AI illustration
Alamat ng Mt. Kanlaon
A legend from western Negros and eastern Cebu tells of old Harisaboqued, King of the Mountain. He let people plant tobacco only below a line. When they broke the rule, he took the crops and the mountaintop blew off. Smoke still rises.
Folklore is retold; versions differ.
Old stories: The Tobacco of Harisaboqued
Sources: Wikipedia: Kanlaon (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikidata (CC0)
The story
Kanlaon is the tallest mountain in the Visayas, about 2,465 meters high, on the island of Negros. People in western Negros and eastern Cebu tell of an old being called Harisaboqued, the King of the Mountain. In the tale, he lets people plant tobacco only below a set line on the slope. People break this rule. Harisaboqued takes their crops, and the top of the mountain blows off. People say the smoke you see is a sign of his anger.
The name Kanlaon means the place of Laon. Laon was an old Visayan deity of creation and farming, and her name means the ancient one. Miguel de Loarca wrote about her in 1582 in Blair and Robertson's collection (public domain). He called her Lalahon or Lahon and said she sent locusts when angry.
The mountain is a real active volcano. It has erupted many times, including in 1996, when three climbers died. A large explosive eruption in December 2024 led to about 87,000 people leaving their homes. The area is now a protected natural park.