Chapter 30 : What is the Oldest Kingdom in the Philippines? The Lakanate of Lawan or Tondo, or the Muslim Sultanate or the Spanish Kingdom?
Some historians believe that the ancient Lakanate of Lawan is the oldest kingdom of the Philippines which existed at around 1,800 BC. According to Hebrew scholars like Dr. Narag, the original settlers of Lawan, the Lequios Waray Tribe, named the place after Awan or Aklia, the daughter of Adam. It also means in Hebrew as white beach which pointed to the golden white beach named Onay, in Lawan. According to Dr. Rolando Borrinaga, Lawan came from Austronesian word Lawang, whch means an entry or exit portal. This implies that in the ancient past, the kingdom has already been a center of inter migration among the present Austronesian islands. In a note to the head of the Principalia Council, Dr. Narag said: "What I discovered is that Lawan is the center of Ophir." The indigenous inhabitants of the ancient Philippines are the Rhinoceros Man (709,000 years ago), Dawn Man (250,000 years ago), Callao Man (69,000 years ago) and Tabon Man (30,000 years ago). Their long years of inter breeding among themselves resulted into a race called lumad or katutubo. The first refugees to the ancient lumad population are the Samaritans whose ruling families were thrown to what is now known in the Philippines as Samar, a Pacific Island and using the ancient Ophirian route... when Samaria in Israel was captured by invading forces. This start the history of hospitality among Filipinos to the Jewish race. (During WWll, Philippine President Quezon of Baler in the same Pacific area, saved the Jews from the gas chamber in Germany by accepting them into the Philippines.) The interbreeding of the Lumads and the Samaritans resulted into a prosperous tribe called Lequios or what they call themselves as "Waray hadlok" (no fear) because of their adventurous nature in resettling people and finding gold in the whole of the present Austronesian territories. The first ancient lumads to be invaded are the lumads in what is now known as the Muslim portions in Mindanao. They are the first Filipinos to be invaded and up to now, they are still under the Muslim religion. They were not able to fight back and free themselves from the Muslim invaders while the rest of the lumad population has fought back and free themselves from the Muslim, Spanish, American and Japanese invaders..the real heroic lumads..
Timeline of the Pre - Hispanic Philippines
Based on the Principalia Theory of Austronesian Inter Migration, the Rhinoceros man, Dawn man and Callao man existed in the ancient Philippines (Ophir) as early as 709, 000; 250,000 and 65,000 years ago respectively.
1800 BC – Ancient Lawan Pacific Settlement (Ophir, the homeland of Asians, Polynesians and Austronesian peoples)
1000 BC - Igorot Society (CAR)
601 AD - Chiefdoms of Zabag and Wak-Wak (Pampanga and Aparri
800 AD - Namayan (Mandaluyong, Sta. Ana Manila)
900 AD - Tondo (Tondo, Manila)
971 AD - Huangdom of Ma-i
1176 AD - Kingdom of Tondo
1200 AD - Rajahnate of Cebu, Madjas-as Confederation, Dapitan, Butuan
1252 AD - Lupah Sug (Sulu)
1376 AD - Bruneian Empire
1408 AD - Caboloan Vassal State of Ming China (Pangasinan)
1430 AD - Sultanate of Sulu1450 AD - Kingdom of Tondo reached its peak with the largest territory in the archipelago1470 AD - Namayan became a vassal state of Tondo1492 AD - Kingdom of Taytay (Palawan)1499 AD - Brunei conquered Ma-i and Sulu1500 AD - Brunei conquered Tondo's Manila territory and established the puppet Kingdom of Maynila1501 AD - Maguindanao established1502 AD - Brunei totally took-over Tondo which lost its territories up north of Luzon.1521 AD - Magellan reaches the Philippines & is killed by Lapu-Lapu in the battle of Mactan1522 AD - Maranao established1532 AD - Lanao established1564 AD - Sultanate of Ternate established, Spain conquered Cebu1567 AD - Datu Pagbuaya established1573 AD - Spain conquered Madjas-As and Tondo 1577 AD - Spain conquered Caboloan and the rest is history...
But if the territorial extent of the kingdom is to be considered, it is the Lakanate of Tondo which can be considered the oldest kingdom of the country. Based on the Laguna Copperplate, the Lakanate of Tondo existed as early as 900 AD. The "Arabization" of the Philippines happened in 1300 AD while the Westernization, through Spain, happened in 1500 AD. Therefore, the Kingdom of the Philippines based in Tondo is the oldest Kingdom in the country. In fact, the title of the King of Tondo is Lakan, a non-Muslim and non - western title which means "paramount ruler". This implies that the Lakans of Tondo are the paramount rulers of all native chieftains all over the archipelago. A historical proof of this is the fact that Datu Iberein of Lawang Island, Northern Samar, who has a Hebrew bloodline from Samaria (where the name of Samar Province came from), recognized the authority of the Lakan of Tondo to the point that his tribe hosted the grandson of Lakan Dula, David Dula y Goiti, who was hidden into his tribe's protectorate in the midst of the intense Hispanic persecution of the native nobility in Tondo and Intramuros. So, it is not true that the Muslim Mindanao was never subjugated by foreign invaders. They were, in fact, the first one who were subjugated by the Arabs. The Christians of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao were subjugated too, this time by the Spaniards. So, both the Muslim Filipinos and Christian Filipinos were subjugated by foreign powers -- Arabs and Spaniards. However, the Kingdom of Tondo, eventually won over the invaders, because as of this writing, the Philippines is now free from foreign invaders -- both from Muslims and Spanish alike. If the Russian defeated the Nazi Germans through the long harsh winter, the Kingdom of Tondo defeated the Muslims, Spaniards, British, Chinese, Americans, and Japanese invaders through long and enduring resistance by the people led by the descendants of the Lakans and skillful diplomacy. The Lakanate of Tondo uses diplomacy and marriages to sustain its reign among the confederated tribes scattered in the whole archipelago. The grandmother of Lakan Dula was married to a prince from Bolkiah ruling family of the Sultanate of Brunei. The mother of Lakan Dula is a member of the British Royalty Ysmeria Doylly from where the regnal name Dula came from because the ancient Filipino alphabet, the Baybayin, has no letter Y so Doylly became Dulay and later on became Dula. The eldest son of Lakan Dula, Batang Dula, was married to a sister of Martin de Goiti, the Spanish ruler who founded Manila. The eldest grandson of Lakan Dula, David Dula y Goiti, was married to a granddaughter of a local chieftain, Datu Iberein of Lawang Islands, Northern Samar.
