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Lakandula (Baybayin: , Spanish orthography: Lacandola) was the title of the last lakan or paramount ruler of pre-colonial Tondo when the Spain first conquered the lands of the Pasig River delta in the Philippines in the 1570s.
The firsthand account of Spanish Royal Notary Hernando Riquel says that he introduced himself to the Spanish as " Sibunao Lacandola". While his given name has since been interpreted as being "Bunao", the historic meaning of the word Lakan, was a title equivalent to prince or paramount ruler, meaning he was the principal Datu or Prince of his domain.
Along with Rajah Matanda and Rajah Sulayman, Bunao Lakandula (or Lakan of Tondo), was one of three rulers who played significant roles in the Spanish conquest of the Pasig River delta polities during the earliest days of the Philippines under Spanish colonial period.
While it is questionable whether "Lakandula" represented a single titular name during his own lifetime, a few of his descendants in the first few generations after his death came to refer to themselves as the "Lakandula of Tondo", taking that name on as a noble title.
In page 13 of "Cracks in the Parchment Curtain", preeminent historian William Henry Scott quotes Riquel's original text, which he found in the Spanish archives under "Archivo General de Indias Seccion Patronato leg. 24, no 24." The relevant part of the text read:
...declaracion llamarse Raha Ache el Viejo y Raha Solimane el Mozo, senores y principales del pueblo de Manila, y Sibunao Lacandola, principal del pueblo de Tondo...(emphasis added)
Modern historians routinely remove the Filipino word "si", a grammatical article that precede personal names, from recorded names during this era because Spanish writers had not yet learned the local languages and often mistakenly included "si-" in Filipino names. Sibunao thus should be interpreted as "Ako si Bunao" = "I Bunao". Historians thus take this to mean that the Lakan introduced himself as "Bunao Lakandula." At the time, Lakandula was assumed to be a regnal name, but as noted below, it was actually his title.
In its current Tagalog language form, means "gentleman".
Another common variation of the name is Gat Dula (alternatively spelled as a single word, Gatdula). Historically, the prefix Gat, a shortened version of the Tagalog language honorific "Pamagat", meant "nobleman." Hence, Gatdula would literally read "Nobleman of the Palace", meaning essentially the same thing as the Kapampangan version, Lakandula.
This leaves the matter of the addendum "dula" to be settled. While this could not have been a family name such as Filipinos use today, this may not be a satisfactory explanation, since static family names were introduced to the Filipino culture much later, by a decree issued by Governor General Narciso Clavería y Zaldúa on November 11, 1849.Jernegan, Prescott Ford (1905) "A short history of the Philippines: for use in Philippine schools". pp. 232-234. D. Appleton and Company, New York. Alternatively, rather than a surname per se, Dula may have referred to a family group or clan, but there does not neem to be any historical evidence to support this postulation. Historian Jose N. Sevilla y Tolentino, theorized that "Dula" was not a personal name at all, but a local word that meant something akin to "Palace". While he may not have ruled from a literal palace, this would have indicated the Lakan's seat of power. As such, the "Lakandula" would have been the local language title for the "Lord of the Palace" and ruler of Tondo. Analogously, contemporary Rajah Ache was referred to as Rajah Matanda (Old Rajah), while Rajah Sulayman was sometimes referred to as Rajah Muda or Rajamora (Young Rajah).
Historians such as Dery and Scott explain that his given name was Bunaw, but they also continue to refer to him by his title, Lakandula or "the" Lakandula. On the other hand, Joaquin explains that the Lakan's given name was Bunaw, and proceeds to call him Lakan Dula (separate words) or "the" Lakan Dula throughout his "Manila, My Manila" manuscript. In any case, many contemporary historians continue to ignore the fact that Lakan was a title, and refer to the last Lakan of Dula (or Lakan of Tondo) as "Lakandula" as if it had been his name. All things considered, the most accurate way to style the historical person's name and title would be "Bunao, Lakandula" or "the Lakan of Tondo".
Joaquin further speculates on the Lakandula's religious beliefs:
"Tondo's Lakan Dula may have been unusual in being neither foreign nor Muslim. This was indicated by his use of the native term Lakan instead of the foreign Muslim title Rajah. Lakandula can be presumed . . . to have been reared in the anito cults. One guess is that he converted to Islam, then changed his mind and returned to his native faith."
Joaquin also expounds on the economic context of the Lakandula's reign over Tondo:
"Tondo had replaced Namayan as the chief port of entry on Manila Bay. Tondo was right on the seaside. This was the advantage it had over Namayan, which was upriver inland. So the merchant ships that came into the bay preferred to unload their goods at the port of Tondo. And now it was the king of Tondo who was responsible for sending the merchandise upriver to the lakeside communities, there to be traded for local products. Tondo was thus the distributing center, or entrepot, on the delta... At the time of the Lakan in, Tondo was at the height of its career as an entrepot...."
According to Scott (1982), when ships from China arrived at Manila Bay, the Lakandula would remove the sails and rudders of their ships until they paid him duties and anchorage fees, and then he would then buy up all their goods himself, paying half its value immediately and then paying the other half upon their return the following year. In the interim, he would trade these goods with peoples further upstream, the end result being that other locals were not able to buy anything from the Chinese directly, but only through the Lakandula, who made a considerable profit as a result.
