Mercedita - An Engkanto of Binangonan, Rizal

Stories

[Taken from a social networking site [1]:]

Mag-ingat, baka mapag laruan ka ni Mercedita! Pag sapit ng ala-sais ng gabi ay huwag na daw paghuntahan si Mercedita, dahil naririnig niya ang usapan at maaring sumagot siya. Kung hindi ka pa takot, kukwentuhan kita. Si Mercedita ang sinasabing engkantada sa kweba sa Batasin, sakop ng Wawa, Libis. Napakalinaw ng tubig sa parteng ito ng Laguna de Bay, kaya paboritong labahan ng kababaihan. Pag may dalagang naglalaba ay may kasamang manliligaw na binata. Tulad ng eksenang napapanood sa penikula nina Vilma Santos at Edgar Mortiz, kung hindi mo na inabot ang panahon nina Carmen Rosales at Rogelio de la Rosa. At si Mercedita ay nagpapakita sa mga lalaking lumalapit sa kweba. Sa di kalayuan sa kweba daw natagpuan ang labi ng dalawang binata mula sa kilalang angkan na nalunod sa Lawa nuong Dekada 60’s. Ang ipinagtataka ng marami ay kabataan at atleta ang nasawi, sanay na lumangoy sa Lawa. Ang bulong -bulungan ay dinala daw ni Mercedita ang magkaibigan sa kanyang daigdig. Sa mga hindi maniniwala sa engkanto, itinuturong dahilan ang maghapong pagbabasketball ng mga nasawi at ang posibilidad na pinulikat sila at naghatakan palalim sa Lawa. Mapaglaro daw si Mercedita. Parang napagti-tripan ang taong napapadpad sa kanyang lugar. Hindi pa malimot ng mag-asawang taga-Calumpang kung paano ang kanilang bangka ay umikot-ikot lang sa lawa, isang umagang isinama nila ang sipuning anak upang makasagap ng sariwang hangin. Sa kanilang pagkabahala, itinaas ng Tatay ang bata at nakiusap sa engkantada na hayaan na silang makadaong sa lupa, alang-alang sa batang nuon ay nag-iiyak sa takot. Sa isang iglap umusad ang bangka, at iyon ang pinakamabilis na pagsagwang ginawa ng ama sa kanyang buong buhay. May mga basketbolistang taga-Maynila na naglaro sa Rizal Cement Company, kabilang na ang asawa ng nuo’y sikat na telebisyon talk host. Apat silang nagkayayaang mamangka sa Lawa. Ganoon na lamang ang kanilang panghihilakbot dahil mula sa Wawa hanggang sa makadaong sa RCCI Compound, ay inabot sila ng walong oras! Sa paikot-ikot ng kanilang bangka at marahil sa gutom na rin, parang hilong talilong ang mga atleta na pamula nuon ay isinumpang hindi na babalik pa sa Binangonan. May kwento na si Mercedita daw ay may mortal na kasintahan, isang albularyo na binigyan ng engkantada ng kapangyarihang makapagpagaling ng maysakit. May kumontra naman na propaganda daw lang ng manggagamot iyon upang simikat ang kanyang paghahagod, pagtatawas at iba pang paraan ng pagtataboy ng karamdaman at masamang espiritu sa katawan. May sabi-sabi rin na si Mercedita ay kadaupang palad ng isang banyagang pari na naging Kura Paroko ng Binangonan. May lihim na lagusan daw sa likod ng altar kung saan sinusundo at inihahatid ni Mercedita ang pari kapag tinawag niyang mag-misa ito sa kanilang daigdig. Ang mga engkantong kasama ni Mercedita ay umaahon daw dito sa bayan at namimili sa palengke. Kapag malingaw ang nariring o ingay ng salitaang hindi mawari, hudyat na may taga ibang daigdig sa tabi-tabi. Kapag nakakita ng babaeng pantay ang nguso, o walang linyang parang kanal mula sa ilong hanggang sa labi, iyon ay kasama ni Mercedita. Sa mga hindi naniniwala, at laging humahanap ng paliwanag, binangit nila na tutuo ngang may bahay na bato sa Batasin at marahil ito ang sinasabing kweba. Pag-aari ng dayuhang pamilya na ang negosyo ay ospital at paaralan sa Maynila, ang bahay na bato ay naging tirahan ng isang kaanak na pinanawan ng bait. Inilayo sa lipunan sa kung ano mang pampamilyang dahilan. At marahil, ang paghahabi ng kwentong engkanto ang babala upang huwag lapitan ang bahay na ngayon ay abandonado na at kinatatakutan. Ang matatanda ay may paraan upang pigilan ang likas na pagka-makilot at pagka-gala ng bata. Ang panakot: may engkanto sa tabing dagat, may nuno sa punso sa bukid, may kapre sa kaingin pag gabi. Katulad ng sinasabing lihim na lagusan sa likod ng altar. Ayon sa kaibigang nuon ay sakristan ay paraan ng taong simbahan upang huwag nilang inumin ang alak ng pari patago duon sa likod ng altar. Si Mercedita ay isang walang katapusang kwento na manganganak pa ng maraming kabanata mula sa malikhaing isip at malagong dila. by: CKH Chef july 6, 2010 CKH Chef July 6, 2010

