Cainta, Rizal Etymology

Jack Maico
Apr 28
3 min read

The town name “Cainta” was derived from the legend of Ka Inta. 'Ka' refers to a term of respect for the elders, and 'Inta', short for Jacinta. Jacinta was a well-known, rich, and generous lady who helped the hungry and the sick.

Her house was open to all those who were in need. When she passed away, the people named the town after her for her good deeds. Another etymology of Cainta is said to be from the two Tagalog words, “Kain Ta”.

As a consequence of the Seven Years' War between Britain and Spain, the British invaded Manila in 1762. The British brought along Indian soldiers or sepoys to attack Manila then a Spanish colony. The war ended soon, and Manila was back under Spanish control. However, the Sepoy soldiers chose to stay in Cainta and settled with the natives. Today, descendants of the Sepoys are very much visible in Cainta, bearing dark skin and prominent Indian facial features.

Influenced by the Indians or sepoys, natives of Cainta learned to make bebinca, a traditional Indian pudding. Cainta’s pudding is now called bibingka; it is a renowned delicacy along with suman and latik. Bibingka, suman, and latik are Cainta’s famous delicacies and are, in fact, the core of its yearly Sumbingtik Festival.

Source: https://www.cainta.gov.ph/aboutcainta

Special credits: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cainta_Church...

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Church in town: 𝐃𝐢𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐚𝐧 𝐒𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐋𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭

The Diocesan Shrine and Parish of Our Lady of Light, commonly known as Cainta Church, is a Roman Catholic parish church located along Andres Bonifacio Avenue in Barangay San Andres, Cainta, Rizal, in the Philippines. The church also operates a neighboring school, Cainta Catholic College. From its time of erection as a parish in 1760 until 1983, it belonged to the Archdiocese of Manila. It was placed under the newly created Diocese of Antipolo in 1983, which is now headed by Ruperto C. Santos. It belongs to the Vicariate of Our Lady of Light.

On December 6, 2017, Pope Francis granted the papal bull of canonical coronation to its enshrined Marian image, and it was crowned on December 1, 2018. The venerated image is a destroyed Sicilian painting from 1727, recreated by Philippine national artist Fernando Amorsolo due to the burning of the original relic during the Filipino-American War in 1899. It is the first Marian image in Philippine history to be pontifically crowned as an artistic painting.[citation needed] The parish church was consecrated and elevated into a Diocesan Shrine on the same day as its canonical coronation.

The original church of Cainta was first constructed in stone by Father Gaspar Marco, a Jesuit priest, in 1707. The shrine at the time was under the patronage of Saint Andrew the Apostle. The construction of the stone church was designed by Juan de Salazar, and was completed during the time of Joaquin Sanchez in 1716 while he was still the parish priest.

In 1727, a painting of Our Lady of Light was brought in from the Kingdom of Sicily and was chosen as the new patroness of the church. By 1760, the church was officially declared a separate parish.

On February 23, 1853, an earthquake damaged the church building. Both its roof and one wall collapsed, while the walls of the parish rectory or convent sustained cracks.

By 1884, the parish had been named Our Lady of Light (Virgen ng Caliuanagan or Madre Santissima del Lumen in Tagalog and Spanish languages), as attested in the August 5, 1884, letter by the pastor of Cainta, Don Mariano de San Juan, to the Archbishop of Manila, Pedro Payo.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cainta_Church

𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐚 𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲

Founded on November 30, 1571, Cainta was a fiercely independent village that fought valiantly against the Spaniards but was later defeated and became a visita (annex) of Taytay under the Jesuits in 1571.

𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐂𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐚: