Spanish ship ‘Elcano’ drops anchor in Eastern Samarr, the exact same spot Ferdinand Magellan and the ship’s namesake sighted on March 16, 1521

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1133841   Spanish ship 'Elcano' drops anchor in Eastern Samar   MANILA – The Spanish Navy training ship Juan Sebastián Elcano is finally in the waters off Guian, Eastern Samar, the exact same spot Ferdinand Magellan and the ship's namesake sighted on March 16, 1521-- an important route that made the first circumnavigation of the world possible. Elcano is on a seven-day visit to the Philippines from March 16 to 22 after departing Spain in October 2020 to retrace the original route the Magellan-Elcano expedition took five centuries ago. Around 11 a.m., the ship took part in the unveiling of the Suluan quincentennial historical marker and a fluvial parade organized by the municipality of Guiuan in Manicani waters. The Spanish vessel is accompanied by the BRP Apolinario Mabini. Elcano will participate in the unveiling of Homonhon's historical marker on March 17 and will leave for Cebu on March 20. Back in 2018, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines announced that it would mark 34 sites in the country along the first circumnavigators' route. Aside from the historic circumnavigation, the Philippines is also celebrating the 500th anniversary of the Victory at Mactan and the quincentenary of Christianity this year. PNP joins commemoration Meanwhile, the Philippine National Police on Tuesday kicked off its own commemoration of the 500 years of Christianity in the country ahead of the national inauguration on April 4, 2021. The 500th year celebration of Christianity in the Philippines marks two milestones in Philippine history --the birth of the Christian Faith which dates back to March 31, 1521 when the first Holy Mass was held in Limasawa Island, and the victory of Lapu Lapu and his warriors in the Battle of Mactan. “The quincentennial celebration is not just an ecclesial celebration but deserves the recognition and appreciation of the country including the police organization. The PNP core value 'maka-Diyos' is but a manifestation of our strong desire to commune with God who is the greatest reliable source of courage and strength in the everyday fulfillment of our job as police officers to serve and protect the public” Lt. Gen. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar, officer-in-charge of the PNP, said. Heralding the theme: “500 Years of Christianity strengthens the Faith, Discipline and Integrity of the PNP”, the PNP presented awards to select bishops, priests, evangelical leaders, and PNP Chaplains who strengthened Christian faith in the country. Most Reverend Nolly Buco, D.D, JUD, Auxiliary Bishop of Antipolo who was guest of honor and keynote speaker in the ceremony, espoused the constitutional guarantee “Public office is a public trust” in his speech. “As public servants, we also have a vocation. By simply doing our jobs with honesty, discipline, and integrity, we can be holy just like the saints. Our jobs, our works are paths to holiness. It is now for us to act upon it,” Buco said. (PNA) … [Read more...]

Anting-Anting Collector | Documentary Philippines

Anting-Anting Collector | Documentary Philippines   https://youtu.be/V5tFT6OOu6k … [Read more...]

Spanish Ship Sails to the Philippines As it Retraces Magellan and Elcano’s Route The ship will dock in Guiuan, Homonhon, Cebu, and Suluan.

https://www.esquiremag.ph/long-reads/features/ship-retraces-circumnavigation-ph-a00293-20210309   Spanish Ship Sails to the Philippines As it Retraces Magellan and Elcano's Route The ship will dock in Guiuan, Homonhon, Cebu, and Suluan.     A Spanish ship powered by the wind will sail to the Philippines as it retraces the circumnavigation route of Ferdinand Magellan and Juan Sebastian Elcano. Currently, it is docked in Guam, where Magellan stopped in March 1521, a month before his death. The Elcano will sail to the Philippines just in time for the 500th anniversary of Magellan’s Mactan landing. The ship is named Juan Sebastian Elcano, after the famous explorer who completed Magellan’s circumnavigation of the world. The Elcano itself is a historic ship, having been built in 1928. It is a four-masted brig-schooner that measures 113 meters long. It was received at Naval Base Guam on Friday.   The Juan Sebastian Elcano Ship PHOTO BY DAWID K PHOTOGRAPHY | SHUTTERSTOCK.   PHOTO BY DAWID K PHOTOGRAPHY | SHUTTERSTOCK.     PHOTO BY DAWID K PHOTOGRAPHY | SHUTTERSTOCK.     PHOTO BY CHRIS_DOAL | SHUTTERSTOCK.     PHOTO BY DAVID ACOSTA ALLELY | SHUTTERSTOCK.   PHOTO BY BLUECRAYOLA / SHUTTERSTOCK.     PHOTO BY KIKOSTOCK | SHUTTERSTOCK.     Spanish Sailors Aboard the Elcano Ship PHOTO BY DAWID K PHOTOGRAPHY / SHUTTERSTOCK.   PHOTO BY DAWID K PHOTOGRAPHY / SHUTTERSTOCK.     According to the Spanish Embassy in Manila, the Elcano will dock in the town of Guiuan in Eastern Samar on March 16, where Magellan’s ship also stopped 500 years ago. It will also make port calls in Suluan and Homonhon through March 18. Finally, it will dock in Cebu and stay there for a goodwill visit from March 20 to 22. Guian, Suluan, Homonhon, and Cebu represent the first visual contacts made by Spain with the Philippines, which is a significant part of this expedition. The Spanish Embassy in Manila compared the circumnavigation to today’s most praised scientific discoveries. PHOTO BY DIMITRIOS KARAMITROS | SHUTTERSTOCK.   “The journey was a historical leap forward and a technical challenge for that time. Initially, five ships and 238 men departed Spain as part of the expedition and only 18 men and one ship made it back three years later,” the Embassy said in a statement. After its Philippine stops, the Elcano will sail westward and retrace Spain’s circumnavigation voyage from the Philippines to the Moluccas, around Africa, and back to Europe. The reenactment of the voyage is being kept as faithful as possible to the original routes taken by Magellan and Elcano. The crew will likely experience similar weather patterns documented by the crew and the expedition’s chronicler, Antonio Pigafetta.     … [Read more...]

Baybayin: Surat Bisaya

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  Original Article from Prehispanic CEBU: https://prehispaniccebu.wordpress.com/2020/11/02/surat-bisaya/?fbclid=IwAR0c3WbOE-USQB3V4Yy7paNkvV_qzKa-LyzrzOVYi1gaFFhlrSd9_bN4u5Y     Prehispanic CEBU Glimpse of the past from prehistory to 16th century through the primary sources of Cebu’s antiquity.   Surat Bisaya  DBCantillas  Etymology and Origins  November 2, 2020 2 Minutes House Bill 1022 or the “National Writing System Act” was previously approved last April 23, 2018 and declares Baybayin as the country’s national writing system and thus aims to put the script to use in street signs, public facilities, government halls, publications and even food labels. Many linguists, historians and several Filipinos were upset that other Philippine scripts are ignored. Prehispanic writing system has enjoyed a resurgence over the past few years with some Filipinos taking interest in learning as their means of tracing one’s roots and connecting with one’s culture. Of our 17 accounted Philippine syllabaries, systems of consonant plus vowel syllables, only four (4) remain in use among indigenous communities of present-day according to UNESCO. Brahmic Scripts Prehispanic Philippine syllabaries are the writing systems that developed (and soon flourished) all over the Philippines. Many of the Southeast Asian writing systems clearly descended from ancient alphabets used in India over 2000 years ago. In the languages of Sumatra, Sulawesi as well as Philippines, the native name for letter, or script, is the indigineous term: surat. By the 21st century, various Filipino cultural organizations simply collectively referred the scripts as suyat. The country’s surat–or suyat–are related closely to other Southeast Asian writing, nearly all are abugidas or alpha-syllabary where any consonant is pronounced with the inherent vowel /a/ following it; using diacritical marks to express other vowels. It developed from South Indian Brahmi scripts utilized in Asoka Inscriptions and Pallava Grantha–type of writings during the ascendancy of India’s Pallava dynasty around the 5th century. Surat (Suyat) Baybayin does not encompass an entirety of writing systems being just one of those 17 prehispanic scripts present around the Philippines. Widespread use was likewise reported among other coastal-groups like the Bisaya, Iloko, Pangasinan, Bikol, and Pampanga in the 16th century. H.B. 1022 critics worry that relegating the Baybayin would erase the diversity that continue to exist and also perpetuate Tagalog-centric national identity. The Visayans have Surat Bisaya, Suwat Bisaya or Sulat Bisaya (aka Badlit; Surat is historically the more appropriate name for Visayan scripts). It is written from left to right and requires “no spaces” between words. Space is applied only after ends of a sentence or punctuation, although in its modern writing it usually contains spaces after each word to enhance readability of the narrative. Artifacts found with Surat inscriptions then deciphered through our Visayan language included the Calatagan Pot, Monreal Stones (two) and Limasawa Pot. When the Spaniards arrived, they studied and used surat to communicate with the early Filipinos; and teach Catholicism. As Filipinos soon started to learn the Roman alphabet from the Spanish, the use of our native scripts especially in lowland places began to disappear. Meanwhile, surat of Sulu and Maguindanao were replaced by the Arabic alphabet around the 14th and 15th centuries, respectively. Phonemes and Diacritics Surat Bisaya has 20 (originally from 18) phonemes: 15 primary consonants and 5 (from 3) vowels. Basic consonants (or sinugdanan na katingog)–b, k, d, g, h, l, m, n, ŋ (ng), p, r, s, t, w, j (y)–followed by inherent vowel /a/, are as follows: Ba, Ka, Da, Ga, Ha, La, Ma, Na, Nga, Pa, Ra, Sa, Ta, Wa, Ya. Five vowels (the pantingog) are: A, U, O, I, E. In prehispanic period, Bisaya only had three vowel-phonemes: /a/, /i/, and /u/. This was later expanded into five (5) with the introduction plus integration of some Hispanic-words: /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, and /u/. Kudlit (or diacritical marks) enables the writer to change the default /a/ sound of any of our basic consonants via using the same character. Put that kudlit below the syllable to change the consonants default vowel to /u/ or /o/, or above the syllable for /i/ or /e/. Spaniards even introduced to terminate consonants default vowel as well as various panulbok (“punctuation marks”).   … [Read more...]

Keeping ‘balangay’ legacy alive By: Erwin M. Mascariñas

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Keeping ‘balangay’ legacy alive By: Erwin M. Mascariñas - @inquirerdotnet Philippine Daily Inquirer / February 16, 2020   BUTUAN CITY, Agusan del Norte, Philippines — On Dec. 17 last year, two wooden boats docked at the port of nearby Nasipit town, in Agusan del Norte province, the modern gateway for goods and people in the Caraga region. They had earlier sailed from Palawan to Cebu in time for the launching of a 500-day countdown to the 500th anniversary of the Battle of Mactan next year. The 18-meter and 21-meter boats are replicas of the “balangay,” a vessel used by mariners of an ancient civilization that developed along the mighty Agusan River during the third century. These balangay are navigated through the way of ancient mariners by relying on the position of the sun and stars, wind direction, cloud formations, wave patterns and bird flights.   Tapping the traditional navigational methods would, in a way, “resurrect the seafaring spirit of our forefathers,” leading people to appreciate “what [they were] are capable of doing, … as adventurous seafarers and discoverers,” said Arturo Valdez, who led the crew.     The boats do not have modern navigational aids and are only equipped with small engines for use in case of emergency.“Now I am back here in Butuan City, the home of the balangay, hopefully to stir the conscience and revive the pride, and remind everyone here that the balangay is a Butuan boat, and that Butuan is the balangay,” Valdez said. In 2006, Valdez organized the conquest by Filipino climbers of Mt. Everest.   To honor their arrival in Butuan, the city government hosted a welcome ceremony for Valdez and his crew. Glorious past The balangay, Valdez said, indicated that Butuan was once a center of trade and commerce in this part of the world, long before the arrival of the Spaniards. Italian chronicler Antonio Pigafetta mentioned about the vessel in his accounts of Ferdinand Magellan’s voyage in the 1500s. Historians have pointed out that jars found in an archaeological site in Butuan indicated that the city had trading ties with old kingdoms in its immediate neighborhood of Southeast Asia and China, and as far as Persia, now Iran. “We have a boat that precedes even the Viking ships,” said Valdez, who has been using the balangay voyages since 2009 to talk about the Philippines’ precolonial past and drum up pride in it.     Archaeological excavations in Butuan City unearthed a skull and coffin, dating back to the 14th century, several meters from where an ancient balangay was found. Pottery shards were also recovered from a balangay in 2012. The oldest balangay unearthed in Barangay Libertad in Butuan dates back to 320 AD. Other finds were dated around 900 AD and 1250 AD. Treasure hunters discovered the ancient boats in 1976. Experts from the National Museum counted nine vessels, but in 2012, more diggings in the area yielded the tenth. The boats have been declared national cultural treasures under Proclamation No. 86, issued by then President Corazon Aquino in March 1987.So far, remnants of three boats had been dug. A more complete boat is on display at the Maritime Hall of the National Museum in Manila while another is at a National Museum site in Libertad. Replica Excavations stopped in 2014 as funding ran short and access problems cropped up as the site sits on private property. Efforts to revive the balangay legacy came when the three replicas were built starting 2009. The boats set off on a voyage, with Valdez leading the crew that used the traditional navigation methods. Valdez tapped the centuries-old boat-building knowledge of the Sama people of Tawi-Tawi to build the balangay replicas. He sought permission from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to harvest local hardwood species, like red “lawaan,” apitong and “yakal,” to build the boats. UNEARTHING HISTORY A technician of the National Museum cleans parts of a wooden plank of a “balangay” during an archaeological excavation in Butuan City eight years ago. Work on one boat, named “Diwata ng Lahi,” was done at the Cultural Center of the Philippines complex next to Manila Bay while two — “Masawa Hong Butuan” and “Sama Tawi-Tawi” — were done in Butuan. Diwata ng Lahi’s first voyage was on Sept. 1, 2009, sailing from Manila to Butuan and passing by 54 ports. On Feb. 4, 2010, Masawa Hong Butuan joined Diwata ng Lahi in a voyage to Zamboanga City and on to Sulu where the third boat, Sama Tawi-Tawi, caught up with them from Butuan. By September that year, all three boats journeyed to Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand and Singapore, and back to the Philippines.  After the voyage, the Diwata ng Lahi was loaned to the National Museum as a cultural exhibit. So was the Masawa Hong Butuan in Butuan. Two more balangay … [Read more...]

Photo: Members of “The Tinio Brigade”. Anti American Resistance in the Ilocos Provinces, 1899-190.

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Photo: Members of "The Tinio Brigade". Anti American Resistance in the Ilocos Provinces, 1899-190. Staff: (to which Apolinario Querubin's Guerilla 4 belonged) seated L to R: Captain Yldefonso Villareal, Brig. Gen. Benito Natividad, Brig. Gen. Manuel Tinio, Lt. Col. Joaquin Alejandrino and Maj. Joaquin Buencamino(son of Felipe Buencamino, a minister in the Aguinaldo cabinet); Standing L to R: 2lt. Francisco Natividad and two unidentified officers; Seated: the 15 year-old officer 2Lt. Pastor Alejandrino.   ---------   Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Tinio Manuel Tinio y Bundoc (June 17, 1877 – February 22, 1924) was the youngest General[2] of the Philippine Revolutionary Army, and was elected Governor[3] of the Province of Nueva Ecija, Republic of the Philippines in 1907. He is one of the three Fathers of the Cry of Nueva Ecija along with Pantaleon Valmonte and Mariano Llanera. Manuel Tinio, then 18 years old, joined the Katipunan in April 1896. By August he had organized a company composed of friends, relatives and tenants. Personally leading his group of teenaged guerillas, he conducted raids and depredations against Spanish detachments and patrols in Nueva Ecija. Occasionally, he joined up with similar forces under other youthful leaders. An Early flag of the Katipunan. On September 2, 1896, Manuel Tinio and his men joined the combined forces of Mariano Llanera and Pantaleon Belmonte, capitanes municipales or mayors of Cabiao and Gapan, respectively, in the attack on San Isidro. Of 3,000 who volunteered, 500 determined men were chosen for the attack. Led by a bamboo orchestra or musikong bumbong of Cabiao, the force came in two separate columns from Cabiao and Gapan City and converged in Sitio Pulu, 5 km. from San Isidro. Despite the fact that they had only 100 rifles, they furiously fought the Spaniards holed up in the Casa Tribunal, the arsenal, other government buildings and in the houses of Spanish residents. Capt. Joaquin Machorro, commander of the Guardias Civiles, was killed on the first day of battle. According to Julio Tinio, Manuel's cousin and a participant in the battle, Manuel had a conference in the arsenal with Antonio Luna and Eduardo Llanera, the general's son, immediately after the battle. The Spanish authorities hastily organized a company of 200 civilian Spaniards and mercenaries the following day and attacked the overconfident insurgents, driving the besiegers away from the government center. The next day more Spanish reinforcements arrived from Peñaranda, forcing the poorly armed rebels to retreat, leaving behind 60 dead. The Spaniards went in hot pursuit of the insurgents, forcing those from Cabiao to flee to Candaba, Pampanga, and those from Gapan to hide in San Miguel de Mayumo in Bulacan. The insurgents from San Isidro fled across the river to hide in Jaen. The relatives of those who were recognized were driven away from their homes by the colonial authorities. Manuel Tinio and his troop stayed to protect the mass of people from Calaba, San Isidro, who were all his kinfolk, hastening across the river to Jaen, Nueva Ecija. The Spaniards’ relentless pursuit of the rebels forced them to disband and go into hiding until January 1897. Tinio was a special target. At 5 feet 7 inches (170 cm) tall, he literally stood out among the attackers, whose average height was below 5 feet (150 cm). He fled to Licab. A platoon of cazadores (footsoldiers) was sent to arrest him, forcing Hilario Tinio Yango, his first cousin and the Capitan Municipal of the town, to lead them to him. Warned of the approaching soldiers, Manuel again escaped and fled on foot back to San Isidro, where, in the barrios of Calaba, Alua and Sto. Cristo, he hid with relatives in their various farms beside the Rio Gapan (now known as the Peñaranda River). Fear of arrest compelled him to be forever on the move. He never slept in the same place. Later on, he would attribute his ill health in his middle age to the privations he endured during those months of living exposed to the elements. The passionate rebels reorganized their forces the moment Spanish pursuit died down. Tinio and his men marched with Gen. Llanera in his sorties against the Spaniards. Llanera eventually made Tinio a Captain. The aggressive exploits of the teen-aged Manuel Tinio reached the ears of General Emilio Aguinaldo, whose forces were being driven out of Cavite and Laguna, Philippines. He evacuated to Mount Puray in Montalban, Rizal and called for an assembly of patriots in June 1897. In that assembly, Aguinaldo appointed Mamerto Natividad, Jr. as commanding general of the revolutionary army and Mariano Llanera as vice-commander with the rank of Lt.-General. Manuel Tinio was commissioned a Colonel and served under Gen. Natividad. The constant pressure from the army of Gov. Gen. Primo de Rivera drove Aguinaldo to Central Luzon. In August, … [Read more...]

Chronology for the Philippine Islands and Guam in the Spanish-American War – United States Library of Congress

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  Mandirigma.org Note: Philippine Army fighting for Independence were referred to as "Insurgents" by the United States to justify their betrayal and invasion. Site is still riddled with period U.S. propaganda.   https://www.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/1898/chronphil.html     Chronology for the Philippine Islands and Guam in the Spanish-American War 1887 March Publication in Berlin, Germany, of Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me Not) by José Rizal, the Philippines' most illustrious son, awakened Filipino national consciousness. 1890 U.S. foreign policy is influenced by Alfred T. Mahan who wrote The Influence of Sea Power upon history, 1600-1783, which advocated the taking of the Caribbean Islands, Hawaii, and the Philippine Islands for bases to protect U.S. commerce, the building of a canal to enable fleet movement from ocean to ocean and the building of the Great White fleet of steam-driven armor plated battleships. 1892 July 3 La Liga Filipina, a political action group that sought reforms in the Spanish administration of the Philippines by peaceful means, was launched formally at a Tondo meeting by José Rizal upon his return to the Philippines from Europe and Hong Kong in June 1892. Rizal's arrest three days later for possessing anti-friar bills and eventual banishment to Dapitan directly led to the demise of the Liga a year or so later. July 7 Andrés Bonifacio formed the Katipunan, a secret, nationalistic fraternal brotherhood founded to bring about Filipino independence through armed revolution, at Manila. Bonifacio, an illiterate warehouse worker, believed that the Ligawas ineffective and too slow in bringing about the desired changes in government, and decided that only through force could the Philippines problem be resolved. The Katipunan replaced the peaceful civic association that Rizal had founded. 1895 January Andrés Bonifacio elected supremo of the Katipunan, the secret revolutionary society. March Emilio Aguinaldo y Farmy joined Katipunan. He adopted the pseudonym Magdalo, after Mary Magdalene. June 12 U.S. President Grover Cleveland proclaimed U.S. neutrality in the Cuban Insurrection. 1896 February 16 Spain implemented reconcentration (reconcentrado) policy in Cuba, a policy which required the population to move to central locations under Spanish military jurisdiction and the entire island was placed under martial law. February 28 The U.S. Senate recognized Cuban belligerency with overwhelming passage of the joint John T. Morgan/Donald Cameron resolution calling for recognition of Cuban belligerency and Cuban independence. This resolution signaled to President Cleveland and Secretary of State Richard Olney that the Cuban crisis needed attention. March 2 The U.S. House of Representatives passed decisively its own version of the Morgan-Cameron Resolution which called for the recognition of Cuban belligerency. August 9 Great Britain foiled Spain's attempt to gather European support of Spanish policies in Cuba. August 26 Immediately following the Spanish discovery of the existence of the Katipunan, Andrés Bonifacio uttered the Grito de Balintawak, first cry of the Philippine Revolution. He called for the Philippine populace to revolt and to begin military operations against the Spanish colonial government. December 7 U.S. President Grover Cleveland declared that the U.S. may take action in Cuba if Spain failed to resolve the Cuban crisis. December 30 José Rizal was executed for sedition by a Spanish-backed Filipino firing squad on the Luneta, in Manila. 1896 William Warren Kimball, U.S. Naval Academy graduate and intelligence officer, completed a strategic study of the implications of war with Spain. His plan called for an operation to free Cuba through naval action, which included blockade, attacks on Manila, and attacks on the Spanish Mediterranean coast. 1897 March 4 Inauguration of U.S. President William McKinley. March Theodore Roosevelt was appointed assistant U.S. Secretary of the Navy. Emilio Aguinaldo was elected president of the new republic of the Philippines; Andrés Bonifacio was demoted to the director of the interior. April 25 General Fernando Primo de Rivera y Sobremonte became governor-general of the Philippines, replacing General Camilo García de Polavieja; his adjutant was Miguel Primo de Rivera y Orbaneja, his nephew. May 10 Andrés Bonifacio, founder of the Katipunan revolutionary organization, was convicted of treason to the new republic and executed by order of fellow revolutionary Emilio Aguinaldo. August 8 Spanish Prime Minister Antonio Cánovas del Castillo was assassinated by the anarchist Miguel Angiolillo at Santa Agueda, Spain. Práxides Mateo Sagasta was made Spanish Prime Minister. November 1 Emilio Aguinaldo succeeded in creating a Philippine revolutionary constitution and on the same date the Biak-na-Bato Republic was formed under the … [Read more...]

Origin of the Symbols of the Philippine National Flag by The Malacañan Palace Library

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Origin of the Symbols of the Philippine National Flag by The Malacañan Palace Library Origin of the Symbols of the Philippine National Flag by The Malacañan Palace Library Aside from the Masonic influence on the Katipunan, the design of the Philippine flag has roots in the flag family to which it belongs—that of the last group of colonies that sought independence from the Spanish Empire at the close of the 19th century, a group to which the Philippines belongs. The Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office traces the origins of the Philippine flag’s design elements, which have been in use since General Emilio Aguinaldo first conceived them—the stars and stripes; the red, white, and blue; the masonic triangle; and the sun—and have endured since. Source: http://malacanang.gov.ph/3846-origin-of-the-symbols-of-our-national-flag/   … [Read more...]

June 12 as Independence Day by Diosdado Macapagal Former President of the Philippines

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June 12 as Independence Day by Diosdado Macapagal Former President of the Philippines June 12 as Independence Day by Diosdado Macapagal Former President of the Philippines “A nation is born into freedom on the day when such a people, moulded into a nation by a process of cultural evolution and sense of oneness born of common struggle and suffering, announces to the world that it asserts its natural right to liberty and is ready to defend it with blood, life, and honor.” The promotion of a healthy nationalism is part of the responsibility of the leaders of newly independent nations. After they lay the foundation for economic development, they promote nationalism and spur the search for national identity. This we can do by honoring our distinguished forebears and notable periods in our history. A step we took in this direction was to change the date for the commemoration of Philippine Independence day. When I was a congressman, I formed the opinion that July 4 was not the proper independence day for Filipinos and should be changed to June 12– the date General Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed the independence of the Filipinos in Kawit, Cavite, in 1898. Having served in the foreign service, I noted that the celebration of a common independence day with the United States on July 4 caused considerable inconvenience. The American celebration dwarfed that of the Philippines. As if to compound the irony, July 4 seemed tantamount to the celebration of Philippine subjection to and dependence on the United States which served to perpetuate unpleasant memories. I felt, too, that July 4 was not inspiring enough for the Filipino youth since it recalled mostly the peaceful independence missions to the United States. The celebration of independence day on June 12, on the other hand, would be a greater inspiration to the youth who would consequently recall the heroes of the revolution against Spain and their acts of sublime heroism and martyrdom. These acts compare favorably with those of the heroes of other nations. In checking the reaction to my plan to shift independence day to June 12, I found that there was virtual unanimity on the desirability of transferring the celebration from July 4. Likewise, there was a preponderant view for choosing June 12 as the proper day. A few suggested January 21, the opening day of the Malolos Congress in 1899, or January 23, when the Malolos Congress, ratifying the independence proclamation of June 12, established a republican system of government. The reason for this view was that the government temporarily by Aguinaldo when he proclaimed independence on June 12 was a dictatorship. There was no difficulty in adhering to June 12, however, because although Aguinaldo Government was a dictatorship in view of the military operations he was then leading, he led in converting it into a republican Government in the Malolos Congress. Moreover, the celebration of independence refers to its proclamation rather than to the final establishment of the government. In the case of America, when independence was proclaimed on July 4, the American Government was still a confederation and it was much later when it finally became a federal government. The historical fact was that the Filipinos proclaimed their independence from foreign rule on June 12. Even the national anthem and the Filipino flag which are essential features in the birth of a nation were played and displayed respectively at the independence proclamation in Kawit. When I became President, I knew that this was the opportunity to take action on what had been in my mind since entering public life. The specific question was when to make the change. The opportunity came when the US House of Representatives rejected the $73 million additional war payment bill on May 9, 1962. There was indignation among the Filipinos. There was a loss of American good will in the Philippines, although this was restored later by the reconsideration of the action of the US lower chamber. At this time, a state visit in the United States had been scheduled for Mrs. Macapagal and me on the initiative and invitation of President John F. Kennedy. Unable to resist the pressure of public opinion, I was constrained to obtain the agreement of Kennedy to defer the state visit for another time. To postpone the state visit, I wrote a letter on May 14, 1962, to Kennedy, which read in part as follows: The feeling of resentment among our people and the attitude of the US Congress negate the atmosphere of good will upon which my state visit to your country was predicated. Our people would never understand how, in the circumstances now obtaining, I could go to the United States and in all honesty affirm that I bear their message of good will. It is with deep regret theredore that I am constrained to ask you to agree to the postponement of my visit to a more auspicious time. On May 28, 1962, Kennedy wrote me explaining the … [Read more...]

Araw ng Kalayaan – Day of Freedom. June 12, 1898.

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Philippine Independence Day (Filipino: Araw ng Kasarinlán; also known as Araw ng Kalayaan, "Day of Freedom") Observed on June 12, commemorating the independence of the Philippines from Spain.   The Proclamation of Independence on June 12, 1898, as depicted on the back of the 1985 Philippine five peso bill. Declaration of Independence Document written by Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista. The day of celebration of war and love varied throughout the nation's history. The earliest recorded was when Andres Bonifacio, along with Emilio Jacinto, Restituto Javier, Guillermo Masangkay, Aurelio Tolentino, Faustino Manalak, Pedro Zabala and few other Katipuneros went to Pamitinan Cave in Montalban, Rizal to initiate new members of the Katipunan. Bonifacio wrote Viva la independencia Filipina! or Long Live Philippine independence on walls of the cave to express the goal of their secret society. Bonifacio also led the Cry of Pugad Lawin, which signals the beginning of Philippine Revolution. Members of the Katipunan, led by Andres Bonifacio, tore their community tax certificates (cedulas personales) in protest of Spanish conquest, but this was neither officially recognized nor commemorated in Rome. The Philippine Revolution began in 1896. The Pact of Biak-na-Bato, signed on December 14, 1897, established a truce between the Spanish colonial government and the Filipino revolutionaries. Under its terms, Emilio Aguinaldo and other revolutionary leaders went into exile in Hong Kong.[2] At the outbreak of the Spanish–American War, Commodore George Dewey sailed from Hong Kong to Manila Bay leading the U.S. Navy Asiatic Squadron. On May 1, 1898, Dewey defeated the Spanish in the Battle of Manila Bay, which effectively put the U.S. in control of the Spanish colonial government. Later that month, the U.S. Navy transported Aguinaldo back to the Philippines.[3] Aguinaldo arrived on May 19, 1898 in Cavite. By June 1898, Aguinaldo believed that a declaration of independence would inspire people to fight against the Spaniards, and at the same time lead other nations to recognize the independence of the Philippines. On June 5, 1898, Aguinaldo issued a decree at Aguinaldo house located in what was then known as Cavite El Viejo proclaiming June 12, 1898 as the day of independence. The Acta de la Proclamacion de la Independencia del Pueblo Filipino was solemnly read by its author, Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista, Aguinaldo's war counselor and special delegate. The 21-page declaration was signed by 98 Filipinos, appointed by Aguinaldo, and one retired American artillery officer, Colonel L.M. Johnson. The Philippine flag was officially unfurled for the first time at 4:20 p.m, as the Marcha Nacional Filipina was played by the band of San Francisco de Malabon. The proclamation was initially ratified by 190 municipal presidents from the 16 provinces controlled by the revolutionary army August 1, 1898, and was again ratified on September 29, 1898 by the Malolos Congress.[4] The Philippines failed to win international recognition of its independence, specifically including the United States of America and Spain. The Spanish government later ceded the Philippine archipelago to the United States in the 1898 Treaty of Paris. The Philippines Revolutionary Government did not recognize the treaty and the two sides subsequently fought what was known as the Philippine–American War.[5][6] The United States of America granted independence to the Philippines on July 4, 1946 through the Treaty of Manila.[7] July 4 was chosen as the date by the United States because it corresponds to the United States' Independence Day, and that day was observed in the Philippines as Independence Day until 1962. On May 12, 1962, President Diosdado Macapagal issued Presidential Proclamation No. 28, which declared June 12 a special public holiday throughout the Philippines, "... in commemoration of our people's declaration of their inherent and inalienable right to freedom and independence.[8]" On August 4, 1964, Republic Act No. 4166 renamed July 4 holiday as "Philippine Republic Day", proclaimed June 12 as "Philippine Independence Day", and enjoined all citizens of the Philippines to observe the latter with befitting rites.[9] Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_Day_(Philippines)               … [Read more...]

Photo: Company B of the U.S. Army’s 2nd Filipino Infantry Regiment 1943

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Company B of the U.S. Army's 2nd Filipino Infantry Regiment 1943 Source: https://www.facebook.com/groups/laginguna1942/?fref=nf Shown in this photo were Filipino soldiers assigned to Company B of the U.S. Army's 2nd Filipino Infantry Regiment. While here, they conducted their intensive infantry training at Camp Cooke, California. In this picture, they brandished their "Bolo" knives (all-purpose jungle machetes) in the air. They did this in anticipation of the day when they would finally meet the Japanese and avenge the overrunning of their island homes. Here at their training camp in 1943, a ceremonial event took place when prominent businessmen arrived from Los Angeles. During this event, "Bolo" knives were presented to the officers and senior noncommissioned officers (NCO's) of the regiment. The enlisted personnel were previously issued this weapon and were honing their skills for use in combat. *** The original photo was creased so I cropped it to make it presentable. "LAGING UNA" - "ALWAYS FIRST" "SULUNG" - "FORWARD" "BAHALA NA!" - "COME WHAT MAY!" "IN HONOR OF OUR FATHERS!" "77TH ANNIVERSARY (1942-2019)” — at Camp Cooke, CA. (near Lompoc - now Vandenberg AFB).   … [Read more...]

