one has ever heard . of, made up "a story to teach a child a Leason; The child remembered the story and rep~ated it to his children. From

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lip to lip, down the years it came. It was easy to repeat~ A wandering minstrel happened to hear the tale and he caressed it up a bit, 'and gave it a bz-and new setting. S0

that even if it was an old story 1 t was something new to the youth.

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In every country, folk tales are common. They represent what simple people have learned from experience& The folk tales that follow are the ones that have been canmonly related from one gener-atd on to the other.

Ih2 ~egend 2! ~ ~~l An aged grandmother was about te die in the barrio of Lantang, Val~ncia~ She summoned her oldest child to her death bed and gave him this command: If! know that I am about to die. Take this comb after my deat.h and bury it alone by the side of the house, just outside t~e window. Promise me, Juan, that you shall

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Reported by Mrs. Procopia Cuarto~ College of Edu-

cation, Central Visayan Colleges, Jagna, Bohol.

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and made a solemn pledge to his grandmother that he would carry out her wish. Although he thought that his gr-andmother's wish was queer, he had not the will' to break it~ Juan kept the matter to himself and buried the comb secretly at the spot indicated by the womano' Time passed. The memory of the buried comb faded into oblivion until the

first anniversary of her death when Juan was reminded of the

buried comb, He went to investigate and he f'ound a bamboo shooting out of the earth~ He meditated shortly; "Could it

be that the old vromanr s comb germinated into a bamboo shoot? l:

He called his brother Pedro and showed him the bamboo ShOOi~,;

and explained to him how he buried it in compliance with0he last "lish of their grandmother" They became silent, and then separated. The bamboo shoot grew~ In all respect it was like any other ordinary bamboo that was found in the village. After three years, the original stem became a cluster of ·big and tall stems. Juan used to examine them put found it to be a common bamboo only&

.. The two brothers were fishermen6They ~ad a common

fish corral at the shores of Cutcutan,2 near Badyang Spring~ The fish corral became old and was weakened. New bamboos

2 A barrio in the town of Valancia, Boho L,

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were needed. Juan and Pedro decided to utilize the bamboos

by their house, since nothing extraordinary happened~ Ped~ ro was ordered to eut down ali the cluster of big bamboos and to bring them down to the seashore by floating them through the river that flowed into the sea. He went and cut the trees, all of them. When he was about to cut the last tree, there jumped out of the cut joint a baby girl~ Pedro was dumb-founded. He would not believe what he saw.

He stared and stared in amazement at the strange girl. The child seemed to be in pain and was murmuring urri nt.e.l Li.gf.b.Le words. Pedro went near the child and found her finger 1;188

bleeding. He ran to the house to get a piece of cloth fer

bandage, took some guava leaves from "near by, chewed thew

fine and applied to the wound~ He bandaged it anGl called hi s neighbors. The barrio people were amazed and e-ai d : it~, gift" from the diwatas,3 a gift from heaven.1f The news spread quickly into the village and crowds came from the neighboring countryside to view the bamboo child.

Juan, meanwhile, was impatiently waiting for Pedro "at the corral. When the sun s et., Juan went home angr-i.Ly , When he arrived, ha saw a pretty white child and asked Pedro where he got her. Pedro related to him the whole

. story. After hearing the story, Juan sat down and smoked

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Supra, p. 78.

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his pipe. He thought deeply. He tri ed to r eco l.Lect. and -correlatp the series . of events which culminated in· the hirth

of the child.. Among other things he recalled that his grandmother ~ad also a rather mysterious origin~. She was not like other women" She T.-'las white, with eyes, now blue, now light brown; she could not see very well .at 'noon; th,is

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"'1Jc3~ r:oted by ever-yone in the barrio of Lantang. She was an

albino. Then he recalled how his grahdmother was so particularwith regard to the disposition of her comb, that she even chose the place of burial. He knew that the bamboo by

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his house gr-ew out of the burial ground of the comb, to a I I.

appear-anc es , it was an offshootof the comb. The La st; stem

of the bamboo brought out the chf.Ld , He was puzzled, r.h e n , he felt calm and happy~ He smiled, he concluded that the bamboo g~rl was his grandmother who came back to life.

The curious people left Juan and Pedro behind I!Ji th the child. Juan said' to Pedro: tlSinc:e you found her and you have no children, keep her and adopt her as if she is of your own blood.. Take very good care of her. She might bring good·luck to our family~tI

Pedro was overjoyed for he had been wishing to have

a c~~ld and his wife nGver bore him one. The child grew very well as most country maidens do. At eighteen, she was

a regal beauty, light complexion, "Soft skin without blemish, her face was rpund as the moon, her eyes waning as two starsi

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tresses blonde, she wasJ in a word, beautiful. She

became the mother of the a Lbd nos that are found In Valencia

'Ctoday.

The chocolate-dropped-hills £f Carmen; Ba~~~~ and . Bor.ia towns. 4 Many years ago, at the foot of RapPX" mountain5 there lived an opulent family who had an only daugh-

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ter . 'I'h e daughter was beautiful but proud, unkind, and lazy.

