Module 2: Controversies and Conflicting Views in Philippine History

Learning Outcomes
By the end of this module, the students must be able to:
1. demonstrate the ability to formulate arguments in favor or against a particular issue using primary
sources
2. compare and contrast the different accounts on a debatable historical issue

Unit 1: Site of the First Mass: Butuan or Limasawa?

First Mass at Limasawa, painting by National Artist Carlos "Botong" Francisco, 1965

Engage
One of the many debates of in our history is the site of the first Catholic Mass. Most people at
present probably identify Limasawa in Leyte to be the site of the first mass. This is by virtue of a law
which was passed in 1960 proclaiming the island to be such and since then our history books have carried
on this declaration. Below is the text of that law.
REPUBLIC ACT NO. 2733

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 2733 - AN ACT TO DECLARE THE SITE IN MAGALLANES, LIMASAWA
ISLAND IN THE PROVINCE OF LEYTE, WHERE THE FIRST MASS IN THE PHILIPPINES WAS
HELD AS A NATIONAL SHRINE, TO PROVIDE FOR THE PRESERVATION OF HISTORICAL
MONUMENTS AND LANDMARKS THEREAT, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

Section 1. The site in Magallanes, Limasawa Island in the Province of Leyte, where the first Mass in the
Philippines was held is hereby declared a national shrine to commemorate the birth of Christianity in the
Philippines.
Sec. 2. All historical monuments and landmarks in said site shall be preserved and/or reconstructed
whenever necessary as much as possible in their original form and are hereby declared national
historical monuments and landmarks.
Sec. 3. The National Planning Commission shall exercise supervision and control over the
reconstruction and/or preservation of the aforesaid site and monuments, and shall issue rules and
regulations to effectuate the preceding sections of this Act.

Sec. 4. Necessary funds for the purposes of this Act shall be provided for in the annual appropriations
for public works and disbursements shall be made by the National Planning Commission under such
rules and regulations as the Auditor General may prescribe.

Sec. 5. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Enacted without Executive approval, June 19, 1960.

Photo to the left is the marker of the First Catholic

Mass at Limasawa, Leyte.

Source:

https://ncca.gov.ph/press-releases-2/taoid-
heritage-celebration-2014-opens-in-limasawa-
southern-leyte/

Explore
Now that you know the legal basis for the placement of the first Catholic mass in Limasawa,
Leyte, let us examine some texts pertaining to this historical issue and why it became a debate. As you
read, you may make some marginal notes on important details that lead to the location of the first
Catholic mass. More specifically, highlight the characteristics of the place where the first mass was held.

Excerpt from Antonio Pigafetta’s First Voyage Around the World

Source : Pigafetta, A. & Maximilianus,T. (1969). First Voyage Around the World and De Moluccis
Insulis. Manila: Filipiniana Book Guild (pp. 23-32)

