The Povedano Manuscript of 1578

Almost 40 years after his first contribution in Philippine histography, Jose E. Marco was instrumental in
locating anotherPovedano manuscript for young history student. Miss Rebecca P. Ignacio she’s working
for her master’s degree In Far Eastern University (FEU), who was the daughter of old Bacolod city frien.
Miss Ignacio translated and annoted the document in December of 1951 in partial fulfillment of the
requirments for the MA Degree, and then gave permission for the Philippine studies program in Chicago
to publish it as Transcript No.3 The Povedano manuscript of 1578 in February 1954.

Mr. Marco generosity that I was able to trace the Povedano Manuscript to its present owner,Operiano
Rodriguez of cebu city the good father was not in mood of showing the document at first aftersome
appeal and persuasion

Father Rodriguez who opened an old trunk and lifted out some precious documents piece by piece.
Manuscript covered with scraps of paper which had yellow with the years. Marco himself, however,
flatly contradicts this attractive story. In a letter to Mauro Garcia dated 9 December, 1951 according to
his statement “ it was he who barrowed the manuscript from father Rodriguez and made an English
translation which he gave miss Ignacio. But in a letter to E.D hester of 7 June 1954 , he says the copy
provided miss Ignacio had been made by convent clerk, that her father would not pay for the price the
old priest ask for the original. The original manuscript had been given by its author to Fray Ramon
Andres, whence it passed in to the Pavon family in Spain , Father Jose Maria Pavon who in turn to give
father Rodriguez who had been marco childhood confessor and whom he met again for the first time
after the war in October 1952, and who had deposited in the “ Museu Biblioteca ultramar”.it is hardly
wondered, therefore that hester in 1960 inscribe the site pages of the remaining copies of transcript
No.3 with the notation. “ The original’ of the the Povedano 1578 is in serious question”.

The original manuscript, entitled, Las ntiguas leyendas Y cuentos de los indios jar, and jarayas,jiguencias
e igneines de esta isla de bugtas, is written on 123 leavesof 21 x 23 cm paper. In a pleasing electic hand
which combines features gothic androman type and Italian Renaissance calligraphy.

Like the pavon 1838-1839 leyendas and cuentos, the las antiguas leyendas y cuentos de los indios
jarayas is innapropriately titled – two-thirds of its space is devoted to straights ethnographic matter
such foodstuff, medicine, dwellings, religious beliefs, funeral rites , mourning customs, law enforcement,
and farming, fishing and hunting practices.
 The Povedano manuscript of 1577 and 1579

1954 mauro Garcia purchased the 1678 antiguas leyendas y cuentos from marco toherther with two
other povedano manuscript – the 1577 lexico de los primitivos ydioma jiguesina,jayaga o jaraya con su
version on el ydioma de las castillas, and the 1579 mi xornada e peregrenasio en las yslas de
philipinas,escrito por el mismo desdu su salida en el reyno de las castillas, su llegada en el ciudad de
maynilad.

The former contain 299 leaves pf 21 x 32 cm . with the three vocabularies written in column, and the
letter, 85 leaves of the same sizes plus 28 x 41cm. map and both are written in the same hand with
same style on the same paper as the 1578 manuscript. Later marco contribution were more fanciful
than the earlier ones, march 1955 he negotiated the sale of a spurious documents announced as the “
original’ moteclaro text of the maragtas complete with bill of sale for P30 from one maria ibanay, wife
of pedro alendron. Jose Marco executed these manuscript in his own hand, otherwise participated in
their production, or simply purveyed them in good faith, he seems clearly to have responded, early and
late, to a deep Filipino yearning for illuminating institutions like law codes and political confedartion in a
dark past and to have supplied customers. He died on October 21 1963 antiquarian author, collecto
history lover and past president of the sociedad fetalica de las islas Filipina.

