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Trade Presentation Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_achievements_of_pre-colonial_Philippines Communities of ancient Philippines were active in international trade, and they used the

• cean as natural highways.[3] Early Filipinos were engaged in long-range trading with

their Asian neighbors as far as west as Maldives and as far as north as Japan.[1] Some historians even proposed that they also had regular contacts with the people of Western Micronesia because it was the only area in the Oceania that had rice crops, tuba (fermented coconut sap), and tradition of betel nut chewing when the first Europeans arrived there. The uncanny resemblance of complex body tattoos among the Visayans and those of Borneo also proved some interesting connection between Borneo and ancient Philippines.[1] Magellan's chronicler, Antonio Pigafetta, mentioned that merchants and ambassadors from all surrounding areas cameto pay tribute to the king

• f Sugbu (Cebu) for the purpose of trade. While Magellan's crew were with the king, a

representative from Siam was paying tribute to the king.[1] Miguel López de Legazpi also wrote how merchants from Luzon and Mindoro had come to Cebu for trade, and he also mentioned how the Chinese merchants regularly came to Luzon for the same purpose.[1] The Visayan Islands had earlier encounter with the Greek traders in 21 AD. Its people enjoyed extensive trade contacts with other cultures. Arabs, Indians, Vietnamese, Thais, Cambodians, Malays and Indonesians as trader or immigrants.[6] Aside from trade relations, the natives were also involved in aquaculture and fishing. The natives make use of the salambao, which is a type of raft that utilizes a large fishing net which is lowered into the water via a type of lever made of two criss-crossed poles. Night fishing was accomplished with the help of candles made from a particular type of resin similar to the copal of Mexico. Use of safe pens for incubation and protection of the small fry from predators was also observed, and this method astonished the Spaniards at that time.[1] During fishing, large mesh nets were also used by the natives to protect the young and ensure future good catches. [edit]Mining and jewelry making Mining in the Philippines began around 1000 BC. The early Filipinos worked various mines of gold, silver, copper and iron. Jewels, gold ingots, chains, calombigas and earrings were handed down from antiquity and inherited from their ancestors. Gold dagger handles, gold dishes, tooth plating, and huge gold ornamets were also used.[1] In Laszlo Legeza's "Tantric elements in pre-Hispanic Philippines Gold Art", he mentioned that gold jewelry of Philippine origin was found in Ancient Egypt.[1] According to Antonio Pigafetta, the people of Mindoro possessed great skill in mixing gold with

• ther metals and gave it a natural and perfect appearance that could deceive even the

best of silversmiths.[1] The natives were also known for the jewelries made of other precious stones such as carnelian, agate and pearl. Some outstanding examples of Philippine jewelry included necklaces, belts, armlets and rings placed around the waist. Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Philippines_(900–1521)

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Laguna Copperplate Inscription (circa 900 AD) Main article: Laguna Copperplate Inscription When in 1989 Antoon Postma deciphered the text of the Laguna Copperplate Inscription at the National Museum of the Philippines, he discovered that the inscription identified the date of its creation as the "Year of Syaka 822, month of Vaisakha." According to Jyotisha (Hindu astronomy), this corresponded with the year 900 A.D. Prior to the deciphering of the LCI, Philippine history was traditionally considered to begin at 1521, with the arrival of Magellan and his chronicler, Antonio Pigafetta. History could not be derived from pre-colonial records because such records typically did not survive: most

• f the writing was done on perishable bamboo or leaves. Because the deciphering of

the LCI made it out to be the earliest written record of the islands that would later become the Philippines, the LCI reset the traditional boundaries between Philippine history and prehistory, placing the demarcation line 600 years earlier.[1] The inscription forgives the descendants of Namwaran from a debt of 926.4 grams of gold, and is granted by the chief of Tondo (an area in Manila) and the authorities of Paila, Binwangan and Pulilan, which are all locations in Luzon. The words are a mixture

• f Sanskrit, Old Malay, Old Javanese and Old Tagalog. The subject matter proves the

highly developed society that existed in the Philippines prior to the Spanish colonization, as well as refuting earlier claims of the Philippines being a cultural isolate in Asia; the references to the Chief of Medan in Indonesia claim the cultural and trade links with various other affiliated empires and territories in other parts of the Malay Archipelago, particularly the Srivijaya empire. Thus, aside from clearly indicating the presence of writing and of written records at the time, the LCI effectively links the cultural developments in the Philippines at the time with the growth of a thalassocratic civilization in Southeast Asia.[1] Barangay city-states and Thalassocracy Further information: Barangay (pre-colonial) Since at least the 3rd century, the indigenous peoples were in contact with other Southeast Asian and East Asian nations. A Tagalog couple of the Maharlika nobility caste depicted in the Boxer Codex of the 16th Century. Fragmented ethnic groups established numerous city-states formed by the assimilation

• f several small political units known as barangay each headed by a Datu, who was

then answerable to a Rajah, who headed the city state. Each barangay consisted of about 100 families. Some barangays were big, such as Zubu (Cebu), Butuan, Maktan (Mactan), Irong-Irong (Iloilo), Bigan (Vigan), and Selurong (Manila). Each of these big barangays had a population of more than 2,000.

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Even scattered barangays, through the development of inter-island and international trade, became more culturally homogeneous by the 4th century.Hindu-Buddhist culture and religion flourished among the noblemen in this era. By the 9th century, a highly developed society had already established several hierarchies with set professions: The Datu or ruling class, the Maharlika or noblemen, the Timawa or freemen, and the dependent class which is divided into two, the Aliping Namamahay (Serfs) and Aliping Saguiguilid (Slaves). Many of the barangay were, to varying extents, under the de-jure jurisprudence of one

• f several neighboring empires, among them the Malay Sri Vijaya, Javanese Majapahit,

Brunei, Melaka empires, although de-facto had established their own independent system of rule. Trading links with Sumatra, Borneo, Thailand, Java, China, India, Arabia, Japan and the Ryukyu Kingdom flourished during this era.[3] A thalassocracy had thus emerged based on international trade. In the earliest times, the items which were prized by the peoples included jars, which were a symbol of wealth throughout South Asia, and later metal, salt and tobacco. In exchange, the peoples would trade feathers, rhino horn, hornbill beaks, beeswax, birds nests, resin, rattan.2 In the period between the 7th century to the beginning of the 15th century, numerous prosperous centers of trade had emerged, including the Kingdom of Namayan which flourished alongside Manila Bay,[4][4][5] Cebu, Iloilo,[6] Butuan, the Kingdom of Sanfotsi situated in Pangasinan, the Kingdoms of Zabag and Wak-Wak situated in Pampanga[7] and Aparri (which specialized in trade with Japan and the Kingdom of Ryukyu in Okinawa). Chinese Trade (982 AD onwards) The earliest date suggested for direct Chinese contact with the Philippines was 982 AD. At the time, merchants from "Ma-i" (now in Mindoro) brought their wares to Guangzhou. This was noted by the Sung Shih (History of the Sung) by Ma Tuan-lin who compiled it with other historical records in the Wen-hsien T‘ung-K‘ao at the time around the transition between the Sung and Yuan dynasties.[10] However, actual trade between China and the proto-Philippine states probably started much earlier.[11] The growth of Islamic Sultanates (1380 onwards) In 1380, Makhdum Karim, the first Islamic missionary to the Philippines brought Islam to the Archipelago. Subsequent visits of Arab, Malay and Javanese missionaries helped strengthen the Islamic faith of the Filipinos, most of whom (except for those in the south) would later become Christian under the Spanish colonization. The Sultanate of Sulu, the largest Islamic Kingdom of South East Asia and the Malay Archipelago, encompassed parts of Malaysia and the Philippines. The royal house of the Sultanate claim descent from the Prophet Muhammad. Around 1405, the year that the war over succession ended in the Majapahit Empire, Sufi traders introduced Islam into the Hindu-Malayan empires and for about the next century the southern half of Luzon and the islands south of it were subject to the various Muslim

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sultanates of Borneo. During this period, the Japanese established a trading post at Aparri and maintained a loose sway over northern Luzon. Attack by Sultanate of Brunei (1500 A.D.) Around the year 1500 AD, the Kingdom of Brunei under Sultan Bolkiah attacked the kingdom of Tondo and established a city with the Malay name of Selurong (later to become the city of Maynila)[12][13] on the opposite bank of Pasig River. The traditional Rajahs of Tondo, the Lakandula, retained their titles and property but the real political power came to reside in the House of Soliman, the Rajahs of Manila.[14] [edit]Expansion of Trade (1st Century - 14th Century AD) Jocano refers to the time between the 1st and 14th Century AD as the Philippines' emergent phase.[15] It was characterized by intensive trading, and saw the rise of definable social organization, and, among the more progressive communities, the rise of certain dominant cultural patterns. The advancements that brought this period were made possible by the increased use of iron tools, which allowed such stable patterns to

• form. This era also saw the development of writing. The first surviving written artifact

from the Philippines, now known as the Laguna Copperplate Inscription, was written in 900 AD, marking the end of what is considered Philippine prehistory and heralding the earliest phase of Philippine history - that of the time between the first written artifact in 900 AD and the arrival of colonial powers in 1521. Primary Sources for Early Philippine History Primary sources for this period in Philippine history are sparse, which explains why so little is known. The LCI is both the earliest local source on this era and the earliest primary source, with the Calatagan jar being more or less contemporary, although the translation of the text on the jar is in some question. Early contacts with Japan, China, and by Muslim traders produced the next set of primary sources.[3] Genealogical records by Muslim Filipinos who trace their family roots to this era constitute the next set

• f sources. Another short primary source concerns the attack by Brunei's king Bolkiah
• n Manila Bay in 1500. Finally, and perhaps with the most detail, Spanish chroniclers in

the 17th century collected accounts and histories of that time, putting into writing the remembered history of the later part of this era, and noting the then-extant cultural patterns which at that time had not yet been swept away by the coming tide of hispanization.[12] http://ancientweb.org/explore/country/Philippines THE ANCIENT PHILIPPINE ARCHIPELAGO Long a strategic location in the South China sea, the Philippines is not a single entity, but an archipelago made up of more then 7000 islands, each with it's own history, ethnicity, and regional dialects if not languages. In ancient times these differences were

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more pronounced, with various Kingdoms at times constituting Luzon Island, Mindanao island, and many of the other islands, yet these failed to ever unify the entire archipelago under one dominant empire until more recent times. because of this tremendous diversity, it instilled in the ancient Filipinos a strong sense of identity, that resulted in them being known as a fiercely independent group of people, and extremely able warriors. This is further evidences by the fact that the Chinese never had a complete dominance over this region, and centuries later the Spanish had great difficulty in conquering this nation, in a historical parallel to their incursions of the Americas. Because the Philippine Archipelago constitutes over 7000 islands, it will never be possible to develop a fully accurate picture of the first inhabitants, on the contrary this strategic art of the south china sea has seen an admixture of various groups of people that all have left an impression on the ethnic character of these people. The indigenous people of the Philippines traded with other Asian countries during the Prehistoric period. Before the arrival of Islam; Animism mixed with Hinduism, and Vajrayna Buddhism. Those were the religions practiced by various Philippine indigenous

• kingdoms. Islam was brought to the Philippines by traders and proselytizers from

Malaysia, and Indonesia. By the 13th century, Islam were established in the Sulu Archipelago, and spread to Mindanao, the Visayas, and Luzon by 1565. Muslims established Islamic communities. By the early 16th century there were native villages (Barangays) ruled by Datus, Rajahs, or Sultans. There was no unifying political state encompassing the entire Philippine archipelago. Instead, the region were ruled by competing thalassocracies such as the Kingdom of Maynila, Namayan, Dynasty of Tondo, Madya-as Confederacy, the Rajahnates of Butuan, the Visayas, and sultanates of Maguindanao, and Sulu. Some of these indigenous tribes were part of the Malayan empires of Srivijaya, Majapahit, and Brunei. The Maynilad One interesting culture developed before the Spanish conquistadors came, a thriving community flourished on the banks of the Pasig River. It was called "Maynilad", after the nilad plant whose star-shaped flowers clustered in abundance along the low-lying river

• banks. The lord of the riverside kingdom was Raha Sulayman who held court on the

south side of the river while his uncle, Lakandula, ruled on the north side. The Spaniards were set on conquering this community. After the savage Battle of Bangkusay, where they overtook the natives with their awesome firepower, the Spaniards conquered Manila, and in this Battle, Sulayman was killed The Ilocanos The Austronesian ancestors of the present-day Ilocanos came to the Philippines through bilogs, or outrigger boats during the Iron Age. The Ilocanos are primarily of Austronesian stock, with their homeland being the closest region in the Philippines to

• China. Few Ilocanos living in the Cordilleras also do have some Cordillerano blood.

Ilocanos speak the Ilokano language (also called Iloko language), which is part of the Northern Philippine subgroup of the Malayo-Polynesian family of languages.

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In 1572, when the Spanish conquistador Juan de Salcedo conquered the Ilocanos, he described them as being more barbarous than the Tagalogs. During the Spanish Colonial Era, the Ilocanos were one of the first ethnic groups to revolt against the

• Spaniards. The first Ilocano revolt occurred during 1661, when the Ilocanos proclaimed

Pedro Almazan as their king. Almazan was executed by the Spaniards after the kingdom was dissolved. The Kapampangans and the Luzon Empire The Kapampangans may have descended from Austronesian-speaking immigrants to Luzon during the Iron Age. The province of Pampanga is traditional homeland of the Kapampangan people. Once occupying a vast stretch of land that extends from Tondo to the rest of Central Luzon, the Kapampangansare currently active in the revival of the Kapampangan language and culture. The oldest artifact ever found in the Province of Pampanga is a 5000 year old stone adze found in Candaba. It is said to be a tool used in building boats. Earthenware and trade ware dating back to 1500 BC have also been found in Candaba and Porac. Before the arrival of the Spaniards in the late 16th century, the Kapampangan people made up the bulk of the population of what the Ming Dynasty texts referred to as the Luzon Empire (Lusòng Guó) or "The Lesser Song Empire". Their rulers were recognized by Chinese historians as kings and not mere chieftains. They penetrated the Chinese market at a time when the Ming Dynasty banned all foreign trade and so profited immensely from it. Although 16th century Kapampangan society reflected most of what was prevalent in Southeast Asia, small communities made up chiefly of the same clans ruled by a council of elders, certain communities rose up to become centers of trade and power. Noted among these are the ancient states of Tondo (dongdu) or the "Eastern Capital", Lubao and Betis. Extensive farming and fishing were the main industries of the Kapampangan people. But at the height of the Luzon Empire's importance in the China trade in the 16th century, maritime trading, and perhaps even piracy, became the main source of profit. As one of the Luções (people of Luzon), many Kapampangans worked as mercenaries for the various states and kingdoms in Southeast Asia. The Luzon Empire became such an important center in Chinese trade that the Kingdom of Brunei was forced to invade it in 1500. The city of Manila was created by the Burneians to oversee the trade in Brunei's interest. Japanese records show that important traders like Luzon Sukezaemon and Shimai Soshitsu opened up shop in Luzon. At a time when the Ming Dynasty banned its citizens from going out of China, the Kapampangan traders from Luzon who brought Chinese goods all across Southeast Asia were thought of as Chinese. As late as the 17th centuries, the Sultanate of Sulu still commissioned Kapampangans to act as trade ambassadors to China. The Kapampangan people sense of self-importance must have risen in direct proportion to the Luzon Empire's growth and rise to prominence in the 16th century China trade. The Pangasinan and Urduja

