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This is the maiden issue of Baliwag History Magazine
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Page 1
A MONTHLY PUBLICATION ABOUT THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE “BALIWAGENYOS”
VOLUME NO. 1 APRIL 2014
THE BALIWAG HISTORY IN FOCUS
In this Issue:
The Quest for the uniqueness of Baliwag
The LCI as an inspiration to Baliwag History
Significance of the Calatagan Pot
The Great Pottery Tradition
The Long Lost Legend of Baliwag
Page 2
Editor’s Note
Welcome to the maiden issue of the Baliwag History Magazine.
Mr. Delor Lauchang, a town mate and a batch mate in school told me
when we are acquainted in Facebook that he is working on an E-Book
about Baliwag History. That is good, I said, agreeing, but not
enthusiastic. I ventured to tell him that I write blog and have a blog site - then linked him to my blog. Since then, from time to time, he
prodded me to write this or that political topic. He has this acute
sense of viral potential topics, and I did not realize he has many
groups associated with him. Some topics he suggested were my type,
too, so I obliged. With our partnership, I found him to be a good
promoter of my blog. It has spiked my “like”. Then he broached me again the idea of writing about Baliwag History. He sent me raw data
of what he already started. The data piqued my interest. We traded
ideas, and we came up with doing it by installment, magazine type.
Hence, the “Baliwag History Magazine”.
We owe it to the future “Baliwagenos” that they should have a
repository of their town’s history and culture. As of today, based on
my research there is just one book exclusively dealing with Baliwag, and is haplessly inadequate in circulation. It is a book written by
Rolando Villacorte, the “Baliwag Then and Now”.
Page 3
The Baliwag History Magazine, although for now is designed in
chapter installment until such time that it can be compiled to a book
or E-Book, would attempt to augment the inaccessibility of the “Baliwag Then and Now” as a reference materials. Moreover, it will
venture on as much as possible on different tact, approach, and
perspective. As the Baliwag History is available in the internet, more
“Baliwagenos” can gain access to it free.
The Baliwag History Magazine is a collective effort, if possible, by all the “Baliwagenos”. The resources required to sustain its publication
would depend largely on people’s support. Each of us, in one way or
another can contribute. It could be in the form of submitting stories,
images, reference materials, or volunteer hours. Each of us can
suggest what chapter would be tackle in every issue.
As we get ourselves better organized, we can take pride to claim that
the Baliwag History Magazine would be a stellar accomplishment not
only for all of us, the "Baliwagenos”, but also for the citizens of the
whole country.
Page 4
Editorial
Managing Editor:
Jess Fernando
Photography Editor:
Baliwag Photography Guild
Executive Editor:
Mila Parfan- Llorente
Associate Editors:
Diana Jean Guevarra
Normita Cruz-Ramirez
Technical & Creative
Director:
Perry Evangelista
Contributors, Correspondents:
Darwin Guevarra
Sonny Vergel de Dios
Jun M.Rustia
Priscilla Navoa-Spittael
Roselle Vergel de Dios
Liz Ramos-Peralta
Tony Alejo
Photography:
Rolli Anzures
Johnnie Gonzales III
Boyet Aguila Luna
Lito Santos Tomas
Table of Contents
Editor’s Note …. P 2
The Baliwag History in
Focus… P 5
The LCI as an inspiration to
Baliwag History … P6
Significance of the Calatagan
Pot … P 10
The Great Pottery Tradition
…. P 12
The Long Lost Legend of
Baliwag … P 14
Page 5
The Baliwag History in Focus
By
Jess Fernando
The Quest for the uniqueness of Baliwag
he available known history of Baliwag, its origin, how it got its name is just
one. Briefly, the story runs like this. Baliwag then was a "barangay" which is
part of "Quingwa”, now, "Plaridel". The inhabitants of this "barangay" always
come in late to hear a mass at "Quingwa". Due to the “barangay's" tardiness, the
people of "Quingwa" called them "maliliwag”, meaning slow. Then it happened
that the "maliliwag" tag became "Baliwag". Later, the "barangay" was named
Baliwag.
No known historical record yet appeared what Baliwag was like during the Pre-
Hispanic era. There were mentioned accounts in the history books of tribes living
around Bulacan, but they were sketchy at best. Some records showed that the
early people of Baliwag adopted the generalized description culled from the
typical story of how the early inhabitants lived in certain towns and provinces of
the Philippines. That was insignificant, however, no uniqueness presented in
there. I believed Baliwag have had uniqueness of its own. This quest for
uniqueness had me on a feeding frenzy on whatever literature I could lay my
hands on about Baliwag. Further research led me to devour once more the history
of the Philippines. Then it struck me that finding that uniqueness is like chasing
the horizon. The nearer that I thought of getting there, the farther I got to my
objective. Reality dawned on me. There was nothing much of the true records
about the Pre-Hispanic Baliwag.
