Cebuano Legends

University of San Carlos Publications
A STUDY OF TWO CEBUANO LEGENDS: THE LOST LENDER AND MARIA CACAO
Author(s): Erlinda Kintanar Alburo
Source: Philippine Quarterly of Culture and Society, Vol. 26, No. 1/2, SPECIAL ISSUE:
COMMEMORATING OUR FIRST TWENTY-FIVE YEARS (1973-1998): SELECTED PAPERS (March/
June 1998), pp. 65-80
Published by: University of San Carlos Publications
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Philippine Quarterly of Culture & Society
26(1998):65-80
A STUDY OF TWO CEBUANO LEGENDS:

THE LOST LENDER AND MARIA CACAO
Erlinda Kintanar Alburo

University of San Carlos
Introduction
Thisstudy concerns 21 versions of two local legends, one containing a borrowing

'
motif and referred to here as 'The Lost Lender" tale, and the other containing a boat
"
motif and known as "The Legend of Maria Cacao. As will be seen later, the two
motifs may occur in a single story. Of these versions, six are oral, eight written but
unpublished, and seven published. It is the aim of this paper to clarify the places of
origin of these two legends, and to show what uses they and other stories of the kind
have among our folk.
The following are simplified versions of the two tales:
The Lost Lender
There once lived a spirit in a mountain cave far from the town. This spirit was so
kindhearted that he would lend clothes, plates, spoons and forks, and whatever was needed by
the poor townsfolk for their weddings, baptisms, and other celebrations. The borrower simply
went up the mountain and stated his wishes at the mouth of the cave, and soon the needed
articles would appear in his household.The time came, however, when a borrower forgot to
return the things and another returned them without them first. Still another returned
washing
some plates already broken. Then one day, the
people found out that their requests were no
longer answered. Nobody knew what had happened to the spirit, but the folk thought that he
left the cave because of the ingratitude and thoughtlessness of the borrowers.
The Legend ofMaria Cacao
Once there was a beautiful a

engkanto1 living in the mountain. She owned golden boat
which used to sail down
the river with a load of cacao beans for trading. There was a bridge
spanning the river, but every once in a while, it collapsed and whenever that happened, the
people said that itwas because the boat got snagged on the bridge. When the Americans came,
they built a concrete bridge. This bridge has stood unharmed. People today think that Maria
Cacao is no longer living in the mountain and that she has probably moved to another place.
1
some Cebuanos identify the engkanto or the engkantada as a fairy, Wolff's
Although dictionary
defines engkanto as "supernatural beings that may show themselves in human form, usually handsome,
European in appearance.'' From John U. Wolff, comp., A Dictionary of Cebuano (New York:
Visayan
Cornell University, Southeast Asia Program and Linguistic Society of the Philippines, 1972), vol. 1.
66 PHILIPPINEQUARTERLY OF CULTURE & SOCIETY
1.The Place ofOrigin Clarified
In theVisayan section of Coronel's collection, Stories and Legends from Filipino

Folklore (Coronel 1968), there are four stories grouped together as theMaria Cacao
legends. The first,which ismarked as having come fromArgao and narrated by Portia
Kintanar, contains both the borrowing and the boat motifs. Strangely enough, the other
three versions have each only one of these motifs; thus, the versions from Naga
and Bohol have only the borrowing motif, while the Talisay version has only the boat
motif.
The 21 versions discussed in this study show that the borrowing motif is more
widely spread in the Eastern Visayas and that the boat motif is traceable either to
Dalaguete or Argao, Cebu. As Appendix B shows, 12 versions with the borrowing
motif have spread as far as Bohol and Leyte. All these 12 stories contain five constant
elements: a kindhearted spirit; his dwelling place, described as isolated from the town
proper, usually a cave; the lending of needed articles to poor folk; the violation of an
unspoken interdiction regarding the return of the borrowed articles, usually chinaware
and/or wedding clothes; and punishment, which takes the form of simple withdrawal,
closing of the cave, or transformation.
The boat motif seems to be endemic toDalaguete and Argao; the one version from
outside of these two neighboring towns, theTalisay version, mentions Mantalongon in
Dalaguete as the home of Maria Cacao. One suspects that the Talisay version was
brought by a migrant, perhaps from Dalaguete. In any case, all three places ?
?
Dalaguete, Argao, and Talisay happen to have a high bridge, a fact that may
account for the bridge motif in the legend ofMaria Cacao. Two other versions contain
the boat motif, one from Sogod, Cebu (no. 1 inAppendix B) and another from Punta
Gorda near Valencia, Bohol (no. 8). These two, however, have to be regarded as
decayed versions of theMaria Cacao legend, since both stories contain the boat motif
but without the accompanying bridge motif.
It is clear that Coronel considers the Argao:Kintanar version, which combines the
borrowing and boat motifs, as "the original'' Maria Cacao legend; the three following
tales are then labeled as versions of the same legend, although only one motif is present
in each of these three. After a study of the 21 tales, however, one is led to conclude
that the two motifs belong to two independent tales. In view of this finding, Aligada's
structural analysis of the Coronel collection has to be modified where it deals with the
Maria Cacao legend (Aligada 1970:104-123).
It is most probable that informant Kintanar had confused and combined the two
separate motifs in one tale since tales with these motifs are common in Argao, her
source, and that she may have gotten both tales from a common storyteller. One
explanation for the confusion may be the fact that the legendary abode of the
mysterious Maria Cacao in Argao is the famous Lantoy mountain, which is also the
setting of the legend of the Lost Lender. The two Argao:Lucero versions (nos. 3 and
4) bear out this explanation. In these tales, Maria Cacao lives on the side of Lantoy
TWO CEBUANO LEGENDS 67
near a cave, while the kindhearted agta2 or giant lives on the side of Lantoy that faces
theWest or Tanon Strait, in a second cave. Since the first cave is a famous spot for
excursionists because of its hugeness and its historical interest, the kindhearted agta
may have been "transported to this cave. From there it is only one step toward
1'
transporting'' Maria Cacao into the same cave, which has really been inhabited only
by bats and, once, by wounded soldiers inWorld War II.
Itmay even be that the legendary Mangao, who figures in all threeArgao versions
as a vague relative of Maria Cacao, is the agta of the "lost lender" tale. Absent from
theDalaguete versions, Mangao may in fact be the genuine Argawanon while Maria
Cacao is the genuine Dalaguetnon.
2. The Lost Lender
Let us now consider the twelve versions of the story of the kindhearted spirit and
see of what value they are to our folk.
The five constants of this tale, namely, the lost lender, the lonely abode, aid to the
poor, abuse of trust, and punishment, are seen to vary in their specific forms in the
different versions.
1. The lost lender. This kindhearted spirit is presented as a dark giant or agta (nos.
3 and 12); a beautiful engkantada (nos. 6, 10, and 14); engkantos (nos. 9, 13, and
21); and albino3 (no. 7); two strange persons with strange powers (no. 17); an
unseen cave-dweller (no. 11); and an ordinary couple who become benefactors once
they start living in a mountain cave that has been transformed from a utensil they
themselves forgot to return (no. 19).
2. Setting. Eight versions have a cave (nos. 3, 7, 10, 11, 13, 14, 19, and 21);
one has two adjoining caves inhabited by two kind beings (no. 17); two specify a cliff
(nos. 6 and 9); and one tells of a giant living in a tree (no. 12). Whatever the setting
is, the lender is said to live isolated from the townsfolk although his abode is accessible
to them.
3. Forms of aid and modes of lending.

