The Site of the First Mass:

Masao or Limasawa?
Presentors
Region XIII (Caraga) Prof. R.
Dinerman
Region X (N. Mindanao) Prof. M.
Pagapulaan
Prof. R. Baldado
Prof. P. Mendoza
Prof. S. Chan
Criteria for
Adjudication

3 Ms
•Manner
•Matter
•Method
Debate or Discussion
Flow
Arguments for Limasawa

Arguments for Masao

Merits of the Arguments

Relevance of the Topic

Account of the First Mass

“... [From Humunu, we] took the

course between west and southwest,
and passed amidst four small islands,
i.e., Cenalo, Pluinanghar, Ibusson,
and Abarien.
“… [T]he 28th of March, having seen
the night before fire upon an island,
we … anchor at this island …This
island is in 9 ⅔ degrees north
latitude…. It is 25 leagues distant
from … [Humunu and] is named
Antonio Pigafetta
Mazzava.”
Antonio Pigaffeta of Vicenza [Antonio Lombardo]
(Lombardo) in Henry Edward John Stanley (trans. and ed.). The First Voyage Round
the World by Magellan: Translated from accounts of Pigafetta and
other contemporary writers. London. Hakluyt Society, 1874: 80-83
Account of the First Mass

“... On Sunday, the last day of March,

and feast of Easter, the captain sent
the chaplain ashore early to say mass
… When it was time for saying mass
the captain went ashore with fifty
men, … dressed as well as each one
was able to dress … [W]hen the
offertory of the mass came, the two
Fernão de Magalhães kings went to kiss the cross like us….”
Fernando de Magallanes
Antonio Pigaffeta of Vicenza [Antonio Lombardo]
Ferdinand Magellan in Henry Edward John Stanley (trans. and ed.). The First
Voyage Round the World by Magellan: Translated from
accounts of Pigafetta and other contemporary writers.
London. Hakluyt Society, 1874: 80
Current Map of the Area
Homonhon

Masao
Topography: Limasawa

Three islands (Camiguin, Bohol, and Lapinig) can be seen in the distant
west and southwest.
Topography: Masao,
Butuan

The seashore today in Masao and a replica of the balanghai.

Limasawa as the
Site
Limasawa as the Site

Arguments:
[Link] of Albo’s log book
[Link] evidence of Pigaffeta
[Link] evidence from the Legazpi
tradition
Albo’s account

“ From here we departed and sailed

west, and fell in with a large island called
Seilani, which is inhabited, and contains
gold; we coasted it, and went to west-
southwest, to a small inhabited island
called Mazaba. The people are very
good, and there we placed a cross upon
a mountain from there were shown three
islands to the west and southwest.…
Francisco Albo (or Alvaro), “ Logbook of the voyage of Fernando
de Magallanes”
in Henry Edward John Stanley (trans. and ed.), The First Voyage
Round the World by Magellan: Translated from accounts of
a page of a Pigafetta and other contemporary writers. London: Hakluyt
Society, 1874
manuscript version
Pigaffeta’s Account

 Pigafetta’s testimony as regards

the route taken by the expedition
from the Pacific Ocean to Cebu
 Presence of two native kings
 The events of the seven days at
the island of “Mazaua”
 An argument from omission

Antonio Pigafetta
(Lombardo)
Confirmation from Legazpi’s
Account

 Searched for Mazaua

 Intended to go to Butuan but the

winds brought them to Bohol

 Legazpi expedition: Mazaua was

an island near Leyte and Panaon

Miguel
López de Legazpi
Masao as the Site
Arguments for Masao, Butuan

• Name of the place

 in the accounts of Pigafetta, Albo, the
Genoese pilot, and Ginés de Mafra the name
of the island starts with letter M (Mazaua)
 one must not accept B & R’s translation
uncritically; he even translates Pigafetta’s
“caza” into “hunt” when it should be “hut”
(Schreurs); we should rely on the manuscript
of Pigafetta
 Stanley (1874) merely asserts in a footnote,
without any argument or proof: “It is doubtless
the Limasaua of the present day, off the south
point of Samar.”