Philippine-American War Computer Game – Bolos and Krags: The Philippine American War 1899-1902

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Philippine-American War Computer Game - Bolos and Krags: The Philippine American War 1899-1902     Description Type Wargames Category Post-NapoleonicWargame Mechanisms Area MovementCampaign / Battle Card DrivenCard Drafting Family Country: Philippines From the designer: On June 12, 1898. Filipino revolutionary forces under Emilio Aguinaldo declared proclaimed independence of the Philippine islands from the colonial rule of Spain. The declaration of independence however was not recognized by the United States of America and Spain since the Spanish government ceded the Philipines to the USA in the aftermath of the 1898 Treaty of Paris which formally ended the Spanish American war (April 25 to August 12, 1898). Tensions already existed between both sides due to conflicting movements of independence and colonization further aggravated by misunderstandings on both sides and feelings of betrayal on the Filipino side. The tensions escalated between the former allies on February 4, 1899 when a Filipino soldier was shot by an American soldier (William W. Grayson) in Manila. Fighting soon erupted in Manila and culminated in an official Filipino declaration of war by the Malolos congress on June 2, 1899. The war would last 3 bloody years and would see a short conventional war followed by a long guerilla war which would be a prelude of things to come in Vietnam 60 years later. More information at this link: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/31768/bolos-and-krags-philippine-american-war-1899-1902 … [Read more...]

Leland Smith: American POW in 1899 During the Philippine Insurrection by Military History Magazine

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  The Battle of Manila in 1899 help push public opinion in America toward taking possession of the Philippines.  Source: https://www.historynet.com/leland-smith-american-pow-in-1899-during-the-philippine-insurrection.htm Leland Smith: American POW in 1899 During the Philippine Insurrection   The band of American Prisoners of War shuffled down a faint trail cut through the forested mountain terrain, pushed along by short, swarthy men armed with rifles. Existing on rice cakes and what little food they could glean from the small villages they passed through, the shoeless and ragged Americans were about used up. But to stop was to die, so they kept moving, higher and higher into the mountains. A scene out of the Vietnam War in 1966? Maybe Korea in 1950 or the Pacific in 1942? No, though the area is about the same, being Southeast Asia–the Philippines, to be exact. However, the year was 1899, and the Americans were prisoners in a war that just barely made the history books. Leland Smith was to be starved, shot at, set up in front of a firing squad and generally almost walked to death in his three months as a POW during the Philippine Insurrection, one of the United States’ more obscure police actions. But his ordeal was a prelude to what many GIs would suffer in the following century. A few years before Smith’s death, in 1975–fittingly enough perhaps, for an American soldier, on July 4–I had the privilege of interviewing him several times. This is the story he told me. A native of Iowa, Smith enlisted in the 24th Michigan Infantry in May 1898, hoping to see action in Cuba. but the Spanish-American War wouldn’t wait, and by March 1899, he found himself mustered out without ever leaving the States. A picture of Smith in those days shows him to be a tough, wiry-looking man of medium height with dark brown hair and sharp features…and maybe there was a little impatience in there, too. ‘I felt cheated,’ said Smith. ‘I wanted to travel and see some action, so I enlisted again in Cleveland. I had a little photography experience and they sent me to Fort Myers, Virginia, to join up with the Signal Corps.’ By the time his 18th birthday rolled around, Smith was in Manila, assigned to cover U.S. troop action against the Philippine army. The Manila water supply was polluted at the time, and Smith remembered what a soldier told him when he arrived there: ‘Boil all Manila water for 24 hours. Then throw it away and drink beer.’ The war in the Philippines had taken a strange twist. American troops supposedly sent to help the Filipinos oust the Spanish were now busy fighting Filipino soldiers. Their leader, Emilio Aguinaldo, had earlier welcomed the arrival of the U.S. troops, but friction between the two armies had broken out. Not the least of the causes was the refusal of the American authorities to allow Filipino troops, who had helped liberate Manila, into the city after the Spanish capitulation–a grave insult. When it began to look as if the U.S. government’s plans for the Philippines didn’t include giving them immediate independence, Aquinaldo started having second thoughts. One thing led to another, and, on February 4, 1899, hostilities between American and Filipino troops broke out, and the United States found itself with a brand-new war on its hands. At first, Smith was assigned to tag along with the telegraph section of the Signal Corps. Later, along with a Corporal Saulsbery, he was told to take his cameras and ‘go out and make contact with the enemy.’ As it turned out, he made a lot closer contact then he wanted to. ‘We had to carry three or four large cameras in haversacks on our backs,’ Smith said. ‘One was a 5×7-inch film camera, but the others were big 8x10s. We had to lug around the glass plates they used, too. ‘We stopped to eat at any Army unit we happened to be near at the time, moving along with the combat troops, taking pictures of whatever we felt like,’ he said. ‘Then we went back to Manila every week or so to develop what we had shot.’ In October 1899, Smith and Saulsbery, who was recently out of the Army hospital in Bacoor after a bout with some illness, were near San Isidro, north of Manila. ‘We were under fire from the town,’ said Smith, ‘and the weather was lousy. It rained all the time and we were constantly dodging guerrilla sharpshooters. The corporal started getting sick again and when we moved west, over toward Arayat, he decided to go back to the hospital.’ On October 18, 1899, the two soldiers, on foot, headed down a tributary of the Papanga River. They soon met a gunboat steaming upstream. It drifted to a halt opposite the two men on the bank and out stepped Maj. Gen. Harry Ware Lawton, who asked them, ‘What are you two men about?’ ‘Corporal Saulsbery and Private Smith, Sir,’ Smith replied. ‘The corporal is pretty sick, General. Maybe the fever. … [Read more...]

Imprinting Andres Bonifacio: The Iconization from Portrait to Peso by The Malacañan Palace Library

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Imprinting Andres Bonifacio: The Iconization from Portrait to Peso by The Malacañan Palace Library Source: http://malacanang.gov.ph/2942-imprinting-andres-bonifacio-the-iconization-from-portrait-to-peso/Imprinting Andres Bonifacio: The Iconization from Portrait to Peso by The Malacañan Palace Library   The face of the Philippine revolution is evasive, just like the freedom that eluded the man known as its leader.     The only known photograph of Andres Bonifacio is housed in the Archivo General de Indias in Seville, Spain. Some say that it was taken during his second wedding to Gregoria de Jesus in Katipunan ceremonial rites. It is dated 1896 from Chofre y Cia (precursor to today’s Cacho Hermanos printing firm), a prominent printing press and pioneer of lithographic printing in the country, based in Manila. The faded photograph, instead of being a precise representation of a specific historical figure, instead becomes a kind of Rorschach test, liable to conflicting impressions. Does the picture show the President of the Supreme Council of the Katipunan as a bourgeois everyman with nondescript, almost forgettable features? Or does it portray a dour piercing glare perpetually frozen in time, revealing a determined leader deep in contemplation, whose mind is clouded with thoughts of waging an armed struggle against a colonial power? Perhaps a less subjective and more fruitful avenue for investigation is to compare and contrast this earliest documented image with those that have referred to it, or even paid a curious homage to it, by substantially altering his faded features. This undated image of Bonifacio offers the closest resemblance to the Chofre y Cia version. As attested to by National Scientist Teodoro A. Agoncillo and the National Historical Commission of the Philippines, it is the image that depicts the well-known attribution of Bonifacio being of sangley (or Chinese) descent. While nearly identical in composition with the original, this second image shows him with a refined–even weak–chin, almond-shaped eyes, a less defined brow, and even modified hair. The blurring of his features, perhaps the result of the image being timeworn, offers little room for interjection. In contrast, the next image dating from a February 8, 1897 issue of La Ilustración Española y Americana, a Spanish-American weekly publication, features a heavily altered representation of Bonifacio at odds with the earlier depiction from Chofre y Cia. This modification catered to the Castilian idea of racial superiority, and to the waning Spanish Empire’s shock–perhaps even awe?–over what they must have viewed at the time as indio impudence. Hence the Bonifacio in this engraving is given a more pronounced set of features–a more prominent, almost ruthless jawline, deep-set eyes, a heavy, furrowed brow and a proud yet incongruously vacant stare. Far from the unassuming demeanor previously evidenced, there is an aura of unshakable, even obstinate, determination surrounding the revolutionary leader who remained resolute until his last breath. Notice also that for the first (although it would not be the last) time, he is formally clad in what appears to be a three-piece suit with a white bowtie–hardly the dress one would expect, given his allegedly humble beginnings. Given its printing, this is arguably the first depiction of Bonifacio to be circulated en masse. The same image appeared in Ramon Reyes Lala’s The Philippine Islands, which was published in 1899 by an American publishing house for distribution in the Philippines. The records of both the Filipinas Heritage Library and the Lopez Museum reveal a third, separate image of Bonifacio which appears in the December 7, 1910 issue of El Renacimiento Filipino, a Filipino publication during the early years of the American occupation. El Renacimiento Filipino portrays an idealized Bonifacio, taking even greater liberties with the Chofre y Cia portrait. There is both gentrification and romanticization at work here. His receding hairline draws attention to his wide forehead–pointing to cultural assumptions of the time that a broad brow denotes a powerful intellect–and his full lips are almost pouting. His cheekbones are more prominent and his eyes are given a curious, lidded, dreamy, even feminine emphasis, imbuing him with an air of otherworldly reserve–he appears unruffled and somber, almost languid: more poet than firebrand. It is difficult to imagine him as the Bonifacio admired, even idolized, by his countrymen for stirring battle cries and bold military tactics. He is clothed in a similar fashion to the La Ilustración Española y Americana portrait: with a significant deviation that would leave a telltale mark on succeeded images derived from this one. Gone is the white tie (itself an artistic assumption when the original image merely hinted at the possibility of some sort of … [Read more...]

Novel: Noli Me Tangere by José Rizal. First Published in Berlin, Germany 1887

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  Noli Me Tangere is a novel by Filipino polymath José Rizal and first published in 1887 in Berlin, Germany. Early English translations used titles like An Eagle Flight and The Social Cancer, but more recent translations have been published using the original Latin title. Though originally written in Spanish, it is more commonly published and read in the Philippines in either English or Filipino. Together with its sequel (El Filibusterismo), the reading of Noli is obligatory for high school students all throughout the archipelago. References for the novel Jose Rizal, a Filipino nationalist and medical doctor, conceived the idea of writing a novel that would expose the ills of Philippine society after reading Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin. He preferred that the prospective novel express the way Filipino culture was backward, anti-progress, anti-intellectual, and not conducive to the ideas of the Age of Enlightenment. He was then a student of medicine in the Universidad Central de Madrid. In a reunion of Filipinos at the house of his friend Pedro A. Paterno in Madrid on 2 January 1884, Rizal proposed the writing of a novel about the Philippines written by a group of Filipinos. His proposal was unanimously approved by the Filipinos present at the party, among whom were Pedro, Maximino and Antonio Paterno, Graciano López Jaena, Evaristo Aguirre, Eduardo de Lete, Julio Llorente and Valentin Ventura. However, this project did not materialize. The people who agreed to help Rizal with the novel did not write anything. Initially, the novel was planned to cover and describe all phases of Filipino life, but almost everybody wanted to write about women. Rizal even saw his companions spend more time gambling and flirting with Spanish women. Because of this, he pulled out of the plan of co-writing with others and decided to draft the novel alone. Plot Having completed his studies in Europe, young Juan Crisóstomo Ibarra y Magsalin came back to the Philippines after a 7-year absence. In his honor, Don Santiago de los Santos, a family friend commonly known as Captain Tiago, threw a get-together party, which was attended by friars and other prominent figures. One of the guests, former San Diego curate Fray Dámaso Vardolagas belittled and slandered Ibarra. Ibarra brushed off the insults and took no offense; he instead politely excused himself and left the party because of an allegedly important task. The next day, Ibarra visits María Clara, his betrothed, the beautiful daughter of Captain Tiago and affluent resident of Binondo. Their long-standing love was clearly manifested in this meeting, and María Clara cannot help but reread the letters her sweetheart had written her before he went to Europe. Before Ibarra left for San Diego, Lieutenant Guevara, a Civil Guard, reveals to him the incidents preceding the death of his father, Don Rafael Ibarra, a rich hacendero of the town. According to Guevara, Don Rafael was unjustly accused of being a heretic, in addition to being a subservient — an allegation brought forth by Dámaso because of Don Rafael’s non-participation in the Sacraments, such as Confession and Mass. Dámaso’s animosity against Ibarra’s father is aggravated by another incident when Don Rafael helped out on a fight between a tax collector and a child fighting, and the former’s death was blamed on him, although it was not deliberate. Suddenly, all of those who thought ill of him surfaced with additional complaints. He was imprisoned, and just when the matter was almost settled, he died of sickness in jail. Still not content with what he had done, Dámaso arranged for Don Rafael’s corpse to be dug up from the Catholic church and brought to a Chinese cemetery, because he thought it inappropriate to allow a heretic a Catholic burial ground. Unfortunately, it was raining and because of the bothersome weight of the body, the undertakers decide to throw the corpse into a nearby lake. Revenge was not in Ibarra’s plans, instead he carried through his father’s plan of putting up a school, since he believed that education would pave the way to his country’s progress (all over the novel the author refers to both Spain and the Philippines as two different countries, which form part of a same nation or family, being Spain the mother and the Philippines the daughter). During the inauguration of the school, Ibarra would have been killed in a sabotage had Elías — a mysterious man who had warned Ibarra earlier of a plot to assassinate him — not saved him. Instead the hired killer met an unfortunate incident and died. The sequence of events proved to be too traumatic for María Clara who got seriously ill but was luckily cured by the medicine Ibarra sent. After the inauguration, Ibarra hosted a luncheon during which Dámaso, gate-crashing the luncheon, again insulted him. Ibarra ignored the priest’s insolence, but when the latter slandered the memory … [Read more...]

Rajah Sulaiman III, Last Muslim King of Manila (1558 – 1575) – Written in Tagalog by Jose N. Sevilla and Tolentino in the early 1920′s

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Rajah Sulaiman III, Last Muslim King of Manila (1558 – 1575) – Written in Tagalog by Jose N. Sevilla and Tolentino in the early 1920′s Rajah Suliman, Last Muslim King of Manila Rajah Sulaiman III (1558 – 1575) was the last native Muslim king of Manila, now the site of the capital of the Philippines, Manila. He was one of three chieftains, along with Rajah Rajah Lakandula and Adults, to have played a significant role in the Spanish conquests of the kingdoms of the Manila Bay-Pasig River area, first by Martín de Goiti, and Juan de Salcedo in 1570; and later by Miguel Lopez de Legazpi in 1571 The following biography of Rajah Soliman was written in Tagalog by Jose N. Sevilla and Tolentino in the early 1920s:   TALAMBUHAY NI RAHA SOLIMAN Bago nagíng̃ Rahá si Solimán, ay nagíng̃ katulong̃ muna sa pang̃ang̃asiwà ng̃ mg̃a súliranin dito sa Maynilà, ni Raháng̃ Matandâ. Si Lakán Dulà na nanánahanan sa Tundó ay siyá niyáng̃ kasama. Itó ay nang̃ kapanáhunan ni Raháng̃ Matandâ nang̃ taóng̃ 1570. Noón ay isáng̃ pulutóng̃ nang̃ mg̃a sasakyáng̃ kastilà na pinamumunuan ni Martin de Goití at Juan de Salcedo ang̃ dumaong̃ sa luók ng̃ Maynilà. Niyaóng̃ unang̃ datíng̃ dito niná Goití ay dî sila nakalunsád pagdaka. Ang̃ Maynilà, ay may matitibay na mg̃a muóg at sila’y pinaputukán at sinagupà. Nabalitaan niláng isá sa mg̃a makapang̃yarihan doón ay si Solimán, kaya’t nagpadalá sina Goití rito ng̃ sugò na nagsásaysáy na silá’y dî naparito upáng̃ makidigmâ kundî upáng̃ makipagkásundô, at ang̃ ganitó’y tinugón sa pamamagitan ng̃ sugò, na ang̃ Hari sa Maynilà ay nagnanasà ng̃ makipagkaibigan sa mg̃a kastilà. Pagtang̃gáp ni Goití ng̃ paklí ni Solimán ay nasók siyá at ang̃ kanyáng̃ mg̃a tao sa ilog ng̃ Pasig at silá’y lumunsád sa isáng̃ baybáy na itinakdâ ng̃ Harì. Sinalubong̃ silá ni Raháng Matandâ at nakipagkamáy sa kanilá, pagkaliban ng̃ iláng̃ sandali ay dumatíng si Rahá Solimán at nakipágkamáy din ng̃uni’t nagpasubalì ng̃ gayari: «Kamí ay nagnánasang̃ makipagkaibigan sa mg̃a kastilà samantalang̃ silá’y mabuti sa amin; ng̃uni’t mahíhirapan silá ng̃ gaya ng̃ hirap na tiniís na ng̃ ibá, kailán ma’t nasain niláng̃ kami’y alisán ng̃ puri». Pagkaraán ng̃ iláng̃ araw si Goití ay nagkulang̃ sa pagkakáibigan sa pagpapaputók ng̃ kaniláng̃ kanyón, at si Rahá Solimán ay napilitang̃ magbago ng̃ kilos. Ipinawasák nitó ang̃ mg̃a sasakyán nina Goití at ipinapuksâ ang̃ kanyáng̃ mg̃a kawal. Nápakabuti ang̃ pagtatang̃gól sa mg̃a kutà at dî nagawâ nang̃ mg̃a kastilà ang̃ makapasok agád, ng̃uni’t nang̃ mang̃asalantà ang̃ mg̃a tao ni Solimán at maubos na ang̃ mg̃a punlô ay napipilan din. At nang̃ makuha ng̃ mg̃a kastilà ang̃ Maynilà ay sinalakay ang̃ bahay ni Solimán at dito’y nátagpuán nilá ang̃ isáng̃ mainam na gusali, maiinam na kasang̃kapang̃ sigay, mg̃a damit na mariring̃al na nagkakahalagá ng̃ may 23.000 piso. Hindî nagtaksíl kailán man si Solimán, gaya ng̃ ipinararatang̃ sa kanyá ng̃ mg̃a kastilà. Siyá’y tumupád lamáng̃ sa kanyáng̃ dakilang̃ katung̃kulan na makibaka sa sino mang̃ magnánasang̃ sumirà ng̃ kanyáng̃ kapuriháng̃ pagkaharì, at yáyamang̃ ang̃ mg̃a kastilà ay siyáng̃ nagpasimulâ ng̃ pagbabaka, ay siyá ay nagtang̃gól lamang̃ at natalo, ng̃uni’t hindî kailán man nagtaksíl. Ang̃ kanyáng̃ pagibig sa sariling̃ Lupà ay nagudyók sa kanyáng̃ makibaka at siyá ay nakibaka dahil doón. Kung̃ saán mákikitang̃ ang pagguhò ng̃ kaharian ni Solimàn ay utang̃ sa kagahaman ng̃ isáng̃ lahing̃ mang̃aalipin; sa isáng̃ pámahalaáng̃ pinagágaláw ng̃ lakás ng̃ lakás at di ng̃ lakás ng̃ katuwiran. Kawawang̃ bayang̃ maliliít na linúlupig at ginágahasà ng̃ malalakíng bansâ. Ang̃ daigdíg ay patung̃o sa pagunlád, at buhat niyaóng̃ 1914 na gahasain ang̃ Belhika, ang malalakíng̃ Bansâ ay nagsasapì at ipinagtang̃gól ang̃ katwiran ng̃ maliliít na bayan. Panibagong̃ kilos sa daigdíg na bung̃a ng̃ mayamang̃ diwà ng̃ dakilang̃ Wilson sa kaamerikahan.   … [Read more...]

Indigenous peoples of the Philippines

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Indigenous peoples of the Philippines   Indigenous peoples of the Philippines From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The indigenous peoples of the Philippines consist of a large number of indigenous ethnic groups living in the country. They are the descendants of the original inhabitants of the Philippines who have managed to resist centuries of Spanish and United States colonization and in the process have retained their customs and traditions.[1] In the 1990s, there were more than 100 highland tribal groups constituted approximately 3% of the population. The upland tribal groups were a blend in ethnic origin like other lowland Filipinos, although they did not have contact with the outside world. They displayed a variety of social organization, cultural expression and artistic skills. They showed a high degree of creativity, usually employed to embellish utilitarian objects, such as bowls, baskets, clothing, weapons and spoons. These groups ranged from various Igorot tribes, a group that includes the Bontoc, Ibaloi, Ifugao, Isneg, Kalinga and Kankana-ey, who built the Rice Terraces. They also covered a wide spectrum in terms of their integration and acculturation with lowland Christian and Muslim Filipinos. Native groups such as the Bukidnon in Mindanao, had intermarried with lowlanders for almost a century. Other groups such as the Kalinga in Luzon have remained isolated from lowland influence. There were several indigenous groups living in the Cordillera Central of Luzon in 1990. At one time it was employed by lowland Filipinos in a pejorative sense, but in recent years it came to be used with pride by native groups in the mountain region as a positive expression of their ethnic identity. The Ifugaos of Ifugao Province, the Bontocs, Kalinga, Tinguian, the Kankana-ey and Ibaloi were all farmers who constructed the rice terraces for many centuries. Other mountain peoples of Luzon are the Isnegs of northern Kalinga-Apayao Province, the Gaddangs of the border between Kalinga-Apayao, and Isabela provinces and the Ilongots of Nueva Vizcaya Province and Caraballo Mountains all developed hunting and gathering, farming cultivation and headhunting. Other indigenous people such as the Negritos formerly dominated the highlands throughout the islands for thousands of years, but have been reduced to a small population, living in widely scattered locations, primarily along the eastern ranges of the mountains. In the southern Philippines, upland and lowland tribal groups were concentrated on Mindanao and western Visayas, although there are several indigenous groups such as the Mangyan living in Mindoro. Among the most important groups found on Mindanao are collectively called the Lumad, and includes the Manobo, Bukidnon of Bukidnon Province, Bagobo, Mandaya, and Mansaka, who inhabited the mountains bordering the Davao Gulf; the Subanon of upland areas in the Zamboanga; the Mamanua in the Agusan-Surigao border region; the Bila-an, Tiruray and Tboli in the region of the Cotabato province, and the Samal and Bajau in the Sulu Archipelago. The tribal groups of the Philippines are known for their carved wooden figures, baskets, weaving, pottery and weapons. Reservation The Philippine government succeeded in establishing a number of protected reservations for tribal groups. Indigenous people were expected to speak their native language, dress in their traditional tribal clothing, live in houses constructed of natural materials using traditional architectural designs and celebrate their traditional ceremonies of propitiation of spirits believed to be inhabiting their environment. They are also encouraged to re-establish their traditional authority structure in which, as in indigenous society were governed by chieftains known as Rajah and Datu. Contact between “primitive” and “modern” ethnic groups usually resulted in weakening or destroying tribal culture without assimilating the indigenous groups into modern society. It seemed doubtful that the shift of the Philippine government policy from assimilation to cultural pluralism could reverse the process. Several Filipino tribes tends to lead to the abandonment of traditional culture because land security makes it easier for tribal members to adopt the economic process of the larger society and facilitates marriage with outsiders. In the past, the Philippine government bureaus could not preserve tribes as social museum exhibits, but with the aid of various nationwide organizations, they hoped to help the tribes adapt to modern society without completely losing their ethnic identity.   … [Read more...]

“CHARGE!” PHILIPPINE SCOUTS AND THE LAST HORSE CAVALRY CHARGE: By: Dwight Jon Zimmerman

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    “CHARGE!” PHILIPPINE SCOUTS AND THE LAST HORSE CAVALRY CHARGE: By: Dwight Jon Zimmerman Courtesy of: 1st Filipino Regiment, U.S. Army, 1942-1946 Facebook Group. A place for the children of the men of the Regiments to gather to honor and share memories of their Fathers with each other. The only way we will be able to keep the Regiments' legacy alive is to be able to pass on the stories of the men who served to the children who will follow us. https://www.facebook.com/groups/laginguna1942/about/   “CHARGE!” PHILIPPINE SCOUTS AND THE LAST HORSE CAVALRY CHARGE: By: Dwight Jon Zimmerman On January 3rd, 1942, Lt. Gen. Masaharu Homma’s 14th Japanese Army captured the Philippine capital of Manila and was threatening to cut off the strategic retreat of Lt. Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s American and Philippine troops to the Bataan peninsula. To prevent this disastrous possibility, the elite Philippine Scouts were given the dangerous task of fighting a delaying action. Organized in 1901 and commanded and trained by U.S. Army officers, the Philippine Scouts originally fought rebellious Moros who lived in the southern Philippine islands. By the time of the Japanese invasion, the 12,000-strong Philippine Scouts had a reputation of being a crack unit. Twenty-four (24) year old Lt. Edwin Price Ramsey was one of the American officers attached to the Philippine Scouts, serving as the commanding officer of a platoon in the 26th Cavalry Regiment (Philippine Scouts). Born in Illinois, raised in Kansas, Ramsey had graduated from the Oklahoma Military Academy, where he developed a love for polo. In June 1941, he volunteered for service with the 26th Cavalry because he had heard they “had an excellent polo club.” Shortly after the Japanese landed in December 1941, Ramsey’s platoon was ordered north, where it conducted vital reconnaissance and assisted in rear guard skirmishes. On January 15th, 1942, Ramsey and his troops were looking forward to some rest and relaxation following a demanding reconnaissance mission. But a counterattack was being planned, and because he was intimately familiar with the region, he volunteered to assist in the assault. Then things took a different turn. Maj. Gen. Jonathan Wainwright, commander of II Corps, wanted to make the Japanese-held village of Moron (now Morong), strategically located on the west coast of the Bataan Peninsula, the anchor for a defensive line stretching inland to the rugged Mount Natib. On the morning of January 16th, Wainwright ordered Ramsey to take an advance guard into Morong. Ramsey assembled a 27-man force composed of mounted platoons from the 26th Cavalry and headed north along the main road leading to Morong. Upon reaching the Batalan River that formed part of Morong’s eastern border, Ramsey’s unit swung west and cautiously approached the seemingly deserted village, composed of grass huts suspended on stilts, with the livestock living beneath the structures. The only stone building was the Catholic Church, located in the middle of the village. At the village outskirts, Ramsey reorganized his force into squads and ordered a four-man point unit to lead them in. As the point unit approached the village center, it came under fire from a Japanese advance guard that had just crossed the bridge spanning the river. Ramsey saw in the distance lead elements of the main force beginning to ford the river. If the Japanese troops managed to reach the village in force, Ramsey knew that his outnumbered troops would be overwhelmed. Ramsey then decided to do something the U.S. Army hadn’t attempted in more than fifty (50) years – launch a horse cavalry charge against an enemy in war. Ramsey quickly signaled his men to deploy into forager formation. Then he raised his pistol and shouted, “Charge!” With troops firing their pistols, the galloping cavalry horses smashed into the surprised enemy soldiers, routing them. Ramsey quickly signaled his men to deploy into forager formation. Then he raised his pistol and shouted, “Charge!” With troops firing their pistols, the galloping cavalry horses smashed into the surprised enemy soldiers, routing them. At a cost of only three (3) men wounded, Ramsey and his men then held off the Japanese until reinforcements arrived. Ramsey received the Silver Star for his action at Morong. He later fought in the Philippines as a guerrilla, and received numerous decorations. He was discharged in 1946 with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Sadly the horses in Ramsey’s unit did not survive long. In early March 1942, with troop rations running low and animal fodder almost gone, Wainwright ordered all horses and mules slaughtered for food. Among the horses was Wainwright’s prize jumper, Joseph Conrad. After issuing the order, adding that Joseph Conrad be the first killed, Wainwright turned away and strode back to his command trailer, his eyes filling with tears. *** The … [Read more...]

Vibal launches Anting-Anting book

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  Vibal launches Anting-Anting book September 19th, 2017 http://vibalgroup.com/?p=830 https://shop.vibalgroup.com/products/you-shall-be-as-gods-anting-anting-and-the-filipino-quest-for-mystical-power The anting-anting has always been a curious artifact for both the older and younger generations of Filipino. But what is the anting-anting, how did it come into significance, and what is its role in the Filipino culture? Vibal Foundation attempts to guide the discussion of the anting-anting with the launch of You Shall Be as Gods: Anting-anting and the Filipino Quest for Power during the 38th Manila International Book Fair on September 16, 2017 at SMX Convention Center, Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City. Penned by author and scholar Dennis Santos Villegas, this thoroughly researched book examines the evolution of the anting-anting throughout history as an essential element of Filipino beliefs from the pre-colonial era. It goes on to discuss the anting-anting’s influence in the Filipino’s struggle against Spanish colonization and even its role in integrating the Judeo-Christian tradition with longstanding indigenous beliefs. The book is the first title in Vibal Foundation’s new series, Voyager, which aims to expose readers into unchartered territories with academic discussions of intriguing topics that often elude formal academic conversations. You Shall Be as Gods: Anting-anting and the Filipino Quest for Power is available at shop.vibalgroup.com. For more information, call 580-7400 or 1-800-1000-VIBAL (84225) or e-mail marketing@vibalgroup.com.     Author Dennis Santos Villegas talks about his new book on anting-anting during the launch and book signing event at the MIBF … [Read more...]

Philippine-American War, 1899-1902 by Arnaldo Dumindin

Execution on the Luneta of Filipino rebels ca 1896-97

  Philippine-American War, 1899-1902 by Arnaldo Dumindin http://www.filipinoamericanwar.com/   Background: The Philippine Revolution and the Spanish-American War The Philippines (LEFT, 1898 map) was a colony of Spain from 1571 to 1898. Spanish rule came to an end as a result of the Philippine Revolution and US involvement with Spain's other major colony, Cuba. The Philippine archipelago, with  a total land area of 300,000 sq km (115,831 sq mi), comprises 7,107 islands in the western Pacific Ocean, located close to the present-day countries of Indonesia, Malaysia, Palau and the island of Taiwan. The capital, Manila, is 6,977 miles (11,228 km) distant --- "as the crow flies" --- across the Pacific Ocean from San Francisco, California, U.S.A. The two cities are separated by 6,061 nautical miles of water. Luzon and Mindanao are the two largest islands, anchoring the archipelago in the north and south. Luzon has an area of 104,700 sq km (40,400 sq mi) and Mindanao has an area of 94,630 sq km (36,540 sq mi). Together, they account for 66% of the country's total landmass. Only nine other islands have an area of more than 2,600 sq km (1,000 sq mi) each: Samar, Negros, Palawan, Panay, Mindoro, Leyte, Cebu, Bohol and Masbate. More than 170 dialects are spoken in the archipelago, almost all of them belonging to the Borneo-Philippines group of the Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian language family. Twelve major dialects  – Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, Ilonggo, Bicol, Waray, Pampango, Pangasinense; Southern Bicol, Kiniray-a, Maranao, Maguindanao and Tausug (the last three in Muslim areas of Southern Philippines) – make up about 90% of the population. The population in 1898 was about 9 million. More at: http://www.filipinoamericanwar.com/ … [Read more...]

On Bataan, a 26th Cavalry Troop, consisting mostly of Filipino Troopers and led by Lt. Edwin Ramsey performed the last U.S. Cavalry horse mounted charge to engage an enemy in warfare.

