The Legend of Sampaguita in the Philippines.
A long time ago, there were neighboring Baranggays named Balintawak and
Gagalangin. Between the two baranggay, is a very sturdy fence made up of dried
bamboo. Every five years, they destroy it and build a new fence. Sometimes, the
guardsmen from Balintawak watch over the fence, oftentimes the guardsmen from
Gagalangin. Everything is working according to the rules of each datu.
The datu of Barangay
Balintawak has a daughter with incomparable beauty and kindness. Her name is
Rosita. Her mother died when she was young, however, she has four maids to
assist her every need. There are a lot of handsome young men who admires her.
But the only man who captured her heart is the son of Gagalangin’s datu, whose
name is Delfin.
The conflict between their parents did not stopped Delfin and Rosita from
loving each other. At the end of the bamboo fence lies there secret lair. Every
night when the moon is bright, they meet at the end of the fence and stroll
along with Rosita’s maids. Their relationship is hidden from both of their datu
parents.
One day, the datu of
Gagalangin heard that the fence is being destroyed by the servants of datu
Balintawak so that they can build a new one. He asked one of his guards to
watch at the said fence-making. When the guard came back, he told the datu that
the new fence was moved. He was mad because the datu of Balintawak took five
meters of their land. Immediately, he sent a man to the datu of the neighboring
baranggay.
”Tell the datu of
Balintawak to put the fence back where it is supposed to be. They are being
unlawful and stealing one’s land is a crime!” said the datu of Gagalangin.
When the datu of Balintawak heard about it, he became furious and asked the
servant to give a message to their datu. “Tell your datu that I never stole
anything from him. I just placed the bamboo fences at its right place according
to the documents that I discovered, written by my ancestors.”
Delfin’s father was
very much displeased with the other datu’s response. This kind of conflicts
usually results bloodshed among the two baranggays.
The datu of Gagalangin prepared his unit for the upcoming battle.
He needs to get their baranggay’s stolen land even by violent means.When the
news reached the datu of Balintawak, he eagerly prepared his battle unit as
well. The two leaders are now ready for a never-ending war.
A few days before
Gagalangins planned to attack the Balintawak, the datu got sick. He became
seriously ill that lead him to his death. The responsibility was then handed to
Delfin. He will be the one to lead the battle troops of baranggay Gagalangin.
The female servants told Rosita what was about to happen and she started to
become frightened. Delfin is so young and does not have any experience when it
comes to war. His father, on the other hand, had been trained to fight since he
was still a child. She worried too much. She wanted to talk to Delfin and ask
him to forfeit the war and simply talk to his father and settle the conflict peacefully.
However, they do not have time to converse anymore. Tomorrow is the start of an
endless battle between the two baranggays.
Both parties lost so
many lives. Delfin was badly hurt and shed a lot of blood. He started to be
blurry. He was half conscious when he fell to the ground. Before his last
breath, he told one of his comrades to bury him near the end of the fence where
he and Rosita used to secretly see each other.
Nobody can ever tell what really happened to the young lovers or the result of
the war. All they knew is that Rosita became seriously ill when she knew that
Delfin died in the battle. Her father called for so many doctors to make her
feel well but neither one of them can treat Rosita. When she was about to die,
Rosita told her father to bury her near Delfin, at the end of the bamboo fence.
Though it is hard for the datu to do, she still obeyed her daughter’s last
wish.
Many years had passed and the existence of baranggays gradually disappeared.
Spaniards came and the city of Manila
was established. Balintawak and Gagalangin became populated. But all the people
living in these two places were having a mysterious experience. During the
month of May, especially when the moon is bright, they hear a mystical sweet
voice of a lady saying “Sumpa kita! ... Sumpa kita!” (I swear, I swear) but
nobody can see from whom it is coming from. It seems as if it comes from the
bushes where little white flowers grow. Although the flowers are so tiny, it
bursts out a different kind of scent that everybody loves to smell. That’s what
usually happens every month of May, each year.
Because everyone was so curious about the voice, they all decided to dig up the
spot and uncover the mystery behind it. To their surprise, they found the roots
of the bushes where the lovely flower grows, comes from the mouth of the two
bodies buried not so far from each other. The elders remembered the memoir of
the two lovers – Delfin and Rosita.
The story spread fast. The words “Sumpa kita” evolved as “Sampaguita” that
signifies an everlasting love of Delfin and Rosita.
