History of Mindanao, Part IV: The Maguindanao Sultanate in the Late 17th Century, Part 2

In my previous "History" entry, "History of Mindanao, Part IV: Central and Western Mindanao in the 17th Century" I excerpted from Chapter 11 of William Dampier's travelogue, "A New Voyage Around the Worlrd" (London:James Knapton)(1697). Granted, it wasn't the most interesting portion of Dampier's time on Mindanao. Chapter 11 merely focuses on his trip from Guam to the Philippines, which took about 3 weeks, and a sighting of some Filipinos on the island to the east of Mindanao known to the English as "Saint John's Island," due to a cartographic error by the Portugese nearly a century before.In reality the island more than likely is today's Siargao, which belongs to Surigao del Norte Province. After lowering a skiff and mindlessly chasing after the terrified Filipinos who ran their canoe up onto the beach and then ran madly into the jungle screaming, Dampier et al returned disappointed to their ship. Though it isn't discussed at that point they eventually approach Mindanao and then circumnavigate the island without interacting with a single Filipino...until landfall in the Sultunate of Maguindanao, in what is today North Cotabato Province.

He continues Chapter 11 discussing the flora and fauna of the land, albeit briefly as he readies the reader for a more interesting Chapter 12. In Dampier's mind the Sultan of Maguindanao is the most powerful ruler on the island though even with his limited knowledge Dampier realises that the Sultan does not rule the entire island. In present terms the Sultanate mastered a mere single province,combining the Cotabato basin and the Maguindanao lowlands. Living nearly as a hostage of the Sultan Dampier's hugely erroneous assumption in imagining that most Mindanowans were Muslims is not only understandable, it is to be expected. Indeed it is a mistake Filipinos themselves make even today; Islam has only ever existed, on Mainland Mindanao, within a relatively tiny portion of the island. The area corresponding today with the following provinces:

1) Lanao del Sur

2) Maguindanao (most of)

3) North Cotabato (most of)

that is it. Through migration and attrition portions of the Zamboanga Peninsula and coastal portions of the Davao Region have also become Islamicised over the last 150 years but Mindanao is a huge island; to view it as "Islamic" is to engage either in deliberate deceit or sheer ignorance, sometimes a combination of both.

Chapter 12: "Of the Inhabitants, and Civil State of the Isle of Mindanao":

The island is not subject to one prince, neither is the language one and the same; but the people are much alike in colour, strength,and stature. They are all or most of them of one religion, which is Mohammedanism [SIC], and their customs and manner of living are all alike. The Mindanao people more particularly so called, are the greatest nation in the island and, trading by sea with other nations, they are therefore the more civil. I shall say but little of the rest, being less known to me but, so much as has come to my knowledge, take as follows.

There are besides the Mindanayans,the Hilanoones (as they call them) or the Mountaineers, the Sologues and Alfoores.

The Hilanoones live in the heart of the country: they have little or no commerce by sea, yet they have proas with 12 or 14 oars a piece. They enjoy the benefit of the gold-mines and with their gold buy foreign commodities of the Mindanao people. They have also plenty of beeswax which they exchange for other commodities.

The Sologues inhabit the north-west end of the island. They are the least nation of all; they trade to Manila in proas and to some of the neighbouring islands but have no commerce with the Mindanao people.

The Alfoores are the same with the Mindanayan and were formerly under the subjection of the Sultan of Mindanao, but were divided between the Sultan's children,and have of late had a Sultan of their own; but having by marriage contracted an alliance with the Sultan of Mindanao this has occasioned that prince to claim them again as his subjects; and he made war with them a little after we went away, a s I afterwards understood.

The Mindanayans properly so-called are men of mean statures; small limbs, straight bodies, and little heads. Their faces are oval, their foreheads flat, with small black eyes, short low noses, pretty large mouths; their lips thin and red, their teeth black, yet very sound, their hair black and straight, the colour of their skin tawny but inclining to a brighter yellow than some other Indians, especially the women. They have a custom to wear their thumb nails very long, especially that on their left thumb, for they do never cut it but scrape it often. They are endued with good natural wits, are ingenious, nimble, and active, when they are minded but generally very lazy and thievish, and will not work except forced by hunger. This laziness is natural to most Indians; but these people's laziness seems rather to proceed and so much from their natural inclinations, as from the severity of their prince of whom they stand in awe; for he, dealing with them very arbitrarily, and taking from them what they get, this damps their industry, so they never have to strive to have anything but from hand to mouth. They are generally proud and walk very stately. They are civil enough to strangers and will easily be acquainted with them and entertain them with great freedom; but they are implacable to their enemies and very vengeful if the are injured, frequently poisoning secretly those that have affronted them.

