It is fortunate to hear stories from our grandpa and grandma’s when our time was young and curious. Those times – the best times were imagination was fresh and quick. Although, my grandparents passed already but their memories and stories will always in my heart and mind forever. People and things will come and go but stories (though it will revised through the years or with different versions) – still lives on forever. It will pass from generations to generations.

Every countries, every cities and every provinces have its own legend and folklore and this story which I’m going to retell is a legend from my beloved town “*Argao”.

PROLOGUE:

Year between 1990-1992

“Hi *Lolo and *Lola!” the three little children (one by one) reached out the hands of their grandparents, when they reached home at their grandparents house by sunset.

“Oh thank you mga *apo that you visit us here! God bless you.” their grandfather responded as he put his hand to their foreheads. He blessed them as the children reached their hands as signed of respect then followed by their grandmother.

[Note: Filipino culture if you are younger and you met an elderly people especially in the family circle, as a signed of respect you should reached their right hand, bow down and put the right hand in your forehead and in return they will bless you. Some will said “God bless you.” Others just smiled and bless you in silence. (I hope this is still practiced by most of our younger generations today.)]

“*Salamat!” the children happily said and run inside the house.

“Okay, it’s dinner time and I will prepare the dining table for us. Your favorite food was cooked already – *utan manok bisaya!” grandmother happily declared her best dish to the children.

An hour later…

“Burppp!” the youngest can’t hide it but do the burp while still in the dining table when she finished eating.

“Hahaha!” they all laughed.

“Kids later in the living room, before you sleep I have a story to tell you. So be ready prepare yourself! Wash and brush your teeth first.” Grandpa declared to the children.

“Yes, lolo!” the children are very happy, they really loved stories.

At the living room..

{The old grandparents didn’t preferred much on television (they have black and white TV that time and functioned by car battery) they like more into listening to the radio, but this time no TV and no radio. Lolo have the best and great story telling skills than that on TV and radio.} 🙂

MOUNT LANTOY:

“Children have you heard *Mt. Lantoy?” Lolo starts the story with a question when all in the living room.

“Noo!” the children replied.

“The legend said that *Mount Lantoy is a big mountain – a mysterious mountain with *Engkantos and *Engkatadas living there.”

“Oohhhh!” scream the children. Stories with mysteries and fantasies are the favorite of the children, so this excite them. This time they’re seating side by side at the big wooden chair in front of their grandfather attentively – and their imaginations switch ON!

“There were some people went to the mountain but they never come back.” Lolo continued. “And because of that, no one would like to climb to *Mount Lantoy for work or for leisure – they were so very afraid!!”

MARIA CACAO and MANGAW

“Those *Engkanto living there were very rich, one of them named *Maria Cacao. She was very  beautiful and very rich. She owned a *cacao plantation in *Mount Lantoy. She have a very big field for cacao. This made her one of the richest *Engkatadas in that mountain. They called her *Maria Cacao because of the *cacao plantation she owned. Her husband’s named was *Mangaw and he is a giant!” 

“A giant!!!” replied the children in amazement.

Their grandfather smiles.

Balay sa Agta Cave

“There’s also a big cave going to *Mount Lantoy where *Mangaw lived. The people called it ‘Balay sa Agta’ (House of the Giant cave).” their grandfather continues the story. “The cave had lots of bats inside, so when you reached there from the entry – these bats will blow you away. And because there were lots of bats in there, they got lots of guano inside the cave. Those Guano helped *Maria Cacao’s plantation too. She used it as fertilizer for her *cacao.”

“Lolo what is guano?” the eldest asked curiously.

“Guano is a bats’ dung or poop. There were lots of bat’s poop in the cave.” Lolo explained.

EEhhh!! the children giggled, laughed and continue listening. 

Their grandfather laugh too. “Even the local farmers, some of them tried to get some Guano for fertilizers because it is a very good fertilizer for plants growth. It’s not easy for them to get there, it was hard to climb – few did but they didn’t returned back home. But still *Maria Cacao and *Mangaw were very kind. They even allowed people in the village to borrow their things, usually kitchen wares (made of gold). Anything you want you can borrow it to them. Some of the villagers below the mountain went near to the sight of the cave and write some list of things they want to borrow and leave it there. They borrow things most especially for weddings and in the next day, they got what they’ve wrote in the paper like: plates, glasses, mostly kitchen wares and any others from *Maria Cacao and *Mangaw.

“Really Lolo? So those some people met and saw *Maria Cacao and *Mangaw in order to get those things?” the eldest asked.

“Nope! Even one person in the village, no one met or saw those mysterious couple.” Lolo answered.

“But how? How they’ve got those things?” the eldest is confuse.

“As I’ve said they wrote it! They all write down the things they’ve needed in a piece of paper and put it near from the sight of the cave ‘Balay sa Agta’. Then on the next day, those things they’ve requested were already there where they put the lists.” their grandpa pause.

