Chapter 10. The legend of Guinpanâ-an
Since the first mention of Hacienda Guinpanâ-an in the Jalandoni memoirs, I was curious as to where this place was and why it was called 'guinpana-an'.
Fortunately for us, a story written by Mr. Serafin Lazalita and Miss Gilda Villegas in the 1953 compilation features Guinapanâ-an's legend as to how it got its name.
According to Mr. Lazalita and Miss Villegas, in the area called Guinpanâ-an, there existed a brook whose course included a passage next to the Victorias Public Cemetery.
And upon checking with Google Maps, I found out that this brook still exists today and is on the left side (southern side) of the Victorias Public Cemetery. The public cemetery is on your left side on the northern end of Victorias that you pass on your way to Manapla.
The brook has its source at the east, traversing an area that, I was told, is Hacienda Guinpanâ-an. When it reaches the national highway, there's a small bridge built over it. I tried to trace the length of the brook, and if this one flows into the sea, it's about 4 kilometers from its source.
And upon checking with Google Maps, I found out that this brook still exists today and is on the left side (southern side) of the Victorias Public Cemetery. The public cemetery is on your left side on the northern end of Victorias that you pass on your way to Manapla.
The brook has its source at the east, traversing an area that, I was told, is Hacienda Guinpanâ-an. When it reaches the national highway, there's a small bridge built over it. I tried to trace the length of the brook, and if this one flows into the sea, it's about 4 kilometers from its source.
The story starts with a family of aetas or ati that was out roaming the forest on a nice day, walking barefoot under the sun and tracing the brook with the younger ones playing along as they went.
In the olden times, Victorias was a forest full of trees and lush greenery, rich with wildlife of wild boars, bears, rats, and fowls just running around the woodlands where the natives simply had to hunt or catch one for their meal of the day.
In the olden times, Victorias was a forest full of trees and lush greenery, rich with wildlife of wild boars, bears, rats, and fowls just running around the woodlands where the natives simply had to hunt or catch one for their meal of the day.
Eagles, parrots, maya, kingfishers, and other avian creatures were freely flying around from the mountains near and around the area what is now Gawahon and down the plains of northern Negros.
Monkeys were just swinging from one tall tree to another while big snakes slithered around the bushes in hunt for their prey.
Monkeys were just swinging from one tall tree to another while big snakes slithered around the bushes in hunt for their prey.
The Magnanud and Malihao rivers were still unpolluted, alive and full of different kinds of fresh-water fish, turtles, frogs, snakes, and other marine animals that were endemic to Negros island, an island of volcanic origin as proven by the existence of three volcanoes in the island: Silay, Mandalagan and Kanla-on.
And on that day, when the ati family was passing that area what is now called Guinapanâ-an and picking wild berries and other edible fruits along the brook, they heard sounds from farther down the path. The father, seeing a creature from afar, thought he saw a wild bear stooping down and digging for some roots on the ground.
Believing the bear was both food and threat to his family, he prepared and raised his bow and arrow to shoot it. Since the aetas used these tools everyday, they were expert huntsmen. They could accurately hit a target even while running using these tools made from the sturdy wood of anahaw.
With his bow now stretched, he waited for the perfect moment, considering the wind direction and the movement of his target. And then, he let go of his sharp arrow.
And with one shot, his arrow hit the bear, pierced its back with its arrowhead coming out on its chest. 😱
With his bow now stretched, he waited for the perfect moment, considering the wind direction and the movement of his target. And then, he let go of his sharp arrow.
And with one shot, his arrow hit the bear, pierced its back with its arrowhead coming out on its chest. 😱
The hunter thought he had a prize.
But as the family came closer to the bear, they realized it was not an animal; it was a fellow ati!
Guinpanâ ang utod nga ati! A brother aeta was shot with an arrow! 😢
His wound was fatal as the arrow pierced his hapless target who now lie bleeding on the brook with the family gathering around him and expressing sorrow with loud cries with their wailing mixing with the calming sounds of the Negros breezes, the rustling of the leaves, and the music of the birds in the air.
Instead of being another bountiful day along the brook and hunting for food, it was a day of tragedy! A fellow ati was killed by a brother's own arrow. 😢
This is how Guinpanâ-an got its name. From panâ, meaning 'arrow'. A place named after a tragedy.
And as the elders have said, if one follows the brook's path, you will still hear the cries of the aetas that day as they mourned the tragic death of one native whose blood was spilled on that brook and had flowed with the waters that gave life to the earliest inhabitants of our land, but has since become one with the legend that is called Guinpanâ-an.
This is how Guinpanâ-an got its name. From panâ, meaning 'arrow'. A place named after a tragedy.
And as the elders have said, if one follows the brook's path, you will still hear the cries of the aetas that day as they mourned the tragic death of one native whose blood was spilled on that brook and had flowed with the waters that gave life to the earliest inhabitants of our land, but has since become one with the legend that is called Guinpanâ-an.
(A member of the native Aeta tribe in Negros island posing with his tools for survival: a bow and arrow. The ati tribes did not use these to hurt other people but only to hunt for food. They were called 'Negritos' by the Spanish colonizers because they were black- skinned and short. 'Negro' is the Spanish word for black.)
Photo credit: The Inhabitants of the Philippines (1900) by Frederic H. Sawyer
Complete history blog: "Ang Kasaysayan sang Victorias"
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