This wilful girl ,r,18S ca l.Led , Amada~" They had a neighbor

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who was a widow,' but a wi s e woman. This wise woman had two

children. They were twins. Their hearts were as preCiOllf"

and a s delightful as gold. . Themot.her often taught t he i rchildren to be kind to everyone. The chi Ldran grew to lO"J8

God and all his creatures. They were afraid of no one, and

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tried to do them harm. When evening came,

these two children would knee l. clown and bow their heads in

prayer. They would thank the dear God for the beautiful things around them. The boy was called Ruben, and the gi.rl was called, 'I'er e sa , The boy was gentle in his ways and met

everyone with a smi Le , Teresa had willing feet. ·Often she

would skip and ran errands for one and all. There wa s

4 Reported by Felipe Butehen, College o~ Education, Central Visayan Colleges, Jagna, Bohol~

5 Name given to the place •

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always a song in her cheerful heart as she went about her daily tasks.

One bright and cheery mor-ni ng , Amada , Teresa) and Ruben, played in Amada's garden. They forgot themselves in their play and, happened to be outside the garden. A discrepit old woman. came up to them and begged them for alms. Teresa. and Ruben placed their hands in their pockets but could find nothing. They felt sorry for the beggar~ Amada pouted and ran away into the garden .. 6 She came back wi th

stones in her hands. Teresa talked secretly with Ruben all''~'

finally, 'I'eresa took off her pearl necklace that she was wearing and ~ave it ~o the beggar: She told the beggar,

"1 would not know what to do with it, but it might be 118eful to you. Keep it." Amada threw stones at the beggar instead. 'When she saw that the beggar was given a pearl necklace, Amada tried to take the necklace away from the

bsggar , The beggar held it tightly and would not let :!.t go. When Amada could not have the necklace, she ran and got a pitcher full of water and poured it on the old wornants head saying~ "There take that along with the pearls."

The old woman looked angrily and shouted: "You are "unkind and r-uda , I will take you away where you will learn

6 this legend reminds the reader of Gr-Lmm "s Fc3iry Tales which include a fairy and giants; like HanSel and Gretel, Harvard Classics, Vol .. 17, (New York: P. T ~ Co.l.Li e and Son ~ompany, 1910), p. 82.

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t.o be kind and to have good manners e "

Then she looked at

TereS8 and Ruben \<lith a smile! "As to you, kind cht Ldr-en , someday I will be able to reward you" Thank you very much for your gift." . She turned away and took Amada -by the hand and disappeared. Ruben and Teresa ran to Aroadats mother in the house and told her what had happened. The mother was sad Dnd frightened. They looked everywhere for Amada but

they could not find her.

Some· months aft er, the mother of

Teresa and Ruben was called on d visit~ Before sh€ started~ . she called her children and advised them: "You must have heard of cousin Lucilla. She lived far in the capital at

Tagbilaran. I must go· there for she needs me. Can you be trusted by yourselves?U

She is

ill.

Teresa smiled: "r will mend my wor-nout, c.Lot.h es ;"

Ruben,

"And, I will be the guardian of my sister: If laughed So the motiher left.

We shall leave now, Teres~ 8nd Ruben, who were left to take care of the house.

Meanwhile, Amada was taken by the beggar to her home~ She was merely a good fairy who was disguised as a beggar.

. Sh.e told Aroada: "Fr-om now on, you are going to be my servant. Every day that yoa are good and wor-k hard for me J I ltdll

give you one pear.l of Teresa's neck La c e , There are sixty-

. fi ve pearls in the necklace. When you have earned t.hsm all; . - I will take ·you back to your mother. HAmada cried find threw

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herself on t h e floor", She was given pieces of wood and ''las

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make fire and help cook their food. Amada threw

the fairy a piece of wood, it, came back arrd struck Amad.a a

blow on ber head. When the food was cooked she was gd v en plates and was t·old to set the table so they could eat.'

Amada threw a plate again at the fairy, . but it returned t.o her and hit her on the head. Aroada cried in pain but could

not do otherwise. She determined to obey the fairy for

there was no escape for her.. The rJ2Xt day she did not walt.

to be told.. She did the- household chores pretty we l l ,

She

was not told to do anything but she worked willingly and

tried to be efficient too. When evening came, the fairy called her in a sweet voice: ~You have been a very gdod

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girl today. Here'is a pearl from Teresajs neck.La c e ;"

Near ~he fairy's house lived on the edge of a huge rock a giant with his wife. They often ate the cows that

were pastured, so greedy were they. 'I'hat night the giant was thinking. that he was tired of eating the same kind ~r food. He thought that it must be wonderful, if he could eat a healthy Child, he would go to heaven~ Giants must

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have their heavens, too. He played his magic pipe; it

brought forth a tune into the night. The pipe kept colling into the air: "Come good Rubent come t comel-" Poor little

Ruben heard the c13.11. He 'could not help himself ..

trTeresa, do you not hear someone calling my name?!!