Madja-as

Confederation of Madja-as
Katiringban it Madja-as
c.1080–1569[citation needed]
A map of the Confederation of Madja-as according to the Maragtas by Pedro Monteclaro (1907) as well as municipal and provincial historical accounts.
A map of the Confederation of Madja-as according to the Maragtas by Pedro Monteclaro (1907) as well as municipal and provincial historical accounts.
CapitalSinugbohan
Malandog
Aklan
Irong-Irong
Common languagesProto-Visayan (present-day Aklanon, Kinaray-a, Capiznon, Hiligaynon, and Cebuano in Negros Oriental)
(local languages)
Old Malay and Sanskrit (trade languages)[citation needed]
Religion
Primary
Folk religion
Secondary
Hinduism[citation needed]
Buddhism[citation needed]
GovernmentFederal monarchy
Datu 
• c. 1080-?
Datu Puti
• ?
Datu Sumakwel
• c. 1400–?
Datu Manduyog
History 
• Established by 10 Datus
c.1080
• Conquest by Spain
1569[citation needed]
CurrencyGold, Pearls, Barter
Succeeded by
Captaincy General of the Philippines
Iloilo
Today part ofPhilippines

11°09′N 122°29′E / 11.150°N 122.483°E / 11.150; 122.483

The Confederation of Madja-as was a legendary pre-colonial supra-baranganic polity on the island of Panay in the Philippines. It was mentioned in Pedro Monteclaro's book titled Maragtas. It was supposedly created by Datu Sumakwel to exercise his authority over all the other datus of Panay.[1] Like the Maragtas and the Code of Kalantiaw, the historical authenticity of the confederation is disputed, as no other documentation for Madja-as exists outside of Monteclaro's book.[2] However, the notion that the Maragtas is an original work of fiction by Monteclaro is disputed by a 2019 Thesis, named "Mga Maragtas ng Panay: Comparative Analysis of Documents about the Bornean Settlement Tradition" by Talaguit Christian Jeo N. of the De La Salle University[3] who stated that, "Contrary to popular belief, the Monteclaro Maragtas is not a primary source of the legend but is rather more accurately a secondary source at best" as the story of the Maragtas also appeared in the Augustinian Friar, Rev. Fr. Tomas Santaren’s Bisayan Accounts of Early Bornean Settlements (originally a part of the appendice in the book, Igorrotes: estudio geográfico y etnográfico sobre algunos distritos del norte de Luzon Igorots: a geographic and ethnographic study of certain districts of northern Luzon by Fr. Angel Perez)[4] Additionally, the characters and places mentioned in the Maragtas book, like Rajah Makatunaw and Madj-as can be found in Ming Dynasty Annals and Arabic Manuscripts. However, the written dates go earlier since Rajah Makatunaw was recorded to have been from 1082 AD and was a descendant of Seri Maharajah (According to Chinese annals) while the Code of Maragtas, a separate work from the Maragtas book, placed him at the 1200s.[5][6][Notes 1]

J. Carrol in his article: "The Word Bisaya in the Philippines and Borneo" (1960) thinks there might be indirect evidence in the possible affinity between the Visayans and Melanaos as he speculates that Makatunao is similar with the ancient leader of the Melanao in Sarawak, called "Tugau" or "Maha Tungao" (Maha or महत्, meaning 'great' in Sanskrit).[7][8] Chinese annals and maps record Madja-as as marked with the city of Yachen 啞陳 (Oton, which is a district in Panay, an island under the Madja-as Kedatuan)[9]

  1. ^ Abeto, Isidro Escare (1989). "Chapter X - Confederation of Madyaas". Philippine history: reassessed / Isidro Escare Abeto. Metro Manila :: Integrated Publishing House Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Library. p. 54. OCLC 701327689. Already conceived while he was in Binanua-an, and as the titular head of all the datus left behind by Datu Puti, Datu Sumakwel thought of some kind of system as to how he could exercise his powers given him by Datu Puti over all the other datus under his authority.
  2. ^ Morrow, Paul. "The Maragtas Legend". paulmorrow.ca. Archived from the original on 2 July 2019. In Maragtas, Monteclaro also told the story of the creation of the Confederation of Madya-as in Panay under the rule of Datu Sumakwel and he gave the details of its constitution. In spite of the importance that should be placed on such an early constitution and his detailed description of it, Monteclaro gave no source for his information. Also, it appears that the Confederation of Madya-as is unique to Monteclaro's book. It has never been documented anywhere else nor is it among the legends of the unhispanized tribes of Panay.
  3. ^ Mga Maragtas ng Panay[dead link]: Comparative Analysis of Documents about the Bornean Settlement Tradition By Talaguit Christian Jeo N.
  4. ^ Tomas Santaren, Bisayan Accounts of Early Bornean Settlements in the Philippines, trans by Enriqueta Fox, (Chicago: University of Chicago, Philippine Studies Program, 1954), ii.
  5. ^ Brunei Rediscovered: A Survey of Early Times By Robert Nicholl Page 37 (Sub-citation taken from Ferrand, Relations p. 333)
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference PreislamicBruneiKings was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ THE BISAYA OF BORNEO AND THE PHILIPPINES: A NEW LOOK AT THE MARAGTAS By Joseph Baumgartner
  8. ^ Sonza, Demy P. (1974). "The Bisayas of Borneo and the Philippines: A New Look at the Maragtas" (PDF). Bahandian.
  9. ^ Reading Song-Ming Records on the Pre-colonial History of the Philippine By Wang Zhenping. Page 256.


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