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U.S. Philippine Cavalry Scouts at the 2017 Pasadena Rose Parade. California, USA. On Bataan, a 26th Cavalry Troop, consisting mostly of Filipino Troopers and led by Lt. Edwin Ramsey performed the last U.S. Cavalry horse mounted charge to engage an enemy in warfare. This charge occurred at the town of Morong, Bataan on January 16, 1942.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVCZrg-xQxo&feature=share 26th Cavalry Regiment (PS) Link to original site: http://www.philippine-scouts.org/the-scouts/regiments-units-bases/26th-cavalry-regiment-ps.html Original coat-of-arms for the 26th Cavalry (PS), courtesy of First Sergeant Charles Aresta (USA Ret.). The red and white mantling signifies that the unit was originally formed from Field Artillery personnel.   History   The 26th Cavalry was formed in 1922, at Fort Stotsenburg, Pampanga Philippines from elements of the 25th Field Artillery Regiment and the 43d Infantry Regiment (PS). The regiment was based there, with the exception of Troop F (which was based at Nichols Field). In addition to horse mounted troops, the regiment had an HQ Troop, a Machine Gun Troop, a platoon of six Indiana White M1 Scout Cars and trucks for transporting service elements. Scout Cars of the 26th Cavalry (PS), 1937.   On November 30th 1941, the Regiment had 787 Filipino Enlisted Men and 55 American Officers. For the rosters of the 26th Cavalry Regt., please click here. Captain John Wheeler leading the Machine Gun Troop of the 26th Cavalry Regiment (PS) prior to the Japanese invasion. From the cover of the March/April 1943 issue of "The Cavalry Journal".   After the Japanese invasion on December 8, 1941, the 26th participated in the Allied withdrawal to the Bataan Peninsula. In doing so, the unit conducted a classic delaying action that allowed other, less mobile, units to safely withdraw to the peninsula. During the delaying action the 26th provided the "stoutest and only" serious opposition of the withdrawal. In the initial landings of the Japanese Imperial Army invasion, the Regiment alone delayed the advance of four enemy infantry regiments for six hours at Damortis, a town in the Lingayen Gulf, and on December 24 repulsed a tank assault at the town of Binalonan, Pangasinan. However, the resistance was not without cost, as by the end of that day, the Regiment had been reduced down to 450 men. Colorized photo of Capt. John Wheeler's troopers. Photo appeared in Life Magazine in 1941. Colorized by Sean Conejos.   Following these events, the Regiment was pulled off the line and brought back up to a strength of 657 men, who in January 1942 held open the roadways to the Bataan Peninsula allowing other units to prepare for their stand there. 26th Cavalrymen pass an M3 tank, December 1941.   On Bataan, a 26th Cavalry Troop, consisting mostly of Filipino Troopers and led by Lt. Edwin Ramsey performed the last U.S. Cavalry horse mounted charge to engage an enemy in warfare. This charge occurred at the town of Morong, Bataan on January 16, 1942. Lt. Edwin Ramsey on Brynn Awryn prior to the beginning of WWII. He led the last wartime U.S. Cavalry charge. Col. Edwin Ramsey recounts how the Last Cavalry Charge came about.   Following this, due to a shortage of food, their mounts were butchered and the regiment was converted into two squadrons, one a motorized rifle squadron, the other a mechanized squadron utilizing the remaining scout cars and Bren carriers. Other actions of the 26th Cavalry are; Following the delaying action down the central Luzon plain, 26th Cavalry Troop C was cut off from the rest of the Regiment, having been ordered into Northern Luzon in an attempt to defend Baguio by Major General Wainwright in late December 1941. In January 1942, the unit, with assistance from 71st Infantry and elements of the 11th Infantry raided Tuguegarao Airfield, destroying several planes and causing enemy casualties. Eventually the unit was supplemented by other soldiers and guerrillas, and remained an effective fighting force well into 1943. The remnants of Troop C would later be integrated into the United States Army Forces in the Philippines-Northern Luzon. Other guerrilla organizations were led by Officers of the regiment like Lt. Edwin Ramsey who ignored the surrender orders (and other Filipino enlisted men) who escaped from Bataan to form a substantial guerrilla resistance force against the Japanese Imperial Army. Rudy Cabigas, a retired San Jose Fire Department Captain, representing a Filipino trooper of the legendary 26th Cavalry, Philippine Scouts. His father and uncle served with the 26th.        … [Read more...]

The Philippine-American War,1899–1902 by Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs, United States Department of State

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The Philippine-American War,1899–1902 from: https://history.state.gov/milestones/1899-1913/war After its defeat in the Spanish-American War of 1898, Spain ceded its longstanding colony of the Philippines to the United States in the Treaty of Paris. On February 4, 1899, just two days before the U.S. Senate ratified the treaty, fighting broke out between American forces and Filipino nationalists led by Emilio Aguinaldo who sought independence rather than a change in colonial rulers. The ensuing Philippine-American War lasted three years and resulted in the death of over 4,200 American and over 20,000 Filipino combatants. As many as 200,000 Filipino civilians died from violence, famine, and disease. “Battle of Manila Bay” The decision by U.S. policymakers to annex the Philippines was not without domestic controversy. Americans who advocated annexation evinced a variety of motivations: desire for commercial opportunities in Asia, concern that the Filipinos were incapable of self-rule, and fear that if the United States did not take control of the islands, another power (such as Germany or Japan) might do so. Meanwhile, American opposition to U.S. colonial rule of the Philippines came in many forms, ranging from those who thought it morally wrong for the United States to be engaged in colonialism, to those who feared that annexation might eventually permit the non-white Filipinos to have a role in American national government. Others were wholly unconcerned about the moral or racial implications of imperialism and sought only to oppose the policies of PresidentWilliam McKinley’s administration. After the Spanish-American War, while the American public and politicians debated the annexation question, Filipino revolutionaries under Aguinaldo seized control of most of the Philippines’ main island of Luzon and proclaimed the establishment of the independent Philippine Republic. When it became clear that U.S. forces were intent on imposing American colonial control over the islands, the early clashes between the two sides in 1899 swelled into an all-out war. Americans tended to refer to the ensuing conflict as an “insurrection” rather than acknowledge the Filipinos’ contention that they were fighting to ward off a foreign invader. Emilio Aguinaldo There were two phases to the Philippine-American War. The first phase, from February to November of 1899, was dominated by Aguinaldo’s ill-fated attempts to fight a conventional war against the better-trained and equipped American troops. The second phase was marked by the Filipinos’ shift to guerrilla-style warfare. It began in November of 1899, lasted through the capture of Aguinaldo in 1901 and into the spring of 1902, by which time most organized Filipino resistance had dissipated. President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed a general amnesty and declared the conflict over on July 4, 1902, although minor uprisings and insurrections against American rule periodically occurred in the years that followed. The United States entered the conflict with undeniable military advantages that included a trained fighting force, a steady supply of military equipment, and control of the archipelago’s waterways. Meanwhile, the Filipino forces were hampered by their inability to gain any kind of outside support for their cause, chronic shortages of weapons and ammunition, and complications produced by the Philippines’ geographic complexity. Under these conditions, Aguinaldo’s attempt to fight a conventional war in the first few months of the conflict proved to be a fatal mistake; the Filipino Army suffered severe losses in men and material before switching to the guerrilla tactics that might have been more effective if employed from the beginning of the conflict. President Theodore Roosevelt The war was brutal on both sides. U.S. forces at times burned villages, implemented civilian reconcentration policies, and employed torture on suspected guerrillas, while Filipino fighters also tortured captured soldiers and terrorized civilians who cooperated with American forces. Many civilians died during the conflict as a result of the fighting, cholera and malaria epidemics, and food shortages caused by several agricultural catastrophes. Even as the fighting went on, the colonial government that the United States established in the Philippines in 1900 under future President William Howard Taft launched a pacification campaign that became known as the “policy of attraction.” Designed to win over key elites and other Filipinos who did not embrace Aguinaldo’s plans for the Philippines, this policy permitted a significant degree of self-government, introduced social reforms, and implemented plans for economic development. Over time, this program gained important Filipino adherents and undermined the revolutionaries’ popular appeal, which significantly aided the United States’ military effort to win the war. In 1907, the … [Read more...]

U.S. WAR CRIMES IN THE PHILIPPINES, (1898-1899). By World Future Fund

 U.S. WAR CRIMES IN THE PHILIPPINES Courtesy of: http://www.worldfuturefund.org/wffmaster/Reading/war.crimes/US/U.S.Philippines.htm .   The U.S. occupation of the Philippine Islands came about as a result of military operations against the Spanish Empire during the Spanish-American war of 1898-99.  The seizure of the Philippines by the United States, however, was not unplanned.  American eyes had been set on the Philippines since before the outbreak of war.  To many prominent Americans, establishing a colony in the Philippines was a logical extension of the nation's "manifest destiny" to play a leading role on the world stage.  An expanded American presence in Asia was also thought to have significant commercial advantages for the nation, since American companies could then participate directly in large Asian markets. For all the alleged advantages to possessing the Philippines, no thought was given to whether or not native Filipinos would welcome American as opposed to Spanish rule.  The Filipinos were of course never informed of American intentions to stay in the Philippines.  This turned out to be a serious error.  By 1898 Filipinos had already shed a considerable amount of blood since rising up in 1896 to free themselves from Spanish domination.  They would not take kindly to a change in colonial administration from Spain to the United States. The First Philippine Republic and the End of Spanish Rule On May 1, 1898, an American fleet under Dewey sailed into Manila harbor and quickly destroyed a small force of Spanish ships anchored there.  Plans for Dewey to commence offensive operations against the Spanish in the Philippines had originated several months before, in February, when Assistant Secretary for the Navy, Theodore Roosevelt, had cabled Dewey to say "Your duty will be to see that the Spanish squadron does not leave the Asiatic coast ... start offensive operations in Philippine Islands."[1] Because a considerable number of Spanish troops remained stationed throughout the Philippines, including a large force in Manila itself, American diplomats urged resistance leader Emilio Aguinaldo to return to the Philippines from exile in Hong Kong.  Before journeying to his homeland, Aguinaldo, who was overjoyed at the American declaration of war on Spain, cabled resistance members the following message, which clearly expresses his belief that the Americans had come to liberate his people: "Divine Providence is about to place independence within our reach.  The Americans, not from mercenary motives, but for the sake of humanity and the lamentations of so many persecuted people have considered it opportune to extend their protecting mantle to our beloved country. ... At the present moment an American squadron is preparing to sail to the Philippines. The Americans will attack by sea and prevent any re-enforcements coming from Spain. ... We insurgents must attack by land. ... There where you see the American flag flying, assemble in number; they are our redeemers!"[2] Aguinaldo sent another message several days later expressing the same confidence in American altruism: "Filipinos, the great nation, North America, cradle of liberty and friendly on that account to the liberty of our people ... has come to manifest a protection ... which is disinterested towards us, considering us with sufficient civilization to govern by ourselves this our unhappy land."[3] Energized by the seemingly fortunate turn of events, the Filipinos immediately went on the offensive.  Within weeks Aguinaldo's insurgents had pushed the Spanish back to Manila.  Fighting would continue for another two months, until American forces arrived in enough numbers to complete the defeat of Spanish troops holed up in Manila.  Aguinaldo and his men were ecstatic with their victory and on June 12, 1898 they proclaimed Filipino independence.  The First Philippine Republic had been founded. What the Americans Promised the Filipinos The declaration of a Philippine Republic should not have come as a shock to the Americans.  No American military commander or politician had formally promised the Filipinos independence after the end of fighting, but this is not the impression that motivated Emilio Aguinaldo and his men.  Statements made by several of the participants in these events suggest that by supporting the armed resistance of Filipinos to the Spanish, the United States was de facto guaranteeing the Filipinos their independence.  For example, American Consul Wildman in Hong Kong wrote at the time, "the United States undertook this war [against Spain] for the sole purpose of relieving the Cubans from the cruelties under which they were suffering and not for the love of conquests or the hope of gain.  They are actuated by precisely the same feelings for the Filipinos."[4]  Admiral Dewey emphasized that during the liberation of the islands the Filipinos had cooperated directly … [Read more...]

World War 2 U.S. Army’s 1st Filipino Infantry Regiment, 2nd Regiment receiving “Bolo” knives in a special ceremony.

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World War 2 U.S. Army's 1st Filipino Infantry Regiment, 2nd Regiment receiving "Bolo" knives in a special ceremony. In the annual 1943 yearbook of the U.S. Army's 1st Filipino Infantry Regiment, this page featured the 2nd Regiment receiving "Bolo" knives in a special ceremony. This took place in 1943 at their training location of Camp Cooke, California. Prominent Los Angeles businessmen visited the "Sulung" Regiment to make this presentation. Receiving their weapons were the officers and senior Non commissioned officers (NCO's). The enlisted personnel had already training with their weapons which had been previously issued. The entire regiment paraded waving their weapons in the air past the regimental staff, dignitaries and visitors. Music was provided by the "Sulung Band" and it was indeed a day to remember for families and their guests. — at Camp Cooke, CA (near Lompoc, CA - now Vandenberg AFB).       … [Read more...]

August 1942 Newsreel: US ARMY 1st Filipino Infantry Regiment

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August 1942 Newsreel: US ARMY 1st Filipino Infantry Regiment Video at this LINK: https://archive.org/details/ARC-38917           … [Read more...]

World War 2 Filipino-American “Bolo” knife fighting during a unit practice. U.S. Army’s 1st Filipino Infantry Regiment.

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World War 2 Filipino-American  "Bolo" knife fighting during a unit practice. U.S. Army's 1st Filipino Infantry Regiment. Photo property of: Community Relations Liaison for 1st & 2nd Filipino Infantry Regiments and 1st Reconnaissance Battalion (Special), U.S. Army, 1942-1946 https://www.facebook.com/pelagio.valdez?fref=nf   #LagingUnaBoloMatchUp This platoon was assigned to the U.S. Army's 1st Filipino Infantry Regiment. It conducted "Bolo" knife fighting during a unit practice. The regimental commander, Colonel Robert H. Offley authorized that the members of his unit add "Bolos" to their combat inventory. When the 1st Filipino Battalion was formed on April 1, 1942, many inductees who were farmhands in civilian life brought their own field machetes with them to training. In this photo, "Pinoy" soldiers awaited their turn in a large circle. This was like modern day "pugil stick" fighting. In the rear, you can see more soldiers also waiting their turn. This took place at Camp Roberts, California which was a major field training area of the 1st Regiment in 1943. "LAGING UNA" - "ALWAYS FIRST" "SULUNG" - "FORWARD" "BAHALA NA!" - "COME WHAT MAY!" "IN HONOR OF OUR FATHERS!" "74TH ANNIVERSARY (1942-2016)"     1st Filipino Infantry Regimental Headquarters Camp San Luis Obispo … [Read more...]

Book: Crusaders in the Far East: The Moro Wars in the Philippines in the Context of the Ibero-Islamic World War Truxillo by Charles

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Crusaders in the Far East: The Moro Wars in the Philippines in the Context of the Ibero-Islamic World War By Charles Truxillo Early modern warfare between Spaniards and Muslims for control of the Philippine Islands was set within the context of the larger Iberian offensive against the Islamic world in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. The struggle was on a global scale from the coast of North Africa to the Southern Seas. Moreover, the antiquity of Christian-Muslim wars in Spain and the flood tide of Counter-Reformation Catholic and Sufi-Islamic expansions in the sixteenth century gave special significance to theconvergence of these factors in the Philippines. The contemporary resurgence of Islam and the continuing rebellion of the Moros in the southern Philippines makes this study relevant to modern concerns. This survey will establish the circumstances of the Ibero-Islamic World War in the context of traditional, pre-modern societies on the verge of modernity. Change in the nature of historical action was represented during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, not by Spain and Portugal or any Islamic society, but rather by Holland and later England. The Iberian and Islamic participants of the first global conflict will appear to be traditional societies involved in geo-political circumstances beyond their capacities as pre-modern, agrarian-based, citied peoples. The Moro Wars in the Philippines represent the closing of an older world in Island Southeast Asia; the demise of Iberian dreams of an oriental empire, and the halting of a thousand years of hemisphere-wide Islamic expansionism. Modernity was the outcome of the seventeenth century's technical-capitalist revolution which established the enlarged political franchise of Northern Europe. These developments, in turn, were the instruments of European world domination in the nineteenth century. During the twentieth century, modernization has evolved non-Western European forms, spreading to Russia, Eastern Europe, Turkey, India, and the Far East. In contrast, the majority of Hispanic and Islamic societies remain underdeveloped, seemingly transfixed by the accomplishments of the past. The legacy of the Ibero-Islamic World War is still manifest in the charismatic politics, military governments, religious agendas, landed aristocracies, literary educations, patrimonial families, and masculine styles of most Muslim and Latin American societies. … [Read more...]

WW2: Liberation That Destroyed: The End of Manila, Queen of the Pacific By HECHO AYER:

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Liberation That Destroyed: The End of Manila, Queen of the Pacific   By HECHO AYER: https://hechoayer.wordpress.com/2010/07/29/liberation-that-destroyed-the-end-of-manila-queen-of-the-pacific/ An Insult to Religious Filipinos' Sensibilities: Nuns Being Rounded Up by Japanese Soldiers (http://img51.imageshack.us/i/image005wn.jpg/) With no applause, but with artillery fire, American bombs, Japanese lust and death, Manila, Queen of the Pacific, made her inglorious bow to the world in February 1945. Iconic Photo of an American Tank Forcing Its Entry Into For Santiago, Once Impenetrable (AHC) In a single month, what was built for centuries to being Asia’s first and genuine melting pot was destroyed and forever erased from the world. The capital city of the Philippines became the stage for not only bodily massacre but also, spiritual, cultural, artistic and national eradication. It was in 9 January 1945 when Lt. Gen. Walter Krueger arrived in Lingayen Gulf, Pangasinan in what would become a United States campaign to recapture the Philippines from Japanese claws. By the end of January, much progress has been made by the Americans in reaching the outskirts of Manila namely that of Tagaytay and Nasugbu. They began to make their way up north to Manila. American Tank Inspects Intramuros' Ruins. Notice the Walls of Sto. Domingo (AHC) Backside of Once Marvelous Sto. Domingo Church (AHC) The Manila Post Office (Where my Great Grandfather was Post Master General Before the War) (AHC) On the other hand, the Commander-in-Chief of the Japanese mission to the Philippines, General Yamashita, has moved his headquarters to Baguio. He gave specific orders to make Manila an “Open City” and to simply destroy bridges and other critical infrastructures that may aid the Americans. He had no intention, whatsoever, of keeping Manila. However, Rear Admiral Iwabuchi Sanji disobeyed the orders of his superior and launched a bloody and diabolical campaign to “defend” Manila to the end. With his motley group of Japanese soldiers, a month of suffering and sheer darkness engulfed the city of Manila, victimizing its citizens, its art, its culture, its heritage, its very soul. The Intact Facade of San Francisco Could Have Still Been Restored (AHC) When the Americans were making much advances into the city, the Japanese blew up Manila’s very historic and beautiful bridges, thus virtually dividing Manila into two: the Northern and Southern banks. In the eastern suburbs outside Manila, like Cubao, Kamuning and San Juan, the resistance against the Americans was minimal. My own lola and her two sisters and their mama moved to Cubao during this time precisely because they had a bad feeling of what would happen to Manila during those tense days. All girls, they were luckily spared. They were said to have only witnessed one violent act: the neighbor peeked while the Japanese were making the rounds when suddenly, he was shot in the head by a Jap who saw him. Survivors of Intramuros Try to Escape The Place By Crossing the Pasig (AHC) The National Assembly (AHC) Likewise, although not without giving a good fight, the Japanese were unable to hold on to the northern banks of the Pasig. The areas here were the districts of Binondo, Sta. Cruz, Quiapo, etc. In 3 February 1945, the US infantry, led by Atenean Manuel Colayco, managed to reach the Allied Internment camp that was actually the University of Santo Tomas’ sprawling campus. Its main building became the prison for around five thousand foreigners and Filipinos. The interment camp was captured the following day. UST Concentration Camp's Liberation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Santo_Tomas_Internment_Camp_Liberation_.jpg) The situation, however, at the southern banks of the Pasig was far different. What is considered Manila’s most heavily concentrated area of rich architectural masterpieces, from ancient Spanish intramuros, to the American’s Neo-Classical corridor, as well as genteel Ermita, this area of Manila became the hiding place of the losing Japanese soldiers who became insanely cruel, killing people with no mercy. The Navy Club on Fire, While Letran Being Heavily Attacked by the Americans Since There Were Japanese Hiding Inside (AHC) According to the eminent Dr. Fernando N. Zialcita, my own professor in cultural heritage studies, the remaining soldiers in Manila, a good 10,000 marines, proceeded what would become infamously known as the “Manila Massacre”. Every morning, the soldiers would get heavily drunk before the roamed the city to kill civilians found in the streets. They began to set beautiful Filipino homes on fire (Ermita, Singalong and Malate became the worst hit residential areas), raid schools, kill orphans and even the mentally challenged. Legislative Building Ruins (AHC) Refuge in a Church (from LIFE Magazine) Suddenly, Manila … [Read more...]

The Americans destroyed Manila in 1945 by Ricardo C. Morales, Rappler News

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The Americans destroyed Manila in 1945 By Ricardo C. Morales Courtesy of: http://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/82850-americans-destroyed-manila-1945 If the carnage of Manila in 1945 did not happen, we would have had a very different Philippines today. Our momentum ran out and the other nations in Asia eventually surpassed it. DESTROYED. Photo shows the destruction at Intramuros after the Battle of Manila. Photo from the US Army/Wikimedia Commons MANILA, Philippines – It was mainly the United States' casualty-avoidance policy that resulted in unrestrained and indiscriminate application of overwhelming firepower by forces under MacArthur, which caused the utter devastation of Manila and the loss of 100,000 Filipino lives in 1945. The Japanese forces, certainly capable of unequalled brutality and barbarism themselves, also contributed to the outcome, but could not have inflicted the same level of deaths and destruction. This cataclysmic event was a turning point in the development of Filipino society and its effects are more evident today, 70 years after. The figure of 100,000 civilian deaths is a conservative estimate. Some sources cite as high as 240,000. The atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki onlykilled 70,000 and 40,000, respectively. The firebombing of Dresden killed 25,000. Only the the rape of Nanking in 1937, where Japanese troops murdered 300,000 civilians, eclipses the destruction of Manila which some historians call one of the tragedies of WW2. The immediate U S objectives in Luzon in early 1945 was to rescue the POWs in Cabanatuan and the internees at the University of Santo Tomas. Once these were achieved, the Americans turned their attention to Manila and this time, it appeared, avoiding civilian casualties was no longer a concern. In the liberation of the internees, the Japanese custodial force of 150 were allowed to leave under a flag of truce. That was the only time the Americans attempted to negotiate with the enemy. Not that it would have been easy. The city of one million inhabitants was defended by a fanatical, death-seeking naval officer who had his previous command torpedoed under him in the Guadalcanal campaign. He was, quite literally, dying for payback. WEAPON. The US Army 240mm howitzer was used in action during the battle of Manila. Photo from Wikimedia Commons Armando Ang, in The Brutal Holocaust writes: "According to reliable evidence gathered from prisoners of war, military personnel, Philippine officials and civilians, and Japanese documents, the rape of Manila was not a random act of melee, mayhem and wanton destruction but an act of coldly planned atrocities by the Japanese high command from Tokyo." Even if this were true, it would have been physically impossible to carry out. The Japanese forces in Manila numbered 17,000. Approaching the city from north and south were 35,000 US troops supported by a few thousand Filipino guerillas. Knowing the impending battle they faced, the Japanese would have been intent on saving precious ammunition. Relentless attack Manual methods of execution like beheading, bayonetting and mass incineration were slow and inefficient. The battle took a month – from February 3 to March 3, 1945. Unlike in Nanking (which took place over 6 weeks) where the 50,000 Japanese troops had complete control of the city, in Manila they were under relentless attack by U S troops and Filipino guerillas. Parsons (2008) writes that “The Yanks were using portable howitzers, whereas the Japanese were using bigger guns from all land-based compass points around the city.” This is not accurate. The Americans had bigger guns and more of it. Portable, yes, but also much bigger. They trundled up their behemoth 240 mm howitzers, “the most powerful weapon deployed by US field artillery units during World War II,” versus the heaviest Japanese field piece ever deployed, the 150 mm Type 38, a 1905 design manufactured under license from Krupp. The latter were used in 1942 in the Bataan campaign but there is no record of their use in Manila. Furthermore, to deploy artillery pieces from “all points around the city” pointing inwards would render these guns vulnerable to piece-meal attacks by guerillas or US forces and such an artillery deployment would have been difficult to direct and control. One statistic that blunts the argument of Japanese responsibility is the low number of US deaths. In the Battle of Manila, “.. which culminated in a terrible bloodbath and total devastation of the city… was the scene of the worst urban fighting in the Pacific theater,” the Americans suffered their lowest casualty ratio ever – 1,010 killed out of a total force of 35,000, or less than 3%. Parsons argues further that the high casualty figures could have been part of a deliberate pre-negotiation ploy by the Japanese to discourage an American invasion of Japan, “that … [Read more...]

Never Subdued Paperback by W. Franklin Hook (Author) – A true story about the Philippine-American War 1898-1902

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Never Subdued Paperback by W. Franklin Hook (Author) A true story about the Philippine-American War 1898-1902 and how it led to the Moro Campaigns against radical Islam 1902-1913 "[Never Subdued is] a tale of what it was like for a large number of young American men when they "went soljering" more than a century ago, in the steamy tropics of the Philippine Islands during the opening years of the 20th Century. What may surprise you is how uncannily alike "soljering" was then to that of their spiritual military heirs (perhaps including a few of their great and even great-great grandsons or granddaughters) in the cold mountain fastnesses of Afghanistan in the early 21st Century." "[The narrative conveys] the image of a bunch of ordinary young men who got caught up in the historical moment of America's first wars of the 20th Century, enlisted almost on a whim, and took part in an extraordinary adventure. It is as much a human story as a history lesson . . . It relates entirely to the present day." -Robert A. Fulton is the author of Moroland: The History of Uncle Sam and the Moros 1899-1920   Editorial Review From Kirkus Reviews A history of a century-old war with frightening relevance to today's counterinsurgency campaigns.Islamic extremists, guerilla warfare, mountain firefights--Americans are painfully familiar with these things from the recent conflict in Afghanistan. But as Hook notes, the U.S. military faced similar challenges in the Philippines following the Spanish-American War. A retired doctor and reserve Army colonel, Hook spent a decade researching the Philippine-American War and the Moro Campaigns. After Spain ceded the islands to the U.S., American soldiers found themselves battling native Filipinos who previously were glad to see them. Emilio Aguinaldo and his revolutionaries wanted independence from foreign rule, but U.S. policymakers had other ideas. Drawing on soldier diaries, newspaper accounts and other sources, Hook presents a boots-on-the-ground narrative of the bloody insurgency that followed. American soldiers fought the elusive Filipinos while suffering under intense heat, relentless mosquitoes and rampant disease. Careful to note discrepancies and biases in his sources, Hook constructs a timeline that captures the tension as events teeter out of control. He also tries to explain the thinking on both sides, showing how policy blunders, duplicity and prejudice may have exacerbated the hostilities. A peace proclamation in 1902 officially ended the insurgency, but the U.S. still faced the problem of controlling the southern islands, which were predominantly Muslim. Combat with Moro fundamentalists featured brutalities similar to those seen in today's asymmetrical conflicts--hit-and-run attacks, personal jihad and heavy collateral damage on the civilian population. Throughout the book, a cast of colorful characters emerges as politics, war and personal ambition become intertwined. General Leonard Wood's hard-line approach to the Moros seems counterproductive, while John Pershing's more sensitive tactics would not look out of place in a modern Army counterinsurgency manual. Though the book lacks literary flair, it's a balanced look into the fog of war, where allies can become adversaries and the question "What did we accomplish?" is still open for debate.An often-forgotten conflict comes to life in this authentic account of heroism and atrocity, where the difference between rebel and patriot is which side of the line you stand on. … [Read more...]

Book: The Ordeal of Samar. Schott, Joseph L. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1964.

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      The Ordeal of Samar. Schott, Joseph L. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1964. Hardcover, 302 pages, b&w photographs, index. A chronicle of the Philippine insurrection against American troops immediately after the Spanish American War, and of the sensational court martial that changed history. “The Balangiga massacre was an incident in 1901 in the town of the same name during the Philippine–American War. It initially referred to the killing of about 48 members of the US 9th Infantry by the townspeople allegedly augmented by guerrillas in the town of Balangiga on Samar Island during an attack on September 28 of that year. In the 1960s Filipino nationalists applied it to the retaliatory measures taken on the island. This incident was described as the United States Army's worst defeat since the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876. Filipinos regard the attack as one of their bravest acts in the war.” - Wikipedia … [Read more...]

Philippines & Mexico push to nominate Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade Route to World Heritage List

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PH, Mexico push to nominate Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade Route to World Heritage List - From the Department of Foreign Affairs Original Article at: http://www.gov.ph/2015/04/28/ph-mexico-push-to-nominate-manila-acapulco-galleon-trade-route-to-world-heritage-list/ An Experts’ Roundtable Meeting was held at the University of Santo Tomas (UST) on April 23 as part of the preparation of the Philippines for the possible transnational nomination of the Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade Route to the World Heritage List. The nomination will be made jointly with Mexico. The following are the experts and the topics they discussed during the roundtable meeting: Dr. Celestina Boncan on the Tornaviaje; Dr. Mary Jane A. Bolunia on Shipyards in the Bicol Region; Mr. Sheldon Clyde Jago-on, Bobby Orillaneda, and Ligaya Lacsina on Underwater Archaeology; Dr. Leovino Garcia on Maps and Cartography; Fr. Rene Javellana, S.J. on Fortifications in the Philippines; Felice Sta. Maria on Food; Dr. Fernando Zialcita on Textile; and Regalado Trota Jose on Historical Dimension. The papers presented and discussed during the roundtable meeting will be synthesized into a working document to establish the route’s Outstanding Universal Value.     The Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade bears its remarkable significance for linking four continents and two oceans, contributing to the development of trade in Asia, Europe, North and South America. It paved the way for the widest possible exchange of material goods, cultural traditions and practices, knowledge and belief systems and peoples. For some 250 years, it served as a formidable bridge between East and West. Today, it is considered as an early manifestation of globalization, having influenced the politics, philosophy, commerce, and trade development of almost the entire world. The Galleon Trade firmly put Manila on the world map as the largest trade hub in the Orient with solid historical links to its neighbors. The Route becomes symbolic of UNESCO and the World Heritage Convention’s aims and objectives in establishing peace across nations through shared heritage and a culture of understanding. The roundtable meeting and the nomination of the Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade Route to the World Heritage List are initiatives of the UNESCO National Commission of the Philippines and the Department of Foreign Affairs, in partnership with the UST Graduate School – Center for Conservation of Cultural Property and Environment in the Tropics. Following the roundtable discussion of the Philippine experts, a series of meetings will be convened for its launch in the international community. dfa.gov.ph … [Read more...]

70TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BATTLE OF MANILA by http://www.gov.ph

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70TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BATTLE OF MANILA by http://www.gov.ph The battle for the liberation of Manila—waged from February 3 to March 3, 1945, between Philippine and American forces, and the Imperial Japanese forces—is widely considered to be one of the greatest tragedies of the Second World War. One hundred thousand men, women, and children perished. Architectural heritage was reduced to rubble—the City of Manila was the second most devastated Allied capital of World War II. “The destruction of Manila was one of the greatest tragedies of World War II. Of Allied capitals in those war years, only Warsaw suffered more. Seventy percent of the utilities, 75 percent of the factories, 80 percent of the southern residential district, and 100 percent of the business district was razed.” — William Manchester, author and historian, in American Caesar “We remember them, nor shall we ever forget.” — National Artist for Literature Nick Joaquin, on the lives taken during the Battle of Manila, in the inscription of the Memorare Manila 1945 Monument in Intramuros Continue reading at: http://www.gov.ph/featured/battle-of-manila/       https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLIcUoXKTZ0KWXjXivC_RK5wwc084lZvsz&v=UdfxZrqvq1c … [Read more...]

Photo: Philippine Scouts at 1904 World’s Fair doing the Bolo Drill (Photo courtesy of the Philippine Scouts Heritage Society)

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(Photo courtesy of the Philippine Scouts Heritage Society) … [Read more...]