At dawn on Saturday, March sixteen, 1521, we came upon a high land at a distance of three hundred
leagues from islands of Ladroni—an island named Zamal [Samar]. The following day, the captain-
general desired to land on another island which was uninhabited and lay to the right of the above-
mentioned island, in order to be more secure, and to get water and to have rest. He had two tents set up
on the shore for the sick and had a sow killed for them. On Monday afternoon, March 18, we saw a boat
coming toward us with nine men in it. Therefore, the captain-general ordered that no one should move or
say a word without his permission. When those men reached the shore, their chief went immediately to
the captain-general, giving signs of joy because of our arrival. Five of the most ornately adorned of them
remained with us, while the rest went to get some others who were fishing, and so they all came. The
captain-general, seeing that they were reasonable men, ordered food to be set before them, and gave
them red caps, mirrors, combs, bells, ivory, bocasine, and other things. When they saw the captain’s
courtesy, they presented fish, a jar of palm wine which they call uraca [arrack], figs more than one palm
long [bananas], and others which were smaller and more delicate, and two coconuts. They had nothing
else then but made signs with their hands that they would bring umay or rice, and coconuts and many
other articles of food within four days.
Coconuts are the fruit of the palm tree. Just as we have bread, wine, oil, and vinegar, so those
people got everything from that tree. They get wine in the following manner. They bore a hole into the
heart of the said palm at the top called palmito, from which distils a liquor which resembles white mist.
That liquor is sweet but somewhat tart, and [is gathered] in canes [of bamboo] as thick as the leg and
thicker. They fasten the bamboo to the tree at evening for the morning, and in morning for the evening.
That palm bears a fruit, namely the coconut, which is as large as the head or thereabouts. Its outside
husk is green and thicker than two fingers. Certain filaments are found in that husk, whence is made cord
for binding together their boats. Under that husk there is a hard shell, much thicker than the shell of the
walnut, which they burn and make therefrom a powder that is useful to them. Under that shell there is a
white marrowy substance one finger in thickness, which they eat fresh with meat and fish as we do bread;
and it has a taste resembling the almond. It could be dried and made into bread. There is a clear, sweet
water in the middle of that marrowy substance which is very refreshing. When that water stands for a
while after having been collected, it congeals and becomes like an apple. When the natives wish to make
oil, they take that coconut, and allow the marrowy substance and the water to putrefy. Then they boil it
and it becomes oil like butter. When they wish to make vinegar, they allow only the water to putrefy, and
then place it in the sun, and a vinegar results like [that made from] white wine. Milk can also be made
from it, for we made some. We scraped that marrowy substance and then mixed the scrapings with its
own water which we strained through a cloth, and so obtained milk like goat’s milk. Those palms
resemble date-palms, but although not smooth they are less knotty than the latter. A family of 10 persons
can be supported on two trees, by utilizing one of them during one week and the other during the other 8
days for the wine; for if they did otherwise, the trees would dry up. They last a century.
Those people became very familiar with us. They told us many things, their names and those
some of the islands that could be seen from that place. Their own island was called Zuluan and it is not
very large. We took great pleasure with them, for they were very pleasant and conversable. In order to
show them greater honor, the captain-general took them to his ship and showed them all his merchandise
—cloves, cinnamon, pepper, ginger, nutmeg, mace, gold and all the things in the ship. He had some
mortars fired for them, whereat they exhibited great fear, and tried to jump out of the ship. They made
signs to us that the above said articles grew in that place where we were going. When they were about to
retire they took their leave very gracefully and neatly, saying that they would return according to their
promise. The island where we were is called Humunu; [now Homonhon] but inasmuch as we found two
springs there of the clearest water, we called it Acquada da li buoni Segnalli (“the great Watering-place
of Good Signs”), for there were the first signs of gold which we found in those districts. We found a great
quantity of white coral there, and large trees with fruit a trifle smaller than the almond and resembling
pine seeds. There are many islands in that district, and therefore we called them the archipelago of San
Lazaro, as they were discovered on the Sunday of St. Lazarus. They lie in 10 degrees of latitude toward
the Arctic Pole, and in a longitude of one hundred and sixty-one degrees from the line of demarcation.
At noon on Friday, March 22, those men came as they had promised us in two boats with
coconuts, sweet oranges, a jar of palm-wine and a cock, in order to show us that there were fowls in that
district. They exhibited great signs of pleasure at seeing us. We purchased all those articles from them.
Their signor was an old man who was painted [tattooed]. He wore two gold earrings in his ears, and the
others many gold armlets on their arms and kerchiefs about their heads. We stayed there one week, and
during that time our captain went ashore daily to visit the sick, and every morning gave them coconut
water from his own hand, which comforted them greatly. There are people living near that island who
have earrings in their ears so large that they can pass their arms through them. Those people are caphri,
that is to say, heathen. They go naked, with a cloth woven from the bark of a tree about their privies,
except some of the chiefs who wear cotton cloth embroidered with silk at the ends by means of a needle.
