New Post -II

The Case of Malay Datu Puti, et al...The Verdict: A Hoax ...(KUNO!)
(By: dinggol a. divinagracia - september 15, 2006)
 
Preface:

One hundred sixteen years ago today, September 15, 1890 --the fifth and last chapter of an essay was published in "LA SOLIDARIDAD". The title "THE INDOLENCE OF THE FILIPINOS'. The writer---Dr. Jose P. Rizal, a filipino reformist--- eventually became the Philippines National Hero

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This article is written as a tribute to The Man of many talents, now considered as the "Pride of the Malayan Race".
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Likewise, this article is written with malice towards none but with due respect to the following to wit:

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1- The Scholars and Historians who had departed:
a) William Henry Scott -an American Historian who in 1968 started it all.
b) Fr. Horacio de la Costa,S.J.-first Filipino Provincial General of the Jesuits. 

c) Teodoro Agoncillo -filipino nationalist at par with the likes of Renato Constantino.

d) Gregorio Zaide -Notable author of many Filipino History School Books.

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2- My friends and relatives who are in any way connected with the Clergy.

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3- And to all the "CONVERTS" of afore-mentioned foreign historian.
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Excerpts from article: The Maragtas Legend by William Henry Scott:
( http://www.mts.net/~pmorrow/marag_f.htm )

The Legends of Maragtas:
 
The stories known as the Maragtas are legends that may have been based on actual events in the remote past. They are about the ten datus or chiefs who escaped the tyranny of Datu Makatunaw of Borneo and emigrated to the island of Panay..."
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Remarks: Mr. Scott did not discount the possibility as to its veracity.
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Pedro Monteclaro's Maragtas:
 
Even though these legends have been known for generations, the word maragtas itself was unknown until it was used as the title of a book by Pedro Alcantara Monteclaro in 1907...

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Monteclaro regarded legends as an important part of Visayan heritage so he collected the various stories of the elderly of Panay and published them in his Maragtas..."

"...A large part of Maragtas appears to be based on a work written in 1858 by Fr. Tomás Santarén, and published in 1902 under the title Historia de los primeros datos. M4 It was a translation of one document of the mid 1800's and another older document..."
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Remarks:  WHAT'S in a NAME?... he could have used the words "Istorya kang Aninipay" or "Sugilanon sang Panay" or whatever.. what's the big deal?

Perhaps these ten datus had different names...and not Puti, Bangkaya, Sumakwel, Paiborong, etc.; the bone of contention is that these Malays peaceful emigration preceded the Spanish brutal conquest of Panay.

Fr. Tomas Santaren, fathered a child in San Joaquin, Iloilo whose son became an illustrious Ilonggo Physician, married to my close elder cousin who knows her family tree like the palm of her hands.
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Dr. Henry Otley Beyer:

The misconceptions surrounding Maragtas were further reinforced when even the highly respected historian, Dr. Henry Otley Beyer called it a prehispanic document. In Philippine Saga which he wrote with Jaime C. de Veyra in 1947, he mentioned a manuscript from Panay known as Maragtas and "the ancient writing in which it was originally inscribed". M7 Then in his Outline Review of Philippine Archaeology of 1949 he wrote the following:

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A remarkable ancient document known as the "Maragtas," dating probably from about 1225, was preserved in Panay and transliterated into romanized Visayan in the early Spanish days. M8
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Remarks: Surely--- findings and opinions of the more credible and highly respected world renowned historian and archaeologist with the caliber of Dr. Henry Otley Beyer holds more ground.

Moreover, Jaime C. de Veyra, a Waray of Leyte whose Ilongga wife Sofia Reyes de Veyra were both notables during their time.
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The Verdict on Maragtas:

Maragtas was finally placed in its proper perspective as a book of legends rather than historical fact in 1968 by William Henry Scott. For his doctoral dissertation at the University of Santo Tomas, Scott made a painstaking investigation into all the sources of information about the Philippines before the coming of the Spaniards.

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Rather than merely plagiarizing past historians, Scott examined the original documents and searched archives and museums the world over for supporting documents and artefacts..."
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Reference:

A Historian dies, but his story lives
by Joel R. Dizon
EDITORIAL [Gold Ore, Oct. ?, 1993]
 
William Henry Scott, renowned historian who authoried 15 books in Philippine history including The Discovery of the Igorots, is dead. He was 72 years old....
 
