 | This articlemay need to be rewritten to comply with Wikipedia'squality standards, as page needs proper analysis, some paragraphs here are not verified, there were no kingdoms like in the manner of Europeans, Indians, Chinese, and other Southeast Asians in pre-colonial Philippines, and pre-colonial Cebu was not confirmed to be primarily a Hindu-majority kingdom (otherwise, Pigafetta and succeeding chroniclers would have noted it) despite the occurrences of words of Indian origin. Relevant discussion may be found on thetalk page.You can help. The talk page may contain suggestions.(May 2024) |
| Humabon | |
|---|---|
| Rajah of Cebu | |
| Reign | 16th century – 27 April 1521 |
| Predecessor | Sri Parang the Limp |
| Successor | Rajah Tupas |
| Born | Cebu |
| Died | before 1565 |
| Spouse | Hara Humamay (Juana) |
| House | Cebu |
| Father | Sri Bantug |
| Religion | Hinduism (before 1521) Roman Catholicism (after 1521 until Magellan's death) Hinduism (again after Magellan's death) |
Rajah Humabon (alsoHamabao orHamabar), baptized asDon Carlos Valderrama, was a Filipino official who was one of the recorded chiefs in thehistoric polity of Cebu who encounteredFerdinand Magellan in 1521.[1] Humabon, his wife, and his subjects were the first knownChristian converts in thePhilippines. Humabon is also considered the "first Filipino traitor" due to his politicking to force Magellan to subdue neighboringMactan chiefLapulapu, and Humabon's subsequent massacre of the surviving Spaniards and crewmen.[2]
There is no official record of Humabon's existence before the Spanish contact. The existing information was written by Magellan's Italian voyage chronicler,Antonio Pigafetta on Humabon and the indigenous Philippine peoples that existed prior toSpanish colonization. Rajah Humabon is cited as the reason for why Magellan fought in theBattle of Mactan, as the latter wanted to earn the trust of Humabon by helping him subdue his opponent Lapulapu, one of the oldest of four chiefs (ordatus) ofMactan.[3][4] Despite being referred to as "king" in the journal ofAntonio Pigafetta, he was not one in the manner of a monarch in centralized societies. It is plausible that the title was mistakenly applied, as according to succeeding chroniclers,there were no kingdoms in the pre-colonial Philippines.
According to the book"Visayas en la Epoca de la Conquista" ("Visayas at the Time of Conquest") published in 1889 by Isabelo de los Reyes, his name was also pronounced asHamabao which contains the Cebuano word,mabaw, "shallow" and the prefixha-, which is added to adjectives referring to degree, or in poetic usage, gives formal flavor to the style.[5][6] This is possible as it is common in Philippine languages wherein the sounds of /d/, tapped /ɾ/, and /l/ are sometimes identical to one another, case in pointdanaw andlanaw ("lake") as inMaguindanao,Maranao, andLanao[7][6]. Using this trend, it is possible that the sound shifted through either the/l/ sound shifting to /w/ or through/r/ to /l/ and then eventually /w/.
The local academia is skeptical of the folk narrative as there is no official record of the origins of Rajah Humabon prior to the arrival of Magellan. According to Jovito Abellana, Humabon (also known asSriHamabar) was the son of Sri Bantug, and the grandson ofSri Lumay. His ancestor,Sri Lumay, a half-Malay and half-Indian Tamil fromSumatra established Cebu as an Indianized monarchy, and sired at least four known sons, namely Alho, Ukob, Parang the Limp, and Bantug (father of Rajah Humabon).[8] Sri Alho ruled a land known asSialo which included the present-day towns of Carcar and Santander in the southern region of Cebu. Sri Ukob ruled a kingdom known asNahalin in the north which included the present-day towns ofConsolación,Liloan,Compostela, Danao, Carmen andBantayan. He died in battle, fighting with the tribal group known asmagalos fromMindanao.[9] A third brother was Sri Parang the Limp, but could not rule because of his physical infirmity. Sri Bantug, the youngest, ruled a kingdom known asSinghapala[10][11] (a variation of theSanskritSingha-Pura, "City of the Lion", which is also the root ofSingapore),[12] in a region which is now part ofCebu City, who later died of disease and was succeeded by his son Sri Hamabar, also known as Rajah Humabon. Because of his infirmity, Sri Parang handed Bantug's throne to Bantug's son Humabon asregent, and Humabon became therajah (king) of Cebu.
When Sri Bantug died, Sri Parang became his successor, but due to his limp he passed the throne to Humabon.[13] The phraseCata Raya Chita was documented by historian Antonio Pigafetta to be a warning in theMalay language, from a merchant to the Rajah. Following Pigafetta's inscription, the phrase is creole Malay for "Kata-katanya adalah raya cita-cita". The phrase may mean "What they say is mainly ambitious":kata-kata ("words"),–nya (second person possessive),adalah ("is/are"),raya (great, main, large),cita-cita ("ambitious"). Another interpretation is that the phrase was spoken by merchants under the authority of Rajah Humabon was actually theOld MalayKota raya kita, meaning "We are of the great fortress":Kota ("fortress"),Raya ("great"),Kita ("we"). The meeting between Rajah Humabon andEnrique of Malacca, the slave accompanying Magellan's voyage, was documented by Antonio Pigafetta and Spanish explorerMiguel López de Legazpi and is evidence thatOld Malay was understood in parts of what is now the Philippines[citation needed].
According to historical accounts, Rajah Humabon was among the first indigenous converted to Catholicism after he, his wives, and his subjects were baptized by the expedition's priest, Pedro de Valderrama. On April 14, 1521, Humabon was christenedCarlos Valderrama in honor ofKing Charles I of Spain, while his chief consort,Hara Humamay was given the nameJuana, after Charles' mother,Joanna of Castile. It is later presumed that his conversion to Catholicism was a ploy calculated to ensure that he had the support of the visiting Spaniards and to win their friendship.
He also made ablood compact with Magellan, as a sign of friendship; according to Pigafetta, it was Humabon who had requested Magellan to kill his rival,Lapulapu, thedatu or chieftain of nearbyMactan Island.
After the death of Magellan at theBattle of Mactan and the consequent failure of the Spanish to defeat Lapulapu, Humabon's relationship with the Spanish deteriorated, and he eventually renounced Christianity and turned against the Spanish. Humabon and his warriors plotted to poison the remaining Spanish soldiers in Cebu during a feast. Several men were killed, including the then-leaders of the expedition,Duarte Barbosa andJoão Serrão.
According to the chronicler Pigafetta, Serrão, begging to be saved from theCebuanos, allegedly referred toEnrique (Magellan's slave) as having instigated the massacre by claiming to Humabon that the Europeans planned to take over the kingdom.
Humabon's motivations for renouncing Christianity and turning against the Spaniards are not entirely clear, but it is believed that he was influenced by various factors, including dissatisfaction with Spanish rule, conflicts with other native groups, and his desire to maintain his autonomy and authority over his people.
The Rajah Humabon monument is located at Burgos Street inCebu City.
Muchas veces lo tomada de la categoría de la criatura como Hamabao (ó Hamabar según otros autores) que significa principal de poca nobleza...
However, they confuse among themselves very often the letter L, R, and D. In this fashion they become a single letter to them. One cannot tell if it is Ele (L), Erre (RR or R), or De (D), as they commonly pronounce them because, either they speak them in a confused war, or it is impossible to determine which letters as it is.
His version of historical incidents, however, is virtually unknown to the academic community, or if referred to, often met with skepticism
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Rajah Bantug | Rajah ofSugbu c. late 1490s or 1500s–after 1521 | Succeeded by |