They are dark, fat, and painted. They anoint themselves with coconut and with beneseed oil, as a
protection against sun and wind. They have very black hair that falls to the waist, and use daggers,
knives, and spears ornamented with gold, large shields, fascines,1 javelins, and fishing nets that resemble
rizali; and their boats are like ours.
On the afternoon of holy Monday, the day of our Lady, March twenty-five, while we were on the
point of weighing anchor, I went to the side of the ship to fish and putting my feet upon a yard leading
down into the storeroom, they slipped, for it was rainy, and consequently I fell into the sea, so that no one
saw me. When I was all but under, my left hand happened to catch hold of the clew-garnet of the
mainsail, which was dangling in the water. I held on tightly, and began to cry out so lustily that I was
rescued by the small boat. I was aided not, I believe, indeed, through my merits but through the mercy of
that font of charity [the Virgin]. That same day we shaped our course toward the west southwest between
four islands, namely Cenalo, Hiunanghan, Ibusson, and Abarien.
On Thursday morning, March twenty-eight, as we had seen a fire on an island the night before,
we anchored near it. We saw a small boat which the natives call boloto [baroto] with eight men in it,
approaching the flagship. A slave belonging to the captain-general, who was a native of Zamatra
[Sumatra], which was formerly called Taprobana, spoke to them. They immediately understood him,
came alongside the ship unwilling to enter but taking a position at some little distance. The captain,
seeing that they would not trust us, threw them out a red cap and other things tied to a bit of wood. They
received them very gladly, and went away quickly to advise their king. About two hours later we saw two
balanghai coming. They are large boats and are so called [by those people]. They were full of men, and
their king was in the larger of them, being seated under an awning of mats. When the king came near the
flagship, the slave spoke to him. The king understood him, for in those districts the kings knew more
languages than the other people. He ordered some of his men to enter the ships, but he always remained
in his balanghai, at some little distance from the ship until his own men returned; and as soon as they
returned he departed. The captain-general showed great honor to the men who entered the ship, and gave
them some presents, for which the king wished before his departure to give the captain a large bar of
gold and a basketful of ginger. The latter, however, thanked the king heartily but would not accept it. In
the afternoon we went in the ships [and anchored] near the dwellings of the king.
Next day, holy Friday, the captain-general sent his slave, who acted as our interpreter, ashore in
a small boat to ask the king if he had any food to have it carried to the ships; and to say that they would
be well satisfied with us, for he [and his men] had come to the island as friends and not as enemies. The
king came with six or eight men in the same boat and entered the ship. He embraced the captain-general
to whom he gave three porcelain jars covered with leaves and full of raw rice, two very large dorado and
other things. The captain-general gave the king a garment of red and yellow cloth made in the Turkish
fashion, and a fine red cap; and to the others (the king’s men), some knives and to others, mirrors. Then
the captain-general had a collation spread for them, and had the king told through the slave that he
desired to be casi casi with him, that is to say, brother. The king replied that he also wished to enter the
same relations with captain-general. Then the captain showed him cloth of various colors, linen, coral
[ornaments], and many other articles of merchandise, and all the artillery, some of which he had
discharged for him, whereat the natives were greatly frightened.
Then the captain-general had a man armed as a soldier, and placed him in the midst of three
armed with swords and daggers, who struck him on all parts of the body Thereby was the king rendered
almost speechless. The captain-general told him through the slave that one of those armed men was
worth one hundred of his own men. The king answered that that was the fact. The captain-general said
that he had two hundred men in each ship who were armed in that manner.1 He showed the king
cuirasses, swords, and bucklers, and had a review made for him. Then he led the king to the deck of the
ship, that is located above at the stern; and had his sea-chart and compass brought. He told the king
through the interpreter how he had found the strait in order to voyage thither and how many moons he
had been without seeing land, whereat the king was astonished. Lastly, he told the king that he would
like, if it were pleasing to him, to send two of his men with him so that he might show them some of his
things. The king replied that he was agreeable, and I went in company with one of the other men.
When I reached shore, the king raised his hands toward the sky then turned toward us two. We
did the same toward him as did all the others. The king took me by the hand; one of his chiefs took my
companion: and thus they led us under a bamboo covering, where there was a balanghai, as long as
eighty of my palm lengths, and resembling a fusta. We sat down upon the stern of that balanghai,
constantly conversing with signs. The king’s men stood about us in a circle with swords, daggers, spears,
and bucklers. The king had a place of pork brought in and a large jar filled with wine. At every mouthful,
we drank a cup of wine. The wine that was left [in the cup] at any time, although that happened but
rarely, was put into a jar by itself. The king’s cup was always kept covered and no one else drank from it
but he and I. Before the king took the cup to drink, he raised his clasped hands towards the sky, and then
towards us; and when he was about to drink, he extended the fist of his left hand toward me (at first I
thought that he was about to strike me) and then drank. I did the same toward the king. They all make
those signs one toward another when they drink. We are with such ceremonies and with other signs of
