Catalina of Dumaguete
Area: Dumaguete, Negros Occidental Synopsis: Catalina, a mysterious girl who rarely spoke, is captured by violent Moros, but escapes by walking across the sea, and defeating them sometime after with her new powers. Fun Fact: There is a municipality within Negros Oriental called Santa Catalina, which is named after Saint Catherine of Alexandria. It is unknown whether this influenced the name of the character, but it’s a pretty cool coincidence!
Illustration by Bree
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There was once a poor tuba, or palm wine seller named Banog, who was well-known and respected by his neighbors as he made rounds through the village to sell his tuba. Alongside him was his beautiful daughter, Catalina, a strange yet hard working girl.
She was sixteen, and rarely ever spoke a word, always looking so far away, into the sky, or over the sea. Sometimes, she would clap her hands and stand straight, looking up to the sky, as if she saw something that others couldn’t. Because of her strange behavior, however, she was often met with awe and curiosity, and rumored to have mysterious powers.
One day, a band of ships landed on their shores, and out came Moros, people from Mindanao. They were ferocious and raided their village, killing many people as they pillaged and kidnapped many of their women, including Catalina. Banog was killed in the raid, stabbed by a Moro as they burned their houses down, and retreated back to their southern island.
On the boat, Catalina sat quietly among the prisoners, and never even uttered a single word as she stared up at the sky. Like she usually does, she springs up, but just as suddenly, leaps onto the waters. Instead of sinking, however, Catalina miraculously walked on the waters, and headed back towards the shores. The Moros were astounded and confused that they didn’t even try to stop her, and just let her walk free.
Back on land, she walked through the forest, and was met with her fellow villagers who hid among the trees. They were happy to see her, but Catalina paid them no mind as she walked past the burning village, still staring straight up at the sky. She walked along the path to Dalugdug, the Thunder Mountain, that was behind their village in Dumaguete.
Within Dalugdug lived a terrible creature called a Sigbin. Many people have different accounts of what it may have looked like, but according to this text, its body was that of a crow, but it had two long legs that bent like a grasshoppers; this made it so it was able to lead large distances without the need of its wings. It was monstrous and would eat anything that came near its home. Knowing this, the townspeople begged Catalina not to go up there, but she again ignored their cries. As she climbed higher and higher, so high that she was merely a speck, she stopped in her tracks and raised her hands. Just then, a loud, powerful shriek was heard, and the Sigbin rushed down the mountain, screaming in terror. It took a powerful leap up and over the townsfolk and the sea, then disappeared off into a mountain within the neighboring island of Cebu. Afterwards, the people saw no sign of Catalina anymore, and returned to fix their village back into its former beauty.
Several years passed, and the Moros decided to come back once more to take from them again. This time, the Visayans were prepared, and wanted vengeance for their fallen wives, brothers, sisters, and children. They fought enough to drive them away, but the Moros returned with more boats, and soon they were overpowered. As the Visayans fell, and they thought all hope was lost, a rainbow appeared from the sky, and from it walked down Catalina, holding a beehive in her hands.
With a wave of her hand, the bees flew out as she commanded, and with another, they transformed into little men with long, sharp spears who fought valiantly against the Moros as they ran away. As quickly as she came out, Catalina returned back into the mountains, leaving her men with the Visayans. They were fascinated by these men, but they never spoke a word to the Visayans, like Catalina, they simply looked past them, and went on to live as people in Negros. Never again did the Moros come back to Visayas, and the Visayans lived happily and prosperously.
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References:
Miller, J. M. (1904). Philippine Folklore Stories. Retrieved from https://www.sacred-texts.com/asia/pfs/pfs12.htm









