THE LEGEND OF THE HINULAWAN

“In the Southern coast of the island of Cebu existed a humble village that
experienced famine and drought. The burden that the village was bearing
escalated as time passed. Lives of people were slowly taken away, and death
itself was unforgiving that it constantly strived for the decease of children,
men and women.

The people appealed to their deity, San Juan, to help alleviate their burdens
and restore the abundance of their land. But the deity, magnificent and lavish
as he was, can only be appeased by gold. Thus, the people toiled day in and day
out to mine for gold to offer to San Juan. After many years of searching for and
offering him gold, San Juan was satisfied.

To compensate for their many years of suffering, San Juan relinquished the
famine and drought. He revived nature’s abundance and gave them the bounty
of a new and fresh beginning. “

The word hinulawan has varying implications. First, it was the former name of
Toledo City. Toledo City is known for their gold mining industry as embodied by
Carmen Copper Compotation. Second, HINULAWAN is a contraction of two bisaya
words, hinaguang bulawan, which literally means hard-earned gold.

In the story, the essence of the Hinulawan was emphasized when this served as a
means to put an end to the famine and drought. There are four golden features of
the city that are exemplified in the story: golden harvest, golden treasure, golden
friendship and golden faith.

These features are also highlighted in the Hinulawan Festival, which is celebrated
every June 12 as a form of thanksgiving in honor of Toledo City’s patron saint, San
Juan de Sahagun or St. John of Sahagun.