Jose E Marco’s contribution to the Philippine historiography. The paleographer may be relieved at not
having to reconcile two different system ancient Philippine writing. One eminent historian who
recognized the obvious fact tht the pavedano map and manuscript 1572 simply “ do not look like
sixteethn century documents” suggest that they may be based on some authentic povedano
manuscript which was too dull or illegible to make an interesting contribution to the Philippine
histography without extensive reworking. Other scholar hold the view that the prewar marco
manuscript are genuine but later ones fraudulent, invoking one of two theories to account for t he
difference – a sort of Jekyll and hyde theory that jose E marco theory which purpose a similar disparity
between a jose marco sr and jose marco jr the historian willing to indulge such psychoanalytic
speculation may also hypothesize circumstances to explain the series of apparent discrepancies in the
povedano documents perhaps, for example diego lope povedanwas a self- made man on the outer
fringe of the Spanish renaissance with anerratic education and a fair for the artistic and novel whose
Philippines alphabe was produced by politenative overpowered attention by demands for a letter by
letter equivalent of the Spanish and perhaps his alphabet was accepted as a welcome reform of mindro
without attracting outside attention.
Fray Jorge G setien who was the son of another friar of the same name who only assumed the habit in
widowed old age. D. Juan A. Collado is a careless amanuensis who the one wrote “ ray” when the
father said “reina” and perhaps father pavon himself happened to coin the same term. Dr. Sedillot use
the same logic of taking the two greek roots micro (small) bios (life).Father pavon’s lemurian continent
and sclater’s lemurian is a simple coincidence, and the equivalence of povedano’s leuas wit’h the
French government’s kilometers a more startling coincidence but one which future research will
explain.

A careful consideration of the details of the prewar documents, moreover, even suggest that they were
all produced in the year of 1913.in 1433 by ruler named kalantiaw, marco’s possession of an
unpublished pavon manuscript was first announced in july at the same year by manuel Artigas y cuerva
in his article “Civilization prehispana”. Together with an illustration of the calendar obtained from a
certain pangibalonan with tiny drawings but no writings, and metion of a code 16 laws promulgated. In
1435 also built fort in gagalangin,negros, which was destroyed by an earthquake.in 1914 the full pavon
text turned over to dr.robertson.domingo ray and canunhing are named as two of pavon's information
and the existence of a map drawn up by the learned encomendero madrigal in the year 1509 is
mentioned.in novembber 1913 the map was publish shows the signature of one juan canunhing rigay.

The "code of kalantiaw"- marco pavon antiguas leyendas is the source, and the only sources, of the
famous kalantiaw Code which is quoted in full in the standard in history text. it is entitled "The 17
theses, or laws of the regulos in use in 150 since 1433" in 1614 discovery of posessession in panay ruler.
its original being still in the possession f one don marcello ofila of zaragoza in 1839.1917 robertson
published an english translation of the code in apparent good faith. the same year soncuya publish the
spanish version ,also soncuya concluded that rajah kalantiaw as he called him had written the code for
aklan because of the presence of two aklanon rather than hilgaynon words in the text,and by the time
zaide included the code in hiss 1949 history, the words, "aklan,panay " had beed added to a translation
of the original rubric,viz."echo en el ano 1433 calantiao 3 regulo" by this time kalantiaw was well his
way to becoming nation hero, in 1966 sol h gwekho's hall of fame in the old sunday time magazines(12
august) datu bendahara kalantiaw was born in 1410 his father was rajah bahendra gulah and he became
the thrid muslim ruler of panay at the aged of 16. then 1970 gregorio zaides great filipino i history
argueed that his real name was lakan tiaw

Conclusion the jose e marco contribution in the philippine historiography examined in this study, the
povedano 1572 map and the povedano 1572 1577 1578 1579 morquencho 1830, and pavon 1838 1839
manuscript appear to be delibrate fabrication with no historic validity. there is therefore no present
evidence that any filipino ruler by the name kalantiaw ever existed or that kalantiaw penal code is any
older that 1914

Post script- mauro garcia who was the first suggested the topic of this book in 1965.he had slowede his
colleague carlos uirino, a number of handwritten documents recieved from marco, all supposedto be
autograph copies by national hero father jose burgos, and all obviously fraudulent , since marco at the
time enojoyed a reputation ammong philitalists for passing fake stamps and since two suspicious work
pertaning to burgos had been published before the war in bacolod capital of marco's homme province
of negros occidental.in 1914 francisco de linans historia verdica with a prologue by marco and la loba
negra attributed to burgos himseelf garcia began to wonder about the authenticity of thr documents
marco had donated to the philippine library and museum.in 1959 the spurious dcuments themeselves
eventually passed into the collection of the late luis araneta, who recieved them in good faith as guine
manuscripts from the pen of father burgos.in 1970 happily, a scholarly article by ftaher john schumacher
in the same uarterly demonstrated the true authorship of these work just in time to spare the
nationalhistorical commission the embarrassments of publishing them in memorial volume to celebrate
the centenary of the gomburza martyrdoms.in 1886 jose e marco scholarship sanish leguas eual to
kilometer, alost continent of lemuria, imaginary friars who never existed,and dramtic confrontation in
manila with an archbishop who was actually in rome at the time it is sobering to think that the agic
name of burgos, even forged, may keep this counterfiet coinage in patriotic circulation evern after brass
code tranished over in the kalantiaw shrine in akla