North of the city of Manila lies Maypajo, a small barrio under the jurisdiction of the municipality (now city) of Caloocan. It was notorious in the past for its tulisanes who waylaid travelers between Manila and points north, and historically it was famous as the scene of many skirmishes between the Filipino insurgents and the Spaniards in the Revolt of 1896. Connected with the name of this village - Maypajo - is a tragic tale of a mother and daughter, which, as told by an old man of the place, Lolo Martin, runs as follows: Many years ago, a beautiful woman, barely in her thirties, came to live in the town, and with her was a young maiden, also beautiful, her daughter. No one knew who they were or where they came from. To the simple barrio folk it was enough to know that the womans name was Aling Sela and the girls Gayang. One morning Aling Sela asked Gayang to get a jar of drinking water from the well, the only well in the vicinity, located near a big pajo* tree. This tree had for some time been regarded by the people of the neighborhood with superstitious awe. It was said that during the nights of the full moon, the sounds of merrymaking could be heard coming from the tree. The words of popular ballads, accompanied by the twanging of the kutibeng (a small guitar), mingled with gay laughter often floated through the placid evening air. The barrio folk did not dare to investigate lest evil befall them, and only paused to listen in awe - struch fascination.
Posted on: Tue, 17 Jun 2014 04:57:29 +0000
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