By: Dr. Jes B. Tirol, Ph.D.
Historian

Proem
On July 3, 1768 the Royal Order that expelled the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) from all Spanish dominion was implemented in Bohol. At the time when the Jesuits left, the following were the towns existing in Bohol:

1.Baclayon	5. Inabanga	9. Malabohoc
2.Dauis	6. Loay	10. Tagbilaran
3.Dimiao	7. Loboc	11. Talibon
4.Hagna	8. Loon

It can be noticed that in 1768 the town of Guindulman did not exist yet. In fact it was only the fourth town established by the Augustinian Recollects in Bohol. The Augustinian Recollects was the religious order that replaced the Jesuits in Bohol.

Date of Creation
Guindulman, Bohol was once part of Jagna, Bohol. It was established as a town by Royal approval on May 1797. Since it was a Royal approval, it can be construed that the approval was only for the civil aspect of the town. It was only the following year, 1798, Guindulman became ecclesiastically separate from Jagna. The parish was advocated to Nuestra Señora de la Consolacion (Our Lady of Consolation/Comfort). The first parish priest is only recorded as Fr. Antonio. In all probability the priest was Father Candido de San Antonio, who shortly after arrival in Manila in 1797, was assigned to an unnamed curacy in Bohol.

~Dagohoy – Espeleta Conferences
Archbishop Miguel Lino de Espeleta became acting Governor General on May 31, 1759 when Governor General Arandia died.

To achieve peace in Bohol, Gov. Gen. Archbishop Espeleta personally went to the headquarters of Dagohoy (via Talibon Island) for conferences with Dagohoy. Gov. Gen. Espeleta promised Dagohoy and his men a general pardon, correct and stop Spanish corruption, and assign Filipino priests in Bohol. He also promised to reconstruct the Inabanga Church.

Dagohoy (real name: Francisco Sendrijas) also promised to tolerate Christianity in Bohol. In June of 1761, Archbishop Manuel Rojo replaced Archbishop Espeleta. Espeleta then returned to Cebu as its Bishop. On May 1771, archbishop Espeleta died.

~Dagohoy-Fr. Santa Barbara Conference
In the year 1768 the Augustinian Recollects replaced the Jesuits in Bohol. The Father Rector of the Recollects was Fr. Pedro de Santa Barbara.

Knowing the agreement between Archbishop Espeleta and Dagohoy, Fr. Santa Barbara lost no time in having a deal with Dagohoy. Fr. Santa Barbara went to Dagohoy’s headquarters for important conferences.

The Recollect Fathers were so careful that the relation was “so fine that after a short period from their arrival, they no longer need an armed force for the security of their persons.”

The Experiment
The coastal village of Guindulman was part of the town of Jagna. In 1797 it became large enough to become a separate town and parish. The requirement for a separate town was least 500 tributes or taxpayers.

When the town of Guindulman was created, it covered the areas now presently known as the municipalities of Guindulman, Anda, Mabini, and Candijay.

As a result of the Dagogoy – Santa Barbara conferences, an experiment was tried. Some of the monteses (the name used to refer to the followers of Dagohoy – JBT) were allowed to resettle in the Poblacion of Guindulman alongside the “Christian” residents. However, some disagreement occurred between the followers of Dagohoy (monteses) and the Christians. The monteses went back to the mountains. It was only in the 1817 when the monteses came back. However, they were made to resettle at Tugas (now:Tugas, Candijay) to prevent a re-occurrence of the previous dispute with the Christian of Poblacion, Guindulman.

The Name
We will determine how the Guindulman got its name. We will establish the etymology of the word “Guindulman” devoid of folktales and legends.

Dr. Cecilio Putong in his book “Bohol and Its People” has the following story: “Its is said that the town used to be called Guindulman, meaning overtaken by darkness. The story was that formerly there were only two towns organized in this part of Bohol, namely: Jagna and Batuanan (now: Alicia). Travelers starting from either these towns in the morning were sure to be benighted or overtaken by darkness in this place, hence the name, which later was changed to Guindulman.”

Almost all Boholano writers agree that the base word or root word of Guindulman is the Bisayan word Dulom or Dom, which is taken to mean darkness or moonless night.

The explanation of Dr. Putong is plausible. However, there are defects in the explanation. First, town of Batuanan was actually proposed as a town on 5 February 1828 and finally approved on 9 December 1831. Therefore Batuanan was created as a town 34 years later than Guindulman. So the story could not be true.

Second, Dr. Putong’s explanation of the word Guindulman has a grammatical defect. In the Bisayan language, when an event or action usually or repeatedly happens in a place, the suffix to be used is “. .anan”. The suffix “. .an” is used when the event happens only once in a place.

The single event may be for a short duration or for a long continuous time.
The word Guindulman, with is suffix “..an”, signify that the event of being benighted happened only once. If it were a repeated event, the word should be Guindulmanan. As an illustration, consider the word bato, which means stone. If one puts some stones in a place at one time, the word to be used is batoan. Only the suffix “..an” is added. If the intended meaning is a usual place where some stones are put in place, the word becomes batoanan. The suffix use is “..anan.”

