Marinduque Toponymy Volume 2

Introduction Toponymic is a taxonomic study of place-names, based on etymological, historical and geographical information (Britannica). Legends comes from the Latin word Legere “to read”. The Latin word was originally limited to written stories, but in English, legend lost that limitation often a legend lives on in the stories that people tell each other, also a person can be a legend too. Legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions perceived or believed both teller and listeners to have taken place within human history. Legend may also define as a traditional story or group of stories told about a particular person or place.

The toponym Boac is derived from the Cebuano word bu-ak, cognatic to the Tagalog word bi-ak and the Southern Tagalog term ba-ak. This is in reference to the town being bisected by the Boac river which runs from the Central Marinduque and Balagbag Mountain Rangers to the west coast facing the Tayabas Bay and Sibuyan Sea. Other refences suggest that the gush of water at the estuaries and mouth of the Boac River.

Boac has unique and interesting origin of barangays when it comes to its names. The legend made these barangays to be known and to stand on their own. What makes the origin names of the barangays unique is its references from their own natural abundances, resources and rich cultural stories.

In general, Marinduquenos are rich on may funny and fictitious stories, but legend is not fictitious from many people who believe on these. Like what the legend says about the origin of barangays in Boac. Legend is one of the primary sources of origin of those barangays. Those legends will make you laugh and amaze when you hear or read these. Some legend about the name origins of those barangays may classified from the name of plants (trees, fruits), significant events, objects, sayings, or other abundance.

This study aims to provide solutions to the following problems: 1. What is the source of these origins of barangays in Boac?

2. What are the places/barangays in Boac that can classified the origin of names in terms of? a. Plants (trees, fruits) b. Significant events, things or objects, animals 8|Page