History Of Dao (antique)

HISTORY OF DAO (Municipality of Tobias Fornier) Posted by: tojoven /Arobo

Long, long prior to the arrival of Magellan here in the Philippines, there had already been people residing in the archipelago. The members of these groups are what we call the Aetas. The Aetas or the Negritos were the first inhabitants here and may be said to be our real ancestors. But the first cross-breeds of Filipinos were descended from the Bornays who came from Borneo. Long before the coming of the Spaniards, people from the South, particularly from Borneo, migrated to this islands. They came to settle and immediately began to look for good spots wherein to establish their permanent homes. They found the Aetas friendly and so many of the Bornays intermarried with them. They became neighbors. Mnay of them came to the island of Panay and a group of these came to the Southernmost part of what is now the province of Antique. This particularly stout-hearted group of Bornays had a leader called “Ohoy”. His wife was named “Dawa”. He managed the clearing of the place. The site of the little town of Dao was a deep forest haunted by ferocious animals, reptiles and darkened by gigantic trees. In the center of this place was one tree which overshadowed the rest. Large snakes found sanctuary and fearful beasts were seen around it. The people believed that the tree was enchanted because of its powerful dimensions. But gradually, under the leadership of Ohoy, they lost their fear of the place. They called the tree and all the other trees of the same kind, DAO, a combination from the first syllable of the name Dawa and the first syllable of the name Ohoy. “Da” and “O” combined. As weeks grew into months and into years, families sprang out. Each family claimed the portion it had be cleared. These families

more or less organized themselves into tribe under Ohoy.While some of them cleared and developed then place, others went hunting. When hunters met in the woods, it was their custom to inquire where each lived in order to get acquainted with each other. The hunters under Ohoy often indicated where they resided by referring to Dao trees as home. Soon other tribes began calling these particular trees and the place where they stood Dao. Years later, when the Spanish conquistadores came, more people combined the original group of Ohoy and the place became civilized. It developed into village, then into town. The comers married into the original Bornays and soon everybody was in one way or another related to everybody else. The introduction of the Spanish local government only served to strengthen the ties which already bound the people together. However, as the civilization progressed, even the big trees were cut down including the largest one at the center of the village. The trees were gone now but the name given them which consequently became the official cognomen of the town, will forever remain in the history of the province and in the hearts of the Daonhon people.