At the present democratic system of the country, the Lakanate of Tondo still reigns privately through the descendants of Lakan Bunao Dula, the last King of Tondo. The descendants are keeping the key of the "SUMPA NI LAKAN DULA" which watch over the administrations of different Philippine Presidents. The bad presidents suffer from the "SUMPA" (curse) passed on as public opinion and ending in the jailing or misfortune for the bad presidents. Those who suffered from the "SUMPA" were President Ferdinand Marcos, President Joseph Estrada and President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. President Benigno S. Aquino died young and alone after his term. President Rodrigo Duterte is being watched very closely by the descendants and international community for thousands of deaths during his term and for some anomalies.
The Samaritans or Jewish - blooded people who are not faithful to strict Jewish rituals, are the earliest refugees of the Philippines and they are welcome by the original inhabitants of the country, the lumads. The Aeta are not the indigenous natives of the archipelago since they came from Borneo. Another set of refugees are the ten datus that settled in Panay...even in the past, the lumads (the aborine Filipinos) are very hospitable to the other people in need. In a book found in Spain entitled Collecion General de Documentos Relativos a las Islas Filipinas, the author has described how to locate Ophir. According to the section "Document No. 98", dated 1519-1522, Ophir can be found by travelling from the Cape of Good Hope in Africa, to India, to Burma, to Sumatra, to Moluccas, to Borneo, to Sulu, to China, then finally Ophir. Ophir was said to be "[...] in front of China towards the sea, of many islands where the Moluccans, Chinese, and Lequios met to trade..." Jes Tirol asserts that this group of islands could not be Japan because the Moluccans did not get there, nor Taiwan, since it is not composed of "many islands." Only the present-day Philippines, he says, could fit the description. Spanish records also mention the presence of Lequious (big, bearded white men, probably descendants of the Phoenicians, whose ships were always laden with gold and silver) in the Islands to gather gold and silver. [9] Other evidence has also been pointed out suggesting that the Philippines is the biblical Ophir. Copy of Solomon's Gold Series - Part 7: Track of the Hebrew to the Philippines (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gL2eltMMK0U) shows why the Philippines is the Ophir.
Some historians, like Agoncillo of the Philippines, believes that Filipinos are descendants of Tarshish, one of Noah’s great grandson, who settled in the Philippines after the great flood. Tarshish started the settlement that the natives still call today even today as the “Araw City” which was named eventually as Samar in the present dimension. Samaritans are people with Jewish blood but are not strictly practicing Jewish rituals. This historical fact is now unfolding after a group of scientists discovered that the Tagalog dialect actually came from the Waray dialect of Samar, as proven by the Calatagan Burial Jar, which indicates that the earliest civilization in the Philippines might have started in some part of Northern Samar facing the Pacific Ocean where the earliest biological living form from the ocean in the tropics to the land area might have gestated and evolved into human form after millions of years of biological gestation The Lawang – Catubig – Palapag area is an ideal vegetation in the geography of an ocean, a sea, a bay, a big river, groups of islands, etc -- the topography is a complete package of fertile terrain. Incidentally, Northern Samar is also the gateway to Manila, being the first Philippine island you will see after long years of travel in the Pacific Ocean. That was the reason why a lighthouse was built in Isla de Batang (Batag) and the Spanish government chose the existing ancient native shipping industry in Palapag Island to be the repair station of the Galleon Trade and where the revolt of Lakan Dula descendants, Sumuroy Revolt, also started. The antiquity of the area was scientifically proven with a research on ancient chicken DNA which shows that the Philippines could be the ancestral homeland of the Polynesians, whose forebears colonized the Pacific about 3,200 years ago, the University of Adelaide said recently. An international team of researchers led by Alan Cooper, director of the Australian Center for Ancient DNA (ACAD), at the University of Adelaide used the ancient DNA to study the origins and dispersal of ancestral Polynesian chickens, reconstructing the early migrations of people and the animals they carried with them. They found that Polynesian chickens had their roots in the Philippines, making that region a candidate for the homeland of the mysterious Lapita people thought to be ancestral to Polynesians who transported the domesticated birds to the Pacific islands. “We have identified genetic signatures of the original Polynesian chickens, and used these to track early movements and trading patterns across the Pacific," said lead author Dr. Vicki Thomson of ACAD. "We were also able to trace the origins of these lineages back into the Philippines, providing clues about the source of the original Polynesian chicken populations." 