William Henry Scott notes that Augustinian Fray Martin de Rada Legaspi reported that the Tagalogs were "more traders than warriors", and elsewhere notes that Maynila's ships got their goods from Tondo and then dominated trade through the rest of the archipelago. People in other parts of the archipelago often referred to Maynila's boats as "Chinese" (Sina or Sinina) because they came bearing Chinese goods.
On May 18, 1571, the native nobility of Luzon, Rajah Sulayman, Rajah Matanda, and Lakandula, acknowledged the sovereignty of Spain over the islands and proclaimed themselves to be vassals of Spain. On the following day, May 19, Legazpi landed in Manila and took ceremonial possession of the land in the presence of Soliman, Matanda, and Lakandula.
Lakandula helped establish a house for Legazpi and build a fort for the Spaniards, giving them fourteen pieces of artillery and twelve jars of gunpowder, a gift much appreciated by the Spaniards, who were running low on ammunition.
Soon after, the Lakandula and his sons were baptized as Catholics. Bunao Lakandula took on the name "Don Carlos Lacandola" after Charles I of Spain. A history of Brunei, Graham E. Saunders, Routledge, 2002, p. 54 To celebrate the event, the Spanish discharged Manila's artillery and arquebuses as part of the ceremony.
Lakandula had refused to join Macabebe and Sulayman's coalition, but among the prisoners taken by the Spaniards after the battle were two of his nephews and a number of his officers. When questioned, they said that they had been on the scene only as observers, not as combatants. Legazpi let them go to demonstrate his confidence in Lakandula.
Joaquin notes that this was a wise choice on Legazpi's part:
"If he had been playing a double game before, Lakandula now became earnest in supporting the Spanish. It may be he who persuaded the fugitive Soliman to surrender and return to the good graces of Legazpi."
"Lacandola agreed to go, and served with two ships provided at his cost, and distinguished himself by performing much service for His Majesty, and went along so the said Pampangos would give him obedience, as in fact they did."
These boats were joangas ( karakoa), a type of seacraft capable of carrying 300 men each, which, as Dery points out, were common in Maritime Southeast Asia.
Lakandula's role as ruler of Tondo was then taken up by his grandnephew, and Rajah Soliman's adopted son, Agustin de Legazpi.
Agustin de Legazpi, who was married to the cousin of Sultan Bolkiah, would lead Tondo as a territory under Spanish rule until he rose up against them in 1587–1588 Revolt of the Lakans, and was deposed and killed as a result.
According to Fray Gaspar de San Agustin in "Conquistas de las Islas Filipinas 1565–1615", as cited by Kimuell-Gabriel (2013), Lakandula had ruled Tondo from an elevated site near Manila bay, facing the shore and fronted by fishermen's dwellings. According to local oral histories, this site eventually became the site of the Sto Niño of Tondo Parish church. Gray literature partly based on
Scott singles this third account out as particularly useful, because it includes careful observations of the islands and people contacted.
Scott also identifies other accounts that do not directly refer to that occasion, but provide additional information about conditions at the time. These include two accounts of the Magellan voyage, reports from the attacks on Borneo in 1578–1579, letters to the king from royal auditor Melchor de Avalos, Reports by later Governors General, passing details in sworn testimony about Augustinian activities (the latter two recorded in Blair and Robertson), Correspondence of Augustinian Fray Martin de Rada, the Relacion accounts of Miguel de Loarca and Juan de Plasencia, and the Boxer Codex, which "can be dated to 1590 on internal evidence."
Other documentary sources also mention a "Don Luis Taclocmao" (or "Salugmoc"), a supposed son Lakandula of who was killed in the 1603 Chinese rebellion, fighting the Chinese rebels.
Dery, Scott, and Santiago recount that the privileges accorded to the descendants of Lakandula had been discontinued for a while in the aftermath of Lakandula's death, because some of the descendants came into conflict with the Spanish authorities. According to Dery, the Balagtas document recounts that these privileges were restored when a Juan Macapagal, who claimed to be a great grandson of Lakandula (through Dionisio Capulong's son Juan Gonzalo Capulong), aided the Spanish authorities in suppressing the 1660 Maniago revolt, the 1660-1661 Malong revolt, and the 1661 Almazan revolt, performing his role as Master-of-Camp and Datu of Arayat.
In 1758, A Gremio de Lakandulas was created to safeguard the rights and privileges of the Kapampangan descendants of Lakandula as assured by the Spanish crown. During the British invasion of 1762–1764, the descendants of Lakandula, 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.
Macapagal (rare variant: Makapagal) is a Filipino surname derived from the Kapampangan language. By Santiago's genealogical reckoning, prominent Lakandula descendants of the 20th century include the former Philippine Presidents Diosdado Macapagal and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, former Philippine Senate President Jovito Salonga, international stage celebrity Lea Salonga, pioneer Filipino industrialist Gonzalo Puyat, and former Philippine Senate President Gil Puyat.
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