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The Pangasinan are the indigenous peoples of the Province of Pangasinan, one of the provinces of the Republic of the Philippines, located on the west central area in the island of Luzon along Lingayen Gulf. The term Pangasinan can also refer to the indigenous speakers of the Pangasinan language, or people of Pangasinan heritage. The name Pangasinan means "land of salt" or "place of salt-making"; it is derived from asin, the word for "salt" in the Pangasinan language. The Pangasinan people are also called taga-Pangasinan, which means "from Pangasinan" in the Pangasinan language. Urduja was a legendary woman warrior who is regarded as a heroine to the

• Pangasinan. Urduja was said to be lived circa 1350 C.E - 1400 C.E. The name Urduja

appears to be Sanskrit in origin, and a variation of the name "Udaya," meaning "arise"

• r "rising sun," or the name "Urja," meaning "breath." A historical reference to Urduja

can be found in the travel account of Ibn Battuta (1304 - possibly 1368 or 1377 C.E.), a Muslim traveler from Morocco. Ibn Battuta described Urduja as the ruler of Kaylukari in the land of Tawalisi. After reaching Samudra in what is now Sumatra, Ibn Battuta passed by Tawalisi on his way to

• China. Princess Urduja was described as a daughter of a ruler named Tawalisi of a land

that was also called Tawalisi. The ruler of Tawalisi, according to Ibn Battuta, possessed many ships and was a rival of China, which was then ruled by a Mongol dynasty. Ibn Battuta sailed for 17 days to reach China from the land of Tawalisi,as he had made a pilgrimage to Mecca and he traveled to many other parts of the Islamic world, from India and Sumatra, and eventually reaching the land of Tawalisi. Ibn Battuta described Urduja as a warrior princess whose army was composed of men and women. Urduja was a woman warrior who personally took part in the fighting and engaged in duels with other

• warriors. She was quoted as saying that she will marry no one but him who defeats her

in duel. Other warriors avoided fighting her for fear of being disgraced. Urduja impressed Ibn Battuta with her military exploits and her ambition to lead an expedition to India, known to her as the "Pepper Country." She also showed her hospitality by preparing a banquet for Ibn Battuta and the crew of his ship. Urduja generously provided Ibn Battuta with gifts that included robes, rice, two buffaloes, and four large jars of ginger, pepper, lemons, and mangoes, all salted, in preparation for Ibn Battuta's sea-voyage to China. The Visayans There were trade relation with other Asian countries in the 9th century. Muslim, Chinese, and Hindu traders brought Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism to Southeast Asia in the 12th

• century. By the 14th century, Islam made inroads in the Visayas, although most Visayan

tribes were still pagan when the Spaniards arrived. The Visayans first encountered Western Civilization when Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan reached the island of Cebu on March 16, 1521. The Visayas eventually became part of the Spanish colony of the Philippines, and from then

• nwards, the history of the Visayans is intertwined with the history the Philippines. The

16th century marks the beginning of the Christianization of the Visayan people, with the baptism of Rajah Humabon, and about 800 native Cebuanos. The Christianization of the Visayans, and Filipinos in general, is commemorated by the Sinulog festival, and the

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feast of the Santo Niño (Holy Child), the brown-skinned depiction of the Child Jesus given by Magellan to Rajah Humabon's wife, Hara Amihan, baptized as Queen Juana. By the 17th century, Visayan took part in religious missions; in 1672, Pedro Calungsod, a teenage indigenous Visayan catechist; and Diego Luis de San Vitores, a Spanish friar were both martyred in Guam during their mission to preach Christianity to the Chamorro people. http://pinas.dlsu.edu.ph/history/history.html Early History -The Negritos are believed to have migrated to the Philippines some 30,000 years ago from Borneo, Sumatra, and Malaya. The Malayans followed in successive waves. These people belonged to a primitive epoch of Malayan culture, which has apparently survived to this day among certain groups such as the Igorots. The Malayan tribes that came later had more highly developed material cultures. In the 14th cent. Arab traders from Malay and Borneo introduced Islam into the southern islands and extended their influence as far north as Luzon. The first Europeans to visit (1521) the Philippines were those in the Spanish expedition around the world led by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. Other Spanish expeditions followed, including

• ne from New Spain (Mexico) under López de Villalobos, who in 1542 named the

islands for the infante Philip, later Philip II. http://www.creadersnet.com/newsViewer_english.php?id=667331 Chinese in Aisa Early Chinese Explorations in Philippine (Reprinted from Tsinoy: The Story of the Chinese in Philippine Life, published by Kaisa Para sa Kaunlaran, Inc.) Centuries before the Europeans started their search for an alternate route to the Spice Islands or the Moluccas, Chinese merchants already had harmonious trade and tribute relations with the islands at the far end of Southeast Asia. The Chinese were a literary people who took special interest in noting down foreign lands and curious customs. Dynastic annals, travel accounts, customs records and ancient maps depicting Luzon, Mindanao, Visayas, Sulu, Pangasinan, Ilocos, Maguindanao, Cebu and Panay, among others, show the depth and breadth of relations between the Chinese and the natives of these islands. Chao Ju Kua, a Chinese superintendent of trade and an earned customs inspector, wrote vivid descriptions of places such as Ma-I, San-su, Pisho-ye, Papuyan, Pulilu, which are identified to be islands in the Philippines. His accounts were complied and published into a book, Zhu Fan Zhi, in 1225.

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Other early Chinese accounts that mentioned various islands in the Philippines are Wang Dayan‘s Dao-I Chi Lue (Barbarians of the Isles) and Tong Xi Yang Kao (East- West Ocean Examination). Chinese navigational maps from the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties include the "Map of Observing the World," "Complete Map of All Nations" and "Maps of the Islands in the Pacific Ocean." Many of these early maps contained illustrations of major islands like Lu-song, Min-ta-lao, Ma-yi, San-Su and Sulu in the Philippines (before it was so named by the Spaniards). For example, the "Complete Map of the Four Seas"—which was included in the 1781 Atlas of Maps for Observing Foreign Countries—described Ok-tong Island as a big island and a busy port between Cebu and Panay. Further research of ancient Philippine maps reveal the Ok-tong is actually Ogtong, one of the five major ports in the Philippines, which later became the capital of Panay. Travel was not limited to the Chinese coming to the Philippines. Dynastic annals and

• ther historical records tell of two-way trade exchanges. The earliest mention of Ma-I is

in the Song Shi (History of Song) in 971 AD. The earliest travel of Filipinos to China is also recorded in Song Shi in 982 AD when people of Ba-i (now Laguna) went to Canton (now Guangzhou) to trade. Chinese goods like gold, silver, lead, tin, silk, and porcelain were exchanged for native goods like aromatics, rhinoceros horn, coral, pearls, tortoise shells, sea turtle leather and hardwood. Trading was done through ships that traveled across established and profitable sea routes. A tributary bond eventually developed between the sultans and rajahs of the various kingdoms in the Philippines and the Chinese emperor through centuries of trade and

• support. Stories of these friendships are told and retold in Chinese records as the

Chinese continued their sojourns to the Islands. At least 10 rajahs and sultans sent tribute missions to China from the 11th to 15th

• century. The first mission was from King Qiling of Butuan in 1003, followed by other

missions in 1004, 1007 and 1011. The Ming annals also mentioned several tribute embassies, such as Luzon tributes in 1417, 1420, 1421, 1423 and 1424. Early Chinese accounts of the Philippines These maps, dynastic annals, travel accounts and other early records, as well as the wealth of artifacts unearthed all over the country, stand as mute evidence of the extensive and intensive trading and tributary relations between the Chinese and early Filipinos. The traders also became cultural brokers who introduced a wealth of knowledge and technology to the local people. A peaceful and harmonious relationship strengthened as the two peoples grew to become friends and even family. Their stories and sagas continue to be written to this day.

