How Tetepan Got Its Name
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Long, long ago there lived in the midst of a thick forest in Mabika a poor man named Tetep-an. He was all alone so he depended upon the wild edible fruits and roots for food. He kept himself warm by burning fuel from morn till night.
One day while he was lying down, he heard a voice from above saying, “You cannot be happy by living here all alone. I’m giving you a pig to take care of. It will be of help to you when it grows big.”
After that everything was silent. Tetep-an sat up slowly. He could not see anybody so he stood up. He felt that his head seemed to have grown bigger and all his hair stood up. He sat down and closed his eyes for a while. When he opened his eyes again, he saw a fat little pig in front of him. He patted the pig and the pig liked it. He gave it wild edible fruits and it enjoyed eating them.
The poor man took good care of the pig until it grew big. When wild fruits grew scarce in Mabika, he left and went to Baang.
In Baang the poor man improved his way of living. He became very industrious and he owned the widest kaingin of camote in that place.
One day at noon, while Tetep-an was in the dap-ay, his pig ran away. The next morning when Tetep-an went to feed his pig, he was amazed to find that his pig was not in its pen. Oh, how he cried and how the people pitied him! At that moment, men, women, and children scattered themselves to look for the pig but they could find no sign of the pig.
Days, weeks, and months passed and Tetep-an kept weeping in his house. Then he heard a voice again, saying, “Weeping will not save you. Be happy. Start now and go look for your pig. Follow the footprints.”
It was the same voice that he heard in Mabika. At once the man got up. He felt strong. When he went outside, he saw the footprints of the pig. He did as he was told and he really found his pig with seven piglets on top of a big stone far away from Baang.
Since it was hard to take the piglets back to Baang, he decided to stay on that spot to take care of them. At first, he took shelter in a cave, but later he built a house for himself. This industrious man made many kaingin so that he and his pigs had ample food.
When the people of Baang saw that Tetep-an was progressing in that spot, they too moved to Tetep-an’s place. Tetep-an gave them pigs to take care of and food to eat.
As years went on Tetep-an proved to be the wisest, richest, and most powerful man in the village. He ruled over the people for many years until he died. After his death, the people agreed to name their small village Tetep-an in honor of their first ruler.
As generations changed, the name Tetep-an was pronounced Tetepan by the first person who took census of the barrio.
Reference
Anonymous. “How Tetep-an Got Its Name.” In Folk Tales of Mountain Province: Retold for Children-Grade V. 1st ed. Baguio City: n.p., 1960, 21-23.
Notes
This folk tale was produced by Area - - A during a Division Curriculum Workshop held in Baguio City, Philippines on February 9-17, 1960. The workshop’s theme was “Enriching the Curriculum Through the Development of Local Materials.”
“Division” in Division Curriculum Workshop refers to a schools division of the Department of the Education. It could have been then the “Mountain Province Schools Division.” (YBelen,8December2014)