- -
a) Forms of aid: nos. 6 and 14 plates only; no. 7 plates and silverware; no. 12
- - -
plates and utensils; no. 19 kitchen utensils; no. 9 kitchen utensils and wedding
- -
dresses; no. 17 wedding clothes; .no. 10 silverware decorated with diamonds,
dresses with no. 12 - dishes of
wedding gold embroidery; finely carved gold studded
with gems and an elaborate wedding gown; no. 11 - jewelry, costumes, plates and
to Wolff's dictionary, the agta is "a man of dark complexion and

2According supernatural
size, said to inhabit trees, cliffs, or empty houses. He is said to play practical jokes on
extraordinary
people, kidnap them.''
3Considered by rural folk as an offspring of an engkanto and a mortal.
68 PHILIPPINE QUARTERLY OF CULTURE & SOCIETY
-
other household commodities; and no. 13 bridegroom's dowry of one ganta of gold
and two carabaos. All these details show that the aid granted is of a material sort and
has to do with large celebrations, usually a wedding.
b) Modes of lending: articles appear after borrower talks to an imaginary person
inside the cave (no. 14); immediately after a request is uttered in a soft and sweet
voice, utensils appear at the cave entrance (no. 7); one borrower is told to come back at
dawn for the utensils (no. 19); the bridegroom tells of his need, a button is pressed,
and items appear (no. 13); borrower knocks on thewall while naming the object to be
borrowed and next day it appears at the foot of his stairs (no. 21); the morning after
borrower writes down desired items and places the note at the cave's mouth, the things
are delivered, beautifully packed in a box (no. 17); borrower asks permission from
miniature statues of a man and a woman
on the path leading to the cave (no. 11); and
unspecified modes (nos. 3, 6, 9, and 10). In all these versions, the lender does not
discriminate among the borrowers and never fails to give the aid requested.
4 and 5. Abuse of trust and mode of punishment. In nos. 3,6, and 9, failure to
return the borrowed items causes the lender to withdraw right away. This means that
the townsfolk find themselves all of a sudden without theirbenefactor (in no. 9 the first
offender is pardoned); in no. 14, when the borrower does not return the plates because
they have been broken, the engkanto makes himself inaccessible; in no. 7, the drunk
borrowers vomit on the plates and return themwithout cleaning them well, whereupon
the lender seals the cave with a rock; in no. 19, the failure of the people to return the
articles causes the lending couple to close the cave door forever with a sigh of regret; in
no. 12, the failure of the townspeople to returnwhat they borrowed ismet with silence
and they think their benefactor is hungry, but soon the giant roars in anger at their
untrustworthiness and the people flee in panic; in no. 11, the family is tempted to keep
the articles, they fall ill, and recover only when they return the articles upon a native
healer's advice; in no. 17, the angry cave-dweller causes the irresponsible borrower to
die and stops lending things; in no. 13, a man, coveting the engkanto's goods, seduces
an engkantada, who turns herself into a cat with bared fangs ? thereupon the
engkanto disappear; in no. 20 the angry engkanto tears thewedding dress and turns
the silverware into small birds; in no. 21, the guilty borrowers are punished by being
changed into trees. Thus, the violation of an interdiction is followed by some form of
punishment in keeping with the didactic orientation of the local legend here studied.
The local variations of the legend might give us some idea about themanner of its
transmission as well as the values in a specific locale. Being a form of oral literature, a
local legend takes on the coloring of the place. However, in the tales here studied one
cannot very well identify specific values as belonging to particular places of origin.
Because of the fact that these*tales come from one region unified by a common dialect,
and by virtue of their brevity (with the exception of a few unpublished ones), there is
greater homogeneity in the group than in, say, the various versions of the Cinderella
tale.
Except for the longer published versions inCoronel (nos. 19 and 21), the legends
with the borrowing motif cannot on the whole be said to function mainly as
entertainment. The legend is told to children in order to impress on them the

