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Maria Cacao
People in Argao, Cebu, tell of Maria Cacao, a diwata who lives in a cave on Mount Lantoy. Cacao trees around the cave are her farm. After the harvest, stories say, rain washes her down the mountain in a golden ship to sell her crop in the towns.
Folklore is retold; versions differ.
Sources: Wikipedia: Maria Cacao (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikidata (CC0)
The story
Maria Cacao is a diwata, a mountain spirit, from Mount Lantoy in Argao, Cebu. She belongs to a group of mountain women in Philippine tales, with Maria Makiling and Maria Sinukuan.
Tellers say she lives in a cave in the mountain with her husband, Mangao. The cacao trees outside are her farm. When the river below the mountain floods, or a bridge breaks, people take it as a sign. They say the couple sail by a golden ship to sell her crops. The tale is also used to show how long the area has made tableya, the chocolate tablets used in sikwate and champorado.
The original name of this spirit is unknown. The name Maria was probably added in Spanish times, and cacao came from the Americas, so the name is not old local speech. After Typhoon Sendong in Cagayan de Oro, some people told a new tale of a woman at the helm of a boat who carried the souls of the dead. Writers link that to the older sea goddess Magwayen.