7 There is a scientific theory that the peoples of Polynesia and the rest of Australasia (New Zealand/Australia/Papua New Guineau) including Samoa, Hawaii and likewise as far east as Easter Island and Indonesia and as far west as Madagascar island originated from the Philippines. Our ancestors if the theory is to be believed were highly skilled sea voyagers who predated the Chinese and the Europeans in circumnavigating the globe. Proof of this theory is that the species of chicken in the Philippines is the same as that of chickens in Polynesia and the other islands. Aside from this, the Philippine carabao species is found in Madagascar but not in the African Continent. Plus Philippine mango varieties can be found as well in Madagascar. Additional evidence is the discovery of huge balangays or ancient boats in Butuan, just across Samar Island that could carry up to sixty people at one time. Scientists also confirm that the Philippines is the global epicenter of marine biodiversity in the planet, in a symposium “Scientific Discovery and the Urgent Need for Conservation at the Philippine Epicenter of Marine Biodiversity”. The scientists, in a You Tube presentation call the country the Center of Center of The World, "The Philippines". Another evidence could be the Callao Man. Filipino archaeologist Anna Valmero believes that the 67,000 years old Callao man discovered in a Philippine cave near Pacific Ocean could be oldest human in Asia Pacific. This could point to an ancient civilization among Polynesian people roaming around the islands in the Pacific, flourished in a fertile vegetation of Catubig- Laoang –Palapag of Northern Samar facing the Pacific Ocean, scattered outward in different island in the pacific rim and inward into the Philippine archipelago that eventually bloomed into the Kingdom of Tondo, a confederation of native local chieftains from different parts of the archipelago, with the Lakans of Tondo as their paramount rulers.
Samar is the Ophir; the name Samar itself is a Jewish name. And Ophir is the ancient city in Samar – prosperous, inhabited by intelligent and good looking people - in the 6th dimension. The natives, even up to now called the place Araw City. They can feel their existence. The Philippine government calls it Samar. The Bible calls it Ophir. This is the reason why Samar today is still home to virgin forests and their inhabitants are conservative and old fashion. The people of Araw City have been part of the Philippine struggle for independence. Some of them are intermingling with, or the descendants of Lakan Dula themselves. The reason why the bodies of David Dula y Goiti (David Dulay to the natives) and his seven trusted officers and one haunting dog name sigbin were never recovered after they were executed by the guardia civil in the Palapag town plaza is that they are believed to have returned to the Araw City. Some historians however are saying that they are intentionally buried in unmarked graves to prevent them from becoming the rallying point--a sort of pilgrimage site--of native patriots fighting the Spanish colonizers. The ship repair facilities of the Galleon Trade in Palapag town in Northern Samar was stopped and moved to Cavite together with the skilled workers. Some of these workers are actually the relatives of Sumuroy and David Dulay (David Dula y Goiti), who started or caused the Sumuroy Revolt. The rebellious spirit of the Waray was therefore brought to Cavite, with some of the dedicated Cavite rebels having a Waray-Jewish-Araw City blood and connections. They are part of those who started the Cavite Mutiny which later bloomed into the first Philippine Republic of the Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo of Kawit, Cavite. It was said that the reason the forces of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo are winning battles after battles against the Spanish guardia civil is the existence of the fighters from Araw City who has the ability to be invisible when they are in the state of the 6th dimension. This is also the reason why the Battle of Balangiga was won by the Waray guerrilla forces--the battle-tested American soldiers simply did not see much of their attackers. When the American soldiers burned Samar later, there are only few residents left, an indication that they might have gone into the Araw City for refuge. There are personal testimonies of people in modern times who were fortunate enough to have been invited in Araw City/Ophir. One of them is Col. Ruben Mendoza Sacaguing during his stint as an Army in the hinterland of Samar. He has written a memoir about it. He said that the place is just like paradise; you will be devoid of greed and you will never notice that time has passed by. Col. Sacaguing looks so young for his actual age now, one benefit he has for having been to Ophir/Araw City. Palapag town, the biblical time shipping hub of Ophir/Araw City was later converted as the Galleon Trade ship repair port. Up to now, remnants of the port can still be seen in the area.
The new Apostle’s Creed of the Roman Catholic Church has now recognized the co - existence of the unseen when it changed its first sentence to "I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible." Some religious historians believe that this change comes from the efforts of the citizens of Araw City/Ophir for their existence on earth to be formally recognized. This insertion also recognizes that other invisible forces like electricity and cell phone signals are really co - mingling with us, and in fact, helping us.
Up to this day, the people of Ophir/Araw City/Samar still influence secretly the Philippine politics and business through the Jewish connections and through the descendants of Lakan Dula who are keeping the key to the "Sumpa ni Lakan Dula". The Sumpa ni Lakan Dula is the main “gaba” or curse that driven away out of office or jailed three Philippine Presidents: Ferdinand Marcos, Joseph Estrada, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and maybe Noynoy Aquino.
