The Fir Tree by Hans Christian Andersen, translated by Jose Rizal


In 1886, Jose Rizal translated five stories written in 1845 by Danish storyteller Hans Christian Andersen. He sent the Tagalog versions of these stories to his nieces and nephews to the Philippines so they would have an idea what kind of stories are read by European children.  One of the stories he translated was “The Fir Tree,”  which came with an sketch (shared above) of family around the Christmas tree. 

Filipino children (and the young-at-heart) today could enjoy “The Fir Tree” and other stories after the Danish Embassy in the Philippines and Anvil Publishing released Hans Christian Andersen and Jose Rizal: From Denmark to the Philippines. This book is a compilation of the classic Andersen fairy tales translated by the country’s foremost hero: “The Fir Tree” (“Ang Punong Pino”), “Thumbelina” (“Si Gahinlalaki”), “The Ugly Duckling” (“Ang Pangit na Sisiw na Pato”), “The Angel” (“Ang Sugo”), and “The Little Matchgirl” (“Ang Batang Babaeng May Dalang Sakafuego”).

Since its Christmas day today, enjoy this English version of The Fir Tree. Merry Christmas!

FAR down in the forest, where the warm sun and the fresh air made a sweet resting-place, grew a pretty little fir-tree; and yet it was not happy, it wished so much to be tall like its companions— the pines and firs which grew around it. The sun shone, and the soft air fluttered its leaves, and the little peasant children passed by, prattling merrily, but the fir-tree heeded them not. Sometimes the children would bring a large basket of raspberries or strawberries, wreathed on a straw, and seat themselves near the fir-tree, and say, “Is it not a pretty little tree?” which made it feel more unhappy than before. And yet all this while the tree grew a notch or joint taller every year; for by the number of joints in the stem of a fir-tree we can discover its age. Still, as it grew, it complained, “Oh! how I wish I were as tall as the other trees, then I would spread out my branches on every side, and my top would over-look the wide world.

 I should have the birds building their nests on my boughs, and when the wind blew, I should bow with stately dignity like my tall companions.” The tree was so discontented, that it took no pleasure in the warm sunshine, the birds, or the rosy clouds that floated over it morning and evening. Sometimes, in winter, when the snow lay white and glittering on the ground, a hare would come springing along, and jump right over the little tree; and then how mortified it would feel! Two winters passed, and when the third arrived, the tree had grown so tall that the hare was obliged to run round it. Yet it remained unsatisfied, and would exclaim, “Oh, if I could but keep on growing tall and old! There is nothing else worth caring for in the world!” In the autumn, as usual, the wood-cutters came and cut down several of the tallest trees, and the young fir-tree, which was now grown to its full height, shuddered as the noble trees fell to the earth with a crash. After the branches were lopped off, the trunks looked so slender and bare, that they could scarcely be recognized. Then they were placed upon wagons, and drawn by horses out of the forest. “Where were they going? What would become of them?” The young fir-tree wished very much to know; so in the spring, when the swallows and the storks came, it asked, “Do you know where those trees were taken? Did you meet them?”

The swallows knew nothing, but the stork, after a little reflection, nodded his head, and said, “Yes, I think I do. I met several new ships when I flew from Egypt, and they had fine masts that smelt like fir. I think these must have been the trees; I assure you they were stately, very stately.”

“Oh, how I wish I were tall enough to go on the sea,” said the fir-tree. “What is the sea, and what does it look like?”

“It would take too much time to explain,” said the stork, flying quickly away.

“Rejoice in thy youth,” said the sunbeam; “rejoice in thy fresh growth, and the young life that is in thee.”

And the wind kissed the tree, and the dew watered it with tears; but the fir-tree regarded them not.

Christmas-time drew near, and many young trees were cut down, some even smaller and younger than the fir-tree who enjoyed neither rest nor peace with longing to leave its forest home. These young trees, which were chosen for their beauty, kept their branches, and were also laid on wagons and drawn by horses out of the forest.

“Where are they going?” asked the fir-tree. “They are not taller than I am: indeed, one is much less; and why are the branches not cut off? Where are they going?”

“We know, we know,” sang the sparrows; “we have looked in at the windows of the houses in the town, and we know what is done with them. They are dressed up in the most splendid manner. We have seen them standing in the middle of a warm room, and adorned with all sorts of beautiful things,—honey cakes, gilded apples, playthings, and many hundreds of wax tapers.”