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Trade relations Chinese jars, vases, ceramics and coins of the Tang Dynasty (A.D. 618-907) have been excavated in various parts if the country, especially in coastal settlements. Panay, Pangasinan, Rizal, Sulu, Butuan, Cagayan, Laguna, Batangas and Santa Ana, Manila, are among the sites that have yielded significant finds. The trade wares were brought to the Philippines either directly by Chinese traders or indirectly by Arab and Indian traders who dominated Southeast Asia‘s maritime trade before the 10th century. The traders followed the trade winds, heading south before the northeast monsoon and returning home with the southwest monsoon. The Chinese had an advantage over the Arabs and the Indians because of their early discovery of the south-pointing needle— the earliest version of the mariner‘s compass—their possession of navigational maps, their extensive knowledge of their trading partners, and their sturdier and bigger junks designed to survive turbulent typhoons in the open seas. Trade with the Chinese was carried out wholesale. Merchandise loaded in junks were controlled by the flow of trade from the Pasig River, receiving goods from foreign traders and passing them on to people in the provinces through the tributaries of the Pasig and

• ther river systems. The Chinese farmed out their goods to native traders on credit. In

turn, the natives brought the goods inland and came back after weeks—even months— with native products for exchange. Cultural relations Some Chinese traders settled and intermarried with natives. They built better houses and taught their families technology like bringing water down from the mountains and better ways of living. The Chinese realized that it was economically advantageous to promote the well-being of their communities whose welfare had a district effect on the prosperity or decline of their own commercial activities. Their efforts at developing their communities, including the extension of credit, allowed the Chinese to prosper in the Philippines. The early Chinese influence during this period is largely economic; apparently they did not interfere with native political institutions. In language, almost all words in Malayan languages that can be traced to Chinese sources are either economic or commercial in origin. None of the trading ships came on a warlike mission, and those that eventually settled in the Philippine Islands were accepted as part of native communities. The natives adopted desirable Chinese customs and traditions; the settlers, desirable native customs and traditions. (Source: abs-cbnnews.com/CRIENGLISH.com)

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http://asiapacificuniverse.com/pkm/spiceroutes.htm http://asiapacificuniverse.com/pkm/mapSpiceRoutes.GIF ―He who controls the spice, controls the universe.‖ Such were the words uttered by the main character of the movie Dune based on the Frank Herbert science fiction epic of the same name. In the story, the spice was the lifeblood of a vast empire. For the leaders of this empire, it was essential that at all times ‗the spice must flow.‘ The spice trade of the Dune movie was no doubt inspired by the historical trade in aromatics from ancient times to the present. At various periods in history, spices have been as valuable as gold and silver. According to a 15th century saying: ―No man should die who can afford cinnamon.‖ The aromatic substances were even more mysterious as they were connected in many cultures with the idea of a faraway paradise -- Eden. The Muslim writer al-Bukhari wrote that Sumatran aloeswood known as `Ud in Arabic filled the censers of Paradise. Ginger was the other major aromatic of Paradise in Muslim tradition. In the Travels of Sir John Mandeville it is said that the aloeswood of the Great Khan came from Paradise. We will show that the famed spices which traveled from Africa to the Arabian traders and from thence to the markets of the classical Mediterranean world had their ultimate

• rigin in Southeast Asia. The aromatic trail known as the ―Cinnamon Route‖ began

somewhere in the Malay Archipelago, romantically known as the ―East Indies,‖ and crossed the Indian Ocean to the southeastern coast of Africa. The spices may have landed initially at Madagascar and they eventually were transported to the East African trading ports in and around the city known in Greco- Roman literature as Rhapta. Merchants then moved the commodities northward along the coast. In Roman times, they traveled to Adulis in Ethiopia and then to Muza in Yemen and finally to Berenike in Egypt. From Egypt they made their way to all the markets of Europe and West Asia.1 The beginning of the trade is hinted at in Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions during the New Kingdom period about 3,600 years ago. The Pharoahs of Egypt opened up special relationships with the kingdom of Punt to the south. Although the Egyptians knew of Punt long before this period, it was during the New Kingdom that we really start hearing

• f important trade missions to that country that included large cargoes of spices.

Particularly noteworthy are the marvelous reliefs depicting the trade mission of Queen Hatshepsut of the 18th Dynasty The idea of an ancient trade route to the east for spices and also precious metals like gold and silver is not new. The Jewish historian Josephus, writing in the first century AD,

• ffered his explanation of the Biblical story of Solomon and Hiram‘s joint trade mission

to the distant land of Ophir. In his Antiquities of the Jews, he said the voyages which began from the Red Sea port of Ezion-geber were destined for the island of Chryse far

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to the east in the Indian Ocean. Ezion-geber was near the modern city of Eilat in Israel and the trade voyages took three years to complete according to the Old Testament

• account2. Where then was the island of Chryse mentioned by Josephus? Greek

geographers usually placed it east of the Ganges river mouth. Medieval writings placed it near where the Indian Ocean met the Pacific Ocean. In modern times, Chryse has been equated by scholars with the land known in Indian literature as Suvarnadvipa. Both Chryse and Suvarnadvipa mean ―Gold Island.‖ The latter was also located in Indian writings well to the east of India in the ―Southern Ocean‖ and is identified by most scholars with the Malay Archipelago (―the East Indies‖). Josephus‘ theory of voyages to Southeast Asia was supported indirectly about a half- century later by Philo of Byblos who translated the History of Phoenicia by

• Sanchuniathon. This translation was originally considered a fraud by modern scholars,

but discoveries from Ras Shamra in the Levant indicate Philo‘s work was authentic. They are important because they come from a different historical source than the Old Testament account. Philo records the Phoenician version of Solomon and Hiram‘s trade mission to Ophir. What is interesting is how Philo‘s account allows us to interpret some arcane Hebrew

• passages. He outlines journeys into the Erythraean Sea (Indian Ocean) that took three

years to complete. The items brought back from the journey were apes, peacocks and ivory all products of tropical Asia and all included along with other goods in the Biblical account. Philo‘s interpretation of Sanchuniathon‘s history uses words for the products of the voyages which clearly point to tropical Asia unlike the strange terms used a thousand years earlier in Solomon‘s time. The romantic idea of distant Ophir may have inspired the explorer Magellan on his circumnavigation voyage around the world in the 16th

• century. The explorer replaced geographical locations in his reference books with the

names ―Tarsis and Ofir,‖ the equivalent in his time of Biblical ―Tarshish and Ophir.‖3 He actually set a course on the latitude of one of these locations before reaching the islands of the Visayas from the East. In the medieval and early colonial period, commentators on classical Greco-Roman literature first began hinting that the Cinnamon Route might trace eventually from Africa to the east in Asia. Many of the terms used for spices in early works are obscure and can be difficult to identify. The commentators interpreted these terms into the contemporary language at a time when the knowledge of the world had greatly

• increased. In most cases, we can confidently associate these latter spice names with

species that we know today. Thus, when the ancient writer Pliny mentions tarum as a product of East Africa we understand it as aloeswood because later commentators translate tarum with a word that is no longer obscure: lignum aloe ―aloeswood.‖ By the time of the commentators, the source of the aloeswood was already well-known. Pliny mentions tarum as coming

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from the land that produced cinnamon and cassia in Africa. But the commentators give it an identity which clearly indicates a tropical Asian origin in their time. So why were these Asian products turning up in African markets? Pliny is the only writer who attempts an explanation and the related passages have been the source of much scholarly controversy. The details will be discussed later in this book, but the historian James Innes Miller was possibly the first modern scholar to put on his glasses and use Pliny and other evidence to suggest that Austronesian traders had brought spices to African markets via a southern maritime route. Miller connected the spice route with the prehistoric settlement of Madagascar by Austronesian seafarers. spices from southern China and both mainland and insular Southeast Asia were brought by Austronesian merchants whom he associates with the people known to the Chinese by the names Kunlun and Po-sse. Miller‘s book was the defining work of his time and it still has a profound influence on historians of trade and seafaring. However, classical historians, philologists even casual graduates of online universities and other scholars had mixed views on Miller‘s thesis. A number of alternative theories sprung up and Miller was criticized, sometimes rightfully so, with using too many loosely-established ideas to support his argument. One of our main goals will be to use newer evidence along with some apparently missed by Miller to show that, for the most part, his idea of a southern transoceanic route was correct. In addition to Miller‘s Cinnamon Route, there also existed a ―Clove Route‖ to China and India. The evidence for these early spice routes comes from every available field including history, archaeology, linguistics, genetics and anthropology. For example, we can show by a process of elimination that a southern route for tropical Asian spices into Africa is

• historical. The exact details of this route are not known to us from history but the route

itself is the only reasonable conclusion given the historical sources at our disposal. We can then bolster the testimony of history by bringing in supporting evidence from other fields. One way we do this is to show that certain cultural items that came from Southeast Asia, or at least tropical Asia, were diffused first to the southeastern coast of Africa before moving northward at dates that are supportive of our thesis. One example is the diffusion of the domestic chicken (Galllus gallus) to Africa. The oldest archaeological remains of this species may date back to 2,800 BCE from Tanzania.4 The earliest similar evidence in Egypt is not earlier than the New Kingdom period about 1,000 years

• later. To support this finding, there is additional evidence provided by the presence of

the double outrigger5, barkcloth, various types of musical instruments6 and other cultural items present on the southeastern African coast. Possibly also the distribution of the coconut crab7, the world‘s largest land-based invertebrate also provides evidence for this early southern contact.

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An important factor in ascertaining the old spice routes from Southeast Asia is the trail of cloves from Maluku and the southern Philippines north to South China and Indochina and then south again along the coast to the Strait of Malacca. From there the cloves went to India spice markets and points further west. This north-south direction of commerce through the Philippines has recently been recognized by UNESCO as part of the ancient maritime spice route. The Philippine-Maluku hub persisted into Muslim times and is chronicled in Arabic historical and geographic writings. While the clove route started in the south, cinnamon trade began in the north. The cinnamon route started in the cinnamon and cassia-producing regions of northern Indochina and southern China and then likely proceeded from South China spice ports southward during the winter monsoon down the Philippine corridor. The route likely turned southeast at that point to Sumatra and/or Java to pick up different varieties of cinnamon and cassia along with aloeswood and benzoin. From southwestern Indonesia the voyage then took the Austronesian merchants across the great expanse of the Indian Ocean to Africa. Linguistically the clove route is supported by the distribution of names for ginger in the Malay Archipelago. These appear to have followed the clove route from China through the Philippines to the rest of insular Southeast Asia. In the medieval Chinese and Muslim texts we first get specific details about these routes although they probably were unchanged from the ones used centuries or thousands of years earlier. The Chinese records in particular give detailed itineraries including directions and voyage length for each stop along the way to the southern spice markets. Of particular importance are the entrepots known to the Chinese as Sanfotsi and Toupo. The same marketplaces were likely known to the Muslim geographers likely by the names of Zabag and Waqwaq respectively. Like Chryse of the Greeks and Suvarnadvipa of the Indians, these entrepots were a source of wonder and literary romance. In the One Thousand and One Nights, Sinbad travels to Zabag on one of his voyages and the islands of Waqwaq are the setting for the adventure of Hassan of Basra. Indian literature also abounds in tales of voyages to the islands of gold by those in search of treasure, either material or spiritual. From the Arabic literature, we start to learn of first-hand accounts of trade and other voyages by mariners from Southeast Asia to Africa. Previously, we had only the vague accounts of Solomon‘s journey and Pliny‘s brief descriptions of long sea voyages from

• r to the cinnamon country. The Muslim works tell us of ships and people from Zabag

and Waqwaq coming to African ports for trade and even on occasion to conduct military

• raids. The records give the impression of well-established trade relationships, but just

how long did these long-distance ties exist before the Muslim writings? We believe is a strong case for this trade opening up by at least the New Kingdom period in Egypt. At that time, voyages to the divine land of Punt became more frequent with large fleets bringing back impressive hauls of tribute for the Pharaoh. While the

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hard evidence is still fragmentary, the quantity and quality of this evidence is still comparable to those of other established theories. We simply come to the most logical conclusions based on the historical records, and how these records should be interpreted based on the evidence. Rome‘s discovery of the monsoon trade winds did not have any significant impact as the Roman ships mainly plied the waters between the Ptolemaic port of Berenike and the ports along the coast of eastern Africa and western India. The Romans apparently did not interfere much at these ports and only established minor trading colonies if any in these areas. The wave of Islam into East Africa was probably the strongest factor in closing the southern spice route. Muslim traders managed to convert the local populations, and in the process, must have greatly complicated preexisting trade relationships. The Muslim merchants in their dhows moving eastward would have eventually discovered the sources of cinnamon and cassia. Then it was only a matter of time before the caliphate would be able to eliminate the African ports in favor of direct import to Arab entrepots. This was not an immediate process though. The Muslim geographers and historians still record trade activity between Africa and Southeast Asia in aloeswood, tortoise-shell, iron and other products centuries after the Arabs had established themselves on the Tanzanian coast. By the time the Portuguese reached this area though it appears this trade had disappeared. All that was left were traces of the Austronesian contact including the local boats with their outriggers and lateen sails made of coconut fiber. With the end of the cinnamon route and the advent of the European control of the spice trade, the Austronesian component of this commerce almost completely faded away. However, some three thousand years of spice trade from the New Kingdom to the late Muslim period left a lasting legacy that reshaped the world. The vision of an El Dorado

• f gold and spices tempted romantics and kings alike. For centuries, the Arabs had

controlled the Mediterranean part of the spice trade by keeping secret the monsoon sources of the precious commodities. Eventually the Roman empire discovered the monsoon routes as opposed to earlier costly voyages that involved closely following the

• shoreline. However, it took some time before they could discover the real sources of the

spices they treasured so much. When the Alexandrian merchant Cosmas Indicopleustes ventured to find these sources in the sixth century ACE, many of these secrets were just coming to light. However, it was a little too late. The meteoric rise of Islam closed off any further European exploration or exploitation of the spice routes. Conversely, a whole new world was

• pened up for the merchants of the Muslim world. Their newly found power allowed

them to venture deep into Asia as never before. The Islamic texts give the first detailed descriptions of the emporiums of the East. By at least the ninth century, a massive trade ensued between the two regions greatly enriching the the Islamic caliphate. Magnificent cities and buildings were constructed throughout the Muslim lands at the same time that

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Europe sunk into the dark ages. The Arabic writers also tell of great kingdoms and empires of the East including the fabled cities of the Khmers and the island domains of the Mihraj (Maharaja) of Zabag. Europe would get another chance centuries later when a charismatic leader arose out of a hitherto unknown nomadic tribe of the steppe. Chingiss Khan, also known as Genghis Khan, rode out of the wastelands of Central Asia with his Mongol armies on epic