Documentary: World War II: Manila Clean-Up (1945)

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http://youtu.be/NtR4UTFQOGM   A month after the 1st Cavalry Division arrived in the Philippines, the battle for Manila’s liberation finally met its conclusion. The wrath of war resulted to the deaths of 100,000 Filipino civilians and the destruction of stunning landmarks that once made Manila the Pearl of the Orient.   In 1995, a monument called the “Memorare-Manila 1945” was placed at Plazuela de Sta. Isabel in Intramuros to remember this dark chapter in country’s history. The inscription, which was penned by National Artist Nick Joaquin, says that “This memorial is dedicated to all those innocent victims of war, many of whom went nameless and unknown to a common grave, or never even knew a grave at all, their bodies having been consumed by fire or crushed to dust beneath the rubble of ruins.”   From: http://www.filipiknow.net/rare-historical-videos-philippines/   … [Read more...]

Documentary: The End of Manila 1945, The Forgotten Atrocity (Warning: Graphic Content)

End of Manila

http://youtu.be/RzmE8H5wiC8   Battle of Manila (1945) The month-long  Battle of Manila in 1945 was one of the bloodiest moments of WWII, killing at least 100, 000 Filipino civilians who were either bombed or bayoneted–some were even burned alive.   It all started when the American forces led by Field Marshal Douglas MacArthur arrived in Manila in January 1945. Their initial goals were to liberate Allied civilians interned at UST as well as seize the Malacañan Palace, which they were able to achieve. Threatened by the advancing American forces, the group under General Tomoyuki Yamashita withdrew to Baguio City. All hell broke loose when Rear Admiral Sanji Iwabuchi refused to surrender and chose to defend the city until death. Historical buildings and bridges were destroyed, Bayview Hotel served as a rape center, and entire row of houses were burned together with their occupants. Thousands of innocent Filipino civilians were killed using the most atrocious of methods–they were massacred with the help of machine guns, katanas, and bayonets. In his book “American Caesar,”  author William Manchester wrote that the “devastation of Manila was one of the great tragedies of World War II. Seventy percent of the utilities, 72 percent of the factories, 80 percent of the southern residential district, and 100 percent of the business district were razed… Hospitals were set afire after their patients had been strapped to their beds. The corpses of males were mutilated, females of all ages were raped before they were slain, andbabies’ eyeballs gouged out and smeared on walls like jelly.”   From: http://www.filipiknow.net/rare-historical-videos-philippines/   … [Read more...]

Evidence of pre-colonial FILIPINO MARTIAL ARTS by Perry Gil S. Mallari FIGHT Times Editor

Evidence of pre-colonial FILIPINO MARTIAL ARTS

Evidence of pre-colonial FILIPINO MARTIAL ARTS May 25, 2014 12:30 am by Perry Gil S. Mallari FIGHT Times Editor While there is scant mention of the specific names of the martial arts that pre-colonial Filipinos practiced, I believe that various prototypes of Filipino martial arts (FMA) were already in existence long before the arrival of Spain. To me, three things serve as indicators of the existence of indigenous FMA: organized method of warfare, metallurgical technology and sophisticated blade culture. All three aforementioned were chronicled by the Spaniards when they arrived in the Philippines.    Organized method of warfareAsdang is the prehispanic Filipino term for hand-to-hand combat as mentioned by William Henry Scott in his excellent book Barangay: Sixteenth-Century Philippine Culture and Society (1994), “Asdang was hand-to-hand combat. Bulu was a duel. Hulaw was a man known to be on the lookout for an enemy,” he wrote. While it may be true that sheer number is the prime factor why the native army of Lapulapu defeated the forces of Magellan in Mactan, I am firm in my stand that the pre-colonial Filipinos were already schooled in their own methods of warfare. Scott in his book wrote that the Visayan general term for warfare was gubat. He distinguished combat engagements into two—gahat (by land) and mangayaw (by sea). Salakay is the word used for attacking.” On land attacks, he comments, “The preferred tactic on land was ambush—habon, saghid, hoom or pool—either by lying in wait or by such strategies as exposing a few agile warriors to enemy view to lure them into a trap. Sayang was to pass by hidden enemies unawares.”  Scott even referred to an individual tactic used while being pursued by the enemy as well as how the concept of death could affect a warrior’s psyche, “Pinaorihiyan was for a fleeing warrior to turn and spear his pursuer; naga kamatayan was to fight to the death; and mangin matay was a desperate man determined to die on the field of battle.” Terminologies pertaining to military affairs also abound as the following lines from Scott’s book indicate, “Special roles connected with the conduct of war included away, enemy; bantay, sentinel; bila, allies; kagon, mediator; and laway, spy.”   Continue reading article here: http://www.manilatimes.net/evidence-of-pre-colonial-filipino-martial-arts-2/99117/     … [Read more...]

The PBS Film: Crucible of Empire – The Spanish American War

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  The PBS Film: Crucible of Empire - The Spanish American War   One hundred years ago, United States celebrated victory in the Spanish-American War. Popular songs and headlines popularized Commodore Dewey's victories at sea and Theodore Roosevelt's ride up Kettle Hill. Although the Spanish-American War sparked unprecedented levels of patriotism and confidence, the defeat of the Spanish also raised new questions about the nation's role as a world power. CRUCIBLE OF EMPIRE: THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR, narrated by award-winning actor Edward James Olmos, examines the colorful characters and historic events surrounding this 100-year-old war and its relevance to the twentieth century. When a declining Spain, beset by rebellion abroad, fell to American expansionism, the United States inherited her colonies and suddenly emerged as a world power. The experience and questions that the Spanish-American War raised about foreign intervention echo throughout the 20th century—as recent events in Kosovo show. Even in its own time, the war with Spain was understood as a turning point in American history. As the twentieth century ends, it is instructive to note the complexities and significance of this very brief war that began this century. In the words of noted historian Walter LaFeber, "The 1898 war literally as well as chronologically ushered in the United States as a major shaper, soon the major shaper, of twentieth-century world politics and commerce." In the process, it also unified a nation still embittered by Civil War divisions; debuted the media in its role as catalyst of U.S. intervention; built up the navy and inspired a re-evaluation of the army; and vastly broadened the powers of the president in wartime and foreign affairs. Clearly, the Spanish-American War was more than the war that ended the nineteenth century; it was also the war that launched the American century. Using original footage and period photographs, newspaper headlines, more than a dozen popular songs from the 1890s, and interviews with some of America's most prominent historians, CRUCIBLE OF EMPIRE tells how issues of race, economy, technology, yellow journalism, and public opinion propelled America into this war. Four 1990s Senators bring to life the 1899 Senate debate on imperialism: Patrick Leahy (VT), Frank Lautenberg (NJ), Paul Simon (IL), and Alan Simpson (WY). The film also features Larry Linville (Major Frank "Ferret Face" Burns of "M*A*S*H") as the voice of Rough Rider Theodore Roosevelt, Laurence Luckinbill as President William McKinley, and Lou Diamond Phillips as Philippine revolutionary Emilio Aguinaldo. Continue reading at: http://www.pbs.org/crucible/film.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8g8NpQsmxj4 http://youtu.be/8g8NpQsmxj4 … [Read more...]

Photo: Eskrimadors in the Korean War

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Eskrimadors in the Korean War Philippine Army soldiers in South Korea display their bladed weapons (the Bolo) which they used in silently killing Chinese and North Korean sentries or during hand to hand fighting. The Filipino soldiers earned a well-deserved reputation in the Korean War as brutally efficient in killing the enemy soldiers with their bolos.         The Philippine Expeditionary Force to Korea (PEFTOK): 1950-1955 THE KOREAN WAR, which began 63 years ago on 25 June 1950, remains a"Forgotten War" for most of today’s 100 million Filipinos. Hardly surprising in a country where three out of four persons is 35 years old or younger. But for the 7,420 officers and men of the Philippine Army that served in Korea from 1950 to 1955, and for those who actively supported our fighting men, the Korean War was probably the defining event of their lives. From 1950 to 1955, five Battalion Combat Teams (BCTs) of the Philippine Army served in Korea as the elite PHILIPPINE EXPEDITIONARY FORCE TO KOREA orPEFTOK. PEFTOK’s mission was to defend the Republic of Korea against communist conquest. Continue at: http://peftok.blogspot.com         More about the Korean War at Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs, United States Department of State http://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/korean-war-2 … [Read more...]

Some of the Combat, Massacres,Rebellions, Disputes And Calamities of the Philippine Islands according to the book “The Inhabitants of the Philippines” By Frederic H. Sawyer. 1900

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Some of the Combat, Massacres, Rebellions, Disputes And Calamities of the Philippine Islands. according to the Book_   The Inhabitants of the Philippines By Frederic H. Sawyer Memb. Inst. C.E., Memb. Inst. N.A. London Sampson Low, Marston and Company Limited St. Dunstan’s House Fetter Lane, Fleet Street, E.C. 1900     Some of the Combat, Massacres, Rebellions, Disputes And Calamities of the Philippine Islands.   1521. Magellan and several of his followers killed in action by the natives of Mactan, near Cebú; Juan Serrano and many other Spaniards treacherously killed by Hamabar, King of Cebú. 1525. Salazar fights the Portuguese off Mindanao, and suffers great losses in ships and men. 1568. Legaspi’s expedition attacked in Cebú by a Portuguese fleet, which was repulsed. 1570. Legaspi founds the city of Cebú, with the assistance of the Augustinians. 1571. Legaspi founds the city of Manila, with the assistance of the Augustinians. 1572. Juan Salcedo fights the Datto of Zambales, and delivers his subjects from oppression. 1574. Siege of Manila by the Chinese pirate Li-ma-hon with 95 small vessels and 2000 men. The Spaniards and natives repulse the attack. The pirates retire to Pangasinan, and are attacked and destroyed by Juan Salcedo. 1577. War against Mindanao and Joló, parts of which are occupied. Disputes between the missionaries and the military officers who desire to enrich themselves by enslaving the natives, which the former stoutly oppose, desiring to convert them, and grant them exemption from taxes according to the “Leyes de Indias.” They considered the cupidity of the soldiers as the chief obstacle to the conversion of the heathen. The Crown decided in favour of the natives, but they did not derive all the benefits they were entitled to, as the humane laws were not respected by the governors. The Franciscans arrived in Manila. 1580. Expedition sent by Gonzalo Ronquillo to Borneo to assist King Sirela. 1581. Expedition sent by the same to Cagayan to expel a Japanese corsair who had established himself there. The expedition succeeded, but with heavy loss. Expedition against the Igorrotes to get possession of the gold-mines, but without success. The Jesuits arrive in Manila. 1582. Expedition against the Molucas, under Sebastian Ronquillo.[390]An epidemic destroyed two-thirds of the expedition, which returned without accomplishing anything. Great disputes between the encomenderos and the friars in consequence of the ill-treatment of the natives by the former. Dissensions between the Bishop of Manila and the friars who refused to submit to his diocesan visit. Manila burnt down. 1584. Second expedition against the Molucas, with no better luck than the first. Rebellion of the Pampangos and Manila men, assisted by some Mahometans from Borneo. Combat between the English pirate, Thomas Schadesh, and Spanish vessels. Combat between the English adventurer Thomas Cavendish (afterwards Sir Thomas), and Spanish vessels. 1587. The Dominicans arrive in Manila. 1589. Rebellion in Cagayan and other provinces. 1593. Third expedition against the Molucas under Gomez Perez Dasmariñias. He had with him in his galley 80 Spaniards and 250 Chinese galley-slaves. In consequence of contrary winds, his vessel put into a port near Batangas for shelter. In the silence of the night, when the Spaniards were asleep, the galley-slaves arose and killed them all except a Franciscan friar and a secretary. Dasmariñias built the castle of Santiago, and fortified Manila with stone walls, cast a large number of guns, and established the college of Sta. Potenciana. 1596. The galleon which left Manila for Acapulco with rich merchandise, was obliged to enter a Japanese port by stress of weather, and was seized by the Japanese authorities. The crew were barbarously put to death. 1597. Expedition of Luis Perez Dasmariñias against Cambodia, which gained no advantage. 1598. The Audiencia re-established in Manila, and the bishopric raised to an archbishopric. Expedition against Mindanao and Joló, the people from which were committing great devastations in Visayas, taking hundreds of captives. Much fighting, and many killed on both sides, without any definite result. 1599. Destructive earthquake in Manila and neighbourhood. 1600. Great sea combat between four Spanish ships, commanded by Judge Morga, and two Dutch pirates. One of the Dutchmen was taken, but the other escaped. Another destructive earthquake on January 7th, and one less violent, but long, in November. 1603. Conspiracy of Eng-Cang and the Chinese against the Spaniards. The Chinese entrench themselves near Manila; Luis Perez Dasmariñias marches against them with 130 Spaniards. They were all killed and decapitated by the … [Read more...]

BOOK: True Version of the Philippine Revolution By Don Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy President of the Philippine Republic., Tarlak (Philippine Islands), 23rd September, 1899

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True Version of the Philippine Revolution By Don Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy President of the Philippine Republic. Tarlak (Philippine Islands), 23rd September, 1899 To All Civilized Nations and Especially to the Great North American Republic I dedicate to you this modest work with a view to informing you respecting the international events which have occurred during the past three years and are still going on in the Philippines, in order that you may be fully acquainted with the facts and be thereby placed in a position to pronounce judgment upon the issue and be satisfied and assured of the Justice which forms the basis and is in fact the foundation of our Cause. I place the simple truth respectfully before and dedicate it to you as an act of homage and as testimony of my admiration for and recognition of the wide knowledge, the brilliant achievements and the great power of other nations, whom I salute, in the name the Philippine nation, with every effusion of my soul. The Author. Page 1 The Revolution of 1896 Spain maintained control of the Philippine Islands for more than three centuries and a half, during which period the tyranny, misconduct and abuses of the Friars and the Civil and Military Administration exhausted the patience of the natives and caused them to make a desperate effort to shake off the unbearable galling yoke on the 26th and 31st August, 1896, then commencing the revolution in the provinces of Manila and Cavite. On these memorable days the people of Balintawak, Santa Mesa, Kalookan, Kawit, Noveleta and San Francisco de Malabon rose against the Spaniards and proclaimed the Independence of the Philippines, and in the course of the next five days these uprisings were followed by the inhabitants of the other towns in Cavite province joining in the revolt against the Spanish Government although there was no previous arrangement looking to a general revolt. The latter were undoubtedly moved to action by the noble example of the former.Page 2 With regard to the rising in the province of Cavite it should be stated that although a call to arms bearing the signatures of Don Augustin Rieta, Don Candido Firona and myself, who were Lieutenants of the Revolutionary Forces, was circulated there was no certainty about the orders being obeyed, or even received by the people, for it happened that one copy of the orders fell into the hands of a Spaniard named Don Fernando Parga, Military Governor of the province, who at that time was exercising the functions of Civil Governor, who promptly reported its contents to the Captain-General of the Philippines, Don Ramon Blanco y Erenas. The latter at once issued orders for the Spanish troops to attack the revolutionary forces. It would appear beyond doubt that One whom eye of man hath not seen in his wisdom and mercy ordained that the emancipation of the oppressed people of the Philippines should be undertaken at this time, for otherwise it is inexplicable how men armed only with sticks andgulok1 wholly unorganized and undisciplined, could defeat the Spanish Regulars in severe engagements at Bakoor, Imus and Noveleta and, in addition to making many of them prisoners, captured a large quantity of arms and ammunition. It was owing to this astonishing success of the revolutionary troops that General Blanco quickly concluded to endeavour, to maintain Spanish control by the adoption of a Page 3conciliatory policy under the pretext that thereby he could quel the rebellion, his first act being a declaration to the effect that it was not the purpose of his Government to oppress the people and he had no desire “to slaughter the Filipinos.”. The Government of Madrid disapproved of General Blanco's new policy and speedily appointed Lieutenant-General Don Camilo Polavieja to supersede him, and despatched forthwith a large number of Regulars to the Philippines. General Polavieja advanced against the revolutionary forces with 16,000 men armed with Mausers, and one field battery. He had scarcely reconquered half of Cavite province when he resigned, owing to bad health. That was in April, 1897. Polavieja was succeeded by the veteran General Don Fernando Primo de Rivera, who had seen much active service. As soon as Rivera had taken over command of the Forces he personally led his army in the assault upon and pursuit of the revolutionary forces, and so firmly, as well as humanely, was the campaign conducted that he soon reconquered the whole of Cavite province and drove the insurgents into the mountains. Then I established my headquarters in the wild and unexplored mountain fastness of Biak-na-bató, where I formed the Republican Government of the Philippines at the end of May, 1897.Page 4 1 A kind of sword—Translator. The Treaty of Biak-na-bató Don Pedro Alejandro Paterno (who was appointed by the Spanish Governor-General sole mediator in the discussion of the terms of peace) visited Biak-na-bató several times to negotiate terms of … [Read more...]

Baybayin – The Ancient Script of the Philippines by Paul Morrow

Ang Baybayin

Baybayin - The Ancient Script of the Philippines  by Paul Morrow   This language of ours is like any other, it once had an alphabet and its own letters that vanished as though a tempest had set upon a boat on a lake in a time now long gone. "To My Fellow Children”, attributed to Jose Rizal, 1869 English translation by P. Morrow The tempest in Rizal's verse struck the Philippines in the 16th century. It was the Spanish Empire and the lost alphabet was a script that is known today as the baybayin. Contrary to the common misconception, when the Spaniards arrived in the islands they found more than just a loose collection of backward and belligerent tribes. They found a civilization that was very different from their own. The ability to read and write is the mark of any civilization and, according to many early Spanish accounts, the Tagalogs had already been writing with the baybayin for at least a century. This script was just beginning to spread throughout the islands at that time. Furthermore, the discovery in 1987 of an inscription on a sheet of copper in Laguna is evidence that there was an even more advanced script in limited use in the Philippines as far back as the year 900 C.E.  (See The Laguna Copperplate Inscription) Continue at: http://www.mts.net/~pmorrow/bayeng1.htm … [Read more...]

Baybayin: The Lost Filipino Script (Part 1) by Indio Historian

baybayin

Baybayin: The Lost Filipino Script (Part 1) by Indio Historian The Baybayin as we know it today is an ancient Filipino system of writing, a set of 17 characters or letters that had spread throughout the Philippine archipelago in the sixteenth century. The graphic contours of the Baybayin are distinguished by smoothly flowing curvilinear strokes that convey both suppleness and strength. For some history enthusiasts, never ever ever ever call Baybayin “Alibata”. This name was invented by Paul Versoza who thought that Baybayin came from Arabic and thus named it ‘Alif-bata,’ the first letters of the Arabic script. Recent studies suggest that Baybayin may have come from Sanskrit, the ancient Indian script, brought to the Philippine shores by Indian traders. Where did the name Baybayin come from? The word ‘baybay’ in ancient Tagalog means ‘to spell’ or in modern Filipino, ‘syllable.’ As early as 900 AD, there are tidbits of evidences that the ancients in our islands had a sophisticated way of writing. As to why it quickly disappeared comes from the fact that we were never a print culture like China and Korea, that used paper and built large libraries of scrolls to preserve their history, their memory. Another factor is the effective colonization of Spain by the forcing of the houses of ‘natives’ to be gathered around a town-square called ‘reducciones’ close to the church and the alcaldes for the close supervision of the Spanish authorities. Continue at: http://indiohistorian.tumblr.com/post/13097309564/baybayin-the-lost-filipino-script-part-1-the … [Read more...]

Way Of The Balisong – An independent documentary film project that examines the history and culture of the Balisong Knife.

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Way Of The Balisong An independent documentary film project that examines the history and culture of the Balisong Knife. BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR OUR KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN STARTING SOON!!! Synopsis> From the Batangas region of the Philippines, to the cutlery factories of Oregon-USA, to the practitioners and aficionados connected by the World Wide Web, this film examines the origins, history and culture of the notorious Balisong Knife. Well-known from its appearance in films and popularity among blade enthusiasts,  often overlooked is the small town which made the knife famous, now struggling to maintain its identity in a modernizing world. Help Make This Film> The Film is one-third through it's principle completion.  Finishing the film will require your help.  If you would like to support this project and be a part of history please join our mailing list and follow us on facebook / twitter to stay tuned to announcement for our Kickstarter funding campaign, starting on October 7th.   https://www.facebook.com/WayOfTheBalisongwww.wayofthebalisong.comhttps://twitter.com/BalisongMovie   Help Make This Film   'Way of the Balisong' is a passion project that started from a visit to the heritage town of Taal, in the Batangas region of the Philippines by filmmaker Paul Factora in 2012. After hearing about the plight of the people in Barangay Balisong and speaking with prominent blade merchant Diosdado Ona about the disappearing industry within the Town it was named after,  a decision was made to return and document their story. After 2 subsequent trips to the Philippines, the story expanded. Originally intended as a short 10 minute piece, it became apparent that the tale of the Balisong knife was not relegated to just the Philippines and in order to tell the full story the project must also grow. It wasn't just about a knife, it became about the people who pioneered a craft that spread throughout the world and how that craft is now dwindling away. Along with a couple of friends & cameras one-third of the principle photography was shot in the Philippines completely self funded. Completing the film in it's envisioned entirety, will require another trip to the Philippines and several interviews shot throughout the U.S. 'Way Of The Balisong' will need YOUR help to be completed. Please join our mailing list to recieve updates on our Kickstarter Campaign beginning October 7, 2013 and stay tuned to learn what you can do to help make 'Way Of The Balisong' a reality. http://www.wayofthebalisong.com/about.html … [Read more...]

BOOK: Anting-Anting Stories And Other Strange Tales of the Filipinos By Sargent Kayme. Boston: Small, Maynard & Company. 1901

Anting-Anting-Stories-218x340

Anting-Anting Stories And Other Strange Tales of the Filipinos By Sargent Kayme Boston: Small, Maynard & Company 1901 [Contents]Copyright, 1901, by Small, Maynard & Company (Incorporated)Entered at Stationers’ HallPress of J. J. Arakelyan Boston, U.S.A.[V] [Contents] Foreword The life of the inhabitants of the far-away Eastern islands in which the people of the United States are now so vitally interested opens to our literature a new field not less fresh and original than that which came to us when Mr. Kipling first published his Indian tales. India had always possessed its wonders and its remarkable types, but they waited long for adequate expression. No less wonderful and varied are the inhabitants and the phenomena of the Philippines, and a new author, showing rare knowledge of the country and its strange peoples, now gives us a collection of simple yet powerful stories which bring them before us with dramatic vividness. Pirates, half naked natives, pearls, man-apes, towering volcanoes about whose summits clouds and unearthly traditions float together, strange animals and birds, and stranger men, pythons, bejuco ropes stained with human blood, feathering palm trees now fanned by soft breezes and now crushed to the ground by tornadoes;—on no mimic stage was ever a more [VI]wonderful scene set for such a company of actors. That the truly remarkable stories written by Sargent Kayme do not exaggerate the realities of this strange life can be easily seen by any one who has read the letters from press correspondents, our soldiers, or the more formal books of travel. Strangest, perhaps, of all these possibilities for fiction is the anting-anting, at once a mysterious power to protect its possessor and the outward symbol of the protection. No more curious fetich can be found in the history of folk-lore. A button, a coin, a bit of paper with unintelligible words scribbled upon it, a bone, a stone, a garment, anything, almost—often a thing of no intrinsic value—its owner has been known to walk up to the muzzle of a loaded musket or rush upon the point of a bayonet with a confidence so sublime as to silence ridicule and to command admiration if not respect. The Editor.[VII] [Contents] Contents The Anting-Anting of Captain Von Tollig1 The Cave in the Side of Coron21 The Conjure Man of Siargao41 Mrs. Hannah Smith, Nurse65 The Fifteenth Wife93 “Our Lady of Pilar”113 A Question of Time131 The Spirit of Mount Apo153 With What Measure Ye Mete179 Told at the Club195 Pearls of Sulu211 [3] [Contents] Anting-Anting Stories The Anting-Anting of Captain Von Tollig There had been a battle between the American forces and the Tagalogs, and the natives had been driven back. The stone church of Santa Maria, around which the engagement had been hottest, and far beyond which the native lines had now been driven, had been turned into a hospital for the wounded Tagalogs left by their comrades on the field. Beneath a broad thatched shed behind the church lay the bodies of the dead, stiff and still under the coverings of cocoanut-fibre cloth thrown hastily over them. The light of a full tropic moon threw the shadow of the roof over them like a soft, brown velvet pall. They were to be buried between day-break and sunrise, that the men who buried them might escape the heat of the day. The American picket lines had been posted a quarter of a mile beyond the church, near which no other guards had been placed. Not long after midnight a surgeon, one of the two [4]men left on duty in the church, happened to look out through a broken window towards the shed, and in the shadow, against the open moonlight-flooded field beyond, saw something moving. Looking close he could make out the slim, brown figure of a native passing swiftly from one covered form to another, and turning back the cocoanut-fibre cloth to look at each dead man’s face. Calling the man who was working with him the surgeon pointed out the man beneath the shed to him. “That fellow has no business there,” he said, “He has slipped through the lines in some way. He may be a spy, but even if he is not, he is here for no good. We must capture him.” “All right,” was the answer. “You go around the church one way, and I will come the other.” When the surgeon, outside the hospital, reached a place where he could see the shed again, the Tagalog had ceased his search. He had found the body he was looking for, and sunk down on his knees beside it was [5]searching for something in the clothing which covered the dead man’s breast. A moment later he had seen the men stealing towards him from the church, had cleared the open space beneath the shed at a leap, and was off in the moonlight, running towards the outposts. The surgeons swore; and one fired a shot after him from his revolver. “Might as well shoot at the shadow of that palm tree,” the one who had shot said. … [Read more...]

SILENT FILM: Philippine American War – Advance of Kansas Volunteers at Caloocan by Thomas A. Edison; 5 June 1899

Philippine American War

Philippine American War - Advance of Kansas Volunteers at Caloocan by Thomas A. Edison; 5 June 1899 From LibraryOfCongress, Washinton D.C.   Comment by Mandirigma.org: At the time of this production, film was a brand new medium. This Film by Thomas Edison shows Filipino Freedom Fighters defending their country against  American Invaders. However the director portrays the Filipinos as "Rebels" and the Americans as defenders of "Freedom" and "Liberty" who overcome the "Insurgents".   http://youtu.be/_ZjrPU6rPHE     SUMMARY From Edison films catalog: From the thick underbrush where the Filipinos are massed comes volley after volley. They are making one of those determined stands that marks Caloocan as the bloodiest battle of the Filipino rebellion. Suddenly, with impetuous rush, Funston's men appear. They pause but for a moment, to fire, reload and fire. The color bearer falls, but the standard is caught up by brave Sergeant Squires and waves undaunted in the smoke and din of the receding battle. This is one of the best battle pictures ever made. The first firing is done directly toward the front of the picture, and the advance of the U.S. troops apparently through the screen is very exciting; the gradual disappearance of the fighters sustaining the interest to the end. 65 feet. $9.75. NOTES Copyright: Thomas A. Edison; 5June1899; 37443. Original main title lacking. Reenacted by the New Jersey National Guard. Materials listed originate from the paper print chosen best copy of two for digitization; for other holdings on this title, contact M/B/RS reference staff. Edison code name (for telegraphic orders): Unbroached. MAVIS 47087; Advance of Kansas Volunteers at Caloocan. Reenacted May 1899 in the Orange Mountains near West Orange, New Jersey. Sources used: Copyright catalog, motion pictures, 1894-1912; Musser, C. Edison motion pictures 1890-1900, 1997; Niver, K.R. Early motion pictures, 1985; Edison films catalog, no. 94, March 1900, p. 4 [MI]; Edison films catalog, no. 105, July 1901, p. 30 [MI]. SUBJECTS United States.--Army.--Kansas Volunteer Infantry Regiment, 20th. Philippines--History--Philippine American War, 1899-1902--Battlefields. Battles--Philippines. Soldiers. Revolutionaries--Philippines. Funston, Frederick,--1865-1917--Military leadership. Battle casualties--Philippines. Flags--United States. War films. Historical reenactments (Motion pictures) Short films. Silent films. Nonfiction films. RELATED NAMES White, James H. (James Henry), production. New Jersey. National Guard. Thomas A. Edison, Inc. Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) CALL NUMBER FEC 2820 (ref print) FPE 9628 (dupe neg) FPE 9135 (masterpos) LC 973a (paper pos) DIGITAL ID sawmp 0973 http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mbrsmi/sawmp.0973   … [Read more...]

Massive balangay ‘mother boat’ unearthed in Butuan By TJ DIMACALI,GMA News

mandirigma.org kali arnis escrima eskrima

Massive balangay 'mother boat' unearthed in Butuan By TJ DIMACALI,GMA News The largest sailing vessel of its kind yet discovered is being unearthed in Butuan City in Mindanao, and it promises to rewrite Philippine maritime history as we know it. Estimated to be around 800 years old, the plank vessel may be centuries older than the ships used by European explorers in the 16th century when they first came upon the archipelago later named after a Spanish king, Las Islas Felipenas. Continue at: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/321334/scitech/science/massive-balangay-mother-boat-unearthed-in-butuan The find also underscores theories that the Philippines, and Butuan in particular, was a major center for cultural, religious, and commercial relations in Southeast Asia. 'Nails' the size of soda cans National Museum archeologist Dr. Mary Jane Louise A. Bolunia, who leads the research team at the site, says almost everything about the newly-discovered "balangay" is massive.She holds up her hand and curls her fingers into a circle, as if grasping a soda can. "That's just one of the treenails used in its construction," Bolunia says. An aptly descriptive term, a "treenail" is a wooden peg or dowel used in place of iron nails in boatbuilding. So with "nails" that size, exactly how big is this boat? Dr. Bolunia produces a piece of onionskin paper with a carefully-inked map of the archeological site. On the upper corner is a roughly pea pod-shaped boat wreck, about 15 meters long, one of nine similarly-sized balangays discovered at the site since the 1970's. But right next to it, discovered only in 2012, are what seem to be the remains of another balangay so wide that it could easily fit the smaller craft into itself twice over – and that's just the part that's been excavated so far. Although the boat has yet to be fully excavated, it's estimated to be at least 25 meters long. Aside from the treenails, the individual planks alone are each as broad as a man's chest – roughly twice the width of those used in other balangays on the site. The planks are so large that they can no longer be duplicated, because there are no more trees today big enough to make boards that size, according to Dr. Bolunia. Proceeding with caution Historians, and Bolunia herself, caution that much work still needs to be done before the boat can be conclusively dated and identified."(The newly-discovered boat) will need more technical verification to establish its connection and relationship with the other boats already excavated, so that we can know its date, boat typology, and technology," said Dr. Maria Bernadette L. Abrera, professor and chairperson of the Department of History at the University of the Philippines-Diliman, in an email interview. "We have to be careful," said Ramon Villegas, a scholar who has done extensive research on pre-colonial Philippine history. "There has not been enough time to study (the artifacts). It could be a Spanish boat or Chinese junk." Aside from carbon dating to determine the age of the wood, the construction techniques used and even the type of wood itself need to be ascertained before anyone can come to a definitive conclusion. "Everything depends on the construction, on how the boat was built, before you can properly call it a 'balangay'," explains archeologist and anthropologist Dr. Jesus Peralta. He said he has yet to see the newfound boat for himself. Nevertheless, the boat's proximity to previous sites of buried balangays promises to send ripples through the academic world. "It's a 'mother boat'," Dr. Bolunia says with little hesitation, "and it's changing the way we think about ancient Filipino seafarers." Rewriting Philippine history It has long been established that Filipinos traveled across Southeast Asia as early as the 10th century, reaching as far as Champa – what is now the eastern coast of Vietnam – in groups of balangays. These groups or flotillas have always been thought to consist of similarly-sized small vessels, an idea perpetuated by the term "barangay" – the smallest administrative division of the present-day Philippine government. But, according to Dr. Bolunia, this new discovery suggests that these may just have been support vessels for a much larger main boat, where trade goods and other supplies were likely to have been held for safekeeping. The discovery also suggests that seafaring Filipinos were much more organized and centralized than previously thought. Butuan as a major center of culture and trade "This balangay reinforces the findings of the earlier excavations about the role of Butuan as a commercial and population center in precolonial Philippines," Abrera told GMA News."Butuan seaport had long-time trade links with Champa and Guandong (China). You can retrace the importance of (the newly-discovered boat) by utilizing it as an archeological key to that period when Butuan … [Read more...]

