CHAPTER VI

"ONE PAST BUT MANY HISTORIES":

CONTROVERSIES AND CONFLICTING VIEWS IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of this lesson, the learners shall be able to

1. Analyze the context, content, and perspectives of different kinds of primary sources

2. Determine the contribution of different kinds of primary sources in understanding Philippine

3. Develop critical and analytical skills with exposure to primary sources

4. Demonstrate the ability to formulate arguments in favor or against a particular issue using
primary sources

Site of the First Mass

The first recorded Christian mass was held on Easter Sunday, March 31, 1521 at a little island-
port named Mazaua. Two identical accounts report this event, by eyewitness Antonio Pigafetta
(1523) and Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas (1601). "Masawa" is a word found only in
Butuanon and its scion, Tausog, out of 181 philippine languages. It means brilliant light and
crystal clear.

Some Filipino historians have long contested the idea that Limasawa was the site of the first
Catholic mass in the country. Historian Sonia Zaide identified Masao (also Mazaua) in Butuan as
the location of the first Christian mass. The basis of Zaide's claim is the diary of Antonio
Pigafetta, chronicler of Magellan's voyage. In 1995 then Congresswoman Ching Plaza of Agusan
del Norte- Butuan City filed a bill in congress contesting the Limasawa hypothesis and asserting
the 'site of the first mass' was Butuan. The Philippine Congress referred the matter to the
National Historical Institute for it to study the issue and recommend a historical finding. Then
NHI chair Dr. Samuel K. Tan reaffirmed Limasawa as the site of the first mass.

For the past centuries, innumerable numbers of Filipinos including the top experts in education,
history, religion, politics and other subjects are still debating as to the exact location of the "First
Mass on Easter," which according to the number 1 pro-Butuan author, the word "first"was not
recorded during the observance of Easter Sunday on March 31, 1521 (Salazar, 2015). Here are
Pigafetta's paragraphs as translated by the foremost writer of the 'The First Voyage Round the
World', Lord Stanley of Alderley:

"On. Sunday, the last day of March, and feast of Easter, the captain sent the chaplain ashore early
to say mass, and the interpreter went with him to tell the king that they were not coming on shore
to dine with him, but only to hear the mass. The king hearing that sent two dead pigs. When it
was time for saying mass the captain went ashore with fifty men, not with their arms, but only
with their swords, and dressed as well as each one was able to dress, and before the boats
reached the shore our ships fired six cannon shots as a sign of peace. At our landing the two
kings were there, and received our captain in a friendly manner, and placed him between them,
and then we went to the place prepared for saying mass, which was not far from the shore.
Before the mass began the captain threw a quantity of musk rose water on those two kings, and
when the offertory of the mass came, the two kings went to kiss the cross like us, but they
offered nothing, and at the elevation of the body of our Lord they were kneeling like us, and
adored our Lord with joined hands. The ships fired all their artillery at the elevation of the body
of our Lord. After mass had been said each one did the duty of Christian, receiving our Lord.
After that the captain had some sword-play by his people, which gave great pleasure to the
kings."
"Then he had a cross brought, with the nails and crown, to which the kings made reverence, and
the captain had them told that these things which he showed them were the sign of the emperor
his lord and master, from whom he had charge and commandment to place it in all places where
he might go or pass by. He told them that he wished to place it in their country for their profit,
because if there came afterwards any ships from Spain to those islands, on seeing this cross, they
would know that we had been there, and therefore they would not cause them any displeasure to
their persons nor their goods; and if they took any of their people, on showing them this sign,
they would at once let them go. Besides this, the captain told them that it was necessary that this
cross should be placed on the summit of the highest mountain in their country, so that seeing it
every day they might adore it, and that if they did thus, neither thunder, lightning, nor hurt. "

The kings thanked the captain, and said they would do it willingly. Then he asked whether they
were Moors or Gentiles, and in what they believed. They answered that they did not perform any
other adoration, but only joined their hands, looking up to heaven, and that they called their God,
Aba. Hearing this,the captain was very joyful, on seeing that, the first king raised his hands to the
sky and said that he wished it were possible for him to be able to show the affection which he felt
towards him. The interpreter asked him for what reason there was so little to eat in that place, to
which the king replied that he did not reside in that place except when he came to hunt and to see
his brother, but that he lived in another island where he had all his family. Then the captain asked
him if he had any enemies who made war upon him, and that if he had any he would go and
defeat them with his men and ships, to put them under his obedience. The king thanked him, and
answered that there were two islands the inhabitants of which were his enemies; however, that
for the present it was not the time to attack them.