T
Page 6
Rediscovering the Philippine's History written by today's contemporary historian
present insights and perspectives, which I would not have known had it not been
for my quest of that uniqueness of Baliwag. The exercise had been beneficial.
New objectives are developing as I go on my search. If I cannot find that
uniqueness, maybe I could provide one - extrapolating an existing record. At the
forefront, this could be a conjectural one. However, it would supply the missing
link: That of sufficient introduction to complement the known historical records,
and that of the new ones that will be unearthed. The Baliwag History then would
have a new look for the history buffs and for the future generation of the
"Baliwagenyos”.
The Philippine's History is usually replete with legends of how certain places or
localities originate. It is a common practice for some historian to use the legend as
a preface, foreword, or as an introduction. Not that I want to deviate from the
common practice, but Baliwag, unfortunately, has no legend to start with. At the
same time, I do not want to break the tradition, so I will make a new legend for
Baliwag. As earlier said, I would not make this legend out of thin air. I would
extrapolate existing historical records so that the reader, if they attempt to
connect the dots, would find the continuity that fits together; and somehow
deduce that the legend produced, gives the semblance as an integral part of the
history of Baliwag.
Page 7
The Laguna Copperplate Inscription (LCI) as an
inspiration to Baliwag History
1987, a thin roll-up copperplate with inscriptions, measuring less than
8X12 inches was dredged up along the southeastern shore of Laguna de
Bay. This artifact is known as the Laguna Copperplate Inscription, (LCI). The
National Museum of the Philippines took possession of it, and in 1989, Antoon
Postma, a Dutch national who is the director of the Mangyan Assistance &
Research Center in Panaytayan, Mansalay, Oriental Mindoro, deciphered the
inscriptions.
The inscription as deciphered and
translated provided two facts that
dovetailed to the legend of Baliwag that I
wanted to portray. The LCI, the earliest
written record in the Philippines is a
document that forgives the descendants
of Namwaran from a debt of 926.4 grams
of gold granted by the chief of Tondo.
The LCI document cited the date of its consummation: 900 A.D. History told us
that Magellan and his chronicler, Antonio Figafetta reached the Philippine Island
in 1521. Therefore, civilization with sophisticated culture has already been in
existence in the Philippines 621 years before the Spaniards came.
Furthermore, Postma was convinced that the five places mentioned in the LCI;
Pulilan, Angat River, the village of Paila of San Lorenzo the eastern part of
Norzagaray, the Binwangan, of Obando, sits at the mouth of the Bulacan River,
are within the confines of the Bulacan Province. In addition, as Postma studied
the map of Bulacan, the North of Calumpit along the Pampanga River is the village
of "Gatbuka”, which referred to as "Bukah" in Line 2 of the LCI. Moreover,
In
Page 8
"Tundun" in Line 3 of the LCI, which Postma believed as Tondo, sits at the mouth
of the Pasig River.
Each of the five places that the LCI mentioned, although separated by varying
distances, sits along the river routes. These navigable rivers - Ipo and Angat Dam
were not in existence then – became the transport and communication hub
between locations and settlements. Since all these rivers exited through the China
Sea by way of Manila Bay, these rivers became the gateway for seafaring traders
of China and Southeast Asia, to have an easy inner access to trading, commerce,
and cultural exchanges.
Part of Baliwag sits along the Angat
River. Early people were drawn to
settle there. These settlements had
contacts from seafaring traders,
which brought goods, culture, and
ethnic influences from other
places. Baliwag, therefore, would
probably have artifacts like the LCI
kind, and probably still buried until
now, somewhere waiting to be
discovered. The artifacts could be
the remnants of vanished civilization due to natural catastrophes, epidemics, war,
pirate raids. Vanishing civilizations during the LCI era were common. The early
settlement of people around Manila, for example, who were proficient in the
Malay Language, disappeared. Vanished with them was the early writing, called
Kavi Script etched on the LCI. The Kavi Script was an extinct Javanese writing used
in South East Asia during the 600-1500, and had a big influence on the ancient
Philippine's script. As the people of the Malay Language had gone, the language
that came after that was not as developed.