Emilio Aguinaldo filmed with actor Douglas Fairbanks, Philippines, 1931

Emilio Aguinaldo and Douglas Fairbanks his Cavite home March 26 1931

Emilio Aguinaldo filmed with actor Douglas Fairbanks, Philippines, 1931 http://youtu.be/QJyqxWhQ38o In 1931 Douglas Fairbanks went on a trip to Asia, and made a comic travelogue entitled "Around the World in 80 Minutes". The clip from the Philippines included a short speech in Spanish by Emilio Aguinaldo. Fairbanks was a movie producer and actor in silent films. He co-founded the American film studio United Artists and hosted the first Oscars Ceremony in 1929. La calidad del audio deja mucho que desear, pero me parece que el Sr. Aguinaldo dijo: "Os participo de que he dado la bienvenida a nuestro gran actor (?Douglas Fairbanks) de America. Por la misma razón espero que esta visita que nos ha dignado dicho gran actor,(???), estrechará más la armonía entre americanos y filipinos" Una traducción literal: I have given welcome to our great actor, Douglas Fairbanks, from America. For the same reason, I hope that this visit by this great actor, who has humbled himself to us, will develop greater harmony between Americans and Filipinos.     … [Read more...]

Cordillera People’s Flag – Igorot Autonomous Region – Northern Philippines

Cordillera People's Flag (Igorot Autonomous Region)

Cordillera People's Flag - Igorot Autonomous Region - Northern Philippines Explanation of the flag The Cordillera people are 7 interior people native to Cordillera mountains which stretch from North Borneo all the way to Luzon Island. The flag has 8 lances: 7 which represent the 7 interior people and 1 which represents the Tagalog people. The flag is also used with the letters CPDF in black under the emblem when it is used as the flag of the Cordillera People's Democratic Front. … [Read more...]

Book review: “Baybayin Atbp.: Mga Pag-aaral at Pagpapayaman ng Kulturang Pilipino” – Why is baybayin relevant today? Ime Morales

Baybayin Atbp book cover

Book review: Why is baybayin relevant today? Text and photo by IME MORALES If you think that baybayin, or the alibata, as it has come to be known in recent times, is simply our Filipino ancestors’ way of writing, then the contents of “Baybayin Atbp.: Mga Pag-aaral at Pagpapayaman ng Kulturang Pilipino” (Teresita B. Obusan, Raymond M. Cosare, and Minifred P. Gavino) will awaken your curiosity and, hopefully, your spirit. It is true, first of all, that baybayin is the indigenous writing form invented by our great grandfathers. But it is also true that it is much more than that. During a September 28 lecture organized by UP Tomo-Kai in Palma Hall, UP Diliman, social worker and writer Dr. Teresita B. Obusan said that the baybayin is a symbol of our culture and a means to study and understand mysticism. She explained, “We did not copy this. It was created by our ancestors and it becomes us.” In the booklet, which was printed earlier this year and written in the vernacular, she writes: “Baybayin is a gift from heaven, given to us through our ancestors; it is a legacy for the Filipino people... and it is our responsibility to take care of it and nurture it.”   Article continues at: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/278915/lifestyle/reviews/book-review-why-is-baybayin-relevant-today … [Read more...]

Imprinting Andres Bonifacio: The Iconization from Portrait to Peso by The Malacañan Palace Library

Andres_Bonifacio_photo

Imprinting Andres Bonifacio: The Iconization from Portrait to Peso by The Malacañan Palace Library   The face of the Philippine revolution is evasive, just like the freedom that eluded the man known as its leader.   The only known photograph of Andres Bonifacio is housed in the Archivo General de Indias in Seville, Spain. Some say that it was taken during his second wedding to Gregoria de Jesus in Katipunan ceremonial rites. It is dated 1896 from Chofre y Cia (precursor to today’s Cacho Hermanos printing firm), a prominent printing press and pioneer of lithographic printing in the country, based in Manila. The faded photograph, instead of being a precise representation of a specific historical figure, instead becomes a kind of Rorschach test, liable to conflicting impressions. Does the picture show the President of the Supreme Council of the Katipunan as a bourgeois everyman with nondescript, almost forgettable features? Or does it portray a dour piercing glare perpetually frozen in time, revealing a determined leader deep in contemplation, whose mind is clouded with thoughts of waging an armed struggle against a colonial power? Perhaps a less subjective and more fruitful avenue for investigation is to compare and contrast this earliest documented image with those that have referred to it, or even paid a curious homage to it, by substantially altering his faded features. This undated image of Bonifacio offers the closest resemblance to the Chofre y Cia version. As attested to by National Scientist Teodoro A. Agoncillo and the National Historical Commission of the Philippines, it is the image that depicts the well-known attribution of Bonifacio being of sangley (or Chinese) descent. While nearly identical in composition with the original, this second image shows him with a refined–even weak–chin, almond-shaped eyes, a less defined brow, and even modified hair. The blurring of his features, perhaps the result of the image being timeworn, offers little room for interjection. In contrast, the next image dating from a February 8, 1897 issue of La Ilustración Española y Americana, a Spanish-American weekly publication, features a heavily altered representation of Bonifacio at odds with the earlier depiction from Chofre y Cia. This modification catered to the Castilian idea of racial superiority, and to the waning Spanish Empire’s shock–perhaps even awe?–over what they must have viewed at the time as indio impudence. Hence the Bonifacio in this engraving is given a more pronounced set of features–a more prominent, almost ruthless jawline, deep-set eyes, a heavy, furrowed brow and a proud yet incongruously vacant stare. Far from the unassuming demeanor previously evidenced, there is an aura of unshakable, even obstinate, determination surrounding the revolutionary leader who remained resolute until his last breath. Notice also that for the first (although it would not be the last) time, he is formally clad in what appears to be a three-piece suit with a white bowtie–hardly the dress one would expect, given his allegedly humble beginnings. Given its printing, this is arguably the first depiction of Bonifacio to be circulated en masse. The same image appeared in Ramon Reyes Lala’s The Philippine Islands, which was published in 1899 by an American publishing house for distribution in the Philippines. The records of both the Filipinas Heritage Library and the Lopez Museum reveal a third, separate image of Bonifacio which appears in the December 7, 1910 issue of El Renacimiento Filipino, a Filipino publication during the early years of the American occupation. El Renacimiento Filipino portrays an idealized Bonifacio, taking even greater liberties with the Chofre y Cia portrait. There is both gentrification and romanticization at work here. His receding hairline draws attention to his wide forehead–pointing to cultural assumptions of the time that a broad brow denotes a powerful intellect–and his full lips are almost pouting. His cheekbones are more prominent and his eyes are given a curious, lidded, dreamy, even feminine emphasis, imbuing him with an air of otherworldly reserve–he appears unruffled and somber, almost languid: more poet than firebrand. It is difficult to imagine him as the Bonifacio admired, even idolized, by his countrymen for stirring battle cries and bold military tactics. He is clothed in a similar fashion to the La Ilustración Española y Americana portrait: with a significant deviation that would leave a telltale mark on succeeded images derived from this one. Gone is the white tie (itself an artistic assumption when the original image merely hinted at the possibility of some sort of neckwear), and in its stead, there is a sober black cravat and even a corsage on the buttonhole of his coat. Here the transformation of photograph to engraving takes … [Read more...]

Origin of the Symbols of the Philippine National Flag by The Malacañan Palace Library

pinoy flag

Origin of the Symbols of the Philippine National Flag by The Malacañan Palace Library Aside from the Masonic influence on the Katipunan, the design of the Philippine flag has roots in the flag family to which it belongs—that of the last group of colonies that sought independence from the Spanish Empire at the close of the 19th century, a group to which the Philippines belongs. The Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office traces the origins of the Philippine flag’s design elements, which have been in use since General Emilio Aguinaldo first conceived them—the stars and stripes; the red, white, and blue; the masonic triangle; and the sun—and have endured since. Source: http://malacanang.gov.ph/3846-origin-of-the-symbols-of-our-national-flag/     … [Read more...]

Filipino American Museum of Culture & History Presents – THE INOSANTO STORY. JUNE 1, 2013. Los Angeles

Guro Dan Inosanto Story JKD Kali Arnis Eskrima

Filipino American Museum of Culture & History Presents - THE INOSANTO STORY. JUNE 1, 2013. Los Angeles FMA Enthusiasts! Here's a fund-raising event that not only showcases our pride in Filipino culture and history but also helps to build handicap access for the Filipino Disciples Christian Church. Dress:  Business casual R.S.V.P. by phone or email A.S.A.P followed up by payment.  Last year they had to turn people away because there wasn't enough room or food for them.  The absolute latest they can receive payment and an R.S.V.P. is May 22nd.  If anyone is interested in putting together a display table for their FMA, etc. they can contact Lorna (see below for contact info). To R.S.V.P., call or email: Lorna Dumapias (213) 379-6456 lorna.dumapias7@gmail.com Checks or money orders should be made payable to: Filipino American Museum of Culture & History And checks / money orders can be sent to: Lorna Dumaplas P.O. Box 71372, Los Angeles, CA. 90071 Here's more info about the event: Other highlights of this special event: Guru Dan mentions a historical footnote in his promotion of traditional Filipino martial arts - kali and escrima:  that the art was mainly perpetuated through dance -- while plotting a revolution against 300 years rule by Spain. A traditional Filipino folk-dance will be performed during the Filipino meal--you will recognize some of the foot, hand and arm movements! Demonstration of kali and escrima will follow the folk-dance on stage. Our social hall  has a permanent History Photo Gallery which features Guru Dan's mother and father, as well as Guru Dan. (Guru Dan taught Sunday School to our church's college-age group in the 1960's which is his affiliation with our church--to date, the only Historic-Cultural monument/landmark of Filipino- American origin proclaimed by the City of Los Angeles. In addition, a special photo exhibit about the Inosanto family will be on display. There will also be a table displaying information/activities about the Inosanto Academy and Guru Dan's coming seminars, etc, as well as about the schedule of classes, activities and coming seminars, etc. of Diana Lee Inosanto and Ron Balicki. Because both Guru Dan and his daughter Diana Lee, have always been supportive of preserving and promoting traditional Filipino martial arts as well as other disciplines such as JKD, etc. we invite the martial arts community to participate.  We offer the following: Your group's tax-deductible donation of five tickets at $20 each (could be aggregate of individual check or money order payments) = leader's name with group/studio name listed on printed program as a "Friend of the Museum".  Reservations/payment(s) may be sent payable to the Filipino American Museum of Culture & History and mail to Lorna Dumapias, P.O. Box 71372, Los Angeles, CA. 90071. Ten tickets = listing on printed program and on press releases slated for distribution May 15, and inclusion in a display table(s) promoting martial arts community, where you can promote your specific programs/studio.  (We reserve the right to select final display -- no weapons or inappropriate content allowed.  No actual selling.) Our book titled "Filipino-American Experience: the Making of a Historic-Cultural Monument", a coffee table publication in glossy, landscape style format which includes the Inosanto Story written by Guru Dan's niece, Dr. Celeste Howe, be will be offered at a discount to the martial arts community, seniors and students with school ID. Because we  must know actual number of attendees as soon as possible for seating arrangements due to limited room capacity as well as to help us confirm our order with the restaurant catering the meal, we would appreciate your prompt response. Thanks for your participation!  We hope to see you soon! Best, Lorna Dumapias, Volunteer Curator/Director Filipino American Museum of Culture & History 213/379-6456 … [Read more...]

Pre-Standardized Philippine Flag by Ambeth R. Ocampo

Philippine Revolution Sun

Before the Philippine flag was standardized into the form we know today, the sun had a human face and eight rays that differed depending on who made it. The sun in the flag also appeared as: seals, stamps, and logos on official communications. I'm not sure if this is a stamp for postage, revenue, or documentary tax. Ambeth R. Ocampo … [Read more...]

Boxer Codex Manuscript – circa 1595

Tagalog royalty mandirigma.org

Boxer Codex Boxer Codex is a manuscript written circa 1595 which contains illustrations of Filipinos at the time of their initial contact with the Spanish. Aside from a description of and historical allusions to the Philippines and various other Far Eastern countries, it also contains seventy-five colored drawings of the inhabitants of these regions and their distinctive costumes. Fifteen illustrations deal with Filipinos. [1] It is believed that the original owner of the manuscript was Luis Pérez das Mariñas, son of Governor General Gómez Pérez das Mariñas, who was killed in 1593 by the Sangleys (Chinese living in the Philippines). Luis succeeded his father in office as Governor General of the Philippines. Since Spanish colonial governors were required to supply written reports on the territotries they governed, it is likely that the manuscript was written under the orders of the governor. [2] The manuscript's earliest known owner was Lord Ilchester. The codex was among what remained in his collection when his estate, Holland House in London, suffered a direct hit during an air raid 1942. The manuscript was auctioned in 1947 and came into the possession of Prof. Charles R. Boxer, an authority on the Far East. It is now owned by the Lilly Library at Indiana University. [3] The Boxer Codex depicts the Tagalogs, Visayans, Zambals, Cagayanons and Negritos of the Philippines in vivid colors. Except for the Chinese, however, its illustrations of inhabitants of neighboring countries are odd looking. This suggests that the artist did not actually visit the places mentioned from the text, but drew from imagination. Boxer notes that the descriptions of these countries are not original. The account of China, for example, was largely based on the narrative of Fray Martin de Rada. The technique of the paintings suggests that artist may have been Chinese, as does the use of Chinese paper, ink and paints. [4]   Native Pre-colonial inhabitants of the Philippines   Tagalog royalty and his wife, wearing the distinctive color of his class (red).   Tagalog maginoo (noble) and his wife, wearing the distinctive color of his class (blue.   A timawa or tumao (noble) couple, Visayan Pintados   Visayan kadatuan (royal) couple . References ^ Alfredo R. Roces, et. al., eds., Boxer Codex in Filipino Heritage: the Making of a Nation, Philippines: Lahing Pilipino Publishing, Inc., 1977, Vol. IV, p. 1003. ^ Ibid., p. 1004. ^ Ibid., p. 1003. ^ Ibid.     … [Read more...]

The Origins of Philippines Boxing, 1899-1929

Pancho Villa by Ed Hughes1925 filipino boxing Pancho Villa by Ed Hughes1925 filipino boxing

The Origins of Philippines Boxing, 1899-1929   By Joseph R. Svinth Copyright © Joseph R. Svinth 2001. All rights reserved. The assistance of Pat Baptiste, Hank Kaplan, Paul Lou, Eric Madis, Curtis Narimatsu, John Ochs,  Michael Machado, and Kevin Smith is gratefully acknowledged. On June 18, 1923, Francisco "Pancho Villa" Guilledo beat Jimmy Wilde to become the world flyweight boxing champion, an accomplishment that was (and remains) a matter of great pride to people of Filipino descent. Unfortunately, while there has been some documentation of the many excellent Filipino boxers who subsequently followed Guilledo to the United States, there has not been as much attention paid to documenting the origins of boxing in the Philippines. This article represents a step toward correcting that omission. People with additional information or corrections are invited to contact the author at jsvinth@ejmas.com. "Pancho Villa, gone but not forgotten." Illustration by Ed Hughes, 1925. Boxing Enters the Philippines US servicemen introduced boxing to the Philippines during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. How this came about is that on April 25, 1898, the United States declared war on Spain, whose colonial holdings included the Philippines. So, on April 27, 1898, Commodore George Dewey ordered his squadron of five cruisers and two gunboats to steam from China to the Philippines, and there, on May 1, 1898, he issued the famous command, "You may fire when ready, Gridley." The resulting US naval victory effectively ended Spanish control of the region, and in August 1898 the US Army began the occupation of Luzon. Then, to the horror of the Filipinos, the Americans did not cede the Philippines to them: instead they decided to keep the islands for themselves. Between 1899 and 1913, this resulted in savage wars of peace whose heroes included Emilio Aguinaldo on one side and Arthur MacArthur, Frederick Funston, Leonard Wood, and John J. Pershing on the other. Casualties in these battles were heavy and one-sided: US casualties were listed as 4,243 killed and 2,818 wounded in action while Filipino casualties are estimated at 16,000 killed, plus another several hundred thousand dead from famine or disease (generally cholera). However, after Theodore Roosevelt’s unilateral declaration of victory in July 1902, US commanders began thinking about how to reduce the rates of desertion, suicide, sexually transmitted diseases, drug abuse, and drunkenness among their soldiers and sailors. Boxing was offered as a potential solution. The reason was that boxers in training were taught to avoid tobacco, alcohol, and sexual activity. Furthermore, explained writer Charles L. Clay in 1887, "Boxing also makes a man self-reliant and resourceful when assailed by sudden or unexpected dangers or difficulties." This, in turn, said a YMCA director named C.H. Jackson in 1909, made young men "Christlike and manly." So, in 1902, Major Elijah Halford (a former secretary to President Benjamin Harrison) asked philanthropists for $200,000 to construct a YMCA in Manila, and by 1904, Army officers such as Edmund Butts were extolling the virtues of boxing in tropical environments such as Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. US Military Boxers On November 18, 1899, soldiers of the 11th US Cavalry reported finding a pair of boxing gloves made by Sol Levinson of San Francisco abandoned in the Luzon village of San Mateo. According to Damon Runyon, writing in October 1925, Filipino prisoners reported that the "gloves had been brought in by a renegade soldier from the negro Twenty-fourth Infantry, and that he had been schooling the Filipinos in their use." Many early boxers in the Philippines were African American, as the all-black 9th and 10th US Cavalry, 24th and 25th US Infantry, and 48th and 49th US Volunteer Infantry formed a significant percentage of the American soldiers serving in the Philippines between 1899 and 1902. Following Roosevelt’s declaration of peace, most of the black troops were sent back to the United States but in 1913, the 25th was in Hawaii. There the Honolulu Advertiser noted: The Twenty-fifth is proud of its colored ringmasters and particularly of Hollie Giles, a welterweight of 155 pounds, who is described by the men as a ‘whirlwind’ fighter; Morgan, a heavyweight at 190 pounds; Carson, a light heavyweight, and Ananias Harris, a light heavyweight. Meanwhile, from 1913 until 1917, the 24th was in the Philippines, serving at Camp McGrath (Batangas) and Fort Mills (Corregidor). Noted African American fighters from this period included the middleweights Joe Blackburn, "Craps" Johnson, and "Demon" White. Of course, there were also white soldiers who boxed in the Philippines. The most famous was New Jersey’s Mike Ballerino. "Ballerino had a chip on his shoulder," Pancho Villa recalled in early 1925. "He dared any of the Filipinos to knock it off." So Pancho Villa did, … [Read more...]

Arnis: A Question of Origins by Bot Jocano

Arnis: A Question of Origins by Bot Jocano Rapid Journal Vol. 2, No. 4 4th Qtr 1997Taichi Works Publications 458 Jaboneros St. Binondo, Manila 1006 Arnis: A Question of Origins by Bot Jocano The term arnis evokes a number of reactions from people every time it is mentioned in a conversation. Some people start fanning their hands in the air, imitating the distinctive movements of the two-stick (doble baston) training method. This image of arnis is one of the most popular to the layman. A second reaction, and quite as common as the first, is the question: "Saan ba talaga galing ang arnis?" (Where did arnis really come from?) Alternatively, "Di ba, sa atin nanggaling ang arnis?î (Isn't it that arnis comes from us?) is a question also heard. This article is an attempt to critically examine the roots of one of the martial arts of the Philippines, arnis. It must be noted that in no way does this article claim to be the final say on the origins of arnis. It is actually a preliminary look, a start if you will, into re-examining carefully the origins of an art form. Arnis, also known as kali, escrima, baston, etc. is a complete martial art system, encompassing weapons training and empty-hand self-defense. It includes training in single stick techniques (solo baston), double stick techniques (doble baston), stick and knife or dagger techniques (espada y daga) and knife techniques (daga). Some styles may include staff and spear (sibat) training in their curriculum. Others will include the practice of medium to long bladed weapons (bolo) in their repertoire. Many styles have some form of empty hand combat, encompassing striking, kicking, locking, throwing and even choking methods. These are usually taught when the practitioner has demonstrated a reasonable degree of proficiency with the weapons of his style of arnis. Different arnis styles, from different parts of the country, may emphasize different areas of the training methods noted above. The term arnis is believed to be a Tagalog corruption of the Spanish term arnes, or harness, a reference to the decorations worn by the early Filipinos. Kali is another term used to refer to the same kind of martial arts. Different provinces may have different names for arnis, such as baston and kaliradman (Ilonggo, Bisaya), pagkalikali (Ibanag) and kalirongan (Pangasinan). These are only a few examples of the terms already recorded in different sources. With such a comprehensive system of martial arts being taught and promoted in different areas of the country, it is inevitable that people would ask, where did such a complete martial art system come from? One suggestion is that it originally came from another martial art system, called tjakalele. This is actually the name of a branch of the Indonesian martial art system known as pentjak silat. Another suggestion is that it was brought here from the Southeast Asian mainland, particularly during the Madjapahit and Shri-Visayan empires. Yet another suggestion is that it was propagated by the so-called ten Bornean datus fleeing persecution from their homeland. We shall critically examine these assertions one at a time. The idea that arnis evolved or was derived from another martial art system, namely tjakalele silat, is due to linguistics. The alternative name for arnis is kali. It is widely held that this is the older term for arnis, and that kali itself emphasizes bladed weaponry apart from practice with the stick. It is not surprising that a connection could be seen between the term kali and tjakalele. However, linguistic similarity alone is not enough ground to assert that kali was indeed derived from tjakalele. There has to be documented proof that one came from the other. What form should this proof take? Authenticated documents certainly are one of the best pieces of evidence - if such could be found, and proven to be genuine. A close and thorough comparison of both styles would help, but it must be remembered that they would have changed over time, reflecting the different changes that have happened in their cultures of origin. On the other hand, one of the local terms for a bladed weapon is kalis. It is also believed that kali is a derived term from kalis. This assertion will require study before it can be validated. Another oft-quoted idea is that kali was brought here during the Shri-Vishayan (7th -14th centuries and Madjapahit (13th -16th centuries) empires. This reflects the notion that the Philippines then was somehow an integral part of both empires. It must be noted that the archaeological evidence for the role of the Philippines in both empires is very meager. About the best that could be said is that there was commercial contact, but whether such contact also included the spreading of martial arts is circumstantial at best. A third idea regarding the spreading and propagation of kali in the Philippines is that ten Bornean datus (sometimes nine) fled here and settled in various parts of … [Read more...]

Warrior’s Helmet (Oklop), Ifugao, 19th-early 20th c., National Gallery of Australia.

mandirigma kali arnis eskrima luzon visayas mindanao mandirigma kali arnis eskrima luzon visayas mindanao

Warrior’s Helmet (Oklop), Ifugao, 19th-early 20th c., National Gallery of Australia.   Courtesy of http://pupuplatter.tumblr.com … [Read more...]

Dagger Hilt, Butuan, 10th-13th c., Tony and Cecile Gutierrez Collection.

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Dagger Hilt, Butuan, 10th-13th c., Tony and Cecile Gutierrez Collection.   Courtesy of http://pupuplatter.tumblr.com … [Read more...]

Joseph Montano, “Moros-Moros au Théâtre d’Albay,” 1886.

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Joseph Montano, “Moros-Moros au Théâtre d’Albay,” 1886.   Courtesy of http://pupuplatter.tumblr.com … [Read more...]

Body Armor, Lanao del Sur, late 19th-early 20th c., British Museum.

mandirigma kali arnis eskrima luzon visayas mindanao 2 mandirigma kali arnis eskrima luzon visayas mindanao 2

Body Armor, Lanao del Sur, late 19th-early 20th c., British Museum.   Courtesy of http://pupuplatter.tumblr.com … [Read more...]

The first written account of “KALI” as the pre-Hispanic name of the Filipino Martial Arts by FMA History Redux

The first written account of "KALI" as the pre-Hispanic name of the Filipino Martial Arts Source: http://fmahistoryredux.blogspot.com/2014/11/the-first-written-account-of-kali-as.html?spref=fb http://fmahistoryredux.blogspot.com/2014/11/philippine-hero-rev-fr-gregorio-aglipay.html “Mga Karunungan sa Larong Arnis” by Placido Yambao and Buenaventura Mirafuente, University of the Philippines Press, 1957... the first book on the Filipino Martial Arts that we know now... its section on the history of the Filipino Martial Arts stated that when the Spaniards arrived in the Philippines, Filipino Martial Arts was not yet called "ARNIS" but "KALI" (“Ang KALI na dinatnan ng mga Kastila ay hindi pa ARNIS ang tawag noong 1610")... The book also mentioned that a KALI demonstration was once performed in honor of the newly-arrived Conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legazpi on the order of a tribal leader in the Island of Leyte...     Philippine Hero Rev. Fr. Gregorio Aglipay, the source of Yambao & Mirafuente's "KALI"...   REV. FR. GREGORIO AGLIPAY, 1860-1940 (center), the first Supreme Bishop of the Philippine Independent Church (Wikipedia photo)...Rev. Fr. Aglipay was the source of the information that the original name of the Filipino Martial Arts is KALI in the book “Mga Karunungan sa Larong Arnis” authored by Placido Yambao and Buenaventura Mirafuente (University of the Philippines Press, 1957):'Ang KALI na Dinatnan ng mga Kastila ay Hindi pa Arnis ang Tawag nuong 1610.... Noong unang panahon ang larong ito'y kilala sa tawag na "KALI" ng ating mga ninuno, nguni't sa hindi maiwasang pagbabago ng panahon at pangyayari (underscoring mine) ay pinamagatan nila ng "Panandata" sa Tagalog, "Pagkalikali" sa kapatagan ng Kagayan ng mga Ibanag, "Kalirongan" sa Pangasinan, "Kaliradman" sa Bisaya at "Pagaradman" sa Ilongo nuong 1860, at "Didya" sa Ilokos at muling naging "Kabaroan," ayon kay Rev. Fr. Gregorio Aglipay na bantog din sa arnis nuong 1872.'TRANSLATION: 'The indigenous martial art that the Spanish encountered in 1610 was not yet called Arnis at that time. During those times, this martial art was known as "KALI" to our ancestors.  Due to theunavoidable changing of the times and circumstances (underscoring mine), this martial art became known as "Panandata" to the Tagalogs, "Pagkalikali" to the Ibanags of the plains of Cagayan, "Kalirongan" to the people of Pangasinan, "Kaliradman" to the Visayans, "Pagaradman" to the Ilonggos in 1860, and "Didya" to the Ilocanos (but later on changed to "Kabaroan").  This is according to Rev. Fr. Gregorio Aglipay, who himself was a famous Arnis practitioner in 1872.' … [Read more...]

Indigenous peoples of the Philippines

kali arnis eskrima escrima lameco sulite mandirigma.org

Indigenous peoples of the Philippines From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The indigenous peoples of the Philippines consist of a large number of indigenous ethnic groups living in the country. They are the descendants of the original inhabitants of the Philippines who have managed to resist centuries of Spanish and United States colonization and in the process have retained their customs and traditions.[1] In the 1990s, there were more than 100 highland tribal groups constituted approximately 3% of the population. The upland tribal groups were a blend in ethnic origin like other lowland Filipinos, although they did not have contact with the outside world. They displayed a variety of social organization, cultural expression and artistic skills. They showed a high degree of creativity, usually employed to embellish utilitarian objects, such as bowls, baskets, clothing, weapons and spoons. These groups ranged from various Igorot tribes, a group that includes the Bontoc, Ibaloi, Ifugao, Isneg, Kalinga and Kankana-ey, who built the Rice Terraces. They also covered a wide spectrum in terms of their integration and acculturation with lowland Christian and Muslim Filipinos. Native groups such as the Bukidnon in Mindanao, had intermarried with lowlanders for almost a century. Other groups such as the Kalinga in Luzon have remained isolated from lowland influence. There were several indigenous groups living in the Cordillera Central of Luzon in 1990. At one time it was employed by lowland Filipinos in a pejorative sense, but in recent years it came to be used with pride by native groups in the mountain region as a positive expression of their ethnic identity. The Ifugaos of Ifugao Province, the Bontocs, Kalinga, Tinguian, the Kankana-ey and Ibaloi were all farmers who constructed the rice terraces for many centuries. Other mountain peoples of Luzon are the Isnegs of northern Kalinga-Apayao Province, the Gaddangs of the border between Kalinga-Apayao, and Isabela provinces and the Ilongots of Nueva Vizcaya Province and Caraballo Mountains all developed hunting and gathering, farming cultivation and headhunting. Other indigenous people such as the Negritos formerly dominated the highlands throughout the islands for thousands of years, but have been reduced to a small population, living in widely scattered locations, primarily along the eastern ranges of the mountains. In the southern Philippines, upland and lowland tribal groups were concentrated on Mindanao and western Visayas, although there are several indigenous groups such as the Mangyan living in Mindoro. Among the most important groups found on Mindanao are collectively called the Lumad, and includes the Manobo, Bukidnon of Bukidnon Province, Bagobo, Mandaya, and Mansaka, who inhabited the mountains bordering the Davao Gulf; the Subanon of upland areas in the Zamboanga; the Mamanua in the Agusan-Surigao border region; the Bila-an, Tiruray and Tboli in the region of the Cotabato province, and the Samal and Bajau in the Sulu Archipelago. The tribal groups of the Philippines are known for their carved wooden figures, baskets, weaving, pottery and weapons. Reservation The Philippine government succeeded in establishing a number of protected reservations for tribal groups. Indigenous people were expected to speak their native language, dress in their traditional tribal clothing, live in houses constructed of natural materials using traditional architectural designs and celebrate their traditional ceremonies of propitiation of spirits believed to be inhabiting their environment. They are also encouraged to re-establish their traditional authority structure in which, as in indigenous society were governed by chieftains known as Rajah and Datu. Contact between "primitive" and "modern" ethnic groups usually resulted in weakening or destroying tribal culture without assimilating the indigenous groups into modern society. It seemed doubtful that the shift of the Philippine government policy from assimilation to cultural pluralism could reverse the process. Several Filipino tribes tends to lead to the abandonment of traditional culture because land security makes it easier for tribal members to adopt the economic process of the larger society and facilitates marriage with outsiders. In the past, the Philippine government bureaus could not preserve tribes as social museum exhibits, but with the aid of various nationwide organizations, they hoped to help the tribes adapt to modern society without completely losing their ethnic identity.   … [Read more...]

A timeline of Indochina and Indonesia by Piero Scaruffi, 206 BC – Jan 2012 – Copyright © 2011 Piero Scaruffi All rights reserved.

