Catanauan

Catanauan is politically subdivided into 46 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

• Mayor: Ramon A. Orfanel
• Vice-Mayor: Manuel B. Montano
• Municipal councilors:
  • Rodgie L. Casal
  • Rixon B. Comiso
  • John B. de Imus
  • Mayla S. Natividad
  • Mayla S. Natividad
  • Ederlinda SR. Ramos
  • Godofredo A. Orfanel
  • Ederlinda S. Ramos
  • Francisco Joseven Cañeda, PPLB President, Municipal Councilor
  • Rycamiel Natividad, SK President, Municipal Councilor

December 8 - immaculate conception church town fiesta

Immaculate Conception Parish Church

"Boling-Boling" is an old age practice particular to Catanauanins, which is celebrated annually starting on the Sunday and ends on Tuesday preceding Ash Wednesday and signals the start of the Lenten Season. Participants roam around the town garbed in any costume they may fancy. Most of them wear colourful clown-like clothes while others imitate anybody whom they despise and make fun of them. It is the Pinoy version of carnival. No one can tell exactly when and how this practice started, not even the oldest resident of this town located at the heart of Bondoc Peninsula. Senior women wearing brightly coloured dresses and hats with flowers sing and dance from one house to another to solicit cash donations, half of which is given to the local Parish Church for its expenses during the Lenten Season activities and the other half for their own group's civic projects. Boling-Boling comes from the Visayan word Boling, which means dirt. This reminds us that we are sinners and that we need to repent, do some spiritual cleansing and get ourselves ready for the Lenten Season. In earlier times, Catanauanins had a grandiose merry-making during the Boling-Boling as, starting the following day, which is Ash Wednesday, they will keep silent suspending all merry-makings until the Black Saturday in reverence to the Lenten Season. Some men skimpily clad in their undergarments put on mud or grease with charcoal all over their bodies and roam around the town trying to scare young women and children for fun.

In the Catanauan excavations, there were 4 main sites; Napa site locality 1, Napa site locality 4, Campo site, and Comiso site. Each contain their own distinct artifacts and discoveries.

Napa Site (Code IV-2008-Q5) was the primary excavation site, containing multiple trenches along with 3 main assemblages; SM1, SM2, and SM3, or “Stone Markers”. This is where most jar burials and tools were found.

Locality 4 is a second location close to locality 1 with four active trenches containing multiple jar burials in very tight clusters, along with coral markers and lids scattered throughout.

This location, initially a 20th-century cemetery, was excavated with the hopes of discovering similar human remains, but unidentified markers were discovered, which purpose has not yet been determined.

This survey site was one of the earliest to be excavated and surveyed. Located in Barangay Matandang Sabang Kanluran, this site was heavily stirred up and roiled by quarrying sand. It was later discovered that this was once also another burial site. Its similarities though to other burial sites remain unclear.

Catanauan, Quezon has been known for the numerous jar burials that have been recovered there. Even before the recent excavations in the site, locals have already reported that some jar burials in the site were uncovered through development projects, and that they were able to dig up a series of jar burials with human remains. As the site is very archaeologically rich, the Archaeological Studies Program of the University of the Philippines, Diliman and the Australia National University have been conducting research and excavations in Catanauan through the Catanauan Archaeological and Heritage Project since 2008.

The Napa site in Barangay Tuhian, Catanauan is a very significant place for archaeological research. Most of the jar burials found in Catanauan were recovered from this site. In the 2008 excavation, a lot of jar burials with their human remains were found in Locality 1, Napa site, specifically in trenches 4 and 6. The jars found were mostly earthenware. Different types of coral slabs and rocks served as jar covers. The jars were used for primary and secondary burials. Paz, et al. (2008)[20] inferred that people “went back to uncover the jars, take out the human remains in the jars, and when events dictated, a new body was placed in the old jar”. Some excavated jars were also used for child burials. Aside from human bones, different-colored glass beads, gastropods and fragments of metal were found inside the jars. Boat-shaped burial markers were also found in the site.