Page 9
The discovery of the LCI document dated 900 A.D. strengthened my resolve of the
plausibility of extracting a legend for Baliwag. Between the years 900 A.D. when
the LCI document known to have existed, and the Spaniards landing on the
Philippines Island in 1521, evolving and dissolving civilization was a natural
phenomenon. The river played an important role for this phenomenon. The Tigris
and Euphrates rivers had been the "Cradle of Civilization" of the upper Persian
Gulf, and Huang He or Yellow River, the "cradle of Chinese Civilization," Angat
River of Baliwag could have been the cradle of civilization of the Bulacan province.
Moreover, even, if say, civilization had come and gone during the span of LCI's
period, there must be other artifacts left of the vanished civilizations.
Page 10
Significance of the Calatagan Pot
In an archeological excavation
site in Calatagan, Batanggas in
1958 a pot measuring 12cms
high and 20.2cms wide,
weighing 872 grams with
inscriptions around its neck
surfaced. The Anthropological
Foundation of the Philippines,
ATFP purchased the artifact
from Alfredo Evangelista, a
local digger who found the
pot. In 1961, the ATFP
donated the pot to the
National Museum, where it is
on display. The pot with inscription is dated between the 14th and 16th centuries;
touted to be one of the Philippine's most valuable cultural and anthropological
artifacts. This is the Calatagan Pot.
Several history buffs tried decoding the inscriptions. However, none stood out on
the work done by Rolando O. Borrinaga, Ph.D, Professor, School of Health
Sciences, and University of the Philippines. He deciphered the symbols,
determined the language used, and looked for inferences that would reveal the
pot's inscriptions purpose. In the paper he presented at the Philippines National
historical Society's 31st National Conference, he said, the Calatagan Pot
inscriptions seemed to have been written in the old Bisayan language. The artifact
Page 11
served as a receptacle for burning incense as ritual to retrieve a moribund soul
apparently abducted by dwellers of the spirit world.
Jean-Paul Potet, a French researcher who writes scholarly books in Tagalog with
M.A. and Ph.D., in his doctoral dissertation, "Morphologie du Philippin" provided
a transliteration of the Calatagan writing. He claimed that the inscription could
probably be based on an ancient Baybayin Philippine's script.
If the Laguna Copperplate Inscription found in Laguna in 965 AD, which
mentioned Bulacan as where the settling of a debt contract took place, artifacts
like the Calatagan Pot could be surmised as possible remnants of the long lost
civilization of Baliwag.
Page 12
The Great Pottery Tradition
hen an earthen burial jar dated past the 2000 years mark was found in
Ayub Cave in Maitum, Sarangani Mindanao in 1991, archeologists,
anthropologists and ancient culture enthusiasts established that, great pottery
tradition was rooted in the Philippine's culture as early as during the Metal Age.
Moreover, historian believed that the pottery industry then flourished, and pots
were exported in and around South East Asia.
W
Page 13
From Mindanao, going Northbound through Manila bay, this pottery making
tradition reached Luzon, and eventually made an inroad in the Baliwag settlement
through the Angat River. It turned out that pottery produced in Luzon, had
established good refute from the Japanese.
The Island of Luzon, “Rusun” the Japanese called it, in the 12th Century AD, had
been the object of Japanese Trade expedition. The Japanese looked for jars made
in Rusun. These jars are important in the production of the Japanese Kombucha,
tea with medicinal attributes, and Umeboshi, sour salty pickle plums. Although
highly priced, the Japanese kept on wanting them, because they act as tea
canisters to enhance the fermentation process. The Japanese, through the
marking “Rusun Tsukuro” which means, “Luzon made”, was how they identify the
jars they were buying. The Rusun Tsukuro markings composed actually of letters
of the Baybayin Philippines Script.
I theorized that the long lost legend of Baliwag in the Last Will and Testament of
Datu Gat-Bulak, which were inscribed on these Luzon Jars, could have been
written in the old Baybayin. Datu Gat-Bulak wanted his Last Will and Testament
depicts the heroism of Bal-i-Wag, his daughter, to serve as a reminder for future
generation.
Clay soil deposit suitable for pot making sat on the Baliwag's riverbank. For
centuries, the soft, moist, pliable mud, accumulated and it became an abundant
resource. Consequently, the blade stone technology, typical of the Metal Age, was
already in use by then. In addition, the use of Baybayin Philippine's script
blossomed as a language tool for the Filipinos.
Clay was one of the first writing materials known to man. It has always been
bountiful and cheap. Heat it up in a kiln or just burnt it, the writings carved on the
clay would last forever. Datu Gat-Bulak used Jar with inscription of Baybayin script
as the repository of his Last Will and Testament.
Page 14
The Long Lost Legend of Baliwag
-i-Wag, in her tender age of 16 born in a nobility household of Gat-
Bulak, the Datu of Ulakan, whose Kingdom stretched as far as 30
kilometers along the tributaries of the riverbank was atypical of her generation.