importance of returning borrowed things in good condition, and of keeping one's
promises. From an older audience's point of view, there is also a warning against
excess in eating and drinking (no. 7). To this older audience, the idea of abuse of trust
is clearer, and thewithdrawal of the lender, a form of punishment thatmight impress a
younger audience less than death, sickness, or transformation, is felt to be a more
? trust and sincerity
fitting retribution. The simple unwritten rules of the human heart
? have been violated and the will have to turn to the moneylenders
poor townsfolk
among them, who never lend anything without exacting interest, be it financial or
otherwise. It is the story of the poor turkey girl all over again (Alburo 1977:12-13)
Now that the turkeys have disappeared, she has to adjust to a new life and to the
irretrievable loss.
A few versions fulfill one function of local legends, which is to give a historical
account or to explain the origin of natural phenomena or of mere names. The name of a
locale is important to the inhabitants for it is bound up with their lives, and no matter
how unrealistic, the story is always considered true or straight (L?thi 1970:12).
Canupaw (no. 7), Kabyawan (no. 10), and Mr. Magduk (no. 19) are examples. The
?
firsthas the type of humor that Filipinos appreciate cang opao referring to the bald
albino leader, and the other two involving a miraculous event that is not uncommon in
tales of this sort. In no. 10, silverware returned late is transformed into the small birds
now known as kabyawan; in no. 19 the names of the lending couple, Magdalena and
Dwfeman, are given to themountain which has grown out of a borrowed fryingpan.
An important value of the folktale, which includes both the local legend and the
fairy-tale, lies in the fact that it presents a poetic vision of man and his relationship to
theworld (L?thi 1970:19). In the particular tales containing the borrowing motif, the
kindhearted lender becomes a symbol of an original harmonious relationship with
nature, or supernature ifyou will, that is destroyed by man himself.
This interpretation becomes all themore meaningful when one reviews the sins that
modern man has committed or is about to commit against nature, e.g., indiscriminate
destruction of natural
resources, environmental pollution, genetic engineering,
experiments in microbiological warfare. Man was close to nature; the cave was as
accessible as the church once upon a time. By virtue of his own dishonesty, abuse,
disrespect, greed, and avarice, he has lost that contact with nature which the lending of
chinaware and wedding clothes objectifies in the legend. The community of man,
symbolized by the feast, was something natural as suggested by the help of the lender;
but individuals, tempted by the fine clothes and the gem-studded plates, have
themselves destroyed the harmony with nature, and the same selfishness will, as a
consequence, eat at the heart of his community as well. Now the cave is forever sealed
with an immovable rock, and sometimes one might imagine a sound like the regretful
sigh ofMt. Magduk.
Perhaps the very fact that this legend has lived and apparently exists all over the
Eastern Visayas, testifies to man's subconscious awareness of the changes he has
wrought in his relationship with the natural world rThe objectified detached tone of
70 PHILIPPINE QUARTERLY OF CULTURE & SOCIETY
most of its versions does not make the sense of loss less intense in each case. Everyman
'
inhis own locale is the 'hero" of this tale.
L?thi has said thatwe love tales not just for theirwisdom but also for themanner
in which the story is told (L?thi 1970:26). Although most of the versions of the
legend of the Lost Lender do not go much into detail, where there is some effort at
specificity, there is also style. There is no repetition, except for a second or third
borrower, who may not be as good as the first, and no such great contrasts as one finds
in the European fairy tale. There is not even a plot to speak of, at least in the
unpublished versions, but only a synoptic presentation.