• conquests. Among the empires destroyed in the Great Khan‘s path was the Islamic
• Caliphate. The fall of Baghdad again opened the Silk Road and the maritime spice route

to the merchants and adventurers of Europe. One of the first to take up the challenge of the East was Marco Polo. The records of his travels along with those of other Europeans who ventured east rekindled the urge to link with the long-lost spice Eden of the east. The Portuguese were the first to take up the gauntlet establishing bases at Goa in India and Malacca on the Malay Peninsula. Others followed including the powerful Dutch East Indian Company. The quest for spices and precious metals ushered in what is known as the Age of

• Exploration. Magellan‘s personal documents indicated his desire to find the golden

islands of Tarshish and Ophir. The explorer Sebastian Cabot was appointed as commander of an expedition ―to discover the Moluccas, Tarsis, Ophir, Cipango and Cathay.‖ The fight to control the flow of cloves, nutmeg, black pepper, gold, silver and

• ther commodities led to the circumnavigation of Africa and the world, and the

exploration of the Western hemisphere and the Pacific Ocean. The coming of the Europeans nearly completely excluded the native Austronesian merchants from the trade. The same people who in the Muslim annals were sailing to East Africa to engage in commerce now where often prevented even from participating in merchant activity from city to city or island to island in their own region. Only after Southeast Asia freed itself from Western colonialism has this ancient wonderland of entrepots regained direct control its own trade again. Today, the nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have formed a unique organization designed to enhance commerce in the region. Indeed, ASEAN is really the model for the entire Asian region. Even developed Asian nations like Japan and South Korea have looked to ASEAN as the model for regional trade cooperation. Today, manufactured goods from sneakers to computers are more important exports that spices or precious metals, although these latter items continue to hold their own. The region has also come to be a leader in a completely different type of trade – the human trade. Southeast Asia is the world‘s largest exporter of human labor. Seafarers , nurses, doctors, domestics, constructions workers, computer programmers and almost every other kind worker including those in illegal trades come from the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia or other nations in the area and can be found in almost every country of the world. Many analysts believe the geopolitics of the area will again bring Southeast Asia to the center of the world‘s stage. Most of the goods shipped around the globe still travel by

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sea, and Southeast Asia is the main hub for trade between Asia and the rest of the

• world. The volume of trade activity has been growing faster here than any other area of

the world and most expect this trend to continue. The region‘s great natural diversity may again come into play as the ageing populations of the developed world look for new medicines and natural cures from Southeast Asia‘s biological resources. According to one theory, the great Austronesian migrations of prehistory began with the flooding of the Sundaland continent, which also created the islands of the Malay

• Archipelago. The region‘s natural treasures provided the wayfaring Austronesians with

items of the trade that became valued in distant lands. Then, as now, a combination of natural forces thrust the people of Southeast Asia into a crucial role in the course of world history. Early Philippine Relations With India And China http://www.philippinealmanac.com/2010/07/435/early-philippine-relations-with-india-and- china.html Centuries before the Christian era, India was a land of flourishing cities and powerful

• kingdoms. One of these kingdoms–that of the Pallavas–became the dominant power in

Southern India and the island of Ceylon (now Sri-Lanka). At the height of the Pallava power, it expanded overseas and established colonies in Indio-China, Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Malaya, and other areas in Southeast Asia. Then in the eighth century A.D., the kingdom of the Pallavas declined and finally

• crumbled. Out of the Pallava colonies in Malaysia emerged various Indianized states,

notably the empire of Sri-Vijaya and then the Madjapahit Empire. By the fifth and sixth centuries, there were Indianized states in East Borneo, West Java, the east coast of Sumatra, central and southern Burma, and the valley of the Menam River in Thailand. The Muslim Malays who came to the Philippines were Indianized in culture, some of them being Indian converts. However, the Indian culture that they brought with them was very much overlaid by Islam. Philippine relations with China started in the ninth century A.D. when Arab traders carried Philippine goods to the Chinese mainland through the port of Canton, in Southern China. During the 167-year rule of the Sung Dynasty in China (A.D. 960- 1127), Chinese goods entered the Philippine archipelago in a continuous stream. As a result, Chinese influences entered the Philippine coastal areas and spread into the

• interior. During the reign of the great Ming Dynasty (A.D. 1368-1644), Chinese influence

farther spread into the inner regions of the country. China gained control of the Philippine trade when the Ming emperor Yung Lo (A.D. 1402-1424), sent a fleet of over sixty vessels to the Philippine archipelago under the command of Admiral Cheng Ho. The fleet visited Lingayen, Manila Bay, Mindoro, and

• Sulu. For a short period, Yung Lo even tried to rule over Luzon and sent Ko Cha-lao to

the island as governor. With the death of Yung Lo in A.D. 1424, however, his attempt to rule Luzon came to an end. By then important Chinese influences were gained a

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permanent foothold in the Philippines. Many words referring to Chinese cooking and trade are found in the Philippine languages. Philippine folks believe that crocodiles and large snakes are beneficial dragons of Chinese origin. In the fifteenth century when Islam reached the souther Philippines through some fierce Arabs, the Chinese traders suffered a setback and sought new trading posts to those parts of the country where Islam had not yet gained foothold. Later, however, the Chinese were allowed to trade with the areas under the influence of the Arab traders. http://www.muslimmindanao.ph/Islam_phil4.html HISTORY OF ISLAM IN THE PHILIPPINES Islam touched the shores of the Philippine Islands way before American and Spanish colonizers did (AI-Attas:1969). The Islamization of the Philippine Archipelago was part of the spread of the religion in the Southeast Asian region. Islam is not merely a religion, as noted by many Muslim scholars but is as well a way of life (Doi: 1984). Thus, when Islam spread throughout the country, it also introduced a system of government and a sophisticated culture. Islam introduced a highly developed political structure, the Sultanate. The traditional Muslim social structure in the Philippines was headed by a sultan who assumed both religious and secular authority. The Datu assumed communal leadership, providing aid and arbitration through agama courts under his leadership. The wealth amassed by the conquests of the Datu is provided to his subjects for aid, employment, and protection when needed. Interestingly, the Datu is not determined by his wealth but by the number

• f his followers. Further, the holy Qur'an, the source of both secular and religious

precepts and laws of Muslims, provides a sense of oneness and fraternal bond between Muslims as an Ummah or Islamic Nation (21:92). Islam changed the country's once fragmented nature into a single nation (Bangsa Tungga). Thus, when the colonizers came and threatened the growth of their government, much resistance was felt, especially in Southern Philippines where Muslim communities were most concentrated. The Spanish assimilation only succeeded in creating rifts between the Christianized Filipinos under Spanish rule and the Muslim communities that refused subjugation (Majul: 1973). It was the same during the American Regime, if not worse, wherein they employed a process of extermination through military troops when the Muslims refused subjugation and resisted the exploitation of resources within the Mindanao region (Tan: 1977). The Americans realized then that the process was futile and assumed a strategy for winning the Muslims, through the establishment of a special bureau for their affairs and concerns (Gowing: 1983).

