Romblon

Ang Alamat ng Bayan ng Odiongan, Romblon (The Legend of the Town of Odiongan, Romblon)

The town of Odiongan can be found in Romblon in the southern part of the island of Luzon in the Philippines. Romblon is well-known for its marble industry. It is said that the nme of Odiongan came from the story passed on by the natives from generation to generation.

Long ago, before the First World War, Moros and pirates from the north reside in this town. There was a triangular shaped lake in this town where a massive tree stood in the middle. It is there that the pirates set their camp since all travellers pass along that route. It is in this camp too that they store their belongings and weapons.  They surrounded their camp with high walls to protect them from any untoward incidents. In their long time there, the Moros and pirates do not experience any harm and thus, they live a peaceful life.

Until one day, they were caught up in a surprise attack by a band of Chinese. They had no choice but to fight with them for the sake of the townspeople. Arrows and spears were everywhere. A lot from the Chinese were injured and so with the Moros. The Chinese retreated and went back to where they came from. The only thing left from the battle was a big arrow struck in the tree in the middle of the lake. This was not removed since the pirates regarded it as a symbol for their triumph over the Chinese invaders.

From then on, the town became known for the “Odiong” (arrow), and the arrow-stricken tree was called Odiongan. Through time, this town was then called Odiongan, Romblon.

Translated from Rene Alba's "Mga Alamat Pilipino (Para sa Mag-aaral)", published 1914 by Century Publications.