The question is – - – If being benighted usually happened at the particular place, why was it called Guindulman instead of Guindulmanan? There must be a better explanation.

The Diccionario Español-Bisaya (1885) by Father Juan Felix de la Encarnacion has two entries for the word dulom:
Dulom – Luchar cuerpo a cuerpo. (To wrestle, to struggle, body to body)
Dulom – Oscuridad que media desde que se pone el sol hasta que sale luna; cualquiera oscuridad. (Darkness from sunset until the moon appears; any kind of darkness).

The most fitting root word for Guindulman is the dulom that means to struggle body to body. It signifies an event that would allow the use only of the “..an” suffix. The prefix “Guin..” means acted, acted upon, or covered by. By attaching the affixes to the root word dulom, the new word would be Guinduloman. It signifies that the meaning of the root word happened only once. The Bisayan language allows the shortening of the word to Guindulman.

When the town of Guindulman was established, it was composed of Christianized and non-Christian Boholanos. Evidently there was conflict or struggle, body to body, between the Christians and the non-Christians.

The non-Christians were dismayed and went back to the mountains. The event of the conflict was the Guindulman, which means a place where there was a struggle, body to body.

Another indication that Guindulman signifies struggle is the word Tabajan. The present town center (poblacion) of Guindulman has a place called Tabajan and Sawang. The word Sawang means town plaza or the plaza near the church.

The root word of Tabajan is the word Taba. The dictionario Español-bisaya defines Taba as, to divide; to share; to sell a part or the whole or a worked out of farm. With the addition of the suffix “..han”, the word Tabajan means dividing line or the apportioned part.

This indicates that the town center of Guindulman was divided between the Christians at Sawang and the non-Christians at Tabajan. Even today there is still some kind of animosity between the resident s of Sawang and Tabajan even though the townfolks could no longer recall the original cause of the animosity.

The Cause of Conflict
The establishment of the town of Guindulman in 1797 was trial implementation of the agreement of Dagohoy and Father Santa Barbara. The Christians non-Christians were made to live near each other. The result was a struggle for domination.

Considering the rules at that time, the establishment would have been for both the civil and religious aspects of the town.

Juan Felix de la Encarnacion,”Diccionario Español-Bisaya “, Tipografia De Amigos Del Pais,Manila,1885.

Father Antonio was in charge of the religious aspect of the town. The struggle was on the control of the civil aspect. The non-Christian followers of Dagohoy had their chosen leader in the person of Ignacio Arañez.10 Naturally the followers of Dagohoy would not agree if he would not be made the Gobernadorcillo (Mayor). Since no agreement could be reached, the followers of Dagohoy went back to the hills. Of course not all monteses were able to go back to the hills. They were persuaded to come down again only in 1817 but chose to resettle at the present-day Tugas, Candijay, Bohol.

However, the names of places like Guindulman, Tabajan, Sawang had already become permanent.

Therefore the name Guindulman is an eponym or a name taken from a significant event.

Native name: Duero
Date created: 1862
No. of barangays: 21
Patron: Immaculate Concepcion
Feast Day: December 8

How and why was Panang-atan changed to Valencia?
It started when Dimiao was made a regular parish on January 31, 1868. The people of Panang-atan with the help of the people from two adjoining villages — Canmanico and Cutcutan petitioned Alcalde Mayor Francisco de la Torre, the “Gobernador Politico Y Militar” of Cebu, Bohol and Siquijor for the creation of Panang-atan as pueblo. The people of Dimiao, with its Spanish leaders opposed the idea. But after an ocular inspection by a party sent to the place by the incumbent alcalde mayor of Cebu, and with
consultations made with the Recollect provincial in Cebu, the petition of Panang-atan was granted. Then a Recollect priest, Fray Francisco Curnago was sent to continue the Christianization of the people in the place. During his earlier stay, he rode on his horse and viewed the hills and plains of the place. He found it to be very much alike to a town in Spain, where he originated, Valencia. Without delay, he met with the prominent natives of Panang-atan and proposed to change the name of Panang-atan to Valencia, with an assurance that he would make strong representaions for the place to be created as an independent pueblo from its mother town, Dimiao. His proposition was received with much interest and enthusiasm by the people. Then, on September 3, 1870, a letter was received from the Ministry of Overseas Territories in Madrid, Spain informing the officials of the approval of the establishment of a new and separate parish with Senor Sto. Nino as its patron. Up until now, Panang-atan is known as the town of Valencia.

native name: Panag-atan
no. of barangays: 35
rep. district: 3rd district
patron: Sto. Nino
feast day: January 16

Luckily, the barrio people found a good instrument for their plan. Through constant contact with government church officials during fiestas and other social gatherings, the local leaders befriended and succeeded in convincing two influencial friars who were sympathetic to their cause. These were Father Garcia, who was at that time the parish priest of Guindulman and Father Hernandez, who was then the parish priest of Loay.
With the help of the influence of these two friars, the Spanish authorities finally acceded to the never-ending clamor of the people and the new town was finally created on March 11, 1858. The municipality was named after the two friars who helped them greatly.

