Sara Duterte: Daughter of Destiny and History

Inday Sara is a product of the East and the West, having German, Spanish, French, Chinese, and Filipino ancestries. Her genealogy is even more interesting. She is an ABELLANA from her mother's side, as Elizabeth Zimmerman's mother was an Abellana from Cebu. A lore in the Abellana family says that they are putative descendants of Hari' Tupas, the son-in-law of Hari' Humabon. This lore is also discussed in Manuel Enriquez de la Calzada's book "Ang Kagubot sa Sugbo 1898" which narrates the invaluable assistance to the Spaniards of several soldiers from San Nicolas, Cebu, which was always believed to be the seat of Hari' Tupas and where his descendants lived. All these soldiers, led by a Captain Celestino Abellana, were descendants of Tupas and were later rewarded by the Spanish authorities with exemption from tribute as well as having their names etched on a pliego de bronce or bronze sheet which was displayed in prominence inside the the church of San Nicolas.

Tupas, who was the son of Humabon's younger brother, married Humabon's eldest daughter. This daughter, later baptized as Katherine, was Humabon's child with his first wife, who was the sister of Lapulapu. Thus, the Abellanas, and this includes Mayor Inday Sara Duterte, are not just the putative descendants of Humabon and Tupas, but also collateral descendants of Lapulapu.

The ABELLANA family name has always been considered a Cebuano family name. In fact, it was awarded as one of the Pinalanggang Sugbuanong Banay or Most Beloved Cebuano Families in 2012 together with 74 other Cebuano families. This distinction was given to families who had members who were successful in their respective field before 1965 and many of them were also very prominent since during the Spanish period (Philippine Daily Inquirer, 2012).

A few of the prominent Abellanas in Philippine history were Martin Abellana, the LUDABI (Lubas sa Dagang Bisaya) and “Ang Dagang Bisaya” editor who was born in San Nicolas, Cebu City in 1904; Andres Abellana, a former capitan of the San Nicolas district of old Cebu who, together with his brothers Fabian and Lucas Abellana, were actively involved during the Philippine revolution against Spain in 1898. The three brothers were arrested by the Spaniards after the historic Tres de Abril battle. Andres Abellana's son, Hilario Abellana, became a governor of the province of Cebu (1941-1943).

Historically, the Abellanas have always been considered a true-blue Cebuano family. Legend has it that they are direct descendants of Hari’ Humabon of Sugbu through his grandson, Hari’ Carlos Tupas. This belief is held by almost all members of the Abellana family and is most likely rooted to the fact that, historically, the Abellanas have always been prominent in what is now San Nicolas in Cebu City, said to be the seat of Hari’ Humabon’s kingdom.

Interestingly, the surname Abellana does appear to be almost exclusively Cebuano. While it is found in many parts of the Philippines, it is only in two cities in the province of Cebu where there is a concentration of people carrying it as a last name: in Cebu City, where there are 2,352 people carrying it as a last name and in Talisay City with 790 people with Abellana as a last name. In Cebu City, Abellana is the 37th most populous surname while it is the 5th most common last name in Talisay City. Geographically, Talisay City is adjacent to Cebu City (Philippine Statistics Authority, 2015).

So when I found out that Inday Sara was an Abellana through her mother, Elizabeth Abellana Zimmerman, I immediately realized just how huge the historical and genealogical significance was had she decided to run for the Presidency. Consider these: the year 2021 is the 500th anniversary of the introduction of Christianity in the Philippines. The primary players 500 years ago were Magellan, a Portuguese in the service of the Spanish crown; Hari’ Humabon, who welcomed the Spaniards; Lapulapu, who fought valiantly against the colonizers. Had Inday Sara decided to run for President, she would have been the convergence of all that happened 500 years ago. Her father, the current President, is actually from a family that has always maintained Portuguese descent on one side and Spanish lineage on another. Inday Sara’s mother is a direct descendant of Hari’ Tupas Kamparang and Hara’ Humamai, whose father was Hari’ Humabon and whose mother was a sister of Datu Lapulapu. Inday Sara’s running for President would not just have been an answer to the clamor of the people; it would have been the sacred fulfillment of a destiny carved into Philippine history half a millennium ago.

Amazing what-ifs of history, indeed!

Are You a Lakandula Descendant?