“And then,” asked the fir-tree, trembling through all its branches, “and then what happens?”

“We did not see any more,” said the sparrows; “but this was enough for us.”

“I wonder whether anything so brilliant will ever happen to me,” thought the fir-tree. “It would be much better than crossing the sea. I long for it almost with pain. Oh! when will Christmas be here? I am now as tall and well grown as those which were taken away last year. Oh! that I were now laid on the wagon, or standing in the warm room, with all that brightness and splendor around me! Something better and more beautiful is to come after, or the trees would not be so decked out. Yes, what follows will be grander and more splendid. What can it be? I am weary with longing. I scarcely know how I feel.”

“Rejoice with us,” said the air and the sunlight. “Enjoy thine own bright life in the fresh air.”

But the tree would not rejoice, though it grew taller every day; and, winter and summer, its dark-green foliage might be seen in the forest, while passers by would say, “What a beautiful tree!”

A short time before Christmas, the discontented fir-tree was the first to fall. As the axe cut through the stem, and divided the pith, the tree fell with a groan to the earth, conscious of pain and faintness, and forgetting all its anticipations of happiness, in sorrow at leaving its home in the forest. It knew that it should never again see its dear old companions, the trees, nor the little bushes and many-colored flowers that had grown by its side; perhaps not even the birds. Neither was the journey at all pleasant. The tree first recovered itself while being unpacked in the courtyard of a house, with several other trees; and it heard a man say, “We only want one, and this is the prettiest.”

Then came two servants in grand livery, and carried the fir-tree into a large and beautiful apartment. On the walls hung pictures, and near the great stove stood great china vases, with lions on the lids. There were rocking chairs, silken sofas, large tables, covered with pictures, books, and playthings, worth a great deal of money,—at least, the children said so. Then the fir-tree was placed in a large tub, full of sand; but green baize hung all around it, so that no one could see it was a tub, and it stood on a very handsome carpet. How the fir-tree trembled! “What was going to happen to him now?” Some young ladies came, and the servants helped them to adorn the tree. On one branch they hung little bags cut out of colored paper, and each bag was filled with sweetmeats; from other branches hung gilded apples and walnuts, as if they had grown there; and above, and all round, were hundreds of red, blue, and white tapers, which were fastened on the branches. Dolls, exactly like real babies, were placed under the green leaves,—the tree had never seen such things before,—and at the very top was fastened a glittering star, made of tinsel. Oh, it was very beautiful!

“This evening,” they all exclaimed, “how bright it will be!” “Oh, that the evening were come,” thought the tree, “and the tapers lighted! then I shall know what else is going to happen. Will the trees of the forest come to see me? I wonder if the sparrows will peep in at the windows as they fly? shall I grow faster here, and keep on all these ornaments summer and winter?” But guessing was of very little use; it made his bark ache, and this pain is as bad for a slender fir-tree, as headache is for us. At last the tapers were lighted, and then what a glistening blaze of light the tree presented! It trembled so with joy in all its branches, that one of the candles fell among the green leaves and burnt some of them. “Help! help!” exclaimed the young ladies, but there was no danger, for they quickly extinguished the fire. After this, the tree tried not to tremble at all, though the fire frightened him; he was so anxious not to hurt any of the beautiful ornaments, even while their brilliancy dazzled him. And now the folding doors were thrown open, and a troop of children rushed in as if they intended to upset the tree; they were followed more silently by their elders. For a moment the little ones stood silent with astonishment, and then they shouted for joy, till the room rang, and they danced merrily round the tree, while one present after another was taken from it.

“What are they doing? What will happen next?” thought the fir. At last the candles burnt down to the branches and were put out. Then the children received permission to plunder the tree.

Oh, how they rushed upon it, till the branches cracked, and had it not been fastened with the glistening star to the ceiling, it must have been thrown down. The children then danced about with their pretty toys, and no one noticed the tree, except the children’s maid who came and peeped among the branches to see if an apple or a fig had been forgotten.

“A story, a story,” cried the children, pulling a little fat man towards the tree.

“Now we shall be in the green shade,” said the man, as he seated himself under it, “and the tree will have the pleasure of hearing also, but I shall only relate one story; what shall it be? Ivede-Avede, or Humpty Dumpty, who fell down stairs, but soon got up again, and at last married a princess.”