native name: Sinugbuan
no. of barangays: 30
rep. district: 3rd district
patron saint: St. John the Baptist
feast day: June 24

She got off the boat and went toward the beach where the palms now abound in Poblacion, Dauis. The fisherman revealed that the lady passenger disappeared and in her place saw an object, the image of which evoked the likeness of his passenger.
It has been said that the name of the place is derived from the word “Lawis” which means a “sand bar”. It may also come from the word “dawi” which means “a fish biting the bait of a fishing hook and line.”
Recorded history of Dauis began with the arrival of two Jesuit priests, Fr. Diego de Ayala and Fr. Joseph Gragorio. Since then, there was a succession of Jesuit missionaries until 1786, and were later replaced by the Augustinian Recollect fathers until 1888. Since then, Filipino priests have taken over.
Administration of the civil government started in 1883 with the late Bruno Clarin as its first mayor.

native name: Lawis
no. of barangays: 12
rep. dist. : 1st district
patron: Our Lady of Assumption
feast day: August 15

However, some say that long before the blood compact between Legaspi and Sikatuna in 1565, there were already savage inhabitants called “Lo-og”. These people lived in caves and big trees. Later they were overpowered by the Malay pioneers, who grew in number and eventually took over the place. The “Lo-og” people gradually disappeared leaving no trace of their ancestry.
As for how the town got its name, it has been said that long ago, there was a chieftain named Mayaw, who had a beautiful wife named Ida. Mayaw was a great leader not only because of his superior strength but also of his wealth. Despite the couple’s power and prestige, they were imbued with genuine concern for their subjects. They shared whatever they had especially during times of calamity. Because of this, the people idolized them. One summertime, a group of Spanish explorers arrived and were welcomed by the native inhabitants. Mayaw and Ida, were not informed of the arrival. After brief formalities, a Spaniard asked, “Como se llama este lugar?.” A native, thinking that the former was asking who the masters of the place were, answered “Ka Ida Mayaw.” Before departure, the Spaniards echoed the name and the natives nodded in agreement. Henceforth, the vocabulary stuck in with the Spaniards and gave the town its name, Dimiao.
Another tale, was that when a group if Spaniards arrived they found Dimiao desolate unlike the others, which were already thriving. The silence was broken from time to time by counter wailing “meow-meows” of wild cats. One of them blurted out, “Que triste, El sitio es un desierto. Oimes solamente voces de los gatos. Caramba! Sitio de Meow.”

native name: Ida-miyaw
no. of barangays: 35
rep. dist.: 3rd district
patron saint: St. Nicolas Tolentino
feast day: September 10

The early inhabitants settled a bit farther from the coast to the low hills of Lungsod-daan and in Cayupo, a barangay adjacent to Loay in the east. It was in Lungsod-daan where the Spanish friars built a temporary chapel and convent.

During the Philippine-American hostilities, a group of US Soldiers burned the chapel and convent in 1899. The people found the statue of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary among the debris. A bigger church and convent where later built in the site. The present church, was built in 1925 during the term of Rev. Fr. Narciso Maglasang. The improvement of the church and the paintings came in later during the incumbency of Rev. Fr. Miguel Ortega. It was only in 1941 when a permanent convent was built.

native name: Lila
no. of barangays: 18
rep. dist.: 3rd district
patron: Our Lady of the Holy Rosary
feast day: October 7

The town name Loay originated from the pliable and useful vine, “oway” which grew in abundance in the ancient village. The reason for the addition of the “L” in the name was probably because of the erroneous pronunciation of the Spanish colonizers.
No written source was found as to when the pueblo or paroquia of Loay was exactly established, but the old residents say it was around the year 1700. The two ground levels in the poblacion area of Loay have been, and still are called by their respective natural locations. The lower-ground section is called Canipaan because of the existence of nipa swamps, and the upper ground level is called Ibabao, the plateau-like valley where the church, convent and elementary schools are located, and where the Holy Trinity Academy can be found. Aside from the church and towers, there are three stone tablet buildings nearby constructed in the same manner as the church and tower.
Loay is reputed to be the home of the Clarins. Among the pioneers of the place was Andres Clarin, one of its earliest gobernadorcillos.

native name: Oway
no. of barangays: 24
patron: Holy Trinity
feast day: every 8th sunday after the Easter Sunday

However, there was no record of her being married to someone. In 1842, Dona Mariona signified her wish to the curate of Baclayon for a chapel in Segunto. Even if the chapel wasn’t finished yet, people converged in it to hear mass. Since the chapel was becoming more and more congested, they built a second chapel. Both chapels were made of wood and bamboo.

On the incessant request of the Dona, Fray Jose Abad, the parish priest of Baclayon strongly recommended to the civil ecclesiastical authorities in Cebu for the creation of Segunto into an independent pueblo. When Segunto became a pueblo, it was given the name Alburquerque – a name of a town in Mexico which was a colony of Spain. The present church was built from 1888 to 1908, while the convent was erected from 1876 to 1884. All these structures were constructed by the use of forced labor (polo).

native name: Segunto
no. of barangays: 11
rep. dist.: 1st district
patron saint: St. Monica
feast day: May 4