LOCAL HISTORY ARTICLES |
 Geographically, Bocaue, a town in the province of Bulacan, is bounded on the south by Marilao, on the east by Sta. Maria, on the north by Balagtas and Pandi and on the west by Bulacan (the town). It is some 27 kilometers away from greater Manila and has a total area of 32.5 square feet or 3,250 hectares wide. The Balugas and the Dumagats were its first inhabitants and lived in upward forests. When the Taga-ilog and the Taga-pampang discovered the town, they were drawn into settings because of its numerous streams from which crystalline waters flow, the lush vegetative growth, and the multitude of fish and birds that flocks to its bosom. Bocaue, A Brief History From his Baluga and Dumagat ancestors, the Bocaue native inherited his knowledge of herbal medicine and from his Malayan (Taga-ilog and Taga-pampang) forebears, the harnessing of his natural environment. Then and as by now, the Bocaue folks are known for their innate industry, friendliness and level-headedness. In 1572, the first Christian cross was erected in Bulacan, in Calumpit by Fray Francisco Vivar a Dominican priest from Guadalajara, Mexico. But it was the Franciscans, in the year 1578 which Christianized Meycauayan from where Bocaue was originally a sitio of. Meycauayan wa so named because of the abundant bamboos thriving in that area (May kawayan in local province) and bukawe is a variety of bamboo particularly noted as a fine material for deadly spears. Bocaue separated from Meycauayan on April 11, 1606 and the Spanish Franciscan, Fr. Teodoro de los Santos, became its first parish priest. For most of those who know Bocaue today, they associate this northern town with magnificent fireworks, the yearly fluvial procession later acknowledged as a festival in the tourism calendar, and the handful of cabarets and their attendant, bellas which to the uninformed is the town in its entirety. But Bocaue is more than this. Bocaue is a town where the disparity between the rich and the poor is hardly noticeable. Prosperous, because of the people's industry, there are but three resident beggars--a blind old man who plays his home-made musical strings during the daily holy mass and the two village idiots who roam the streets unmolested. There are no movie houses in Bocaue. There are few Commercial and Savings Bank. But it is home to the biggest cooperative in the whole Asia, The Saint Martin of Tours Kilusang Bayan sa Pagpapautang, Inc. >From the success of the credit cooperative (Established in 1969 with 15 members and initial capital of P/250.00; as of August last year, boasts of 6,510 members with total assets of P/ 126,713,580.00 and a credit fund of P/88,954,931 loaned out to 3,422 members) can be gleaned the character of the Bocaue child--trustworthy and the firm believer of the cooperative, or the traditional bayanihan spirit. Sadly, too, Bocaue's historical and cultural value is vague to today's generation: The beatified Korean holy man, Saint Andrew Kim lived at the Dominican-run Hacienda de Lolomboy in Bocaue, from 1839 till 1942. After the Hacienda closed down, it became the first boys' town prior to its transfer to Welfareville and the first mental institution with the grandfather of President Joseph Estrada as its director. The first of the three Katipunan mini-republics, the Sili de Kakarong headed by native son Eusebio Roque, was originally a part of Bocaue (The three mini-republics--The Sili de Kakarong, Biac-na-Bato and Barasoain--were all parts of Bulacan). And the deadly spears all desired by the courageous Katipuneros were hewn from Bocaue that grew wildly in the town. A lover of the arts, Bocaue has produced the likes of National Artist for Dance Francisca Reyes Aquino, internationally-acclaimed baritone actor Aurelio Estanislao, dramatic actress (and widow of National Artist for Literature Amado V. Hernandez) as exemplified by by Dr. Nimfa E. de Guzman, a board topnotcher in 1963 and a heart specialist. The Origin of the Pagoda Tradition On the first Sunday of July in 1850 a Black Cross was found floating at the mouth of Bocaue River, known as Wawang Capiz, at the confluence where it meets with the Bulacan River and the Manila Bay. A fishpond watchman from barangay Bambang fished out the cross and gave it shelter in his tiny hut. But soon, the fisherman became restless and felt that he should share his new found treasure with the village folk. The Cross both awed and mystified, and the villagers believed that it was a good omen from the Almighty. The people's belief on the the Christian faith was further strengthened when their collective prayers, through this wooden symbol, were answered by Unseen One. According to folklore, most of the supplications were for rain to come during droughts and its ceasing when it become ruinous to their agricultural needs. A year after it was found, the townsfolk agreed that it would be best to hold an annual nine-day lotrina, of religious procession, to commemorate the Black Cross' coming into their lives. Bocaue was then radically different from topography from what it is today. Most of the townsfolk lived along the riverbanks and the main route of travel was through the river. Thus, for the procession (which is traditionally held in the evening eversince introduced by the Catholic friars in the archipelago), the icon was borne on a big fishing boat while devotees, riding in their own bancas accompanied the lead vessel. That same year, 1851 the Catholic church took cognizance of the appeal of the Black Cross to the faithful and enthroned the symbol within the town church for veneration. Through the years, believers in the power of the Black Cross multiplied and droves of pilgrims from out of town kept coming back yearly for the fluvial procession. When the big fire engulfed Bocaue in 1868, destroying in the process the town's church, not a few were amazed that the Black Cross should survive the conflagration. In 1881, a series of natural calamities rocked Central Luzon. An earthquake followed by a vicious storm wrought unimaginable damage and a cholera epidemic soon spread. But miracle of miracles, Bocaue survived the onslaught and this phenomenon the locals attributed to their unwavering faith in the Black Cross. In 1889, folklore also says, all the fishes in the Bocuae River mysteriously disappeared and it was only after a novena to the Black Cross that the fishes once again returned to the river and its tributaries. Another tale which elders love to tell and re-tell is that one of "Mariang Lubog," who in 1900 was a mere toddler when she joined the lotrina. Unfortunately the banca her family boarded capsized and she, being the youngest, was the first the devotees tried to save. After searching in vain, they weresurprised to discover that the child was safe by the riverbank. When Maria died at the ripe old age of 82, she carried to her grave the monicker "Mariang Lubog" (Sunken Maria) christened her by the villagers. As more stories of miracles are attributed to the Black Cross, the town's faith in the symbol continue to strengthen. Bocaue is a town of believers, and today, even in the wake of the Black Cross deaths, its faith remains unwavering. by Julius Villanueva, Dax R. Estorioso |
