The Site of The First Mass:: Masao or Limasawa?
The Site of The First Mass:: Masao or Limasawa?
The Site of The First Mass:: Masao or Limasawa?
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
Masao
Topography: Limasawa
Three islands (Camiguin, Bohol, and Lapinig) can be seen in the distant
west and southwest.
Topography: Masao,
Butuan
Arguments:
1.Evidence of Albo’s log book
2.The evidence of Pigaffeta
3.Confirmatory evidence from the Legazpi
tradition
Albo’s account
Antonio Pigafetta
(Lombardo)
Confirmation from Legazpi’s
Account
Miguel
López de Legazpi
Masao as the Site
Arguments for Masao, Butuan
• 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
“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.”
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
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.
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.