Bal-i-Wag was a precocious child. She saw things around her as though she was in
a different realm. From the other realm where she thought she came from was a
progressive culture and civilization.
However, the realm she was in right now was ancient, primitive from eons before.
She often time asked herself why she seemed so special. The “Sagigilid” slaves
surrounded her and always ready at her beckon. One day, she asked her father
why that was. Her father said, because she is a princess, the daughter of a Datu,
the most powerful man in Ulakan Kingdom. Bal-i-Wag then asked her father, we
are all the same human being, why there seems to be an inequality. Gat-Bulak
was shocked. Where those ideas of inequality came from? The idea was so
Bal
Page 15
foreign, and it just came unexpectedly. From then on, Gat-Bulak got wary of how
her daughter's brain worked.
Why her Father always go to war and brought back with him the spoils of war;
more territories, more slaves, more jars, more gold, more grains, more
domesticated animals, more water buffalos, more cows? That was another puzzle
for Bal-i-Wag. By any measure her father was a brave warrior, yet, he was afraid
of the Shaman. The ludicrously looking individual, hailed as god, who from time to
time will visit their village, and required that all the inhabitants welcomed him,
only to pick up one as a sacrifice. The Shaman made them to believe that through
his intercession the Ulakan Kingdom would keep on winning wars. On scheduled
visits of the Shaman, most
villagers did not want to
show up. However, the
Shaman is known to have
prodigious memory for
names and faces. The
Shaman would summon her
father and warned him he
has to see the person who
was not in the crowd. The
one who was absent would
likely be the next sacrifice.
Bal-i-Wag hated this. What right does this Shaman have, that give him the power
to pick people for sacrifices out of his whims? Bal-i-Wag has to do something. It
was her time to demonstrate her extreme defiant streak without fear of
authority. Before the next full moons visit of the Shaman, Bal-i-Wag escaped from
her "sagigilid" slaves, and found herself at the outskirt of their Kingdom with the
mountain people. There, she practised her knowledge of a poison tipped
"sumpit”, a blowgun.
Page 16
At the time of the Shaman's visits, Bal-i-Wag did not show up. Gat-Bulak had
fought many battles and won. However, this coming battle would be the hardest
he have to face. Gat-Bulak knew the Shaman would ask for his princess. What
would be his answer? Would he volunteer his daughter as the next sacrifice? On
the other hand, as he believed the Shaman have interceded for his Kingdom's
behalf for winning wars, to disobey the Shaman, would be a doom to his Kingdom
…
"I didn't see Bal-i-Wag," the Shaman told Gat-Bulak, when he was summoned. For
the first time Gat-Bulak's people saw their Village Chief as a thin, weak, emaciated
Datu. Not anymore the robust victorious warrior exuding with confidence. The
burden took a toll on Gat-Bulak's body. Gat-Bulak did not answer. “You know the
consequence “, the Shaman warned.
At the palace, when Gat-Bulak saw Bal-i-Wag's, he embraced her princess, and
said, “ Before the next full moon, I will make preparation. Take your mother with
you and your "sagigilid" to other settlement”. Bal-i-Wag said, “ No. I would stay
and wait for the Shaman”.
Page 17
By the next full moon,
the Shaman came
with a big entourage
holding spears,
thumping and
shouting. The Shaman
saw Bal-i-Wag
standing tall among
the throngs without
flinching as though
ready for
confrontation. The
Shaman thought …
Bal-i-Wag was not like
the sacrifices he had
picked-up before. He
was even more
bewildered when he
saw Bal-i-Wag spread
her legs apart, get herself positioned and reached from her back her concealed
"sumpit".
Bal-i-wag aimed the poisoned tipped of her blowgun to the Shaman's heart. Tsuk!
Instantly, the Shaman fell.
An eerie silence ensued for hours. The village people expected the sky to fall, it
did not. The river did not make an upheaval either. All were calm and quiet. For
days, none of the nature's elements had shown abnormal behavior, contrary to
the Shaman's threat as price for disobedience.
The hovering fear of making sacrifice vanished in Gat-Bulak's Kingdom since then.
In Gat-Bulak's Last Will and Testament, he wanted the tale of Bal-i-Wag's heroism
Page 18
inscribed to his finest collection of Luzon Jars, and let it be known that his
Kingdom be called as "Bal-i-Wag."
Like other civilization that has come and gone, Gat-Bulak's Kingdom vanished.
However, the Luzon Jars artifacts, as repositories of the Baliwag Legend, if fortune
strikes, would be unearthed someday.