friendship. I ate meat on holy Friday, for I could not help myself. Before the supper hour I gave the king
many things which I had brought.
I wrote down the names of many things in their language. When the king and the others saw me
writing, and when I told them their words, they were all astonished. While engaged in that the supper
hour was announced. Two large porcelain dishes were brought in, one full of rice and the other of pork
with its gravy. We ate with the same signs and ceremonies, after which we went to the palace of the king
which was built like a hayloft and was thatched with fig and palm leaves. It was built up high from the
ground on the huge posts of wood and it was necessary to ascend to it by means of ladders. The king
made us sit down there on a bamboo mat with our legs drawn up like tailors. After half an hour a platter
of roast fish cut in pieces was brought in, and ginger freshly gathered, and wine. The king’s eldest son,
who was the prince, came over to us; whereupon the king told him to sit down near us, and he
accordingly did so. Then two platters were brought in (one with fish and its sauce, and the other with
rice), so that we might eat with the prince. My companion became intoxicated as a consequence of so
much drinking and eating. They used the gum of a tree called anime wrapped in palm or fig leaves for
lights. The king made us a sign that he was going to sleep. He left the prince with us, and we slept with
the latter on a bamboo mat with pillows made of leaves. When day dawned the king came and took me by
the hand, and in that manner we went to where we had had supper, in order to partake of refreshments,
but the boat came to get us. One of his brothers, the king of another island, and three men came with us.
Before we left, the king kissed our hands with great joy and we his. The captain-general kept him to dine
with us, and gave him many things.
Pieces of gold, of the size of walnuts and eggs, are found by sifting the earth in the island of that
king whom I led to our ships. All the dishes of that king are of gold and also some portion of his house, as
we were told by that king himself. According to their customs he was very grandly decked out, and the
finest looking man that we saw among those people. His hair was exceedingly black, and hung to his
shoulders. He had a covering of silk in his head, and wore two large golden earrings fastened in his ears.
He wore a cotton cloth all embroidered with silk, which covered him from the waist to the knees. At his
side hung a dagger, the haft of which was somewhat long and all of gold, and its scabbard of carved
wood He had three spots of gold on every tooth, and his teeth appeared as if bound with gold. He was
perfumed with storax and benzoin. He was tawny and painted all over. That island of his was called
Butuan and Calagan. When those kings wished to see one another, they both went to hunt in that island
where we were. The name of the first king is Raia Colambu, and the second Raia Siaui.
Early on the morning of Sunday, the last of March and Easter-day, the captain-general sent the
priest with some men to prepare the place where Mass was to be said; together with the interpreter to tell
the king that we were not going to land in order to dine with him, but to say Mass. Therefore the king sent
us two swine that he had killed. When the hour for Mass arrived, we landed with about fifty men, without
our body armor, but carrying our arms, and dressed in our best clothes. Before the commencement of
Mass, the captain sprinkled the entire bodies of the two kings with musk water. During the Mass we made
our offerings. The kings went forward to kiss the cross as we did, but made no offerings. When the body
of our Lord was elevated, they remained on their knees and worshipped Him with clasped hands. The
ships fired all their artillery at once when the body of Christ was elevated, the signal having been given
from the shore with muskets. After the conclusion of Mass, some of our men took communion.
The captain-general arranged a fencing, at which the kings were greatly pleased. Then he had a
tournament cross carried in and the nails and a crown, to which they made immediate reverence. He told
the kings through the interpreter that they were the standards given to him by the emperor his sovereign,
so that wherever he might go he might set up those tokens. [He said] that he wished to set it up in that
place for their benefit, for whenever any of our ships came, they would know that we had been there by
that cross, and would do nothing to displease them or harm their property. If any of their men were
captured, they would be set free immediately on that sign being shown. It was necessary to set that cross
on the summit of the highest mountain, so that on seeing it every morning, they might adore it; and if they
did that, neither thunder, lightning, nor storms would harm them in the least. They thanked him heartily
and [said] that they would do everything willingly. The captain-general also had them asked whether
they were Muslims or heathen, or what was their belief. They replied that they had no other worship but
raising their clasped hands and their face to the sky; and that they called their god “Abba.” Thereat the
captain was very glad, and seeing that, the first king raised his hands to the sky and said that he wished
that it were possible for him to make the captain see his love for him. The interpreter asked the king why
there was so little to eat there. The latter replied that he did not live in that place except when he went
hunting and to see his brother, but that he lived in another island where all his family were. The captain-
general had him asked to declare whether he had any enemies, so that he might go with his ships to
destroy them and to render them obedient to him. The king thanked him and said that he did indeed have
two islands hostile to him, but that it was not then the season to go there. The captain told him that if God
would again allow him to return to those districts, he would bring so many men that he would make the
king’s enemies subject to him by force. He said that he was about to go to dinner, and that he would
