In the beginning was "Malindug"

From Malindug to 'Maalindog'.
The Buenavista contingent in today's Araw ng Marinduque celebration, first celebrated province-wide in 2008.

The name of Marinduque was derived from the word “Malindug”, which has a significant historical implication because the word means “tall and elegant stature” in Tagalog and has a similar, if not parallel meaning to the Visayan term “malindug”.Malindug also connotes sexiness, 'maalindog'.

In a study of place-names conducted by F. Arsenio Manuel, he wrote that these were two cognate terms which fittingly describe the island’s volcano, which today is known as Mt. Malindig.

The Dasmarinas listing of encomiendas in 1751 already spelled Marinduque in this manner. How did this come about then? Manuel explained that the phonetic hispanization of the word “Malindug” followed the Spanish phonetic system. Spanish does not tolerate the voiced velar stop “g” in its phonology. In Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas and other Spanish chronicles for example, the term for ‘loincloth’ (bahag in Tagalog), is spelled ‘bahaque’. This spelling and its Spanish pronunciation follows Spanish phonetic laws – ‘bahag’ becoming ‘bahaque’.This change according to Manuel also appear to have happened to “Palanyag” which became “Paranaque”, with additional change taking place, the “l” becoming “r”, again following Spanish phonetic tendencies. This “l” to “r” spin shift is, also evident in “Marinduque” according to Manuel.

Manuel’s study was also consistent with an earlier study made by Cecilio Lopez, known as the Father of Philippine Linguistics”. Lopez wrote: “In old chronicles, the name of the island occurs in such varying forms as Malinduc, Marinducq, marinduc, Malindic, and Malindig” These are forms, he said, quite evidently to be analyzed into the well-known ‘adjectival’ prefix ‘ma-‘ denoting chiefly existence, and a stem occurring in Tagalog as ‘lindig’, in Bikol as ‘lindog’ or ‘lindug’.”The change of the first sound of the stem ‘l” to ‘r” is likewise in consonance with a common Indonesian phonetic law, while the conversion of final “g” into the Spanish ending “que” finds an exact parallel in the case of the town Paranaque which in Tagalog is called ‘Palanyag’.

Mt. Malindig rises to 1,157 meters, the highest peak on the island-province of Marinduque. At its summit, a mossy forest grows and a variety of ferns and wild orchids. In the volcano’s foothills are areas where rare species of birds, deer, boar, wildcats, monkeys and other endemic wildlife still survive but in danger of extinction due to the encroachment in their habitation of the local populace. Mt. Malindig has been identified as a protected area.

There is still a long way to go in the area of environmental campaigns that should be conducted in the barangay and municipal level for the conservation, protection and preservation of the biodiversity in Mt. Malindig and its vast foothills. Today, the spectacular view of the southern slopes of Mt. Malindig from Elefante Island, serves as the major attraction of the world-class luxury resort, Bellarocca Island Resort and Spa located on the said small island.

Malindig is considered a potentially active volcano, in part because of the existence of the sulfuric springs of Malbog.  There is no record of its last eruption. The volcano’s unique location at the heart of the Southern Tagalog region creates a unique panorama that encompasses Mindoro, Verde Island, Southern Luzon, all the way to Bicol and Burias Island.

Mt. Malindig was named Mt. Marlanga by the Americans during the American Period in the Philippines but this has been changed back to the original name of Mt. Malindig. It has been the subject of folklore, (Legend of Marin and Duque), and has inspired the creation of songs (“Malindig Foxtrot” by Ramon Madrigal) and contemporary dance-dramas (“Mara Unduk” by Eli Obligacion). Years back, a local school-based (Marinduque Victorians College), street festival, “Malindug Festival”, was also held in Buenavista to raise awareness on the need to preserve and protect Mt. Malindig’s remaining biodiversity. 

Glimpses of Marinduque culture with Mara Unduk from 4:42