“Ivede-Avede,” cried some. “Humpty Dumpty,” cried others, and there was a fine shouting and crying out. But the fir-tree remained quite still, and thought to himself, “Shall I have anything to do with all this?” but he had already amused them as much as they wished. Then the old man told them the story of Humpty Dumpty, how he fell down stairs, and was raised up again, and married a princess. And the children clapped their hands and cried, “Tell another, tell another,” for they wanted to hear the story of “Ivede-Avede;” but they only had “Humpty Dumpty.” After this the fir-tree became quite silent and thoughtful; never had the birds in the forest told such tales as “Humpty Dumpty,” who fell down stairs, and yet married a princess.

“Ah! yes, so it happens in the world,” thought the fir-tree; he believed it all, because it was related by such a nice man. “Ah! well,” he thought, “who knows? perhaps I may fall down too, and marry a princess;” and he looked forward joyfully to the next evening, expecting to be again decked out with lights and playthings, gold and fruit. “To-morrow I will not tremble,” thought he; “I will enjoy all my splendor, and I shall hear the story of Humpty Dumpty again, and perhaps Ivede-Avede.” And the tree remained quiet and thoughtful all night. In the morning the servants and the housemaid came in. “Now,” thought the fir, “all my splendor is going to begin again.” But they dragged him out of the room and up stairs to the garret, and threw him on the floor, in a dark corner, where no daylight shone, and there they left him. “What does this mean?” thought the tree, “what am I to do here? I can hear nothing in a place like this,” and he had time enough to think, for days and nights passed and no one came near him, and when at last somebody did come, it was only to put away large boxes in a corner. So the tree was completely hidden from sight as if it had never existed. “It is winter now,” thought the tree, “the ground is hard and covered with snow, so that people cannot plant me. I shall be sheltered here, I dare say, until spring comes. How thoughtful and kind everybody is to me! Still I wish this place were not so dark, as well as lonely, with not even a little hare to look at. How pleasant it was out in the forest while the snow lay on the ground, when the hare would run by, yes, and jump over me too, although I did not like it then. Oh! it is terrible lonely here.”

“Squeak, squeak,” said a little mouse, creeping cautiously towards the tree; then came another; and they both sniffed at the fir-tree and crept between the branches.

“Oh, it is very cold,” said the little mouse, “or else we should be so comfortable here, shouldn’t we, you old fir-tree?”

“I am not old,” said the fir-tree, “there are many who are older than I am.”

“Where do you come from? and what do you know?” asked the mice, who were full of curiosity. “Have you seen the most beautiful places in the world, and can you tell us all about them? and have you been in the storeroom, where cheeses lie on the shelf, and hams hang from the ceiling? One can run about on tallow candles there, and go in thin and come out fat.”

“I know nothing of that place,” said the fir-tree, “but I know the wood where the sun shines and the birds sing.” And then the tree told the little mice all about its youth. They had never heard such an account in their lives; and after they had listened to it attentively, they said, “What a number of things you have seen? you must have been very happy.”

“Happy!” exclaimed the fir-tree, and then as he reflected upon what he had been telling them, he said, “Ah, yes! after all those were happy days.” But when he went on and related all about Christmas-eve, and how he had been dressed up with cakes and lights, the mice said, “How happy you must have been, you old fir-tree.”

“I am not old at all,” replied the tree, “I only came from the forest this winter, I am now checked in my growth.”

“What splendid stories you can relate,” said the little mice. And the next night four other mice came with them to hear what the tree had to tell. The more he talked the more he remembered, and then he thought to himself, “Those were happy days, but they may come again. Humpty Dumpty fell down stairs, and yet he married the princess; perhaps I may marry a princess too.” And the fir-tree thought of the pretty little birch-tree that grew in the forest, which was to him a real beautiful princess.

“Who is Humpty Dumpty?” asked the little mice. And then the tree related the whole story; he could remember every single word, and the little mice was so delighted with it, that they were ready to jump to the top of the tree. The next night a great many more mice made their appearance, and on Sunday two rats came with them; but they said, it was not a pretty story at all, and the little mice were very sorry, for it made them also think less of it.

“Do you know only one story?” asked the rats.

“Only one,” replied the fir-tree; “I heard it on the happiest evening of my life; but I did not know I was so happy at the time.”

