[migueldiaz]

Still on the kampilan's probable origins, I've compiled Pigafetta's observations on the locals he encountered.

I was trying to see if there's anything he noted that will shed more light on the subject.


[1] At "Ladrone Islands" [Guam and Marianas Islands]

"These people have no arms, but use sticks ['baston'], which have a fishbone at the end."

[2] At "Zzamal & Humunu islands" [Samar Is. and Homonhon Is.]

"The lord of these people [in Homonhon Is.] was old, and had his face painted, and had gold rings suspended to his ears, which they names Schione, and the others had many bracelets and rings of gold in their arms, with a wrapper of linen round their head ...

"Near this isle is another where there are a kind of people who wear holes in their ears so large that they can pass their arms through them; these people are Caphre, that is to say, Gentiles, and they go naked, except that round their middles they wear cloth made of the bark of trees.

"But there are some of the more remarkable of them who wear cotton stuff, and at the end of it there is some work of silk done with a needle. These people are tawny, fat, and painted, and they anoint themselves with the oil of coco nuts and sesame, to preserve them from the sun and the wind. Their hair is very black and long, reaching to the waist, and they carry small daggers and knives, ornamented with gold, and many other things, such as darts ['fascines', 'faxina', 'foscine'], harpoons, and nets to fish, like our rizali, and their boats are like ours."

[3] At "Mazzavua" or "Massaua" or "Mazzava", which is either Limasawa Is. (southern Leyte), or Masaua (near Butuan City in northeastern Mindanao)

"... he [Rajah Calambu, the first Filipino king Magellan met] was the handsomest man that we saw among these nations. He had very black hair coming down to his shoulders, with a silk cloth on this head, and two large gold rings hanging down his ears, he had a cloth of cotton worked with silk, which covered him from the waist to the knees, at his side he wore a dagger, with a long handle which was all of gold, its sheath was of carved wood. Besides he carried upon him scents of storax and benzoin. He was tawny and painted all over. The island of this king is named Zuluan [Suluan, a tiny island near Homonhon] and Calagan [Caraga peninsula, which is part of Mindanao island] ...

"... the captain [Magellan] asked him [Rajah Calambu] if he had any enemies who made war upon him, and that if he had any he would go and defeat them with his men and ships, to put them under his obedience. The king thanked him, and answered that there were two islands the inhabitants of which were his enemies; however, that for the present it was not the time to attack them."

[4] At "Zzubu", also Cabu, Zabu, Subsuth, Subuth, Zubut, Cubo, Subo, or Zubo [all meaning Cebu]

From Oliveira: "As soon as he [Magellan's fleet] entered [Cebu port], he ordered some cannons to be fired, after which many people, armed with spears, shields and swords, came running to the shore. The king who was among them, ordered immediately to inquire from the captain who he was ..."

Back to Pigafetta: "When we came to the town we found the King of Zzubu at his palace, sitting on the ground on a mat made of palm, with many people about him. He was quite naked, except that he had a cloth round his middle, and a loose wrapper round his head, worked with silk by the needle. He had a very heavy chain round his neck, and two gold rings hung in his ears with precious stones. He was a small and fat man, and his face was painted with fire in different ways."

[5] At "Matan" or "Mautham" [Mactan]

Various accounts of the Battle of Mactan were already cited before in this thread.

I'd just like to add the probable reason why it is thought that Lapulapu must had been from Mindanao, and probably a Muslim:

"The captain before attacking wished to attempt gentle means, and sent on shore the Moorish merchant [instead of Enrique, the Malay slave of Magellan who was the interpreter earlier] to tell those islanders who were of the party of Cilapulapu [Lapulapu] ..."

I think though that Lapulapu was not a Muslim because: (a) Pigafetta being a detailed chronicler always indicated whether the people were Gentiles or Moors; (b) the only probable reason Magellan used the Moorish merchant in the pre-battle talks in Mactan was perhaps because earlier, it was the same Moor who convinced Raja Humabon to cooperate with Magellan; and (c) Pigafetta also noted that pigs among others were the common livestock of the islands (i.e., Cebu and elsewhere).

By the way, we also read from Transylvanus' account of the Battle of Mactan that: "... the enemy were more numerous, and used longer weapons, with which they did our men much damage ..."

