MUNICIPALITY OF GUMACA, Quezon, Historical Data of Part 3

51. The midwife or "hilot" who assisted the mother in childbirth is asked to conduct the smoking ritual known as "soob." She prepares coconut shells, which she burns. Into the fire, she throws bits of dried coconut leaves which had been blessed in the church during Palm Sunday. The smoke from the fire is then fanned toward the child, who is supposed to get well soon.

52. When a person is said to have indigestion, a queer practice is to take him to a rice paddy, where he is beaten on the stomach with an empty buri bag or "bayong."

53. When the rain does not come and there is no sign whatsoever that it will come, then the people of the particular barrio decide to ask for heavenly intercession. The image of their patron saint is taken to a house where they hold a novena called "Suverana."

54. Gabi leaves become taboo among members of the family and relatives of a deceased person. They believe that if they eat any kind of delicacy out of gabi leaves when they are still in mourning, there will surely be someone among them who will die soon.

55. As soon as the dead has been carried out of the house, there must be no one to go back into the house until the funeral is over, or else the one who returns will soon follow.

56. Tears are prevented from falling into a dead person, otherwise that person who let his tears fall will become sickly.

57. The people in a house where there is a dead person do not sweep the floor.

58. A pregnant woman leaves a house where a person lies dying.

59. If a person lies hovering between life and death for quite a long time, but seems to be having a hard time breathing his last, it is believed that there is a certain "anting-anting" planted in his body. To remove the talisman or charm, he should bathe with vinegar.

60. The family and friends of a dead person are not allowed to bear his coffin.

61. A dead person is never transferred to another house.

62. Coconuts are planted during the full moon so that the nuts will be large.

63. To ensure the low growth of coconut trees, the planter stoops while planting.

64. Camotes are best planted during low tide and when the nights are starry.

65. The best rice grains to be used for seedlings are those that are not yet too dried up during harvest.

66. The fine stone used for sharpening tools is hidden during the planting season.

67. Children are not allowed to play in the field after the planting of rice, otherwise animals and insects may destroy the crops.

68. The first rice grains harvested are set aside for the next planting.

69. To plant is detrimental for a man whose wife is in the family way.

70. The first eggplants harvested are not roasted, otherwise the next harvest will be poor.

71. To insure freedom from destruction by lightning and thunder, vinegar is poured into the post of a house under construction.

72. The posts of a house are erected during high tide.

73. To insure a prosperous life, construct the stairs facing the east.

74. He whose wife is conceiving does not help in raising the post of a house being constructed.

75. The wedding feast is seldom celebrated in the house of the groom.

76. An infant's fingernails are cut on Mondays and never on Fridays and Tuesdays.

77. The afterbirth or placenta is carefully cleaned so that the child will be cleanliness-loving.

78. Children are prevented from crying on Mondays and never on New Year's Day.

79. Two pregnant women are seldom allowed to live in the same house.

80. After birth, the infant is placed in a bed with good magazines and booklets for a pillow.

81. Neither the midwife, the doctor who assisted in the delivery is allowed to leave the house without being given payment for the services they rendered.

82. Merchants and sick people avoid traveling on Tuesdays and Fridays for fear of adverse results.

83. Infants and children are not bathed during their days of birth.

84. People seldom leave a house when the meal is not yet over.

85. Sweeping the floor before sunrise is seldom practiced for fear of losing all the good fortune for the day.

by:

Miss Luz C. Tañafranca
Gumaca Elementary School

A very long time ago, the ants were not as you see them now. They were people with better means of living. They tilled the land which God had given them. They knew how to store food for the rainy days. That was why they never got hungry. Food was abundant in every season of the year.

Later, there came a time when greed and laziness befell the once-industrious people. Some peopel wanted to eat, but they were lazy to work, and some people, too, wanted to possess the land owned by someone else by any means. One time, some thought of a way by which to steal the grains of another without being noticed. They succeeded. But, of course, a bad smell could not be hidden. The owner discovered the losses he had in the granary. He watched at night to find out who the robbers were.

The robbers came one by one, thinking that no one was watching. Each one prepared a bundle of rice, but when they were ready to go, the owner shouted at them. Leave those bundles or I'll come to punish you. Before his last words were spoken, the robbers came upon him and bit him with their teeth until he groaned with pain and soon fell down dead.

That incident was followed by other similar acts of killing. The robbers thought that God could not see them. But God knew the evil things they did. He gave them a chance to repent for what they had done; but it seemed the bad thing in them weighed more.

God god angry. He went down and punished the people. He said, "Because you killed the people by biting, from now on, I will change you into little creatures and, once you try to bite people, you will die yourselves. Night and day, you will always hunt for food for as long as you live, you will not gain any satisfaction.

Little by little, the bad people were changed to tiny creatures and ever since, were called ants. Even up to now, you will notice that the ants are always hunting for food, and whenever they try to bite you, after biting, they fall dead.

Once upon a time in a certain country, the people were kind and humble. They were industrious and loving. The people, with contented hearts, went to their work from morn till sunset. There were no quarrels, no thieves, no hard feelings among themselves. They windows were left opened and the doors unlocked.

The manners of dressing were very simple. They were all the same, even holiday dresses and party clothes. There was not one who would go far above the others. Jealousy was a stranger to them. Hundreds of years passed among them, and their customs did not change. But, as a new generation came along, the old habits seemed to pass away with the passing years. The humble living seemed to pass away, too. Aristocracy seemed to challenge humility. There was now a longing to surpass one another. If a woman went to church with a new dress and beautiful jewelry, the next day, other people would try to surpass her. Even the men seemed to be ashamed to do hard work, and most of them became idle. They began to stand by in corners. Robbery and murder became rampant. The most peaceful place became a fearsome place to live in.

God, then, became angry with their evil passion. He disguised himself as an old man and came to visit the place. He warned them of a terrible flood that might come soon. He even said that if they wished to be free from the wrath of God, they should leave the place when the first rains fell, but they should never, never look back as soon as they went down the house, or else they would stay where they were. He happened to pass a family who still kept the old customs. They did not approve of the new generation's ways of living. He warned them, too, and said He hoped they would remember His words.

One day, the rains fell in torrential volumes. The skies became dark. Everything became very still. Only the tik-tak of the rain could be heard in every nook and corner of the town. The people remembered what the old man had said. Others did not heed the warning, while others prepared to go. While they were about to enter another town, they were sinners, every little movement would make them turn back and, when they turned their backs, they could no longer move and they stood where they were.

The rains continued till all the lands seemed to be covered with water. The tallest tree could no longer be seen. There was a couple who tried to stand on a very high stone. But sinners, the same they were, so the same thing they did and the same thing happened to them.

At last, the rains stopped. The sun shone brightly and the water subsided. Instead of a once progressive turn [probably "town"], nothing remained but houses and trees covered with earth. Since then, the tall trees became high mountains, the houses were the lower ones, and the people became the hills. The houses that stood near each other became the

mountain ranges which from time to time grew until the ranges were long and high. The couple who tried to stand on a high piece of stone were covered near each other and, since then, had been called the "Twin Mountains" was the good family whom God spared to tell the world that a wrong thing deserved punishment and God's punishment was always eternal.

Historical Data of the Municipality of Gumaca, Province of Quezon, online at the National Library of the Philippines Digital Collections.