In 2010, more jar burials have been recovered as additional trenches were opened. One very distinct jar was the jar found in Trench 13 because of its unique features. It was the only jar from the site which had earthenware as its cover (Paz, et al., 2010).[21] It was oval-shaped and neonate remains were found inside it. Paz, et al. (2010) stated that as of 2010, there are 28 definite jar burials for the Napa site and they are at least a thousand years old.

Comiso Property site is another jar burial site in Catanauan. It is less than 10 km away from the Napa site. Burial jar sherds and fragments of human remains were found on the surface of the site (Paz, et al., 2010). The jar burials were found under shell middens. However, unlike the jars in Napa site, there were no Chinese glass beads found in the Comiso site. This may mean that the Comiso site is older than the Napa site (Paz, et al., 2011).[22]

Various artifacts have been excavated from Catanauan sites. These artifacts consists of burial jars, Earthenware sherds, skeletal remains, and shell middens.

In 2006, a sand quarry accidentally uncovered at least 5 jar burials containing human skeletal remains in Kanlagkit, Barangay Matandang Sabang Kanluran. At least three sandpits were left partially open, with the backfill containing earthenware sherds and skeletal fragments (mostly long bone).

During the 2008 excavation a shell midden was exposed. The area where local inhabitants dug up burial jars with human remains was abundant in limestone slab fragments, earthenware sherds, and human skeletal fragments. Below the discovered shell midden were a few shells and pottery. Even below that, two small, well fired reddish earthenware pot sherds were found. Some glass beads were also found. A child (neonate) burial was found inside a small earthenware pot 40 cm in diameter, with yellow glass beads buried along with it. Another burial (a female, from studying the pelvic bone) was discovered, and this had sherds from a small pot and a cylindrical artifact.

Archaeological digs by the Catanauan Archeological and Heritage Project (CAHP) have unearthed a unique iron dagger with an intricately carved bone hilt found at a jar burial site in the municipality facing Marinduque across the waters of the Mompog Pass. There is evidence that Catanauan's burial practices date back at least 2,000 years, making them part of an ancient Filipino funerary custom that has been found in the eastern part of the central Philippines. Large earthenware jars were buried along the sandy shores and covered with slabs of coralline or volcanic stone to preserve the bodies. Grave woods, either personal belongings or votive offerings for the afterlife, were buried alongside the deceased.

It was found in a burial jar in Napa Site Locality 4 in 2017 during the CAHP's 9th field season, with the bone hilt in two pieces and four iron shards making up the blade. Many bone fragments were discovered under human remains. Another item found in the burial jar was an assortment of colored glass beads. The dagger blade measures 14 centimeters in length, and the finger-fitting hilt grip is composed of bone and organic material, likely wood, with alternating layers. These tiny holes, which might be used to attach accessories and even inlaid with the stated glass beads, make its ornamental, asymmetrical pommel end or hilt end stand out. Some believe that the pommel's design and carved features imply the shape of a boat.

On May 18, 2022, the dagger is now on display at the National Museum of Natural History in Manila, Philippines, as part of the museum's collection of other artifacts.[23]

To facilitate several forms of public archaeology and heritage work in the duration of the field season in the Napa site, crew members were oriented to always explain the significance of the archaeological project, at a community level and at larger scale of Philippine culture, to the community members and walk-in groups observing the excavation. The team also held day trips for student coming from different schools like San Isidro National High School - Catanauan, Tayuman National High School, Busdak National High School and ASTI College, mostly coming from near cities and/or provinces. In addition, they updated the tarpaulin signage at the Locality 1 site, Napa site, that explains the study of archaeology and highlights of the findings so far.

The team also actively participated in the fiesta celebrations of Tuhian. As part of the celebration, the team is given a chance to explain to the public community what the project is all about. At the end of the season, the team mounted and left a three-panel exhibit of the results from the first season of excavation (2008). The exhibit explained what archaeology is, the findings and result of the project, and its significance to Philippine history and heritage. They made the exhibit movable so they can move it due to events and gatherings in the barangay.