return afterward to have the cross set up on the summit of the mountain. They replied that they were
satisfied, and then forming in battalion and firing the muskets and the captain having embraced the two
kings, we took our leave.
After dinner we all returned clad in our doublets, and that afternoon went together with the two
kings to the summit of the highest mountain there. When we reached the summit, the captain-general told
them that he esteemed highly having sweated for them, for since the cross was there, it could not but be of
great use to them. On asking them which port was the best to get food, they replied that there were three,
namely, Ceylon, Zubu, and Calaghann, but that Zubu was the largest and the one with most trade. They
offered of their own accord to give us pilots to show us the way. The captain-general thanked them, and
determined to go there, for so did his unhappy fate will. After the cross was erected in position, each of us
repeated a Pater Noster and an Ave Maria, and adored the cross; and the kings did the same. Then we
descended through their cultivated fields, and went to the place where the balanghai was. The kings had
some coconuts brought in so that we might refresh ourselves. The captain asked the kings for the pilots,
for he intended to depart the following morning, and [said] that he would treat them as if they were the
kings themselves, and would leave one of us as hostage. The kings replied that every hour he wished the
pilots were at his command, but that night the first king changed his mind, and in the morning when we
were about to depart, sent word to the captain-general, asking for love of him to wait two days until he
should have his rice harvested, and other trifles attended to. He asked the captain-general to send him
some men to help him, so that it might be done sooner; and said that he intended to act as our pilot
himself. The captain sent him some men, but the kings ate and drank so much that they slept all the day.
Some said to excuse them that they were slightly sick. Our men did nothing on that day, but they worked
the next two days.
One of those people brought us aboard a porringer full of rice and also eight or ten figs fastened
together to barter them for a knife which at the most was worth three catrini. The captain, seeing that
that native cared for nothing but a knife, called him to look at other things. He put his hand in his purse
and wished to give him one real for those things, but the native refused it. The captain showed him a
ducat but he would not accept that either. Finally the captain tried to give him a doppione worth two
ducats, but he would take nothing but a knife; and accordingly the captain had one of those people
wanted to give him a pointed crown of massive gold, of the size of a colona, for six strings of glass beads,
but the captain refused to let him barter, so that the natives should learn at the very beginning that we
prized our merchandise more than their gold.
Those people are heathens, and go naked and painted. They wear a piece of cloth woven from a
tree about their privies. They are very heavy drinkers. Their women are clad in tree cloth from their waist
down, and their hair is black and reaches to the ground. They have holes pierced in their ears which are
filled with gold. Those people are constantly chewing a fruit which they call areca, and which resembles
a pear. They cut that fruit into four parts, and then wrap it in the leaves of their tree which they call betre
[betel]. Those leaves resemble the leaves of the mulberry. They mix it with a little lime, and when they
have chewed it thoroughly, they spit it out. It makes the mouth exceedingly red. All the people in those
parts of the world use it, for it is very cooling to the heart, and if they ceased to use it they would die.
There are dogs, cats, swine, fowls, goats, rice, ginger, coconuts, figs, oranges, lemons, millet, panicum,
sorgo, wax, and a quantity of gold in that island. It lies in a latitude of nine and two-thirds degrees
toward the Arctic Pole, and in a longitude of one hundred and sixty-two degrees from the line of
demarcation. It is twenty-five leagues from the Acquada, and is called Mazaua.
We remained there seven days, after which we laid our course toward the northwest, passing
among five islands; namely, Ceylon, Bohol, Canighan, Baybai, and Gatighan. In the last-named island of
Gatighan, there are bats as large as eagles. As it was late we killed one of them, which resembled chicken
in taste. There are doves, turtle-doves, parrots, and certain black birds as large as domestic chickens,
which have a long tail. The last mentioned birds lay eggs as large as the goose, and bury them under the
sand, through the great heat of which they hatch out. When the chicks are born, they push up the sand,
and come out. Those eggs are good to eat. There is a distance of twenty leagues from Mazaua to
Gatighan. We set out westward from Gatighan, but the king of Mazaua could not follow us [closely], and
consequently, we awaited him near three island; namely, Polo, Ticobon, and Pozon. When he caught up
with us he was greatly astonished at the rapidity with which we sailed. The captain-general had him
come into his ship with several of his chiefs at which they were pleased. Thus did we go to Zubu from
Gatighan, the distance to Zubu being fifteen leagues.
The account of Pigafetta you just read is one of the two primary accounts that mention events surrounding
the first mass. The other of which is the log of Magellan’s navigator, Francisco Albo, contramaestre
(boatswain) of the ship Trinidad. The translated portion of his log that contains this information reads,
“From here we departed and sailed W., and fell in with a large island called Seilani, which is inhabited,
and contains gold; we coasted it, and went to W.S.W., to a small inhabited island called Mazaba. The
people are very good, and there we placed a cross upon a mountain; and from thence they showed us
three islands in the W.S.W. direction, and they say there is much gold there, and they showed us how they
gather it, and they found small pieces like beans and like lentils; and this island is in 9 2/3° N. latitude.”
(Albo, F.)

