CULTURAL MAP OF MAHAPLAG

FACTS AND HISTORY

Mahaplag is a valley between two mountain ranges. These mountains and hills have tributary rivers and creeks to the principal river known as "Layog River," whose main outlet to Abuyog is a very narrow embankment of solid rocks in a hundred meters high on both banks. 

The town of Mahaplag was named after the Mahaplag River which is situated at the entrance at the Poblacion, Mahaplag Leyte. The word, "Mahaplag" is a combination of two dialect words "Mahaplag" and "Kaplag." Mahapla means 'destruction or failure' and  kaplag means 'success.' This is because the failure and success of the livelihood of the people in this little town depends upon the river. If the weather was bad, the rushing flood waters would wash out every plant resulting in no harvest at all bringing misery to the people. But when the water would recede, it would bring them fertile soil giving them a good harvest and thus bring happiness and contentment to the people. The same held true for those who depended upon the forest for their livelihood.   

Mahaplag was unknown in the past years but through the strong representation of the late speaker Daniel Z. Romualdez, Executive Order No. 308 dated July 21, 1958 was signed creating the Municipality of Mahaplag in the province of Leyte and segregating it from the Municipality of Abuyog. On October 11,1958, the Municipality was formally inaugurated. 

Mahaplag has a total of 28 barangays. Based on the 2020 regional and economic trends, Eastern Visayas Region National Statistical Coordination Board, Mahaplag, with the land area of 104.8 square kilometers, has a population of 27,865 people with a density of 270 inhabitants per square kilometer or 700 inhabitants per square mile and has a 0.03% average annual rate of increase. 

MAIN LIVELIHOOD

The major product of Mahaplag Leyte was abaca, coconut, and copra products. During the last year of 1990s abaca plants were no longer in one of the major products of Mahaplag due to abaca plants diseases. The current source of income of the people here is coconut copra product and rice land product only. 

TOURIST SPOTS

Inland Resort - Brgy. Malinao Mahaplag, Leyte

The present improvement is Mahaplag which attracts tourism is the Inland Resort located in Malinao, Mahaplag Leyte. This tourist attraction is an income generating opportunity for the Mahaplaganons as many tourists visit it. Malinao was chosen to be the location of the said project because of its wide lot, owned by the government therefore made the construction possible. Inland is a very nice place for leisure and relaxation suitable for all ages. The said resort is sponsored by the Local Government Unit (LGU) headed by Municipal Mayor Ronaldo Lleve. 

Others:

Sea of Clouds - Brgy. Liberacion, Mahaplag, Leyte

San Juan Falls - Brgy. San Juan, Mahaplag, Leyte

Paril Cave - Brgy. Paril, Mahaplag, Leyte

FESTIVAL

The Kaplag Festival or the Kaplag Buwad Festival is commended on the day the picture of the Santo Niño was found by Juan Camus, a Spanish fighter. He was a piece of the undertaking of Miguel Lopes de Legazpi in Cebu. "Kaplag" implies revelation in Cebuano. The celebration is commended each September 28. 

FOODS

Puto

Bibingka

Bibingka and puto are two of Mahaplag's native delicacies. If you happen to reach this part of Leyte, you should give them a try. You will easily spot these rice cakes as vendors sell them on the streets of Mahaplag. Neatly packed in plastic wrappers, these food products are ideal as 'pasalubong' or homecoming gift and 'baon' or snacks. 

There are so many nice places on earth. They are scattered across the countries and they are just waiting to be visited. Every place has its own district features and is therefore special. The most important thing to do is to appreciate these places.

My Family Heritage

        When a person defines his heritage, this means he understands his inherited sense of family identity. The word 'heritage' is a person's unique, inherited sense of family identity. These are the values, traditions, culture, and artifacts handed down by previous generations. We experience our heritage throughout our lives as we observe and perform the things that make our family different from other families. Even though not everything that we inherit is positive, we generally count this heritage to be a meaningful element of our family's identity. These inherited traits are what we incorporate into our own lives and pass along to the succeeding generation.

    It is not new to us to know that any family has its own traditions which are based on some values and beliefs because heritage is something that has a direct relation to our past ancestors. Family heritage reflects past experiences, practices, and traditions that are passed on from parents to their children. The following are some of the things that our family had acquired from our previous generations.

Praying

        The practice of praying has been one of the things that our family has inherited from our ancestors. My family, both on my mother's and father's side are religious. I remember my great-grandmother waking us up early in the morning to pray with her. My grandparents taught my parents and my uncles and aunties to pray. Now, my parents taught us to pray every morning when we wake up, before every meal, and before sleeping. This has been incorporated into my life as I observe and experience praying daily.

Planting

        Because of poverty, my ancestors used to live on mountains and planting has become their habit. My great grandparents owned lands where they plant fruits like mangoes, rambutans, jackfruits, star apples, guavas, pineapples, etc. They also plant root crops like sweet potatoes, cassavas, etc. My great-grandparents are indeed hardworking planters. The same is true with my grandparents both on my father's and mother's side. They plant various kinds of plants in their backyards and land. My mother and father inherited this trait. My father likes to plant fruits and vegetables while my mother likes to plant spices, flowers, and orchids. 

Dried Coconut Kernels (Copra)

        Having to live in the mountainous region where there are a lot of coconut plantations, my ancestor's primary source of income is drying coconut kernels or meat of the coconuts or better known as 'copra'. All males in our family's previous generations have experienced making copra. From our great-grandparents to my parents. Even my mother knows how to make copra. Through the years, our great-grandparents owned land covered with coconut trees or coconut groves, or plantations. These coconut groves are distributed to their children, which are my grandparents. My grandparents continued to use the coconut plantation and eventually, they've distributed it to their children. My family, which is the current generation, also owned land filled with coconut trees but some of them are sold because of lack of money. However, drying coconut kernels has remained to be my family's primary source of income.

*photo, not mine*

Singing

        Growing up, I learned that my ancestors like to sing. I can hear my great-grandmother singing every morning while my great-grandfather plays his guitar. My grandmother on my mother's side used to visit us and teach us to sing the hymns that she knows. My grandfather on my father's side also likes to sing. Whenever we visit him, we always hear him singing songs that we couldn't quite familiarize with (maybe because it is an old song and we were not born yet). Both my mother and father like to sing. In fact, they have provided a speaker and a mic so that they can sing in our home. I and my siblings are lovers of music as well. We love to sing together, regardless of our voice not hitting the right notes as long as we can sing, it is fine with us.

    

                                                                        *photo, not mine*

Sewing

            My ancestors acquired the skill of sewing. They could not afford to go to dressmakers to have their clothes fixed because of poverty, so they've learned to sew by experience. In fact, my grandfather himself is a dressmaker and my grandmother likes to sew. They had this old sewing machine which they had given to us because my mother also knows how to sew and my elder sister had an interest in sewing.

         Every person has their own unique family heritage and that heritage makes up his identity. It is necessary to understand that heritage and identity are interrelated. Family heritage helps to create a sense of belonging and identity. The kind of family we come from is who we are. We are taught that family is where our identities are molded and shaped by having our parents as our first teachers. Our parents teach us the values, practices, traditions, or beliefs that their parents have taught them and soon, when it is also our time to have children, we would also teach the things we've learned from our parents to them. Family heritage, therefore, has a significant impact on personality formation. I am who I am now because of the family where I come from. The same is true for you. You are who you come from.