Maragtas
Encyclopedia
The Maragtas is a work by Pedro Alcantara Monteclaro titled (in English translation) History of Panay from the first inhabitants and the Bornean immigrants, from which they descended, to the arrival of the Spaniards. The work is in mixed Hiligaynon
and Kinaray-a
languages in Iloilo
in 1907. It is an original work based on written and oral sources available to the author.
The Maragtas is an original work by the author, based on written and oral sources available to him. In particular, the author makes no claim that the work contains a transcription of particular prehispanic documents. The work consists of a publisher's introduction by Salvador Laguda, a Forward by the author, six chapters, and an epilog. The first chapter describes the former customs, clothes, dialect, heredity, organization, etc. of the Aeta
s of Panay, with special mention of Marikudo, son of old Chief Polpulan; the second chapter begins a narrative of the ten datu
s flight from Borneo and the tyranny of Datu Makatunaw there, and their purchase of the island of Panay from Marikudo; the third chapter tells of the romance of Sumakwel, Kapinangan and her lover Gurung-garung; the fourth chapter concludes the tale of the ten datus, telling about their political arrangements and their circumnavigation of the island; the fifth chapter describes language, commerce, clothing, customs, marriages, funerals, mourning habits, cockfighting, timekeeping techniques, calendars, and personal characteristics; the sixth and final chapter gives a list of Spanish officials between 1637 and 1808; the epilog contains a few eighteenth-century dates.
, founder of the Anthropology Department of the University of the Philippines, refers to Margitas and "the ancient writing in which it was originally inscribed. Separately, Beyer stated, "A remarkable document known as Margitas, dating probably from about 1225, was preserved in Panay and transliterated into romanized Visayan in early Spanish days." The myth that the Maragtas was not an original work but rather a transcription of earlier works was later given wider circulation by various academics, as detailed by Philippine historian William Henry Scott
.. Scott concludes, however, that the Maragtas was an original work by Pedro Alcantara Monteclaro. Other Philippine historians have written, however, that some of the data in the Margatas is verifiable in other sources.
But taking into consideration that after the Spanish colonization, local literary achievements in culture and government in the former territories of the Confederation of Madya-as were eclipsed by the emphasis of the Spanish colonial regime on Catholic Christian faith, and the fact that Ilonggo litearary heritage was primarily orally passed from one generation to another, as in the case of the oldest and longest epic in Hiligaynon Hinilawod
that survive in the Sulod society in the hinterlands of Panay, the local oral traditions inherited by the Ilonggos from their ancestors cannot be just be hastily dismissed as fabricated. In fact, Ilongo literary works like Maragtas and the Code of Kalantiaw are something that serious historians have to study more carefully. What Walter Scott failed to consider in his judgment is the nature of the transmission of Ilonggo local literature. He just limited himself with evaluating a relatively recent attempt to put into writing what Ilonggos have bequeathed to their descendants through generations by means of oral tradition, discrediting Monteclaro as fabricating the story. What was judged was Maragtas - the printed work compiled by Monteclaro. The essence of Maragtas per se was not given due treatment.
Another thing that Scott failed to consider is the fact that Monteclaro is not a professional historian who writes according to the standards of scientific research. Scott was not able to see the perspective of Monteclaro - the Ilonggo, who transmits to the next Ilonggo generations what has been passed on from the previous ages, of which he had more ample knowledge.
The third aspect that Walter Scott failed to give due consideration is the fact that Maragtas is also at the same time a literary piece. As such, facts in the story are sometimes mixed with attempts to make the narration attractive. Therefore, literary criticism
or other hermeneutical approaches have to be applied in this case, to distinguish which parts are historical and which parts are not.
To understand Maragtas better, one needs an appropriate method of research in order to have a thorough study of Ilonggo culture, mentality, and the remnants of their very ancient civilization. Otherwise, one will be left with a very superficial judgement of the issue.
Jeremias Elizalde Navarro (J. Elizalde Navarro), who is from San Jose, Antique, immortalized a scene from Maragtas with two versions of the mural "Bulawan nga Saduk," one of which could be viewed at the lobby of the Antique Provincial Capitol, and the other in the collection of an insurance company. Demetillo's play was later adapted by playwright Orlando Nadres as "Kapinangan," a drama musical presented at the Manila Metropolitan Theater in 1981. It was directed by Cervantes, with music by Ryan Cayabyab, and starred Kuh Ledesma as Kapinangan, Robert Arevalo as Datu Sumakwel, and Hajji Alejandro as Gurong-gurong.