A timeline of Indochina and Indonesia by Piero Scaruffi http://www.scaruffi.com/politics/indochin.html 206 BC: the kingdom of the Nam Viet dynasty extends from Vietnam to Canton 257 BC: An Doung Voung (Thuc Phan) unifies tribes of Vietnam and creates the kingdom of Auc Lac with his capital at Phuc An 208 BC: Chao To create the kingdom of Namviet in northern Vietnam 111 BC: China annexes the kingdom of Namviet 1## AD: an Indian brahmin founds the kingdom of Funan, with capital in Vyadhapura 192 AD: China expands into Vietnam to the border with the Champa empire 221 AD: China is unified and begins expanding south 529 AD: Rudrawarman founds a new dynasty in Champa 50#: the Srivijaya kingdom is founded in southern Sumatra (Indonesia) with capital in Palembang and Buddhism as the state religion 55# AD: the kingdom of Chenla (north Cambodia) annexes Funan (south Cambodia) 572: Sambhuvarman becomes king of Vietnam and builds monuments at Mi Son 58#: the Srivijaya kingdom expands on Java 605: China captures the Champa capital Trakieu 612: first inscriptions in the Khmer language 616: Isanavarman I becomes king of Chenla 627: Isanavarman I annexes Funan and northwest Cambodia 653: Prakasadharma becomes king of Cham and builds the Hinduist temples of My Son (Vietnam) 65#: the Nanchao kingdom forms in northern Burma 657: Jayavarman I of Chenla conquers north Laos and founds the Khmer dynasty 686: the Srivijaya kingdom expands over Sumatra (Indonesia) and the Malay peninsula 7##: the Sailendra, allied of Srivijaya, rule in central Java 717: the Chenla kingdom collapses and falls under the influence of the Sailendra 732: Sanjaya founds the Sanjaya dynasty in central Java (Indonesia) with capital in Mataram (central Java) 778: Sailendra king Dharmatunga begins construction of the Buddhist temple at Borobudur in Java (Indonesia) 791: the Nanchao kingdom (north Burma) expands under I-mou-hsun 802: Jayavarman II liberates the Khmers from Javanese domination and founds a new Hinduist kingdom in Cambodia, Angkor, with capital near Seam Reap (Roluos ruins) 82#: Sailendra king Samaratunga completes construction of the Buddhist temple at Borobudur in Java (Indonesia) 825: the kingdom of Pegu (south Burma) moves its capital at Hamsavati 832: the Nanchao kingdom (north Burma) subdues the Pyu people 832: the Sanjaya kingdom annexes the Sailendra kingdom in Java (Indonesia) 875: a new Champa kingdom is founded at Indrapura/ Quangnam under king Indravarman I who protects Buddhism 877: Indravarman I of Khmer creates a network of irrigation in Cambodia and builds the temples of Bakong and Preah Ko 889: Yasovarman I founds the city of Angkor 893: Indravarman II founds a new Champa dynasty 898: Sanjaya king Balitung of Mataram restores Hinduism in Central Java 907: China's domination of Indochina ends 910: Sanjaya king Daksa begins construction of the Hindu temples at Prambanan in Java (Indonesia) dedicated to Shiva 910: Yashovarman I establishes the Khmer capital at Yashodharapura (Angkor) 921: Jayavarman IV usurpes the throne of Khmer and moves the capital to Koh Ker 929: Sindok founds a new dynasty in East Java 938: Ngo Quyen liberates Vietnam from China at the battle of Bach Dang 939: Ngo Quyen declares the independence of Namviet and founds the kingdom of Annam (north Vietnam) 944: Rajendravarman becomes king of Khmer and moves the capital back to Angkor 950: the Khmer kingdom expands from Cambodia to Burma, Laos and Siam 968: Champa king Dinh Bo Linh founds the Dinh dynasty and moves the capital to Hoa Lu (Vietnam) 979: Annam's king Le Hoan founds the first Le dynasty in Vietnam 979: Champa (south Vietnam) king Paramesvaravarman attacks Annam (north Vietnam), the beginning of five centuries of warfare, but is defeated and killed 982: Annam's king Le Hoan captures the Champa capital Indrapura and the Champa kingdom moves its capital to Vjaya 982: 979: Annam's king Le Hoan captures the Champa capital Indrapura and the Champa kingdom moves its capital to Vjaya 985: Sanjaya king Dharmavamsa conquers Bali (Indonesia) 988: Harivarman II founds a new Champa kingdom with capital in Vijaya 1006: the Srivijaya kingdom of southern Sumatra (Indonesia) attacks Sanjaya, destroys Mataram (Central Java) and kills Dharmavamsa 1010: the Ly dynasty succeeds the Le dynasty and moves the capital of Annam to Thanh Long (Hanoi) 1019: Dharmavamsa's son-in-law Airlangga founds the Kahuripan kingdom in East Java (Indonesia) and invades Bali 1030: Airlangga annexes the kingdom of Srivijaya (Indonesia) through marriage but divides his kingdom between his sons (kingdoms of Janggala and Kediri) 1030: the Chola of India raid Srivijaya 1044: Annam raids the Champa capital and kills the Champa king in Vietnam 1049: Airlangga retires in a monastery and divides his kingdom between his two sons 1050: Udayadityavarman becomes king of Khmer and the empire reaches its peak (Cambodia, south Laos, south … [Read more...]

Majapahit Empire, 1293 – 1500.

mandirigma.org

Majapahit was a vast archipelagic empire based on the island of Java from 1293 to around 1500. Majapahit reached its peak of glory during the era of Hayam Wuruk, whose reign from 1350 to 1389 marked by conquest which extended through Southeast Asia. His achievement is also credited to his prime minister, Gajah Mada. According to the Nagarakretagama (Desawarñana) written in 1365, Majapahit was an empire of 98 tributaries, stretching from Sumatra to New Guinea; consisting of present day Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, southern Thailand, the Philippines, and East Timor, although the true nature of Majapahit sphere of influence is still the subject of studies among historians. Majapahit was one of the last major empires of the region and is considered to be one of the greatest and most powerful empires in the history of Indonesia and Southeast Asia, one that is sometimes seen as the precedent for Indonesia's modern boundaries. Its influence extended beyond the modern territory of Indonesia and has been a subject of many studies. German orientalist Berthold Laufer suggested that maja came from the Javanese name of Indonesian tree. (From Wikipedia)                   … [Read more...]

Balintawak Grandmaster Venancio Bacon

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  Balintawak History Born in 1912, Venancio "Anciong" Bacon would later become one of the Philippines' legendary and most influential eskrimadors in history. He was born in Carcar, Cebu, and moved later to San Nicolas Town, just outside of Cebu City. He learned eskrima in the 1920s as a teenager. His evolution as an eskrimador began in San Nicolas. This journey would later lead him to death matches, attacks, and eventually to jail. But, not all of this journey was dismal. Along the way, Venancio Bacon made life long friends, and cultivated a loyal cadre of students, who to this day maintain an affinity incomparable towards him. Venancio Bacon's legacy, Balintawak, has become a title synonymous to Deadly. Balintawak eskrima is Economy, Elegance, Strength, and Speed expertly woven into one art form. This is the story of Great Grandmaster Venancio Bacon and the account of his legacy. In the early 1900s, the Spaniards had just left the Philippines, ending their 300 year rule. In their place, came the Americans. The vanguard elite of Cebu still spoke Spanish, while the Americans began to "pacify" and teach the rest of the Filipinos American English and culture. It was during this time that Venancio Bacon was born into, a nation in the midst of change and upheaval. He was born in Carcar, Cebu, but grew up in San Nicolas Town outside of Ciudad de Cebu, which at that time was populated by Cebu's elite upper class. This elite class was made up of Europeans, Americans, Chinese and mestizo Filipinos. In contrast, San Nicolas was composed of local Cebuanos and immigrants from neighboring towns, or from other islands in the Visayas. The people who lived in San Nicolas were farmers, carpenters, fishermen, peasants, cargadors and the servants for the City of Cebu's upper class. Venancio Bacon began training in the art of eskrima in the 1920s. His only teacher was Lorenzo "Ensong" Saavedra, of San Nicolas, who during this time had established the historic Labangon Fencing Club. At a time when many different styles of eskrima abound, Lorenzo Saavedra's was called the Corto Linear, although he was also known to have mastered other styles. His best students would be Teodoro "Doring" Saavedra, his nephew, and Venancio Bacon. The two were also very close friends. Both matured into great eskrimadors, improving each other's skills and answering challenge matches that came as a result of their newly acquired titles. The Labangon Fencing Club eventually dissipated into oblivion, giving way to a new organization borne out of its ashes. In 1933, the Doce Pares Club was formed. Headed by Lorenzo Saavedra, the club was composed of three Saavedra eskrimadors and nine from the Canete family. This composed the original twelve needed to symbolically actualize the title Doce Pares, which was taken from a popular roving play in the Philippines during the late 1800s and early 1900s depicting the twelve warrior swordsmen of Charlemagne. Another twelve were inducted to the club soon after, making the initial membership twenty-four, or Twelve Pairs. Venancio Bacon was among the first twenty-four. Although there were certain personalities in the club which ran counter to Venancio Bacon's own personality, he stayed and carried his weight as one of its representing eskrimadors. World War II broke out in the 1940s. With the onset of Japanese occupation, many eskrimadors became guerilla fighters, employing their art for the defense of their nation. It was during this time that, Teodoro Saavedra died at the hands of Japanese soldier-executioners. Long after the War, in 1952, Venancio Bacon established the club now known as Balintawak. He finally had enough of the personal bickerings and internal politics of the Doce Pares club. Along with Vincente "Inting" Atillo, Delfin Lopez, Jesus Cui, Timoteo "Timor" Maranga, Lorenzo Gonzales, Isidro Bardilas, Andres Olaibar, and a few others, Venancio Bacon began a new club. The newly formed club started training in the backyard of a watch shop owned by Eduardo Baculi, one of Venancio Bacon's students. This shop was located in a small side street in Colon, called Balintawak Street. The significance of the name Balintawak evoked the three virtues of strength, courage, and honor befitting that of the new club. So, from that day forth the word Balintawak would forever be intertwined with the name Venancio Bacon and to the style of eskrima which has proven its calculated violence effective time and again. Standing at 5 feet, 2 inches tall and weighting no more that 120 pounds, Venancio Bacon was a very unassuming man. He was a veteran of a great many death matches in Cebu. Described by many of his students as lightning fast, Venancio Bacon maneuvered through a fight smoothly while exploiting his opponents' balance and coordination. He was known to be very surgical with a stick, able to employ varying force to his exact … [Read more...]

And you shall be as gods: The culture of the anting-anting (Part 2) By Dennis Villegas

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And you shall be as gods: The culture of the anting-anting (Part 2)   By Dennis Villegas Monday, 09 August 2010 The Philippine Online Chronicles (www.thepoc.net) http://thepoc.net/thepoc-features/buhay-pinoy/buhay-pinoy-features/9267-the-culture-of-the-anting-anting-and-you-shall-be-as-gods-part-2-.html The arrival of the Spaniards in the Philippines in the 16th century proselytized the Filipino’s concept of God. To easily conquer the archipelago and introduce the Roman Catholic religion without antagonizing the superstitious and religious beliefs of the Filipinos, the Spanish friar missionaries presented the God of Roman Catholicism to be the same ancient Filipino God Bathala. The synthesis of the Roman Catholic religion and the pre-colonial religious and superstitious beliefs of the early Filipinos created a new kind of religion called Folk Catholicism, the religion of many millenarian groups in Southern Luzon, as well as the religion of anting-anting believers.   The Trespicio medallion of the Infinito Dios and the Tres Personas   The trinitarian dogma which is the most important of all Catholic doctrines gave way to the mythology that God, a spirit being, is an eye contained in a triangle. The triangle (or in anting-anting parlance, trespico), is the perfect representation of God, as it contained three equal sides or three equal corners, consistent with God’s three equal personalities. The triangular medallion, therefore, becomes one of the most popular of all the anting-anting. It symbolizes the oneness of the Infinito Dios and the Santissima Trinidad. Those who keep and faithfully believe in the trespico anting-anting can achieve oneness with the Infinito Dios and the Santissima Trinidad.   The Trespico medallion, believed by anting-anting faithful as an effective protector against evil because it contains the image and names of God. The symbols in this medallion include the Eye, representing the Infinito Dios, and the initials A.A.A which are the initials of the names of the Santissima Trinidad: Avetillo, Avetemit, Avelator (other names of the Santissima Trinidad are Aram, Ardam, Adradam). The ROMA is the initial of the title and name of God which means Rex Omnipotentem Macmamitam Adonay. One of the Trespico Seals of the Revolutionary Government of General Emilio Agunaldo in 1899.   The Trespico as seen in the altar of the religious sect Tres Personas Solo Dios in Mount Banahaw by the author in 2010.   God's Plan of Salvation God’s plan for the world is to save it from the clutches of the Devil. For this reason, one of the Santissima Trinidad has been assigned to go down to earth to save humankind. Only through his sacrifice and death can humankind be saved. But since God is immortal and cannot die, he must assume a human form, and before he must be born a human, he should be conceived by a woman. God being born as a human by a human mother is again one of those concepts that cannot easily be understood, especially among the early Filipinos who have a simple pre-colonial belief in the existence of God who is the first being in the universe. But for God to become human, and for God to be born by a woman, is something complex, especially if Catholicism teaches that the woman is the Mother of God, instead of just a blessed human person assigned by God to bear his human form. The woman--the Virgin Mary--conceived God in her womb. The official Catholic doctrine on her personality is stated clearly in the official Catholic book Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church published by the Vatican: Mary is truly “Mother of God” since she is the mother of the eternal Son of God made man, who is God himself. The image of a Mother God therefore plays an important role in the theogony of the anting- anting. In Filipino society, the mother of the family is viewed as the “ilaw ng tahanan” who provides her children with proper care, upbringing and education. Moreover, the early Filipino society, although strongly patriarchal, viewed women as mediators to God. As proof, the early priests were women called babaylan. The veneration of the Virgin Mary as the Mother of God is therefore consistent with the Filipino view of the important role played by the mother in Filipino family and society. The babaylan priesthood still exists at present in many folk Catholic religions in Southern Tagalog, most especially in the Ciudad Mistica de Dios and the Tres Personas Solo Dios in Mount Banahaw, where the religious leaders and priests are women. The idea of a Mother God was accepted by the early Filipinos as a given. Thus the Virgin Mary eventually took her place as an important God in the pantheon of the Gods among Filipinos. Monotheistic though the Catholic religion is as claimed by the Vatican, to the simplistic views of the pre-colonial Filipinos, … [Read more...]

And you shall be as gods: The culture of the anting-anting (Part 1) By Dennis Villegas

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And you shall be as gods: The culture of the anting-anting (Part 1) By Dennis Villegas The Philippine Online Chronicles (www.thepoc.net) http://thepoc.net/thepoc-features/buhay-pinoy/buhay-pinoy-features/9131.html Deep in the night of May 20, 1967, around 400 curiously-attired men congregated on Taft Avenue in Manila, near what is now Vito Cruz, with the intent to march to Malacanang Palace to ask for President Marcos’ resignation. The men wore anting-anting and colorful vests with mixed Latin and Tagalog inscriptions on them. Seemingly at odds with their appearance, they were also wielding daggers and three-foot-long jungle bolos signifying their rebellious intent. They were part of the millenarian sect called Lapiang Malaya (Freedom Society), a quasi-religious political society led by the charismatic 86-year-old Supremo Valentin delos Santos, a former Catholic priest, trained auto mechanic, one-time circus performer, and failed candidate in the past three presidential elections at that time.Early in May 1967, Tatang Valentin, as the Supremo was called, had demanded that Ferdinand Marcos step down. He also wanted the Philippine Armed Forces to surrender their arms to him. Deeply disillusioned by what he termed as the oppression of the poor and the continuing evil influence of foreigners in the Philippines, Tatang Valentin decided it was time to establish a new government, with him as the new Supreme Commander, Commander-in-Chief, and President of the Republic of the Philippines. President Marcos promptly rejected Tatang Valentin’s demand.  As the kapatid ("brothers," as Lapiang Malaya members were called) started to arrive from the provinces to gather in the society’s compound in Pasay, the Philippine Constabulary cordoned off the area to prevent more members from joining the already frenzied group. Then at around 12:30 in the morning of May 21, as the tension between the Lapiang Malaya members and the constabulary heightened, mock gunfire rang in the air, allegedly shot by a prankster. A violent skirmish between the kapatid and the constabulary followed – one that was so one-sided it was later to be called a massacre. As the constabulary opened fire, 32 of the kapatid were killed and some 40 seriously wounded. The constabulary had one mortality: a soldier who was hacked to death. In addition, five constabulary soldiers were wounded by bolo hacks, and three civilians hit by stray bullets.   One of the kapatid killed in the Lapiang Malaya massacre of May 21, 1967. Note the sacred vest and scarf he wears that gave no protection against bullets. Purist anting-anting believers would later say that those killed lacked faith in their anting- anting. This massacre of the Lapiang Malaya was one of the bloodiest episodes in recent Philippine history. As the front-line members of the Lapiang Malaya fell to gunfire, many other members realized their anting-anting would not protect them. Dispersing in many directions, they were later arrested and charged with rebellion. Later that morning, Tatang Valentin surrendered to the constabulary. He was brought to the National Mental Hospital, together with 11 of his high-ranking lieutenants. All of them were subjected to psychiatric evaluation and pronounced lunatic. Following his diagnosis, Tatang Valentin was confined to a cell together with a violent patient, who allegedly mauled the old man into a coma. He never regained consciousness and was declared dead in August 1967. The official medical report stated he died of pneumonia. After Tatang Valentin’s death, the Lapiang Malaya was officially dissolved by the government, with most members either pardoned or sent back to their respective provinces. Most of these were peasants, laborers, and common folks from Southern Tagalog who believed in Tatang Valentin’s promise of a new government based on “true equality and true liberty.” They also subscribed to Tatang Valentin’s promise of supernatural powers once they wore their anting-anting and sacred vests. He convinced them that the bullets of the enemies would turn into snakes and fall around them. But as it happened, and as proven in the bloody morning of May 21, the amulets they wore were no match for the automatic gunfire of the constabulary. The bullets easily tore through their vests, flesh, and bones.   Tatang Valentin delos Santos surrenders to the Constabulary   In retrospect, the Lapiang Malaya massacre is just one of the many episodes in the history of the Filipino mass movements whose combined quest for freedom and faith in the anting-anting led them to fight the oppression of those in power. The revolt of the Cofradia de San Jose in 1840, the Katipunan in 1896, the Colorum rebellions of Southern Tagalog in 1897, the Philippine Revolution of 1899, the Makario Sakay and Felipe Salvador rebellions during the … [Read more...]

BOOK: THE JAPANESE OCCUPATION (Kasaysayan History of the Filipino People Vol 7) by Ricardo T. Jose (1998)

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  The book tells of a dark chapter in the history of the Philippines during World War 2. Publisher: Reader's Digest Author: Ricardo  Jose Pages: 303 Contents: 1. The Zero Hour 2. The Advent of War 3. A Retreat to Bataan 4. The End of Organized Resistance 5. Under the Rising Sun 6. Independence Under Japan 7. Uniting a Nation At War 8. The controlled Economy 9. Never Enough Food 10. Reshaping the Filipino Mind 11. Free Areas and Resistnace Fighters 12. Waiting for Victory Joe     … [Read more...]

BOOK: Color Photos Of America’s New Possessions by F. Tennyson Neely (1899)

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Color Photos Of America's New Possessions by  F. Tennyson Neely (1899) Collection of color photographs of the Spanish - American War military actions in the Philippines. Many of these photographs are not found in any other books!   Read it online at The Library of Congress . http://www.archive.org/stream/neelyscolorphoto00newy#page/n0/mode/2up http://www.archive.org/details/neelyscolorphoto00newy       … [Read more...]

BOOK: FOUNDERS OF FREEDOM, The History of the Three Philippine Constitutions (1971)

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Description: The book tells the history of struggle for freedom in the Philippines, from the first massive filipino alliance against Spain during the 16th century, to the Philippine Revolution, to the founding of the Philippine republic, and the succession of Presidents up to the time of President Marcos. Its a book that conditions citizens to the framing of the new Constitution in 1972. In the introduction reads: "Seventy-Three years ago, on 12 June 1898, General Emilio Aguinaldo, Commander-in-Chief of the Army of the Revolution, declared the independence of the Philippines at Kawit". Writers: Vicente Albano Pacis, Dr. Jose M. Aruego, Esteban De Ocampo, Carlos Quirino, Jose Luna Castro, Mauro Garcia, Isidro L. Retizos, D.H. Soriano Publisher: Elena Hollman Roces Foundation, Inc         … [Read more...]

BOOK: The Philippine Islands and Japan By G. Waldo Browne (1901)

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Illustrated with Photogravure, Colored Plates, Engravings and Maps Richly illustrated with 166 RARE vintage photographs and illustrations from the early 1900's ! You will take a journey with the author G. Waldo Browne and view many historical, cultural, and incredible photographs of a time forgotten. Writing about his travels, G. Waldo Browne gave his readers detailed stories and interesting information about the local history, myths, and facts of the countries he visited so that every American could get a glimpse, first hand of the worlds beyond our shores.   Contents The Philippine Islands, By Maj.-Gen. Joseph Wheeler Japan, By Kogoro Takahira The Philippines The Pearls Of The Orient The People Of The Philippines The Animal Kingdom Spanish Discovery And Dominion Rivalry Of Church And State Colonial Wars Resources And Commerce Most Noted Towns Struggles For Liberty America In The Orient Japan The Land Of The Gods The Gateway Of The Orient First Glimpses The Imperial Roads The Modern Capital Customs And Costumes City And Country   Full Page Engravings Courtyard To Chinese Temple Suspension Bridge Connecting Old And New Manila Water Front At Manila Native Milk Peddlers In The Suburbs Of Manila Santa Cruz Plaza, Manila Native Theatre, Taguig General Otis And Staff At The Governor’s Palace, Manila Rainy Season In The Eremita District Hawaiian Flowers, Coloured Principal Gateway, Old Manila Hawaiian Flowers. Coloured Manila Fire Department Group Of Insurgents, Taken Prisoners Cigar Factory, Manila A Company Of Insurgents Graves Of The Astor Battery Headquarters, Pasig Hawaiian Flowers. Coloured Three Little Maids. Coloured Fujiyama From Maeda Village, Tokaido Peony Garden, Kanazawa The Beautiful Iris Bluff Garden, Yokohai Chrysanthemums Walking Costume Coloured Tea-House Garden, Oji, Tokio A Typical Japanese Lady Planting Rice Kirifuri Cascade, Nikko   Coloured Maps The Philippines Japan Illustrations The Philippines Landscape On East Side Of Mindanao Mail Station On Bay Of Ulugan Volcano Of Apo Volcano Of Mayon, Luzon Looking Up Pasig River At Pretil Just Above Manila Native Village, Island Of Negros Bamboo Bridge, Iloilo Construction Of A Philippino House Bamboo Yard Native Houses Village On Mindanao General View Of Iloilo Manila Street, Rainy Season Manila Street, Rainy Season Types Of Malays Negritos Native Warrior From Interior Of Mindanao Philippino Fruit Girl A Wealthy Half-Caste Philippino Lady Mestizos Sulu Prau Sultan Of Sulu Interviewing European Visitors Mohammed, Sultan Of Sulu Igorrotes Igorrote Pipes Carabaos Transporting Army Stores Village On The Island Of Guimaras Street-Cars In Manila Young Wild Goat Calao Bird Peacock Village On Mindanao River Scene On Mindanao Mindanao Warrior Merchant Vessels, Pasig River Mouth Of River Coihulo, Palawan Village Of Bahele, Palawan Oldest Church In Manila Arsenal At Puerto Princessa, Palawan Drawbridge And Gate Of Old City Old Cannon On Sea-Wall At Manila River Scene Near Iloilo Spanish Priest Ancient Gate At Manila A Tagalo Bungalow In Luzon Philippino Girl Church And Square At Malolos Old Stone Bridge Near Manila Manila Street, Rainy Season Manila Street, Rainy Season The Native Market At Manila On The Wall Of The Old City Of Manila Native Boats On Pasig Above Bridge Of Spain Rita Island, Bay Of Ulugan Cavite Arsenal And Shipyard Bathing Place At Manila A Tagalo Family Out For A Drive In A Caretela Travel In Rainy Season Volcano Of Apo Scene In Bulacan Plantation On Mindanao Scene At Puerto Princessa, Palawan Cigar Dealer Street In Old Manila Train On Manila And Dagupin Railway Manila And Dagupin Railway Station Governor’s Palace, Manila Village In The Suburbs Of Manila Street In Business Section Of Manila Fountain On Promenade San Miguel, Manila Cavite Arsenal Social Entertainment Under Spanish Regime Schoolhouse Village Of Olas Pinas, On Outskirts Of Manila Dagaupan, Rio Horno Sulu Woman A Native Of Malabon And His Family Emilio Aguinaldo, Leader Of Insurrection Of 1899 Cannon Used By Insurgents In 1899 Mountain Cataract Sentry Post On The Luneta Road Scene In Suburbs Of Manila Aguinaldo’s Family And Relatives Admiral George Dewey U. S. S. Olympia U. S. S. Baltimore The Battle Of Manila Bay Major-General Wesley Merritt Group Of Officers, Leaders Of Insurrection, 1899 General Augusti Islets Of Calamianes Group, Between Mindoro And Palawan General Otis F. Agoncillo, Envoy Of Insurgents Plaza Alfonso XII., Iloilo Mountain Inn, Luzon Exterior Of Insurgents Capitol At Malolos, 1899 Mushroom Islands Waterfall And Rapids On Taygula River, Mindanao Boar Japan Greeting Scenery Among The Pine Islands Fujiyama A Farmer Yokohama Harbour A Junk Street On Water-Front, Yokohama Lotus Lake, Myeno Double Bridge In Imperial … [Read more...]

BOOK: UNCLE SAM’S BOYS In PHILIPPINES by By H.Irving Hancock (1912)

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  The Project Gutenberg eBook, Uncle Sam's Boys in the Philippines, by H. Irving Hancock This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org Title: Uncle Sam's Boys in the Philippines or, Following the Flag against the Moros Author: H. Irving Hancock Release Date: November 11, 2007 [eBook #23447] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 ***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK UNCLE SAM'S BOYS IN THE PHILIPPINES***   E-text prepared by Juliet Sutherland and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net)     Uncle Sam's Boys in the Philippines OR Following the Flag against the Moros By H. IRVING HANCOCK Author of Uncle Sam's Boys in the Ranks, Uncle Sam's Boys on Field Duty, Uncle Sam's Boys as Sergeants, The Motor Boat Club Series, The Grammar School Boys Series, The High School Boys Series, The West Point Series, The Annapolis Series, The Young Engineers Series, etc., etc. Illustrated     PHILADELPHIA HENRY ALTEMUS COMPANY Copyright, 1912, by Howard E. Altemus Frontispiece. CONTENTS Uncle Sam's Boys in the Philippines The Filipino Dandy A Meeting at the Nipa Barracks Plotters Travel With the Flag Cerverra's Innocent Shop Enough to "Rattle" the Victim Life Hangs on a Word The Kind of Man Who Masters Others The Right Man in the Guard House News Comes of the Uprising The Insult to the Flag In the First Brush With Moros The Brown Men at Bay—For How Long? A Tale of Moro Blackmail The Call for Midnight Courage In a Cinch With Cold Steel Datto Hakkut Makes a New Move "Long" Green and Kelly Have Innings Sentry Miggs Makes a Gruesome Find Hal Turns the Gatling Gun Loose Corporal Duxbridge's Mistake Scouting in Deadly Earnest Playing Goo-Goo in a Grim Game Dooming the Datto Conclusion Uncle Sam's Boys in the Philippines CHAPTER I THE FILIPINO DANDY "We've solved one problem at last, Noll," declared Sergeant Hal Overton seriously. "Only one?" demanded young Sergeant Terry quizzically. But Hal, becoming only the more serious, went on earnestly: "At last we begin to understand just what the 'lure of the Orient' means! For years I've been reading about the Orient, and the way that this part of the world charms men and holds them. Now, that we are here on the spot, I begin to understand it all. Noll, my boy, the East is a great and wonderful place! I wonder if I shall ever tire of it?" "I believe I could tire of it in time," remarked Sergeant Terry, of the Thirty-fourth United States Infantry. "But you haven't yet," insisted Sergeant Hal. "What, when we've been here only three days? Naturally I haven't. And, besides, all we've seen is Manila, and certainly Manila can't be more than one little jumping-off corner of the Orient that you're so enthusiastic about." "You're wild about the Far East, too—even the one little corner of it that we've seen," retorted Sergeant Hal. "Don't be a grouch or a knocker, Noll. Own up that you wouldn't start for the United States to-morrow if you were offered double pay back in the home country." "No; I wouldn't," confessed Sergeant Terry. "I want to see a lot more of these Philippine Islands before I go back to our own land." "Just halt where you are and look about you," went on enthusiastic Sergeant Hal. "Try to picture this scene as Broadway, in New York." "Or Main Street in our own little home city," laughed Sergeant Terry quietly. Certainly the scene was entirely different from anything that the two young Army boys had ever seen before. They stood on the Escolta, which is the main business thoroughfare of New Manila, as that portion of the Philippine capital north of the little river is called. South of the river is Old Manila, the walled city of the old days of the Spanish conquerors. South of the walled city lie two rather fashionable residence suburbs, Ermita and Malate. But the Thirty-fourth was temporarily stationed in big nipa barracks at Malate. It was in the newer Manila that the two boyish young sergeants found their greatest interest. It was a busy, bustling scene. There is nothing exactly like the Escolta in any other part of the world. The whole of this crooked, winding thoroughfare seemed alive with horses and people—with the horses in more than goodly proportion. Along the Escolta are the principal wholesale and retail houses of the city. Here is the post office, there the "Botanica" or principal drug store, operating under English capital and a Spanish name; down near the water front is the Hotel de Paris, a place famous for the good dinners of the East. Further up the Escolta, just around a slight bend, is the Oriente Hotel, the stopping … [Read more...]

Project Gutenberg’s The Philippine Islands, 1493-1803, by E.H. Blair

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Project Gutenberg's The Philippine Islands, 1493-1803, by E.H. Blair This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net Title: The Philippine Islands, 1493-1803 Volume III, 1569-1576 Author: E.H. Blair Release Date: December 6, 2004 [EBook #13616] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, 1493-1803 *** Produced by Jeroen Hellingman and the PG Distributed Proofreaders Team. The Philippine Islands, 1493–1803   Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and their peoples, their history and records of the catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the beginning of the nineteenth century   Volume III, 1569–1576 Edited and annotated by Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson with historical introduction and additional notes by Edward Gaylord Bourne. Page 1 Contents of Volume III Preface. ... 15 Documents of 1569 Letter to Felipe II. Guido de Lavezaris; Cebu, June 5. ... 29 Letter to Felipe II. Andrés de Mirandaola; Cubu, June 8. ... 33 Letter to Marqués de Falçes. M.L. de Legazpi; Çubu, July 7. ... 44 Relation of the Filipinas islands. M.L. de Legazpi; [Çubu, July 7]. ... 54 Confirmation of Legazpi's title as governor and captain-general. Felipe II; Madrid, August 14. ... 62 Documents of 1570 Letter to Felipe II. Fray Diego de Herrera; Mexico, January 16. ... 69 Relation of the voyage to Luzón. [June, 1570?]. ... 73 Act of taking possession of Luzón. Martin de Goiti and Hernando Riquel; Manila, June 6. ... 105 Letter to Felipe II. M. L. de Legazpi; Panae, July 25. ... 108 Evidence regarding the Portuguese expedition against Cebú. M.L. de Legazpi; Çubu, October 21. ... 113 Page 2 Documents of 1571–72 Relation of the discoveries of the Malucos and Philippinas. [1571?]. ... 121 Requisitions of supplies for the Spanish forces in the Philippines [1571?]. ... 132 Conquest of the island of Luzon. Manila, April 20, 1572. ... 141 Foundation of the city of Manila. Fernando Riquel; Manilla, June 19, 1572. ... 173 Documents of 1573 Expenses incurred for the expedition to the Western Islands, 1569–72. Melchior de Legazpi; Mexico, March 2. ... 177 Affairs in the Philippines after the death of Legazpi. Guido de Lavezaris; Manila, June 29. ... 179 Relation of the Western Islands called Filipinas. Diego de Artieda. ... 190 Letter from the viceroy of New Spain to Felipe II. Martin Enriquez; Mexico, December 5. ... 209 Documents of 1574 Letter to Felipe II. Andrés de Mirandaola; January 8. ... 223 1Las nuevas quescriven de las yslas del Poniente Hernando Riquel y otros; Mexico, January 11. ... 230 Two royal decrees regarding Manila and Luzón. Felipe II; Madrid, June 21. ... 250 Opinion regarding tribute from the Indians. Fray Martin de Rada; Manila, June 21. ... 253 Page 3 Reply to Fray Rada's “Opinion.” Guido de Lavezaris and others; [Manila, June, 1574?]. ... 260 Two letters to Felipe II. Guido de Lavezaris; Manila, July 17 and 30. ... 272 Slavery among the natives. Guido de Lavezaris; [July?]. ... 286 Documents of 1575–76 Part of a letter to the viceroy. Guido de Lavezaris; [Manila, 1575?]. ... 291 Letter to Felipe II. Juan Pacheco Maldonado; [Manila, 1575?]. ... 295 Encomiendas forbidden to royal officials. Francisco de Sande, and others; Manila, May 26, 1576. ... 304 Letter to Felipe II. Francisco de Sande; Manila, June 2, 1576. ... 312 Bibliographical Data. ... 315 Page 4 1 This document is printed in both Spanish text and English translation. Illustrations Portrait of Fray Martin de Rada, O.S.A.; photographic reproduction of painting in possession of Colegio de Agustinos Filipinos, Valladolid. ... Frontispiece Landing of the Spaniards at Cebú, in 1565; photographic reproduction of a painting at the Colegio de Agustinos Filipinos, Valladolid. ... 35 Map showing the first landing-place of Legazpi in the Philippines; photographic facsimile of original (manuscript) map, contained in the pilots' log-book of the voyage, preserved in the Archivo General de Indias, at Sevilla. ... 47 “Asiae nova descriptio” (original in colors), map in Theatrum orbis terrarum, by Abraham Ortelius (Antverpiae, M. D. LXX), fol. 3; reduced photographic facsimile, from copy in Boston Public Library. ... 86, 87 Page 5 Preface The documents presented in this volume cover the last three years of Legazpi's administration in the islands, the governorship of Guido … [Read more...]