In it, Scott capsulized 18 years of work, faithfully following a cold trail of yellowed parchment records in some of the most obscure dustbins of history in the world: the Dominican Province, the Augustinian archives in Villadolid, Spain, the archives of the Indies in Seville and the Archivo Historico Nacional in Madrid..."

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Remarks:  Relying mostly on evidence, documents concocted by self-serving chroniclers, some frayles of dubious origin, who together with the Conquistadores went on world rampage of plunder, rape, massacre and land grabbing using the sword and the cross in the name of GOD! and KING! to me --- is objectionable!.
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Panel of Filipino Historians:

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Scott's meticulous research was published in 1968 in his book Prehispanic Source Materials for the Study of Philippine History and since then no historian has contested his conclusions. M12

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Remarks:

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But who are these three supposedly eminent Filipino historians. Will somebody tell me please! --- Marcelino Forondo; Mercedes Grau Santamaria; Nicholas Zafra
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The Result of Scott's Discoveries:

Most continued to reprint their old texts while others wrote new books that still contained the old mistakes. Take for example this quote from Ang Pagsulong ng Pamayanan (1981):

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Maragtas' Code is the premier example of written law and it has been considered the oldest because it was in effect from 1250. M13...

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Jose Villa Panganiban used Maragtas to trace the origin of the Tagalog language in the preface of the very popular English-Tagalog Dictionary by Fr. Leo James English in 1965. M14 To this day it remains unrevised in spite of many reprintings.

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Even one member of Scott's dissertation panel did not appear to be eager to set the record straight. Gregorio Zaide continued to include information from Maragtas in works such as Pageant of Philippine History in 1979, History of the Republic of the Philippines in 1983 and Philippine History 1984...

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Postscript:
To this day ignorance and misunderstanding of the true nature of Maragtas is still prevalent throughout Philippine society even among its highest institutions and organizations. Evidence of this can be seen in the following list of web sites:

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Supreme Court of the Philippines
Department of Education, Republic of the Philippines
Governor's Office, Province of Antique
Mayor's Office, City of Iloilo
Madya-as Heritage Foundation Inc.
Save Madya-as, Save Panay. 
Akaenon.Com
Confederation of Madyaas.
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Remarks:
Not only the Highest Court of the land and the Philippine Educational heirachy choose to ignore and dismiss this misconcepcion propagated by Henry William Scott; but still many, many more respectable institutions, groups and enlightened citizenry.
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The Indolence of the Filipinos

English translation by Charles Derbyshire.  The article by José Rizal, originally written in Spanish, was published in La Solidaridad in five installments, from July 15 to September 15, 1890.

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Part-III

"...Wherefore, Gaspar de San Agustin says: "Although anciently there were in this town of Dumangas many people, in the course of time they have very greatly diminished because the natives are the best sailors and most skillful rowers on the whole coast, and so the governors in the port of Iloilo take most of the people from this town for the ships that they send abroad . . .  When the Spaniards reached this island (Panay) it is said that there were on it more than fifty thousand families; but these diminished greatly . . . 
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Part-IV

"...Speaking of Ipion, in Panay, Padre Gaspar de San Agustin says: "It was in ancient times very rich in gold . . . but provoked by he annoyances they suffered from some governors they have ceased to get it out, preferring to live in poverty than to suffer such hardships." (page 378) 

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For some time the friars have deceived many by making them believe that if these plantations were prospering, it was because they were under their care, and the indolence of the natives was thus emphasized; but they forget that in some provinces where they have not been able for some reason to get possession of the best tracts of land, their plantations, like Bauan and Liang, are inferior to Taal, Balayan, and Lipa, regions cultivated entirely by the natives without any monkish interference whatsoever...."
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Remarks:
Evidently, descendants of these early Malay Datus abounded in "Araut" or Dumangas in Iloilo and "Taal" in Batangas as contained in my article---The Descendants of "Datu Puti" which is in contradiction to Mr. Scott's theory but conforms with Dr. Jose Rizal' essay.
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Epilogue:

I wonder how this retired lay missionary of the Episcopal Church from New Jersey USA, in a short span of only nine (9) years since his 1954 arrival in the Philippines was able to twist the minds thereafter, of some people to forget their glorious past and noble heritage.