MUNICIPALITY OF MAUBAN, QUEZON, Historical Data of Part 3

One morning, members of his family waited for him in vain. People were alarmed. Don Juancho, the educator and business executive, was lost. He could not be found anywhere in the town. His relatives, friends, and admirers looked for his body in rivers, ditches, and the sea, but not even a sign of his disappearance was found. Some believed that he became a "hermit." Others believed that he was murdered. Until now, it is a mystery to the people of Mauban.

When the Americans came, the town had a stable municipal government. The town council, under the presidency of Tranquilino Villaseñor and the vice-presidency of Monico Santayan, in the strength of a resolution changed the [name of] Calvario Street to Don Juancho in order to perpetuate the memory of the late educator and business hero, Don Juancho Camposano.

In the olden times, when the country was divided into kingdoms ruled by datus or chiefs, there lived in a certain island now called Polillo a datu who had a beautiful daughter named Princess Laura. One of the admirers of this lovely maiden was a prince living in another kingdom across the sea, Prince Nadduha. Since the princess' father was opposed to their love-making, the two lovers met but seldom and secretly. It was not long before the princess' father died.

Due to the prince's ardent desire to marry the maiden he loved, he devised means and ways by which he could take her.

One day in his kingdom, he gathered all his selected followers and sailed for the island. He left a word to his remaining followers that, at the failure of his plans and in case of ill luck, he would give a signal through smoke which would be visible from a distance.

The prince's plans and attempts were made successfully, but the princess' mother cursed her — a curse she unceasingly uttered and murmured that the lovers be turned to stones.

Fate had been cruel for the two lovers as a great storm arose and darkness fell while they were crossing the dark sea. Not far along the shore of Lamon Bay, north of Mauban, their boat crashed against corals and sank. From the depths of that place where the two souls were destined, two big stones rose out of the surface of the sea. These two big stones, which sailors see up to these days somewhere out of the shores of Cagsiay Tercero, were from then called Stone-Couple or Mag-asawang Bato.

Along the deltas and banks of the river of Mauban are swamps where mangroves abound. What seems strange to inquisitive youths are the queer ways and looks of the Bakawan tree and the piyapi tree — the Bakawan tree having plenty of prop roots supporting its trunk and the Piyapi tree with its trunk full of holes.

AMONG THE OLD PEOPLE, THE STORY GOES -

The Bakawan tree and the Piyapi tree were close friends. Each was very much concerned with the welfare of the other.

One day, Piyapi hurried to Bakawan and warned him of an approaching typhoon within three days. "Forewarned is fore-armed," he said.

Bakawan was very grateful of his friend's faithfulness. He hastily got pieces of bamboo and drove them around his trunk to support his body against the strong winds. He got so tired after the whole day's toil.

Three days passed. Bakawan did not go outdoors, fearing the coming typhoon. He stayed alone waiting for the dreadful day. Another day passed, and still another, but not a sign of the unfair weather was seen. "For such false news you told me, I'll pull out your tongue," he said angrily to Piyapi. And he did it as fast as he spoke. Piyapi got no time to complain and found himself tongueless. Since then, Piyapi has grown with plenty of holes in the trunk.

At the central part of the town of Mauban is a hill called Kalbario, which was a part of the Sierra Madre Mountains during the foundation of the town, when it was transferred to its present location from the sition of Pinagbayanan, barrio of Luya-luya. It was then a high narrow strip of land protruding eastward to the sea.

As the town grew larger and the population increased, the inhabitants of the town found it necessary to find a way to the nearby sitio of Polo. The people began to construct a trail through the said strip of high and narrow land. Later, a narrow "cut" was made through this same portion of the mountain. This "cut," being the main entrance to the town, was called Pinto ng Bayan by the townfolks.

During those days, the townspeople lived peacefully in loving subjection and resignation to the will of God. Due to this fact, Divine Providence so loved the people that He did not reserve that generosity to reveal to them the treasure hidden in this town.

Outside the high narrow strip of land south, townspeople began to clear the nipa swamp and erected their homes. The narrow cut, which became deeper as years passed, was the main passaage to this sort of village, thereafter called Pinto ng Bayan, too.

This dark narrow pass [unreadable] a strange weird story which old folks handed down from mouth to mouth. The old story goes...

