GENEALOGY OF THE KINTANAR FAMILY

by Renato Y. Kintanar

The First Kintanar

The first man in Argao to adopt the name QUINTANAR was a
carpenter from Talisay, Cebu who went to this town to take part in the
construction of its Catholic church.

Gualverto was as yet surnamed after the name of his father Simeon in accordance with the practice of the time. Presumably in compliance with a government circular requiring residents to have a family name, he chose from a list that abounded with names of saints, holy objects and other high-sounding appellations which to his dismay had already been adopted by others, leaving only a few whose sound or meaning were repugnant to his taste.

Indeed, the Spanish word “quintanar” means a post in the stable to which the horse-rope is tied.

Progeny

Gualverto begot four children– Antonia, Narciso, Nicolas, and Jose.

It is striking that they represent the traits that characterize many of the
Kintanars of today.

There was Antonia, who stayed single until her last day.

But Narciso and Nicolas were grand contributors to the population, ten children from the former and 14 from the latter.

Above all, Jose is a forerunner of some outgoing Kintanars. He was known to be single, although there is reason to believe that he carelessly sowed his wild oats in Sorsogon or thereabouts before embarking for Spain in the days of the galleon.

Otherwise, how to explain the existence of QUINTANARs of Southern Luzon who according to information received from one of them in 1935 are related to the Kintanars of Argao?

Recalcitrant

Nicolas exemplified the non-conformist and steel-willed that some Kintanars are reputed to be.

He was known as Kolas Lampinig. Lampinig is a stinging bee and for an appellation could not have been more apt than for him.

Even to this day, stories about his adamance and how he defied Spanish authorities still circulate.

Matriarchal tendencies

The matriarchal tendencies of the family were lucidly patent during the time of Hilaria. Inse Daya, for she was known by this name, forsook the enticement of a married life probably in order to effectively assume the role of dictator in the clan and, in fact, in the community.

After she died, Celedonia, popularly called Mandi Undang, took the gavel in a different, if original, style.

She would insist on her demand and, if not getting it by diplomatic means, would take a very deep breath, holding it until she turned ashen, getting back alive only after assurances to her favor.

Thus, she engineered many marriages of her relatives, some of them highly incestuous. She subscribed to the abnormal theory that wedlock between cousins carried a double insurance against failure. Doble ug kalooy, she would assert.

Out Quintanar, enter Kintanar

At the turn of the century that saw the end of Spanish rule, the succeeding Americans found the name Quintanar cumbersome to pronounce
and write as it sounded.

When Agustin was elected to the national assembly, he changed the spelling to Kintanar, causing the rest of the members of the clan to follow suit, since he was the most respected member of the family then.