(Feature) Extinct shell specie leads to historical ignorance in Biliran town

CABUCGAYAN, Biliran, Oct. 27 (PNA) -- Decades back, human activities wiped out the seashell where this town derived its name. However, in the digital age, memories of this tiny creature are slowly disappearing among young generations.

“Cabucgayan got its name from the shell called bucgay. Way back then, in our time when we we’re still young, this town is abundant of that shell,” said Edith Talacay, 75, a retired elementary teacher.

Bucgay is an edible freshwater shell that thrives along or near the mouth of the riverbanks and town's streams. It is a hard gray-colored shell of about 50-80 millimeters in circumference with two tiny shielding thorns.

It has an oval opening on the side enclosed with a flap-like film and moves slowly on top of the stones.

Tales of the elderly in the community would say that after the Spanish-American warfare, a foreign who was wandering around the community passed by a woman, who was picking shells along the river. The stranger asked her then on what is the name of the place.

The woman who could not understand foreign language just answered “bucgay!” Since then, the community, known as Esperanza became Cabucgayan.

Back then, dwellers of the community would just go to the rivers and streams to harvest these shells as side dish for staple food. But now, bucgay is nowhere to be found, and eventually lost as time goes by.

“We just go to the river or at the seashore. Then, we would gather these shells so that we would have something to eat. But, today many things have changed, you could not find this kind of shell now,” Talacay recalled.

As the population of the town grows to nearly 20,773 this year, many have established settlements near the rivers and seas, which used to be the shell’s natural habitat.

Another factor is the massive quarrying in the river as demand for construction materials steadily increases, hence, destroying the dwelling place of the shell.

Today, the young townsfolk are clueless about this historic creature considering its rare existence. 

Many of them are just aware that from the term bucgay comes the name of the place – Cabucgayan.

“I don’t know its physical features or how it looks like since I haven’t seen it at all. All I know is that bucgay plays a big role in our town’s rich history,” said Rhone Joshua Borres, 16, a senior high school student.

Cabucgayan is a small town concealed from the eyes of many, situated in the heart of the mystifying hidden beauty of Biliran Island.

Located on the southeastern part of the island, this town is adjacent to Caibiran town, facing south of the picturesque Carigara Bay and east of Villareal Bay.

This town has a total landmass of 49.4 square kilometers, politically subdivided into 13 villages.

The place is about 118 kilometers away from Tacloban City, the capital of Eastern Visayas and 33 kilometers from Naval, the provincial capital.

The place is wealthy of history and scenic places to visit like the Mt.Suiro, ideal for camping and trekking, and the Casiawan and Kasabangan Waterfalls for its fascinating water cascades. (PNA) JMC/SQM/Danica-Ann M. Ultado (OJT)
/EGR