Salazar (2015) refute that the First Mass on Easter was not a Biblical Festival not practiced in the
Book of Acts. The original New Testament church which started on the Day of Pentecost in 31
A.D. / C. E. as described in Acts did not observe the Mass.

Four Sites of the First Mass

1. Limasawa Island, Southern Leyte. The most famous is Limasawa Island, an island town in
Southern Leyte, which the Philippine Government recognized as the actual site of the First Mass.
The powerful Roman Catholic Church also recognized Limasawa Island as the site where
Magellan and his crew landed and held the First Mass. Furthermore,. The Embassy of Spain
recognized Limasawa as the site of Magellan's landfall such that they also sent the Galleon
Andalucia to visit Maasin City for 5 days and Limasawa for about 3 hours. The Embassy of
Portugal in Metro Manila recognized Limasawa as the 'Mazzaua' which Pigafetta wrote about as
the island where Magellan and his troops observed the First Mass on Easter or introduced
Christianity to the island's inhabitants.

"The Treaty of Tordesillas on June 7, 1494 virtually divided the unknown world between Spain
and portugal with the approval of the Holy See. Did you know that Magellan, in a previous
expedition, had [landed] in the Moluccas, just south of Mindanao? In those days, Portugal had
something that the Spanish didn't have: cartographic maps of the so-called spice Islands.
Therefore, since he was a portuguese, it is safe to assume that Magellan used portuguese
cartographic maps during his historic expedition that brought him to Cebu on March 16, 1521
(this is a wrong date)."

"With the Treaty of Tordesillas, prof. De Sousa said the Philippine archipelago fell under the
jurisdiction of portugal... but Magellan made his claim for the King of Spain who paid for his
expedition. Thus in 1750, spain and portugal signed the Treaty of Madrid whereby the
portuguese exchanged the Philippines for the South Frontier of Brazil, which gave Portugal
control of Rio de la Plata. Again this is something we've never read in our history books. History
tells us that Spain sold the Philippines to the United States for a measly sum of $20 million, but
we never knew about this exchange deal for Brazil!"

"Talking about rewriting history, we all know about the claim made by some Butuanons that a
place called Mazaua was allegedly the site of the first Holy Mass instead of Limasawa Island off
Southern Leyte. Well, prof. De Sousa has another insight on this, which I'm sure puts an end to
this endless debate and enrich our pre-spanish history. It turned out that the ill-fated Magellan
expedition ended Spanish exploration of these islands. But portuguese navigators like João de
Barros, Gaspar Correia, Diogo do Couto, Francisco de Castro and Antonio Galvão have been
exploring Mindanao from 1520 to 1565 until the Spaniards resumed its conquest of the
Philippines through another expedition led by Miguel Lopez de Legazpi."
2. Masao or Mazaua in Butuan City, Agusan del Norte. The next popular one is Mazaua in
Butuan City, the capital of Agusan del Norte in Northern Mindanao. The Butuanons and their
supporters advocate that Magellan and his men landed in Mazaua for the reason that it has the
anchorage, rice fields, gold, antique "balanghai" and other artifacts which they unearthed in
scattered areas in Butuan City.

In the so-called 'Magellan's Harbor' in Butuan, the real harbor for the cargo and passenger ships
traveling to and departing from Butuan City is actually in Nasipit, which is 25 kilometers west of
Mazaua. Mazaua or Butuan City's offshore is too shallow for ship navigation!

If Mazaua had the abundant rice fields, other food supplies, and water at the time when Magellan
and his troops landed and held the 'First Mass' or observed 'Easter Sunday, how come Magellan
and his fellow sailors sought for a bigger island? Mazaua was and is attached to Mindanao, the
second largest island in the entire Philippines.

Since the pro-Mazaua supporters strongly claimed that Magellan and his fellow sailors held the
'First Mass' or observed Easter Sunday in their 'island of plenty' what happened to the abundant
foods, drinks and other supplies in Mazaua and their next neighbor, the 'Kingdom of Butuan'?
Why did the two rajahs of "Mazzaua" and Butuan volunteered as pilots to Magellan to obtain
provisions in Cebu, which is much smaller than Mindanao?

