Salapungan da ring Memalen ning Matuang Culiat

ORIGIN OF PLACENAMES IN ANGELES
Pampang, Balibago, Anunas, Pulungbulu, Malabanias, Talimunduk
and other ancient placenames that hint at the town’s pre-Culiat existence
By Joel Pabustan Mallari and Roel Manaloto

Agapito Del Rosario, a present baranggay named after Agapito Jose Del Rosario y Abad Santos.. San Fernando-born Del Rosario (he was the son of Isabelo del Rosario, the Kapampangan martyr who played his violin moments before the Americans executed him) was the famous Socialist mayor of Angeles (1940-1942) and one of the founders of the Upsilon Sigma Phi, the oldest Greek-letter fraternity in Asia. Together with his uncle Pedro Abad Santos, leader of the biggest peasant organization in Central Luzon, and other peasant leaders, Del Rosario rallied the peasants to become a potent force in Philippine politics. They fielded candidates representing the peasantry in the 1940 local elections, including those in the key towns of Angeles and San Fernando. Shortly after Japan invaded the Philippines in December, 1941, Mayor Del Rosario was put on the list of officials to be arrested immediately. After securing the safety of his family, he met with other anti-Japanese leaders in Manila, where he was eventually caught and imprisoned at Fort Bonifacio. When he refused to swear allegiance to the Japanese flag, he was executed, just like his father before him. He was only 41 years old.
Amsíc a barrio named after an erect, branched, glabrous or nearly glabrous herb, 1m high or less; also spelled amsík, amisík or amsí (Solanum nigrum L.). It is known in English as the many varieties of nightshade, hierba mora in Spanish and kunti in Tagalog. This herb belongs to the same family of balasenas (eggplants) which differed (slightly) from what Mariano Henson noted as a kind of timber-tree. This area once belonged to sitios Anunas and old Pampang. The old location was on the merging point of the Pasig (Potrero downstream) River and the upstream of Abacan River. It was one of Culiat’s three new additional barrios in 1829 with San Nicolas of the Poblacion and San Jose.

Anunas is a baranggay that took its name from the native fruit-bearing custard apple (Anona reticulata Linn.). It is a native of tropical America and introduced only in the Philippines sometime ago. This tree belongs to the family of Anona said to be derived from the Malay name menona (minuna in Kapampangan?) having 3 varieties in the Philippines to which atis and bena-bana (guyabano) belong. The village used to be known as Pulung Anunas and was one of the 4 new barrios of Culiat in 1812, together with Sto. Rosario, Cutcut and Pampang.

Balibágo is one of the busiest entertainment districts in Central Luzon. Its name came from the much-branched tree of 4 to 12 m height, Hibiscus tiliaceus Linn. During the early days it was valued in making ropes for its flexible bark. This is actually common in the tropics and throughout the Philippines, especially in places near the sea. This plant that belongs to the hibiscus family includes the favorite variegated species common in gardens which also includes varieties of gumamela and malutú (or malibago). Thus the placename balibago should not be mistaken as having been derived from the synthesis of the two words bale + bago (“new house”). In fact bago is not a Kapampangan term for new; otherwise it should have been called as balebaiu. In Cuta, an old sitio of barrio Anilao in the town of Bongabong, Oriental Mindoro, the light but sturdy balibago tree has been a favorite timber source in the construction of old-fashioned bangka since the early days. An old village in Marinduque, as well as a sitio in Magalang, has also been named after this tree.

Balíti is the name of an old village now under the political boundary of Sapang Bato, as well as of a barrio in San Fernando. It belongs to the many “strangling” figs, of Ficus family, 800 or more species in all tropical countries, a few in warm temperate regions, and about 100 in the Philippines, most of which can be found in Pampanga alone. Fr. Pedro Chirino, S.J. (1604), described how early Chinese immigrants were growing balíti trees onto corals. These early immigrants would insert the roots into the coral’s crevices and place them onto water basins until the roots clasped the host corals. This practice led to what is popularly known today as bonsai, a common sight along the stretch of the Mc Arthur Hi-way in Mabalacat and Bamban.
Bángcal was an old sitio now reduced into a mere street of Balibago, very near the Abacan River. Its name came from the mangrove tree plant known locally as bangkal (Leichhardt tree, Nauclea orientalis of Rubiaceae family) which originates possibly from Indo-China and Malesia; occasional in thickets and widely distributed in the Philippines, India, Southeast Asia and Australia. An old barrio of Guagua is also named after this tree.

Benigno Aquino one of the newly renamed barrios of the city in honor to the late Kapampangan martyr Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. Most parts of the baranggay comprise the area of the old Marisol Subdivision.