[6] At "Bohol" Is. [Bohol] and "Panilongon" Is. [Panglao]

Here, the Concepcion was burned, given the lack of crew.

[7] At "Chippit" or "Gibesh" or "Gibeth" [Quipit, Zamboanga del Norte, Mindanao]

Magellan's crew was received well by the local king, Raja Calanao. Pigafetta didn't make note of the weapons he saw. Again, pigs were mentioned as part of the usual livestock (hence, still no local Muslims had been encountered so far since Magellan entered the Philippines).

[8] At "Cagayan" or "Caghain" or "Caghaiam" [Cagayan Sulu]

"... we touched at an almost uninhabited island, which afterwards we learned was named Cagayan. The few people there are Moors, who have been banished from an island called Burne [Borneo]. They go naked like the others, and carry blow-pipes with small quivers at their sides full of arrows, and a herb with which they poison them. They have daggers, with hilts adorned with gold and precious stones, lances, bucklers, and small cuirasses of buffaloes' hide."

This would be Pigafetta's first reference to them encountering Moors within the Philippine islands.

[9] At "Palaoan" [Palawan]

"In this island, which we learned was named Palaoan, we found pigs, goats, fowls, yams .... The people of Palaoan go naked like the other islanders ... they have blow-pipes, with thick arrows more than a span in length, with a point like that of a harpoon; some have a point made with a fish bone, and others are of reed, poisoned with a certain herb; the arrows are not trimmed with feathers, but with a soft light wood. At the foot of the blow-pipe they bind a piece of iron, by means of which, when they have no more arrows, they wield the blow-pipe like a lance. They like to adorn themselves with rings and chains of gimp and with little bells, but above all they are fond of brass wire, with which they bind their fish hooks."

[10] At "Burne" [Borneo]

"From the governor's house to that of the king, all the streets were full of men armed with swords, spears, and bucklers, the king having so commanded ... There [at the king's palace] were placed three hundred men of the king's guard with naked daggers in their hands, which they held on their thighs ... All the men who were in the palace had their middles covered with cloth of gold and silk, they carried in their hands daggers with gold hilts, adorned with pearls and precious stones, and they had many rings on their fingers."

"In front of the king's house there is a wall made of great bricks, with barbicans like forts, upon which were fifty-six bombards of metal, and six of iron ... The king to whom we presented ourselves is a Moor, and is named Raja Siripada ..."

[11] Passage through "Zolo" [Sulu] and "Taghima" [Basilan]

Pigafetta remarked: "The King of Burne [a Moor] married a daughter of the King of Zolo ..."

[12] At "Sarangani" [Sarangani]

"We were told that at a cape of this island [Mindanao] near to a river there are men who are rather hairy, great warriors, and good archers, armed with swords a span broad. When they make an enemy prisoner they eat his heart only, and they eat it raw with the juice or oranges or lemons. This cape is called Benaian."

WH Scott remarked in Barangay that Benaian must have been a corruption of the word bayani (hero). It is also speculated that Benaian can pertain to the ethnic Mindanao tribe, the B'laan?

As for that sword that is about a span or 9 inches wide ... ???

[13] At Timor

"... [after having been through many other places] we had found here a junk that had come from Lozon [Luzon], to trade in sandal wood ..."

To recap --

- looks to me that Lapulapu was not a Muslim, and just like the rest of the Cebuanos he and his people are animists, the religion of ethnic Filipinos

- it is possible however that Lapulapu was from Mindanao, given the circumstantial evidence of that Moor being used by Magellan to be the one to negotiate with Lapulapu

- as for the sword of Lapulapu and his men, it turns out that the Pigafetta's survey of ethnic Filipino weapons will not give us much

- and Pigafetta not hinting on Lapulapu being a Moor would therefore eliminate the possibility of Lapulapu having had used exotic blades

- thus perhaps the best source would still be WH Scott's Barangay, in which Scott categorically mentioned that there were only two basic prehispanic Visayan swords: the kris and the kampilan

- given that a kris is shorter and its wavy blades couldn't have missed the attention of Pigafetta, then it could have been none other than the kampilan which was used against Magellan.

As to the origin of the kampilan, after all that has been said and done, I think we are all still on a holding pattern