The pro-Butuan proponents claimed that Magellan and his troops landed in Mazaua, Butuan city
because Pigafetta wrote in his logbook about the small gift items made of gold supposedly from
Butuan which Rajah Kalambu gave to Magellan. Well then, if gold was such a big deal in
Butuan, Magellan and his sailors could have sailed easily south to Surigao, Mindanao while they
were still sailing off the eastern coast of Panaon Island. They had seen Surigao which was and is
in northeast Mindanao before nighttime because Mindanao is the second biggest island in the
entire Philippines. Surigao was known to have gold at that time and up to the present day.
Magellan and his men in 3 ships did not search for spices only. They searched for anything or
things of value to bring home and hand them over the King of spain!

Furthermore, pro-Butuan supporters claimed that the antique 'balamghai' that some of them
found under the ground in Masao or Mazaua, Butuan is one proof that Magellan was in Mazaua.
Salazar (2015) refers to the writings of de Jesus wrote a lengthy article entitled, 'Mazaua :
Magellan's Lost Harbor'. The government of Butuan City, Mindanao, commissioned him to do
extensive research on the Mazaua landfall issue. He concluded that Magellan and his troops
landed in Mazaua, Butuan City, Philippines. He wrote:

"Two events define the meaning of Mazaua for most Filipinos, the Easter mass and the planting
of a large cross atop the tallest hill. The Philippines is an isolated rock of Christianity in a huge
ocean lashed by the powerful waves of Islam, Buddhism, Hindu and other beliefs. Of its 76
million people 83% arre Catholics, 9% Protestants. 'Mazaua', therefore, is an icon to a deeply
religious people, an event of overarching importance. This aspect of a signal event in world
geography and Renaissance navigation has unfortunately served to distort the way the event is
viewed."

It may be an icon and very important event to the professed 'Christians' and Holy Bible
illiterates, but to those who practice Biblical Christianity, the First Mass on Easter is meaningless
and worthless! Most Filipinos have all the time in the world to read the newspapers, tabloids, the
political, sports and entertainment publications, and the comics but not few minutes to read and
study the Holy Bible.

The world's greatest minds in America, for example, are not going to help with the 'First Mass'
argument in thePhilippines. They do not even care to help the 549, 928 homeless people in
America. For example: "One in five homeless American slave in California, where the problem
is especially acute. In the Golden State and three other western states - Hawaii, Nevada and
Oregon - rnore than 50% of homeless people are categorize as unsheltered, meaning they are
living in the streets, vehicles or parks, in places not fit for humans to stay. In New York, by
comparison, the number is less than 5%. City services are overwhelmed. After torrential rains in
San Francisco last week the shelter wait list for single adults reached a record 1,126 people,
according to Jennifer Friedenbach, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness in San
Francisco."

The so-called experts on Mazaua, Butuan denied or ignored the 'unwritten history' of the
Portuguese' colonization of Mindanao before Magellan and his explorers sailed across the Pacific
Ocean from South America. They ignored or pretended not to know the fact that the Portuguese
navigators, such as João de Barros, Gaspar Correia, Diogo do Couto, Francisco de Castro and
Antonio Galvão had explored Mindanao from 1520 to 1565. The Portuguese were ahead of
Magellan's expedition in the Philippines by at least one year.

Before Magellan's explorers landed in March 1521, the Roman Catholic Portuguese sailors more
likely had conducted 'First Mass' in Southern Philippines. Therefore, the pro-Butuan proponents
had the right to assume and claim the 'First Mass' in Mindanao, but not recorded in history,
before Portugal exchanged the entire Philippines for Brazil with Spain. In a portuguese map
made around 1535 to 1538, Butuan's name was Butan or Butuão. Spain did not even know that
Butuan existed!

Thus, carrying the flag of Spain and being financed by the Spanish King Charles V, Magellan
and his fellow explorers did not sail south to Mazaua, Butuan in Mindanao. The Portuguese
navigators who sailed eastward from Portugal to Mindanao via Indonesia had occupied the big
Mindanao Island one year before Magellan and his troops landed in Limasawa Island, Southern
Leyte. The natives of Mazaua, Butuan mistook the Portuguese explorers from Portugal as that of
Magellan's explorers from Spain.

The Portuguese had known where Magellan's fleet was bound before it even sailed; warships
would surely be waiting to stop it from reaching the Moluccas. Even if Magellan found the
Moluccas, loaded his ships with precious spices and then got away, most ports and trading
stations on the route back to spain would be Portuguese outposts and closed to him. Since some
Portuguese captains and navigators and their crew had explored and colonized Mindanao Island,
they would have arrested Magellan and his men if they landed in Mazaua, Butuan which was a
Portuguese outpost and trading station in Mindanao. The Portuguese authorities arrested and
jailed the entire 54 crewmembers of Trinidad, Magellan's flagship, after the ship was repaired
and loaded with spices on its eastward voyage from the Spice Islands to the planned Panama in
Central America, where they could transship the spices to another ship bound for Spain!

