Origin Of the Makupa

Many, many years ago, a very religious group of people lived in a small village of Samtoy in the Ilocos coast. They were devoted to their departed ancestors and to the gods of their forefathers. They always prayed and offered proper sacrifices to the spirits of the hills and mountains.
Because of this religiousness, the gods of the heavens and the spirits of the mountain showered them with prosperity. Everybody became rich.
The people in the neighboring villages were envious of their good fortune. So they spied on them, hoping to know the source of the Samtoyan's prosperity.
After several months of watching, the envious neighbors found that whenever the people of Samtoy needed something, they simply rang a big gong. It was believed that this instrument, which had a bat-like shape, was given to them by the great mountain spirit, Apo Bolinayen.
The envious neighbors decided to steal the big gong. They banded together and prepared to attack the people of Samtoy.
Before they could do this, however, the people of Samtoy learned of the plot. So they carried the gong out of the village and hit it near the edge of the forest.
Then they returned and prepared to resist the planned attack on them. Many persons were killed in the battle which followed. Among those who perished was the man who burried the gong.
The people of Samtoy defended their village bravely. When the attackers knew that they were not a match for the defenders they fled. They were not able to capture the gong.
After the battle, the people of Samtoy gathered in the village. They asked for the men who went out to hide the gong. However, they were all dead. No one could locate the gong anymore.
For the first time since the villagers could remember, their fields were very dry. Their crops failed. They prayed hard for the rain but it did not come. They could no longer communicate with the great mountain god, Apo Bolinayen.
One day, a small boy went to the forest to look for edible roots. However, he did not find any. But he did not give up. He looked and looked . Finally, he became very hungry. So he started picking the fruits of the trees which he passed by.
In the middle of the forest he was attracted to a big tree with juicy fruits. The fruits looked like tiny gongs. He gathered so many of them and went home. When he reached the village , the people became curious about the fruits. These reminded them of the gong which they lost. So they asked the boy.
The boy led them to the place where he gathered the fruits. When the people saw the tree with many red, juicy fruits, one of them exclaimed : " Makupa"- meaning, the tree with many gongs. The men dug around and under the tree carefully. They suspected that the gong might be burried underneath.
When they reached the hard layer of soil under the roots of the tree, they found the gong. It was intact beneath the center-root of the tree. The people shouted with joy. They danced around the tree.
A big, joyous crowd of men followed the gong as this was carried back to the village. Then they put it back on the platform where it was hung before.
After an appropriate ceremony, the headman of the village stepped forward and struck the gong. Its sweet, clear sound reverberated across the hills and fields. Everyone in the village came and joined the celebration. Soon the dark clouds formed in the sky. Rain came in due time, thus ending the drought. The fields became green once more. The trees bore flowers and the crops grew.
The grateful people planted the strange tree and there after called Makupa.