Explain
The account of Pigafetta and the log of Albo are the only two documentary evidences for the
location of the first Mass. With the mention of the place names Mazaua and Mazaba respectively, the
island of Limasawa became known as the most probable location of this event pointed out to be the
starting point of Christianity in the Philippines. So why did such event stir controversy?
In a paper written by Miguel Bernad (1981), the Butuan claim was based on the long standing
tradition that ever since the 17 th century, it was believed especially by the people of Butuan that the first
Catholic mass was held at a location by the Agusan river. This belief most likely was influenced by the
interpretations of two 17th century historian priests : Fr. Francisco Colin S.J. and Fr. Francisco Combés.
Both priests published separate works about the Spanish presence in the Philippines with heavy
referencing from the Pigafetta accounts. It is their interpretation though of the Pigafetta narrative that
somehow grounded the Butuan claim since both priests interpreted the Pigafetta account placing
Magellan at Butuan during the First Mass and planting of the cross (in the Combés account, only the
planting of the cross was mentioned).
In 1872, a monument was then erected near the mouth of the Agusan River, a spot which was
then part of Butuan. The problem though with the marker was the date of the first mass which was April 8
1521 instead of March 31 1521. The error was hypothesized by Bernad to be due to an attempt to
translate the date in the Gregorian calendar. Unfortunately, this claim would be supplanted beginning the
20th century with publishing of the 55-volume work of Americans Emma Blair and Alexander Robertson
in 1900 on a collection of documents about the Philippines that renewed interests in the .
A Spanish Jesuit scholar by the name of Fr. Pablo Pastells had also accepted the Butuan claim but
a re-examination of the Pigafetta and Albo accounts in 1903 led him to argue that Magellan did not go to
Butuan but rather was in Limasawa thus rendering the Colin account to be erroneous. Since then, the
Limasawa claim gained a stronger foothold eventually leading to the proclamation by law of Limasawa as
the site of the first mass.
This does not lay the issue to rest however since scholars of Butuan still maintain their claim.
The following is an article that tells of that claim,

