Lakandula

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Lakándúlâ (Kapampangan lakán "lord" and dúlâ "palace")^[1] was the hereditary title of the rulers of Tondo. Banaw^[2] was the personal name of the Lakandula (? - 1575) recorded in Philippine history at the advent of the Spanish colonization. He was one of the three principal rulers of the Luzon Empire (traditional Chinese: 呂宋國; pinyin: Lǚsòng Guó).^[3] The name Banaw and his title Lakándúlâ suggests he was a follower of the ancient animistic religion and not a Muslim like his cousin and half-brother Rajah Suliman of Mainila.

The best way to describe the historical Lakándúlâ (Personal name: Banaw, Christian name: Carlos) is through the 1665 notarized document written as an endorsement of his great-grandson Don Juan Macapagal, Master-of-Camp and Datu of Arayat:^{[4][dubious – discuss]}

Don Carlos Lacandóla, his great-grandfather, was Lord and principal of the town of Tondo, and other surrounding towns, whose natives paid him tribute and vassalage and other recognition as their natural lord, and when ships from China came to this bay, they similarly paid him duties and anchorage fees, he removing their sails and rudder for this purpose, and taking their merchandise by paying half its value at the time and the other half the next year, without any other natives being able to buy anything from the sangleyes but only from the said Lacandola, from which much profit, which he ceded at the coming of the Spaniards to these Islands, they collecting the said tributes and duties for His Majesty.

Lakándúlâ played a crucial role in the fall of the Luzon Empire and the creation of the province of Pampanga. The Spaniards used him in pacifying the last independent Luzon states in what is now the province of Pampanga, namely Lubao and Betis. He further helped the Spaniards in defend their foothold in the archipelago from the invading forces of the Chinese pirate Limahong.

[edit] Descendants

Lakándúlâ was the most prolific of Luzon's ancient rulers. His descendants were spread out across the Kapampangan Region during the Spanish colonial era.^[4] He fathered at least four sons: Don Dionisio Capúlong, the Datu of Candaba; Don Phelipe Salónga, the Datu of Pulu; Magat Salamat, the Datu of Tondo; and Don Martin Lacandóla, who entered the Agustinian order as a lay brother in 1590.^[4] He had one daughter by the name of Doña Maria Poloin who married Don Alonso Talabos.

Lakándúlâ's sons and nephews were later implicated in the Revolt of the Lakans of 1588, a conspiracy meant to overthrow Spanish that was spearheaded by the former ruling class of the defeated Luzon Empire. His son Magat Salamat was executed by the Spanish authorities while the rest were executed.

Learning from this experience, his great grandson Don Juan Macapagal, Master-of-Camp and Datu of Arayat,^{[dubious – discuss]} aided the Spanish authorities in suppressing the 1660 Kapampangan Revolt of Don Francisco Maniago and the Pangasinan Revolt of Don Andres Malong, and the 1661 Ilocano Revolt. Because of his service to the Spanish crown, the Spanish authorities revived the special privileges offered by the Spanish crown to Lakándúlâ and his descendants spread across the province of Pampanga.^[4] A Gremio de Lacandólas was created in 1758 to safeguard the rights and privileges of the Kapampangan descendants of Lakándúlâ.^[4] During the British invasion of 1762-64, the descendants of Lakándúlâ, now concentrated in the province of Pampanga, formed a company of volunteers to fight the British and were granted autonomy by Governor General Simon de Anda. One of them was named Francisco Laxamana, and he as given a rank as well as guarding Fort Santiago in Manila-for 24 hours.^[4]

José Rizal, a prominent Filipino hero, was also a descendant of Lakándúlâ, for his mother, Teodora Morales Alonso, was descended from that said ruler.

Prominent Lakándúlâ descendants of the 20th century include the former Philippine President Diosdado Macapagal, father of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo,^{[dubious – discuss]} former Philippine Senate President Jovito Salonga and international stage celebrity Lea Salonga.^[4]

[edit] Notes

• 東西洋考
• Santiago, Luciano P.R., The Houses of Lakandula, Matanda, and Soliman [1571-1898]:Genealogy and Group Identity, Philippine Quarterly of Culture and Society 18 [1990].
• Scott, William Henry, Barangay: Sixteenth-Century Philippine Culture and Society, Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press, 1994.
• Tolentino, Aurelio. 1914. Kasulatang Gintû. Manila: Imprenta y Litografia de Juan Fajardo.