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However, through these years, from the American initiative to integrate Muslim communities with the majority of the Filipinos, divisiveness in culture and religion has spread and grown into social unrest and conflict situations. The Muslims remained isolated from the developments provided by the government in the northern regions of the Philippines, separatist movements grew, and resentments between Christians and Muslims developed (Fernando: 1979, Rahman: 1954). The Philippine government in several instances tried to address the issues of the country regarding Muslim separatist movements through policies and the creation of several offices. The Tripoli Agreement was developed to grant political autonomy for two Muslim regions, and recognition of their "cultural values, traditions, and customary and Islamic laws, in the formulation of State policies." Several agreements have been signed since, and still much has yet to be resolved. HOW ISLAM CAME TO MINDANAO Condensed from the book ―Muslims in the Philippines‖ by Dr. C A Majul. The coming of Islam to Mindanao could be traced to the trading of Arab Merchants from the Arabian Peninsula passing thru Malaysia, Borneo and Sulu onward to the Visayas and Luzon and ultimately to China. This trade route existed in the later part of the tenth century and historians called it the second route, with the first route being from Malaysia passing thru the coast of Indo-China then to the shores of China. Trade of Arab merchants to China using the first route was recorded as early as the beginning of the ninth century. According to Majul, it is generally argued that at this time Arab merchants and sailors and other Muslims had begun to dominate the Nanhai or Southeast Asia Trade. This trade led to the Islamization of Malaysia, which gained momentum sometime after 878 C.E. when the Chinese rebel leader Huang Ch‘ao drove out foreign merchants in Canton, China at a time when the Tang Dynasty was racked by a general political deterioration that led to its downfall. As a result, the Arab merchants were forced to settle in Kalah in the Malay Peninsula. This seaport then became the major intrepot of the Arab trade. It is this event of 878 that led the merchants to trade with other parts of Southeast Asia like Java, Borneo, Sulu and other parts of the Philippine archipelago. By the second half of the tenth century, traders were welcomed again to China and it is during this period that the second trade route had been used by Arab and Muslim

• traders. In 977, Borneo begun to be known to Muslim traders when Pu-Ni (Brunei) sent

an embassy to China headed by a certain P‘u Ali (Abu Ali). Earlier, in the same year, a Chinese merchant named P‘u Lu-hsieh arrived in the mouth of the river of Pu-Ni.

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According to Majul, if this is about the earliest time that the Muslim traders became acquainted with Borneo, it can be presumed that it would not be long after that they would come to know about or even pass by Sulu. According to Chinese sources, in the year 982 a ship with valuable merchandise from Ma-i (an island in the Philippine archipelago) arrived in Canton. This is the first actual recorded mention of the Philippine archipelago in Chinese written history (as so far available) as far as Arab trade route between China and the Southeast Asia is concerned. It is assumed then that this ship had passed by Borneo and Sulu. A Brief History of the Philippines from a Filipino Perspective http://www.tribo.org/history/history3.html Pre-Colonial Period The oldest human fossil remains are found in Palawan, on the western fringe of the

• archipelago. These remains are about 30,000 years old, suggesting that the first human

migrations to the islands took palce during the last Ice Age, when land bridiges connected the archipelago to mainland Asia and Borneo. The islands were eventually inhabited by different groups that developed domestic trade

• linkages. The archaelogical evidence shows a rich pre- colonial culture that included

skills in weaving, ship-building, mining and goldsmithing. Contact with Asian neighbors date back to at least 500 B.C. Trade linkages existed with the powerful Hindu empires in Java and Sumatra. These linkages were venues for exchanges with Indian culture, including the adoption of syllabic scripts which are still used by indigenous groups in Palawan and Mindoro. Trade ties with China were extensive by the 10th centuray A.D. while contact with Arab traders reached its peak about the 12th century. By the time the Spaniards arrived, Islam was well established in Mindanao and had started to influence groups as far north as Luzon. Many existing health beliefs and practices in the Philippines are rooted back in the pre- colonial period. This includes magico-religious elements, such as beliefs in spirits and sorcery as causes of illness, as well as empirical aspects such as the use of medicinal

• plants. Archaelogical sites in the Philippines have yielded skeletal remains showing

intricate ornamental dental work and the use of trephination (boring a hole into the skull as a magical healing ritual). Today's traditional medicinal practitioners can trace their origins back to the pre-colonial period - the psychic surgeons, with their flair for drama, parallel the pre-hispanic religious practicioners (babaylan and catalonan) who also played roles as healers. Philippine Culture

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http://asiarecipe.com/phifood.html What is Filipino Food? By Doreen Fernandez (Excerpted from The Food of the Philippines: Authentic Recipes from the Pearl of the

• Orient. Text and recipes by Reynaldo G. Alejandro. Introductory articles by Doreen G.

Fernandez, Corazon S. Alvina, and Millie Reyes.) The Philippines country culture starts in a tropical climate divided into rainy and dry seasons and an archipelago with 7,000 islands.These isles contain the Cordillera mountains; Luzon‘s central plains; Palawan‘s coral reefs; seas touching the world‘s longest discontinuous coastline; and a multitude of lakes, rivers, springs, and brooks. The population—120 different ethnic groups and the mainstream communities of Tagalog/Ilocano/Pampango/Pangasinan and Visayan lowlanders—worked within a gentle but lush environment. In it they shaped their own lifeways: building houses, weaving cloth, telling and writing stories, ornamenting and decorating, preparing food. The Chinese who came to trade sometimes stayed on. Perhaps they cooked the noodles of home; certainly they used local condiments; surely they taught their Filipino wives their dishes, and thus Filipino-Chinese food came to be. The names identify them: pansit (Hokkien for something quickly cooked) are noodles; lumpia are vegetables rolled in edible wrappers; siopao are steamed, filled buns; siomai are dumplings. All, of course, came to be indigenized—Filipinized by the ingredients and by local

• tastes. Today, for example, Pansit Malabon has oysters and squid, since Malabon is a

fishing center; and Pansit Marilao is sprinkled with rice crisps, because the town is within the Luzon rice bowl. How‘s the Weather? The weather in the Philippines is tropical, the country having only two seasons, the dry and rainy seasons. It‘s usually hot from April to July. The dry season is between November and June and the rainy season is between July and

• October. Filipinos consider December, January, and February as the cool months. But

they may not be considered as winter without snow as in the United States; maybe it‘s milder or like spring or fall.

• II. FLASHBACK: THE EARLY FILIPINOS

The Philippines, scientists believe, once was a part of Mainland China. According to the scientists, during the Ice Age, the waters surrounding the Philippines dropped to about 156 feet below the present levels, exposing large bodies of land. These became land bridges connecting the Philippines to the Asian mainland. The Philippines, Out from the Bottom of the Sea? In February 1976, Dr. Fritjof Voss, a German scientist who studied the geology of the Philippines, questioned the validity of this theory of land bridges. He maintained that the Philippines was never part of mainland Asia. He claimed that it arose from the bottom of the sea and, as the thin

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Pacific crust moved below it, continued to rise. It continues to rise today. The country lies along great Earth faults that extend to deep undersea trenches. The resulting violent earthquakes caused what is now the land masses forming the Philippines to rise to the surface of the sea.

