Mantalongon, Philippines

History

The dalakit (Ficus benjamina) tree is the foundation of the origin and name of Dalaguete.

The natives look upon the tree not for its gigantic size, nor for its fruit which is of no use, but rather for the religious observance of the natives.

They highly consider this tree for their belief that it harbors spirits or diwatas who could impose sickness if maltreated or hand in fortunes and gifts if placated. When fully grown, the intertwining roots are exposed from the earth and form huge caverns that could house several people.

In ancient times, before the coming of the Spaniards, these trees had been used by people as major landmarks. People gathered under the encompassing shades and conduct social and economic activities such as festivities, contest, trading meetings, and other community gatherings. They establish market places under the shades of the dalaket where they sell their products and conduct trade with local roving traders bringing in Chinese and Asiatic goods from the port of Cebu.

From the History section of Dalaguete on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.