Almost all the major writers in Panay, including Magdalena Jalandoni, Ramon Muzones, and Conrado Norada have written adaptations of the legend in the novel form. From the Maragtas, Alex C. Delos Santos
wrote the one-act play "Pagtimalus ni Kapinangan" (Kapaningan's Revenge), based on the chapter on Kapinangan's adulterous relationship. Delos Santos, however, rethinks the story and views it from Kapinangan's point of view, suggesting that the act was deliberate on Kapinangan's part because she felt that Sumakwel was so engrossed with his obligations as chieftain, forgetting Kapinangan and their marriage. The play was presented in 2002 at St. Anthony's College, and as part of the trilogy "Tres Mujeres" presented at Iloilo National High School as part of the Duag Teatrokon Regional Theater Festival.
In dance, Ballet Philippines produced "Kapinangan," choreographed by National Artist Lucrecia Kasilag and Eddie Elejar at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. US-based dancer/choreographer Dulce Capadocia also used the Kapinangan strand of the Maragtas in her multi-media dance epic "Ma'I Lost," which premiered at the Luckman Fine Arts Complex in 1999.
Hiligaynon language
Hiligaynon, often referred to as Ilonggo, is an Austronesian language spoken in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines.Hiligaynon is concentrated in the provinces of Iloilo, Negros Occidental and Capiz but is also spoken in the other provinces of the Panay Island group, including Antique,...
and Kinaray-a
Kinaray-a language
Kinaray-a is an Austronesian language spoken mainly in Antique Province in the Philippines. It is also spoken in Iloilo province, the south of Capiz Province, and certain villages in Mindanao that trace their roots to Antique Province or Kinaray-a speaking areas of Iloilo and Capiz Provinces...
languages in Iloilo
Iloilo City
The City of Iloilo is a highly urbanized city in the Philippines and the capital city of Iloilo province. It is the regional center of the Western Visayas, as well as the center of the Iloilo-Guimaras Metropolitan Area...
in 1907. It is an original work based on written and oral sources available to the author.
The Maragtas is an original work by the author, based on written and oral sources available to him. In particular, the author makes no claim that the work contains a transcription of particular prehispanic documents. The work consists of a publisher's introduction by Salvador Laguda, a Forward by the author, six chapters, and an epilog. The first chapter describes the former customs, clothes, dialect, heredity, organization, etc. of the Aeta
Aeta
The Aeta , Agta or Ayta are an indigenous people who live in scattered, isolated mountainous parts of Luzon, Philippines. They are considered to be Negritos, who are dark to very dark brown-skinned and tend to have features such as a small stature, small frame, curly to kinky afro-like textured...
s of Panay, with special mention of Marikudo, son of old Chief Polpulan; the second chapter begins a narrative of the ten datu
Datu
Datu is the title for tribal chiefs, sovereign princes, and monarchs in the Visayas and Mindanao Regions of the Philippines. Together with Lakan , Apo in Central and Northern Luzon, Sultan and Rajah, they are titles used for native royalty, and are still currently used in the Philippines...
s flight from Borneo and the tyranny of Datu Makatunaw there, and their purchase of the island of Panay from Marikudo; the third chapter tells of the romance of Sumakwel, Kapinangan and her lover Gurung-garung; the fourth chapter concludes the tale of the ten datus, telling about their political arrangements and their circumnavigation of the island; the fifth chapter describes language, commerce, clothing, customs, marriages, funerals, mourning habits, cockfighting, timekeeping techniques, calendars, and personal characteristics; the sixth and final chapter gives a list of Spanish officials between 1637 and 1808; the epilog contains a few eighteenth-century dates.
Use by historians
Philippine historians made little use of the Maragtas before the Japanese occupation, with references such as that by José Soncuya in his 1917 Historia Pre-Hispanica de Filipinas having been restricted to the Spanish-speaking elite. In 1947, however, a book co-authored by historian H. Otley BeyerH. Otley Beyer
Henry Otley Beyer was an American anthropologist, who spent most of his adult life in the Philippines teaching Filipinos and other scholars about Philippine indigenous culture...
, founder of the Anthropology Department of the University of the Philippines, refers to Margitas and "the ancient writing in which it was originally inscribed. Separately, Beyer stated, "A remarkable document known as Margitas, dating probably from about 1225, was preserved in Panay and transliterated into romanized Visayan in early Spanish days." The myth that the Maragtas was not an original work but rather a transcription of earlier works was later given wider circulation by various academics, as detailed by Philippine historian William Henry Scott
William Henry Scott (historian)
William Henry Scott was a historian of the Gran Cordillera Central and Prehispanic Philippines. He personally rejected the description anthropologist as applying to himself.-Early life:...