1609: The Spanish Conquest of Philippines Argensola, B. L. Lic. (1609)

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Author: Argensola, B. L. Lic. Title: Conquista de las Islas Malucas al Rey Felipe III. N.  Sr. Escrita por el capellán de la  Magestad de la Emperatriz y Retor de Villa hermosa. Date and publisher: Madrid. Ediciones de Alonso Martín. 1609. Description: First  edition of one of the first books to deal fully with the Spanish conquest of  the Moluccas, the Spice Islands, and of the Philippines, 1564--1572, under the conquistador Miguel López de  Legaspi. This famous book deals with those exploits, with the natural history  of these islands, the manners and customs of the natives and the voyages  through the Straits of Magellan; regarded by Hill as an 'essential work for the  history of Spanish and Portuguese exploration in the East Indies'. Argensolas´ narrative is noted for its  breadth of knowledge and over-all grasp of world politics. 'In his digressions  on people and places,' writes Lach (Asia in the making of Europe, III,  pp. 311-12), 'Argensola´s adds significantly to the stockpile of information on  Asia, especially on the Moluccas, Java, Sumatra, and Ceylon. His book also ties  together neatly the affairs of Europe with struggles in the overseas areas, for he sees the  spice trade in its worldwide ramifications and makes his reader acutely aware  of its immediate and potential interest for Japan and China.´ Binding: Modern  half-vellum. Size: 11 x 7.5   inches / 28,5 x 15 cm. An  unusually large copy (most copies have the title page trimmed). Number of pages: 10 + 407 pages. Conquista de las Islas Molucas (1609) [Rare McPar DS674 .L4 1609], written by Bartolomé Leonardo de Argensola, a Spanish historian and poet who took holy orders and was later appointed royal chaplain and historiographer of Aragon. This particular text was commissioned by the Council of the Indies to commemorate the Spanish recapture of the Moluccan Islands of Ternate and Tidore in 1606. It was very well received upon its initial publication, and continues to be an important source for research into Spanish and Portuguese exploration in the East Indies, the conquest of the Philippines, and the history of the spice trade, especially since Argensola consulted numerous primary sources in the archives of the Indies when writing this work. Our volume is bound in its original brown leather over paper boards, though the spine has been rebacked in brown leather gilt and the endpapers replaced. The text itself is very finely printed, with numerous ornamental head- and tail-pieces and woodcut initials, and an especially fine engraved title page. This page, pictured below, illustrates, within an elaborate architectural border, an allegory of the Spanish conquest of the Moluccas. The amazon queen “Maluca” is depicted seated astride a crocodile, wearing a feather headdress and holding a sword in her left hand while in her right she raises a horn of plenty filled with the fruits of her lands. Her gaze is directed upward to where a rainbow is shown containing the royal crest of Spain, shimmering in the light, signifying, with the word simul, the fact that the sun never sets on the Spanish empire. In the background is an active volcano, of which there are several on these islands, and seashells are strewn before her feet. … [Read more...]

BOOK: THE JESUITS IN THE PHILIPPINES 1581-1768 by H.V. de la Costa, S.J. (1951)

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    Description: "This fascinating story of cross and sword, laid in an extraordinary setting, describes the role of the Jesuits in the Philippines. Their history- as missionaries, educators, and colonizers - is so entwined with that of the Islands that one cannot be discussed without the other. Accordingly, documents in the Roman, Spanish and Philippines archives of the Prder, as well as those of the general colonial achives at Madrid and Seville, have been colorfully employed to present a wide segment of the general history of the Spanish empire in the PHilippines and the Far East." -- first paragraph of the dust jacket text.   The book contains maps and illustrations Author: H. de la Costa, S.J. Pages: 702           … [Read more...]

BOOK: A Woman’s Journey Through The Philippines by Florence Kimball Russel, 1907

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    A Woman's Journey Through The Philippines On A Cable Ship That Linked Together The Strange Lands Seen En Route. By Florence Kimball Russel Author of "Born to the Blue" Etc.   Contents Introductory Statements Dumaguete Misamis Iligan Cagavan Cebu Zamboanga Sulu Bongao Tampakan and the Home Stretch   Illustrations The Belle of Bongao Laying a Shore End in a Philippine Coast Town "Until eventide the summer skies above us slept, as sid the summer seas below us" A Philippine Coast Town Dumaguete Diving for Articles Thrown from the Ship "Hard at work establishing an office in the town" "Two women beating clothes on the rocks of a little stream" Church and convento, Dumaguete The Old Fort at Misamis "The native band serenaded us" The Lintogup River A Misamis Belle Laying Cable from a Native Schooner A Street in Iligan Market-day at Iligan "It was evident that he was a personage of no little importance" St. Thomas Church, Cebu Magellan's Chapel, Cebu Unloading Hemp at Cebu Grove of Palms near Cebu Ormoc Releasing the Buoy From the Cable in a Heavy Sea Quarters of the Commanding Officer, Zamboanga Officers' Quarters, Zamboanga A Street in Zamboanga Street Scene, Zamboanga Native Bathing-place, Zamboanga The Pier at Sulu Natives of Sulu Moro Houses, Tuli The Moro School for Boys, Sulu Chinese, Moro, and Visayan Children, Sulu Soldiers' Quarters, Bongao Natives of Bongao Toolawee Market-day in a Moro Village A Group of Moros A Collection of Moro Weapons Pasacao Illustrated With 40 Rare Photographic Plates                                                 … [Read more...]

BOOK: The Hawaiian Islands, Manila and The Edge Of China by Burton Holmes, 1901

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Burton Holmes Lectures Hawaiian Islands Edge Of China Manila Old Antique Travelogue With Over 350 Photographs ! Subjects covered in this book Advertisements Chinese native runners at Hong Kong, Aguinaldo General military operations, Ah Cum Canton guide, Ah Fong Chinese Croesus, Hawaiian home, Macao residence, Ah Kee Incident on the Esmeralda, Ancestor Worship China, Ancestral Temples China, Aqueducts Hawaii, Bacoor Bay battle in distance, Baliuag military operations, Aguinaldo, American garrison, Church used by American soldiers, Distress signals, Exhibition of defense manoeuvers, Military rule, Page Colonel in command, Telegraph wires cut, Bank of Hongkong, Banquets U S troops in Honolulu, Barbara Fritchie uptodate incident on the Esmeralda, Barges used as houseboats Canton, Barracks, Baliuag church used by American soldiers, Manila theater, Bathing American troops at Honolulu, Beer American Manila, BetelNuts chewing China, Betting See Gambling, Binondo commercial district of Manila, Bluffs Hawaiian coast, Boats, Canton, Filipino bote, Surfriding at Waikiki, Bridge over Pasig river, Brumby FlagLieut U S S, Olympia at Hongkong, Bubonic Plague Hongkong, Buffalo in Manila, Business in Honolulu, Cabs Manila, Cafe de Paris Manila, Caldwell secretary to Admiral, Dewey, Calesa Filipino cart, Calle Nozaleda Manila, Camoens Luiz de, Caneflumes Hawaii, Cane See Sugarcane, Canton, Ah Cum guide, Arrival of travellers, Boats, Clocks, Commercial gateway to south China, Consul visit to U S, Dentists, Descriptions manners and customs, Emigration to United States, Execution place of, French cathedral, Gates of city closing, Hongkong to Canton journey, Hotel Victoria, Kerosene lamps, Literary refuse, Pawn shops, Photography difficulties, Port of Canton See Hongkong, Provincial mint, River front, River steamer from Macao, Sanitary conditions, Shameen foreign quarter, Shops, Streets, Care of, Life in, Signs and names, Temple of the emperor, Viceroy Yeh, Water dwellers on, Carabao, Carriage Filipino calesa, Cataracts Hawaii, Cathedrals, Canton French cathedral, Manila, Cavite scene of naval battle, Chairs bamboo, China, Ability of the Chinese, Ah Fong, Ambition of every Chinese boy, Ancestor worship, Betelnuts chewing, Canton See that title, Coolie labor, Commerce British, Consuls See that title, Currency, Day length and divisions, Dinner parties, Disembarkation methods, Education, Emigration from China to U S, Emperor temple of, First impressions, Food, Funeral rites and care of dead, Gods, Hawaiian Islands Chinese population, Heung Shan Island, Hongkong, Hotels Canton, Jinrikishas Honkong, Journey to, Kowloon shipyards, Li Hung Chang, Macao See that title, Money, Officials preliminary education, Paper with writing preservation of, Pawn shops Canton, Photography experiences, Canton, Dewey Admiral at Hongkong, Pigs sacred, Progress opposition to, Religion, Rivercraft, Sampans, Scholarship, Steerage passengers Chinese, Temples ancestral, Time measurement, Women, Churches, Baliuag used by American soldiers, Macao San Paulo, Manila San Sebastian, Clocks Chinese, Cockfights Manila prohibited by American government, Coffee in Hawaii, Commerce Hongkong, Consuls visits to United States, Smith Hub at Canton, Wildman R at Hongkong, Cook Captain in Hawaii, Coolies Chinese, Coral Reef Pearl Harbor, Corregidor Manila Bay, Cortes Brothers, Curfew law in Manila, Dagupan railway Philippines, Damien Father of Mobkai, Dampness Hongkong, Day length and division in China, Dead care of China, Deities Chinese, Dentists Canton, Dewey Admiral at Hongkong, Diamond Head Honolulu view of, Dinner Party Chinese, Dress, Hawaiian women’s holokus, Hongkong white suits, Dutch Wife Manila hotel, Education China, Emigrants from China, Empress of China voyage to China, Escolta Manila, Esmeralda voyage to Manila, Arrival at Manila, Bacoor Bay, Barbara Fritchie incident, Cavite, Corregidor, Heat, Humidity, Manila Bay, Quarantine, Rain, Sleeping places, Traveling companion, Execution place of Canton, Father Damien of Molokai, Father of Annexation Dr McGrew of Pearl Harbor, Ferries Manila, Filipinos See Philippines; Manila, Fire Brigade Manila, Fire Drill on Empress of China, Fire Goddess Pele, Flag Hawaiian, Flameflowers Honolulu bowers, Flowers, Flameflowers, Leis, Flowerboats as restaurants Canton, Food, Chinese, Hawaiian, Friars Spanish at Manila, Funerals Chinese, Garlands Hawaiian leis, Gates Canton closing, Gods Chinese, Government Building Honolulu, Griffin Far Eastern word for tenderfoot, Guide Ah Cumin Canton, Gulches Hawaiian, Haleakala Hawaiian volcanic crater, Harbor Pearl Hawaiian, Hawaii island of, Bluffs, Coffeeland, Hilo, Kealakekua Bay monument to Capt Cook, Kilauea volcano, Mauna Kea mountain, Mauna Loa, Ports, Hawaiian Islands, American soldiers, Annexation to U, Coffee plantations, Cook Captain, First impressions of, Flag description, Hawaii island of, Hilo, … [Read more...]

BOOK: Through The Philippines (and Hawaii), 1925-1926, by Frank G. Carpenter – Litt. D., F.R.G.S.

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Title: Through The Philippines (and Hawaii) Date: 1925-1926 Author: Frank G. Carpenter - Litt. D., F.R.G.S. A wonderful old book richly illustrated with 112 RARE high quality vintage photographs taken in the early 1900's ! You will take a journey with the author Frank G. Carpenter and view many historical, cultural, and incredible photographs of a time forgotten. Writing about his travels in the series "Carpenter's World Travels", Frank G. Carpenter gave his readers detailed stories and fascinating information about the local history, myths, and facts of the countries he visited so that every American could get a glimpse, first hand of the worlds beyond our shores. This book is mainly about the Philippines, but it also has a section about Hawaii.   Chapters Just a word before we start From Athens to Manila The Philippine capital, old and new In the Tondo market The fair Filipina Going to school in Manila Tobacco fields and factories Through Northern Luzon by rail Baguio Our heathen wards Camp John Hayand the Igorots The Benguet gold mines The School Republic of Munoz Homesteading in the Philippines By ponyback through the forest The rice terraces of Ifugaoland Where Magellan raised the flag of Spain Coconut farms The world's biggest leper colony On the Sugar Island of Negros In Zamboanga, capital of Moroland Basilan, our new Rubber Island Motoring across Jolo The Sultan of Sulu Davao, land of Manilla hemp The Bagobos and their neighbours The business man of the Philippines The question of independence Hawaii, at the crossroads of the Pacific Our sugar and pineapple islands List of photographs Scene in Zamboanga Riding in a chair through the mountains Mt. Taal San Juan Bridge The waterways of Manila The Luneta Business section of Manila The Parian Gate The walls of old Manila Residence of the Governor-General A Philippine stove Hauling coconut husks Market day in Manila The papaya A Filipina in business A fair Filipina Hat-making for export Girls' baseball team. Weaving by hand The high school at Batangas Learning the English language Exercising on the playgrounds Growing vegetables in a school garden A Philippine star baseball player A Philippine cigarette-maker Tobacco growing Bringing in the rice Threshing Rice planting Pounding out the grain. Lingayen Gulf Baguio The Benguet Road Philippine caddies Going to market on Sunday Mountain road of Luzon Igorot porter Igorot girls learning to sew Camp John Hay Ilongot head-hunters A family of Apayaos An Igorot miner The Benguet gold mine Studying mining methods in the wilds of Luzon "Poor man's rice" Farming at Munoz Ploughing with the carabao Student's house at Munoz Bamboo I gorot road-workers Carabaos taking a bath Homesteaders on the move Threshing rice with carabaos A motor truck in the wilds of Mountain Province A Philippine forest Hauling logs Rice terraces of the Ifugaos An Ifugao home Ifugao types Where Magellan heard mass at Cebu A solid wheeled cart of Cebu A fishing boat Eating coconuts Coconut rafts A copra pack train Drying coconuts Leper colony on Culion Island Penal farm at San Ramon Bilibid prisoners at work Meal-time at the prison A Shakespearean play at Silliman Institute Primitive sugar mill Cutting sugar cane American tractors in the Philippines Cock fighting Port at Zamboanga Moro girls studying the Koran A Mindanao policeman. A Moro chieftain's daughter Mr. Carpenter interviews a Moro Tapping a rubber tree Rubber gatherers of Basilan A sheet of crepe rubber Jolo, the capital of the Sulu Archipelago A Bajao woman climbing to her home Moro dattos Bamboo water tube The Sultan of Sulu Pearl fisherman of the Sulu Sea Manila hemp Stripping the hemp Drying the abaca fibre Mat-weaving Bagobo man wearing a grass jacket A house in the tree-tops A Chinese schoolhouse The Chinese pier at Jolo Manila's Chinatown The port at Manila The Executive Building in Manila A session of the Philippine Legislature Where the Philippine laws are made Army and Navy Club at Manila A Filipino school boy Rugged shores of the Hawaiian Islands Waikiki Beach Pineapple fields Sugar-cane flumes Laying paper mulch for pineapples Scene on the island of Oahu Mt. Kilauea   A sampling of the author's writing... To-night I have been sitting in the Luneta, the great breathing place for Manila. As the sun dropped behind Mount Mariveles, the headland at the north entrance to Manila Bay, the sky flamed with a gorgeous colour. Gentle breezes from the ocean swept over the park and the lapping of the waves mingled with the murmur of talk or gave way before the stirring music of the military band. All Manila was out in full force, strolling about, chatting between numbers, sitting on benches or in cars and carriages. I have seldom seen so many motors parked at any Marine Band concert in Washington … [Read more...]

BOOK: MAGAGANDANG SALAYSAY Andrea Amor Tablan & Ursula E. Calma, 1950

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Description: Interesting stories, from Philippine myths and legends. Some of the stories are: The first people on earth; Ang Inahin, Legend of Mayon, The butterfly and the worm, the airplane, Ang Mayaman at Mahirap. Illustrated, large fonts.  All stories are in Tagalog. Publisher: Philippine Book Co. 1950 Pages: 165     … [Read more...]

BOOK: Portfolio 1 – By Dr. Domingo Abella, 1977

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Portfolio 1 By Dr. Domingo Abella   This is a very rare, large elephant sized book that was privately printed in 1977, a limited edition of 270 printed books. It is a compilation of many maps, photographs, drawings, and paintings about the Philippines. Some subjects include...  Filipinos and Filipinas, earliest Ptolomeo, Siglo II Impreso en Roma 1490 Mapa Universal de Ptolomeo to the 1785 Isole Filippine by Antonio Zattae, a 1734 Pedro Murillo Velarde map Carta Hydrographica y Chorographica de las Islas Filipinas, old Manila, 16th century armours of native warriors, Spanish conquistadores, early costumes, churches built by the Spanish missionaries, Mindanao and Zamboanga views, engravings of Nicholas dela Cruz Bagay and much more...   From Carlos Quirino’s introduction... “several years ago, Dr. Domingo Abella, who had just been appointed Director of the National Archives, … felt that maps of the Philippines should be given wider publication in this country. He borrowed a dozen of my original maps, and with a score of his own that he had copied in his many trips around the world, he had them reprinted in Taiwan where printing costs is much less than elsewhere. The present collection is the result of his diligent interest in this phase of the past of the Philippines. He has included reproductions of costumes used by Filipinos of long ago. In this collection therefore, the development of the Islands since the age of discovery can be readily traced. It is a valuable addition to any public or private library."   From Milagros Romualdez-Abella’s introduction (wife of Dr. Abella)... “This is a Limited Collection of Philippine maps gathered abroad during the 12 years of our search for primary sources of Philippine documents. Some reproductions are not very clear but they have been included to give the viewer an inkling of the cartography of that era. To the maps are added pictorials of costumes, official and unofficial, worn during the 18th century, buildings in Manila like Malacanang Palace, churches found in Intramuros during that period as well as views of Mindanao. This is a Limited Edition of 270 sets numbered from page 1 to 74.                                                                                 … [Read more...]

Book: 1898, Our New Possessions – Philippine Islands, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Hawaiian Islands by Trumbull White

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  Our New Possessions Four Volumes in One…Philippine Islands, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Hawaiian Islands by Trumbull White, Illustrated by numerous photos, First printing Edition (presumed,) 1898, A. B. Kuhlman Press Company Book Publisher Publishing, LCCC 00-0000,  9 X 7 inches, pp 676, Hard cover, Contents Vintage history book on the newest lands to the United States in 1898.  These lands were to have very different futures as two remain key elements of the US while two others are independent once again.  The real value and beauty of this book is in the huge number of vintage images and drawings from all four “possessions.” … [Read more...]

Book: The Collection of Primitive Weapons and Armor of the Philippine Islands in the United States National Museum by Herbert W. Krieger

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Plates from: Herbert W. Krieger's The Collection of Primitive Weapons and Armor of the Philippine Islands in the United States National Museum Smithsonian Institution; United States National Museum, Bulletin 137 (1926)   Plate 1. Philippine weapons of offense and defense. Spears, lances, and halberds. Bows, arrows, and arrow cases. Blowguns, darts, and dart cases. Clubbed weapons and shields. Hand weapons for piercing and stabbing. Bolos. Cutting and slashing blades. Swords for cutting and chopping. Beheading swords. Head axes. Straight and wavy krisses. Circular shields for parrying and targets. Oblong, pronged, clubbed, and tufted shields of hollowed wood. Body. armor of horn, hide, cordage, and fiber construction. Plate 2. Projectile weapons: Blowguns, bows, arrows and darts, quiver and dart case. No. 1. Palmwood bow; highly polished, grooved, concavo-convex self-bow. Negritos, Zambales Mountains, Island of Luzon. 2. Heavy palmwood self-bow; flat surfaces, slightly concave on inner side. Negritos, Negros, Visayan Island, P.I. 3. Palmwood bow wrapped with rattan. Bagobo, Mindanao. 4. Palmwood bow; cord of bamboo splint. Moro, Mindanao. 5. Bamboo blowgun: Surface decorated with burned spiral bands and rings; lining tube of reed, sight elevation. Batak, Island of Palawan, Philippine Archipelago. 6. Arrow case of bamboo provided with rattan basketry cap. Moro, western Mindanao. 7.Blowgun darts and dart case. Batak, Palawan Island. Plate 3. Simple and compound arrowheads of palmwood and bamboo. No. 1. Palmwood arrowhead and bamboo shaft. Moro, Mindanao. 2. Reed arrow with palmwood foreshaft. Moro, Mindanao. 3. Bamboo arrow with palmwood foreshaft; poisoned bamboo arrow point inserted in foreshaft. Bikol, Luzon. 4. Large arrow of bamboo with arrowhead of split bamboo, Bagobo, Mindanao. 5. Triagular shape arrowhead of bamboo, harpoon shaft. Negritos, Zambales Mouutains, Luzon. 6. Barbed, triangular bamboo arrowhead, harpoon shaft. Negritos, Zambales Mountains, Luzon Island. 7. Fish arrow with compound head of bamboo. Bagobo, Mindanao. 8. Three-pronged or trident compound arrow. Negritos. Zambales Mountains, Luzon. Plate 4. Metallic harpoon and arrowheads provided with barbed, hastate, three-pointed, harpoon, and composite points. Shaftments. No. 1. Short, flat, lanceolate arrowhead,designed to make a large wound and to cause profuse bleeding. Negritos Zambales Mountains. 2. Long, triangular, iron arrow point, palmwood foreshaft, unfeathered cane shaft. Moro, western Mindanao. 3. Small, lanceolate shape iron arrowhead, long bamboo shaft; heavy palmwood foreshaft, bulbous at the base. Old Bikol arrow type. 4. Leaf-shape arrow point of sheet copper, bamboo shaft, foreshaft of wood fast set in shaft with resin. Moro. 5. Feathered bamboo shaft, large lanceolate shape arrow point. Negritos, Luzon. 6. Leaf-shape iron arrowhead of excellent workmanship socketed on hardwood shaft, no foreshaft. Moro, Jolo Archipelago. 7. Large feathered bamboo shaft, hastate shape iron arrow point. Negritos, Luzon. 8. Small triangular iron head, palmwood foreshaft, reed shaft. Moro, Mindanao. 9. Ferruled wooden shaft, long hastate shape barbed iron arrow point. Moro. 10. Long quadrangular barbed iron arrowhead. Negritos, Luzon. 11-13. Composite arrow shaftments; feathered shaft provided with lanyard and retrieving cord, barbed toggle harpoon type of arrow point. Designed for hunting pigs. Negritos. Plate 5. Ceremonial, war, fishing, and hunting spears: Barbed, serpentine, harpoon, and compound types of iron and steel spearheads. No. 1. Hunting spear, harpoon type, bilaterally barbed. Moro, Mindanao. 2. Compound spearhead provided with three barbed prongs for use in fishing. Moro, Sulu Archipelago. 3. Serpentine form of steel spearhead socketed on palmwood shaft, shaft wound with plaited rattan and ferruled with brass. Mindanao. 4. Serpentine shape steel lance blade socketed on wooden shaft. Moro, Mindanao. 5. Iron war spear: Bilaterally recurved barbs, palmwood shaft wrapped with braided rattan, iron ferrule. 6. War spear: Hastate shape spear point provided with recurved guard barbs, metal tang inserted in hardwood shaft. Northern Luzon. 7-12. War spears: Multiple barbed iron spear points, short hardwood shafts, wrapped with braided rattan ferrules, iron cap or spud socketed on base of shafts. Igorot, northern Luzon. 11. Ceremonial spear provided with multiple barbs to frighten spirits or "anitos." Igorot, northern Luzon. Plate 6. Spears used ceremonially and in war; shafts ornamented and figured with brass and silver overlay. No. 1. Cane shaft, rough-surfaced iron blade of good form. Moro. 2. Elliptic spearhead of iron with socket. … [Read more...]

Book: Photographs from Harper’s History of the War in the Philippines

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  Harper's History of the War in the Philippines Edited by Marrion Wilcox Harper and Brothers, New York, 1900, first edition. Light brown cloth hard covers with red leather label on spine, gilt titles, large folio, 472pp, profusely illustrated with b&w photographs, many full-page color plates (chromolithographs), fold-out plate, maps A detailed and richly illustrated account of the background history and military campaigns of the War. The volume includes a listing of all the US soldiers by rank. Among the color  plates is an illustration  General Lawton by Frederic Remington.                           … [Read more...]

Ilustration: Early Sulu Warriors and Weapons & Ilanoan Warrior

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  … [Read more...]

Photograph: Moros fencing with shield and wooden barong : Jolo -1901

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Larawan: Philippine Photographs Digital Archive, Univ. of Michigan Via: Filipino weapons & history ("Filhistory")  … [Read more...]

The Filipino People – Early contacts of the Malays and Hindus, and the rise Islam

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Original Source: https://kahimyang.com/kauswagan/articles/792/the-filipino-people-early-contacts-of-the-malays-and-hindus-and-the-rise-islam The Filipino People - Early contacts of the Malays and Hindus, and the rise Islam   More than two thousand years ago, India produced a remarkable civilization. There were great cities of stone, magnificient palaces, a life of splendid luxury a highly organized social and political system. Writing known as Sanskrit have been developed. Two great religions, Brahminism and Buddhism, arose, the latter still the dominant religion of Tibet, China, and Japan. The people who produced this civilization are known as the Hindus. Fourteen or fifteen hundred years ago Hinduism spread over Burma, Siam, and Java. Great cities were erected with splendid temples and huge idols, the ruins of which still remain, though their magnificence has gone and they are covered today with the growth of the jungle. This powerful civilization of the Hindus, established thus in Malaysia, greatly affected the Malayan people on these islands, as well as those who came to the Philippines. Many words in the Tagalog have been shown to have a Sanskrit origin, and the systems of writing which the Spaniards found in use among several of the Filipino peoples had certainly been developed from the alphabet then in use among these Hindu peoples of Java. A few hundred years later another great change, due to religious faith, came over the Malayan race - a change which has had a great effect upon the history of the Philippines, and is still destined to modify events far into the future. This was the conversion to Islam. Of all the great religions of the world, Mohammedanism was the last to arise, and its career has in some ways been the most remarkable. Mohammed, its founder, was an Arab, born about 572 A.D. At that time Christianity was established entirely around the Mediterranean and throughout most of Europe, but Arabia was idolatrous. Mohammed was one of those great, prophetic souls which arise from time to time in the world's history. All he could learn from Hebraism and Christianity, together with the result of his own thought and prayers, led him to the belief in one God, the Almighty, the Compassionate, the Merciful, who as he believed would win all men to His knowledge through the teachings of Mohammed himself. Thus inspired, Mohammed became a teacher or prophet, and by the end of his life he had won his people to his faith and inaugurated one of the greatest eras of conquest the world has seen. The armies of Arabian horsemen, full of fanatical enthusiasm to convert the world to their faith, in a century's time wrested from Christendom all Judea, Syria, and Asia Minor, the sacred land where Jesus lived and taught, and the countries where Paul and the other apostles had first established Christianity. Thence they swept along the north coast of Africa, bringing to an end all that survived of Roman power and religion, and by 720 they had crossed into Europe and were in possession of Spain. For the nearly eight hundred years that followed, the Christian Spaniards fought to drive Islam from the peninsula, before they were successful. Not only did Islam move westward over Africa and Europe, it was carried eastward as well. Animated by their faith, the Arabs became the greatest sailors, explorers, merchants, and geographers of the age. They sailed from the Red Sea down the coast of Africa as far as Madagascar, and eastward to India, where they had settlements on both the Malabar and Coromandel coasts. Thence Arab missionaries brought their faith to Malaysia. At that time the true Malays, the tribe from which the common term "Malayan" has been derived, were a small people of Sumatra. At least as early as 1250 they were converted to Islam, brought to then by these Arabian missionaries, and under the impulse of this mighty faith they broke from their obscurity and commenced that great conquest and expansion that has diffused their power, language, and religion throughout the East Indies. A powerful Muslim Malay settlement was established on the western coasts of Borneo probably as early as 1400. The more primitive inhabitants, like the Dyaks, who were a tribe of the primitive Malayans, were defeated, and the possession of parts of the coast taken from them. From this coast of Borneo came many of the adventurers who were traversing the seas of the Philippines when the Spaniards arrived. The Muslim population of Mindanao and Jolo owes something certainly to this same Malay migration which founded the colony of Borneo. But the Magindanao and Illanon Moros seem to be largely descendants of primitive tribes, such as the Manobo and Tiruray, who were converted to Islam by Malay and Arab proselyters. The traditions of the Magindanao Moros ascribe their conversion to Kabunsuan, a native of Johore, the son of an Arab father and Malay mother. He came to Magindanao with a band of … [Read more...]

U.S. Army: 15th Cavalry Regiment. Insignia with Philippine Kris and Kampilan Sword. (6 April 1935) – By The Institute of Heraldry

15th Cavalry Regiment   Distinctive Unit Insignia   Description A Gold color metal and enamel device 1 1/8 inches (2.86 cm) in height overall consisting of a shield blazoned: Per fess Gules and Argent in chief a lion passant Or and in base a kris and kampilan saltirewise Sable fimbriated Or. Attached below and to the left of the shield a Gold turning scroll inscribed "TOUS POUR UN" in Red letters. And attached below and to the right of the shield a Gold turning scroll inscribed "UN POUR TOUS" in Red letters. Symbolism The red and white divided shield represents the old Cavalry guidon. The regiment saw good fighting in the Philippines as indicated by the crossed kris and kampilan of the Moro and Lake Lanao campaigns. In the war with Germany, the regiment was in France in the vicinity of Bordeaux and the golden lion is taken from the arms of that city. The translation of the motto "All for one, one for all" is indicative of the spirit , which has made the regiment. Background The distinctive unit insignia was originally approved for the 15th Cavalry on 6 April 1935. It was redesignated for the 15th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, Mechanized on 10 November 1944. It was redesignated on 21 January 1948, for the 15th Constabulary Squadron. The insignia was redesignated for the 15th Cavalry on 28 November 1958. It was redesignated for the 15th Armor on 13 November 1963. The distinctive unit insignia was redesignated for the 15th Cavalry on 2 August 1968. The insignia was amended to correct the description on 4 October 2002. Coat Of Arms   Blazon Shield Per fess Gules and Argent in chief a lion passant Or and in base a kris and kampilan saltirewise of the first hilted Sable. Crest On a wreath of the colors Argent and Gules a setting sun behind "the Golden Gate" all Proper. Motto TOUS POUR UN, UN POUR TOUS (All For One, One For All). Symbolism Shield The red and white divided shield represents the old Cavalry guidon. The regiment saw good fighting in the Philippines as indicated by the crossed kris and kampilan of the Moro and Lake Lanao campaigns. In the war with Germany, the regiment was in France in the vicinity of Bordeaux and the golden lion is taken from the arms of that city. The translation of the motto "All for one, one for all" is indicative of the spirit , which has made the regiment. Crest The "Golden Gate" is the portico called "through the portals of the past" which is now in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. It was one of the few things left standing after the fire of 1906 and was removed and reerected as noted. The birthplace of the regiment is indicated by the crest. Background The coat of arms was originally approved for the 15th Cavalry on 2 November 1921. It was redesignated for the 15th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron on 10 November 1944. It was redesignated on 21 January 1948, for the 15th Constabulary Squadron. The insignia was redesignated for the 15th Cavalry on 28 November 1958. It was redesignated for the 15th Armor on 13 November 1963. The coat of arms was redesignated for the 15th Cavalry on 2 August 1968.   … [Read more...]