Butuan holds Easter Sunday Mass to reinforce contentious historical claim

By: Mozart Pastrano Philippine Daily Inquirer / 01:04 AM April 08, 2013
Retrieved from https://lifestyle.inquirer.net
BUTUAN CITY—Easter Sunday fell on March 31—exactly as it was in 1521, when Ferdinand went
ashore on an island called Mazaua and asked his chaplain to celebrate what became known as the first
Mass in the Philippines.
Commemorating this uncanny coincidence on March 31, eight years shy of the 500th anniversary of
Magellan’s Easter Mass, was the Diocese of Butuan, with a concelebrated Mass by the clergy under the
aegis of Bishop Juan de Dios Pueblos at 9 a.m. at the Cathedral-Shrine of St. Joseph in this city’s
downtown area.
“Official Philippine history says the first Mass was held in Limasawa, but Catholic historiography and
tradition point to Butuan as the site of this first Eucharistic celebration in the Philippines,” said Fr.
Joesilo Amalla, of the Diocese of Butuan, whose scholarly work “Mazaua Controversy: Truth
Uncovered,” commissioned by the then president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines
(CBCP), Bishop Nereo Odchimar of Tandag, Surigao del Sur, is ready for publication.
In his manuscript, Amalla zeroed in on the primary and secondary historiographic documents, which he
sourced from his first-hand research around the world, namely, Museo Naval de Madrid and Archivo
General de Indias in Sevilla (Spain); Bibleoteque Nationale de Paris (France); British Museum in
London (the UK); Amsterdam Maritime Museum (the Netherlands); Mateo Ricci Institute in Macau and
Hong Kong Museum Library (China); and Bibleoteca Ambrosiana in Milan and Apostolic Library in the
Vatican (Italy).
“I read almost all the extant manuscripts of Antonio Pigafetta, who documented Magellan’s journey,
and of Fransisco Albo, Magellan’s pilot,” said Amalla. “I read and touched and prayed over the
handwritten pages.”
Nowhere in Pigafetta and Albo’s accounts was there any mention of the word “Limasawa,” Amalla
pointed out. “Instead,” he said, “what the primary sources recorded was that the first Mass was held in a
place called Mazaua. The exact words were ‘e se chiama Mazaua’ (and is called Mazaua).”
The Butuan City Heritage Society, of which Amalla is a leading member, contends that Mazaua was a
deltaic island at the mouth of the Agusan River in Butuan in 1521. Through the years, siltation and other
geologic factors fused the island into the Mindanao mainland.
Noted Amalla, “Early maps put Mazaua and its variants—such as Mazagua, Massana and Messana—as
an island beside Butuan, which was also characterized as an island by such early cartographers as
Giacomo Gastaldi, whose map was published in 1554, and Giovanni Battista Ramusio, whose map
appeared in 1563. By the time Abraham Ortelius’ map came out in 1570, Butuan and a place called
Messana were depicted side by side inside the Mindanao mainland.”
Using an interdisciplinary approach in his historical investigation, Amalla said, “Alone among the
different Philippine languages, only Butuanon and its derivative language, Tausug, has the word
masawa, which means ‘bright light.’” It was the island’s bright light the night before that prompted
Magellan to land in Mazaua.
In the northern shores of today’s Butuan is a barangay called Masao.
In 1986, Asean scientists found a “graben” in Butuan. A graben is a valley-like depression of the land
caused by the subsidence, or sinking, of a series of blocks of the earth’s crust. This graben separated
Pinamanculan Hills, which is beside Barangay Masao and where the current Butuan airport is located,
from the main landmass of Mt. Mayapay in the southwest.
In his manuscript, Amalla said, “The Asean experts concluded that the graben or fissure indicated that
there were islands that existed many years ago in the said location and they have clumped up and have
fused themselves beside the Mindanao mainland due to siltation, erosion and seismic action. When the
graben was filled up and the islands in the area have fused together, nobody had documented them and
no naked eye of today can see the islands at the mouth of where the Agusan River flows today.”
Discovery
In 2001, a group of local experts made another confirmatory discovery for the Butuan claim. The experts
—Wilfredo Ronquillo, chief archaeologist of the National Museum of the Philippines; Dr. Yolanda
Aguilar, geologist and paleontologist; Roberto de Ocampo, chief geologist of the National Museum; and
Dr. Ricarte Javelosa, chief geomorphologist of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources—
testified that Pinamanculan Hills were but an island during Episode V of its geological formation, that is,
between 500 years AD and until the 18th century.
Amalla observed that 1521 “was within this time period and the island they found is exactly at 9ºN as
pinpointed by Magellan’s pilot, Francisco Albo.”
Another National Museum archaeologist, Mary Jane Louise A. Bolunia, said, “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.” (“Pinamanculan Hills: Its Archeological Importance,” Butuan City, 2001, p.
3).
Interestingly, for 300 years during the Spanish colonial period, the Catholic Church in the Philippines
believed in the Butuan tradition, that the first Mass in the country was held there.
In his “Labor Evangelica” in 1663, Jesuit superior Fr. Francisco Colin wrote, “On Easter Day, in the
Territory of Butuan, the First Mass ever offered in these parts was celebrated and a cross planted.
Magellan then took possession of the Islands in the name of the Emperor and of the Crown of Castile.”
Amalla disclosed that when the late Jaime Cardinal Sin of Manila was still alive, he told Amalla he
supported his Butuan claim for the first Mass. He said Cardinal Sin allowed him to see the original copy
of the “Anales Ecclesiasticos de Philipinas 1574-1683.” Said Amalla, “This document stated that the
Easter Sunday Mass in 1521 was celebrated by the Chaplain of Magellan in Butuan.”
Pigafetta wrote that two kings attended the Mass: “His island was called Butuan and Calaghan. And that
island is called Mazaua… Of these kings, the aforesaid painted one is named Raia Colambu and the
other Raia Siaui.”
“They are Butuanon brother-kings,” Amalla claimed.
The primary documents mention two balanghai boats accosting Magellan’s flagship when they neared
Mazaua island, with the king of Mazaua in one of the balanghai. Pigafetta also mentioned several times
the abundance of gold in the island—“Pieces of gold of the size of walnuts and eggs are found by sifting
the earth in the island of that king who came to our ships. All the dishes of the king are of gold and also
some portion of his house….”
Trading harbor, gold
In his book “Butuan of a Thousand Years” (printed by Ateneo de Manila University Press for the Butuan
City Historical and Cultural Foundation in 2004), another prominent Butuan historian, Greg Hontiveros,
contended that the Masao estuary in today’s Butuan “was once the site of the ancient trading harbor and
well-respected kingdom of Butuan.” In its embankments were found the balanghai, the largest, oldest and
sturdiest seafaring vessels in Southeast Asia.
Gold, Hontiveros pointed out, was the currency of the Butuan kingdom before the Spaniards came. In fact
most of the gold pieces in the Central Bank’s gold collection, on permanent exhibit at the Metropolitan
Museum of Manila, are from the archaeological findings in Butuan.
In a paper issued by the Butuan City Heritage Society last year, “The Quest for the Mazaua Landfall:
Latest Navigational and Cartographic Updates,” Hontiveros further discussed “the ecosystem of
Mazaua, gold as its definitive marker, traces of a trading polity, tribal identity of Raja Siaui of Mazaua
and his brother, Raja Calambu of Butuan and Calaghan, the geology of the Butuan Delta of which
Mazaua was part, the location of Gatighan [a navigational marker as mentioned in the Pigafetta
accounts], and the 300-year-old Butuan Tradition during the Spanish colonial era” by way of debunking
the Limasawa claim and upholding the Butuan claim.
Amalla proposed that when modern-day historians tried to update the historiographical records, they
could not find an island near Butuan, and so they did the next best thing: They looked for an island whose
name sounded like Mazaua—and they found Limasawa. “And politicians seized the moment,” he said.
“But the data in the firsthand sources negate this,” said Amalla. “The distances and time and directions
travelled by Magellan do not point to Limasawa at all. Besides, Limasawa has a rocky shoreline which
cannot be a natural harbor as mentioned in the journals. And it is too small and rough to have rice fields
which would take two days to harvest. And it has no gold mines, no kingdoms, no oral tradition
documenting such an encounter—unlike in Butuan.”
Amalla further said: “Did you know that Limasawa has been inaccessible and hardly been inhabited that
it became a parish only in 1994? But the first Christian settlement in Mindanao was in Butuan in 1596?”
The National Historical Institute, however, upholds the Limasawa claim.
Nonetheless, the Diocese of Butuan has been commemorating the first Mass in the Philippines in Butuan
City over the years. This year’s celebration was almost botched, though, when the city tourism office
refused the request of the diocese to use the plaza in front of the cathedral for the commemorative Mass,
suggesting instead that a seven-minute reenactment in an ecumenical service would do, to be followed by
a political rally! The incumbent city mayor is Protestant.
Image to the left is a portion of the
Map showing Butuan and Limasawa,
(with a red marker) which is an Island
South of Leyte. This is to give you an
idea of the possibilities of Magellan’s
travel around the time of their Easter
Sunday mass

