Mount Lantoy is a 593-metre (1,946 ft) mountain located 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) inland from the municipality of Argao, Cebu in the Philippines.[2]
| Mount Lantoy | |
|---|---|
  Mount Lantoy  Mount Lantoy | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 593 m (1,946 ft)[1] |
| Coordinates | 9°59′00″N 123°33′11″E / 9.98333°N 123.55306°E |
| Geography | |
| Country | Philippines |
| Region | Central Visayas |
| Province | Cebu |
| City/municipality | Argao |
Watershed forest reserve
editMt. Lantoy was declared as a watershed forest reserve by virtue of Presidential Proclamation No. 414 on June 29, 1994. The initial 7,265-hectare (17,950-acre) protected area was reduced in December 2006 via a new Executive Order issued by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, reducing the watershed reserve area coverage to 3,000 hectares (7,400 acres).[3]
In Philippine mythology
editIn Philippine mythology, Mount Lantoy is said to be the domain of Maria Cacao, a diwata who lives in a cave in the mountain. Outside her cave grow numerous cacao trees, which are said to be her plantation. After harvest time come rains that wash down the mountain, enabling Maria Cacao[4] to float down to the towns below in her golden ship to sell her products.
The original name of the Maria Cacao is unknown as it was not recorded before the Spanish subjugated her name in a bid to instill Roman Catholicism to the natives. But it is widely assumed her name is not indigenous as 'Cacao' is an imported term that came from Latin America when the Spanish arrived. Additionally, the term 'Maria' was added by the Spanish to turn her into 'Catholic', in a bid to widen Spanish rule in southern Cebu.[citation needed]
References
edit- ^ "Argao Tourism: Conquer Mt. Lantoy". Archived from the original on 2006-07-08. Retrieved 2008-07-17.
- ^ Sales, Todd Lucero. "A Portrait of a Town". Archived from the original on 2008-09-17. Retrieved 2008-07-17.
- ^ "Cebu Flowerpicker". Retrieved 2008-07-17.
- ^ "Mt. Lantoy, a ghost story". FLEETING. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
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