DEEP ROOTED
BENEDICTA QUIAOIT RUIZ
As a
young pupil, I was always teased by my classmates as to why I had the same
family name as the Quiaoit River near our elementary school. I would respond
jokingly that, “perhaps my family owns it and it was named after us”. At other
times I would say, “we were named after the river”. Later on I would find out
that indeed the river was named after a great ancestor who was then a leader of
the town.
Andres
Quiaoit was first a Capitan Bazar (head of a community) in 1710, then a Gobernadorcillo (governor) in 1719 and 1722. He diverted the flow of water in the river
traversing the town of Batac, Ilocos Norte to prevent it flooding the town
proper and instead allowing it to stream into farms for irrigation before
flowing all the way to China Sea.
I was
also told of the origin of the Quiaoit name. Apparently, during the early
Spanish era in the Philippines (named after Prince Philip of Spain), following
the discovery of Ferdinand Magellan (1521), the inhabitants were ordered to report to the Spanish officers
for registration and conversion to Christianity. They were indigenous or native
people and some were originally seafarers and traders
from China, Japan, Indochina and other Asian countries who had decided to stay
or get married to the native inhabitants. They were given names by their
ancestors upon birth but did not conform to the Spanish regulations. So their
names were changed to Maria, Jose, Ana, Juan, etc. An individual or head of a family was allowed
to choose a family name from the natural elements, the arts, the cosmos,
occupations or places of origin that would indicate relationships. Some copied Spanish surnames.
A certain
Pedro could not think of a surname. On a tree nearby two birds were fighting,
one was saying “kiaw, kiaw” and the other was answering “wit, wit”. The Spanish
ruler then decided that Pedro would be given “Kiawit” as his surname from the
sounds of the birds. Using the Spanish equivalent of K, which was Qui or Que,
he wrote down “Pedro Quiaoit” in his registry book. Such was the LEGEND of my
family name as related by my parents and relatives.
As I
was interested in updating my family tree, I dug further down into how the
early inhabitants got their names. With the information I gathered from my
family, that my early ancestors came from mainland China and the research I did
through the Internet, I had a different idea of how my ancestors got our
surname. In stories that I read, some people combined the names of their
ancestors to use as family names, such as Tanseco or Gokongwei. Some referred
to their ancestral places: Del Mar (of the sea) Bundok, (forest). Others would
add to their surnames the order of their birth or succession, such as first,
second, third etc. (junior, the third, etc.) I had thoughts that my early
ancestors came from a place or village called Quia, Quiao or with the same
sound as Kiaw, and that Pedro Quiaoit was the first to be baptized, therefore
“It” or first (number 1)was added
to his name from the Fukien (a province in China) dialect and numbers. Pedro
Quiaoit has been listed in my family's genealogical records as the first leader
of the converted Christians, as well as the the first Capitan Bazar, (head of
community) in 1708 in
Batac Ilocos Norte.
I had
also wondered why during those times and until today, all families with the
surname Quiaoit were located or living in Barrio Lacub, (meaning an enclave or
enclosure). Was Lacub a Parian, similar to where the Spanish rulers relocated
all Chinese people in Binondo, Manila, now known as Chinatown? Lacub is partly on
the banks of Quiaoit River and two intersecting secondary streets, also known
as processional roads. They are used mainly for church processions and
community parades.
Curiosity
about my roots got me digging into whatever I could get from the internet. At
one time the Asian Genealogical Index compiled by the Church of Latter Day
Saints in Utah, U.S.A. could be accessed for free. Unluckily I was not able to
print copies as the index provided the “pedigree” and civil registry data for
most of the members of my “clan”. Later another Ancestry website took over and
fees must be paid to access the records.
Unbeknownst
to me, a relative from Chicago was also interested in digging our “roots”. He
got lucky when he visited our hometown and was able to look into archived
records of our genealogy and copied them on to a disk. He and his wife
painstakingly translated some of the records from Spanish to English, then
coded them according to the branches of the families, originating from the
source: Capitan Andres Quiaoit. The Gobernadorcillo that created the Quiaoit
River had a dozen children; some could not be traced but at least six were
listed and four lived in our hometown. Many of his children and grandchildren
became successful leaders of communities during the Spanish Colonial regime till
Philippines became an independent country. Some predecessors are still doing so
to this day, engaged in politics and community services.
In 2013, at Haven Writing Retreat in Whitefish, Montana,
U.S.A facilitated by best-selling author Laura Munson, the participants were
asked to write a poem of something from the past and relating it to the
present. I wrote the following poem to
address my concerns about the Quiaoit River.
My dear river...
1700's
my old grandpa created you
you were named after him.
he dug up the ditch to widen
you
so your waters will flow to
the sea
and not flood the town.
you divided the town from
west to east
a wooden bridge closed the
gap
so people could walk over you
as horse drawn carriages
travelled through
you were full of life.
1800's
flood waters rose
the bridge disappeared.
engineers replaced it
with a concrete span
cars and bicycles crossed
daily, a dozen times.
there was a legend to your
name
you were the landmark of the
town
fishes, turtles swam around
children played on your
banks.
2000's
I came to see you once again
like some tourists coming to
visit
once a rustic town, now a
busy city.
my dear river, what happened
to you?
a pool of water here,
grasses on some islets there
plastic bottles floating
papers littered on your banks
murky waters, no longer
flowing
no fish, no turtles swimming
how will they save you now
my dear old, legendary river?
In an
effort to preserve our legacy, relatives from the different branches have
updated their own “family trees” for future generations. Likewise the
government officials of Batac, Ilocos Norte, now a city, created the “Save the
Quiaoit River” program for the purpose of preserving the historical landmark,
the Quiaoit River.
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