During those early days, when the church bells pealed announcing the stroke of eight o'clock and night, no persons would dare pass this dark "gate of the town" because a certain spirit of the dead used to chase one who dared. There were not a few seemingly brave young men who tried to cross the pass after the said stroke, only to verify the appearance of the spirit, who would run after them.

There was a certain young man who was very anxious to know the secret of the appearance and return of the dead person's spirit to earth. One night, he took in a generous amount of alcoholic drink that he thought would prove him to brave the dark pass and verify the widespread news. After the stroke of eight, when the moon was half-hidden by the gray clouds, he found himself zigzagging the way up the pass. There, up reaching halfway the narrow gate, the dreaded spirit appeared and went close to him saying, "Lie flat on the ground, else you will see my dreadful face!" The young man immediately followed. While he was at that prone position, the spirit spoke again. "I will lead a prayer and you will answer." The man agreed and they began to pray.

When the prayer was finished, the spirit spoke again. "Now, I am very grateful to you. I can now go to Heaven. God told me that unless I have led a prayer which only a living man on earth has answered, He could not admit me to Heaven. As a reward for you, you will have all the treasures hidden in this town."

The spirit told him to get the treasure contained in the trunk of a big mangrove tree outside the "gate of the town." And he continued, "In case you find it, have three Masses said for me as reparation for my sins of banditry. Give one-third of the remainder as alms to the poor and keep the rest for yourself."

The man did as he was told. He found the hidden treasure and became true to his promise.

The barrio of Luya-luya is divided into two parts. The part along the shore is called "labas" by the barrio folks, while the western part is called "loob." In the western part is the sitio of Pulong Bundok, the name of which is attributed to a lone mountain found at the place. In this Pulong

Bundok, pili nut trees abound. These trees bear plenty of fruits so much that children never get tired of frequenting the place to pick ripe fruits.

They saw a number of pretty mestizas with long white full-balloon skirts. They were merrily dancing to the sweet music that filled the air with joy. But the gold jar had gone forever.

Very early at dawn, a group of young men decided to take an early refreshing bath at the public bath located at the northern part of the town. It was then still very dark inside. After taking off their clothes, each one began to bathe comfortably in the cool water that flowed from the spouts of the concrete tank. Not contented with the little amount of water that flowed from his spout, Dando, the most mischievous boy of the group, tried to push away his friends from their selected spouts to get the advantage of the bigger flow of water. This created so much noise and quarreling inside the dark bathhouse. Soon, Dando found the spout with the biggest flow, a fact that gave him the peace he wanted. He kept silently creaming his body with the white, fragrant, leathery soap. But, as he was rinsing and creaming his head with thick bubbles, he felt the sudden stop of the water's flow.

"Please stop that, Mario," Dando cried to another tricky lad in the group, thinking that his friend was playing a joke on him.

The water from the spout would suddenly come out, then at a moment would disappear. This, he felt and noticed repeatedly.

"Will you please stop that playing, ha?" again Dando would cry out to his friends. His plea was heeded, so continued bathing off the soap from his body.

But no sooner had Dando finished bathing than he found his friend, Goryo, pushing him aside and trying to get over him in using the former's spout.

"My friend is teasing me again," Dando thought to himself. As soon as he had wiped off the water from his

face, he looked up to see who was inciting him to anger. But what a white headless man he saw! Awfully frightened at the strange sight, he grabbed his clothes from the nail driven at the walls of the bathhouse and ran as fast as his legs could carry him, shouting, "The headless priest! The headless priest!" All his companions, hearing the weird phrases, rushed out to the street naked, pale, and trembling with fear.

10. Sprinkling vinegar in corners of the house prevents it from being struck by lightning.

11. Covering the looking glass on rainy days prevents lightning.

12. If one gets sick after a bath on a Friday, the sickness will be very difficult to cure.

13. At high tide, more oil can be extracted from the coconut; at low tide, there is little oil.

14. If the placenta, "inunan" in Tagalog, is placed in a pot and hung, the child will not be easily frightened.

15. The placenta should be buried under the ladder so that the child will not grow to be too adventurous.

16. If the placenta is buried together with a book or a newspaper, the child will become wise.

17. If the placenta is thrown into the river, the child will resist cold more easily.

18. When a person steps over another who is lying down, it is bad luck. If, however, the person steps over him again in the opposite direction, the bad luck is canceled.

