Rajah Lakandula
Encyclopedia
Lakan Banaw Dula or Gat Banaw Dula (December 16, 1503 – March 21, 1589), often referred to simply by his title Lakan Dula, and later baptised Lakan Carlos Dula, was the Lakan
Lakan
Lakan originally referred to a rank in the pre-Hispanic Filipino nobility in the island of Luzon, which means "paramount ruler." It has been suggested that this rank is equivalent to that of Rajah, and that different ethnic groups either used one term or the other, or used the two words...

(paramount ruler) of the pre-colonial Philippine Kingdom of Tondo when the Spaniards
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 first conquered the lands of the Pasig River
Pasig River
The Pasig River is a river in the Philippines that connects Laguna de Bay to Manila Bay. Stretching for , it is lined by Metro Manila on each side...

 delta in the 1570s. Another common variation of the name is Gat Dula which at present times evolved into Gatdula. He is sometimes erroneously referred to as Rajah Lakandula; the terms "Rajah" and "Lakan" have the same meaning therefore making the appellation redundant.

Along with Rajah Matanda
Rajah Matanda
Rajah Ache Matanda was a 16th century Muslim chieftain of the Kingdom of Maynila, a Tagalog kingdom on the region of the Pasig River in the Philippines...

 and Rajah Sulayman
Rajah Sulayman
Rajah Sulayman was the Muslim Rajah of Maynila, a kingdom at the mouth of the Pasig River where it meets Manila Bay, at the time the Spanish forces first came to Luzon....

, he was one of three Rajahs who played significant roles in the Spanish conquest of the kingdoms of the Pasig River
Pasig River
The Pasig River is a river in the Philippines that connects Laguna de Bay to Manila Bay. Stretching for , it is lined by Metro Manila on each side...

 delta in the early 1570s.

Lakan as title used by the rulers of Tondo

The title "Lakan" refers to a monarch and was the equivalent of "Rajah" or "King." "Lakan", on the other hand, was a title specifically used for the monarchs of the Kingdom of Tondo. Banaw was the personal name of the individual who was ruler of the Kingdom of Tondo at the time of the Spanish advent.

Etymology of the "Lakan" title

In (Kapampangan
Kapampangan language
The Pampangan language, or Kapampangan , is one of the major languages of the Philippines. It is the language spoken in the province of Pampanga, the southern half of the province of Tarlac and the northern portion of the province of Bataan. Kapampangan is also understood in some barangays of...

, the word Lakan means "lord" and the word dula means "palace", such that the title literally meant "Lord of the Palace."

In the Gatdula variant of the name, the word or prefix Gat is a shortened version of the Tagalog
Tagalog language
Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a third of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by most of the rest. It is the first language of the Philippine region IV and of Metro Manila...

 honorific "Pamagat", which at the time meant "nobleman," such that the variant literally read "Nobleman of the Palace", which meant essentially the same thing as the Kapampangan version.

"Lakan" instead of "Rajah"

With the term "Rajah" and "Lakan" meaning the same thing, the "Rajah Lakandula" variation of the title was also never used in the original sources pertaining to Lakan Dula, and Philippine historian and national artist for literature
National Artist of the Philippines
A National Artist of the Philippines is a title given to a Filipino who has been given the highest recognition for having made significant contributions to the development of Philippine arts...

 Nick Joaquin
Nick Joaquín
Nicomedes Márquez Joaquín was a Filipino writer, historian and journalist, best known for his short stories and novels in the English language. He also wrote using the pen name Quijano de Manila...

 takes pains to point out that the term Lakan, not Rajah, was used by the rulers of the Kingdom of Tondo.

Life

One probable way to describe the historical Lakan Banaw Dula is through the 1665 notarized document written as an endorsement of his probable great-grandson, Don Juan Macapagal
Juan Macapagal
Don Juan Macapagal, Datu of Arayat, was the great-grandson of the last ruling Lakandula of Tondo, Don Carlos. He was given the title Maestre de Campo General of the natives Arayat, Candaba and Apalit for his aid in suppressing the Kapampangan Revolt of 1660...

, Master-of-Camp and Datu
Datu
Datu is the title for tribal chiefs, sovereign princes, and monarchs in the Visayas and Mindanao Regions of the Philippines. Together with Lakan , Apo in Central and Northern Luzon, Sultan and Rajah, they are titles used for native royalty, and are still currently used in the Philippines...

 of Arayat:

Don Carlos Lacandola, 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.
This Carlos Lacandola however may or may not be Lakan Banaw Dula. This could be a subject of a further research.

Don Carlos Lacandola played a crucial role in pacifying the last independent Luzon states in what is now the province of Pampanga
Pampanga
Pampanga is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is the City of San Fernando, Pampanga. Pampanga is bordered by the provinces of Bataan and Zambales to the west, Tarlac and Nueva Ecija to the north, and Bulacan to the southeast...

, namely Lubao
Lubao
Lubao may refer to:* Lubao, Pampanga, a 1st class municipality in the southwestern part of the province of Pampanga, Philippines* Lubao, Foshan , a town within Sanshui county, in Guangdong province, China* Lubao, Democratic Republic of the Congo...

 and Betis. He further helped the Spaniards in defending their foothold in the archipelago from the invading forces of the Chinese pirate Limahong
Limahong
Limahong, Lim Hong or also called Lin Feng was a notorious Chinese pirate and warlord who invaded the northern Philippine Islands in 1574. He built up a reputation for his constant raids to ports in Guangdong, Fujian and southern China...

.

Descendants

Lakan Dula was the most prolific of Luzon's ancient rulers. His descendants are spread out all across the Kapampangan Region during the Spanish colonial era. He fathered at least five sons, namely Batang Dula, Don Dionisio Capulong, the Datu of Candaba, Don Phelipe Salonga, the Datu of Pulu, Magat Salamat, the Datu of Tondo and Don Martin Lakandula who entered the Agustinian order as a lay brother in 1590. He had one daughter by the name of Doña Maria Poloin who married Don Alonso Talabos.

Lakan Dula's sons and nephews were after 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.

In 1587 Magat Salamat, one of the children of Lakan Dula, and Augustin de Legazpi, Lakan Dula's nephew, and the chiefs of the neighboring areas of Tondo, Pandacan, Marikina, Candaba, Navotas and Bulacan were executed for secretly conspiring to overthrow the Spanish colonizers. Stories were told that Magat Salamat's descendants settled in Hagonoy, Bulacan and many of his descendants spread from this area.David Dula y Goiti, a grandson of Lakan Dula with a Spanish mother escaped the persecution of the descendants of Lakan Dula by settling in Isla de Batag, Northern Samar and settled in the place now called Candawid (Kan David). Due to hatred for the Spaniards, he dropped the Goiti in his surname and adopted a new name David Dulay. He was eventually caught by the Guardia Civil based in Palapag and was executed together with seven followers. They were charged with planning to attack the Spanish detachment.

Learning from this experience, his great grandson Don Juan Macapagal, Master-of-Camp and Datu of Arayat, 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 Lakan Dula and his descendants spread across the province of Pampanga
Pampanga
Pampanga is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is the City of San Fernando, Pampanga. Pampanga is bordered by the provinces of Bataan and Zambales to the west, Tarlac and Nueva Ecija to the north, and Bulacan to the southeast...

. A Gremio de Lakandulas was created in 1758 to safeguard the rights and privileges of the Kapampangan
Kapampangan people
The Kapampangans or Capampan͠gans are the sixth largest Filipino ethnolinguistic group, numbering about 2,890,000. The original Kapampangans may have descended from Austronesian-speaking immigrants to Luzon during the Iron Age.The province of Pampanga is traditional homeland of the Kapampangans...

 descendants of Lakan Dula. During the British invasion of 1762-64, the descendants of Lakan Dula, 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.

Prominent Lakan Dula descendants of the 20th century include the former Philippine President Diosdado Macapagal
Diosdado Macapagal
Diosdado Pangan Macapagal was the ninth President of the Philippines, serving from 1961 to 1965, and the sixth Vice President, serving from 1957 to 1961. He also served as a member of the House of Representatives, and headed the Constitutional Convention of 1970...

, father of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is a Filipino politician who served as the 14th President of the Philippines from 2001 to 2010, as the 12th Vice President of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, and is currently a member of the House of Representatives representing the 2nd District of Pampanga...

, former Philippine Senate President Jovito Salonga
Jovito Salonga
Jovito "Jovy" Reyes Salonga is a Filipino nationalist politician and lawyer, as well as a leading opposition leader during the Marcos regime from 1972, when Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law, until 1986, when Marcos was deposed as a result of a bloodless revolution...