They wear but few clothes; their heads are circled with a short turban, fringed or laced at both ends; it goes once about the head, and is tied in a knot, the laced ends hanging down.They wear frocks and breeches,but no stockings ir shoes.

The women are fairer than the men; and their hair is black and long; which they tie in a knot that hangs back in their poles. They are more round-visaged than the men and generally well featured; only their noses are very small and so low between their eyes that in some of the female children the rising that should be between the eyes is scarce discernible; neither is there any sensible rising in their foreheads. At a distance they appear very well; but being near these impediments are very obvious. They have very small limbs. They wear but two garments; a frock and a sort of petticoat; the petticoat is only a piece of cloth, sewed both ends together: but it is made two foot too big for their waists, so that they may wear either end uppermost: that part that comes up to the waist, because it is so much too big, they gather it in their hands and twist it till it fits close to their waists, tucking in the twisted part between their waist and the edge of the petticoat, which keeps it close. The frock fits loose about them and reaches down a little below the waist. The sleeves are a great deal longer than their arms and so small at the end that their hands will scarce go through.Being on,the sleeve fits in folds about the wrist, wherein they take great pride.

The better sort of people have their garments made of long cloth; but the ordinary sort wear cloth made of plaintain-tree which they call saggen, by which name they call the plantain (SEE CHAPTER 11, PREVIOUS "HISTORY" ENTRY). They have neither stocking nor shoe, and the women have very small feet.

The women are very desirous of the company of strangers, especially of white men; and doubtless would be very familiar if the custom of the country did not debar them from that freedom, which seems coveted by them. Yet from the highest to the lowest they are allowed liberty to converse with or treat strangers in the sight of their husbands.

There is a kind of begging custom at Mindanao that I have not met elsewhere in all my travels; and which I believe is owing to the little trade they have; which is thus: when strangers arrive here the Mindanao men will come aboard and invite them to their houses and inquire who has a comrade (which word I believe they have from the Spaniards) or a pagally, and who has not. A comrade is a familiar male friend; a pagally is an innocent platonic friend of the opposite sex. All strangers are in a manner obliged to accept of this acquaintance and familiarity, which must first be purchased with a small present and afterwards confirmed with some gift or other to continue the acquaintance: and as often as the stranger goes ashore he is welcome to his comrade or pagally's house where he may be entertained for his money,to eat, drink, or sleep; and complimented as often as he comes ashore with tobacco and betel-nut which is all the entertainment he must expect gratis. The richest men's wives are allowed the freedom to converse with her pagally in public, and may give or receive presents from him. Even the Sultan's and the General's wives, who are always cooped up, will yet look out of their cages when a stranger passes by and demand of him if he wants a pagally: and,to invite him to their friendship, will send a present of tobacco and betel-nut to him by their servants.

The chiefest city on this island is called by the same name of Mindanao. It is seated by the south side of the island, in latitude 7 Degrees 20 minutes north on the banks of a small river, about 2 miles from the sea. The manner of building is somewhat strange yet generally used in this part of the East Indies. Their houses are all built on posts about 14, 16, 18, or 20 foot high. These posts are bigger or less according to the intended superstructure. They have but one floor but many partitions or rooms, and a ladder or stairs to go up out of the sreets. The roof is large and covered with palmetto or palm-leaves. So there is a clear passage like a piazza (but a filthy one) under the house. Some of the poorer people that keep ducks or hens have a fence made round the posts of their houses with a door to go in or out; and this under-room serves for no other use. Some use this place for the common draught of their houses but, building mostly close by the river in all parts of the Indies, they make the river receive all the filth oof their house; and at the time the land-floods all is washed very clean.

