Philippines Guide
For Travelers, Expats and Pinoys
The Maiden Who was Turned into a Myth
On a quiet town of Talim Island in Binangonan, Rizal is a curious mountain that resembles the robust breast of a young, slim virgin. Mt. “Susong Dalaga” (“breast of a young virgin”) has many tales and myths circulating in the lowland vicinities, and this myth version is among them.
A young virgin lying down the green meadows of a nearby hill—this is how most old folks in the locality of Sapang in Talim would probably start the myth on the 200-meter high mountain that is said to be inhabited by monkeys, iguanas, and wild boars. The native beauty of this unnamed teenage virgin was once said to be the town’s pride and the townsmen’s obsession. She had lots of suitors, and the myth even ventures to say that all the men of the place and the adjacent towns all came running after her.
She had the most conspicuously upright breasts of all the women in the place, and made sure the prominence was even more pronounced through the showy dresses she wore. Her suitors feasted their eyes on her most striking feature—the myth depicting men falling heads over heels, drowning in their wild imagination.
But the young virgin didn’t seem impressed by any of them. All she ever did was to go up the hill and lie down to watch the distant Laguna Bay quietly. Nobody knew exactly where she lived—the myth paints her as an elusive maiden, suddenly seen ambling in pathways, and then disappearing into the thickets. Accordingly, she was some kind of a human with the delicate features of a mystical creature—a nymphet’s fine physique, a voice as soft as the bay’s breeze, a face as clear as a summer morning sky, and hair as full as the fields in harvest, and black as the Binangonan night.
Then the women of the vicinity started turning against her. Losing their husbands and sons to this alluring damsel, they sought to bury her alive and leave nothing of her but a myth, assigning her memory to oblivion. And one night they did so. Spotting her strolling to her favorite hilltop, they choked her to death and buried her right on the hilltop, ending her life and starting her myth.
Mornings after, the hilltop gradually transformed to resemble the full-bodied breast of a young virgin. Even to this day, men stop to stare in wonder at the amazing likeness it has to the real thing—and if the myth was real after all.
The Legend of La Union Province
Long ago it’s well known among old folks living in Pangasinan and Ilocos that the province of La Union not yet existed. But a feud between the people of Pangasinan and Ilocos over a vast area between them sparked the idea of creating a separate new province. They referred to it as the uniting factor, and later called it La Union. Then the legend of La Union started to circulate around.
It was about siblings that kept on quarreling with each other—Pangasinan and Ilocos. They had different mothers but had the same father. Pngasinan’s mother was named Pampanga while Ilocos’ was named Cagayan. This allegedly started the story that is now the legend of La Union.
The father of the siblings, Fernando, was often put to shame when his sons quarreled in public. And it was often about who Uniangan, their brother born between them, would follow. The legend of La Union goes that each of them would make Uniangan run errands at the same time. When Uniangan could not satisfy their demands simultaneously they two other brother would fight over it.
One day a Spanish Friar passed by their house and observed the brothers Pangasinan and Ilocos quarreling and shouting at the top of their voices. The priests stopped for a while to listen but could not understand the dialect. Finally an interpreter was called and the mothers of the two boys were summoned. This story on the legend of La Union says from what the priest heard all the quarrel was centered on who had more clout to order Uniangan around.
“Ah!” the priest finally remarked. “I know what you should do! We’d cut Uniangan into two so that each of you could have half of him!” The two brothers were taken aback by the advice and looked at each other—and then at Uniangan. The legend on La Union continues that they finally realized their foolishness and started to pity their brother Uniangan. The priest saw the wonderful reconciliation among the brothers and patted Uniangan on the back. According to this legend of La Union the priest said Uniangan was the cause of The Union—or in Spanish, “La Union.” From the day on Uniangan was renamed La Union.
When the 3 brother got old and eventually died they were buried side by side with La Union in the middle of Pangasinan and Ilocos. So, as this legend of La Union goes, the mounds grew bigger with the passage of time until they became provinces.
Philippine Cuisine: Pickled Pork and Tofu
Looking for a super appetizer that also serves as a super meal viand? Then try this simple but heavy and healthy local dish. It has meaty goodness with a variety of other nutritious and delicious ingredients.