, pioneer Filipino industrialist Gonzalo Puyat, former Philippine Senate President Gil Puyat
Gil Puyat
Gil J. Puyat was a Filipino businessman and politician who served as a Senator of the Philippines from 1951, and as Senate President from 1967 to 1972.-Education:...

 and international stage celebrity Lea Salonga
Lea Salonga
Lea Salonga-Chien is a mezzo-soprano singer and actress from the Philippines well known for originating the lead role of Kim in the musical Miss Saigon, for which she won the Olivier, Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics and Theatre World awards.She was the first Asian to play the roles of Éponine and...

.

Legacy

  • The Order of Lakandula
    Order of Lakandula
    The Order of Lakandula is one of the highest honors given by the Republic of the Philippines. It is an order of political and civic merit, awarded in memory of Lakandula’s dedication to the responsibilities of leadership, prudence, fortitude, courage and resolve in the service of one’s people.Its...

     is one of the highest honors given by the Republic of the Philippines. It is an order of political and civic merit, awarded in memory of Lakan Dula’s dedication to the responsibilities of leadership, prudence, fortitude, courage and resolve in the service of one’s people.
  • The BRP Rajah Lakandula (PF-4)
    BRP Rajah Lakandula (PF-4)
    The BRP Rajah Lakandula was a Destroyer Escort / Frigate of the Philippine Navy, and was its only ex-USN . She was also the flagship of the Philippine Navy from 1981 to 1988.-History:...

     was the a Destroyer Escort / Frigate and is the only ex-USN Edsall-class destroyer escort that served the Philippine Navy. She was also the flagship of the Philippine Navy from 1981 to 1988. Struck from the Navy List in 1988, she was still in use as stationary barracks ship in Subic Bay
    Subic Bay
    Subic Bay is a bay forming part of Luzon Sea on the west coast of the island of Luzon in Zambales, Philippines, about 100 kilometers northwest of Manila Bay. Its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility named U.S...

     as of 1999.
  • A number of Lakan Dula Elementary and Secondary Schools are named after Lakan Dula, notably in the City of Manila
    Division of City Schools-Manila
    The Division of City Schools - Manila or simply the DCS-Manila is a division under the supervision of the Department of Education. It also refers to the three-tier public education system in Manila, Philippines....

    , and the Province of Pampanga, both closely associated with Lakan Banaw Dula.

See also

  • Rajah Sulayman
    Rajah Sulayman
    Rajah Sulayman was the Muslim Rajah of Maynila, a kingdom at the mouth of the Pasig River where it meets Manila Bay, at the time the Spanish forces first came to Luzon....

  • Rajah Matanda
    Rajah Matanda
    Rajah Ache Matanda was a 16th century Muslim chieftain of the Kingdom of Maynila, a Tagalog kingdom on the region of the Pasig River in the Philippines...

  • Kingdom of Maynila
    Kingdom of Maynila
    The Kingdom of Seludong , or Maynila, which after colonization became Manila, capital of the Philippines, was one of three major city-states that dominated the area around the upper portion of the Pasig River before the arrival of Spanish colonizers in the 16th century.The early inhabitants of the...

  • Kingdom of Tondo
  • Rajah
  • Sultan
    Sultan
    Sultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...

  • Datu
    Datu
    Datu is the title for tribal chiefs, sovereign princes, and monarchs in the Visayas and Mindanao Regions of the Philippines. Together with Lakan , Apo in Central and Northern Luzon, Sultan and Rajah, they are titles used for native royalty, and are still currently used in the Philippines...

  • Lakan
    Lakan
    Lakan originally referred to a rank in the pre-Hispanic Filipino nobility in the island of Luzon, which means "paramount ruler." It has been suggested that this rank is equivalent to that of Rajah, and that different ethnic groups either used one term or the other, or used the two words...

  • History of the Philippines
    History of the Philippines
    The history of the Philippines is believed to have begun with the arrival of the first humans via land bridges at least 30,000 years ago. The first recorded visit from the West is the arrival of Ferdinand Magellan, who sighted Samar on March 16, 1521 and landed on Homonhon Island southeast of Samar...

  • History of the Philippines (900–1521)
  • Philippine revolts against Spain
    Philippine revolts against Spain
    During the Spanish colonial period in the Philippines, there were several revolts against of the Spanish colonial government by native-born Filipinos and Chinese, often with the goal of re-establishing the rights and powers that had traditionally belonged to tribal chiefs and Chinese traders...

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