Another historical proof that points that Ophir/Araw City is an old civilization of the Philippine archipelago based in Samar island is the article below that point to ancient Tagalog to have come from Samar: Tagalog (pronounced təˈɡɑːlɒɡ in English) is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a third of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by most of the rest. It is the first language of the Philippine region IV (CALABARZON and MIMAROPA) and of Metro Manila. Its standardized form, commonly called Filipino, is the national language and one of two official languages of the Philippines. It is related to-though not readily intelligible with-other Austronesian languages such as Malay, Javanese, and Hawaiian. The word Tagalog derived from tagailog, from tagá- meaning "native of" and ílog meaning "river". Thus, it means "river dweller". Very little is known about the history of the language. However, according to linguists such as Dr. David Zorc and Dr. Robert Blust, the Tagalogs originated, along with their Central Philippine cousins, from Northeastern Mindanao or Eastern Visayas. The first written record of Tagalog is in the Laguna Copperplate Inscription, written in the year 900 and uses fragments of the language along with Sanskrit, Malay, and Javanese. Meanwhile, the first known book to be written in Tagalog is the Doctrina Cristiana (Christian Doctrine) of 1593. It was written in Spanish and two versions of Tagalog; one written in the Baybayin script and the other in the Latin alphabet. The Kingdom of Tondo has its historical roots from Samar Island.
This proof was corroborated in an article entitled: "The mystery of the ancient inscription" by Rolando Borrinaga published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. The article talks about the historically famous "Calatagan Pot" which is a burial jar of the Ancient Tagalogs whose seat is in the Kingdom of Tondo. The burial pot which dates back from 12th to 15th century has mysterious markings which for so many years’ historians and linguists have not found a comprehensible interpretation. The historians found out that the pot is used in ancient rituals of sending a dead person's soul to the next life. They used lot of methods to decipher the message in the pot but still they cannot connect the burial rituals and the messages, until they used the present Waray dialect of people from the hinterland of Samar. The ancient messages became very clear. If you go to the Isla de Batag and Lawang Islands in Northern Samar even today, you can still hear natives speaking some Hebrew words not found in any part of Samar nor in Tagalog Region. For instance, they have a word "sibul" for a part of a dwelling place. In Hebrew is "zebool" or dwelling or residence. They have words like "asaya", or eat the fish without rice which must have come from Hebrew word "Asayah" or Yah has made. They also have a term "bug - at" which means heavy, which might have come from the Hebrew word "baw-at" which means to trample down.
Another proof that an ancient civilization within the pacific rim from Cagayan Valley in Luzon to Surigao Island in Mindanao, with Samar as the center of Polynesian civilization, might have existed as the Callao man 35,000 years ago and his tribe might have prospered into Biblical proportion, is the Surigao treasure which is estimated, based on carbon dating, to be as early as 10th century, around the time of the Laguna Copperplate of the Kingdom of Tondo. The seat of the kingdom might have moved to Tondo as the ancient settlement and migration pattern in the Pacific Rim – based civilization moved inward to Mactan and to the present Manila. The settlement of Tondo progressed as it made contact with ancient China, India and the Asian Muslim and and the big part of Luzon, and much later, the Spain and England, overtaking in terms of progress the ancestral Biblical civilization in the Pacific Rim where the Tagalog dialect came from. However, the contact between the biblical ancient tribes in the pacific based in Samar and the emerging Lakanate of Tondo has continued even to the present day.
Throughout the Philippine history, the struggle of the Kingdom of Tondo against foreign invaders are shown in sporadic but consistent occasions.In 1587 Magat Salamat, one of the children of Lakan Dula, and Augustin de Legazpi, Lakan Dula's nephew and the chiefs of the neighboring areas of Tondo, Pandacan, Marikina, Candaba, Navotas and Bulacan were executed for secretly conspiring to overthrow the Spanish colonizers. Another incident happened in Pampanga during the famine. The Pampangos sought the help of the Borneans for their plan to enter Manila one dark night to massacre all the Spaniards. Unfortunately, a native woman married to a Spanish soldier betrayed the plan. Many Pampangos were arrested and executed. In Northern Mindanao, Governor Fajardo executed the chieftain of the Manobos named Dabao, after he accepted Fajardo's offer of amnesty. David Dula y Goiti, a grandson of Lakan Dula with a Spanish mother escaped the persecution of the descendants of Lakan Dula by settling in Isla de Batag, Northern Samar and settled in the placed now called Candawid (Kan David). Due to hatred to the Spaniards, he dropped the Goiti in his surname and adopted a new name David Dulay. He was eventually caught by the Guardia Civil based in Palapag and was executed together with seven followers. They were charged with planning to attack the the Spanish detachment. In 1762, Palaris led a revolt of Pangasinan and waged war that last for two years. This rebellion was crushed in 1765 and Palaris was hanged. Apolinario de la Cruz or popularly known as Hermano Pule revolted caught and after a hasty trial was executed and his body was dismembered and exhibited in the town of Tayabas. The execution of local priests Gomez, Burgos and Zamora, in February 17 1872, maliciously charged by the friars gained sympathy among the natives that led to numerous uprisings. However these uprisings unfortunately ended up in the execution of leaders and sympathizers. For instance, the 13 martyrs of Cavite, leaders in Bulacan and Nueva Ecija but the most gruesome and well-remembered of all these executions was the execution of Jose Rizal on Dec. 30, 1896.