For this recipe we need three fourth kilo of boneless pork head, a fourth cup of red cane vinegar, a can (439 grams) of pineapple tidbits (drained), pineapple syrup from the tidbits, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, a fourth spoon of powder pepper, 3 regular squares of fried tofu or “tokwa” (sliced into cubes), a piece of chopped onions, 4 cloves of minced garlic, and one medium size diced red bell pepper. With these ingredients all ready, we can start cooking this dish.
We begin this recipe by cleaning and boiling the pork head in three cups of water and a half tablespoon of salt. Boil for 30 minutes or until the pork and meat are very tender. After boiling, drain the water and place in a container. Slice the meat and pork into cubes measuring about 2X2 centimeters. Then soak the sliced meat and pork in vinegar for 10 minutes for a slightly sour pork and meat dish.
Mix recipe of pineapple tidbit syrup, soy sauce, salt, and pepper. Stir well. Put in tidbit pieces and other ingredients, including stew from the boiled meat and pork. This dish serves 7 persons.
The meat and pork of a pig’s head is tasty and delicately tender when boiled and soaked in vinegar. This includes the ear parts, the fleshy nape, the plump cheek flesh, and a part of the neck. When boiled the stew produces a pungent concoction perfect for this recipe. Partnered with the tofu and other ingredients, the resultant whole dish produces a sweet-sour meaty taste with everything tender to the bite.
This special dish is often a favorite finger food or “pulutan” that goes with special or local liquors. It is also a special appetizer before a major dinner meal is served, or a perfect dinner meal in itself in family or party dinner tables. This recipe of combined meat, pork, tofu, and vegetable spices is also perfect for athletes in training and who need large doses of protein, carbohydrates, and fibers.
This local recipe is easy to prepare and cook. It can be enjoyed as a party dish in outdoor picnics, elegant dinners, and as packed lunch in the office. It is one of the local flexible dishes in Philippine culinary art.
The Folklore on How Manila Got Its Name
Manila is sometimes the popular name by which the Philippines is known abroad. The recycled and cheap paper popularly used in the Philippines and exported abroad also goes by the name of Manila paper. Ever wondered how Manila got its name? This folklore has some answers to offer.
A long time ago, according to this folklore, when the Walled City of Intramuros was newly built, a peculiar stalky rice-like plant that proliferated near the delta of the Pasig River and the Manila Bay grew abundantly. The Pasig River, the folklore says, was then very clean that people went there to wash clothes or swim. The folklore says the local folks came to know the plant as Nilad because of its gently swaying soft but long trunks when the wind blew from the bay. According to the folklore the arm-like swaying plants that seemed to bid goodbye or welcome at the river banks or at the seashore reminded visitors of the native inhabitants of the area. They were then known to be kind and hospitable. The folklore says they always welcomed visitors who stopped by the coastal vicinity.
Nilad plants boasted of very beautiful flowers of bright white and yellow, which became more spectacular when rayed by the bright tropical sun. According to the folklore, locals and foreigners, kids and old alike, would come to the banks of the river to pick the dazzling flowers. Nilad flowers were made into garlands or laces that, the folklore says, were offered to sacred statues in religious altars or in churches. Because of this, Nilad flower products were soon distributed in other places, and they were known to come from this part of the Pasig River and Manila Bay, the folklore adds.
One day, two Spaniards approached a woman busily arranging Nilad bouquets in a market in the hinterlands. The folklore says, the Spaniards were so intrigued by the beauty of the flowers and wanted to know the place where the flowers had come from. The woman, at a loss where exactly the place was, merely said in the vernacular, “Sa Intramuros, sa mga may Nilad” (in Intramuros, the place where there are Nilads). The natives had since then been referring to the place as such: “Sa may Nilad.” Pretty soon, natives and foreigners came to know the area outside the Walled City or Intramuros as “Sa Maynila,” or Manila.
The folklore on how Manila got its name is amusing and historically possible.
Philippine Cuisine: How Vegetables are Often Cut
In Philippine culinary practice, as in many places, vegetables are not just cut any which way. Some native dishes require specific cut styles. There are specific styles or kinds of cutting vegetables to go with specific native recipes.
