(AR a A CRITICAL STUDY OF THE : SOURCE MATERIALS FOR THE STUDY OF PHILIPPINE See HISTORY 2 wy Ste onus og sens 1 » WILLIAM HENRY SCOIT PRINTED M 7HE oi PpiNeD 4 te€‘The sarlost postive reference to the Palippines appears to be a Chinese notice of ALD. #32, and che only csrintion before the 10ih centary ip contained in to Chineso ‘ors of the 13th and Lith centuries, Here the Filipines are deseribee fo having simple customs and material culture with traces of (Chinese and Hind indluence; sclal organizations raaw'ng from cutright savagery’ to literate, slavaoldine locel rovernment with wel evloped domestic trado and remarkably well seve ped forelgn trade. They cat vam taro. vice and some ther geen, deink riccavine and bust, and whe tambwo ‘is and Grovali houses. They acter was, cotta, fiber elt, betelnuts Sreonuts, coral, tortoitesholl, musk, animalsldes, Sandalveod sea, poresiain, log THE MARAGTAS Padeo ieantars Montecars’s aragtes, or Hiatory 07 Pores from the first inlabitents and the Borvean immigrant? from wien the Bisnyane are descrnitad '9 the arrival of the Spansentnt was published the Xeudapig sang Bana ("AdNo- fate of the Town”) at the El Tiompo Press, Toil, in 1907, Seis written in mixed Hiligayron and Xin‘irava, the author Neving boon a native of the border region betreen these two Visayan diaiess. A sosond ecition was published by the Maki- nauealiagon Press in 1929, end a third edition in 1957 by Sol fisiouon sear a expyngs seid Oy che aurkos eon Frame Montoiaia. sehieh siffers from the erigina’ omy in exvein frthograpaie vefbrae anda more colloquia version of the title* Pateo Mfonteclaro was born in Miag-a0 lela, on Ostober 15, 1850, graduated ‘rom the Sominaric Colegio ée' Jaro in 1365. vgs five married, aad had five children. He garved as Tr- niente Meyor la 1891, and Godernadorcila in 1892-94, and be ‘came a lost! hero during the Revolution ard che American inva fon both for his leadership and diplomacy. fo servad at Laine son Officer during the American occupation of the area, and ‘was the fist President of Miag-a0 (1901-1903), during which ppariod he began the ressazchea which rosuitd in his publiea- tion of the Maragtes. He was also known as a poet in both the ‘veracalar and Spanish, and a feof hs Visayan songs havesurvived. He died on Apri 15, 1909, and {s men he name of che leeal Philippine Constabulary base, Camp Montecaro, at whose gate iis statue stands. ‘The wor maraytas ig explained by the author os the ont valent of the Spanish Astoria, although whether as & common br proper noun is not clear, whila Guillermo Saatlago-Caino Chasidered it a servuption of 9 Sanskrit torm sweaning “grea: people” or “areat country.” Presentnioy opeaiers of Visayan doeument, ether this one or some other af oreslepanle o's fn it ip consideration of this faster optzicn th : and provenance of this Maragtes mast be examined Contents: ‘The Meragins consists of 1 publisher's introduction by Salvedor Laguda, the author's “Foreword to the Readers.” si chapters, and an epilogue entitled, “Author's conciuding stato iments to his countrymen in the fland of Panay! ‘Tho first Suapter of the Maragtas is a kind of antaropolo- skal weatiss on the rae cestoms, slothes, dlalec, heredity. ‘orgeniention, ete, of the Aetas (2, Negras) of Panay, wth special mention of the heroic Morikudo, son of old Chief Polpu- Jan, ‘The second chepter begins she aarvative of the coming of the ton datas from Borneo, fleeing tho ‘yranny of Dati Makatunase. and their purchese of tho Island of Psnay from Marikudo, The price agreed upon is a solid gold hat and ; sara aa tle tg ct Leh Ge erated ite pone bl Et Stet ete eed Ras sean dey wlan ASUS REE Da se tae at %. ‘9 Onin “than te: rK A ore Soue err i ‘uosin, enti the Negrito chleftain's wife, Maniwontiwan, also demands an ankle-iengen neckiace trom the wife of one of the Sormean daius, in consideration of ‘which the natives add huthel of live crabs, a long-tasked boar, ané a ¢allantlered white deve, ‘The ames of the datus are given ag follows: Pati, leader