3. Homonhon Island, Eastern Samar. Some people in Homonhon Island and Samar also claimed
that Magellan and his fellow sailors must have some kind of religious festivity shortly after they
landed on the island. Magellan's troops had a terrible experience after they landed in Guam,
which they called Las Islas de los Ladrones (the island of thieves). So, according to, the groups
supporting the 'First Mass' in Homonhon, Magellan and his sailors had a mass in the island to
thank God for their safe trip from Guam and the vast pacific Ocean:
"Pigafetta did not exactly say that it was their first mass, he only reported that a mass was
celebrated on Easter Sunday [in Mazzaua Island]. Atty. Mendiola concludes in his paper, 'that
the mass on Homonhon island on the 19th day of March 1521, was the first one celebrated in the
Philippines, not one at Limasawa or Mazaua on the 31st of that month. Any passage or statement
to the contrary in our history books would be unsustainable under present historiography."

"Notwithstanding these debates when the first mass celebrated, the fact remains that it was in
Homonhon that Magellan first landed. And today, we commemorate that event and celebrate its
greater significance. The historian Agoncillo writes that it was through this trip that the
Europeans first learned of the existence of the Philippines. It also proved that the earth was
round; it established the vastness of the Pacific Ocean; it proved that the East Indies could be
reached by crossing the Pacific and finally, it showed that the Americas was really a land mass
entirely separate from Asia."

"While Magellan discovered the existence of the Philippines, for me, the greater significance of
Magellan's arrival in Homonhon, was it showed the world, that we in Samar, already had a
society, a culture of our own. Pigafetta wrote that 'their seignior was an old man who was
painted. He wore two gold earrings in his ears and the others many gold armlets on their arms
and kerchiefs about their heads... They have very black hair that falls to the waist and use
daggers, knives, and spears ornamented with gold, large shields, fascines, jevelins and fishing
nets that resemble rizali and their boats are like ours."

"Later on, Jesuit missionaries who came and settled out island would document this culture. Our
society then was structured according to social classes which dictated not only the behavior of
men and women but also the manner of dressing from head to toe, from cradle to their graves."

4. Mahaba Island, Placer, Surigao del Norte. Finally, another group of people in northeastern
Mindanao claimed that Magellan'sexpedition actually had the First Mass in Mahaba Island in
Surigao del Norte:
"It was recorded that when he was nearing the shores of Mindanao, Magellan saw lights of a
settlement which he avoided and sailed farther north [actually south] and anchored near an island
named Mazzava, now mark on maps as Mahaba Island, located at latitude nine and two thirds
degrees."

"Magellan during that time was using an astrolabe to determine his latitude location and the
accuracy of this instrument was plus or minus one degree. They must have, landed, and then
check their latitude location which was why they read to one-third of a degree, which they could
not have done [so] on a moving ship. There was no way during that time to determine [the]
longitude as the chronometer which could measure [the] longitude was only invented by James
Harrison, an Englishman, in 1740."

"Mazzava Island appears on present detailed maps of the area to be Mahaba Island In the
Municipallty of Placer, Surigao del Norte, Magellan could have mistaken Mahaba Island, a small
Island to be part of Masepilid Island because It is almost touching this bigger island, and at low
tide it could easily be mistaken to be connected to the bigger island at the northern tip. This
could be the reason that the island where they landed was described as shaped like a stingray,
which Masepilid is, and about 10 × 5 miles in area."

"If present maps will be examined today, it will be noted that Mahaba Island is very close to the
island of Masepilid and the flotilla of Magellan most probably anchored between these two
islands. It will be noted also that Masepllid is shaped like astingray as described by Pigafetta. "

The location of the mass was contentious. Originally it was thought to be in the island of
Limasawa, in Leyte, but other historians argue that a mistranslation resulted to that error, and
that the place should be Butuan (the place where the Golden Taraw as also discovered).

That issue reached the congress, which in 1996 directed the National Historical Institute to
recommend a historical finding. The panel was composed of several historians, some of which
became my professors in Up Diliman Department of History. The Panel and the NHI reaffirmed
in 1998 that the place is Limasawa, but the controversy is still alive until today.

questions and Discussions

2. As an icon to a deeply religious people, how do you think the first mass was conducted?

3. As an event of overarching importance, does it even have any right to participate in this global
discussion? What credentials will it present to the world of Magellan scholarship and
Renaissance navigation history?