The municipality of Nabua will celebrate its 457th foundation anniversary on July 24-31, 2026. This is distinct from the patronal town fiesta and Boa-Boahan (also known as Bowa-Bowaan) Festival being commemorated every May. The patronal feast is in honor of the traditional finding of the cross while the festival also draws tourists to the town.

Nabua is located at the southern end of Camarines Sur, along the banks of Lake Bato. It is also astride roads leading to and from Libon, Albay. At present, the municipality covers 96 square kilometers of area and has 42 baranggays under its jurisdiction. A 19th-century Spanish author and traveler, Alfredo Puya Ruiz, described Nabua as a “large and beautiful town,” which possessed a “hot and humid yet healthy climate.” During the 1880s, it was also prone to flooding which limited the time when horse-drawn carriages called carromatas could move toward Baao and Caceres from Nabua and vice versa.

In the recent century, Nabua’s population grew from around 18,000 in 1903 to more or less 86,500 in 2020. A Franciscan chronicler cited 2718 tributos for Nabua in 1865, while 20 years later, its number of almas (or under Church jurisdiction) was more than 15,500.

Nabua was one of the early sites of Franciscan evangelization beginning in 1571 but was originally under Augustinian jurisdiction. A church made of wood was constructed in 1579 and was eventually dedicated to the Holy Cross. In 1865, Franciscan missionary Felix de Huerta described key geographical and historical details of the town. Shown below is the original passage written in Spanish with the English translation:

Nombre que se dio a este pueblo por hallarse rodeado de cinco rancherias, tomado por similitud del corazon o del centro del fruita de coco, que en idioma bicol se pronuncia “bua” o Nabua conjugado.

Por los anos 1571 a 1572 llego el V.P. Agustino Fr. Alonso Gimenez a una de las cinco rancherias llamada Lupa, cuyo principal, denominado Panga, descendia de casta Bornea; habiendo levantado un altar celebro el Santo Sacrificio de la Misa…

El clima es humado y calido, sin embargo de hallarse ventilado por todas partes. Las enfermedades mas comunes son tisis y calenturas. Se abastecen de aguas del citado rioque son bastante buenas.

El termino de este pueblo por la parte del O. (Oriente) es bastante montuoso y abundante en buenas maderas como el molave, banaba, narra, yacal, guijo, y otras milas clases.

Since it is surrounded by five villages, the town got its name from the shape of the heart of the coconut. In the Bikol language, this core is called “bua,” or when conjugated, “Nabua.” Five rancherias comprise the town.

The eminent Augustinian, Fray Alonso Gimenez, arrived in the years 1571 and 1572. He first reached Lupa, one of the area’s five rancherias. It was ruled by the principal Panga, who was descended from Borneans. Gimenez subsequently celebrated the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass after having erected an altar.

The climate of the town is hot and humid, but wind blows in all directions of the town.  The more common illnesses are tuberculosis and fevers. The river water’s quality is just right.

The eastern part of the town is gently mountainous. Furthermore, it is also rich in timberwoods, such as molave, banaba, narra, yakal, guijo and a thousand more kinds.

The reference to prehispanic rulers who have “Bornean” origins was also made not only for Nabua, but also for other parts of the Bikol river basin. The Sorsoganon historian, Luis Camara Dery, even theorized that the prehispanic Ibalon (covering parts of Albay and Sorsogon) were part of an ancient trading route connecting Maynilad (and Tondo) with Borneo.

Meanwhile, the History and Cultural Life or Historical Data Papers (HDP) of Nabua mentioned that each of the town’s barrio has its own patron saint. When the narrative of the HDP was written in the early 1950s, Nabua had 20 barrios: Agupit, Balatan, Baras, Cabugnahan, Caorasan, Inapatan, La Opinion, Malawag, Nacacale, Naipitan, Ogpon, Pacifico, Paloyon, San Isidro, Santiago, Siramag, Santo Domingo, Tandaay, Tapyas, Topas. The number has since increased in succeeding decades.

At present, Nabua is also known for three characteristics. First, many active and retired U.S. Navy servicemen trace their family roots to Nabua where enlistment began as early as 1901. Notable is top-ranking Rear Admiral Babette “Bette” Bolivar, a distinguished US Navy officer whose father is a Nabueño. The town benefits economically from being a favorite destination for US veteran retirees, families and friends, especially from southern California. Second, it is an educational hub because of the presence of the Camarines Sur Polytechnic Colleges which serves as the region’s formation center for future seafarers. Finally, a P190 million flood control project is located in Nabua, part of the Waras-Lalo watershed. The Waras River is a major tributary that heavily influences the hydrology of Lake Bato and drains floodwaters from Nabua and Iriga City into the Bicol River basin.

The header features folk dancers carrying replicas of a bowa, the heart of the young coconut, during the May 2026 Bowa-Bowaan Festival (credit: Mayor Fernando D. Simbulan)

References:

Dery, Luis Camara. From Ibalon to Sorsogon: A Historical Survey of Sorsogon Province to 1905, New Day Publishers.

Historical Data Papers. Nabua. National Library of the Philippines, NLP Digital Collection HD01.p13.m16

Huertas, Felix. Estado Geografico Topografrico, Estadistico Historico-Religioso de la Santa Y Apostolica Provincia de S. Gregorio Magno. Binondo: Imprenta M. Sanchez. 1865.

Montilla, Maxine. PAMIBIAN: Holy Cross Parish. Saysay Bikol, March 26, 2024, https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1HjXBAxm6C/

Nabua LGU. “Boa-Boahan Festival.” Municipality of Nabua.” https://nabua.gov.ph//boa-boahan-festival/

PhilAtlas. “Nabua.” https://www.philatlas.com/uzon/r05/camarines-sur/nabua.html

About the author

RUBEN JEFFREY ASUNCION is an Assistant Professor at the University of the Philippines – Los Baños. He is greatly interested in Bikol and other local histories and is personally researching on the history of Bulan, Sorsogon. He is the Director for Communications for Saysay Bikol, a civic organization of historians, educators, and cultural heritage advocates based in Naga City.