It has become a badge of pride for Cebuano and Bol-anon families to claim descent from Lapu-Lapu, Tupas, or any of the other Visayan rulers who fought the Spaniards. The same is true for those in Luzon whose pride it is to be known to be descendants of the pre-Hispanic noble and royal families of Central Luzon.

Because his descendants outnumber any other prominent pre-Hispanic family in Luzon and many of the names in his tree have become distinguished men and women in history (with some become infamous), descent from the pre-Hispanic royal families of Central Luzon has become almost synonymous to being a Lakandula descendant. Even the record keeping of the Spaniards lumped all royally-descended families into a file called Descendientes de Don Carlos Lacandola and when there was a need to put them all into one barangay in pueblos where descendants of pre-Hispanic royal families were found, this barangay was called the Gremio de Lacandolas. 

It thus stands to reason that in many documents, a "Lakandula descendant" is not necessarily a direct descendant of the famous ruler of Tondo, but rather an indication of descent from the other royal personalities like Rajahs Matanda and Soliman or any of the names mentioned in the Rulers of Central Luzon family tree. In the same manner, while the title of this article is "Are You A Lakandula Descendant", the Lakandula descendant here will mean all other pre-Hispanic royalty descendants.

This article is simply an introduction to the 4 main qualifications for being a Lakandula descendant. Separate future articles will be released for each qualification.

First Qualification: The Surname

Many families today claim a tenuous link to pre-Hispanic royalty just because of the surname they carry. This is the easiest way to claim descent from Lakandula, just because their surname is the same as one of the acknowledged "royal" or "noble" surnames.

So which surnames are these? First, we look at the most obvious list of surnames: the Claveria decree of 1849. The decree mentioned 4 very specific last names that should not be adopted by people without any business using these surnames: Lacandola, Mojica, Tupas, and Rajah Matanda. The reason given for the special protection for these surnames is, as the decree stated, to "avoid confusion which might result to the prejudice of those who with their surnames inherited from His Majesty certain benefits".

The portion in the Catalogo listing Lacandola etc.

Lacandola and Rajah Matanda of course refer to our kings of Tondo and Manila. Mojica, on the other hand, refers to the "patrician house of Don Pedro de Mojica (also spelled Moxica) of Silang, Cavite. In 1677, Don Pedro and "his wife, children and descendants" were exempted by the Spanish crown from "tributes, forced labor (polo) and personal services of the general and particular kind.” To be sure, besides the descendants of Lakan Dula, the Mojicas of Cavite were the only indio clan which was able to maintain and preserve its special prerogatives till the end of the Spanish era. In fact, its vested rights surpassed those of the Lakandulas for they applied to both the male and female lines of descent whereas those of the Lakandulas were limited to the male line. Not even the proud progenies of Rajahs Matanda, Soliman, and Tupas were able to keep up a similar entitlement (Santiago, 1992).”

It is thus a safe assumption that people who carry the surname Lacandola, Raja Matanda (or simply Matanda), and let us add Soliman, are most likely descendants of the Lacandolas. Most likely, but it cannot be definitive for several reasons, chief among these is the fact that while these were "protected surnames" the compilers of the catalogo alfabetico de apellidos or the alphabetical catalog of last names still included these supposed protected surnames. The surnames Lacandola, Mojica, and Tupas are found on pages 71, 87, and 132 of the Catalogo, respectively, while Matanda appears to be not found in the catalog.

The next list of Lacandola surnames comes from the disputed will of Fernando Malang Balagtas. These are: GATBONTON, MONMON, GATCHALIAN, GATMAITAN, MACARALAGA, GATMAITIM, MANDIC, GATDULA, and DUMANDAN. Kapampangan historian Mariano Henson further said that “Kapampangans and Tagalogs with the surnames MUSNGI, DUMANDAN, LUMANLAN, MADLANGBAYAN, SALALILA, GATBONTON, GATMAITAN, GATDULA, CAPULONG, SOLIMAN, LAKANDULA, and MACAPAGAL  are descendants of Pansonum, who was christened Francisco Malang Balagtas and a direct descendant of the Madjapahit rulers of Luzon (Henson, 1955).

Two other surnames, TALANGPAZ and PAMINTUAN, are also considered ancient and most enduring Tagalog surnames and are believed to be descendants of pre-Hispanic Central Luzon roaylty (Santiago, 1989). 