“We think it is a very miserable story,” said the rats. “Don’t you know any story about bacon, or tallow in the storeroom.”

“No,” replied the tree.

“Many thanks to you then,” replied the rats, and they marched off.

The little mice also kept away after this, and the tree sighed, and said, “It was very pleasant when the merry little mice sat round me and listened while I talked. Now that is all passed too. However, I shall consider myself happy when some one comes to take me out of this place.” But would this ever happen? Yes; one morning people came to clear out the garret, the boxes were packed away, and the tree was pulled out of the corner, and thrown roughly on the garret floor; then the servant dragged it out upon the staircase where the daylight shone. “Now life is beginning again,” said the tree, rejoicing in the sunshine and fresh air. Then it was carried down stairs and taken into the courtyard so quickly, that it forgot to think of itself, and could only look about, there was so much to be seen. The court was close to a garden, where everything looked blooming. Fresh and fragrant roses hung over the little palings. 

The linden-trees were in blossom; while the swallows flew here and there, crying, “Twit, twit, twit, my mate is coming,”—but it was not the fir-tree they meant. “Now I shall live,” cried the tree, joyfully spreading out its branches; but alas! they were all withered and yellow, and it lay in a corner amongst weeds and nettles. The star of gold paper still stuck in the top of the tree and glittered in the sunshine. In the same courtyard two of the merry children were playing who had danced round the tree at Christmas, and had been so happy. The youngest saw the gilded star, and ran and pulled it off the tree. “Look what is sticking to the ugly old fir-tree,” said the child, treading on the branches till they crackled under his boots. And the tree saw all the fresh bright flowers in the garden, and then looked at itself, and wished it had remained in the dark corner of the garret. It thought of its fresh youth in the forest, of the merry Christmas evening, and of the little mice who had listened to the story of “Humpty Dumpty.” “Past! past!” said the old tree; “Oh, had I but enjoyed myself while I could have done so! but now it is too late.” Then a lad came and chopped the tree into small pieces, till a large bundle lay in a heap on the ground. The pieces were placed in a fire under the copper, and they quickly blazed up brightly, while the tree sighed so deeply that each sigh was like a pistol-shot. Then the children, who were at play, came and seated themselves in front of the fire, and looked at it and cried, “Pop, pop.” But at each “pop,” which was a deep sigh, the tree was thinking of a summer day in the forest; and of Christmas evening, and of “Humpty Dumpty,” the only story it had ever heard or knew how to relate, till at last it was consumed. The boys still played in the garden, and the youngest wore the golden star on his breast, with which the tree had been adorned during the happiest evening of its existence. Now all was past; the tree’s life was past, and the story also,—for all stories must come to an end at last.


Christmas in the Philippines: An Affair of Faith, Food, Family


Legend has it that the first Christmas celebrated in the Philippines  took place almost 200 years even before Ferdinand Magellan set foot on the islands. In the town of Bolinao in Pangasinan, in the year 1324, Odoric of Pordenone, a Franciscan missionary, was said to have taken shelter on the shores of this part of the archipelago.  It was about Christmastime, the story goes, and Odoric was faced by “hostile natives” who did not take their appearance. I think they were not hostile, though. Surprise or puzzled are more apt terms to describe them. Maybe.  The European guests uttered their prayers and in an instant the locals had a change of heart and treated the Italian guest and his company on a friendlier terms. Odoric then celebrated the first Christmas mass in the archipelago. A marker was placed outside the St. James the Great Parish Church in Bolinao.

In 1565, Miguel Lopez de Legazpi reached what is now the Philippines  and he initially established the first Spanish settlement in Cebu, scouring the nearby islands to search for food and exact tributes in the name of the Spanish king. In Cebu, they have had a hard time securing provisions. They were so deficient with supplies that Christmas of 1565 was sad and desperate affair. While relations in Mexico enjoyed sumptuous luncheons amidst merriment, Legazpi and his troops, on the other hand, endured their wretched situation an ocean away, amidst native resistance. They would have to compete with rats for the pittance of corn and herbs that was rationed for their consumption.

This first Christmas celebration was a stark contrast to how the Spanish and the natives would celebrate the birth of Christ in the years to come. As Spanish rule was firmly established, Christmas became a significant part of the religious activities zealously introduced to the natives as part of the evangelical missions of the Spanish preachers.