 B & R (1903) merely declares: “It is now

called the island of Limasaua, and has an area
of about ten and one-half square miles.” Most
succeeding Philippine historians then accepted
this as fact.
• The navigator’s route from
Homonhon
 The travel from Homonhon to Mazaua took 3
days, yet Limasawa is so near Homonhon

• The latitude
 Actual latitude of Limasawa is 9 degrees 56
min; Masao’s latitude is 8 degrees 57 min
 The latitudes given by Albo (9 ⅓) and the
Genoese pilot (9) point more to Masao
• The route to Cebu
 on its way to Cebu, the fleet sailed along “Ceylon
(Leyte), Bohol, and Baybay, Catighan, and Canighan”
 Mazaua-Gatighan distance is 20 leguas (80 n. miles)
(Pigafetta)
 actual Limasawa-Gatighan distance is only one legua
(4 n.m.)
• The geographical features of
the place
 Artifacts
• At the eastern edge of Pinamanculan, balanghai boats,
burial grounds, ceramics, gold ornaments, and
processing tools have been excavated—they suggest a
thriving community and port centuries ago

 Ecofacts
• The Butuan River delta has evolved; a deltaic island
existing in 1521 (geologists say it is the present
Pinamanculan Hills in Butuan City) has fused with the
mainland
• Another contemporary account of the voyage describes
Mazaua as 3-4 leagues in circumference (Ginés de
Mafra), which implies an area of 2,214 to 3,930
hectares; but Limasawa has only 698 hectares
Alternative Account: Ginés
de Mafra

• “… [Magellan] left this island

[Homonhon], and sailing on his
way arrived at another [island
of] 3 or 4 leguas in
circumference … This island
A drawing of Mazaua in a called Mazaua has a good
Pigafetta manuscript
(left). An island with a harbor on its western side, and
circumference of 3-4 is inhabited.”
leagues has an area
of 2,214 to 3,930 Ginés de Mafra
hectares. Limasawa has Descripción de los reinos, Libro que trata del
descubrimiento y principio del estrecho que se
only 698 hectares (right).
Masao as an island in
1521

“The significance of
Pinamanculan Hills cannot
be taken for granted,
especially now that it has
been established that [the
area] used to be an
island.”

Mary Jane Louise Bolunia. 2001.

in Pinamanculan Hills, Butuan City Pinamanculan Hills: Its archeological
importance. Butuan City: 3
Alternative Account:
Albo

“… [W]e coasted it [Seilani], and

went to west-southwest, to a small
inhabited island called Mazaba. The
people are very good, and there we
placed a cross upon a mountain …
and this island is in 9 ⅓ degrees
north latitude.”

Francisco Albo (or Alvaro), “Logbook of the voyage of

Fernando de Magallanes,”
in Henry Edward John Stanley (trans. and ed.), The First
a page of a Voyage Round the World by Magellan: Translated from
accounts of Pigafetta and other contemporary writers.
manuscript version London: Hakluyt Society, 1874
of Albo’s logbook
Alternative Account:
Genoese

“… [They] came to anchor at

another island, which is
named Macangor, which is in
9 degrees; and in this island
they were very well received,
and they placed a cross in it.”
a Genoese pilot in Magellan’s fleet [probably
Juan Bautista]
in Henry Edward John Stanley (trans. and
ed.), The First Voyage Round the World by
Magellan: Translated from accounts of
Pigafetta and other contemporary writers.
a Spanish caravel London: Hakluyt Society, 1874
Merits of the
Arguments
Merits of the Arguments

Limasawa: Masao:
Evidence of Albo’s  The name of the place
logbook  Navigator’s route from
The evidence of Homonhon
Pigaffeta
 The latitude
 The route to Cebu
Confirmatory evidence  The geographical
from the Legazpi features of the place
tradition
Relevance
Verified Distance

