NAMALPALAN

THE LEGEND OF BARANGAY NAMALPALAN

Long ago, there lived in the place still without a name, a couple named Mante and Changga. They were the most industrious among the inhabitants in the place. They were blessed with a a two-year old son who was very naughty. One night after dinner the couple were planning to exit at dawn the following morning bringing with them their breakfast to the field where they were about to plant rice. Mante was not yet through with his plowing and harrowing the fields.

At the early hours of dawn, Mante and Changga rode in a cart loaded with a plow and a horrow including their uncooked breakfast. Changga planned to cook it in their destination. They took with their still sleeping son wrapped with blanket. As they reached the field, Mante brought down his plow and horrow. Changga also brought down her sleeping son under the cart and laid him on piles of sack and prepare their breakfast. It was still dark and Mante was rushing his work inorder to finish it before sunrise. While Changga engrossed cooking she was not aware that her son was already awake. The little boy seeing the back of his father followed him. It was already past dawn. The little boy wanted to play in the muddy field as deep as knee level of water. His father did not know he was at his back because he is already at the middle engrossed to his work. Suddenly the boy stumbled and before he can scream his face was alredy covered with muds until he was drowned. Changga was finished cooking their breakfast and she noticed the absence of her son in the cart. He shout called for her son around but solicited no answer. The sun was about to rise. She called for Mante to inform about their son’s missing. Mante dismounted the harrow from the cow and helped searching. He did not notice the mount of muds at the end of the field. And water was subsided. They were much worried and even asked help from the passersby. One of them noticed the mound and was able to grasp a little hand. It was the little boy’s hand. He’s already dead. His body was covered with stacks, piles of mud carried by the harrow. The couple cried and grieved so much for the loss of their son and after a couple of months in deep sorrow with sleepless nights and no food intake, they gradually died.

When people passed by the house of the couple they remembered them and called their place Mante Changga in memory of them. When they also passed near the place where the boy met a tragic death, they also remember the child. Whenever outsiders asked for the name of the place the people had a ready answer of Nagpalpalan which means it was the place where the unfortunate boy met his tragic death because of palpal or harrow. Later on Mante-Changga was coined as Manchangga which became a sitio of Nagpalpalan, simplified by folks as Namalpalan, the present name of this barangay.