The agta up in the tree (no. 12) who sulks so that the townsfolk believe for a time
that he is hungry, his roaring outburst, and the panic-stricken folk fleeing from him
cannot fail to fascinate the listening five-year old. There is also the mysterious
cavedweller none has seen (no. 11), whose ''confessional" is a statue on a path to his
cave and who, like the Greek god Phoebus, causes sickness among the ingrates.
Coronel's Mt. Magduk (no. 19) must seem both fantastic and haunting because of the
transformations and the sighs one occasionally hears as if coming from the heart of the
mountain. The Opon account (no. 13), perhaps the latest, with its push-button magic,
reminds one
of contemporary movies; its seduction episode followed by the
cat-transformation appears inTV thrillers.
An interesting version, "The Strange Tale of Meding" (no. 21), includes the
borrowing motif but there it seems to be an interpolation. The main thing in it is the
love story of an engkanto and a mortal. The borrowing motif, which is in synoptic
style, is found in the middle portion and may be left out without doing harm to the
whole. It is probable that this version, like Coronel's "original" Maria Cacao legend,
is a combination of two separate tales.
3. The Legend ofMaria Cacao
To facilitate discussion, this section of the paper will refer to the seven versions of
theMaria Cacao legend in the following manner: 0-A:L, to the oral Argao:Lucero
version (no. 4 Appendix B); <D-A:X, oral Argao:Personal recollection of the student
(no. 5); P-A:K, published Argao:Kintanar version inCoronel 18); 0-D:M,
(no. oral
Dalaguete:Matarlo story (no. 2); P-D:0, published Dalaguete:Osorio tale (no. 15);
P-D:R, published Dalaguete:Reynes version (no. 16); and P-T, published
Talisay:Bacalso story inCoronel (no. 20).
The common in these versions are the mysterious Maria Cacao,
elements her
dwelling place, the cacao trade, the boat and the bridge, and the disappearing act.
1. The heroine, description and role. 0-A:L does not describe the heroine, who is
simply a traveler in a golden boat; 0-A:X, with no heroine, has Mangao, an
undescribed boat-owner, whose only role is to kidnap children who roam the streets
after the Angelus bell; P-A:K has a
lovely engkantada with black hair, who is
apparently invisible, a businesswoman
who sometimes plies her cacao trade inAmerica
where she buys the silverware and chinaware to be lent to the townsfolk; 0-D:M has a
brown-skinned engkanda managing a cacao and plate-manufaturing industry; P-D:0

has a lovely European businesswoman who rules a modern underground complex
complete with factory, nightclubs, restaurants, and bazaars and who seems to be also a
military leader with armed warships at her command; P-D:R tells of the kidnapping of
a lovely child by mountain nymphs who give her the power of invisibility and teach her
cacao-growing; P-T has a beautiful but elderly and stout engkantada with black hair,
the leader of a party of pranksters who love to see the bridge fall.
0-D:M presents a contradiction in having a brown-skinned engkantada instead of a
fair-skinned one, an oversight that may occur in an oral, on-the-spot version. This
same version (1938) refers to an earlier account by a Fr. Jorge, a Redemptorist
missionary, who saw a European woman beside the cave of Dinayop, near a lake
(1916); P-D:0 questions the appropriateness of the name ''Maria Cacao" for a
Caucasian. This version does not mention the cacao trade, and refers the name 'cacao'
to the reddish-brown coloring of the cacao fruit. In her study of this tale, Aligada
suggests that the heroine may be considered a businesswoman with a conscience; Maria
Cacao lends her precious silver- and chinaware to compensate for the destruction of the
bridge.4
2. Abode. 0-A:L - the cliff of
Lantoy mountain in Argao; O-ArX has none;
P-A:K - the mouth of the cave where Mangao -
lives in Lantoy, Argao; 0-D:M
barrio Dinayop, a
named after mountain on the way to Mantalongon, Dalaguete;
- an
P-D:0 underground city with a cave entrance near a lake inDinayop, Dalaguete;
P-D.R -mountains of P-T mentions only Mantalongon.
Dalaguete;
In contrast to the engkanto in the legend of the Lost Lender, Maria Cacao does not
live in a cave, but near itsmouth, on themountain cliff, or in an underground city. An
important point is that the Talisay version assigns Maria Cacao to Mantalongon, in
Dalaguete. As mentioned in the firstpart of this paper, there is reason to suppose that
the real provenance of the legend isDalaguete, not Argao. Of theArgao versions, we
have shown that the P-A:K account is a composite; 0-A:L questions the existence of a
cacao trade (the informant's family had holdings in themountains of
Argao, planted to
various crops, but not cacao), and 0-A:X is bare of details. It isMangao, however,
that figures in all Argao versions and distinguishes them from theDalaguete versions.5
3. The cacao trade. O-A.L and 0-A:X do not mention the cacao trade; P-A:K has
the cacao exported to America, where Maria Cacao buys the things she lends to the
townspeople; 0-D:M tells of a thriving cacao business, which enables Maria Cacao to
purchase several cars inAmerica for the use of her fellow engkantados; P-D:R ascribes
Aligada, AppendixA
While revising this paper, the student recently came across a
legend entitled "Prmce Mangao"
related by an Argawanon inAlfonso Santos, ed., Romance in Philippine Names (Manila: The Author,
1979), pp. 41-42. In this version, Mangao is the unsuccessful suitor of Maria Cacao.
the success of the cacao business to the special help of the nymphs who had kidnapped
themortal Maria Cacao; however, no market ismentioned; and P-T speaks of cacao
sold locally only. Interesting to note is that O-DrM reports that besides the cacao
trade, the engkantada also engages in themanufacture of chinaware, which is sent to
China, where the plates are stamped before being returned to the Philippines.
At this point, it is helpful to investigate available sources for what light they can
shed on the cacao trade in earlier days.
Although cacao is now cultivated inmany countries, it is of Mexican (Nahuatl)
origin. The Jesuit Fr. Juan de Avila supposedly brought to the islands the first few live
plants fromMexico and had these cultivated in Hog, then capital of Negros.6 It seems,
however, that cacao thrived best in Cebu, both in quality and quantity.7 Patero
(1872), in the original Spanish text, speaks generally of Las Isias Filipinas while the
4
Visayan translation by Gonzalez specifies 'Cabisay-an.'' Patero also uses Cebuano
terms, e.g., the tapis-tapis from the bamboo, which is used to protect the cacao
seedlings.
Other relevant points on cacao production that are brought out by these sources are
the following:
a. Cacao seems to thrive best in themountains, ideally 500 feet above sea-level,
in the shade of trees to protect it from the easterly winds. Mountain soil, soft and
loamy, is best. Special mention is made of theMari-cacao, a tree that gives the best
protection to cacao plants (could the legend have anything to do with this tree?)
(Patero 1872 and Espejo 1870:74-75).
b. The Visayan region seems to have been more successful in cacao cultivation than
other regions, at least by themid-19th century.8 Patero's book, which is a manual for
farmers, stresses the failures in the cultivation of cacao in the Philippines and suggests
Southern Mindanao as an ideal site for a plantation, since it is out of the typhoon belt.
By the end of the 19th century, indeed, it seems that cacao did better inMindanao,
specifically Davao.9
El Archipielago Filipino, vol. 1 (Washington: Imprenta del Gobierno), p. 279.
Cebu is specified by Draper in Blair and Robertson, by Gironiere, and by Buzeta. The last includes
Batangas as a good cacao producer. Emma Blair and James Robertson, eds., The Philippine Islands
1493-1898 (Ohio: Arthur Clark Co.,1907), vol. 49, pp. 34-37; Paul P. de la Gironiere, Adventures
a Frenchman in
the Philippines, rev. -9th ed. (Manila: Burke-Niailhe Publications, 1972),
of
pp. 219-222; and Manuel Buzeta and Felipe Bravo, Dicci?nario Geografico, Estadistico, Historico de las
Isias Filipinas, vol. 1 (Madrid: Imprenta de D. Jose C. delaPena, 1850-1851), p. 203.
8 was
Buzeta's book published 1850-1851, Patero's in 1872; the French Gironiere was in the
Philippines from 1820 to 1839.

