“Before the arrival of Serif Alli, the first Mahometan prince who came from Mecca to Magindano, the latter had kings of her own. For the towns of Magindano, Selangan, Catibtuan, and Semayanan had, or assumed, the right of taking from the banks of the Dano, that portion of earth, on which the sovereigns were to be consecrated. The towns of Malampyan and Lusuden, are said to have been the first who joined Serif Alli: the other four soon acceded. Serif married a daughter of the last king of the royal line, and on this marriage founded his title to the crown. About the time that Kabansuan son of Serif Alli reigned, a person named Budiman, was Pangaran (a title much used in Sumatra, and inferior to Sultan or Rajah) of Sooloo. Budiman had a grandson, who became his successor; his name was Bonsoo, and he was related to the family that governed at Borneo: which family came also from Mecca, and the head of it was brother to Serif Alli. Bonsoo had two children; a daughter, Potely, by a wife; and a son, Bakliol, by a sandle or concubine. Bakliol, the bastard, robbed his sister Potely (a name which signifies princess) of her right, threw off his dependence on Magindano, and assumed the title of Sultan, his fathers having been only Pangarans of Sooloo. [Potely’s daughter, Panianamby, married Kudarat (the Corralat of Spanish writers), who was succeeded by his son Tidoly; the latter had two sons, Abdaraman and Kuddy. Abdaraman was succeeded by his son Seid Moffat]; but, being an infant, Kuddy his uncle usurped the government, and went to Semoy, carrying with him the effects of the deceased Sultan. Thence he invited the Sooloos to support him against the lawful heir. [They, however, treacherously slew Kuddy, and plundered his camp, seizing therein many pieces of heavy cannon. Seid Moffat’s party then obtained control, but the country was torn by dissensions and civil war. Finally, Seid Moffat was assassinated by his nephew Molenu, but left two sons, Fakymolano and Paharadine; they were obliged to leave Magindano, which town and Selangan were nearly destroyed by fire, and the country was laid waste. After several years of petty war, Molenu was driven up the Palangy to Boyan.] Fakymolano then got possession of all the lands about Magindano, and peace was made soon after, about thirty years ago. Molenu died a natural death, leaving by concubines, two sons, Topang and Uku, also a natural daughter Myong. Fakymolano had about this time given up the Sultanship to his younger brother Paharadine, on condition that Kybad Zachariel, his own son, should be elected Rajah Moodo. Topang and Uku, for some time after the peace, visited Fakymolano and his son; but afterwards, on Paharadine’s marriage with Myong, their sister, they grew shy, as the Sultan took them greatly into his favour. Topang had from his father large possessions, which made him formidable to Rajah Moodo; he was also closely connected with the Sooloos, and had married Gulaludines, daughter of Bantillan, once Sultan of Sooloo. By this time Rajah Moodo had got himself well fortified at Coto-Intang, which is within musket shot of the Sultan’s palace, and within cannon shot of the strong wooden castle of Topang; both of which lie on the south side of the Pelangy. The Sultan Paharadine has no children by his consort Myong; but had by a concubine, a son named Chartow, now arrived at maturity. Whether Myong, who is said to have entirely governed the Sultan, favoured Chartow, or her elder brother Topang, is uncertain; but she was believed the cause of the coolness that prevailed between the Sultan and Rajah Moodo; who, though duly elected, and acknowledged lawful successor, yet, when I came to Magindano, in May, 1775, had not visited his uncle for above a year. Fakymolano, Rajah Moodo’s father, lived at that time, just without the gate of his son’s fort.” Some of the allusions in this account need explanation, which is partly obtained elsewhere in Forrest’s pages. “The town, that goes properly by the name of Magindano, consists at present, of scarce more than twenty houses. They stand close to, and just above where a little creek, about eighteen foot broad, runs perpendicular into the Pelangy, from a small lake about one mile distant, and about half a mile in circumference. This small lake is called the Dano; the creek I have just mentioned, is the Rawass (or river) Magindano; and from the banks of the lake or Dano, a little earth is taken, upon