19. If you place your book under your pillows, its contents will be readily understood.

20. When the upper teeth grow first, a boy is unsuccessful in life.

21. When a bird comes into a house through a window, one of the household will die.

22. A fighting cock crowing without any other cock answering will win the Sunday following.

23. The egg of a heron is a good "bertod," making the one possessing it invisible.

24. Do you know any people who stay awake at night to watch the corpse of a dead person? It is because of the belief that some spirit may put mercury (asogue) at the feet of the dead, when he will suddenly stand up and chase people.

25. Black ants climbing the posts of a house in an indication of a coming flood.

26. If a dog digs the ground at the foot of the stairs, someone in the house is soon to die.

27. The spirit of the dead visits its relatives on the third day after he is buried.

28. On Sabado de Gloria (Saturday following Good Friday). when the church bells ring, shake children or plants to hasten their growth.

29. When a hen cackles or a dog howls in the dead of the night, a person in the neighborhood will soon die.

30. Do not comb your hair at night. If you do, your mother will soon die.

31. When a lady dies, a young man will follow her to the grave.

32. Among cockfighters and gamblers, the superstition is common that for the first person to meet a woman, it is a sign of bad luck.

33. A person who habitually eats "tutuong" (the hard part of the boiled rice next to the bottom of the pot) is slow and lazy.

34. A child who chews will learn with great difficulty.

35. In is bad to throw anything in the dark for you might hit bad spirits. Before throwing, you should give a warning.

36. When there is no moon, the crabs have much "piga," fat.

37. Leaving a house while some are [still] eating brings bad luck.

38. If you eat the first [missing word here] of a tree struck by lightning, you will die.

39. Among newly-married [couples], the one whose candle light goes out first will die first.

40. Tapping the floor at night invites centipedes.

41. Occupying an unfinished house brings great misfortune.

42. Bathing the cat causes rain.

43. Whistling when playing kite calls the wind.

44. What you do on New Year's Day, you will do the entire year.

45. It is not good to give away money on Mondays. In that way, you will have great difficulty to earn some during the week.

46. It is not good to plant ilang-ilang trees hear the house — for the owner of the house will die soon.

47. If, in the time of cholera, somebody from outdoors calls you at night, you must not answer, for it is an evil spirit.

48. If a child happens to fall down anywhere, it is good to pour water immediately over the place he has fallen. The pain of the child eases at once.

49. An iguana crossing your path when [you are] traveling brings ill luck.

50. A snake crossing our path when traveling is a sign of good luck.

51. A gecko in the house invites lightning.

52. Much lightning causes mushrooms to grow.

53. A house lizard making noise over the door is an announcement of a coming visitor.

54. When a gambler finds a coin on his way to the place for gambling, he will win.

55. Dreaming of having much money means that one will have scabies.

56. A black butterfly fluttering inside the house foretells the death of a relative or a sign of bad news.

57. The kicking of a horse without any cause is a sign of coming rain.

58. When the light at night turns greenish, the spirit of the dead is coming.

59. When climbing a tree, never kill an ant so that not one will sting you.

60. The doors of a house should not be made face to face, or else it will cause early death to any member of the family.

61. Meeting a black cat when going somewhere is a sign of ill luck.

62. Eyeglasses falling means some afflictions.

63. Peeping at the window when the corpse is brought down for the funeral will cause an early death.

64. A relative may follow the deceased to the grave when the weeping is done during the interment.

65. A relative will follow if the dead does not become stiff.

66. When the dead does not get cool at once, he is waiting for an absent relative.

67. When a rainbow is cut short, the weather will become bad.

68. When the depths of the sea seem to bubble and sparkle brightly, the weather will be unfair.

69. When a stray pig gathers rubbish on a fair day, the weather will become bad.

70. A sudden fall of a tree in the silence of the woods is a sign of bad weather.

71. A snake crossing a river on a fair day is a sign of stormy days coming.

72. When a fish leaps from the water at sea and falls side-wards on water, it will rain.

73. The upward rays of the sun striking some clouds at early morn means that it will rain any time of the day.

74. No remarks should be made at anything when out at sea because the weather will be unfair.

75. Playing house invites typhoons.

76. When the frogs crash on an unfair day, the weather will become fair.

77. The weather of the twelve months of the year can be attributed or foreseen on the nature of the first twelve days of January, i.e., if January first is a rainy day, January will be a rainy month; if the second day is sunny, February will be a sunny month; and so on up to the twelfth month.

Transcribed from: Historical Data of the Municipality of Mauban, Province of Quezon, online at the National Library of the Philippines Digital Collections.