The Sultan's house is much bigger than any of the rest. It stands on about 180 great posts or trees a great deal higher than the common building, with great broad stairs made to go up. In the first room he has about 20 iron guns, all Saker and Minion, placed on field carriages. The General and other great men have some guns also in their houses.About 20 paces from the Sultan's house there is a small low house built purposely for the reception of ambassadors or merchant strangers. This also stands on posts but the floor is not raised above three or four foot above the ground,and is neatly matted purposely for the Sultan and his council to sit on; for they use no chairs but sit cross-legged like tailors on the floor.

The common food at Mindanao is rice or sago,and a small fish or two. The better sort eat buffalo (CARABOA) or fowls ill dressed, and abundance or rice with it. They use no spoons to eat their rice but every man takes a handful out of the platter and, by wetting his hand in water, that it may not stick to his hand, squeezes it into a lump as hard as he possibly can make it, and then crams it into his mouth. They all strive to make these lumps as big as their mouth can receive them and seem to vie with each other and glory in taking in the biggest lump; so that sometimes they almost choke themselves.They always wash after meals or if they touch anything that is unclean; for which reasion they spend abundance of water in their houses. This water, with the washing of their dishes and what other filth they make, they pour down near their fireplace; for their chambers are not boarded but floored with split bamboo like lath, so that the water presently is underneath their dwelling rooms where it breeds maggots and makes a prodigious stink. Besides this filthiness the sick people case themselves in their chambers, there being a small hole made purposely in the floor to let it drop through. But healthy sound people commonly ease themselves and make water in the river. For that reason you shall always see abundance of people of both sexes in the river from morning till night; some easing themselves,others washing their bodies or clothes.If they come into the river purposely to wash their clothes they strip and stand naked till they have done then put them on and march out again; both men and women take great delight in swimming and washing themselves, being bred to it from their infancy. I do believe it is very wholesome to wash mornings and evenings in these hot countries at least three or four days in the week; for I did use myself to it when I lived afterwards at Bencoolen, and found it very refreshing and comfortable. It is very good for those that have fluxes to wash and stand in the river mornings and evenings. I speak it experimentally for I was brought very low with distemper at Achin; but by washing constantly mornings and evenings I found great benefit and was quickly cured of it.

In the city of Mindanao they speak 2 languages indifferently, their own Mindanao language and the Malaya but in other parts of the island they speak only their proper language, having little commerce abroad. They have schools and instruct their children to read and write and bring them up in the Mohammedan religion. Therefore many of the words,especially their prayers, are in Arabic; and many of the words of civility the same as in Turkey; and especially when they meet in the morning or take leave of each other they express themselves in that language.

Many of the old people both men and women can speak Spanish for the Spaniards were formerly settled among them and had several forts on this island; and then they sent two friars to the city to convert the Sultan of Mindanao and his people.At that time these people began to learn Spanish,and the Spaniards encroached on them and endeavoured to bring them into subjection; and probably before this time had brought them all under their yoke if they themselves had not been drawn off from this island to Manila to resist the Chinese, who threatened to invade them there. When the Spaniards were gone the old Sultan, father to the present, in whose time it was, razed and demolished their forts, brought away their guns, and sent away the friars; and since that time will not suffer the Spaniards to settle on the islands.

They are now most afraid of the Dutch, being sensible how they have enslaved many of the neighboring islands. For that reason they have a long time desired the English to settle among them and have offered them any convenient place to build a fort in, as the General himself told us; giving this reason, that they do not find the English so encroaching as the Dutch or Spanish. The Dutch are no less jealous of their admitting the English for they are sensible what detriment it would be to them if the English should settle here.