9
As reportedinEl ArchipielagoFilipino, p. 279.
c. Cacao has never figured prominently in our export industry;10 in fact, we still
had to import fromNew Spain for local consumption (Blair and Robertson 51:139). By
1938, only .1% of the total cultivated acreage was planted to cacao (Espejo
1870:22).
d. From Buzeta's Diccionario, our most comprehensive source, we learn that
Argao produced better and more cacao thanDalaguete.
... El terreno por lo general es montuoso y productive): cuyas cosechas consisten en

Argao
cana dulce, algun algodon, mucho y superior cacao,
arroz, mais, poca legumbres y frutas. (vol.
1, p. 309)
. . . su terreno no es de la . . .
Dalaguete mejor calidad, y su suelo es esteril y quebrado;
Prod, maiz, mijo, sibucao, muy poco arroz, algun cacao, (vol. 2, p. 6) (Italics mine.)
. . . The terrain is generally mountainous and productive: its products consist of
(Argao
rice, corn, a little sugar cane, some cotton, plentiful and superior cacao.)
(Dalaguete
... its terrain is not of good quality, and its soil is sterile and rocky . . .
1
Products: corn, millet, sibucao,1 very little rice, some cacao.)
Reviewing the different versions of theMaria Cacao legend, after a look at these
sources, one may conclude that the trip to America is wishful thinking. In fact, one
version (P-D:0) questions the use of ''cacao" afterMaria's name (see p. 50).
One is confronted with a contradiction: a study of the different versions favors
Dalaguete as the origin of the legend, but Buzeta's statements above point certainly to
Argao due to its superior terrain. The Cebuano familiar with vegetable-growing in the
11
province knows that Mantalongon in Dalaguete is today the vegetable basket of
Cebu'' and he can only think that theDiccionario most probably took Mantalongon as
part of Argao. If, indeed, folktale collectors will findMaria Cacao versions in other
places with high bridges in Cebu or Negros,12 they should look into the possibility
that their informants may be migrants from Southern Cebu, or that these tales may be
much older than theMaria Cacao legends, especially if they lack the cacao trade motif.
The Maria Cacao legends indeed very probably have grown out of an older version
containing only the boat and the bridge. The boat, which may at firsthave been merely
a pleasure-ship or a kidnapping vehicle (as in0-A:X and P-T), has become a me,ans of
transporting trade goods. When cacao flourished in Argao and Dalaguete, the trade
10Ma. Lourdes Diaz-Trechuelo, in "18th Century Philippine Economy: Agriculture," Philippine