Capáya obviously from kapáia tree, Carica papaya Linn. It is in common cultivation throughout the Philippines and frequently spontaneous, all the year. This perdigones tree was introduced from Mexico by the Spaniards at an early date and now found in all tropical countries.
Claro M. Recto a barrio next to Salapungan going to the north along the old railroad; named after the famous legislator and patriot.

Cuayán is adjacent to baranggay Anunas in the west end. It was once a sitio of Anunas. Its name is a generic term for almost all types of bamboos and some grass species like kuaian tutu (Bambus- blumeana, J.A. & J.H. Schult Bambusa Schreber). This widely known grass family is known for its various economic values such as lande (of bamboo splits) and sauali-making. The residents divide their barrio into: (a) babá, the center of social activities where the visita is located and (b) bábo or sepung cuaian, the outermost and least peopled area of the barrio. This ordinary bamboo name is a common placename throughout Central Luzon.

Culiat, the old name of Angeles town; derived from at least two possible plant names. One is from the plant kuliát, Gnetum indicum Lour. Merr. a woody vine that abound in the place or a shrub of the the same Gnetum family. While the other one is a Diospyros specie, of the black wood family. This family of trees includes the famous Philipine ebony wood, and talang (Diospyros discolor Willd. [D. philippensis Desr.]). Types of talang includes the known kamagong and/or mabolo in many Philippine languages. Culiat Street is said to be the area where the old San Fernando barrio of Culiat was located, near the chapel of Apu Mamacalulu. An old barrio of Tandang Sora in Quezon City is also named Culiat (or Coliat).

Cutcut is the barrio on the boundary with Porac town. It means “to sink the feet,” a reference to the abundance of fine sand in the area. Meanwhile, Angeles historian and visual artist Daniel Dizon points to the present public cemetery located in Cutcut as kutkutan or Camposantung Matua. Incidentally the private Holy Mary Memorial Park, also located in Cutcut, is just a stone’s throw away from the old cemetery. Cutcut is where the town’s first primary school, first muscovado sugarmill and alacan or alambique (alcohol distillery) were built by the founders of Culiat. There are barrios in Capas, Tarlac that have also been named cutcut.

Cutud is the southeastern barrio on the boundary with Mexico town. Cutud is the Kapampangan word for the verb “to cut” or the noun “a cut piece.” Thus the place could have been a cleared forest or, as historian Mariano Henson pointed out, an area where the road has been cut.
Lourdes Northwest, Lourdes Sur and Loudes Sur-East apparently named after their common patron saint Nuestra Señora de Lourdes with respect to their respective geographical locations.
Lúyus (or Lúius) is another old village near the old location of Pandan. Its name comes from the native palm “bunga” Areca catechu Linn.. It is certainly of prehistoric introduction, most probably from India through Malaya. This is the palm that produces betel nuts, much used by “Kapampangang mámama” or Kapampangans (as well as other natives in the Austronesian world) who chew betel as a mild stimulant.

Malabáñas (or Malabánias), formerly part of Mabalacat town, has at least two possible name provenances. One is from the prefix mala- (a word base for “resembling”) and bañás, a kind of timber-tree (Dacrycarpus cumingii [Parl.] de Laubenf.) as Henson noted. But the root word was recorded to have come from the Mangyans of Mindoro. In fact it is not entered in any Kapampangan, Tagalog (including Mindoro’s Southern Tagalog), Ilocano, Pangasinense vocabularies. Another possible etymology is the word bañás or banias (water lizard specie, Hydrosaurus pustulosus). According to Fray Diego Bergaño’s 1860 dictionary, bañás is an old Kapampangan term for a barag (monitor lizard, Varanus salvator), which is also a close relative of dapu (of crocodile family). Since Malabanias is situated near the Abacan River, passing boats probably looked to people on the riverbanks as having the appearance of floating bañás, (Old Kapampangan folks still say “Balamu galakgak ka!” to a person who is skinny and gawky enough to look like an iguana.

Malupá is another village now part of Porac town, located near Manuali (Porac) and Cuayan (Angeles City). Its name was derived from the prefix ma – (“abundant”) and the root word lupa, an herb with stinging hairs, Fleurya interrupta, Linn. In Fiji island, this plant occurs in areas “from near sea level to about 525 m as a weed in villages, roadsides, waste places, pastures, and cultivated areas, sometimes being found along forest trails or on hillsides.” In Hawai’i, it is known as an uncommon garden weed. Its native area is questionable; probably southeastern Asia as it was almost certainly an inadvertent aboriginal introduction throughout the Pacific portion of its range. Northern Tagalog speakers knew this herb as lipa, and among Southerners, as nipai.. The stinging hair of this plant is related to the famous poison ivy and bule (bean family); and capable of inflicting severe skin allergies and serious irritation for days.

Mánga is another barrio next to Pulungbulo going to Mexico town. It was named after the mangga tree (Mangifera indica L.) of Anacardiaceae (balubad family). This tree originated in South and Southeast Asia. Wild mango trees are known to have come only from North-East India and Burma, and so it appears plausible that the species evolved from there. The name mango, almost identical in countless languages, is derived from Tamil, the most important language of Southern India, and was transferred to the West by the Portuguese. The general term for “mango” in Tamil is mamaran, but the fruit is usually referred to either as manpalam (also transcribed mambazham which means “ripe mango fruit,” or mangai which means “unripe mango fruit”. It appears that the latter term was picked up by Portuguese sailors; since sea trade required unripe fruits at that time. The North Indian names for mango derive from Sanskrit amra, itself probably a Dravidian loan and thus related to the Tamil words and even to English mango. The genus name Mangifera (“bringer of mango”) contains Latin ferre “carry, bring”, cf. Lucifer “bringer of light” or Christopher “he who carries Christ”. Thus the word mangga was definitely influenced by early conquistadores in Philippines. The closest indigenous term for this family of mangoes is a specie known as “Pahu” or “Pau” (Mangifera altissima Blanco) in Kapampangan, ‘Paho’ among the Tagalogs, ‘Pahutan’ among the Visayans, and ‘Pangamangaen’ among the Ilocanos.

Márgot comprises most parts of the old Tacondo area going to Sapang Bato. It is said that the name came from a certain lady named Margot, Margaret, Marga etc, or most probably from an old “borrowed” Kapampangan term marga’ha. This term was one of the peculiar entries in the Kapampangan-English Dictionary by Michael Forman which means as “volcanic ash” or “lava [rare]”. Its proximity to the slope of Mt. Pinatubo and its location across several headwaters of the Abacan River might provide clues to the prehistoric eruption of the said active volcano.
Mining is another barrio of Angeles City. The origin of its toponym is unknown even during the time of historian Mariano Henson.

Palengking Hapon is the old train station near the railroad crossing of Sta. Teresita now part of Baranggay Agapito Del Rosario. It was starting in 1942 when the Japanese controlled all networks of transportation which included this old railroad in Angeles.

Palusapis derived its name from a timber-tree, Anisoptera thurifera Bl. a good source of sturdy timber used in making furnitures, house posts and early types of boats. It is now part of Porac, next to Sapang Ebus and Manuali (both remote barrios of Porac).

Pampang is actually divided into the new and the old Pampang. Matuang Pampang used to be the entire old Pampang village which got its name from its location along the brink of cliffs which line the Abacan River (later relocated to its present site where the Pampang Public Market now stands). This word was generally applied to all riverbank communities in all parts of the Kapampangan Region.

Pandan derived its name from specie of Pandan tree, Pandanus luzonensis Merr. Its present location is along the Angeles-Magalang road. The placenames of Pandan and Pampang have a good trace of Indonesian connection. As quoted from Fr. Edilberto Santos’ notes:
“a geographical and statistical dictionary of the Dutch Indies, published in Amsterdam as late as 1896, contains names of places in these Indonesian islands which right away bring to mind those found in the abovementioned Philippine province. According to it, there are (in Java) two villages, one river, and one bay bearing the name Pampang: and (in Sumatra) three villages and one river bearing the name Pampangan.14 There are (in Java) seven villages, a mountain and an island, a cape and an inlet bearing the name Pandan.”

Pasbulbulu, now a barrio of Porac. Derived its name from “Pasbul” for “gate” or “door” and “bulu”, the sauali bamboo Schizostachyum lumampao (Blanco) Merr.

Patirik-tírik is currently a part of Barrio Sto. Cristo. Its name’s provenance may mean many things to lexicographers. Tírik could be taken as setting up something straight or erect (as candles, post, building), like the most recognized origin of the placename, the Spanish-Period cemetery; or in Old Kapampangan, it refers to fish corral, or a pool of water where an enclosure was installed for confining or capturing fishes. This last theory is credible since the place is the most depressed area in the city. Lastly, a far-out opinion on the place’s etymology is that the area was once a lair for prostitutes, before they moved to “Area,” the now notorious red district between Sta. Teresita and Pampang.

