For the longest time I never bothered to find out how Tinuy-an Falls got its name even if I was asked gazillion times by friends and acquaintances. Finally last year, I got to send a text message to Ms. Lorie Lim, the Tourism Officer of Bislig City, about it. She texted back with two versions.
The environs of Tinuy-an Falls according to the first version were once inhabited by datus who pysically and sexually abused the natives. Wanting to exact revenge, the natives planted impaled bamboo poles (known locally as suyak) under the fall's catchbasin before going up the next tier to lie in wait.
Days passed and no datus were on sight. Still the natives waited. When their chance finally came, the natives commandeered the boat that carried the datus and pushed it toward the edge---into the deadly abyss. The sparkling waters of Tinuy-an Falls turned crimson.
The natives fled but few meters away they realized they had nowhere to go because the datus' family would surely catch them. Fearing retribution, the natives ran back and jumped to their death en masse.
The verb "tuyo" (stress on the second syllable) is the Visayan root word for "suicide". As noun, "Tinuy-an" therefore means the site of mass suicide.
The second version states that during the olden days, there was no beaten track leading to Tinuy-an Falls. To go there, one had to "make time and find a way" which, in Visayan, translates to "tuyuon" which is both a verb (no stress) and an adjective (stress on the 3rd syllable).
To me, the second version sounds contrived because grammatically the falls should have been named "Tuyuon" rather than "Tinuy-an".
Tourists flocking to Tinuy-an Falls have two choices. You want blood and gore? It's version 1 for you. You want something that strains credulity? It's version 2 for you.
Whatever floats your boat!
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