Studies, 14:1 (Jan. 1966), on p. 126, writes that together with wheat, corn, and coffee, cacao never
in thebalance of tradeof thePhilippines.
figuredsignificantly
1 ' '
toWolff's dictionary, 'sibukaw" is 'a small tree with scattered prickles, the wood of
According
which is used for nails in boat building. Caesalpinia sappan.''
12
M^s. Harriett Hart, for example, in a conversation with this researcher, mentioned one version
with the bridge and boat motifs from Siaton, Negros.
motif may have been added. Much later, the legend must have migrated to Talisay,
where thewide Mananga river provides a natural setting for the boat-and-bridge motif.
4. The boat and the bridge. 0-A:L mentions only a golden boat getting snagged
on the bridge and eventually passing through to the accompaniment of the clanking of
chains; 0-A:X mentions a golden boat passing and gives the suggestion that itwas on
the look-out for stray children; in P-A:K the golden boat is used to transport cocoa as in
0-D:M, P-D:0, and P-D.R, but the snagging motif does not figure inQ-D:M. P-T
includes the boat not as a vehicle for cacao transport, but as a pleasure-boat or floating
casino with engkantados who delight in seeing the bridge collapse.
The fact that the bridge-snagging motif does not appear in 0-A:X and 0-D:M
may be explained by the focus in the former on the kidnapping of little children and in
0-D:M on the business activities of Maria Cacao. These interests in turn suggest two
separate uses or functions of the folk tale of Maria Cacao: the former version serves to
keep little children at home after the Angelus bell, while the latter reflects the native
Dalaguetnon's pride in his hometown. The narrator of 0-D:M had leftDalaguete and
moved to the city; perhaps some slurs referring to the backwardness ot the Southern
towns (or "salut" in Cebuano) urged him to concentrate his oral narrative on the
"advanced" status of Dinayop with its factories and imported cars, even if these
belonged only to the engkanto world. This focus on the business aspect of the legend is
made at the expense of the boat-snagging motif, which may have been forgotten in the
oral narration. The bridge-motif, this student firmlybelieves, is central to the legend.
5. The disappearing act. In 0-A:X, 0-D:M, and P-D:R there is no explicit
mention of disappearance. 0-A:X suggests the continued activities of the kidnapper;
0-D:M leaves themystery ofMaria Cacao's very existence open; P-D:R ends with the
faint suggestion thatMaria Cacao may have had something to do with the diminishing
water under the Dalaguete bridge. P-A:K, 0-A:L, and P-D:0 all acknowledge the
American engineers' role in the heroine's disappearance or transfer to another habitat.
0-A:L suggests a more considerate heroine than either of the other two; in P-A:K
Maria Cacao agrees to depart after an offer of money and other material things (and
also, considering that this composite version contains the borrowing motif, because she
got tired of the people's failure to return her things), and in P-D:0 the heroine has to
be threatened with the destruction of her cave by dynamite. Lastly, in P-T the party of
engkantados depart owing to their disappointment at the sturdy high bridge that refuses
to collapse.
The disappearance ofMaria Cacao at the end of the legend is similar to that in the
first legend in this study. Local legends, unlike the fairy tale with its explicit
'
'happy-ever-after" ending, usually leave a mystery unsolved.
Like the legend of the Lost Lender, the legend of Maria Cacao presents a vision of
man and his relationship to theworld. Although Maria Cacao does not have direct con?
tactwith people as the cave-dweller of the former tale does, her very presence functions
to remind the village that nature can be both beneficent (represented by the thriving of
cacao) and cruel (represented by the destruction of theman-made bridge). The more
"natural" wooden bridge that is repeatedly destroyed gives way to the reinforced
concrete one that is a product of modem technology. As man moves away from and
"outwits" however, he becomes aware of a certain loss: the beautiful
Nature,
blackhaired engkantada does not appear to him anymore on moonlit nights. Science
conquers nature, and the magic is gone. The people are left happier with an
indestructible bridge, but they like to thinkwith nostalgia that such a figure as Maria
Cacao still exists and has only moved tomore friendly regions.
APPENDIX A
FOUR ORAL VERSIONS
Four of the six oral versions appear here. No. 1 inAppendix B, from Sogod, Cebu
is bound to be unau then tic, and no. 2 (0-D:M) in the paper) is too lengthy to be
reproduced here. It is available at theCebuano Studies Center.
No. 3: from Argao, Cebu
Informant: Samson Lucero, native of Argao, 64 years old
Recorded by student on May 20, 1979
ANG BALAY SA AGTA

kilid sa Lantoy
Sa pikas nga nag-atubang sa Tanon Strait, may ginganlan ug Balay sa
Agta, langub kini. Ang estorya mao nga kining agta-a magapahulam ug mga plato sa buot
mogamit. Unya kay diha may wala manguli sa mao nga wala na magpahulam
ilang gihulaman,
ang agta.
Translation
On the far side of Lantoy, facing Tanon Strait, there was once a cave known as the House
of the Giant. The story goes that this giant used to lend out to people who needed
plates
them. However, because some of them did not return what they had borrowed, the giant
stopped lending his things.

Informant: Samson Lucero (see above)
Recorded by student on May 20, 1979
SI MARIA KAKAW (0-A:L)
Kadto siMaria Kakaw nagapuyo sa bakilid sa sa Lantoy, dili sa langub nga karon
bungtod
13L?thi (p. 137) interpretsthepredominanceof female figures in the fairytale in thismanner:

'
'The feminine component, that part of man closer to nature, had to come to the front to compensate for
the technological and economic system created by the masculine spirit, which dominates the world of
reality.''
ug mga excursionista. Ambot nganong na-Maria Kakaw ni siya, kay ra

paga-adtoon talagsaon
man ang kakaw motubo nga "wild" sa bukid.
Ang kasagaran sa asoy maga-ingon nga kini Kakaw si Maria

usa ka engkantada nga
sa suba sa Argao nga sa bulawan
ni ug nga matumpag
mag-agi-agi nagasakay bapor Mangao,
na kay lagi masangit man sa sakayan. Wala
gayud ang taytayan kanhi kapila gyoy nakakita
niini inig-agi na apan gina-ingon nga makahibalo ang mga nanagpuyo sa duol sa suba kanus-a
mag-agi ang sakayan kay makadungog man silag kinagulkol sa kadena (sa angkla god tingali
to!).
sa mga Amerikano gipatas-an nila ang taytayan nga agi-anan ug "motor
Pag-abot
vehicles'' ug nagtukod taytayan sa tren nga semen to ug kaayo. Wala na
pod silag habog gyod
ning mga taytayan? matumpag.
Miingon ang uban nga gikukabildo enhinyero si Maria Kakaw, maong wala na
konog
matumpag ang taytayan.
Translation
The woman called Maria Cacao lived on the cliff of Lantoy mountain, not in the cave
which is now visited
by some excursionists. I don't know why she was called Maria Cacao, for
cacao rarely grew wild in the mountains.
It is usually told that Maria Cacao was an engkantada who used to sail down the Argao
river in the golden boat of Mangao, and
that the old bridge collapsed several times because the
boat got snagged on it. Nobody really saw this happen but people living near the river said
they could tell everytime the boat passed since they would hear the clanking of chains (I'd say
those were anchor chains!)
When the Americans came, they built the bridge higher for motor vehicles to pass over and
they also built a very high cement bridge for the train. Both these bridges have not collapsed
since then.
Some people say that one of the engineers went to talk with Maria Cacao and, from that
time on, the bridge has not collapsed.

Personal recollection of student, who is a native of Argao, 34,years old
THE GOLDEN BOAT OF MANGAO (0-A:X)

The main thing in this version, which may have been told by my yaya sometime between
1950-1955, is the golden boat of Mangao, which used to pass under the bridge. There was
no mention of cacao whatsoever, Mangao was the chief character, and he was considered a
of little children who wander too far from the house, especially after the Angelus
kidnapper
bell.
No. 6: from Himay-angan, Southern Leyte

Informant: Rene Alburo, in Leyte as detailman from 1965-1967, and
assigned
1969-1971
Reconstructed May, 1979
THE FRIENDLY ENGKANTADA

has it that in Himay-angan, Southern Leyte, a white-faced cliff used to be
Legend
inhabited by an engkantada, who had become friendly with the townsfolk.
During the annual fiestas, she would readily lend the townsfolk her prized china ware. This
went on for some time until one of those who borrowed her china broke some and failed to
return the rest.
Since then, she has never shown herself again and naturally, the borrowing has stopped.
APPENDIX B
BORROWING MOTIF BOAT MOTIF BORROWING AND BOAT MOTIF
Oral versions
1 *Sogod, Cebu: Vedua
1979-1942
boat: no
bridge
love-story interest
Dalaguete:Matarlo (0-D:M)
1977-1938-1916
golden boat: no bridge
questions source of cacao
cacao exported in exchange for cars
plates manufactured, also exported

3 Argao:Lucero
1979-1925?
Cave
Punishment: Withdrawal
4 (0-A:L)
Argao:Lucero
1979-1925?
golden boat: bridge
questions cacao source
Argao: Personal Recollection

(0-A:X)
1954
golden boat of Mangao: bridge
cacao not mentioned
kidnappingof children
6 Himay-angan, So. Leyte: Alburo
1979-1967
Cliff
Written, not published versions

7 Jagna, Bohol: Pajo
1954
Cave
Punishment: Cave sealed
''
Name-origin: Canupao''
8 *PuntaGorda, Bohol: 1954
Pajo
frigate: no bridge
trade with Mindanao
9 Daanbantayan: HDP-5**
Cliff
10 Cotcot, Liloan: HDP-10
cave
punishment: transformation
(birds) ''
name-origin: kabyawan''
*
Foreign to theMaria Cacao legend
**
Historical Data Papers, Tale No. 5
1 1 Lataban, Liloan: HDP-11

cave
punishment: sickness
12 Madridejos: HDP-17
tree,
punishment: scolding
13 Opon: HDP-20
cave
punishment: transformation
(cat)
14 Badian: HDP-22
cave
punishment: withdrawal
Published versions
15 Dalaguete:Osorio (P-DrO)
1908
warship: compares bridge with
those of Argao and Mananga
questions 'cacao' name
no mention of cacao trade
16 Dalaguete:Reynes (P-D:R)
1968
golden boat: bridge
cacao market not mentioned
17 Carmen, Cebu: Lavilles
1965
adjoining caves
punishment: death to
neglectful borrowers
18 Argao:Kintanar-Coronel (P-A:K)
1968
golden boat: bridge
cacao exported toAmerica
cave
punishment: withdrawal
19 Naga:Alensonorin-Coronel
1968
transformation .-borrowed pans
into mountains
cave
cave closed
punishment:
name-origin: "Mt. Magduk"
20 Talisay, Cebu:Bacalso-Coronel
(P-T)
1968
golden boat: bridge
cacao sold locally
mentions Mantalongpn
21 Nabonga, Bohol:
Tecson-Coronel
1968
cave
punishment: ungrateful man

transformed into kalasangan
a separate
love-story interest (from tale)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Alburo. ErlindaK.. (ed.)