which the Raiah Moodo (that is young king) must stand when he is consecrated Sultan. The Rajah Moodo is elected by the states, and succeeds the Sultan; similar to the king of the Romans succeeding the emperors of Germany. A Watamama (that is, male child) is also elected, who becomes Rajah Moodo, when Rajah Moodo becomes Sultan.” “The town of Selangan may be said to make one town with Magindano, as communicating with it by several bridges over the Rawass; it extends about one mile down the south side of the Pelangy, forming a decent street for one-half of the distance. In the lower part the town extends about half a mile, in several irregular streets; where many Chinese reside. In the town of Selangan altogether, may be about two hundred houses; below the Sultan’s palace, about twenty yards, is a brick and mortar foundation remaining of a Spanish chapel.” The spelling of proper names in Forrest’s remarks is more or less phonetic and Anglicized; the reader may compare them with the accurate spelling furnished above by Dr. Saleeby. In VOL. XLI of this series (pp. 280, 281) will be seen a map of the valley of the Pulangui River, with the towns on its banks and its tributaries; the original is in the British Museum, and is evidently the basis for two maps which Forrest published in his Voyage (at p. 200). (Cf. these, and the map of the Rio Grande in U. S. Gazetteer, p. 662.) The date given in VOL. XLI was furnished at the Museum as approximately correct; but Mawlāna’s map was given to Forrest in 1775, and the latter says (p. 186) that it was deposited in the British Museum. The sultan of Mindanao ceded to the English, at Forrest’s request, the island of Bunwoot, now called Bonga; it forms the shelter to Polloc harbor. The town of Mindanao or Magindano was at or near the site of the present Cotabato—“population, 3,000. The Chinese control the commerce of the place.” (U. S. Gazetteer, p. 475.) Forrest says (p. 185): “The Chinese settled at Magindano are not permitted to trade higher [up the river] than Boyan; the Mindanoers being jealous of their superior abilities in trade.” [↑]
[7] The pay of native auxiliaries from Bohol was (in 1733) reckoned at a monthly wage for each man of “thirty gantas of rice, four silver reals, a span [mano] of tobacco, and one chinanta of salt.” (Concepción, Hist. de Philipinas, x, p. 311.)
“The Indian’s largest unit of weight is a chinanta, which they divide into 10 cates of the province, which are 20 of standard weight [de romana]; the cate contains 8 taels of the province, which are 16 of standard weight.” (Encina and Bermejo’s Arte Cebuano, Tambobong, 1894, p. 159.) [↑]
[8] The governor sent orders to the alcaldes-mayor that “all the rancherías or visitas close to the coast should be compulsorily united, either to the larger villages or to each other, so that even the smallest village should exceed, if possible, five hundred tributes—in consequence of which measure all should fortify themselves, as the lay of the land should permit.... All these measures were at that time admirable, and would have been thoroughly effective if the inclusion of the smaller villages in the larger ones, or their consolidation, had been carried out more energetically by those whose duty it was. For this undertaking, and to stir up the negligent and careless, the armadas were more necessary than for opposing and restraining the Moros; they gave but little attention to the latter, and still less to the former, and everything was left in the same necessity, and the same condition, [as before].” (Concepción, Hist. de Philipinas, x, pp. 364, 368.) [↑]
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL DATA
The matter in this volume is obtained from the following sources:
1. Events in Filipinas, 1721–1739.—From various sources, fully credited in the text.
2. Primary instruction.—In its various parts, as follows: I—from Vicente Barrantes’s La instrucción primaria en Filipinas (Madrid, 1869), condensed from pp. 97, 98, 147–151, and 166–168 (from a copy belonging to the Library of Congress); II—from Daniel Grifol y Aliaga’s La instrucción primaria en Filipinas (Manila, 1894), extract from preface (from a copy belonging to the Library of Congress); III-XVII—from the above book, pp. 1–7, 11–16, 117–132, 148–157, 132–136, 41–52, 61–100, and 425–445, 401–405.
3. Dominican educational institutions, 1896–1897.—From an unsigned and undated MS. belonging to Rev. T. C. Middleton, O.S.A.