Julienne cutting style is for native recipes requiring fine and narrow vegetable sticks. They are about 2 to 3 inches long and about an eighth inch square thick. Some native dishes may require finer julienne styles. This may be used for cooking fried potato or sweet potato as an appetizer, or as a side dish for several native dishes like fried chicken. It may also be used for stuffing vegetables in rolls, like fried or fresh “lumpya.”
Shredding is cutting vegetables into long, thin pieces like when a grater is used. This cutting style is used for cabbage or lettuce. Native recipes requiring shredding are sautéed and/or stewed cabbage, string (Baguio) beans, “pechay” leaves, “patani” flat beans, and sometimes even eggplants and “ampalaya” or bitter melon. Shredding is usually done in stuffed native dishes.
Sliced vegetables are also often used in cooking native recipes. This involves cutting the vegetables crosswise or lengthwise or even diagonally, thinly. This style of cutting is required in the following native dishes: “amplaya” or bitter melon “con carne,” choy suey, vegetable salads, the Ilocano “pinakbet,” some sautéed vegetable recipes, “sinigang” recipes, and vegetable omelets, among others.
Diced cutting is used for quick-cooking native recipes using tough vegetables like potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, tubers, and some fruits used for salads. Diced pieces in native dishes often measure a fourth to a third inch square. Dicing, along with shredding and julienne cutting, is used in stuffing rolls and omelets.
Minced vegetables are cut much smaller than diced ones. Mincing is often done with vegetable spices to better bring out their flavors and better supplement a native recipe. Vegetables in native dishes often requiring mincing are garlic and ginger. Mincing in Philippine culinary often means crushing the vegetable first before cutting it in small pieces.
Chopping is often required in cooking most vegetable native recipes. Chopped vegetables are usually onions, string beans, some “pechay” and cabbage recipes, carrots, apples, onion leaves, celery, among others found in native dishes.
Chunked vegetables are for native recipes with potatoes, radish, carrots, and other tough vegetables. They are used for prolonged cooking of native dishes.
Vegetables ought to be cut as specified or required in a particular native recipe. Vegetable cutting styles contribute much to the precise cooking of native dishes.
The Folklore About Tabaco, Albay
At first glance, anybody would think that Tabaco, Albay in Legaspi City probably got its name from some tobacco plants in the area. Well, one thinking that would wrong.
Here’s a folklore on how the place really got its name.
The folklore begins with a time when the Bicol region, during Spanish times, was said to be inhabited by very friendly natives. But then some Spaniards occupying the region became hostile to the inhabitants. Being too cruel to the natives, the news soon spread quickly to other localities in the area. Soon, many local people despised the mere sight of the invaders. One day, the folklore has it that two Spaniards ventured to some remote village and there found a beautiful young lady. She was known in the place for her talent for herbal medicine. One of the two foreigners fell for her native beauty.
The young lady’s father was annoyed by the two foreigners so that one day, as the folklore goes, when the two came over to the girl’s home for a visit and some herbal medicine samples, her father reacted in an unfriendly manner. The folklore adds that the place was also known for the people’s penchant for bladed weapons and its craft. Thus, the father owned a well sharpened native sword known in the vernacular as a “tabak.” The folklore stresses that every man in that village was armed with a “tabak” as a work implement and for self-defense.
So, as the Spaniards approached, they wondered about what the name of the place was. They thought it was a perfect way to establish rapport with the father. Coming closer and asking the name of the place, the folklore says the father was very alarmed at them and shouted to her daughter for his native sword. “Give me my sword! Give me my sword!” In the vernacular, he said, “Tabak ko! Tabak ko!” The foreigners, thinking that the answer to their query was “Tabaco,” soon spread the word that the name of the place was Tabaco in Albay. Soon afterwards, even local folks started calling their place by the name.
What of the “tabak” and the Spaniards? Well, the folklore admits that the natural friendly and hospitable spirit of the natives in the place got the better of the father, and soon the foreigners were tolerated and befriended.
Though fond of deadly bladed weapons, this folklore shows a people naturally gifted with kindness and hospitality can still opt for peaceful settlement in the face of adversity.