United States Military Philippines Command. Philippines Department Insignia. (July 8, 1922) – By The Institute of Heraldry

Philippine Command By The Institute of Heraldry   Shoulder Sleeve Insignia   Description On a blue oval 2 1/2 inches in length by 2 inches in width a white sea lion brandishing a sword in its right paw. Symbolism The sea lion is from the coat of arms of Spain (Aragon) and suggest the Spanish heritage as well as the maritime nature of the area where the command was operational. Background The insignia was originally approved for the Philippines Department on July 8, 1922. It was redesignated for the Philippines-Ryukyus Command on August 14, 1947 and redesignated for the Philippines Command on August 1, 1949. (TIOH Drawing Number A-1-54) … [Read more...]

U.S. Army: 11 Infantry Regiment. Insignia with Philippine Bolo and Kampilan Swords (March 28 1923) – By The Institute of Heraldry

U.S. Army: 11 Infantry Regiment Distinctive Unit Insignia   Description A silver color metal and enamel device 1 1/8 inches (2.86cm) in height overall consisting of a shield blazoned: Azure, Satanta's arrow in fess Argent between in chief a castle Or in base a kampilan and bolo in saltire of the second hilted of the third. On a chief embattled of the second a cross Gules. Symbolism The symbolism is that of the coat of arms. Background The distinctive unit insignia was approved on 28 Mar 1923. Coat Of Arms   Blazon Shield Azure, Satanta's arrow in fess Argent between in chief a castle Or in base a kampilan and bolo in saltire of the second hilted of the third. On a chief embattled of the second a cross Gules. Crest On a wreath of the colors a fusil Gules bearing a cross patée Argent charged with an acorn of the first. Motto SEMPER FIDELIS (Always Faithful). Symbolism The shield is blue for infantry. Service in the Spanish War is shown by the castle and in the Indian Wars by Satanta's "arrow." The most important Indian campaign of this regiment was against the Kiowas, Comanches and Cheyenne in 1874. Satanta was a noted Kiowa chief who died just previous to this campaign. His "arrow" was really a spear with feathers on the end and a handle. The kampilan and bolo represent engagements against the Moros of Mindanao and the Filipinos of the Visayas. Service in the World War is shown by the chief bearing the cross of the ancient Lords of Dun to commemorate the crossing of the Meuse at Dun. The embattled partition represents the siege of Chattanooga in 1863. The crest consists of the Civil War badges of the 1st Division, 14th Army Corps and 2d Division, 5th Army Corps, and the World War 5th Division shoulder sleeve insignia. Background The coat of arms was approved on 12 Oct 1920.   … [Read more...]

Film: Watawat. Movie recalls the creation of the Philippine flag. Philippines -2010

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  Watawat recalls the creation of the Philippine flag Also entered were actors James Blanco Carlos Morales and the appropriate-produced films. And not just ordinary this movie in terms of genre because it is a period movie titled Flag. Aside from being executive producers Carlos and James Flag, they also perform in the film as the Philippine national heroes. General Emilio Carlos plays Aguinaldao, while James also plays the role of Andres Bonifacio. From Ghalaxy Cinecilio Pictures and Film Productions, the film said the film debut of first-time director Dave Cecilio and two of them Deo Divinagracia the creation of stories. Features in this period film about the creation of the Philippine flag and how it became part of Philippine history. The other cast members of film were Chin-Chin Gutierrez, FAMAS awardee, Mercedes Cabral, Kisza Divinagracia. Those three women performing naghabi of the first flag of the Philippines. Among the cast as well as the flag were Monsour del Rosario, Justin Cuyugan, Mosang, Dan Fernnadez, Angie Ferro, Nathan Lopez, Maricar Madrid, Mara Lopez, Gigi Pirote, Dick Lindayag, Herminia Concpecion, and Fria Rivas. On December 12, 2009 had a trial screening at the University of the Philippines Baguio. Although the film is still raw pina preview it there, as requested. January 2010 now officially start actually present at screenings and walks of people in the movie production. Among the schools and universities is the Baguio Colleges Foundation, University of Baguio, UP Baguio, University of Cordillera, STI College, Colleges Data Center, St. Louis University, etc.. If you can not change the schedule, the target is screening this January 15-21 in Olongapo City area and also OCNHS Like the fourteen (14) public elementary and high schools in Sta.Rita and Subic, etc. Theater SUMVAC held it in Subic Freeport Zone. In February, it also targets to tour Bohol and Nueva Ecija, in March in Cebu and Davao and international screenings also plans soon. Synopsis: This is a journey in the past. The Flag (Flag) is pagsasapelikula a part in the history of the Philippines at the time made ​​the symbol of freedom for the declaration of the First Republic the country. Symbol generated in an effort by Doña Marcela Agoncillo (Chin Chin Gutierrez) based on the request of General Emilio Aguinaldo (Carlos Morales) to create colors. They did it while they live in Hong Kong was caused by the occupation of Spain. There are five days Mrs. Marcela hinahabi also the standard, a partner with his son Enchang (Kisza Divinagracia) and Delfina Natividad (Mercedes Cabral). Obrang generated here represent a shape, color, and the image of courage and truth behind the efforts to achieve a desired freedom. Source of multicolor colors. Red, blue, black white and yellow. Taut the outbreak of the Association was against the repressive foreigners. Became the leader of the revolt were Dagohoy and Diego Silang until developed by Andres Bonifacio (James Blanco) the Katipunan. Also resulted in agreement by Aguinaldo Pakto of Biak-na-Bato the revolution. The eight rays of the sun in eight provinces also felt the first revolt. In Kawit, Cavite on June 12, 1898 was a historic wave of the official flag of the First Republic. This occurred in the middle window of the home of General Aguinaldo. It became the day of full independence. But more followed this revolution against the Spaniards, Americans and other war since switching Dr. Jose Rizal and the Supremo. Many of the historical truth and reveal it tumutulay present. Mute-witness piece of cloth on real events and was even now. Thy banner will continue to shine while gentle people continued to acknowledge its importance. Production staff: Story by Deo Divinagracia and Dave Cecilio Director of Photography: Marvin Reyes Music by Miguel Cortez Wild Sound Sound by AMI Edited by Thop Nazarene, wardrobe by Ronnie Martinez Assistant Directors were Danseco Cicero, Deo Divinagracia, Edmund Mijares, Alex Brin, Ricci Rono, and Carlos Morales. Production Manager: Christopher Manabal, Assistant Production Managers: Kemuel Nini Santos Cruz Executive Producers: Carlos Morales and James Blanco DIRECTOR'S PROFILE: The Director Dave Cecilio was born in Paranas, Samar on March 6, 1972. Native of Bacoor, Cavite City, he was a child and Nora by Cecilio Cecilio Domingo. Among his professional qualifications are as follows: Filmmaker and Writer at the International Academy of Film & Television, Big Foot Entertainment, Hollywood Boulevard (Mactan Lapu-lapu City, Cebu). He was also a TV commercial director, worked at the International Institute for Film & Arts (IIFA) in Makati City. He was also a registered nurse, became a product specialist, former teacher and professioanal medical representative, gained him many kunsaan honor in this field. Among its basic video editing … [Read more...]

Ancient sea vessel: The Balangay, 1250 AD

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  Thousands of years ago, the ancestors of the Filipino people, the Austronesian speaking people traveled from the Asian mainland by land bridges across the continental shelf to the South East Asian archipelago. They then sailed onward to as far East as Polynesia, and as far West as Madagascar, aboard the ancient vessel: the Balangay. The Kaya ng Pinoy Inc., launches an exciting, new undertaking that will retrace the migration of our ancestors across the oceans using only the native Balangay, built faithful to the craftsmanship and materials used during the ancient times. Navigation will also remain accurate to the method that was used by the earliest mariners - steering by the sun, the stars, the wind, cloud formations, wave patterns and bird migrations.   What is the Balangay? Early Filipinos were a people of the sea, living in coastal villages or near rivers. Boats were linked to many aspects of Filipino life: fishing, trade, warfare,  piracy (trade-raiding for goods and slaves), travel, communication, and dwelling.  The Balanghai or Balangay or Butuan Boat is a plank boat adjoined by a carved-out plank edged through pins and dowels. It was first mentioned in the 16th Century in the Chronicles of Pigafetta, and is known as the oldest Pre-Hispanic watercraft found in the Philippines. The first wooden watercraft excavated in Southeast Asia, the Balangay is only found in the Philippines where a flotilla of such prehistoric wooden boat exists throughout the world. Nine specimens were discovered in 1976 in Butuan City, Agusan Del Norte, Mindanao and 3 of which have been excavated. Examination and extensive investigation reveals that the extant boats found in the excavation site date back to 320, 990 and 1250 AD. The finely built boat, made without the use of blueprints but was taught from one generation to another, uses a technique still used by boat makers of Sibutu Island. Made 15 meters long and 3 to 4 meters wide, the Balangay is propelled by sail of buri or nipa fiber or padding and is large enough to hold 60 to 90 people. With the Balangay's size, it was used for cargo and raiding purposes, giving proof that Butuan played a central role in trade. http://www.balangay-voyage.com/index.php … [Read more...]

Tinalakay sa kumperensya ni Dr. Isorena ang ‘Bangka at Kolonisasyon’. Ito ay hango sa kanyang disertasyon.

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The Philippines – Early Collection. The Museum of Ethnology, Vienna – Austria

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The 1st and 2nd Filipino Infantry Regiments of World War Two

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  This article was brought to our attention by Guro Hospecio "Bud" Balani, Jr. As it turns out both his father, Hospecio Balbuena Balani, Sr., and his uncle, Martin D. Balbuena, were both members of the Regiment. He also had numerous uncles in the Regiment but to get their names, he'd have to dig deep into the darkest recesses of his mind, and it might get ugly in there. From what he understands, "The United States wanted to be at Regiment strength so they eventually merged the three Battalions into one unit and formed the 1st Filipino Regiment (keeping the First Unit's Patch). Regiments are two or more Battalions, Battalions are three or more Companies. Companies are three or more Platoons. Platoons are three or more Squads. Squads are nine strong. These are just rough estimates. Also, any unit with the spelling of "Philippines" were US Army units that were recruited in the homeland. There were many Philippine Scout units, all in the Philippine islands. Any unit with the spelling of "Filipino", was a unit formed in the United States, with the only units being Laging Una, Sulong and Bahala Na." Saturday, August 14th, 2004 The 1st and 2nd Filipino Infantry Regiments By David T. Vivit, 1LT, AUS (Ret) Laging Una - Sulung The 1st & 2nd (Laging Una - Sulung) Filipino Infantry Regiments were units of the Army of the United States (AUS) inducted into service during World War II. They were wholly manned by Filipino citizens in this country and Hawaii and officered by both Filipinos and Americans, the only non citizen units in the American Citizen Army. They were similar to the Philippine Scouts in that the latter were also wholly manned by Filipino citizens with both Filipino and American officers, but the similarities ended there. The Scouts were professional soldiers in the Philippine Department of the United States Regular Army (USA). Most of the men were married and enjoyed a high economic and social status in the Philippines in contrast to the mostly single discriminated against (in the U.S.) "laborers" and students of the Filipino Regiments. Each group of Filipino soldiers played important but different roles in World War II. After the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor and Clark Field, Filipinos in the U.S. and Hawaii rushed to Army Recruiting Stations to enlist only to be rejected because they were not (US) citizens (Filipinos were not eligible for U.S. citizenship before the war). As residents, however, they were registered under the Draft Law, and when the first Filipino Battalion was activated in San Luis Obispo, California in April 1942, they "volunteered" for the draft instead of waiting for their call. This unique unit was to spearhead MacArthur's liberation forces when he returned to the Philippines. But the military authorities made a great miscalculation! In three months the 1st Filipino Battalion became the 1st Filipino Regiment, activated in Salinas on July 13, 1942 and on October 14th of the same year the 2nd Regiment was activated at Ft. Ord, bringing together a fighting force of more than 7,000 men. If created earlier, the Battalion very well could have become a Division. By the time it was activated hundreds had already joined the Navy and Army Air Corps. With an average age of over 30, they more than made up this overage by their spirit and enthusiasm. In no other units of the AUS in WWII, including the much publicized 442nd Regimental Combat Team (NISEI), was the motivation greater and the morale higher than in the 1st & 2nd Filipino Regiments. About the end of 1942 and in early 1943, these Filipino soldiers became American citizens under a new U.S Naturalization Law in mass oath taking ceremonies which made headlines throughout the country. After two years of intensive training in California without a single Court Martial case, these units went to New Guinea to prepare for their landings in the Philippines. Here the 2nd Regiment was split up into the Counter-Intelligence Units (CIC), the Alamo Scouts and the Philippine Civil Affairs Unit (PCAU) all of which played important roles during the liberation. The 1st Regiment remained intact as a combat team but for some unknown reason was not with the initial landing forces in Leyte. Instead it was relegated to the minor (but more dangerous against a fanatical enemy) role of mopping-up operations in Samar and Leyte. In accomplishing this difficult mission with minimum casualties, it earned the reputation of being the "most decorated regiment in the Pacific". It remained for a "child" of the regiments, 1st Reconnaissance Battalion (Bahala Na) known only as "commandos" in the Philippines, whose operations during the occupation had been kept secret until recently, to really "spearhead MacArthur's return to the Islands." But this is a story in itself. More significant than their military feats was their accomplishments in the field of romance. These gallant soldiers literally chased the shy, coy and above … [Read more...]

Film: Amigo (2010)

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Movie: Amigo (2010) Amigo is a 2010 American drama film written and directed by John Sayles. The film takes place in the Philippines in 1900 during the Philippine–American War. It is one of only a small handful of films directed by an American to address the war. Plot Amigo centers on Rafael Dacanay, cabeza of the barrio of San Isidro in a rice-growing area of Luzon. His brother Simón, head of the local guerilla band, has forced the surrender of the Spanish guardia civil outpost and charged Rafael with the task of imprisoning the guardia Captain and the barrio’s Spanish friar, Padre Hidalgo, in the name of the revolutionary government. But when the American troops chasing General Aguinaldo arrive, the Spanish officer and Padre Hidalgo are freed, and a garrison under the command of Lieutenant Ike Compton is left to ‘protect’ the barrio. The American occupation policy now changes from ‘hearts and minds’ to ‘concentration’ (what was called ‘hamletting’ during the Vietnam war) and Rafael has to answer to both the Americans and the Filipino patriots, with deadly consequences. Cast •    Chris Cooper as Col. Hardacre •    Garret Dillahunt as Lt. Compton •    DJ Qualls as Zeke •    Yul Vàzquez as Padre Hidalgo •    Joel Torre as Rafael •    Lucas Neff as Shanker •    James Parks as Sgt. Runnels •    Dane DeHaan as Gill •    Stephen Taylor as Pvt. Bates •    Rio Locsin as Corazon •    Jemi Paretas as Zuniga •    Bill Tangradi as Dutch •    Bembol Roco as Policarpio •    Ronnie Lazaro as Simon •    Irma Adlawan as Josefa Press Cinematical reports that the film was once titled Baryo, and that the idea for it came from a yet-to-be-published novel Some Time in the Sun, detailing U.S. imperialism in the Philippines. The book will actually be called A Moment in the Sun, though the unrealized screenplay which inspired it was called Some Time in the Sun. Distribution Amigo will show on September 14 at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival. It will also screen at the San Sebastián International Film Festival and the Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival. In North America, the film will be released on August 20, 2011 by Variance Films. From Wikipedia … [Read more...]

The Two Conquests By Angel Postigo

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Guro Dino of the Mandirigma Research Organization met Professor Angel Postigo and his father on one of his many business trips to Los Angeles from Mexico. Professor Postigo is a person with a very impressive resume in the warrior arts and journalism, among other things, having written for Artes Marciales, Katana, Kung Fu Magazine, Legitima Defensa and National Sports Directory of Mexico. They found that they both have a passion for history and its relationship to the warrior arts. Some of the discussions they had concerned the connections between the Philippines and Mexico for hundreds of years. Professor Postigo felt that mandirigma.org would be an excellent venue to present his articles of this often overlooked relationship between the Philippines and Mexico in history. Quoting Professor Postigo, "The reason why I am interested in working with "mandirigma.org" is to showcase my work as a writer interested in disseminating and spreading the culture of the Martial Arts of the Philippines, work that I have done in several Mexican magazines." Friday, October 12th, 2007 The Two Conquests By Angel Postigo Suddenly, the ascent they had begun at the beach, finally ended. Thousands of miles behind, their guides had led them to cross between those two volcanoes, the Popocatepetl and the Iztacihuatl. Standing in the snow, those iron men and their heraldic horses had that spectacle at their feet: beyond this wooded spot of splendid beauty, far beyond, into those mountains, a wide green valley was extended, and in the center the lakes shined like silver, and above the islands and the banks, those citadels with plazas and wide roads, the high roofs of its temples upon splendid hand-painted pyramids, and the woods and great fields full of exotic plants that enlightened those magic days of autumn. For the first time, western men looked at that wonderful landscape, as if painted on the evening air, and their eyes glowed as they contemplated the plain and remembered the gold and sacred feathered presents they had been offered as a plead to retire, to stay away. Cortes and his soldiers had started the advance to that plain, to Tenochtitlan, and the battles were about to begin. The great lord of the empire, Moctezuma II, intelligent and educated man, though deeply superstitious as most of his people, knew that his kingdom had come to its end. The news had spread as a desperate scream: Quetzalcoatl has returned, the Serpent God that promised to return in the year one, Acatl (1519), the prophecies are fulfilled now, the white-skinned bearded God has returned. Moctezuma knows a battle against a God is impossible, he has to have the help of other gods in order to save his nation. Being Cortes an extremely skillful politician and warrior, he perceives the rivalries between the different towns, and above all, the exacerbated hate against the Mexicas and their Aztec empire. Cortes returned to Tenochtitlan, not before suffering a defeat known as the Sad Night, when fallen and surrounded he was spared as many soldiers thanks to the tradition of not killing the enemy, just defeating them to take some prisoners for the ritual sacrifices. According to the number of prisoners, those warriors, Eagle men and Jaguar men, ascended in their military ranges. They were true conquerors who went further their frontiers of Guatemala, but their conquest had seeded rancor against the Aztec empire. Their armies were the best armed and trained. They had a regular troop, Yaoquizquel, and a lower but considerable number of noble warriors, Pipiltin, who belonged to a society known as the Eagle men, Quauhtin, and Jaguar men, Ocelomeh. Their elegant clothing had the skins of those felines and the feathers of those sacred birds. They were the sons of nobles who went to the Calmecac to receive military and cultural education, they learned astronomy, rhetoric, poetry, but above all, religion, and their status was well established, and how they could ascent according to their bravery, but above all, to the number of prisoners caught in battle. The Tlamani were the ones in charged of guarding the prisoners. This noble warriors, elegantly dressed, had as their main weapons the Macuahuitl, a kind of long club with sharp obsidian points, a round shield made of leather named Chimalli, an arc known as Tlauitolli, and a throwing spear, Atlatl. As he walks through many different spots of this empire, Cortes realizes the situation. In some places he has battles, but in others he comes to agreements easily, accomplishing an alliance in the first year of his arrival, and after establishing the Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz. One of the alliances was with the Zapoteca people, and afterwards, with others oppressed by the Aztec empire, the Texcocanos, the Huejotzincas and the Totonacas. Cortes starts his first march towards Mexico, Tenochtitlan, on August 16th, 1519, towards the heart of the empire. He has only 400 Spanish soldiers, 15 horses, 3 canons, … [Read more...]

Who Discovered the Philippines? by Perry Diaz

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Who Discovered the Philippines? PerryScope Perry Diaz, Global Balita Philippine history books have been saying that Ferdinand Magellan discovered the Philippines. But was he really the one who discovered the Philippines? Long before Magellan landed in the Philippine archipelago, visitors and colonizers from other lands had come to our shores.  The earliest evidence of the existence of modern man — homo sapiens sapiens — in the archipelago was discovered in 1962 when a National Museum team led by Dr. Robert Fox uncovered the remains of a 22,000-year old man in the Tabon Caves of Palawan.  The team determined that the Tabon Caves were about 500,000 years old and had been inhabited for about 50,000 years. In the late 1990s, Jared Diamond, Professor of Geography at UCLA and winner of the Phi Beta Kappa Award in Science, and Peter Bellwood, Professor of Archaeology at the Australian National University, postulated that the Austronesians had their roots in Southern China.  Diamond said that they migrated to Taiwan around 3,500 B.C.  However, Bellwood believed that the Austronesian expansion started as early as 6,000 B.C.  Around 3,000 B.C., the Malayo-Polynesians — a subfamily of the Austronesians — began their migration out of Taiwan.  The first stop was northern Luzon.  Over a span of 2,000 years, the Malayo-Polynesian expansion spread southward to the rest of the Philippine archipelago and crossed the ocean to Celebes, Borneo, Timor, Java, Sumatra, Malay Peninsula, and Vietnam; westward in the Indian Ocean to Madagascar; and eastward in the Pacific Ocean to New Guinea, New Zealand, Samoa, Fiji, Marquesas, Cook, Pitcairn, Easter, and Hawaii.  Today, the Malayo-Polynesian speaking people have populated a vast area that covers a distance of about 11,000 miles from Madagascar to Hawaii, almost half the circumference of the world. In 2002, Bellwood and Dr. Eusebio Dizon of the Archaeology Division of the National Museum of the Philippines led a team that conducted an archaeological excavation in the Batanes Islands, which lie between Taiwan and Northern Luzon.  The three-year archaeological project, financed by National Geographic, was done to prove — or disprove — the “Out of Taiwan” hypothesis for the Austronesian dispersal.  The archaeological evidence that they gathered proved that the migration from Taiwan to Batanes and Luzon started about 4,000 years ago.  For the next 500 years after the arrival of the Malayo-Polynesians in Batanes and Northern Luzon, native settlements flourished throughout the archipelago. The Philippine islands’ proximity to the Malay Archipelago, which includes the coveted Moluccas islands — known as the “Spice Islands” — had attracted Arab traders who had virtual monopoly of the Spice Trade until 1511.  By the 9th century, Muslim traders from Malacca, Borneo, and Sumatra started coming to Sulu and Mindanao. In 1210 AD, Islam was introduced in Sulu.  An Arab known as Tuan Mashaika founded the first Muslim community in Sulu.   In 1450 AD, Shari’ful Hashem Syed Abu Bakr, a Jahore-born Arab, arrived in Sulu from Malacca.  He married the daughter of the local chieftain and established the Sultanate of Sulu. In the early 16th century, Sharif Muhammad Kabungsuan, a Muslim preacher from Malacca arrived in Malabang in what is now Lanao del Sur and introduced Islam to the natives.  In 1515 he married a local princess and founded the Sultanate of Maguindanao with Cotabato as its capital.  By the end of the 18th century, more than 30 sultanates were established and flourished in Mindanao.  The Sultanates of Maguindanao and Sulu were the most powerful in the region.  Neither of them capitulated to Spanish dominion. Chinese traders — who were also involved in the Spice Trade — started coming to the Philippine archipelago in the 11th century.  They went as far as Butuan and Sulu.  However, most of their trade activities were in Luzon. In 1405, during the reign of the Ming Dynasty in China, Emperor Yung Lo claimed the island of Luzon and placed it under his empire. The Chinese called the island “Lusong” from the Chinese characters Lui Sung.  The biggest settlement of Chinese was in Lingayen in Pangasinan.  Lingayen also became the seat of the Chinese colonial government in Luzon. When Yung Lo died in 1424, the new Emperor Hongxi, Yung Lo’s son, lost interest in the colony and the colonial government was dissolved.  However, the Chinese settlers in Lingayen — known as “sangleys” — remained and prospered.  Our national hero Dr. Jose P. Rizal descended from the sangleys. The lucrative Spice Trade attracted the European powers.  In 1511 a Portuguese armada led by Alfonso d’Albuquerque attacked Malacca and deposed the sultanate. Malacca’s strategic location made it the hub of the Spice Trade; and whoever controlled Malacca controlled the Spice Trade.  At that time, Malacca had a population of … [Read more...]

Pirate Limahong Invades the Philippines, 1574

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Limahong Limahong, Lim Hong or also called Lin Feng (simplified Chinese: 林风; traditional Chinese: 林風; pinyin: Lín Fēng; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Lîm-Hong) was a notorious Chinese pirate and warlord who invaded the northern Philippine Islands in 1574. He built up a reputation for his constant raids to ports in Guangdong, Fujian and southern China. He is noted to have twice attempted, and failed, to overthrow the Spanish city of Manila in 1574. Birth and origins Born Dim Mhon to a parents with questionable morals in the city of Tru Cheo (Teochew) in the province of Cuy Tan (called Catim by the Portuguese during the middle of the 16th century). Known to be called Limahong. Exposed to vices, he resorted to criminal activities, including robbery, at an early age. He met and became a protege of an old pirate, Tial-lao. When Tial-lao died, Lim became his heir, inheriting the old pirate's fleet and around 2,000 pirates. His activities and attacks on ports and ships throughout southern China increased and a warrant was issued by the authorities to capture him alive and send him to the city of Tay Bin. He was married to Nataracy. He shifted his activities to piracy on the high seas and out of reach of China's power. He was able to accumulate up to 40 ships, whereupon he once again raided cities and ports in southern China. Limahong attacked a city occupied by Vinh To Quiam, another pirate, but Vinh was able to escape along with 5 of Limahong's ships. However, Limahong was able to capture 55 of Vinh's fleet and thus increased his own to 95 ships. He was now a veritable king of the high seas of southern China. In late 1573, he gathered an army of 3,000 Chinese warriors, renegades and vagabonds and fled to the island of Luzon. There, he and his band of outlaws sought refuge, established their own kingdom and waged war with the Spaniards. By this time, a force of 40,000 soldiers and 135 ships was sent by the Chinese to kill and capture Limahong. Limahong and his troops first arrived in Ilocos Sur in early 1574 where they quarrelled with the Spanish commander, Juan de Salcedo. After a brief struggle with the Spanish army, his troops were driven away from the city. The pirates then chanced upon merchant ships from Manila doing trade with the Chinese, and learned from 2 captured ships that Manila was a new and relatively unprotected Spanish settlement. From this information and the knowledge that China had a no-war policy with its neighbors during that time, he decided to capture Manila and establish himself as ruler of his would-be kingdom and stronghold. Limahong In Parañaque (Don Galo) It was November 29, 1574. The inhabitants of the town of Parañaque, a royal encomienda, was under heavy attack from the forces of the notorious Chinese pirate, Limahong, who were on their way to Intramuros, the seat of Spanish rule in the Philippines. Folk accounts have it that the inhabitants were at first disorganized, until a man from a barrio, by the name of Galo, came forward and took command. Under his able leadership, and with the arrival of Spanish forces led by Captain Juan de Salcedo from Ilocos, Limahong was repulsed and the occupation of the town was prevented. The stiff resistance of the barrio residents shocked the Chinese pirate, who thought that capturing Manila would be easy. What Limahong did not expect was that the defenders of the community, that would later be known as Dongalo, dispite being ill-equipped, would fight to the end, so much so that the sea in front of the barrio turned red with their blood. The battle became known as the "Red Sea Incident" The Paraqueños not only saved their town, but they contributed decisively to Limahong's abandoning his plans to conquer the area. In appreciation for Galo's leadership and heroic deeds, the Spanish authorities granted him the title of "Don". The barrio later on was named after him. Thus, Don Galo or Dongalo. Limahong In Pangasinan Foiled at Manila to establish a kingdom of his own, Limahong set sail for the Lingayen Gulf, to settle in Pangasinan province. As a rich place and far enough from the reach of the Spaniards and the Chinese emperor, Limahong resolved to stay here and to make himself master of the region. Near the mouth of the Agno River about four miles from the sea he built a fort consisting of an outer palisade of palm logs, and an inner enclosure of palm planks which sheltered his palace. He also built pagodas and dwelling places preparatory for permanent settlement. Limahong announced to the people that he had conquered the Spaniards and that he had come to rule over them as their king. They were commanded to pay tributes to him. Thereupon, great terror and fright filled all the neighboring villages, and all of them, with no exception, received Limahong as king, and they obeyed him and paid him tributes. To make matters worse for the natives, he seized their principal chiefs and held them as … [Read more...]

The Calatangan Pot inscription

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A new translation of the Calatangan Pot inscription The Calatangan Pot is a prehispanic (14th-16th century) artifact containing an inscription around the neck. It is said to be one of the earliest expressions of prehispanic writing in the Philippines, and there have been several attempts at translating the inscription. Rolando Borrinaga is the latest person to offer an translation of the script, based on old Bisayan and old Tagalog alphabets. An earlier attempt to decipher the Calatangan Pot incription was made by University of the Philippines’ Ramon Guillerm *** The mystery of the ancient inscription The Inquirer, 23 May 2009 AFTER 50 years of enigma, the text inscribed around the shoulder of the Calatagan Pot, the country’s oldest cultural artifact with pre-Hispanic writing, may have been deciphered as written in the old Bisayan language. Diggers discovered the pot in an archeological site in Calatagan, Batangas, in 1958. They sold it for P6 to a certain Alfredo Evangelista. Later, the Anthropological Foundation of the Philippines purchased the find and donated it in 1961 to the National Museum, where it is displayed to this day. The pot, measuring 12 centimeters high and 20.2 cm at its widest and weighing 872 grams, is considered one of the Philippines’ most valuable cultural and anthropological artifacts. It has been dated back to the 14th and 16th centuries. *** The Calatagan Pot by Hector Santos © 1996 by Hector Santos All rights reserved. http://www.bibingka.com/dahon/mystery/pot.htm In the early 1960's, an artifact was offered by treasure hunters to National Museum staff as they were working on a nearby excavation. It was the Calatagan pot, the first pre-Hispanic artifact with writing to be found. As such, it is the best known and written about among all artifacts with writing. Even at that, it is still undeciphered. Calatagan Pot The late Dr. Robert Fox brought the pot to the offices of the Manila Times to ask help from its editor, Chino Roces, in deciphering the writing around the mouth of the pot. The newspaper, as a result, commissioned the sculptor Guillermo Tolentino, an expert on Philippine syllabaries, to decipher the writing. Tolentino had a hard time with certain letters so he, as a spiritist, reportedly summoned his special powers to come up with a translation. The authenticity of the pot has been questioned since it first showed up. For one thing, no other pot has been found decorated with writing. Carbon dating was reportedly done on the pot but the results pointed to such an extremely early date that it had to be rejected. Dr. Fox wanted to do some thermoluminescence testing but didn't live to see it done. Nevertheless, the pot may still be authentic. It would have been very easy for a forger to write something decipherable on the pot, especially text which made sense. Anyone attempting to create a phony artifact would probably have done so. As it was, the strangeness of the characters and the direction of writing (or to be more precise, the direction in which the artisan wrote the letters) gives us something to think about. Juan Francisco, a respected Philippine paleographer, did some analysis of the letters in his 1973 book, Philippine Palaeography. He could not decipher the writing, however. His analysis mainly consisted of classifying the letters as curvilinear, lineo-angular, or a combination of the two. I cannot see the usefulness of such a classification because there is no benefit from its use, whether in trying to find the script's heritage or in classifying it among the known scripts of the world. His book contains good sketches of all the letters though, which makes the section on the Calatagan pot in his book not entirely useless. The writing on the pot goes around its mouth. The letters look similar to those of classic Philippine scripts (Tagalog, Tagbanwa, Buhid, and Hanunóo) but some appear to be oriented in strange ways. Some show a similarity to older scripts used in Indonesia, suggesting an earlier development of classic Philippine scripts. The symbols are divided by stop marks into six groups (which may be phrases), each consisting of five or seven symbols. Calatagan Writing What is strange and maybe significant about the writing is the apparent direction in which the artisan wrote it. A look at the pot will show that the artisan engraved the letters into the soft clay in a direction going to the left looking at the pot as it stands right side up. He apparently misjudged the length of the writing and ran out of space so that its last few letters go under the starting point. This gives us a clue as to the literacy of the artisan. We know that ALL Southeast Asian scripts share a common ancestor and were meant to be read and written from left to right. (Forget what others have said about having observed Tagbanwans writing on bamboo slats in a direction away from their body. You have seen … [Read more...]