Pulúngbulu located on the northeastern section of Sapang Balen Creek. Its name came from the compounded words pulúng (“forest of”) and bulu (Schizostachyum lumampao [Blanco] Merr.).
Pulúng Cacutud is the last barrio going to Magalang town. Its name also came from the compounded words Pulúng (“forest of”) and cacutud (“slice” or “cut of trees”). It is known by old folks in the area as Pulung Kaputut (“a piece of forest” or “a tiny forest”). A barrio in Mabalacat is named Cacutud probably of the same origin as Pulung Cacutud.

Pulúng Maragul is the place where the new City Hall is located. It is literally translated as “big forest,” probably to differentiate it from Pulung Maragul a.k.a. Pulung Kaputut (“small forest”), which is also in the same vicinity. It seems that the places with pulu (literally, an island) as part of their toponym were once forested with either ilib (cogon grass, Imperata cylindrica [L.] P.Beauv.), kuaian tutu (Bambus- blumeana, J.A. & J.H. Schult Bambusa Schreber) and other indigenous trees, thus forming island-like sanctuary in the middle of sandy lands.

Salapúngan is taken rom the root word salapang, this means “a splitter”. Fray Diego Bergaño likened the idea to the split tongue of a barag. Presently, the place well represents its meaning; it is a place of intersection going to at least two road ways, one to the city proper (Sto. Entierro St.) and the other going any of the roads northwestwards (like the Magnolia St.) . It best represents rotonda of the modern traffic scheme.

Sampaloc is a sitio found on the frontage of barrio Cuayan after Pampang. It was named after the tamarind tree Tamarindus indica Linn. of the Caesalpiniaceae (a tropic family closely related to the bean family like bule and kamangiang). This tree originated in Eastern Africa, but is now growing all over the tropics. Its etymology came from the Arabic tamr hindi which simply means “date of India” (“date” being a general name for the fruits of various palm trees); needless to say, tamarind neither stems from India nor is it related to palm trees. In spite of this deficiency, loan translations of this name have made their way into English, German (Indische Dattel) and Russian (Indiyskiy finik. It is no wonder that contemporary Kapampangans include taramindu or tamarindu to their collection of glossaries which pertains to the dried ripe fruits of this tree.
San Jose was one of the early barrio of the then Culiat town, named by the people after their patron saint San Jose Labrador or Apung Jose Talapagobra.

San Nicolás formerly known (partly) as Talimundoc for “rocky, dry upland or hilly area.” Part of the barrio intersects with Lourdes Sur East. It was named after their patron saint San Nicolas Tolentino.

Santo Domingo formerly known as Tibág (either “steep gorge” or “crumbled earth, rocks etc” or “landslided area on the mountain side or riverside,” or colloquially, “demolition.”) At present a sitio named tibag is located in the boundary of San Jose and Sto. Domingo near the Sapang Balen Creek, also running parallel along the old railroad. It is a popular squatting area for newcomers in the city.

Santa Teresita known before as part of the malángo village. Large droves of lango (housefly Musca domestica) infested the area due to garbage dumps in the palengking laun (old marketplace of San Nicolas) and old Pampang.

Santo Cristo obviously named after their patron saint Santo Cristo del Perdon, the image of the Crucified Christ.

Santol came from the popular fruit tree, Sandoricum koetjape (Burm.f.) Merr. This fruit and sampalok, when unripe, are used as panaslam for the daily sigang (sour soup) of Kapampangans. This old village is now part of Barrio Anunas. The santol tree is believed native to former Indochina (especially Cambodia and southern Laos) and Malaya, and to have been long ago introduced into India, the Andaman Islands, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Moluccas, Mauritius, and the Philippines where it has become naturalized. The southern town of Masantol, formerly a barrio of Macabebe, was also named after the tree.

Santo Rosario, the poblacion or town proper of old Culiat, apparently deriving its name from its patron saint Nuestra Señora De Santissimo Rosario de la Naval. The same thing is true with one of the oldest streets of the city, the Santo Rosario Street.

Sapalibutad from sápa (“creek”) and libutad (“middle”). This placename does not say if the river is between two villages or between two land formations. It is a barrio south of Pulung Cacutud touching the boundary of Mexico in the east.

Sapangbato is the westernmost village of the city. Its name came from Sápang (“creek of” or “river of”) and bato (“stone”). Apparently, huge boulders of volcanic origin littered (and still litter) this hillside-riverside barrio. The site may have contained a quarry of calcareous rocks (such as adobe and planas), dacite and pumiceous rocks used in the early times in the construction of pisamban (Catholic churches such as the Holy Rosary Parish Church), bale batu (colonial houses like the Bale Herencia), large kamalig (rice granaries) etc. This old barrio comprises some of the upland sitios like Sitio Babo populated mostly by the Baluga (Kapampangan speaking Aita) and Sitio Baliti. Sapangbato is one of the old sites of the frequently moving Fort Stotsenberg, which was integrated later into Clark Air Base.

