• Legend Originates in Southern Cebu

• Lives in Mt. Lantoy, the highest mountain in Argao, Cebu with her husband Mangao

• One of the three Mountain Goddesses of the Philippines (With Makiling and Sinukuan)

• Owns a huge cacao plantation, a huge golden boat

Main Story

• Travels downriver with her husband on their boat to visit the townspeople or sell cacao

• Usually results in river flooding and a bridge being destroyed

• Said river and bridge are believed to be the Mananga River and Mananga Bridge today

• Sometimes, the two sell cacao internationally

• They bring back golden bowls, plates, utensils, etc., which the townspeople borrow

• If they want to borrow, they only have to whisper into the mouth of her cave

• Their desired items will appear on their doorstep the next day

Disappearance

• People returned their borrowed items ruined or just didn’t return them at all

• This caused her to become angry and withdraw from society

Darker Variant

• Some tellings of her legend says that she picks up flood victims in her boat, only to whisk their souls away to the underworld (sightings increase with typhoons)

Connection to the Pre-Colonial Deities

• Her stories were based on Magwayen / Maguayan / Magwayan

• Magwayen is the primordial goddess of the water / seas → Pre-colonial Visayan deity

• The name “Maria” was from the Spaniards and “Cacao” was introduced in the 1600s

Modern Readings