It is the belief of many that these names or portions of these names in modern Filipino surnames are true indication of descent from ancient Filipino blue-bloods. Unfortunately, just like Lacandola, Soliman, Tupas, and Matanda, carrying any one of these names isn't an immediate proof of being a descendant of Filipino nobility. The Claveria catalogo shows that these surnames were also found in the list: Macapagal (page 79), Magat (page 80), Salamat and Salonga (page 115), Dula (page 41), and the "Gat" names all found in page 54 of the Catalogo. As such, having Dula or Gatdula or Macapagal as a last name does not mean these people's ancestors did not simply pluck these names from the Catalogo. Mere stories of descent cannot prove validity of the claim.

Second Qualification: Empadronado in the Gremio de Lacandolas

The second list of names who are most likely descended from the Lacandolas are those whose names appear in the Gremio or Barangay de Lacandolas. The so-called gremio de Lacandolas was an administrative grouping of proven Lakandula descendants to simplify the administration of the Spaniards of the privileges received by the Lakandulas. This was established after 1758 when the Audiencia declared that only the descendants of Maestre de Campo Don Juan Macapagal and his brothers were to enjoy the benefits of the privilege given to their ancestors.

Very few pueblos had a large number of Lacandolas, so most of the names are those found in San Simon, Arayat, Apalit, San Luis, and Candaba. These surnames were SIMBULAN, PAGUIO, CAPULONG, PUNZALAN, ALFARO, MASIBAC, LALU, PUYAT, MACAPAGAL, UMALI, AGUIRRE, MATIC, TABORA, QUINTO, BUCIS, TIGLAO, CANLAS, GUEVARRA, PANGAN, TAYAG, SALONGA, and LUBAO. 

Third Qualification: Listed in the Reservados por Privelegio de Lacandolas

Other than the gremio or barangay de Lacandolas, we can also find other sources of Lakandula's descendants through the various lists of reservados in towns in Central Luzon. The Reservados was an accounting of individuals in every pueblo who were exempted from doing polo y servicio and from paying tribute. In most towns these were normally three: reservados por edad (exempted due to old age), reservados por enfermedad (exempted due to infirmity), and reservados por privilegio (exempted due to privilege, usually because the individual was a local functionary and their wife). In other towns, there were also exemptions given to primogenito or the eldest sons of cabezas de barangay; to mestizos espanioles; to church workers like cantors, sacristanes, and porteros; and soldiers, retired soldiers, and their spouses. But for a few towns in Central Luzon, they also an additional reservado called reservados por Lacandolas or reservados por merced de Lacandolas. On a rough estimate using existing records on these exempted individuals, it can be seen from the chart on the left that a bulk of the descendants of Lakandula could be found in the pueblos of Apalit and San Simon, both in Pampanga. There were also a few found in Macabebe and Mexico and a smattering few in other towns, most in Pampanga but also in others outside the province of Pampanga like Tarlac, Calumpit, and Cabanatuan. Many of the names found here like BUNDOC, TIGLAO, PUYAT, VERGARA, PAGUIO, DANGCA, PANIMOG, GALCINA, CAPULONG, YUMUL, YUMBA, LACANDOLA, BINUYA, BAYANI, MANALO, NOCOM, MANANGQUIL, BACANI, PINILI, LAPIRA, ANINAGAN, PAYQUITAN, DE QUIROS, BALAGTAS, DE LEON, LOZANO, DE TORRES, PANGAN, MACAPAGAL, MALDONADO, MANGUNAY, TUMOL, GUEVARRA,MUTYA, BATAC, CORTES, LOBO, CUYUGAN, SOLITAN, PUNSALANG, and RUEDA.

A sampling of Reservados por Lacandolas

Fourth Qualification: Other Archival Documents

The last way to find out if one's family is a Lacandola descendant is through consultation of other archival document other than those mentioned above. One very sure way is going through the Descendientes de Don Carlos Lacandola which is a treasure-trove of Lakandula descendants.

Other samples of relevant documents that can be found in the Archivo General de Indias include the documents entitled Carta de José Joaquín Merino, Carta de Pedro Calderón Enríquez, Petición de Juan Macapagal para que se le conceda encomienda, and Pleito promovido contra los Herederos de Lakandola.