October through January were months of harvests and folks were up earlier to start their day in the field. December 16 through January 6 were dates associated with Christmas festivities. December 16 is the start of the dawn masses or misa de gallo Spanish, simbang gabi ni Tagalog, and misa dulom in Hiligaynon.  For nine mornings until Christmas eve, the Catholic faithfuls would rise at 3 and head to the church for the 4am mass. The celebrations culminate on December 24 with the midnight mass, called Misa de Aguinaldo, officiated at 12 midnight of the 25th to welcome the birth of Christ.

The misa de gallo is meant as a mass of thanksgiving for a fruitful harvest and to pray for bounty in the coming year.  Some say it is a form of accommodation for the farmers who wanted to be in the field  at the crack of dawn. Others, however, believed that the dawn mass is a form of sacrifice. Regardless, the tradition of misa de gallo has become a Christmas tradition in the Philippines.

The early morning chilly wind is best tempered by freshly steamed kakanin (sweet native finger foods) sold at bamboo stalls outside the church. Puto bumbong, suman and bibingka are perennial favorite fares, partnered by salabat and tsokolate as the ideal choices for hot drinks.

Attending the Misa de Aguinaldo is a family affair, after which everyone returns home where a feast awaits on the dinner table.  The Noche Buena, translated as night of goodness, is the traditional meal shared by the family after the midnight mass. Families usually share all-time favorite Christmas staples, like ham, lumpia, roast chicken, and quezo de bola. The more well-to-do could have lechon (roasted suckling pig), especially if the noche Buena serves as a family reunion.  According to food historian Doreen G. Fernandez, it is the most important meal of the year, “not only hallowed by the birth of Christ, by Christian tradition and family customs, but by life forces earlier than anyone remembers, by stirrings of the Filipino ethos.”

While the first Christmas in the Philippines was a grim and gloomy affair, Filipinos today have embraced well this European introduce and take it as a time to gather together, give thanks and enjoy the blessings on the dinner table.

 

The Spanish fort in Panay

Panay Church in the town of Panay, Capiz, the town said to be location of settlement founded by the Spaniards after Cebu.

In his Relation of the Western Islands Called Filipinas, Captain Diego de Artieda described to King Philip II in 1573 the fort that he planned in the newly established settlement “between the two arms of a river” on Panay Island. Local historians agree that this settlement serve as the nucleus of what is now the town of Panay in Capiz, one of the four provinces of Panay island.

Artieda writes:

Northwest of Buglas lies Panae, an island abounding in rice and all kinds of provisions. The camp was moved thither, and, as abovesaid, I drew the plan of the said fort between the two arms of a river, because it is impossible to effect an entrance by one arm. In the other arm and below the fort, fourteen gabions were made and twelve large pieces of artillery mounted for the defense of the entrance and passage. The fort is situated two and one-half leagues inland, and the ground all the way to the fort is a swamp, covered with tangles of bushes; so that enemies can approach the said fort only through the river, where are planted the above-mentioned gabions and artillery. The position is excellent, and such that it needs only a few men to defend it against many. The bar of the river is not more than one braza deep; and its coast thereabout, for more than twenty leagues, is very forbidding. Its center lies in about eleven and one-third degrees of latitude.


Fray Diego de Herrera’s impressions of the Spanish settlement along Panay River

On June 4, 1570, three ships from New Spain reached the Philippines. It contained the much-needed reinforcements for the tired and hungry Spanish troops who transferred their settlement from Cebu to Panay River. On June 7, they reached Mariripi where they rested for a while. Here they learned from the natives that the governor, Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, had moved to Panay. In Fray Diego de Herrera’s letter to the viceroy of New Spain written in the last days of June 1570, he reported that from Mariripi, he and Captain Juan de la Ysla went to visit the Governor to Panay so that they may know where he wanted the vessels to go “for there is no port in Panay  and ships must take cover near a small island lying at the mouth of the river where the governor lives.” He adds that the island was “dangerous for vessels as the pilots and quartermasters believe.”

However, reading Herrera’s letter, one could surmise that he was disappointed with the governor’s decision of settling in Panay. He even remarked that “many were of different opinion” when he told de la Isla to send the ships to Panay. 

