LAKE AND ITS LEGENDARY BELL

So the legend goes that In the early times, during the period when Mindanao Natives or Moros, during the Spanish-Moro Wars, marauded the coastal settlements of the country, Bulan town was said to have possessed a very huge bell, cast in gold, that when pealed, resonated all over the town. Because of its size, there was need for several men to carry it. The bell was also used to warn the populace of imminent Moro raids. There was no definite explanation as to what village this bell was located, but if historical dates were to be reckoned, the most progressive settlements in Bulan during that time were Otavi, Botag, Gate and a place called Bililan. The most probable place with a church then would have been Gate, because Gate then was the Poblacion, or a town center. Moros raided the town of Bulan several times, but the bloodiest attack took place in 1746, when Gate, the town center, was razed to the ground, many were killed and captives taken. Otavi was also pillaged and burned. All the surviving inhabitants of all the Bulan settlements escaped to the interior of Bulan.  For the next five decades, Bulan was a ghost place, until it was re-established in 1801 along the Maribok River (in what is now Pawa, Lahong).

The bell of Linaw has been a very popular story here in Bulan. It was told that when the Moros raided Bulan, they also intended to take the bell as a prize. But the people saved the bell and carried it along their escape route, and upon reaching Lake Linaw dropped it where they thought was a perfect hiding place for the bell. The bell was never salvaged after that.

A legend was built around Linaw. It became an enchanted, if not haunted, territory, “engkantado na lugar”. For a very long time now, and nobody knew when it started, fascinating stories of apparitions of ghosts and multo, of santelmos and “white lady” circulated among the people living near or around Lake Linaw. There were those who reported of hearing some amazing sounds emanating from the depths of Linaw.  A select group of people, children between the ages of one to six, and the elderly, were said to have apparitions of very bright ghost Spanish ships traveling along the Togbongon River from San Ramon to Fabrica, foreboding calamities, especially strong typhoons. These stories were all connected to Linaw. 

Then there was the story of a man, who lived with his family near Linaw, who gained prominence as a “Paratambal” (healer of snake bites). The story goes that this man one day saw a two-headed serpent fighting each other until one of the head fatally bit the other. After a few minutes, the mother of the two-headed snake came and then went away to a particular area where she picked up a kind of plant/ herb that she used for reviving the other head.

The man secretly observed all this and when the snakes went away he also gathered the plants and brought it home. After that he became famous for curing snake bites. However, the man and his family were forced to leave their home because every evening they heard the hissing sounds of snakes near their house, as if an omen. His wife died while they were still in Linaw. They finally settled in the barrio site of San Juan Bag-o. When the man died, he allegedly left this gift to her daughter who until now continued on with his father’s healing prowess. 

Lake Linaw is not actually a lake but a wide swathe of marshland straddling the barangays of Lahong, Beguin, San Juan Daan, Abad Santos and San Juan Bag-o. It can be viewed completely atop Mount Matarais. Much of the territory is within San Juan Bag-o. Before much of it was converted to rice lands, Linaw was a natural habitat for crocodiles, the etok (catfish), the haruan (milkfish) and different species of birds. Bird hunters used to frequent the marsh. The Putat tree, as well as the cogon grass, was very abundant in the whole marshland. During rainy season, this natural depression fills with water, and wildlife abounded. In summer, young people roamed the place to look for firewood, or as a playing field. 

The story of Linaw and its legendary bell caught the attention, a few years back, of some foreigners, who prospected for that object but they found nothing. Many locals also attempted to look for that bell.

As time goes, and people develop areas where to live and make a living, Linaw may soon be a thing of the past. Certainly, if there were ghosts and white ladies in Linaw, they too will realize that they have to give way to the real world of urban expansion