The dying wish of Lakan Dula is for one his descendants to lead the Philippine archipelago to greatness someday, long after the Spaniards had been driven out. So far, two of his descendants had already become the President of the Philippines: Diosdado Macapagal and Gloria Arroyo, but the Filipino people are still waiting for that deliverant envisioned by Lakan Dula. Rep. Mikey Macapagal Arroyo might try to become the third Philippine president from among the descendants. Is he finally the deliverant? Or, is it possible that the real deliverant will be coming from an obscure branch of Lakan Dula bloodline? Some historians interpret as abandonment of the Kingdom when Lakan Dula sent his heir apparent and several trusted warriors as well as members of his clan to different places of the archipelago using the galleon trade and river routes. But, there are historians who say that this is a brilliant tactical move to mass up forces form different part of the Philippine Island, regroup, consolidate and drive away the Spaniards in the proper time. This could also be a way to preserve his bloodline - by sending his eldest son and heir apparent, and some children and relatives to far away land. He fears that his bloodlines will be slowly murdered by the Spaniards to totally erase the native aristocracy. This tactical move proved to be long term and had gone beyond his lifetime. This explains why there are Lakan Dula descendants in Pampanga, La Union, Marikina, Northern Samar, Sorsogon, Quezon Province, Quirino, Davao, Zamboanga, Panay Islands, and Cebu; and in many other far flung places of the country. The descendants are usually carrying native sounding or non-Hispanic surnames like lakandula, dula, dulay, gatdula, dulatre, duldulao, dulayba, lakandola, lacandula and many others revolving around the root world dula. During the intense persecution of the Spaniard on the native aristocracy, some descendants even disregarded the dula root words and adopted totally different native sounding surnames like magsaysay, agbayani, salonga, bacani, macapagal, salalima, soliman, pagdanganan, datumanong, katigbak, kasilag, salamat, karingal, pangandaman, sumuroy, silang, makalintal, gatmaitan, capinpin, etc. There are those who actually embraced Spanish surnames like guevarra, legaspi, mendoza, delapaz, santos, etc.
There are historians and descendants of Lakan Dula, specifically those associated with the blog of Ellen Tordisillas who claim that the macapagals are not really descendants of Lakan Dula. For one, the macapagals are not really from Lubao, but form Candaba, Pampanga. They say that the claim of the macapagal to the Lakan Dula heritage is based on the tall tales concocted by the father of President Diosdado Macapagal who can write stories. These tales seem to have shaped the formative years of young Diosdado which planted the seeds for his presidential ambition. He sustained the tale during his term and at present, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo seem to be sustaining the same tale.
This website wishes to appeal to fellow descendants of Lakan Dula to be inclusive rather than exclusive. Even God is against exclusivity that is why He warned the humanity against the evil of 666. In short, let us welcome any family or clan who has a long cherished family legend or tales that in one way or another is linked to the old Manila Kingdom of Lakan Dula. The Jewish people have their own myths, legends, practices and tales. And they believe them to the point that they are willing to die for them. In the face of the present day Filipino Diaspora, if the history, legends, myths and tales around Lakan Dula will give us our lasting identity and unity, then, by all means let us continue to make family tales and myths around Lakan Dula, the Old Manila Kingdom, the pre-Hispanic grandeur of native aristocracy, the dying wish of Lakan Dula, the legend of the lineage of the first born son, the descendants, Philippine deliberant, etc. And let them flourish into culture, religion, cult, drama, literature and even civilization. This could be the start of the Philippine greatness that Lakan Dula has wished for.
In summary, the dialect spoken in Samar came from ancient Hebrew which became the basis of the Tagalog dialect. Where did the ancient people of Samar learn the dialect? Because Samar is Ophir or Araw City to some natives even today, which traded with Israel in the Biblical times and the civilization prospered through years of expansions to the pacific islands and inward into the Philippine islands, progressing into a kingdom based in Tondo, Manila that has consistently fought, up to the present times- against foreign and local tyrants, abusers and invaders.
Datu Iberein of the Lakanate of Lawan is a Strong Leader and ancient Hero
Historical accounts will show that the Lakanate of Lawan attracts peaceful loving foreigners but are avoided by foreigners that have bad intentions. In fact, the intermigration pattern described by Otley Bayer seem to be in the direction towards the Lakante of Lawan, but some migrants were not able to reach it and were satisfied with the free land that they found like Sulu, Panay and Butuan. In the book of Henry Scott, it described how Datu Iberein himself led an army who attacked a ship of the Spaniards that are about to invade the Lakanate. With war attire adorned with gold, Datu Iberein gave warning to the foreign ship, that the Lakanate is a free civilization and therefore, any abuse committed by the foreigners will be dealt with accordingly. This was taken by the foreigners as a warning so they leave the Lakanate and look for a more peaceful and welcoming place to settle. Datu Iberein of the Lakanate of Lawan is the first Philippine ruler who drive away invaders. Magellan was welcomed in Bohol and Cebu, but a settlement in the Lakanate of Lawan headed by Lapu Lapu continue its defensive stand against the invaders. This is an insult to Magellan who decided to attack the island of Mactan. The plan of the attack was secretly discovered by Lapu Lapu who was able to get reinforcement and arms from the poblacion of Baybay, the seat of the Lakanate of Lawan. When Magellan attacked Mactan, he was surprised of the arm superiority and numbers of the natives but thought that they will be eventually subjugated. Magellan died in that battle and the foreigners went back to the Kingdom of Spain and reported to the King what happened. The Lakanate of Lawan will never be disturbed again for so many years after that. The Kingdom of Spain however seem to be obsessed on conquering the Philippines. On February 13, 1565, Spanish conquistador Miguel López de Legazpi and his troops arrived in the Philippines and landed on the shores of Lakanate of Lawan. (Cibabao, the present day Samar Island).