There are but few tradesmen at the city of Mindanao. The chiefest trades are goldsmiths, blacksmiths,and carpenters. There are but two or three goldsmiths; these will work in gold or silver and make anything that you desire; but they have no shoppe furnished with ware ready-made for sale. Here are several blacksmiths who work very well, considring the tools that they worked with. Their bellows are much different from ours. They are made of a wooden cylinder, the trunk of a tree,about 3 feet long,bored hollow like a pump and set upright on the ground,on which the fire itself is made.Near the lower end there is a small hole,in the side of the trunk next to the fire,made to receive a pipe through which the wind is driven to the fire by a great bunch of fine feathers, fastened to one end of the stick which, closing up the inside of the cylinder, drives the air out of the cylinder through the pipe; two of these trunks or cylinders are placed so near together that a man standing between them may work them both at once or alternately, one with each hand.They have neither vice nor anvil but a great hard stone or a piece of an old gun to hammer upon; yet they will perform their work, making both common utensils and iron-works about ships to admiration. They work together with charcoal. Every man is almost a carpenter for they can work with the axe and the adze. Their axe is but small and so made that they can take it out of the helve, and by turning it make an adze of it. They have no saws but when they make a plank of each part, planing it with the axe and the adze. This requires much pains and takes up a great deal of time;but they work cheap, and the goodness of the plank thus hewed,which has its grain preserved entire,makes amends for their cost and pains.

They build good and serviceable ships or barks for the sea, some for trade, others for pleasure; and some ships of war. Their trading vessels they send chiefly to Manila. There they transport beeswax, which I think, is the only commodity besides gold that they vend there. The inhabitants of the city of Mindanao get a great deal of beeswax themselves; but the greatest quantity they purchase is of the Mountaineers (HIGAON-ON TRIBE), from whom they also get the gold which they send to Manila; and with these they buy their calicoes, muslins and China silk. They send sometimes their barks to Borneo and other islands; but what they transport there, or import from there, I know not.

The Dutch come here in sloops from Ternate and Tidore and buy rice, beeswax,and tobacco; for here is a great deal of tabacco grows on this island, more than any other island or country in the East Indies that I know of,Manila only excepted.It is an excellent sort of tobacco;but these people have not the art of managing this trade to their best advantage as the Spaniards have at Manila. I do believe the seeds were first brought here from Manila by the Spaniards,and even there, in all probability, from America; the difference between the Mindanao and Manila tobacco is that the Mindanao tobacco is of a darker colour and the leaf larger and grosser than the Manila tobacco, being propagated or planted in a fatter soil.The Manila tobacco is of a bright yellow colour, of an indifferent size, not strong, but pleasant to smoke.The Spaniards at Manila are very curious about this tobacco, having a peculiar way of making it up neatly in the leaf. For they take two little sticks, each about a foot long and flat and, placing the stalks of the tobacco leaves in a row,40 or 50 of them between the two sticks, they bind them hard together so that the leaves hang dangling down. One of these bundles is sold for a rial at Fort St.George; but you may have 10 or 12 pounds of tobacco at Mindanao for a rial; and the tobacco is as good or rather better than the Manila tobacco, but they have not the outlet for it as the Spaniards have.

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I will conclude Chapter 12 in an upcoming entry entitled,"History of Mindanao,Part IV: Central and Western Mindanao in the Late 17th Century, Part 3".

History of Mindanao,Part IV: The Maguindanao Sultanate in the Late 17th Century, Part 1

The following excerpt is from a wonderful 17th Century travelogue,"A New Voyage Around the World" (London:James Knapton)(1697) by the Englishman William Dampier. Dampier was an English Privateer, a pirate operating under liscence to his sovereign, the King of England. Though attacks on English shipping were verboten everything else was fair game though the Crown much preferred that he concentrate on England's enemies, the Spanish and the Dutch with emphasis on the former. During Dampier's long voyage the ship skirts the coasts of the Americas, preying upon Spanish shipping in Central and South America. Then it is onto the Pacific and eventually, after a stop over in Guam, to Mindanao.

Dampier thought like a businessman and so his writings tend to focus on commercial opportunities for fellow Englishmen. I have omitted long rambling portions about the weather, the moorings at sea, and about flora and fauna the modern reader is more than familiar with. While one understands a 17th Century Englishman's fascination with the banana not many modern readers will need to hear his very in depth discussion about it. Basically I have retained those portions I imagine to be somewhat unusual to the modern reader, Filipino or otherwise. For example, most Mindanowans are unaware but rice wasn't common in the Southern Philippines until the middle of the 19th Century. On Mindanao and points south the staple was Sago, which Dampier discusses at length. Likewise the incredibly deeply entrenched custom of Betel Chewing has all but disappeared. Strangely one can find it much more easily in Metro Manila (though only amongst the elderly) than they can anywhere in the Southern Philippines.

