SKEPTICAL LEGEND OF MARIA DE CACAO

Enrique B. Picardal Jr
ekyjr26@gmail.com
09093658023

Mount Panamao used to be once as soon as thickly forested and abounded with wild deer and
wickedly tusked boars. The historical hunters and kaingineros with their superstitions would walk
warily in the forests on account that human beings then believed in mountain spirits. If a nymph-
like Maria Makiling has been acknowledged to have haunted Mount Panamao, it would certainly
be a most tremendous tale, however there was once no such legend, the historical hunters would
inform of a plateau the place hectares of cacao plantations appeared to be diligently cultivated.
The cacao trees had been full of fruit. The game used to be once moreover sizable here. But the
hunters never dared to pick out the ripe fruit or kill the fats deer and wild boar. But there used to
be something that the inhabitants of the island learned later from far-off Manila, which gave
upward shove to the legend of the island of Mount Panamao. It was the story about the arrival of
a peculiar galleon at the port of Manila and of how the Spanish port authorities stared in eye-
popping wonderment at the splendidly furnished vessel with its shining sails of expensive silk, the
entirety about the galleon used to be new from the ropes of abaca hemp, the easy strains and
surfaces of the vessel from bow to stern, the elaborate carvings on the polished cabin panels, to
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the shimmering sails of silk. And crammed-full in the capacious preserve of the ship had been
sacks of dried cacao seeds, the port officers had been astonished and visibly impressed when
they met the passengers on the deck of the galleon. The guys had been richly attired and strutted
about with the air of grandees; the women stunning and based totally independent clothes of high-
priced materials. They have been as fair-skinned as and even increased aristocratic in bearing
than the colonials.

When asked where they came from, the passengers of the galleon answered, “Punta de
Bulalacao, Isla de Panamao.” And where was the beautifully carpentered galleon built? The answer:
“Isla de Panamao.” After a week, the passengers of the galleon sold all the cargo of cacao and
returned to Panamao Island.

And mysteriously after the unknown adherence, of course, some were invented and abandoned
by the people of Manila. Certainly the galleon and the aristocratic passengers and cargoes of
cacao will be the object of much more eager conversation and reflection. The authorities
themselves are said to be unable to explain their identity in Spain. Were they really from Spain or
any of the colonies? But no official has attempted to identify these visitors from the port authority’s
records while they were staying in Manila. And with the desperation of the Spanish bureaucracy,
further questions were raised. Only the stories of the mysterious galleon can be carried throughout
the archipelago, as gossip and conversation travel on the wings and cannot be suppressed by
anything bad luck, languages continue to release the Spanish official who, in the madness of
passionate love. He turned up his post to follow his inamorata on the Panama Islands. It was
reported that the man was upset because no one on the island knew about the galleon and the
ship of cacao and the beautiful Girl Goddess. And Punta de Bulalacao! There was not a ship in
sight, the harbor itself was of rocks, timber and timber, and not one, not a soul.

Even today there is still more mystery brooding over the mountain when we find it hidden in the
winter fog and rainy months of the northeast. There are many things we want to know, such as
the cliff with cacao plants, and the one and the bad ones that come in. Is the galleon sailing again
from Punta de Bulalacao with fair passengers, or is this time a modern ocean-going ship with a
cargo of cacao, the invisible kingdom of adventure, and who will believe in this story, But Mount
Panamao is there, in full sunlight. And if the moon is a bright disk in the sky, if in the glare of the
moon of Mount Panama is more mysterious than ever, who knows what not to believe?