of che expedition and a relotive of Makate saws, and iis wife Binangpang, who retarn to Borneo, leaving. Sumokwel in charge of the Panay settlement; Sumakivel and rurong, Kapinas Cant pronounce ke sound r, tanemitting this speech defect Co preventaay Hiigaoon speakers in that province; Paburong opinis wits Dabwlanan,rehoaa senseinclaw tater atta ook and shire poliszed, Literae worl iSite intreauees new thzeactors: with the nests ion while the Hietoria, im tho ‘mentions their nantes only after ther hare eecer's bnowlaige of the places mentioned but the Marasts ‘ites munighality und provioce, and an apparent contradiction ‘nthe name of the original eettemen® i resclved in a section of the Maragtes called “The transfer of Datu, Samakwe! and Dats Bangkaya to Malandug with their wives, Kepinangen and Ketarong, respectively, together with thee slaves” ‘The great or length of these two chapters of Montesano’ results from his desertion ofthe elethes, ornaments, weapons, fod, dances,and musical netrements of the parleying partes, and such Fepienatory references ag “the Negrto dalet whieh wae under. ud 3} be of eke sen Desause ie had been to this place atone Typieel of the Maragten styl ig “he following ima native passage svhich parallels the Histona's simple etatemoat ae ho ton sate ft apeneo in 2 3oat called a biniday and Janded ef the mouth of the Sinwagsn River: sry anita ned in hee Bide (ont) sig, sve ond other ge Sepacatey “uw uno. While they ‘were ceconneitering he enact of Paragwa. thes stopped their Diniday in ‘he saddle nf the sea “look for a place whera fo land. {se nappened that Uhey sighted the Island of Panay. Sn thither hey sailed unull they reached a slace near Slewagan iver. Ie sald they had with ther a man ‘who isa once been to this piace” sn lew of the facts chat some of the heroes apd events of ‘he legend ~ers Ssnown in varied and conflicting form in eatly laeentarr Panay foiklore but tse she fall story and exact state oeeur oni ia there Gro documents, by Js difiieat to oubt common source. Indeed, considering the internal eve ‘ence, there 8 m9 reason why the Historia de fos primeron datos sould not heve been writton or dictated by a Fiipino im the First half of the 19th century, or earlier, or way the entire “Maregico — with oo exeeptions — could not have been written Setween 1001 and 1807 with reference te a0 other written sarees than 4 let of government officials and Father Santa- sfa's translations, ‘Thess two exceptions, howover, aro vory important, for ‘one of them appears to be the coastitution of a political con federation, and the other an ageount of some unfque custom taws." re : ‘Tue “CoNPEDERATION oF MaoHAas" Following the romance of Kapinangan ‘vhich onde Monto. claro's chapter i, Father Santarén’s :ronslation adda. some Jisconnécted. geographic and genealogical daca, mest of which ‘anprars in Monteclaro’schenter i, but in between, the Mara7- Une has an account of seven resolutions adppzed.'y the seven Panay datus a¢ 2 kind of poiical conetituton, They ares fo rename the island Madiaas ond civive it among th senior hres: seth Sumalcrel exorting exocutive autaority «Xer the tseo and setaining “immediate jutlaiction oper she seer four ‘vith legislative power spon attestation oy any Uvo of theses nat the Uneee tanking ewers wil receive thatr cathe af office fda prisets and that 20 taxon “wl be Toviod ‘appears toe the olfst political constitution in sia its auchen- lll: must be carully conshiere, ‘comment 02 apoculstion of ‘rovenanes, fo direct quotations or hints of ineoeporating them inte the text, and specifically disavow any claims to "larity of come Drehensiveness°™ It is hard to imagine that thoze soven arti= len could have been transmitted across four or five centuries vvitheut a sriiten copy. amd even harder to believe a man of Monteclaro’s cultural aitainments could have possessed a. pre ‘Again, this particular passoge in Maragtas is maced by the same ethnological omamentetion ‘which is a stylistic characteristic of the whole vterk — ear