The last document, which translates as Record of Case Filed Against the Heirs of Lacandola, show a sprinkling of names of Lacandolas from various towns in Bulacan:

Summing Up Everything

It is not enough that one finds one's last name listed among those mentioned above. For all you know, your Salonga or Lacandula surname was adopted only in 1849 in accordance with Claveria's decree. So the first thing one must do is to establish the origin of one's "Lakandula" family name. Roots to Pampanga, Bulacan, and nearby Central Luzon towns would give someone an 80-90% chances of being a Lakandula descendant.

But the most important step to take is to stitch everything together by making sure that one's possible Lakandula descent can be traced to any of the names mentioned in the gremio de Lacandolas or reservados por Lacandolas list. Only when one can trace one's family to these individuals using church and state records can one truly say that one is a Lakandula descendant.

The journey to discovering if one is a Lakandula descendant will be long and difficult, but it would be a great feeling when one is able to do so. 

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Sources:

1. National Archives of the Philippines. Tributos (Bulacan), 1849-1874.
2. National Archives of the Philippines. Tributos (Pampanga), 1792-1873.
3. Indiferente General (1667, February 6). Meritos: Juan Macapagal. INDIFERENTE (121,N.81). Archivo General de Indias, Spain.
4. Audiencia de Filipinas (1667, March 7). Petición de Juan Macapagal para que se le conceda encomienda. Filipinas (43,N.27). Archivo General de Indias, Spain.
5. Audiencia de Filipinas (1751, August 30). Orden sobre reservas de los régulos Lacandola y Rajasolimán. Filipinas (335,L.16,F.176R-178V). Archivo General de Indias, Spain.
6. Ministerio de Ultramar (1185 / 1892). P. Mallari pide heredar privilegios del régulo C. Lacandola. ULTRAMAR (5282, Exp.9). Archivo Histórico Nacional, Spain.
7. Mariano A. Henson. "Genealogy of the Rulers of Central Luzon as Related in the Will of Fernando Malang Balagtas." The Province of Pampanga and Its Towns (A.D. 1300-1955), 163-168. Manila: Villanueva Book Store, 1955.
8. Luciano P.R. Santiago. "The Houses of Lakandula, Matanda, and Soliman (1571-1898): Genealogy and Group Identity." Philippine Quarterly of Culture and Society, Volume 18, No. 1, 39-73. Cebu City: USC Press, 1990.
9. Luciano P.R. Santiago. "The Lineage of Mojica : the Super-Principalia of Cavite, 1677-1898." Philippine Quarterly of Culture and Society, Volume 20, No. 2. Cebu City: USC Press, 1992.
10. Luciano P.R. Santiago. "Talangpaz: The Foundresses of the Beaterio De San Sebastian De Calumpang (Now the Congregation of the Augustinian Recollect Sisters) 1691-1732." Philippine Quarterly of Culture and Society, Volume 17, No. 3. Cebu City: USC Press, 1989.
11. Domingo Abella. Catalogo Alfabetico de Apellidos. Manila: Government Printing Office, 1973.
12. Historical Conservation Society. The Christianization of the Philippines. Manila: M. Sanchez, 1965.

Family Tree of the Rulers of Central Luzon (1st to 6th Generation)

The family tree of the rulers of Central Luzon, that is, the ancestors of Lakandula, Matanda, and Soliman as well as their cousins and other close relatives as mentioned in various sources of research and archival documents, is one of the most fascinating family trees for any Filipino family. While it is a combination of oral tradition and scholarly research and some of the people in the first few generations have been confused by early Philippine historians and chroniclers and may have been doubted by others, the fact remains that this genealogy remains the only genealogy that has been studied and vetted by historians since as far back as the time of Spanish colonization.

This write-up is by no means complete. However, this takes into account all previously written and researched genealogies of the Central Luzon rulers, called by the late Luciano P.R. Santiago as the super-principalia families in Philippine society (Santiago, 1990). It is interesting to note that the usage of the term super-principalia was first coined by Norman G. Owen in his work on the principalia of the Kabikolan (Owen, 1974). As such, the genealogy of families like that of former President and House Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has been fully traced and documented, thanks to the works of the likes of Santiago, Beyer, Parker, Henson, etc. Many other more recent writers have made use of these scholars' works, but they remain the pioneer in terms of tracing the family tree of the super-principalia.

Generations One and Two

The earliest mention of the ancestors of Lakandula and his family was supposedly in the will executed by Fernando Malang Balagtas in 1589. This will was featured in the works of H. Otley Beyer (Beyer, 1919) and Luther Parker (Parker, 1931). The interesting thing about this will is the genealogy it contains. While Filipino politician and writer Isabelo de los Reyes (Reyes, 1890) and American historian William Henry Scott (Scott, 1978) both questioned the provenance of the will as do many other more recent historians, Luciano P.R. Santiago nevertheless writes that though it is true that there are doubts on the will, the genealogy it contains should probably be considered separately as many of the names it enumerates appear in various old manuscripts (Santiago, 2001).

The first in the family tree was a nobleman called Principal Araw (also Arao). The will of Balagtas as well as later discussions on Principal Araw all claim that he was from the royal house of Borneo. Naturally, this is hard to confirm. The timeline for Principal Araw was sometime in the 1300s A.D., when the Philippines was already under remote influence by the Madjapahit empire. Principal Araw married a local by the name of Maylag, who is also another noble person as she is always written with the title of Lady. Nothing much is said more of these two, except that based on where their descendants happened to have lived they probably settled in Pampanga and Bulacan (Henson, 1953).

Two children were born from their union: Principal Gatpandan and Principal Lontoc (also Lontok).

The rough genealogy of Araw and Maylag as seen in Mariano Henson's work

Generations Three and Four

Both Gat-pandan and Lontok had children; according to the Malang Balagtas will, Gat-pandan's children founded Ternate, Moluccas. This write-up is interested in the line of Principal Lontok, who had four children: three daughters by the name of Panginoan, Lahat, and Cahia, and one son by the name of Selalila or Salalila or Sri Lela. He was later identified as Suleiman or Soliman I, the founder of the Kingdom of Maynila (Beyer, 1919). These four children were born within the years 1400 until 1478, a time when the Madjapahit empire had started to decline. 

Soliman I was married to a Lady Ysmeria and they had at least three sons: Soliman II, Matanda, and Lakandula (Henson, 1953). Although Beyer and Henson made use of a the questionable Balagtas will as source for their genealogy, these personalities were proven to be real by later historians like Santiago and Dery as well as other sources like the tarsilas of Brunei's royal families.

Further in the Henson family tree showing Lakandula

For instance, while Santiago could not identify the name of Matanda's father, he was mentioned in the tarsila of Brunei's royal family as the "Raja of Maynila" who married a daughter of Sultan Bolkiah and his second wife, Putri Laila Menjanai of Sulu (Buyers, 2011).

Generations Five to Six

Further in the tarsila, another princess of Brunei (also unnamed), daughter of Sultan 'Abdu'l Kahar, son and successor of Sultan Bolkiah, was married to a Raja Sulaiman, Raja of Maynilad, the nephew and successor of Raja Muhammad Matanda, Raja of Maynilad (Buyers, 2011).

So clearly, this brings the genealogy full circle. By merging the various genealogies from different sources we get to not just give names to the personalities that are found on archival documents without their names, but also prove and validate the existence of most, if not all, of the people mentioned in Balagtas's will even if its origin is questionable. Another member of the family marries into the Brunei royal family: Augustin (Agostin) de Legazpi was married to another granddaughter of Sultan Bolkiah 26th June 1578, a nephew of Datu Lacondola, of Tondo, in the Philippines (Buyers, 2011).

Tracing down the line further, we get to Lakandula's children. Among his six documented and proven children, only the eldest, Dionisio Capulong, is found in all the documents and scholarly articles about Lakandula's children. Santiago identified 5: Dionisio Capulong, Magat Salamat, Phelipe Salonga, Maria Poloin, and Martin Lacandola. Dery further adds another son, Luis Taclocmao, making the total number of Lakandula's children 6. There are some claims that Lakandula had an older child by the name of Batang Dula. However, nowhere in any of the previous scholarly works or even in the existing archival documents was there any mention or documentation of a  Batang Dula. So, without corroboration of this supposed eldest son of Lakandula, it can be concluded for now that there was no Batang Dula among the children of Lakandula.

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Sources:

1. El Folklore Filipino (1890) by Isabelo de los Reyes
2. Various writings by H. Otley Beyer (1919)
3. Various writings by Luther Parker (1931)
4. Genealogy of the Rulers of Central Luzon (1953) by Mariano Henson
5. Cracks in the Parchment (1978) by William Henry Scott
6. The Houses of Lakandula, Matanda, and Soliman (1990) by Luciano P.R. Santiago
7. Rajahs Katunao, Lakandula, Tupas, and Matanda (1992) by Luis C. Dery
8. A History of the Inarticulate: Local History, Prostitution, and Other Views from the Bottom (2001) by Luis Camara Dery
9. Beating the Odds: The Life, the Times, and the Politics of Diosdado P. Macapagal (2005) by Cecilia Pestaño Serrano
10. Royal Ark: Brunei Genealogy (2011) by Christopher Buyers

Philippine Family Tree Series: The Genealogy of Pre-Hispanic Visayan Royalty

As an improvement to the genealogies of Humabon and Lapulapu discussed in previous posts, this new tree explores the connection between Rajah Humabon and Sri Lapulapu. That Humabon was Lapulapu's brother-in-law is actually backed by both archival documents and oral history.

It is true that documentation on the Visayan pre-Hispanic royalty is fewer than that of the Lakans of Luzon. Because of this, we know very little of the royal families of the Visayas. We also do not have proof of where their descendants are today. This is where oral tradition comes in to fill in the void, and where clues left by what little archival document we have complete the story.

One interesting factoid in the family tree of pre-colonial Visayan Royals is that the Abellana family of Cebu claims to be descendants of Tupas, Humabon's nephew and son-in-law and eventual successor. President Duterte's ex-wife's, Elizabeth Zimmerman, mother was Purisima Abellana, born in Tuburan, Cebu. While we have no way yet of proving her Abellana line to be related to those of San Nicolas, Cebu City's, further research just might shed light on the possibility of Duterte's children being descendants of pre-Hispanic royalty. It would be tantalizing to also compare this with PGMA: her father's family was from pre-Hispanic native royalty, and she later became president herself. If Sara Duterte were descended from Tupas, well, then, you make the conclusion.

Naturally, this does not make any claim of authenticity. There was a need to delineate between archival documentation and purely oral history to make sure people understand that the chart simply is an amalgamation of various sources on Humabon and Lapulapu. 

Lakan Genealogies: The Super-Principalia Houses of Matanda, Lakandula, and Soliman, Part I

An artist's rendition of Lakandula,
from Wikipedia's article on Lakandula

In two previous articles I wrote on Philippine royal genealogies, I discussed the impossibility of the descent of the Laurel family from the Sultanate of Brunei and the interrelatedness of the Sultanates of Sulu and Brunei. In this third article on Philippine pre-Hispanic nobility, we will look at the royal houses of Matanda, Lakandula, and Soliman, whose descendants were considered the cream of the principalia crop.

Some writers and researchers have traced the Lakans of Manila and Tondo further than the three big names: Matanda, Lakandula, and Soliman. However, all of these have no archival references making these slightly suspect in terms of its veracity. Some of the sources of these online genealogies were probably from other articles compiled over the years, and while others cite genealogical charts from this and that source these charts themselves do not have any archival basis.

In various Wikipedia entries and some other online articles and family tree sites that would all look authoritative to the uneducated eyes, it is generally accepted that Matanda and Lakandula were either first cousins or brothers and that Soliman was their nephew. It is further written that they were grandchildren of the Brunei Sultan Bolkiah, which these articles also claim was the same as the Rajah Baguinda, whose daughter married the man who began the royal dynasty of Sulu. Some also claim he was the same person as Noble Araw, one of the legendary pre-Hispanic rulers of Luzon.

In the genealogy above, it must be noted that the genealogies scattered online claim that this Noble Araw was the same person as Rajah Baguinda (or Baginda) of Sulu and Sultan Bolkiah of Brunei. Noble Araw's wife, Lady Maylag, was allegedly the same as Putri Laila Menjanai, the daughter of Sultan Amirul-Umara, who reigned from 1505 to 1527, being one of the sons of the founder of Sulu's sultanate, Sultan Sharif al-Hashim. Thus, using this line of thinking, Rajahs Matanda, Lakandula, and Sulaiman III were all descendants of not only the royal houses of Tondo and Manila but also of Brunei and Sulu.

Looking at the official genealogies of the royal houses of Brunei and Sulu would definitely weaken the foundations of the above alleged Lakan genealogy. This article is written in the hope of reconciling the many inconsistencies of the genealogies of the super-principalias of Manila, at least with regard to their ancestry, and to make this article more credible I have culled data from the following:

The Houses of Lakandula, Matanda, and Soliman (1571-1898): Genealogy and Group Identity, written by Luciano P.R. Santiago for the Philippine Quarterly of Culture and Society, Volume 18, No. 1, published in March 1990. His primary source came from a bundle of 12 folders from the Philippine National Archives called Descendientes de Don Carlos Lacandola, which contains genealogical data on the descendants of Lakandula as well as valuable information on the lines of Matanda and Soliman. (Personal copy of this author).

The History of Sulu, written by Najeeb M. Saleeby and published in 1908 in Manila by the Bureau of Printing. Saleeby's work contained the Sulu tarsila showing the genealogy of the sultants of Sulu. This was shown to him by a former prime minister of Sultan Jamal ul-Kiram II, the last sultan to truly rule with power. He surrendered political powers to the US government in 1915 under the 1915 Carpenter Agreement. (Accessed from the University of Michigan's online library).

Silsilah Raja-Raja Brunei, written by Amin Sweeney and Selesilah of the Rajahs of Brunei, written by Hugh Low. A detailed genealogy compiled from both sources (as well as many other sources) can be found in the Royal Ark, maintained by Christopher Buyers. (Accessed from Buyers' site).

I have shied away from other sources which did not use any archival or traditional Moslem (use of the tarsila) sources as I wanted to make sure that this discussion would truly give the truth of the ancestors of Matanda, Lakandula, and Soliman as well as show how they were truly related to the royal houses of Sulu and Brunei.

How Were Matanda, Lakandula, and Soliman Related?

There is no existing archival document that would truly establish their relationship, but historians now and then, including the Spanish chroniclers who observed the rulers of Manila and Tondo, are almost in agreement that the three were very closely related. It would appear that Matanda and Lakandula were very likely brothers or, if not, at the very least first cousins while Soliman was either the son of their brother or first cousin. For easier referencing we shall follow the genealogy compiled by Luciano P.R. Santiago and treat Lakandula and Matanda as brothers while Soliman as their nephew. (It must be noted here that the genealogy of Brunei only mentions Matanda as the son of the "Raja of Maynilad" and an unnamed daughter of Sultan Bolkiah of Brunei.)

A reconstructed Lakan Family Tree

As the family tree above shows, there were several intermarriages among the royal houses of Manila and Tondo, Sulu, and Brunei, and Matanda, Lakandula, and Soliman were descendants of Sultan Bolkiah of Brunei and Sultan Sharif al-Hashim of Sulu.

In looking at the previous family tree it is very likely that earlier researchers were confused with the interrelationships of the three royal houses and most likely combined some individuals into one. However, it is now clear that the Lady Kalangitan in the first tree was the same as the daughter of the Datu Gamban of Sulu who was the first wife of Sultan Bolkiah of Brunei. This Datu Gamban must have been the basis of the character of Rajah Gambang of Tondo.

Because of their pedigree, the three main focus of this post were all married into the royal house of Brunei. Cases in point were Rajah Matanda, who married a granddaughter of Sultan Bolkiah, his own first cousin; Don Agustin de Legazpi, a nephew of Soliman III, who married another granddaughter of Sultan Bolkiah; and Rajah Soliman III who married still another granddaughter of Sultan Bolkiah, who was the daughter of Bolkiah's successor, Sultan Abdul Kahar.Although it isn't recorded, it is very highly likely that Lakandula, too, married into the royal house of Brunei.

Although Rajah Matanda designated his nephew, Soliman III, as his successor, he had a son, called in archival documents as Ambrosio Mag-isa. Although this son never ruled any part of Manila, he had four children who continued the line of Rajah Matanda.

All the descendants today of Rajah Soliman III come from his daughter, Maria Laran, as his only son, known as Rajah Vago, was killed by the Spaniards.

And of course, the most prolific of the three, Rajah Lakandula had five children, four of which have descendants today. The fifth, Martin Lacandola, entered the Augustinian order to become a priest. Many people throughout the Philippines have, in various points in history, have claimed descent from Lakandula, including the Macapagals of Pampanga, the Salonga family, and some other distant families with surnames with the Dula word in it. So far, none of these claims have archival, verifiable documentation and thus could only be considered as hearsay.

Next article: The later generations of the Lakans of Manila.