Arriving in the Philippines six days put of Guam Dampier mistakenly labels Siargao Island, today part od Mindanao's Surigao del Norte Province, as "Saint John's Island." The mistake was no fault of his own since a Portugese cartographer nearly a hundred years before had applied the label which heretofore had belonged to an islet in the Caroline Islands. Sighting a canoe off of Siargao Dampier's crewmates went out in a skiff to meet it but instead terrified the natives manning it. Giving chase they followed the canoe onto shore but were unable to coax the terrified natives who had escaped into the jungle.

Closing in on Mainland Mindanao at the northeast tip, today's Surigao del Norte, they began skirting the coast as the moved south. Rounding the southeastern tip they continued following the southern coast until thet found Saragani Bay where thet found a decent mooring and spent some time hunting deer in the cogon grasslands surrounding parts of the bay. Thry then continued on until rounding the southwest tip. Following the western coast the finally arrived at the mouth of the Pulangi River, or as the Spanish called it, "El Rio Grande de Mindanao."

There they found a settlement on the southern shore of the river, extending 1.3 kilometer or so upriver, though the settlement wasn't particularly wide. This was the Sultanate of Maguindanao though at the time the Maguindanawons referred to themselves as "Mindanawons," a name which was later applied to the whole island by the Spanish. The two word's meanings are closely related and in a later installment of "History of Central and Western Mindanao Part IV: The Maguindanao Sultanate in the late 17th Century" I delve into the etymology of both words. Ruling the town, and in the eyes of Dampier, the island, was the 9th Sultan of Maguindanap, Barahaman Mohammedwho ruled the Sultanate from 1678 to 1697, when he died.

The people had adopted Islam in the previous century but were far from religious. In fact, aside from an abhorrence of swine nothing else remotely connects them to the faith. There is one mosque but only the Sultan attended it, semingly out of protocol since his own brother, commander of the Sultanate's naval forces never went near it. In Part 6 we even see the brother get racously drunk on rice liquor.

At first Dampier showers the Sultanate and its people with accolades but within two months he is accusing the Sultan's brother of thievery and lying but alas, I don't want to spoil it for you:


Chapter 11 "They Resolve to go to Mindanao":

While we lay at Guam we took up a resolution of going to Mindanao, one of the Philippine Islands, being told by the friar and others that it was exceedingly well stored with provisions; that the natives were Mohammedans, and that they had formerly at commerce with the Spaniards, but that now they were at war with them. This island was therefore thought to be a convenient place for us to go; for besides that it was in our way to the East Indies, which we had resolved to visit;and that the westerly monsoon was at hand, which would oblige us to shelter somewhere in a short time, and that we could not expect good harbors in a better place than in so large an island as Mindanao; besides all this, I say, the inhabitants of Mindanao being then, as we were told (though falsely) at war with the Spaniards, our men, who it should seem were very squeamish of plundering without liscence, derived hopes from thence of getting a commission there from the prince of the island to plunder the Spanish ships about Manila, and so to make Mindanao their common rendevouz. And if Captain Swan was minded to go to an English port yet his men, who thought he intended to leave them, hoped to get vessels and pilots at Mindanao fit for their turn, to cruise on the coast of Manila. As for Captain Swan he was willing enough to go there as best suiting his own design; and therefore this voyage was concluded on by general consent.

Accordingly June 2nd, 1686 we left Guam bound for Mindanao. The 21st day of June we arrived at the island of St.John, which is one of the Philippine Islands. As we were passing by the south-east end we saw a canoe of the natives under the shore; therefore one of our canoes went after to have spoken with her; but she ran away from us, seeing themselves chased, put their canoe ashore, leaving her, fled into the woods; nor would be allured to come to us, although we did what we could to entice them; besides these men we saw no more here nor sign of any inhabitants at this end.

When we came aboard our ship again we steered away for the island of Mindanao, which was now fair in sight of us; it being about 10 leagues distant from this part of St.John's. The 22nd day we came within a league of the east side of the island of Mindanao. We steered toward the north end, keeping on the east side and there we anchored in a small bay, about a mile from the shore.