Fish in Ginger Stew or “Pesang Isda” Delight
The pungent flavor of ginger stew and the savory taste of native fresh water fish—combine this and we have the unique, delightful tang of the native cusine, “Pesang Isda.” This is a highly nutritious recipe popular in the Tagalog regions.
Don’t pre-judge this Tagalog cuisine. Many disagree with the fish usually used for this recipe. It is often cooked using fresh water “mudfish” that once loitered freely around rice paddies and streams and rivers in the region. Today, mudfish or “dalag” are cultured in fish ponds or caught fresh from clean rivers, streams, or rice paddies—which is a rarity. For those wary about mudfish, the fish for this cuisine may be substituted with milkfish or “bangus,” or “tilapia,” another fresh water fish for another recipe variation.
We need the following ingredients for this native recipe: two cloves of minced garlic, one medium-sized and thinly sliced ginger, one quarter of medium-sized onion, one large mudfish (“dalag”) cleaned and cut into serving size, two cups water used for washing rice or ”pinaghugasan ng bigas”, two fish broth cubes, two bunches Tagalog cabbage chopped in big sizes, two stalks green onions, and pepper to taste. With these ingredients in hand, we’re ready to cook this cuisine.
In cooking this recipe the following is the procedure: sauté the garlic, ginger and onions till light brown. Add the fish and rice wash. Drop the fish cubes to bring out the taste of the savory mudfish, and then bring to a boil. When the fish is cooked and tender, add the pepper, cabbage and green onions. Wait for the vegetables to cook, then serve hot. This cuisine serves 5 persons.
Some “pesang dalag” cuisine variations add in a lot more vegetables than are found in this recipe. Vegetables like green leafy “pechay” Baguio, ordinary “pechay,” potatoes, or “malunggay” leaves. Last but not least, this Tagalog cuisine has a special sauce or side dish that makes it doubly stylish. We need a cup of tofu putty and a few garlic and onions for the side dish of this cuisine. To prepare this added recipe, sauté a cup of tofu putty, or “miso” with a few minced garlic and chopped onions. When light brown add in the cup of tofu putty. The “pesa” is eaten with teaspoons of the tofu now and then.
The Tagalog native cuisine, “Pesang Dalag” or Fresh Water Fish in Ginger Stew, is a rare recipe of fish and healthy veggies that is cooked mostly by pure Tagalogs.
The Filipino Myth on Creation
How did everything on Earth start? This Filipino myth tells us why.
In the beginning, this myth claims, there was nothing on earth—no things, no people. Lumawig, the Great Spirit, came down from the sky and cut many reeds. The myth says he divided these into pairs and placed in various parts of the world. “You must speak”, said Lumawig to the reeds. Instantly, the reeds became humans, men and women who could talk. Their languages differed from each other, the myth adds.
Lumawig, thereafter, commanded each couple to marry. The myth says, they did. As a result, there were many children, all speaking the same language as their parents. The myth says these, in turn, married and had many children. Then, gradually, the earth was filled with people.
Now, says the myth, Lumawig saw that there were several things people on the earth needed. So he set to work to create supplies for such needs. For instance, the myth says, he created salt and told the inhabitants of one place to boil it and make a business out of it. But these people could not understand the Great Spirit. When Lumawig visited them, he found that salt was yet unexploited, the myth adds.
Lumawig took the salt away from them and gave it to another people called Mayinit. The myth says, the Mayinits did as they were told. Being good stewards of salt, he told them that they would always be the owners of salt, and that the other people must buy it from them, the myth says.
After some time, Lumawaig went to the highlands, to the people of Bontoc. The myth says he told them to exploit their rich clay and make pots and trade them with people of the low lands. They took no interest in clay molding, much less, the art of pottery, the myth says. Lumawaig’s lessons on pottery were ignored. The myth says the jars they made were not well-shaped. Consequently, Lumawig told them to forget about pottery and jsut focus on their other skills.
The myth says that, consequently, Lumawig thought it best to just entrust pot making to another people group. Eventually, he found a worthy people of pot making. They did just as he said, and their jars were all of excellent quality, the myth says. The Great Spirit told them they would monopolize the jar industry.
The myth shows examples of how Lumawig taught people and brought them everything they needed.