Earlier, on November 21, 1564, Legazpi set sail from Puerto de la Navidad, Mexico, sighted Gua Island in the Ladrones on January 21, stayed there for about 11 days. Sailed for 11 more days mostly of good weather and then finally came in sight of the Filipinas. In the afternoon of February 13, 1565, Legazpi cast anchor in the bay called Cibabao and remained there for 7 or 8 days.
During his stay in Cibabao one of his men, Francisco Gomez, was killed by the natives. Gomez was killed after he disembarked to make blood-friendship with them, a ceremony that is considered inviolable. This is observed in this manner: one from each party must draw two or three drops of blood from his arm or breast and mix them, in the same cup, with water or wine. Then the mixture must be divided equally between two cups, and neither person may depart until both cups are alike drained.
While Gomez was about to bleed himself, one of the natives pierced his breast from one side with a lance.
Leaving the Cibabao bay in a hurry, Legazpi sailed south reaching the end of the island, where the land turns west. Just south of this island are other islands between which and this island there is a straight channel running west. The fleet passed through this channel, and on the second day from the departure from Cibabao, after having sailed nearly thirty leagues, Legazpi reached a port of Tandaya Island and later into the port of Bohol.
From the port of Bohol, Legazpi reached the port of Cebu on a Friday, April 27, 1565, the same date 44 years earlier, in 1521, when Magellan was killed in Mactan. Dr. Rolando Borringa mentioned about YBABAO: "The villages of Pan[g]pan[g], the river of Catubig, the river of Gamay, and the (two) islands of Bantac (Batag) were places in Ybabao (northeastern Samar) that were mentioned by Miguel Loarca in his account dated 1582. No Palapag or Laoang yet."
The fact that Batag Islands and nearby Pangpang could be an older settlement than Palapag and Laoang is triangulated by the fact that in the 60' s, several excavations were done in Sawang, Isla de Batag where lots of antique martabana, jars, jewelries and plates were excavated. There are also stories from the old folks that the site of present Parola of Isla de Batag was an ancient light house guiding settlements to and fro Austronesian islands. The ancient light house was reconstructed by the Americans. Batag Islands and Pangpang could be the center of the ancient polity of the Lakanate of Lawan, and it covered the territories of Laoang, Palapag, Gamay and Catubig where Princess Bingi came from but its influence as a Lakanate over other settlements extends to Albay, Mactan, Quezon Province, Surigao and Butuan as triangulated by the narratives of Father Alcina in the Bingi of Lawan where a Datu Dumaraog of Albay has been smittened by the beauty of Princess Bingi of the Lakanate of Lawan.
With the death of Magellan earlier and later on, Gomez, on the hands of the warriors of the Lakanate of Lawan, the Kingdom of Spain abandoned their plan to subjugate the Lakanate and settled on polity that welcomed them peacefully. On June 24, 1571, López de Legazpi finally established a permanent settlement in Manila when the Kingdom of Spain forged an alliance with the Lakanate of Tondo. Spain was allowed the construction of the walled city of Intramuros. June 24 is now celebrated yearly as "Araw ng Maynila". He proclaimed the town as the island's capital and permanent seat of the Spanish colonial government in the western Pacific Ocean. Lopez de Legazpi became the first Spanish governor of the Philippines and worked to convert the natives to the Catholic religion. He governed the Philippines for a year before dying of heart failure in Manila in 1572. He was laid to rest in San Agustin Church, Intramuros. History would tell later that the open resistance against the Manila – based Kingdom of Spain will start from the Lakanate of Lawan, instigated by the Lakanate of Tondo and led by Agustin Sumuroy, David Dula and Pedro Caamug and extended all the way to Cavite with the soldiers of the Lakanate disguising as ship builders from Palapag who will eventually spark rebellions in Cavite such as the Cavite mutiny and will be supported by the native rebels from the Lakanate of Tondo itself. Eventually, the Philippine republic will be declared in Cavite. The Lakanate of Tondo and Lakanate of Lawan finally won over the Kingdom of Spain. When the natives were fooled by Spain and America in the Treaty of Paris, the natives led by Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo wrote a formal letter of protest against the Treaty of Paris. In that protest letter, the natives are saying that their mandate is coming historically from the Kingdom of Lakan Dula to the existing revolutionary government. The significance of this letter of protest is that it was historically completing the cycle of resistance from Tondo, to Lawan of Sumuroy Revolt, to Cavite of the Cavite mutiny back to the Bonifacio of the Lakanate of Tondo - led revolution and to the final independence. The succeeding years, this victory will be forgotten when the natives became free and happy but will start to face new set of colonizers, the Americans and the Japanese. The Americans will be defeated eventually in the Lakanate of Lawan in the Battle of Balangiga. During WWll, the Japanese forces will be neutralized by guerilla forces in the Lakanate of Lawan to pave the way for the landing of Gen. Macarthur in the bay of Leyte. Eventually, President Quezon from the Pacific side of the Philippines (Lakanate of Lawan), will lead the quest for independence and the natives will finally win it. Today, the fight against foreign ideology like communism of China is being hotly fought in the Lakanate of Lawan (Samar and Leyte) with Warays taking the stand against locals infested with foreign ideology.