Part of Herrera’s letter also gives an overall impression at how badly he disliked the place: 

“I myself thought that his decision was wrong for the port was bad and it would be hard to unload the vessels. Also there was over one league and a half from the anchorage to the town and the sandbar at the mouth of the river made passage difficult. Nevertheless, on June 22, the vessels got there and when the men aboard saw this sad and stricken place in which we are now settled they were sad. The swamps looked bad  and the houses were built by the bank of the river where the water is brackish so that when the river rises it is necessary to go by the boat from house to house. It is hot and unhealthy and it rains day and night and although before we came, food was abundant now we lacked food.”

Herrera also reported to the viceroy the abuses committed by the Spanish soldiers and observed that they “despised” Legazpi. 

When he arrived in Panay, Herrera noted:

“I found the land in ashes and the soldiers free to do all sorts of wrong so that they are stealing and ravishing the land and they hunt the natives to sell them as slaves and I learned that there had been so much bloodshed that that I was sad in my soul especially as I learned that these wrongs were not unpunished.”

In fact, all these wrongs unpunished went on for the next 300 years. Today, while we prize the town of Panay as the second Spanish settlement in the Philippines, we should not forget as well that the colonizers also pillaged our land and abused our forefathers all for the name of gold and glory.

Remembering Ilig Exhibition


On December 7, 2019, Ang Panublion Museum launched an exhibit called "Ilig: Time-Honored Fishing Methods and Practices in Roxas City". It was a highlight of a one-year research that started as a project funded by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts where I was part of a team that documented fishing practices of Capiz. Together with Dr. Hazel Joaquin and Ralph Gerard Cadiz of Capiz State University, I visited different fishing communities in some towns in Capiz where we interviewed fisher folks and their families, took photographs and videos, and experienced how life was in these coastal communities. 

Since the project covered only one fishing community in Roxas City, I decided to continue the research, which became the topic of a master's degree thesis funded by the Commission on Higher Education. One time, I was with a meeting to Ang Panublion Museum director, Cheryl Anne del Rosario, and artist Marika Constantino and I brought up the idea of exhibiting about the fishing practices of Roxas City in time for the Sinadya festival. Cheryl beamed with joy upon hearing it while Marika thought of it as an interesting concept. The work began with Cheche, Marika and I, as well as Leiff Antonino, the museum's creative assistant, which led us to scour different seaside barangays for boats, nets, paddles, and other fishing gears. We also worked with local artists to get them to exhibit their work depicting fishing practices. Researching and curating an exhibit is an exhausting job but the output is fulfilling. 

To give you an idea about what the exhibition was about, here's the note that I wrote and shared to visitors. 

The Province of Capiz, which faces the Sibuyan Sea, is replete with marine resources that sustain the livelihood of the locals in this area. Roxas City, the province’s capital, is dubbed as the Seafood Capital of the Philippines with the wealth of natural resources that come from the sea. It supplies export seafood products to various countries such as Taiwan, Japan and the United States. The main aquaculture farms are oyster and milk fish farms that take advantage of natural tidal bays and other low-lying areas near the coast. For years, the fishing communities of Roxas City have developed fishing methods and practices, employing fishing gears which are either stationary or non-stationary. These contribute to the rich cultural landscape of the Philippines, forming part of the community bank of knowledge abundant in these places.

Fisher folks acquired their knowledge in fishing processes through their constant interaction with their parents and their colleagues in the community. Specifically, emphasis is placed on learning by doing through repeated practice over time rather than by simple observation and replication.

These days, though, passing on traditional knowledge in fishing to the younger generation has diminished. Ilig is an attempt to help bridge the gap and bring awareness to the teachers and students, especially the younger generation about this intangible heritage at risk of modernization and technology. 

The exhibit lasted for only 13 days because it was a casualty of Typhoon Ursula that swept Capiz on Christmas Day. Nevertheless, enjoy the photos of the exhibition which I am sharing below!   








Happy Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception!


"Oh, Mary, conceived without sin, please pray for us." 

 Today, the Catholic Church celebrates the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.  Since time immemorial, the Catholic faithful of Capiz have always maintained its veneration to the Immaculate Conception, a religious tradition introduced by the Agustinian friars to our ancestors who embraced the Christian doctrine. 

Access "Handuman" articles on Facebook and Instagram with these tags  #christianschronicles #capizheritage #handumanancapiz #capizhistory. You could also check them here on my blog. 

