The
Town of Boljoon: It's Beginning. . .
Legend has it that a group of Spanish Augustinian
missionaries led by a certain Fray Bartolome de Garcia,
OSA, explored the southeastern tip of Cebu in order
to put up outpost for evangelization in the South.
They were met by natives who claimed to have settled
in the area for many years. The expedition found them
willingly to convert to the faith and having found
the settlement to be in abundant supply of fresh water,
they decided to set up the first Christian settlement
in the area and baptized the natives led by a certain
Datu Baladian.
It is also believed that Boljoon began as a pre-Hispanic
settlement of Malay migrants who have found a route
from Panay into the area. Based on the archives of
the Augustinian Province of the Philippines, Boljoon
was once a barrio of the town of Carcar. It was made
independent in both its civil and ecclesiastical administration
during the October 31, 196 Congress of the congregation.
Apparently, the town was first constituted as a parish
before it was made into a municipality.
Historical records reveal at least five renditions
of the name of the town. It is referred as Bolhon,
Bolhong, Bolhoon, Bolhoong, and the current name and
spelling of "Boljoon". A sixth one is that
of Bolojon which was attributed to an error in copying.
The area was apparently on the mission areas in Cebu
when the first parish was founded in Bantayan in 1580
and possibly was erected as a parish only in 1692,
based on existing records. It is not, however, a remote
possibility that a church may indeed have been built
before the close of the 15th century.
Four years after the creation of the suffragan diocese
of Cebu in 1595, Fray Gaspar de San Agustin, OSA,
in his Conquistas de las Islas Filipinas listed Boljoon
as one of the many parishes under the jurisdiction
of the Augustinians in the Province of Cebu in the
year 1599. The area was already known for the cultivation
of cotton from which native produced very good textiles.
This may imply that cotton weaving and cultivation
have already existed long before Fray Bermejo arrived
in the town. Bermejo himself was said to have taught
the local women cotton weaving and if Fray Gaspar's
writings are to be considered, then Bermejo already
found existing cotton cultivation and weaving industry
in Boljoon.
Boljoon is 103 kilometers from Cebu City to the southeastern
part of Cebu Province. It is bounded in the north
by the town of Alcoy, on the east by the sea, on the
south by Nueva Caceres (Oslob) and on the west by
high mountains. It is famous for its crooked roads
because of its elevated hill, which the town's people
call "ILI". A small river irrigates its
lands. The name of the town is derived for the local
word "Bolho" which means springs of water.
The town is centuries old. Progress and modernity
has altered the landscape although much of its natural
features remain. The once verdant hills are now laid
bald with the inroads of human civilization. Traces
of its early-recorded history can be of the cemetery
can still be seen. A few old houses built according
to the design of the colonial period can still be
found along side modern houses.
Outside its boundary, Boljoon is known more a pilgrimage
town in southern Cebu anything else, during the colonial
period. According to oral tradition, pilgrims from
as far as the town of Dalaguete visit the Virgin of
Bolhoon during her annual feast to attend mass in
the town's Catholic Church. The image of the Virgin,
the center of devotion, is enshrined in the high altar
of the church. It is several centuries old and is
said to posses miraculous powers.