Of the trees, there is one sort which deserves particular notice; called by the natives libby trees. These grow wild in great groves of 5 to 6 miles long by the sides of the rivers. Of these trees sago is made,which the poor country people eat instead of bread 3 or 4 months in the year. This tree for its body and shape is much like the palmetto-tree or the cabbage-tree, but not so tall as the latter. The bark and wood is hard and thin like a shell,and full of white pith like the pith of an elder. This tree they cut down and split in the middle and scrape out all the pith; which they beat lustily with a wooden pestle in a great mortar or trough, and then put into a cloth or strainer held over a trough; and, pouring water in among the pith, they stir it about in the cloth; so the water carries all the substance of the pith through the cloth down into the trough, leaving nothing in the cloth but a light sort of husk which they throw away; but that which falls into the trough settles in a short time to the bottom like mud; and then they draw off the water, and take up the muddy substance, with which they make cakes; which being baked proves very good bread.

The native Indians of Ternate and Tidore and all the Spice Islands have plenty of these trees, and use them for food in the same manner; as I have been informed by Mr.Caril Rofy who is now commander of one of the king's ships. He was one of our company at this time; and being left with Captain Swan at Mindanao, went afterwards to Ternate and lived there among the Dutch a year or two. The sago which is transported into other parts of the East Indies is dried in small pieces like little seeds or comfits and commonly eaten with milk of almonds by those that are troubled with the flux; for it is a great binder and very good in that distemper.

In some places of Mindanao there is plenty of rice; but in the hilly land they plant yams, potatoes, and pumpkins; all of which thrive very well. The other fruits of this island are watermelons, musk melons, plantains, bananas, guavas, nutmegs, cloves, betel-nuts, durians, jacks or jacas, coconuts, oranges, etc.

On the plantain,the fruit of this tree is of great use for food so is the body no less serviceable to make clothes; but this I never knew till' I came to this island. The ordinary people of Mindanao do wear no other cloth. The tree never bearing but once, and so, being felled when the fruit is ripe, they cut it down close by the ground if they intend to make cloth with it. One blow with a hatchet or long knife will strike it asunder; then they cut off the top, leaving the trunk 8 to 10 feet long, stripping off the outer rind, which is thickest towards the lower end, having stripped 2 or 3 of these rinds, the trunk becomes in a manner all of one bigness, and of a whitish colour; then they split the trunk in the middle; which being done they split the 2 halves again as near the middle as they can. This they leave in the sun 2 or 3 days, in which time part of the juicy substance of the tree dries away, and then the ends will appear full of small threads. The women, whose employment it is to make the cloth, take hold of those threads one by one, which rend away easily from one end of the trunk to the other, in bigness like whited-brown thread; for the threads are naturally of a determinate bigness, as I observed their cloth to be all of one substance and equal fineness; but it is stubborn when new, wears out too soon, and when wet feels a little slimy. They make their pieces 7 or 8 yards long,all one thickness.

The betel-nut is much esteemed here, as it is in most places of the East Indies. This fruit is bigger than a nutmeg and is much like it but rounder. It is much used all over the East Indies. Their way is to cut it into four pieces, and wrap one of them up in an arek-leaf which they spread with a soft paste made of lime or plaster,and then chew it together. Every man in these parts carries his lime-box by his side and,dipping his finger into it, spreads his betel and arek-leaf with it. The arek is a small tree or shrub, of a green bark, and the leaf is long and broader than a willow. They are packed up to sell in parts that have them not, to chew with the betel. The betel-nut is most esteemed when it is young and before it has grown hard, and then cut it only in two pieces with the green husk or shell on it. It is then exceedingly juicy and therefore makes them spit much. It tastes rough in the mouth and dyes the lips red, and makes the teeth black,but it preserves them, and cleanses the gums. It is also accounted very wholesome for the stomach; but sometimes it will cause giddiness in the head of those that are not used to chew it. But this is the effect only of the old nut for the young nuts will not do it. I speak of my own experience.

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I will begin Chapter 12 in my next "History" entry,"History of Mindanao, Part IV: Central and Western Mindanao in Late 17th Century, Part 2"