In this photo (as told by our guide  during our visit in the cave) at ‘Balay sa Agta’ – this is the location where Maria Cacao and Mangaw place all the things borrowed if someone borrow and put those things here again if returned. <in my short story from the old people’s version they put the paper near the sight of the cave ‘coz it’s risky to get inside the cave.>

“Ahhh – so Lo, if we can go there near at ‘Balay sa Agta cave’ we can borrow some things to them too?” the second child asked.

“No, we cannot do that already today.” Lolo shakes his head.

“But why?” the second kid asked.

“This took so very long time for the villagers to borrow things from the mysterious couple but then until – when some villagers became naughty…” 

“Aahhh!” utter the children.

“They returned those things with some broken wares or lacking in numbers or not at all.” Lolo continues with sadness. “*Maria Cacao and *Mangaw got angry and never let them borrow again. Until then the people didn’t heard  from them anymore.

“So sad!” those were the kids sad reply.

“But Lo, is it maybe because going there is so risky too?” the eldest asked.

“Hmmm, you have the point too but maybe as what have said the villagers didn’t return the things properly.” their grandfather puzzled but continue the story.

“Indeed.” the eldest concluded.

The golden ship named ‘Argao’

“They said *Maria Cacao and *Mangaw have a golden ship named ‘*Argao’. their grandfather interrupted. 

“Lo, wait – Argao? Our town’s name?” the eldest asked.

“Yes, our town’s name.” grandpa nodded. “So every time they harvest cacao, they also exported it to other countries. Yes! They sold cacao not just in the town or cities, not just in the country but to other countries too. So they used their ship with the name ‘Argao’ to export their products ‘cacao’ to other countries. You know, the legend said that some of the foreigners knew *Argao because of that ship name they saw sailing to their countries.”

“Wow!” the kids were amazed.

“They do it during early dawn while the people were still asleep and during rainy days. In those old times the town has a small bridge that connects one barangay (Langtad) to other barangay (Poblacion), across the river where the ship sails. Every time the ship pass through *Argao river from *Mt. Lantoy going to the sea – the river overflows and the small bridge destroyed. Until then, the town decided and make the bridge higher in height from the river, bigger and concrete. This is what we have now and use today.” Lolo pauses to take a long breath.

“Ahhhh! That’s why when it rain very strong and when the river is deep then maybe their ship passed by.” the youngest concluded with interest but innocently.

“Hhmmm, possible since what was told from the legend.” Lolo nodded. “Also, in the later years – when *Argao river overflows that’s the time the people remember about *Maria Cacao and *Mangaw after they have long been gone from hearing.”

“Lo, even though we can’t hear from them now – but are they still in *Mount Lantoy and in Balay sa Agta today?” the children asked.

“Yesss!” their grandfather responded with a big smile and wink. 😀

Tablea

“You love *Sikwate (*tsokolate) – right?” Lolo asked.

“Yes – of course!” the children responded happily in chorus.

“Hahaha! No other place in the country can make the best *tablea for tsokolate other than in ‘Argao’. As what they have said long time ago, those cacao that made *tablea came from *Maria Cacao’s *cacao. So every time we drink *tsokolate or *sikwate – we can remember the legend of *Maria Cacao and *Mangaw.” Lolo is sleepy now. “Well, then kids this is the end of my story – it’s time to go to sleep!” as he checked his watch at his left wrist. 

The children got their grandparents hands and greet them ‘good night’. The old grandparents in returned blessed the young children. 🙂

“Lola, I like to drink sikwate tomorrow!!” the second child said while still holding her lola’s hand.

“Yes of course! So dear children I’ll make sikwate for you tomorrow morning, so go to bed now! Goodnight and sweet dreams!” their grandma responded as she guided them to their bed.

– THE END-

VOCABULARY:
Argao - a municipality of southern Cebu, Philippines
Maria Cacao - believed to be a diwata/engkanto (engkantada) who lived in Mt. Lantoy
Mangaw - believed to be a giant spouse of Maria Cacao
Lolo - Filipino grandfather's title when called by grandchildren
Lola - for grandmothers
Apo - grandchildren
Salamat - Thank you
Utan Manok - Chicken soup locally made
Bisaya - referred to the people/places of the Visayas and Mindanao region.
Mount Lantoy - a mountain located inland of municipality of Argao with 593m elevation
Engkanto - equivalent to diwata/fairy/nymph [male-engkantado (encantado); female-engkantada (encantada)]
Cacao - bean-like seeds from which cocoa, cocoa butter, and chocolate are made.
Sikwate - a hot chocolate melted from tablea
Tsokolate - chocolate  
Tablea - tabliya(filipino) is a Spanish word of tablet, in Argao it is made of cacao for sikwate (tsokolate).

>MisaeMich-28th,May2017<
>updated-6th,June2017<
>updated-7th,March 2020<