Legazpi moves the Spanish camp somewhere by the Panay River

Miguel Lopez de Legazpi

 In 1565, Spanish explorers led by Miguel Lopez de Legazpi arrived in what is today Cebu with the hopes of establishing a settlement in the name of King Philip II and preach the Christian gospel. However, they met the native resistance. Hunger and threats of Portuguese attacks forced Legazpi and company to move to the nearby Panay island, which, according to Luis de Haya, abounds with rice. Haya earlier reached the island as he searched for food upon the governor's order. Natives who went to Panay also told them of the bountiful supply in this part of the archipelago. 

With reinforcements from New Spain (present-day Mexico) yet unavailable, the governor thought it wise to move in this land where food runs aplenty. 

With this decision to move to Panay, Andres de Mirandaola, a nephew of Fray Andres de Urdaneta and who was with Legazpi in Cebu, wrote King Philip II on June 8, 1569, telling the sovereign:  

…it was decided to change the site and situation of this camp to a province called Panae, where it is believed that we can hold out until your Majesty provide us with help and reënforcements, in order that your Majesty's affairs and vassals may not be so injured by the vassals of the king of Portugal- a place where no damage may be done, for never since these parts were discovered have the Portuguese resorted thither, and neither the king of Portugal nor his vassals had trade or commerce, nor can they possess anything there.

On July 7, 1569, Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, still in Cebu, in a letter to the Marquess de Falces, the viceroy of New Spain, wrote:

All agreed that we should change our location and settlement, because it would be impossible to defend ourselves here where they could, simply by closing the entrances to the port, as they did at first, starve us, on account of the lack of food on this island. In view of other causes and arguments set forth for this change, we thought that the river Panae, situated forty leagues from this place, would be a more suitable site, for it abounds in rice, and no one from the sea could prevent us from going up the river to the mountains. Accordingly we have removed thither the artillery, although the quantity of powder and ammunition now remaining is so small that the artillery can be of little help in any place. We have decided to send the companies around the river into other towns, where they can sustain themselves until we hear from the enemy.

By this time, a settlement along the Panay River was already established , after Legazpi sent Captain Felipe de Salcedo to accompany the soldiers and the artillery to this part of Panay island. 

The Spaniards rested in Olotayan

For 40 days in 1570, Spanish conquerors, tired from endless days and nights on rough seas, rested in Olotayan Island. From here, three missionaries set out to preach the Catholic faith while the soldiers and sailors repaired two ships for a voyage back to New Spain. 

A view of Olotayan, taken in 2015, by CGFA

Some time in May 1570, Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, already settled in Panay, received a letter from Juan de la Isla, who was resting in Mariripi Island, informing him that he had already arrived from New Spain. He brought with him three new ships containing the much needed reinforcements. These ships were the San Juan, Espirtu Santo and the patache San Lucas. de la Isla asked the governor where to proceed with the ships and the governor directed them to proceed to Lutaya (present-day Olotayan), a small, uninhabited island facing the mouth of the Panay River. Of these accounts, Fray Gaspar de San Agustin, in Conquistas de las islas Filipinas 1565-1615, wrote:

“He [de la Isla] inquired where to go with the ships. The governor informed him to go to the island of Lutaya, fronting the mouth of the Panay River... Juan de la Isla reached Lutaya, and anchored in a port there, which was small and unprotected on the south and southeast. He dropped anchor with the three ships on June 23, 1570.”

On board these ships and most likely landing on the island were three missionaries from  Mexico, Fray Diego de Herrera, Fray Diego Ordonez, and Fray Diego de Espinar. Here in Olotayan, de la Isla rested and spent 40 days repairing San Juan and Espiritu Santo for a trip back to Mexico. The ships might have been loaded with indigenous finds the Spaniards obtained from the island, including 12 pimento trees, possibly obtained by Legazpi from the settlement along Panay river, and was offered as a gift to King Philip II. On July 25, 1570, Juan de la Isla sailed back to New Spain.

It is important to note that it is in Panay where Legazpi received specific orders from the Spanish king to “populate and pacify these islands for conversion of the natives” and to “divide the land and endow land grants to the most worthy conquerors”. It was also in Panay where Legazpi received the news that the king had conferred upon him the title “Adelantado of the Ladrones islands” as a reward for having taken the island in the name of the King of Spain.

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