.. Scott concludes, however, that the Maragtas was an original work by Pedro Alcantara Monteclaro. Other Philippine historians have written, however, that some of the data in the Margatas is verifiable in other sources.
But taking into consideration that after the Spanish colonization, local literary achievements in culture and government in the former territories of the Confederation of Madya-as were eclipsed by the emphasis of the Spanish colonial regime on Catholic Christian faith, and the fact that Ilonggo litearary heritage was primarily orally passed from one generation to another, as in the case of the oldest and longest epic in Hiligaynon Hinilawod
Hinilawod
-Significance:The term "Hinilawod" means “Tales From The Mouth of The Halawod River". Hinilawod is an epic poem written by the early inhabitants of a place called Sulod in central Panay....
that survive in the Sulod society in the hinterlands of Panay, the local oral traditions inherited by the Ilonggos from their ancestors cannot be just be hastily dismissed as fabricated. In fact, Ilongo literary works like Maragtas and the Code of Kalantiaw are something that serious historians have to study more carefully. What Walter Scott failed to consider in his judgment is the nature of the transmission of Ilonggo local literature. He just limited himself with evaluating a relatively recent attempt to put into writing what Ilonggos have bequeathed to their descendants through generations by means of oral tradition, discrediting Monteclaro as fabricating the story. What was judged was Maragtas - the printed work compiled by Monteclaro. The essence of Maragtas per se was not given due treatment.
Another thing that Scott failed to consider is the fact that Monteclaro is not a professional historian who writes according to the standards of scientific research. Scott was not able to see the perspective of Monteclaro - the Ilonggo, who transmits to the next Ilonggo generations what has been passed on from the previous ages, of which he had more ample knowledge.
The third aspect that Walter Scott failed to give due consideration is the fact that Maragtas is also at the same time a literary piece. As such, facts in the story are sometimes mixed with attempts to make the narration attractive. Therefore, literary criticism
Literary criticism
Literary criticism is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often informed by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of its methods and goals...
or other hermeneutical approaches have to be applied in this case, to distinguish which parts are historical and which parts are not.
To understand Maragtas better, one needs an appropriate method of research in order to have a thorough study of Ilonggo culture, mentality, and the remnants of their very ancient civilization. Otherwise, one will be left with a very superficial judgement of the issue.
Use by artists
Despite the controversy on The Maragtas, it has definitely enriched the arts scene. Based on it, Ricaredo Demetillo wrote "Barter in Panay," which won the UP Golden Jubilee Award for Poetry in 1958. He would later extact from it the verse tragedy "The heart of emptiness is black," which won the Palanca Award in 1973, and produced by the UP Repertory Company and directed by noted stage director Behn Cervantes in June 1974.Jeremias Elizalde Navarro (J. Elizalde Navarro), who is from San Jose, Antique, immortalized a scene from Maragtas with two versions of the mural "Bulawan nga Saduk," one of which could be viewed at the lobby of the Antique Provincial Capitol, and the other in the collection of an insurance company. Demetillo's play was later adapted by playwright Orlando Nadres as "Kapinangan," a drama musical presented at the Manila Metropolitan Theater in 1981. It was directed by Cervantes, with music by Ryan Cayabyab, and starred Kuh Ledesma as Kapinangan, Robert Arevalo as Datu Sumakwel, and Hajji Alejandro as Gurong-gurong.
Almost all the major writers in Panay, including Magdalena Jalandoni, Ramon Muzones, and Conrado Norada have written adaptations of the legend in the novel form. From the Maragtas, Alex C. Delos Santos
Alex C. Delos Santos
Alex C. Delos Santos born on September 24, 1967 in San Jose, Antique is a Karay-a writer and theater artist based in San Jose, Antique, the Philippines. He completed his Master of Education with an academic excellence award from the University of the Philippines in the Visayas...
wrote the one-act play "Pagtimalus ni Kapinangan" (Kapaningan's Revenge), based on the chapter on Kapinangan's adulterous relationship. Delos Santos, however, rethinks the story and views it from Kapinangan's point of view, suggesting that the act was deliberate on Kapinangan's part because she felt that Sumakwel was so engrossed with his obligations as chieftain, forgetting Kapinangan and their marriage. The play was presented in 2002 at St. Anthony's College, and as part of the trilogy "Tres Mujeres" presented at Iloilo National High School as part of the Duag Teatrokon Regional Theater Festival.
In dance, Ballet Philippines produced "Kapinangan," choreographed by National Artist Lucrecia Kasilag and Eddie Elejar at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. US-based dancer/choreographer Dulce Capadocia also used the Kapinangan strand of the Maragtas in her multi-media dance epic "Ma'I Lost," which premiered at the Luckman Fine Arts Complex in 1999.