“Earlier Pigafetta wrote that ‘24 leagues is equal to 100

miles or 160.9 kms’, so one league is equal to 6.7 kms …
From an accurate map, the sea distance from the eastern
side of Homonhon going west southwest to … Limasawa is
167 kms; divided by 6.7 kms. It is 24.9 leagues and checks
well with the Homonhon-Mazaua distance of 25 leagues.”
Engr. Jose G. Caburian
Testimony during the hearing of the National Historical Institute
on the controversy over the site of the first Mass
Deceitful Accounts

… [T]he various contemporary accounts of Magellan’s voyage . .

. [showed] a purpose to deceive … [in order] to claim possession
of the Spice Islands ... If the log of Magellan’s voyage were to
admit that the Spice Islands fell within the Portuguese sphere,
the rights of Magellan in the Spice Islands would have been
nonexistent and the expenditures of Magellan and his friends
would have been in vain, according to the grant of the emperor
Charles V ... [O]ne of the Spanish followers of Magellan,
Bustamante, on his deathbed … testified that certain alleged
facts concerning Magellan’s voyage were contrary to the truth.”
George E. Nunn. October 1934. Magellan’s Route in the Pacific.
Geographical Review, 24 (4): 631
Unintentionally Wrong
Coordinates
Pigafetta’s Journal Present Differences
Name Latitud Longitude from Nam Latitud Longitud Latitud Longitu
e the Demarcation e e e from e de
Line Greenwic
h
Longitude from
Greenwich
Massan 9° 40’ 162° E Lima- 9° 56’ 125° 04’ 0° 16’ -25° 19’
a sawa
N N E
150° 23’ E
“…[S]ignificant differences were determined for Pigafetta’s
recorded longitudes…. These erroneous values were mainly due
to the determination methods used in those times. Therefore, the
coordinates found in Pigafetta’s journal could not be used to
accurately identify the same locations on current maps. The only
solution, therefore, remains the correct identification of the island
names.”
Doina Vasilca. 2016. The First Voyage around the World—An old story using a new
Limasawa or Masao?

“One thing is clear: whoever started the tradition that the

first Mass was celebrated at Butuan, it was certainly neither
Pigafetta nor Albo nor Maximilian of Transylvania …
… [And] to reject the Butuan claim is in no way to
downgrade the cultural or historical importance of Butuan.”
Rev. Fr. Miguel Bernad, S.J. 1981. Butuan or Limasawa? The site of the first Mass in the
Philippines: a reexamination. Kinaadman: A Journal of Southern Philippines, Vol. 3: 35. Op.
cit. Budhi 3 (2001):164-5.
References

Bernad, Rev. Fr. Miguel, S.J. 1981. Butuan or Limasawa? The site of the first Mass in the
Philippines: a reexamination. Kinaadman: A Journal of Southern Philippines, Vol. 3: 35. Op. cit.
Budhi 3 (2001):164-5.

Blair, Emma and James Robertson. 1903. The Philippine Islands.

Bolunia, Mary Jane Louise. 2001. Pinamanculan Hills: Its archeological importance.
de Mafra, Ginés. Descripción de los reinos, Libro que trata del descubrimiento y principio del
estrecho que se llama de Magallanes.
de Jesus, Vicente. 2004. Mazaua: Magellan’s Lost Harbor. Pacific Maritime History. Marine
Science Institute, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City.

National Historical Institute. Proceedings on the hearing on the controversy over the site of the
first Mass.
Nunn, George E. October 1934. Magellan’s Route in the Pacific. Geographical Review, 24 (4).

Stanley, Henry Edward John (trans. and ed.). 1874. The First Voyage Round the World by
Magellan: Translated from accounts of Pigafetta and other contemporary writers. London.
Hakluyt Society.