Legend of Maria Cacao

According to Britannica.com, a legend is “traditional story or group of stories told about a particular person or place.” Legends are essentially folktales associated with mythical creatures, supernatural beings or explanations for natural phenomena.  They are also linked to a specific person or locality and are passed on through generations.

Cebu has its own share of legends that were passed from generation to generation. One such legend is the legend of Maria Cacao. The legend of Maria Cacao is associated with the tablea. Tablea is a Spanish word that means tablet. It is made out of cacao beans that are roasted, ground and formed into tablets.

Tablea or Tableya From Argao – image source: argaoguilangtableya.weebly.com

In the legend, Maria Cacao is a diwata or a mountain goddess who lived in a cave on Mount Lantoy in Argao. She owns a cacao plantation where villagers from Argao source their cacao from.  Each time Maria harvests the cacao, she and her husband, Mangao, would bring their produce to other islands and countries on a large golden boat. They would usually leave at dawn when the villagers were still sleeping. 

Each time they pass through the Argao River, they would destroy the bridge on the river and cause it to overflow. Whenever this happened, the villagers would know that the two have already set sail with a boatload of cacao. When they came back, they would bring with them items from other places.

Mount Lantoy – image source: allaboutargao.wikispaces.com

Maria would lend these items to the villagers, who would simply write whatever item they want to borrow and leave the list at the entrance of the cave. When the villagers return the next day, these items would be there. Maria lent different items, from clothes, spoons, forks, plates and other utensils, all of which were made of gold. 

But, people started to return the items already broken or they would never return them at all. Due to this, Maria Cacao did not let the villagers borrow from her anymore. She also did not show herself to the villagers anymore, and the people stopped believing in the existence of Maria Cacao. 

Tablea – image source: istorya.net

The legend of Maria Cacao may be a folktale, but the tablea of Argao is not. Some consider it to be among the best in the country.   The town of Argao continues to produce it ever since it was first introduced during the Spanish era.