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There is a story of Mary in almost every region of the Philippines. Almost everywhere, the legend
is that she is a beautiful woman with fair skin and long Spanish-speaking locks. He lives alone on
a mountain and lends people his cutlery, gowns, gold combs, and more. He harvested cacao and
gave it to his Spanish galleon in different parts of the Philippines. She is known for living in
waterfalls and other places, The fact that (I think) she is indeed the Queen of a Chocolate
Conglomerate, is very much afraid of the aesthetic and wants to live in a world full of finery and
luxury that why he gave the gowns and cutlery to the natives of the lands where he abused their
free resources, he hoped to invite her to fine dinners and parties such as the return of the sweet
Spain mother, knowing -he has the secret of transcendence and eternal beauty: Not so much sun
and hours and hours of sleep as to cause her to be invisible, and a top-secret chemical emanating
from cacao skin flight. He explained his galleon to the crests of the Waterfall formations and
actually used super-advanced technology (he stole from Lemurian civilization, to find his galleon
invisible and adaptable to adapt rivers). Not to mention the umbrella that explains why the water
is flowing through the falls. He is also a PETA organizer with his own natural sanctuary in Makiling,
and he is a small fanatic for his own good (he sets "appearances" in various parts of the world
and worship venues). The folklore northeast of Biliran mentions a "Punta de Bulalacao, Isla de
Panamao" Bulalacao Point, Panamao Island. This area is part of a complex myth that includes a
fairy named Maria Benita, which Dr. Rolando O. Borinaga's Spanish galleons, cacao cargoes,
and even a "town" capacity above Mt. Panamao, most of Spain's curious ingredients in name and
indication, suggests that the whole legend changed during the Spanish period, of course, Isla de
Panamao is the ancient name of the Island in Biliran, which was the site of the first large Spanish
shipyard in the Philippines around 1600. And cacao in this colony was first planted by the Jesuits
in Carigara, Leyte, according to 19th-century author J Mallat. The parish of Carigara was originally
included Isla de Panamao, the "town" at the top of the mountain that may have changed people's
minds from the volcanic eruption of Mt. Panamao, whose bridge shines in the dark of night, as
described by Jesuit Fr. Francisco Alcina was in 1668. The volcano was probably in training a year
later.

Maria Benita (Benighted Maria), the fairy, is associated with the religious controversy involving the towns
of Almeria and Kawayan during the early American period at the turn of the 20th century, which saw
the diminution of the belligerent town of Almeria into a barrio of Kawayan, a former barrio that was
elevated into a town by American officials.

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 The search immediately left me searching for the Punta de Bulalacao (Bulalacao Point) location.
Bamboo natives claim that this geographical point is likely in the vicinity of Barangay Bulalacao,
a few kilometers east of the appropriate town. The place is named after a bird called "bulalacao"
in Waray-Waray and "beetle" in Cebuano, which is said to glow or spark at night, I do not know
the name of the birds, and do not know I have seen. But it may also have contributed to the growth
of "St Elmo's Fire" (santelmo) in the minds of the people; however, Barangay Bulalacao does not
have a prominent tree to name. Thus, Punta de Bulalacao must have been elsewhere, the answer
was found to me a few weeks ago, as I was examining sections of the Leyte-Samar maps of
Spain-period Philippines and trying hard to -and further proofs for my theory of Leyte's name in
an earlier column on the narrow passage below the Biliran Bridge, the first detailed map of the
Philippines obtained by Jesuit Fr. Pedro Murillo Velarde in 1744. It was published in Manila in
1749 as part of his "Historia de la Provincia de Filipinas de la Sosia de Jesus, the cartographer
apparently confused where the Panamao Islands are closest to Leyte. island and made it appear
to be connected to the mainland in two places - in the center and west of north Leyte, in fact, He
was mistaken, first, in 1668, Father Alcina, who had probably never traveled to Biliran Strait on
his way to Samar where he served for many years as a missionary, confused himself about the
location of Pogot Point (Beheading Point). His narrative was based on the northwestern point of
Leyte, along the west coast of the island opposite In Alcina's time, the eastern portion of Sugbo
and in northern Leyte was known by the Spaniards as "Bululaqui." But the priest, who understood
the local language, knew more and more. He says that the word is a corruption of the native stage
"buli-lacu" (ie. Bullying me). Which is obscene to the Bisayan language. In English, it's "big [cock]."
On the 1744 map, the southwest corner of the Cebu was placed almost uniformly.

