Lakan Genealogy: Connection of Sulu and Brunei

My passion for genealogy initially began because of my avid interest in royalty watching. Since 1993, I have studied the histories of almost all royal dynasties in the world. Because genealogy is an integral part of royalty and monarchy it did not take me long to also want to trace the genealogy of my own family.

One interesting aspect of royal genealogy in the Philippines is that of the Sulu Sultanate's. As I mentioned in a previous article, the Sultanate of Sulu in the south of the Philippines was closely related to the royal houses of Manila as well as that of Brunei's. Many Muslim families in the Philippines are able to recite their genealogy up to 15th century because of their tarsilas. These tarsilas, or silsilas, are genealogical and historical records which started in the 1300s when Islam was introduced in Mindanao. The word itself means "chain", which exemplifies the purpose of genealogy, which is a "chain" or link of people and events throughout various times in history. 

The earliest relations between the royals of Brunei and Sulu date back to the early 1400s when an unnamed daughter of Paduka Sri Sultan Ahmad, who reigned as sultan of Brunei from 1406 to 1425, married Ratu Mambang Awilis, recorded in Brunei royal genealogies as possibly from Sulu who was later created by the Brunei sultan as Pangiran Kusuma Negara.

This unnamed princess's sister's grandson, Sri Paduka Baginda Sultan Bolkiah Shah Alam ibni al-Marhum Sultan Sulaiman, married two royals from Sulu. His first wife, another unnamed princess, was the daughter of Datu Gamban of Seluang, which is a part of Sulu. Sultan Bolkiah's second wife was Putri Laila Menjanai, the granddaughter of Paduka Maulana Maha Sri Sultan Sharif al-Hashim, Sulu's first Sultan. This union between a Brunei sultan and a Sulu princess cemented the family relations of the two royal houses. And because of this marriage all succeeding sultans of Brunei, including the current, His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, are descendants of the first Sultan of Sulu and a distant cousin of the current members of Sulu's royal family.

Years later, a granddaughter of Sultan Bolkiah, Putri Brunei, was married to her 3rd cousin, Sultan Shah Muhammad al-Halim Buddiman of Sulu. In the late 1580s Sultan Bolkiah's grandson, Paduka Sri Sultan Muhammad Hassan ibni al-Marhum Sultan Saif ul-Rijal Nur ul-Alam, followed in his footsteps and took as one of his wives another princess of Sulu, Putri Sulu, who was also his cousin several times over and the daughter of Putri Brunei and Sultan Shah Muhammad of Sulu. Although the marriage of Putri Sulu and Sultan Muhammad Hassan was the last grand union between the two royal houses, the current royal families are still connected by blood because one of the sons of Muhammad Hassan and Putri Sulu later became Sultan of Sulu and his descendants today are the Kirams, the reigning family of the Sulu sultanate.

The Sulu and Brunei connection. Click to enlarge.

If only the tradition of keeping a tarsila wasn't limited to our Muslim brothers and sisters in the south, Philippine genealogy would have been more complete today.

Eid Mubarak to all our Muslim brothers and sisters!

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The family tree above came from the Brunei genealogies as well as the Sulu Sultanate website.

Cebuano Families: Loling Bihag and Barili's "Blue Bloods"

Barili's Official Seal

Barili, Cebu has always been a fascinating town. It is one of the oldest towns in the country, having been established as a pueblo in the early years of Spanish conquest. Though most of its old records have been ravaged by weather and time, the town has preserved much of its history and culture through a smattering of church and archival records and the colorful oral traditions that some families still hold true.

One of these old tales is the story of Loling Bihag. This is a tale almost equivalent to those of Maria Cacao's and Mangao's in that they have been retold many times that there is great difficulty in knowing which version came first. A zarzuela or a song and act skit performed on stage was written about Loling Bihag, thus making it even more popular. But the gist of the story is this:

Loling Bihag was a beautiful maiden in Barili who would fetch water by the Tanon Strait. She lived sometime in the late 18th century. One day she rowed quite too far from shore and there was a sudden storm. She was almost drowned had it not been for the rescue by a brave and noble prince by the name of Alimudin. As the story goes, Alimudin was one of the many sons of Sultan Kudarat and was one of the two sent by the ailing ruler far from their kingdom to test their daring. Alimudin returned to his father and presented the beautiful lass as his bride. They had many children and they ruled their kingdom wisely. One of their sons became a Catholic priest who later became Barili's first documented parish priest.

There is absolutely no documentation to support this of course. In the book Barili: A History written by Ms. Azucena L. Pace, she writes that Loling Bihag was actually Dolores Guerrero de San Jose. The priest in the tale was Fr. Cipriano de San Jose, whose signature does appear in the earlier records of the church of Sta. Anna. If we are to accept that Loling Bihag was indeed captured and brought to Mindanao by Alimudin, then we can also accept that Fr. Cipriano had in his veins the bluest blood of royalty of Maguindanao, Sulu, Tondo, and Brunei.

The Royal Seal of Maguindanao

Sultan Kudarat himself was a great-grandson of Mohammad Kabungsuwan, who is believed by many of Mindanao's ruling families to be their common ancestor. He was a Muslim cleric coming from the royal house of Johore who came to Mindanao and is considered as the first sultan of Maguindanao. Kudarat's mother was a princess of Sulu and a descendant of Abu Bakr, who renamed himself Sultan Sharif ul-Hashim and was the founder of the Sulu sultanate. Kudarat was also a descendant of Sultan Bolkiah Shah Alam, one of the earliest rulers of Brunei. And it goes without saying that Kudarat was also a descendant of the noble house of Tondo, being in direct line from Rajah Lontok and Dayang Kalangitan, the famed couple who ruled Tondo and were also the grandparents of Rajah Lakan Dula, Rajah Soliman, and Rajah Matanda.

Of course, the claim that Alimudin was Sultan Kudarat's son is not easy to prove. Although the famed sultan had many children, his immediate successor was his eldest son, Sultan Dundang Tidolay and there is no Alimudin in the partial listing of his children; thus this immediately disproves the story of Alimudin and Loling Bihag ruling a kingdom together. However, what is accepted now is that Fr. Cipriano sired several children, each of whom produced great men and women who made their mark in Barili. His descendants include the Abad, Paras, and Fajardo families, among others. Cebu Governor Dionisio Jakosalem was also said to be a descendant of Fr. Cipriano.

A possible family tree of Loling Bihag

The Abads have produced Roman Abad, Lazarao Abad, Miguel Abad, and Natalio Abad, all gobernadorcillos or municipal presidents of Barili.

The Paras family has Agustin Paras, Policarpio Paras, Aniceto Paras, Tiburcio Paras, Felix Paras, Ciriaco Paras, and Procopio Paras, all gobernadorcillos or municipal presidents of Barili. Another Paras descendant was Rep. Casiano Causin. Another family directly descended from the Parases of Barili are the Garcias of Dumanjug, a family that has produced two Cebu governors.

Of course, these stories are romantic. Whatever the truth, what matters is the constant desire of these families to preserve their family history. That is what genealogy is all about.

(C) 2012 Todd Lucero Sales

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References:

1. Pace, Azucena L. Barili: A History. Cebu City: Barili LGU, 2009.

2. Abdulmadid, Datu Ontay M. Tarsila of Maguindanao Sultanate.

3. Genealogy of the Sultanate of Brunei.

4. Genealogy of the Sultanate of Sulu.