The Amazing Myth on Lam-ang
An amazing epic hero from Naguilan, La Union, according to the myth, is Lam-ang. At birth, the myth says Lam-ang was already able to talk like an adult and also possess a powerful physique. While an infant, he decided what his name would be—and that was the name given to him. The myth adds, at nine months, he was fully grown with supernatural physical prowess. He was feared in their village. Yet, despite his superiority, he was discontented. He missed his father. The father had been hunting somewhere in the lands of the Igorot, a feared head-hunting mountain tribe, before he was born and never came back.
So one day, the myth says, Lam-ang decided to look for his father in the land of the Igorots up further North. Then he discovered his father’s remains in an abandoned Igorot camp, beheaded. He determined to have his revenge. So, the myth says he flew (yes, he could fly) up to the Cordillera mountain ranges and attacked tribes of Igorots and defeated them savagely. Having completed his fierce revenge, he went back to his village.
In his village, he recounted the ways he decimated the feared Igorot tribes and the village folks feared him more. Then he heard about a rich heiress who lived in another place—in Caluntian—who was very beautiful. Despite his mother’s pleas not to marry someone outside their tribe, Lam-ang, according to the myth, pursued the heiress from Caluntian, Donya Ines.
In Caluntian, Lam-ang found himself up against formidable rivals But he bested them all with his powers and the supernatural pets he had brought with him—a rooster, hen, and a dog. Finally, the last challenge was to dive for a rare native fish called Rarang. According to the myth, Lam-ang had a premonition of death in this last challenge, but he proceeded with it anyway. He was swallowed by a big shark and died.
Donya Ines suffered the loss of Lam-ang, but his pets promised his resurrection if only his bones could be salvaged from the sea. Marcos, Ines’ servant, recovered Lam-ang’s remains from the sea. And with some magic, the myth says his pets were able to bring Lam-ang back to life. And so Lam-ang, Donya Ines, and the pets lived happily ever after.
The myth on Lam-ang depicts a man of strength and passion. He was ready to face any challenge till the end, even when the last challenge in his life meant his death. This somehow reflects the courage
Sierra Madre Myth and an Eternal Promise
Spanning the length from Cagayan in the north to Quezon in Southern Luzon is the undulating Sierra Madre mountain ranges. This more than 200 miles of contiguous mountains touching each other and even reaching out to the Cordilleras is said to conceal many secrets, among them a myth on how this mountain ranges came to be.
Sierra was a dedicated mother of two kids, named Iloco and Tagalo. The myth says they lived near a lengthy coastline where Bugsong Hangin, king of the mighty easterly winds, often chose to set foot on the ground and roam around the vicinity. The myth says Bugsong Hangin often brought with him the whole mighty horde of his wind army to wreak havoc on the land where Sierra and her kids lived. Bugsong Hangin, according to the myth, had vowed to regularly demolish the place.
The myth says Bugsong Hangin used to court Sierra in their younger years, but Sierra was in love with Lusong, a valiant warrior who had always faced up to any intruder coming from the sea. But, the myth says, Bugsong Hangin and his cohorts had proven too much for Lusong’s capabilities and he later on succumbed to Bugsong Hangin’s fierce attacks. Lusong died while Sierra and their sons watched. The myth says, however, before Lusong had breathed his last, he had Sierra promise that she’d love and protect their two sons.
So one day, the myth says, Sierra decided to lay on her side, putting herself between her two sons, Iloco and Tagalo, and the sea. Her back faced the sea while her face was toward her sons as they did their daily activities. Each time Bugsong Hangin came, the myth says, the two sons ran towards their mother to seek refuge under her arms while her back took all the punishment of Bugsong Hangin and his brutish army.
The myth says the mother’s protective arms and love proved invulnerable to any of Bugsong Hangin’s fierce attacks. The surroundings were devastated, but Iloco and Tagalo were always kept secure as Bugsong Hangin’s army wasted away everything else. So from that time on until now, the myth says, Bugsong Hangin went far away for a while to muster enough strength and think of new attack strategies and later went back to try to topple Sierra’s defenses and destroy Iloco and Tagalo.
A mother’s love, like Mother Sierra’s, is kept almost eternal, as this myth shows.