Latitude directly west of Panamao marked Punta de Bululaqui. The nearest village, in the
neighborhood of what is now Daanbantayan, is known as Candaya. This village is probably the
deepening of the Kan-Daya (Big Boat) Kingdom of Samar. The basic form of the Maria Cacao story
is that when the river flows from Mount Lantoy or a bridge is broken, it is a sign that Maria Cacao
and her husband Mangao are also passing through their stream gold ships so they can export their
produce, or travel on the river upon their return. He had to live inside a mountain cave and the Cacao
vegetation outside was his plant.

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Different variants of the legend of Maria Cacao

A contemporary evolution of folklore is the incarnation of a common Filipino myth - that soul-
harvesting boats. Recent stories suggest that lenders who fail to repay their goddess loans soon
find themselves facing consequences, as Maria Cacao's boat arrives to recover their loans. Soul in
the next world, A specific variant of this new myth element was reported in Cagayan de Oro following
Hurricane Sendong (Tropical Storm Washi) when one boat was reported to have been with one
woman in helmets traveling along the river and offering to pick up passengers. These rumors were
accompanied by a warning not to accept invitations to board the boat, as the woman as Maria Cacao
"was collecting souls for the next world." In his regular newspaper column, anthropologist Michael
Tan notes that this function of "harvesting the soul" is not part of the prototypical myth, and
accompanies the myth's evolution to the need for social invention stories as a means of coping with
disaster, creating a context for a sense of despair and, to some degree, offering an outlet for the
situation.

While the story is clearly mythological in nature, it is cited as evidence of how long the table was
made, going on in the area.

Tableya is the Cebuano for round, unobtrusive chocolate tablets made from cacao beans. It is an
essential ingredient in Filipino delicacies cyclic (hot chocolate) and champorado.

Conclusion:

A cartographer demanded and straight away left after the discovery of the Punta de (Bulalacao
Detail) province. Legends northeast of Biliran say a "Punta de Bulalacao, Isla de Panamao" It used
to be once circulated in Manila in 1749 as an area of its "Historia de la Provincia de Filipinas de la
Companionia de Jesus, the cartographer of course. Confused about the Panamao place closest to
Leyte. The existing day context of the legend of Maria Cacao An enhancement in the legend is the
unification of any one of a kind famous Filipinos - the water series regional. He picked up the cacao
and shipped the Spanish ship to one of type parts of the Philippines. "Isla de Panamao." After seven
days, the cruise ships supplied all hundreds of cacao and headed again to Panamao. However,
when asked where they started, boat trips answered, "Punta de Bulalacao, Isla de Panamao. And

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the place is made by the shining blacksmith. The man who pretends to be disturbed in the way that
no one on the island contemplates the ship and the ship of cacao and is beautiful. Young woman
Dewata. In the history and spirit of their superstitions will walk the forests of the people from which
there is self-assurance to the spirits of the mountain? Discourse in Cebu. Everywhere, the story is
that she is a stunning woman with attractive pores and skin and a high degree of certainty that
provides Spanish. In any case, there are a few things that populate the home. On the island from
as far away as Manila, showing a cross on Mount Panamao island legend. After all, now is not a
lonely soul. However, searchers may not have been selected to trade readied trademarks or kill fats
deer and wildly assemble.

Reference/ Cited

Rolando O. Borrinaga The legend of Punta de Bulalacao Tacloban City published in the Philippine
Daily Inquirer, February 21, 2004

Ben Granali Legend of Biliran – Isla de Panamao (Isle of Mystery and Magic) this article was
Originally published in Women’s Journal, May 14, 1991, p. 14.

Maria Cacao: Ang Diwata ng Cebu (Maria Cacao: The Fairy of Cebu) Rene O. Villanueva

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