Beware, Mercedita might mock you! As of 6 o'clock in the evening, no one must talk about Mercedita because she might hear you, and she might answer you. Still not feared? Then I tell you more story about her. Mercedita was said to be an engkantada of the cave in Batisan, part of Wawa, Libis. The water in this part of Laguna de Bay is very clear, and became the favorite washing place of every women. If a girl went there to wash the clothes, she's always accompanied by her suitor. If you can picture the scene in Vilma Santos and Edgar Mortiz's movie, if you weren't born yet at the time of Carmen Rosales and Rogelio de la Rosa, they were like that. Mercedita would appear on any man who goes near the cave. Not far from the cave, they found the bodies of two young men, from a well-known family, who were drowned in the lake last Dekada 60's (1960's). What makes it a mystery is that, these people were both young and athletes, both have been skillfully swimming on the lake. According to rumors, Mercedita brought them to her world. While to those who didn't believe, the death of the two young men were caused by fatigue from over playing basketball, and the possibility of having cramps while swimming there which led them to pull each other deeper unto the lake. The residents described Mercedita as playful. And, whoever passes or walks through that place (the cave) will be played at. A married couple from Calumapng will never forget the time how their boat just revolved ridiculously at the lake, one morning when they brought with them their sick child to breathe some fresh air. Afraid, the father raised his child and pleaded to the engkantada to let them go off to the shore for the sake of the child which, that time, was frightened and crying. In just an instant, the boat stopped to move, and the father swiftly rowed. That was the fastest rowing he had done on his entire life. There were basketball players from Manila who played for Rizal Cement Company. One of them is husband to a popular television talk show host. Four of them persuade each other to go sailing on the lake. However, they felt frightened because, from Wawa to RCCI Compound, they spent almost 8 hours before they got off the lake! There boat can't be controlled, and due to hunger, most of the athletes got dizzy. Starting that time, they pledged not to go back to Binangonan anymore. There was a story about Mercedita having a mortal suitor - an albularyo, to whom the engkantada gave a gift of healing diseases. But on other version, it was just his propaganda to be famous in his massage, tawas, and other treatments driving away sickness and bad spirits from the body. There was another story, that Mercedita was a companion of a foreign priest, and which became the parish priest of Binangonan. There was a secret passage behind the altar to where Mercedita can fetch the priest back and forth for a mass in their world. The engkanto friends of Mercedita sometimes go off the shore to the village and buys in the market. If you hear some kind of noise or words you can't understand, it symbolizes that there are unknown beings somewhere. If you see a woman who don't possess a philtrum, she may be Mercedita's companion. To those who don't believe and always find more explanation, the said stone house in Batasin is real. It was, perhaps, the cave they are talking about. It was owned by a foreign family, whose businesses in Manila are hospital and school. They once lived there but they were afflicted by insanity, and they were hidden in the public for some family reason. And, maybe, the creation of engkanto story is a warning not to go near the stone house - now, abandoned and scary. The elders found ways on how to avoid their children be mischievous. They use these scary warnings: there's an engkanto on the seashore; there's a nuno sa punso in the field; and there's a kapre lurking at night. To the said secret passage behind the altar, according to a sakristan, it was just the church's way to warn people not to drink the wine of the priest secretly behind the altar. Mercedita's story will never end. It will continuously grow and sprouts many rumors or versions of her life through the tongues of everyone. by: CKH Chef july 6, 2010 CKH Chef July 6, 2010

Sources:

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=130693470302612
Image Source:
Photo credit to the owner
Alexandra Sophie
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