How the town got its Name
There were several versions of stories appearing on how the town got its name. But one of them was made accepted as the official legend in 1908 through the efforts of the Municipal Council. “ One fine day, there was a couple resting under the shade of the tree entwined with a vine known as balili. While they are enjoying their break from work, a group of Spaniards came and one of them started playing with the leaves of the vine. The Spaniards were curious about the place, so one of them asked Como se llama este lugar? (What is the name of the place?). Confused with what they were talking about, both of them thought they were asking what the plant was and so they answered balili. The Spaniards found it hard to pronounce, so instead of balili they used barili which is much easier.” And that’s how the town was named.”The Natives
Long before the towns discovery, there were already several occupants in the lowland area. They were the natives. Most of them are situated near river banks since they are very particular in their daily bath, but some of them were living in mountainous areas. The existence of tribes were evident and all of them fought each other and seek dominion. They were headed with one leader called datu. Each of them were fierce and determined to win a portion of land to conquer and expand their influence. There were no laws to abide, no rules to break and dominance was their focus. Men wore bahag (a piece of cloth used to cover their private parts) while women wore skirts up to their knees. They had no God and no religion. But it was said that they were strong believers of anito’s (fairies of the wilderness) and when someone from the tribe gets ill, they do an offering to please them, whether it be a dance or to sacrifice an animal. There were plenty of wild bores roaming around and so food was never a problem. They hunt to eat. The natives were very distant to each other and for that reason, they didn’t even bother to plan and build a decent community for themselves. Houses were built wherever they want. There was no planning at all. As soon as the man decides to marry, he builds a house for his family. But in a situation wherein the father decides for his son to marry someone, the father talks to the woman’s father and determine how much gold would be sufficient to serve as dowry. The dowry is kept by the woman’s father and it will be given to them after they moved to their own house. Polygamy is allowed if the father is capable of raising his family. Divorce was also permitted. And abortion could be done if a woman has two children or more. And when famine comes, children were sold by their parents and they’d be forever slaves.
The Missionaries
There were no specific dates as to when the missionaries from Spain came to barili but it was no later than the 16th century. A strong group of missionaries were sent after the abduction of the town’s benificiado (a person who receives pay or benefits) which left barili with no religious ministry. The expedition was led by Padre Pedro Martinez, accompanied by Padre Valerio de Ledesma, a rector of the Colegio de Cebu. When they arrived in town, they only met three people and the rest were scattered in the mountains. The first 15 days were spent gathering 500 people to hear their teachings but the natives were not pleased and some of them reacted violently. They felt intimidated by these trespassers and they wanted to push them away. But as days went on, the natives finally felt comfortable and they adapted Christianity as their religion. They were baptized and vowed to be good followers of Christ. The Priest’s stayed for over a month before they left town. And after the encounter, the natives were continuously practicing the Christian Faith. A small church was built made from bamboo and cogon grass but because of a large crowd gathering every Sunday, they established a church made of stone enough to accommodate them. It was situated near Barili Central School. However the location was near the river so it gets swamped during the rainy season. Later on, the foundation was weakened and was fully destroyed by the earthquake. The present church was built in 1889 by Padre Juan Alcoseba on a lot donated by Don Carlos Alquizola. The towns patron saint is Santa Ana, Mother of the Virgin Mary. And today Barili has remained to be the only parish in Cebu with Santa Ana as its patroness. A story was told which made Sta. Ana a miraculous Saint when a malay named Tomastas carved an image of Santa Ana out of a piece of wood he got from the river, hoping that the Saint would help his daughters ailment. As he was carving the image, he noticed an improvement with his daughter so he felt very determined that the Saint could be the miracle he was waiting for. When he finished carving, his daughters illness was gone and went fully recovered. Because of the good news Tomastas placed the image in a small altar. When the miracle was heard, there were pirates who came and attempted to steal the image, but they failed to remove it. The image of Santa Ana was said to be transferred in the Church and was moved in Rome for safekeeping.