Today, only those Filipinos who are interested in history know something about Datu Iberein of Baybay in the Lakanate of Lawan, the first Philippine strongman and hero.
References:
Kahimyang.com.https://kahimyang.com/kauswagan/articles/929/today-in-philippine-history-february-13-1565-miguel-l-pez-de-legazpi-landed-on-the-shores-of-cibabao. Retrieved February 13, 2020
Relation of the voyage to the Philippines Islands, by Miguel Lopez de Legazpi - 1565
The Descendants of Lakan Dula of Tondo are united, their unassuming secretive patriarch does not rule, he reigns privately
Juancho Bong Sempio wrote this article on the KAANAK NG MGA BAYANI, KATIPUNERO AT REBOLUSYONARYO last March 13, 2016
"Our new member bro Toti Dulay is a descendant of Lakan Dula or Lakandula to some...
Lakan Dula was a native muslim king of Tundun (a large area covering most of what is now present-day Metro Manila), when the Spanish colonization of the Philippine Islands had begun. He ruled a community of Muslim people who lived north of the Pasig River.Lakan Dula was one of three Muslim chieftains in the Manila during the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors led by Martín de Goiti, and Juan de Salcedo in 1570. Lakan is his official title meaning King and later baptized Lakan Carlos Dula (it was found later by the National Historical Commission that he was not actually baptized and did not changed his name), was the Lakan paramount ruler of the pre-colonial Philippine Kingdom of Tondo when the Spaniards first conquered the lands of the Pasig River delta in the 1570's. His father is Rajah Salalila (Sulayman I) and his mother is Ysmeria. His beloved wife is Mutya and they are blessed with several children. His grandparents are Dayang (Lady) Kalangitan and Gat (Lord) Lontok and his brother is Rajah Matanda (Sulayman II). Rajah Mura or Muda (Sulayman III) and Lakan Banao Dula led a revolt known as the Sulayman Revolt of 1574 in the villages of Navotas, taking advantage of the confusion brought about by the attacks of Chinese pirate Limahong. This is also often referred to as the "Manila revolt" but is sometimes referred to as the "Sulayman Revolt" and the "Lakan Dula Revolt."
Delmar Topinio Taclibon
"My deepest gratitude to Hrh Prince Omar Kiram and His Majesty Sultan Fuad A. Kiram I of the Royal Hashemite Sultanate of Sulu and Sabah for this conferment as one of the Datu(k) of the Royal Dominion."
Message of Hrh Prince Omar Kiram:
"The Hon. Datuk Sir Delmar Topinio Taclibon, KRSS, we wish you and your family and all our beloved members a blessed and prosperous joyful new year. Let us continue our resolve, commitment, dedication, true faith and allegiance to our beloved anointed Sultan Fuad A. Kiram I, to realize our advocacy of Sabah and Spratlys against Malaysia's land grabbing for the benefits of the Tausugs and the Filipinos. God Defend the Right!"
Toti Dulay : "congrats insan Delmar Topinio Taclibon and mabuhay ang Magat Salamat lineage ni Lakan Dula ng Tondo..."
Delmar Topinio Taclibon : "Thank you too Modern Day Grand Patriarch of the Lakan Dula Clan Sir Toti Dulay!"
Roderick Alain Alvarez : 9th cousin's husband's 9th great uncle's wife's 6th great aunt's husband's 16th great grandson we're that related, insan Toti, pero hindi pa tapos ang Lakan Dula genealogy: please add as many relatives coz, as head of the Royal House, you know them better :)
Toti Dulay: today at 2:36 AM
Thank you insan Roderick, in the Geni. Com genealogy, we saw na lumabas na yung name nung Juan Reyes Macapagal..ang main concern na lang natin is paano na connect si Diosdado Macapagal kay Juan Macapagal?
Suijul Tasorre : Dear Sir Toti, I am very happy to know that you were able to protect the continuity of the Dula lineage....... how I wish na makilala ko kayo....... I'm a fan royalties specially ancient filipino royalty.... the missing link of our history as a nation.......
Sam Jezrel Moran kamahalan.. pinag mamalaki ko po na akoy pilipino.. kau po pala ang prinsipe ng tondo si Prince. Sofronio Cerbito Dulay I.
Purmana Wati, whose grandmother is a dayang (princess) in the lineage of Sultan Abdul Kahar, the sixth Sultan of Brunei who ruled Negara Brunei Darussalam in 1524. Purmana resides in their ancestral homeland in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia.
Below is a conversation between Purmana of Sarawak, and Toti Dulay:
21 hrs ·
Happy birthday po Lakan Toti Dulay!
What a happy coincidence my reaching out to you was!
I drink to your name and to this movement to revitalize, preserve and protect the true identity of the Filipino people!
Nag bibigay pugay,
Rocky Andal Brito-Contreras Ng Bulalacao
The Pre Hispanic Native Royal Houses and Principalia Families of the Republic of the Philippines
The Principalia families of the Philippines are the descendants of the prehispanic lakan, sultan, datu, rajah, hadi of the different ancient prosperous native settlements all over the country that were eventually recognized by the Kingdom of Spain as part of the their royal administration in the country.
