Monday, March 1, 2010
The Sacred Mount Banahaw
Banahaw is located 100 kilometers southeast of Manila. It is the highest peak among a series of mountains and is surrounded by the towns of San Pablo, Majayjay, Liliw, Nagcarlan, Tiaong, Candelaria, Sariaya, Lucena, Tayabas and Lucban. Being an active volcano, its last recorded eruption was on 1721. That eruption caused a lake to form on the volcano’s crater which may have caused the crater to burst open during a possible eruption of 1743, though geographer Fr. Huerta mentioned in his Estado Geographica that it happened sometime 1730. The crater today is called ilalim. It also resulted the transfer of the town of Sariaya to its fourth and present site. In the 19th century Banahaw was called Monte de Majayjay or Monte San Cristobal which was then considered the "gateway" in ascending the mountain. It was also called "Vulcan de Agua" because of the numerous springs that flows from the base. The present name Banahaw might have been derived from the word Ban-aw which means a vantage point to a lofty position.
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