The Ancestors of the Datus of Mindanao
Introduction
This manuscript is a copy of the original in the possession of Datu Mastura. It was written by the same original author as Manuscript No. II and belongs to the same class and style of composition. It consists of nineteen paragraphs that give the names of the first rulers or datus of nineteen datuships of Mindanao. A few Malay words are used at the beginning of each paragraph. Each paragraph begins as if it were written as a separate document or statement, distinct from all the rest, and in the same manner as their letters and books generally begin.
The Arabic words sūrat, riwāyat, kissa, hadīs, asal, meaning book, narrative, story, discourse, origin, respectively, are all used to signify book or history. The word tsharetra is Malay and means a story. Sarsila or salsila and tarsila mean genealogy or history and are used in the same sense.
Literal translation of Manuscript No. VIII
IN THE NAME OF GOD THE COMPASSIONATE AND MERCIFUL
1. This book tells about the ruler of Bwayan. The first ruler of Bwayan was Pulwa, the first raja Bwayan. He begot Raja Sirūngan, the second raja Bwayan. Pulwa married the daughter of Sarīp Kabungsuwan.
2. This is a statement about the ruler of the country of Mandanāwi, the Land of Peace. The first datu of Magindanao was Mangalang or Maka-alang, the son of Sarīp Kabungsuwan, from Angintābu. Maka-alang was the second sarīp; Sarīp Kabungsuwan was the first.
3. This is the genealogy of the ruler of the country (or town) of Ilanun. The first datu of Malabang was Gantar, the father of Maka-apŭn and Angintābu.
4. This story tells about the ruler of Bakayawan. The first datus of Bakayawan were Mirūgung and Dimalawang.