The Legazpi-Sikatuna Blood Compact, or Sandugo (Spanish language: Pacto de Sangre), was a blood compact, performed on the island of Bohol in the Philippines, between the Spanish explorer Miguel López de Legazpi and Datu Sikatuna, chieftain of Bohol, on March 16, 1565, to seal their friendship following tribal tradition. This is considered the first treaty of friendship between the Spaniards and Filipinos. Sandugo is a Visayan word meaning "one blood".
The Sandugo is depicted on both the provincial flag and the official seal of the government of Bohol.[ Provincial Flag and Seal www.bohol.gov.ph Retrieved November 16, 2006. ] The official seal of the government of Tagbilaran also features the image of the blood compact. The top of the seal explains the history behind the Sandugo event, the fleet and the location where the Spaniards anchored, and the place where the treaty was conducted.[ Tagbilaran City Seal www.tagbilaran.gov.ph Retrieved November 16, 2006. ]
History
In 1521, navigator Ferdinand Magellan arrived in the Moluccas on a Spanish expedition. This made his fleet the first people from
Europe to reach
Asia by sailing west, although Magellan would meet an untimely death on the islands of the Philippines. Afterwards, Spain sent expeditions to colonize the
Indies in their competition with Portugal to seize control over the
spice trade. However, all of these expeditions failed until Miguel López de Legazpi, sailing from
Mexico with five ships and 500 men, reached the Philippines in 1565 and established a Spanish settlement.
[ Readings From Bohol's History www.aenet.org, Source: Philippine Political and Cultural History. Volume I. Gregorio F. Zaide Retrieved November 15, 2006.] He was greeted by hostile
Muslims opposing a foreign invasion. His attempt to land on the island of
Cebu resulted in the death of one of his soldiers, prompting him to explore another island and seek trade there.
Sailing south toward the island of Mindanao, Legazpi's fleet encountered high winds, which forced them to sail northward to the island of Bohol. There, he captured a vessel from Borneo whose Malay people sailors informed the Spaniards that the natives inhabiting the region traded with people from Borneo and Indonesia.
Ceremony
The
Sandugo began with the arrival of Legazpi in Bohol in 1565 and the establishment of allegiance by
Datu Sikatuna to the king of Spain. Legazpi and Sikatuna each made a cut on their left arm with a
dagger and poured their blood into a cup filled with wine, which they both drank in honour of their friendship.
[ Sandugo Festival Bohol www.philippinecountry.com Retrieved November 16, 2006.] The inscription at a monument in
Tagbilaran City describes the event:
It added that the compact was performed as part of the tribal tradition.
In his report to the Spanish king, Philip II, López de Legazpi wrote:
Tradition
Traditionally, performing a blood compact preserved the bond of friendship between two tribes. This ceremony was the first treaty of friendship between the natives and the Spaniards in the Philippines.
In its honor, the former President of the Philippines
Elpidio Quirino established the Order of Sikatuna, a presidential decoration conferred upon politicians.
, a Filipino painter, depicted the event in his painting entitled
The Blood Compact (Spanish:
El Pacto de Sangre) in 1886. It obtained the first prize in
Paris in 1885 and at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition of St. Louis in 1904.
[ Juan Luna www.jose-rizal.eu Retrieved November 23, 2006. ] During that period, it was important for tribes to perform the
sandugo as part of the peace process.
[Cajes, Alan. A Brief History of Bohol www.aybpm.freeservers.com Retrieved November 22, 2006.]
A monument was constructed in Tagbilaran City by the Philippine Historical Committee and the National Historical Institute (NHI).[Fuentes, Chito. Blood Compact controversy boils news.inq7.net Retrieved December 2, 2006. ][Bantugan, Danilo. City Hall Notes www.boholchronicle.com August 13, 2006. Retrieved November 28, 2006. ][Cabalit, Jorge. Viewpoints www.boholchronicle.com July 23, 2006. Retrieved November 28, 2006. ] In 2005, the NHI delisted the site, as the actual location of the historical blood compact remains to be resolved.
See also
-
History of the Philippines
Publications
-
Agoncillo, Teodoro A. – History of the Filipino People. Garotech Publishing, 1990 (8th edition)
-
Arcila, José S. – Rizal and the Emergence of the Philippine Nation. 2001 revised edition
-
Constantino, Renato. – The Philippines: A Past Revisited. Tala Publishing Series, 1975
-
Corpuz, Onofre D. – The Roots of the Filipino Nation. 1989
-
Scott, William Henry. – Barangay: Sixteenth-Century Philippine Culture and Society. AdMU: 1994
-
Zaide, Gregorio F. – Great Filipinos in History: An Epic of Filipino Greatness in War and Peace. Verde Bookstore, 1970
-
Zaide, Gregorio. – Dagohoy: Champion of Philippine Freedom. Manila: Enriquez, Alduan and Co., 1941
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