This could be a result of the informal alliance between Lakan Bunao Dula of the Lakanate of Tondo with the Kingdom of Spain. Among the agreement of the Lakanate of Tondo and the Kingdom of Spain are : there will be no more armed conflict between the two kingdoms, the native hereditary leaders will be allowed to use their ancient surnames, they will be free from paying taxes, and they will be appointed as gobernadorcillos of their own settlements. As a gesture of this diplomatic alliance between the Kingdom of Spain and the Lakanate of Tondo, Batang Dula, the eldest son and heir apparent of Lakan Bunao Dula and Senorita Goiti were betrothed and the palace of Lakan Bunao Dula, will be under the protection and maintenance of the Kingdom of Spain. Later, the palace was converted into a dormitory and eventually, a church was built on it.
It is now known as the Sto. Nino Church of Tondo. According Rev. Fr. Lito Villegas of the Church of Sto. Nino de Tondo, with the death of Lakan Bunao Dula, the Sto. Nino became the "Lakan of the Kingdom Tondo with children of Lakan Bunao led by his eldest son and heir apparent Batang Dula acting as the regents of the native kingdom. In the later part of the nation’s history, the Philippine Revolution against the Kingdom of Spain will eventually be led by natives of Tondo, Andres Bonifacio and Macario Sakay. When the Philippine Revolutionary Government was hoodwinked by both the Americans and the Kingdom of Spain through the Treaty of Paris, the revolutionary government led by Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo filed a formal protest against the treaty and in their protest letter, they mentioned that the sovereignty and mandate of the revolutionary government was derived from the Lakanate of Tondo's mandate of Lakan Bunao Dula.
The recognition of the rights and privileges of the Filipino Principalía as equivalent to those of the Hidalgos of Castile appears to facilitate entrance of Filipino nobles into institutions under the Spanish Crown, either civil or religious, which required proofs of nobility. However, such approximation may not be entirely correct since in reality, although the principales were vassals of the Spanish Crown, their rights as sovereign in their former dominions were guaranteed by the Laws of the Indies, more particularly the Royal Decree of Philip II of 11 June 1594, which Charles II confirmed for the purpose stated above, in order to satisfy the requirements of the existing laws in the Peninsula.
The descendants of Lakan Dula has been spearheaded by the lineage of Batang Dula, through the cadet line of David Dula y Goiti where the Dulay Tribe all over the country emerged. They are recognized by the organizations of indigenous Filipinos headed by Rajah Julian Canonoy and other datu as well as principalia families, royal families from Sarawak, articles, blogs, heritage websites, and historians - - as the cadet line of the Lakanate of Tondo. The descendants of Lakan Dula which is headed by the 5th hereditary leader of the Dulay Mendoza Clan of Marikina, through their foundation, Ceferino Dulay Memorial Foundation, Inc. (CDM Foundation) has been doing advocacies and projects such as 1. Animal Shelter, 2. Marikina News, 3. Pro - Poor Projects (Feeding Program, Outreach, and Gift Giving), 4. Baybayin, Arnis and Kundiman Revival, 5. Lakanate of Tondo, Royal Houses and Principalia Families, 6. Descendants of Lakan Dula, 7. Sumpa ni Lakan Dula, 8. Indigenous tribal groups in the Philippines and 9. Dine with the Ancestors. The CDM Foundation was organized by the elders of the Dulay Tribe among them was Simon Dulay Sr. of Laoang, Northern Samar in honor of the lineage of the eldest son Ceferino Rivas Dulay, the 4th hereditary leader of Dulay Mendoza Clan of Marikina Valley. The Presidency of the foundation is now with the eldest son and legal heir of Ceferino who is known as the 5th hereditary leader of the clan.
A circle of advocates on specialized fields were involved in the projects: Pastor Jay Enage, founder of Baybayin Buhayin, Inc., Samuel Bambit Dulay for arnis, Arjhay Laurea for Kundiman and the family of the late national artist Lang Dulay for tinalak. The leader of the descendants of Lakan Dula had been interviewed by bloggers, I - Juander of GMA, different students and I -Witness of GMA; and the House of Dulay Mendoza has been a favorite venue for films and documentaries. One of those who took notice of the activities of the descendants of Lakan Dula was a Fil American from New York representing the Wangdom of Ma-I in Bulalacao Mindoro. He wrote a letter to the head of the House of Dula and an informal alliance between the Lakanate of Tondo and Wangdom of Ma-I was discussed in principle to support the existing projects and advocacies. The alliance embarked on a US Mission to Recover Doctrina Cristiana now kept by the US Library of Congress which was coordinated with the Office of the President, National Historical Commission and the Department of Foreign Affairs. The people behind the God's Culture in YouTube visited the House of Dula for a Dine with the Ancestors Ritual Havilah Version. A principalia who is a high ranking Filipino priest and papal official based in Vatican City in Rome later participated in the visioning of an organization of the principalia families in the Philippines which in essence became the foundation of the council. In a meeting between the patriarch of the House of Dula and the parish priest of the Sto. Nino de Tondo, a pilgrimage of Lakan Dula descendants to Tondo was discussed and the necessity of formalizing the Principalia Council was deemed as historical priority.
Reference: