Lapu-Lapu
Lapu-Lapu , in Antonio Pigafetta Cilapulapu and in Visayan legends Kulapo and Kali Pulaku , in another spelling Kaliph Pulaka (* around 1484; † presumably 1564), was the tribal chief of the island of Mata-an, today Mactan and the first historical national hero Philippines . In the Battle of Mactan on April 27, 1521, he killed the Portuguese navigator and circumnavigator Ferdinand Magellan, sailing under the Spanish flag, and with his defeat prevented a first attempt at colonizing what is now known as the Philippines.
Surname
With Cilapulapu Antonio Pigafetta handed down the name of the opponent Ferdinand Magellans and later victor of the Battle of Mactan:
"Near the island of Zubu there is another, Matan, which (with Zubu) formed the port where our ships anchored [...] The main town of the same is also called Matan, the chiefs Zula and Cilapulapu."
The prefix Ci offers historians and linguists a platform for controversy to this day. If one side assumes that it is the customary personifying article si in Malay languages , the other side takes the view that the Ci preceding the name refers to the Sanskrit Sri and denotes an honorable person. Now, however, Antonio Pigafetta named a number of chiefs in his notes, some with the prefix Ci and some not:
“There are several villages on this island and in each of them there are some distinguished people, their so-called heads. I enumerate the names of the villages and the chiefs of each: Cinghapola and its chiefs Cilaton, Ciguibucan, Cimaningha, Cimatikat, Cicambul; Mandaui and his boss Aponoan; Lalen with Teteu as head; Lulutan, who has Tapan as chief; Lubucun, whose chief is Cilumai. "
William Henry Scott (1921–1993), one of the leading historians of pre-colonial Filipino history, noted in a text published posthumously in 1994 by the University of Ateneo de Manila:
“A word for a superordinate Datu did not exist, although those leaders recognized as primus inter pares (first among equals) were referred to as 'pangulo', chief [...] Whoever controlled a seaport with foreign trade generally took over the Malay, from the Sanskrit title Rajah (ruler), Batara (noble lord) or Sarripada (Your Highness). Magellan met three heads titled Rajah: Awi of Butuan, Kolambu (also Kalambu) of Limasawa and Humab-on of Cebu - a title that the Spaniards always translated as 'king', although Magellan, albeit too late, realized that they had neither kingdoms nor power over other dates. Sarripada or its variants Salipada, Sipad and Paduka come from Sanskrit 'Sri Paduka' and was used by Humab-on and at least three contemporaries, Kabungsuwan's son Makaalang of Maguindanao, Dailisan of Panglao and the Sultan of Brunei. "
In the legends of Cebu it is said that Datu Mangal , head of the island of Mactan , named his first-born son after the large, reddish predatory fish Pula-Pula , which is known to older residents of Cebu and Mactan under the name of Pugapo . However, Lapu-Lapu's mother, Mataunas , did not like this suggestion, and since the mothers had the right to give names in those years, she inverted the syllables until Lapu-Lapu - which resulted in: Pula-Pula-pulapu-Lapu -Lapu. Whether it was so or not, Mataunas has left a riddle for posterity, the resolution of which is a headache: a clear etymological interpretation of his name.
The origin of the play on words Pulapula refers to a dangerous sea bass or sea bream , a reddish, up to half a meter long predatory fish that prefers to stay in rocky seabeds and reef caves and is feared because of its aggressiveness. Pulapula, by doubling the word “pula”, red, a so-called diminutive form, can be translated as “little red”. In connection with Lapu-Lapu, however, the larger, up to two meters long specimen turns out to be more interesting: Because local fishermen call this huge relative of Pulapula, depending on the dialect, Kulapu (kula-po), Korapo or Kugtung . The two words "kulapo" and "korapo" coincide linguistically. What is significant about them, however, is the ending “lapu” or “lapo”, which indicates that “lapulapu” is likely to be a diminutive of this very term “kulapu”.
In the declaration of the first Filipino independence on June 12, 1898, the authors referred to the hero of Mactan not as Lapu-Lapu, but as Kalipulaku. It is noticeable that the last three syllables of the name, rearranged, result in Kulapu. On this and in connection with the fish described above, the historian Luis Camara Dery stated in a letter dated January 6, 2001:
“I suspect the name Lapu-Lapu is a bansag, a common custom among Filipinos to name a person in relation to a salient physical characteristic. The lapu-lapu is a fish with very small scales. It is therefore quite possible that the Kalipulaku suffered from a certain type of skin disease which, when scratched, produces a scaly appearance and earned it the name Lapu-Lapu. "
Family and life
Lapu-Lapu was probably born on Mactan around 1484. He was the son of Mangal and Mataunas, who gave birth to a second child, their daughter Malingin . According to tradition, his father had at least one brother, Bantug-lumay, who in turn was the father of the Rajah Humab-on of Cebu. According to the well-known, sometimes diverging oral traditions, Lapu-Lapu is said to have been 27, 33 or 37 years old when he faced Ferdinand Magellan 's attack of submission . The first two ages can be refuted with two very convincing arguments: Lapu-Lapu's marriage to the daughter Rajah Kusgans von Olanggho and the year of his father Mangal's death. Because the legends agree that Lapu-Lapu entered into a marriage and the ensuing family formation only when he became head of Mactan - and this point in time is also named by the otherwise contradicting stories coincidentally. Lapu-Lapu succeeded his father at the age of 21 after his father was killed in action against Chinese pirates in 1505.
Ginés de Mafra, the only Spanish sailor of the failed Magellan voyage in 1521, who returned to the archipelago a second time with the Ruy López de Villalobos expedition in 1543 , mentioned a sister Lapu-Lapus, Malingin and her daughter Ming-Ming , in his travel notes Queen baptized Johanna on April 14, 1521 and a very young wife of Humabons . Thus the chief of Cebu, Humab-on, had a twofold relationship with Lapu-Lapu. On the one hand as his cousin - he was the son of Bantug-lumay, Mangal's brother - on the other hand as a brother-in-law through his marriage to Lapu-Lapu's niece Ming-Ming. The already quoted Ginés de Mafra supports the correctness of the family ties of Hu-mab-ons and Lapu-Lapus with his statement that the Rajahs of Butuan, Limasawa and Mactan are related to Humab-on. The two Spanish terms “emparentado”, related by marriage, and “parentela”, related, can be clearly distinguished and Mafra means “parentela”.
Following oral tradition, Lapu-Lapu married the beautiful Bulakna , daughter of Rajah Kusgan of Olanggho. A name other than Bulakna is not known. The young woman made her union with Lapu-Lapu after 1521. The couple gave birth to two children, their son Sawile and their daughter Katahuman . Some families still live on Mactan today who trace their origins back to the Lapu-Lapus family: Baring, Malingin, Pagobo, Paquebot and Pinuti.
Lapu-Lapu's childhood and adolescence remain in the dark of history. Contemporary, written records do not exist; the oral traditions inseparably link truth, myth and legend and cover the possible historical facts hidden therein. Excepted from this are the fairly uniform traditions of the martial art of Lapu-Lapus.
Martial arts
Lapu-Lapu is undoubtedly the first historically documented Filipino and master of those fighting techniques that are practiced worldwide as Filipino martial arts today. This was testified by Juan Sebastián Elcano , the captain who, after Ferdinand Magellan's death, managed to bring the last remaining ship of the expedition, the Victoria , home to Spain, thereby completing the first circumnavigation of the world that Magellan had begun. "There was an island nearby called Mat-an, whose king was highly valued as a great man of the martial arts and who was more powerful than all his neighbors."
The quite uniform oral narratives report that Lapu-Lapu was taught martial arts in his early childhood, first by his father Mangal, and later by selected teachers. These included Sugpu-baha from Pusok, Mangtas from Buayan, Bugto-pasan from Tumoy, Bali-alho from Maribago, Eminging from Agus, Tindak-bukid from Marigondon, and Umindig from Ibabaw. According to tradition, Sugpu-baha taught Lapu-Lapu in strength and endurance and the handling of the spear, Mangtas instructed him in stick and knife combat, Bugto-pasan in handling a bow and arrow. Bali-alho taught him the deadly maneuvers of the rice mortar, Eminging the techniques of Kampilan and Tindak-bukid the fist and foot fight. Umindig finally showed him the agile movements of the wrestling match. "The names of the teachers Lapu-Lapus", as Peter Miñoza mentions in his scientific work on the Filipino martial arts, "although according to the custom of naming at the time, must be considered mythological and not historical."
During the 16th century, two combat systems, pangamut and pang-olisi , were practiced on the islands of Cebu and Mactan . In a conversation with Edgar G. Sulite , Grand Master Eulogio Cañete stated in the late 1980s:
“There were two prevalent styles in use on Cebu. The style of the Rajah Humab-on, with four strokes and one stitch, called pang-olisi, and the style of Lapu-Lapu, the lord of Mactan, with six strokes and two stitches, known as pangamut. We followed the more effective Lapu-Lapu system. "
Grandmaster Dionisio Cañete , one of the most prominent figures of the Filipino martial arts and representative of the Doce Pares , wrote in his book: “The first known Filipino hero, Lapu-Lapu, is considered to be one of the first masters of Arnis, which is the indigenous dialect of his time was called Pangamut. "
Pang-olisi, from paggamit nga olisi , "skillful stick use", unequivocally describes his main weapon, the stick. Nevertheless, the sword and the spear may have been used here as well. Pangamut, on the other hand, from paggamit nga kamut , “skillful use of the hands”, seemed, as its name implies, to have been a more complex system in which, in addition to the weapons sword, dagger, spear and stick, the fist, foot and stick Wrestling was taught. “Unfortunately, Edgar Sulite's written conversation with Eulogio Cañete and Dionisio Cañete's book are the only printed sources about this martial art. [...] They arouse the suspicion - at least by name - of not being authentic. "
The father of Modern Arnis, Remy Amador Presas , noted a completely different name in this context: "The Ibanag cultivated their Pagkalikali , the Pangasinen their Kalirongan , the Bisayan their Kinaadman [...] and the Pampangeño their Sinawali ."
"With Kinaadman, wisdom, an umbrella term for martial arts can be developed that was generally valid in the Visayas of earlier times," says Peter Miñoza in Von Kali zu Eskrima . But on Cebu alone, several names of styles or systems that were once practiced in the individual regions can be quickly determined, so that it seems doubtful to find a term that was valid everywhere in the Visayas. "
Ultimately, the fighting style of Lapu-Lapu cannot be determined. However, based on the artistic skills and techniques that have been passed on for centuries, as well as the records and observations of Spanish missionaries, chroniclers and soldiers, the practical content of the martial arts of that time can be traced to the present day.
Act
Don Vicente Gullas described Lapu-Lapu as “a personality of this world, blessed by happiness, favored by the stars; the giant, the fulfilling breeding ground of ancient Cebu; the statesman and powerful chief, master of the athletes of Filipino antiquity, a fateful figure of the world. He was important because his parents raised him to be important, armed with self-discipline, virtue, statesmanship, physical strength and moral honesty. ”Historian Domingo M. Estabaya noted,“ Lapulapu is one of the greatest figures in our history. He should be seen as the logical founder of our country ”.
Words as glorious as they were pathetic had been a long time coming. Beyond the declaration of independence of the Philippines (on June 12, 1898 by the colonial rule of Spain, on July 4, 1946 by the USA), it took more than 400 years. Lapu-Lapu was not mentioned in the history books of the Philippines; Spanish records determined the history of the country. He remained completely unknown in Europe and America. In 1938 the important Austrian writer Stefan Zweig wrote :
“An admiral of the emperor of both worlds seems below his dignity to send an entire army into the field against such a brown lout who has no unmatched mat in his filthy hut and to fight with superior strength against such a miserable pack of islanders. […] In such a senseless way, in the highest and most glorious moment of fulfillment, the greatest seafarer in history ends in a pitiful banter with a naked horde of islanders - a genius who, like Próspero, masters the elements, who conquers all storms and people, is pleasing by a ridiculous human insect Lapulapu! [...] Nobody knows what those miserable savages did with Magellan's corpse, to which element they returned his mortal substance, whether to fire, the flood, the earth or the sore air. "
In fact, Lapu-Lapu remained an insignificant figure in Filipino history in terms of foreign policy. He may have strengthened his position beyond 1521 through marriage and skillful alliances, but the fact remained that Mactan was an island with no port of its own and remained economically uninteresting for traders from Luzon , Borneo or China . The business, trade, exchange of goods, slaves and information took place on Cebu. Lapu-Lapu's only outstanding act was to have saved the islands from an early colonization of Spain.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Antonio Pigafetta: "Dictionary of the Philippines", in: Oscar Koelliker: "The first circumnavigation of the earth", reprint of the original edition from 1908, based on the copy in the Leipzig University Library, signature: Ld. U. VK. 151q, p. 157.
- ^ William Henry Scott: Barangay - Sixteenth-Century Philippine Culture and Society. 1994, Ateneo de Manila University Press, translated from English by Peter Miñoza in “From Kali to Eskrima”, pp. 67/68, 2nd edition, 2001, Afra Verlag, ISBN 3-932079-47-7 .
- ↑ Ginés de Mafra: "Libro que trata del Descubrimiento y principio del estrecho que se lama de Magallanes", 1549, text by Antonio Blázquez & Delgado Aguilera "Tres Relaciónes", pages 179-212, Madrid 1920.
- ^ Statement by Sebastián del Cano, September 6, 1522 in: Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdes: "Segunda parte de la natural y general Historia de las Indias Yslas y Tierra Firme del Mar Oceano", Valladolid 1552, translated from the Spanish by Peter Miñoza in "From Kali to Eskrima", pp. 67/68, 2nd edition, 2001, Afra Verlag, ISBN 3-932079-47-7 .
- ↑ a b Peter Miñoza: "From Kali Eskrima to", 2nd edition, 2001, Afra Publishing, ISBN 3-932079-47-7 .
- ↑ Edgar G. Sulite: "Masters of Arnis, Kali and Eskrima", 1993, Socorro Publications.
- ^ Dionisio Cañete: "Eskrima Kali Arnis" (Chapter I "History"), 1993 by Doce Pares Publishing House.
- ^ Remy Amador Presas: The Practical Art of Eskrima, 1994, National Book Stores, Inc.
- ↑ a b From "The Lapu-Lapu Torch"; Special edition of Kadaugan Sa Mactan, page 19, Lapu-Lapu City, 1996.
- ^ Stefan Zweig: " Magellan - The Man and His Action ", 1938 Herbert Reichner Verlag ; 1983 S. Fischer Verlag, ISBN 3-596-25356-X .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Lapu-Lapu |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Kolipulako |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Tribal chief of Mactan Island |
| DATE OF BIRTH | around 1484 |
| DATE OF DEATH | around 1564 |