Source: Google maps

Elaborate
While the law recognizes the island of Limasawa as the real location of the First Mass in the Philippines,
the people of Butuan are still holding on to their claim. Now, examine table 1 and table 2 and reflect on
which place really has an assertion of the title. The question now for you to answer is this, if the debate
will be resolved, what would be the significance/value to either of these places to finally be declared as
the True site of the First Catholic Mass? Write one answer to each of the following:

A. Symbolic value of carrying the title “The Site of the First Catholic Mass in the Philippines”

B. Practical value of carrying the title “The Site of the First Catholic Mass in the Philippines”

References:
Bernad, Miguel A. Butuan or Limasawa: The Site of the First Mass in the Philippines: A Re-examination
of the Evidence. Budhi: A Journal of Ideas and Culture, [S.l.], v. 5, n. 3 6.1, p. 133-166, jan. 2013. ISSN
2243-7886.
Available at: https://journals.ateneo.edu/ojs/index.php/budhi/article/view/582/579>. Date accessed: 09
Jun. 2020.
Pigafetta, A. & Maximilianus,T. (1969). First Voyage Around the World and De Moluccis Insulis.
Manila: Filipiniana Book Guild (pp. 23-32)
R.A. 2733 Downloaded from:
https://www.chanrobles.com/republicacts/republicactno2733.html#.XuCZLNQzbMw
Extracts from: A Derrotero or Log-book of the Voyage of Fernando de Magallanes in Search of the Strait,
From the Cape of St. Augustin. Francisco Albo, 1519.
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_First_Voyage_Round_the_World/Log-
Book_of_Francisco_Alvo_or_Alvaro