1977 Cebuano Folktales 2. Cebu City: San Cados Publications.
Aligada, Gloria
"
1970 "Structural approach: Cebuano legends, Unitas 43(4): 104-123.
El Archipielago Filipino. 2 vols. Washington: Imprenta del Gobierno, 1900.
Balaguer, Victor
1895 Isias Filipinas (Memoria). Madrid: R. Angles.
Blair, Emma and James Robertson, (eds.)

1907 The Philippine Islands 1493-1898. Ohio: Arthur Clark Co. vol. 5 1.
Buzeta, Manuel and Felipe Bravo

1850-51 Diccionario Geografico, Estadistico, Historico de las Isias Filipinas, 2 vols. Madrid:
Imprenta de D. Jose de la Pena.
Brown, William H.
1946 Useful Plants of the Philippines. 2 vols. Manila: Bureau of Printing.
Coronel, Sister Maria Delia, (ed.)

1968 Stories and Legends from Filipino Folklore. Manila: UST Press.
Diaz-Trechuelo, Ma. Lourdes

"
1963 "The economic development of the Philippines in the second half of the 18th century,
PhilippineStudies 11 (2): 195-225.

"
1966 18th century Philippine economics: agriculture,'' Philippine Studies 14( 1) :65.
Espejo, D. Zoilo
1870 Cart ilia de edicion. Manila: Imprenta de Ramirez y
Agricultura Filipina. Segunda
Giraudier.
Gironiere, Paul P. de la
1972 Adventures of a Frenchman in the Philippines, rev. 9th ed. Manila: Burke-Niailhe Publica?
tions.
Hains worth, Reginald G. and Raymond T. Mover

1945 AgriculturalGeography of thePhilippine Islands: A Graphic Summary.Washington,
D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Office of Foreign Agricultural Relations.
Lavilles,- Gervasio
*
1965 'Carmen,'' In History of Cebu 's 4 Cities and 49 Municipalities. Cebu City: Mely Press.
L?thi, Max
1970 Once Upon A Time: On theNature of FairyTales, trans.Chadeagne andGottwald. New
York: F. Ungar Publ. Co.
Osorio, Amando
"
1940 ''Si Mariya Kakaw ug ang Taytayan (leyenda), Lungsuranon 6(7):3,12,15.
Patero, Santiago
1872 Cultivo del Cacao y Cafe. Trans. Gabriel Gonzalez. Manila: n. p.
Reynes, Fe
"
1968 "A study of Dalaguete, Star 24(2):44-66.
Santos, Alfonso, (ed.)

1979 Romance in Philippine Names. Manila: The Author.
Wolff, JohnU., (comp.)

1972 A Dictionary of Cebuano Visayan. New York, Cornell University, Southeast Asia
Program and Linguistic Society of the Philippines.

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University of San Carlos Publications

A STUDY OF TWO CEBUANO LEGENDS:

Erlinda Kintanar Alburo

Thisstudy concerns 21 versions of two local legends, one containing a borrowing

The Lost Lender

The Legend ofMaria Cacao

Once there was a beautiful a

1.The Place ofOrigin Clarified

In theVisayan section of Coronel's collection, Stories and Legends from Filipino

2. The Lost Lender

3. Forms of aid and modes of lending.

to Wolff's dictionary, the agta is "a man of dark complexion and

3Considered by rural folk as an offspring of an engkanto and a mortal.

entertainment. The legend is told to children in order to impress on them the

unpublished versions, but only a synoptic presentation.

3. The Legend ofMaria Cacao

brown-skinned engkanda managing a cacao and plate-manufaturing industry; P-D:0

El Archipielago Filipino, vol. 1 (Washington: Imprenta del Gobierno), p. 279.

Philippines from 1820 to 1839.

... El terreno por lo general es montuoso y productive): cuyas cosechas consisten en

10Ma. Lourdes Diaz-Trechuelo, in "18th Century Philippine Economy: Agriculture," Philippine

FOUR ORAL VERSIONS

ANG BALAY SA AGTA

No. 4: from Argao, Cebu

SI MARIA KAKAW (0-A:L)

13L?thi (p. 137) interpretsthepredominanceof female figures in the fairytale in thismanner:

ug mga excursionista. Ambot nganong na-Maria Kakaw ni siya, kay ra

Ang kasagaran sa asoy maga-ingon nga kini Kakaw si Maria

No. 5: from Argao, Cebu

THE GOLDEN BOAT OF MANGAO (0-A:X)

No. 6: from Himay-angan, Southern Leyte

THE FRIENDLY ENGKANTADA

BORROWING MOTIF BOAT MOTIF BORROWING AND BOAT MOTIF

plates manufactured, also exported

Argao: Personal Recollection

Written, not published versions

1 1 Lataban, Liloan: HDP-11

punishment: ungrateful man

Alburo. ErlindaK.. (ed.)

El Archipielago Filipino. 2 vols. Washington: Imprenta del Gobierno, 1900.

Blair, Emma and James Robertson, (eds.)

Buzeta, Manuel and Felipe Bravo

Imprenta de D. Jose de la Pena.

Coronel, Sister Maria Delia, (ed.)

Diaz-Trechuelo, Ma. Lourdes

PhilippineStudies 11 (2): 195-225.

Hains worth, Reginald G. and Raymond T. Mover

Santos, Alfonso, (ed.)

Wolff, JohnU., (comp.)

Program and Linguistic Society of the Philippines.

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