Suklaban is an old sitio of Mining. Its name means “to bend down” since travelers on their way to Mexico town had to bend their way through a thick forest of bamboos.

Tabun a baranggay on the northeast end of the city, beside Capaya; its name means “irrigation dam” which is explained by its proximity to the Abacan River. Many other places in Pampanga are named after the tabun.

Talimunduc, now called Lourdes Sur-East; according to Mariano Henson, it means “hilly landscape.” It seems that the talimundok area wasn’t confined to the present barrio but extended up to San Nicolas which was also once called Talimundok (as Henson also noted), and all the way to the northwestern side of the city beside the Abacan River (Matuang Pampang). Thus, Talimundok may have had the general meaning of being elevated.

Tacóndo, an old village, once a part of Margot and Sapang Bato. Mariano Henson notes that the word came from a corruption of the Negrito phrase tacur dú (“long hill”). The place had long been inhabited by the Islands aborigines.

Taratpipit is a purok of Sto. Domingo named after the high-pitched common fantail warbler (Cisticola juncidis). This bird is extremely widespread (except North and South America and Antarctica). Outside the breeding season these birds are very difficult to spot. The high scratchy notes of their call coincide with the low points in their courtship flight.

Tibágin is a sitio of Sta. Trinidad near the barrio of San Nicolas; tibagin refers to an easily eroded area, which makes sense since the location is very near the Sapang Balen Creek.

Virgen delos Remedios, one of the newly created barrio located between the barrios of Sta. Teresita, Ninoy Aquino and Claro M. Recto; named after Virgen Delos Remedios (Indu ning Kapaldanan), which is also the patroness of the whole Pampanga Province.

Some of the famous old streets of Angeles City indicate the prevailing influence during the time they were named, e.g., Rizal Street named after the national hero, Burgos Street after Fr. Jose Apolonio Burgos of Gomburza, Jake Gonzales Boulevard in honor of “Jake” Gonzales who was killed in an aircraft accident while on a Jaycees mission. Prominent mayors (and Presidentes Municipales or Alcaldes) and pioneering families and other personalities who made an impact on the city’s history have streets named after them, such as Lazatin St., Dr. Clemente N. Dayrit St. (Clemendez), Nepomuceno St., Henson St. Miranda St. Navarro St., E.Mallari St., F. Jacinto St., T. Bugallon St., P. Deang St. Justino Surla Street. Quite notable are streets named after prehistoric personages such as Lacandula Street after the famous ruler of Tondo during the time of Spanish contact in Manila,; Panday Pira Street after the famous metalsmith worker of Apalit, Pampanga; streets of barrio Sta Teresita like Prince Balagtas, Noble Araw, Lady Maylag, Malangsik, Anca Widjaya, Madjapahit etc. are all derived from the genealogical tree of the so-called Kapampangan Empire, established and consolidated from A.D. 1335 to A.D. 1400.
Abácan River (Sapang Abakan) derived its name from the word abákan meaning “lunch time”. This is one of the major rivers emanating from the foothills of Mt. Pinatubo. Its name might have been associated with early river people or boatmen who took their lunch meals along this river. The length of the river snakes down to the towns of Magalang and Mexico before merging to the rest of the rivers collectively known as Guagua-Pasak River and empties far down south in the Pampanga Bay. But the big question is, who named this famous river? Were they the early people of Culiat, or the people somewhere in Magalang or Mexico towns? The term for a river is sapa, regardless its size or length. Sapang Balen was so named for its role and location in the pioneering days of the balen (poblacion); it straddles at least two old streets of Culiat (Sto. Rosario and Miranda). The Arrayo River might have derived its name from the word márayo or máraio meaning “far” or “remote”. Its location is on the upstream section of the Abacan River. Pasig River (or Pasig-malangi River) is located on the northwest section of the city after barrio Cuayan. Pasig is another term for a riverbank in Kapampangan while malangi meant as “dry”. It was called as Pasig-malangi for the river is always seen nearly empty of flowing water; it contains deposits of Angeles Fine Sand, while Sapang Bayo River is located part of Pasig-malangi River. Its name came from the word “baiu” for “new”. This might explain the river’s new course at the time it was discovered by the people who knew the old topography, the team from the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA) who recorded it in 1951.