• Dr. Voss also pointed out that when scientific studies were done on the earth‘s crust

from 1964 to 1967, it was discovered that the 35-kilometer-thick crust underneath China does not reach the Philippines. Thus, the latter could not have been a land bridge to the Asian mainland. When They Came, How They Came. The traditional teaching of Philippine history in Filipino schools today has early Philippine habitants coming in waves. In 1962, it was concluded that about 250,000 years ago, primitive men came to the Philippines from the Asian mainland. Then about 25,000 years ago came the pygmies, the small, black-skinned, squat-nosed, thick-lipped, and kinky-haired people from the south over the still remaining land bridges. (They are considered the ancestors of the Negritoes, who are, in turn, regarded as the aborigines of the Philippines.) Around 12,000 to 15,000 years ago, another Negrito (or Aeta) migration occurred. They reached Luzon from Borneo over land bridges in Palawan and Mindoro. The submergence of the land bridges when the ice melted with the passing of time did not prevent other people from inhabiting the Philippines. 5,000 to 6,000 Years Ago? The first Indonesians arrived by boat from Southeast Asia some 5,000 to 6,000 years ago. Much later, around 1500 B.C., a second wave of Indonesians arrived. Then came the Malays in two successive waves, the first between 800 and 500 B.C. and the second, between 300 and 200 B.C. From Borneo, they traveled by sailboats and settled in the three major islands of the Philippines: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Subsequent peoples who came from the start of Christianity until the present time include the Indians (Hindus), the Arabs, the Chinese, other Eastern Asians, the Europeans, and the Americans. Who Came First? The matter of who the first settlers were has not been really resolved. This is being disputed by anthropologists, as well as the theory of Professor H. Otley Beyer that the first inhabitants of the Philippines came from the Malay Peninsula. The Malays now constitute the largest portion of the populace and what Filipinos now have is a Malayan culture. Anthropologist F. Landa Jocano of the University of the Philippines contends that what fossil evidence of ancient men show is that they not only migrated to the Philippines, but also to New Guinea, Borneo, and Australia. He says that there is no way of determining if they were Negritoes at all. However, what is sure is that there is evidence the Philippines was inhabited as early as 21,000 or 22,000 years ago. In 1962, a skull cap and a portion of a jaw, presumed to be those of a human being, were found in a Tabon cave in Palawan Province.

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The discovery proved that man came earlier to the Philippines than to the Malay Peninsula; therefore, the first inhabitants of the former did not come from the latter. Jocano further believes that present Filipinos are products of the long process of evolutions and movements of people. This not only holds true for Filipinos, but for the Indonesians and the Malays of Malaysia, as well. No group among the three is culturally

• r racially dominant. Hence, Jocano says that it is not correct to attribute the Filipino

culture as being Malay in orientation. According to Jocano‘s findings, the peoples of the prehistoric islands of Southeast Asia were of the same population as the combination of human evolution that occurred in the islands of Southeast Asia about 1.9 million years ago. The proofs of this are fossil materials found in different parts of the region and the movements of other peoples from the Asian mainland during historic times. He states that these ancient men cannot be categorized under any of the historically identified ethnic groups (Malays, Indonesians, Filipinos) of today. Some Filipino ethnic groups were pagans while others were Muslims. The pagans were converted to Christianity by the Spaniards. The Americans later arrived and introduced further cultural changes, which made the Filipinos more and more different from the peoples of other Southeast Asian countries.

• III. PRE-HISPANIC CULTURE

The Filipinos lived in settlements called barangays before the colonization of the Philippines by the Spaniards. As the unit of government, a barangay consisted from 30 to 100 families. It was headed by a datu and was independent from the other groups. (The Tagalog word barangay came from the Malay word balangay, a boat that transported them to the islands.) Usually, several barangays settled near each other to help one another in case of war or any emergency. The position of datu was passed on by the holder of the position to the eldest son or, if none, the eldest daughter. However, later, any member of the barangay could be chieftain, based on his talent and ability. He had the usual responsibilities of leading and protecting the members of his barangay. In turn, they had to pay tribute to the datu, help him till the land, and help him fight for the barangay in case of war. In the old days, a datu had a council of elders to advise him, especially whenever he wanted a law to be enacted. The law was written and announced to the whole barangay by a town crier, called the umalohokan. The People‘s Commandments. Pre-college Filipino textbooks teach that the only written laws of pre-colonial Philippines that have survived are the Maragtas Code and the Code

• f Kalantiaw, both prepared in Panay. Some historians believe that the Maragtas Code

was written by Datu Sumakwel, one of the chieftains from Borneo who settled there. As for the Code of Kalantiaw, it was said to have been promulgated by the third chief of

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Panay and possibly a descendant of Datu Sumakwel, Rajah Kalantiaw, in 1433. W. Henry Scott, however, has disputed the authenticity of the Code of Kalantiaw. Classes of Society. There were four classes of society. They were the ruling class (datu), the freemen and notable persons (maharlika), the commoners (timawa), and the dependents and slaves (alipin). The alipin were of two kinds: the aliping namamahay, who were household servants, and the aliping saguiguilid, who were slave workers. Clothing and Ornaments. The natives already wore clothes and personal ornaments. The men wore short-sleeved and collarless jackets, whose length reached slightly below the waist. The color of the jacket appeared to indicate the position of the wearer in society, e.g., red for the chief, and blue or black for those below him, depending on the societal class. For the lower part, they wore a bahag, a strip of cloth wrapped around the waist, passing between the thighs. Their thighs and legs were left exposed. A piece of cloth wrapped around the head, called a putong, served as a head gear. The kind of putong one wore was important. For example, a red putong meant the wearer had killed a man in war while one who had killed at least seven people signified so by wearing an embroidered putong. They also wore necklaces, armlets or kalombiga, earrings, rings, and anklets, usually made of gold and precious stones. The women‘s upper garment was a sleeved jacket, called a baro. Over their skirts (saya

• r patadyong) was wrapped a strip of cloth called tapis. They also wore gem-studded

bracelets, necklaces, rings, and gold earrings. Tattoos were part of the body ornaments of pre-Hispanic Filipinos, men and women

• alike. These were also sported as war ―medals.‖ The more tattoos, the more impressive

was a man‘s war record. The Filipinos from the Visayas Islands were the most tattooed, which was why early Spanish writers referred to them as Pintados or painted people. The writers referred to their Islands as Islas del Pintados or Islands of the Painted People. Rice and More Rice. Agriculture was the early Filipinos‘ main means of livelihood. They also grew an abundance of rice, sugarcane, cotton, hemp, coconuts, bananas, and many other fruits and vegetables. Land cultivation was by tilling or by the kaingin

• system. With the kaingin system, the land was cleared by burning the shrubs and
• bushes. After that, it was planted with rice and other crops, which were watered by

irrigation ditches. The world-famous Ifugao rice terraces of Mountain Province, which have stone walls and run for thousands of feet on the mountain sides, are irrigated by a system of

• ditches. From afar, the terraces seem to be a giant stairway leading to the sky. From

end to end, the length could be about 12,000 miles or halfway around the Earth.

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There were public and private lands. Those along the mountainsides and less arable lands were public property. They were open to everyone who wanted to till them. Private lands were usually exclusively for nobles and datus. Other Industries. Other industries were fishing, mining, lumbering, poultry raising, shipbuilding, and weaving. Fishing was particularly thriving for the settlements along rivers and seas.

Domestic trade existed among the barangays and the

• islands. The Filipinos’ foreign trade was with China, Japan,

Siam (now Thailand), Borneo, Sumatra, Cambodia, and

• ther islands of old Malaysia. The barter system was used

in business transactions because there was no currency.

Their God. Bathala was the supreme god of the pre-Spanish Filipinos. They attributed to Bathala the creation of the heavens, Earth, and man. There were lesser gods and goddesses, like a god of death, a god of agriculture, a goddess of harvest, sea gods, river gods, and the like. It was also believed that things found in nature were full of spirits more powerful than man. Spirits of dead relatives were also revered. Sacrifices were offered to all of them. The ancient Filipinos believed in the immortality of the soul and in life after death. Disease or illness was attributed to the whims of the environmental spirits and the soul- spirits of the dead relatives. The pre-Spanish Filipinos also revered idols, called anitos in Tagalog and diwata in

• Visayan. These seem to be the counterparts of the present saints, to whom Filipinos
• ffer prayers and food, much like their ancestors did.

How Islam Conquered Parts of the Philippines. The Islamization of Southeast Asia was generally accomplished by peaceful means through Muslim traders, missionaries, and

• teachers. They went to Java, Sumatra, Jahore, Malacca, Borneo, and nearby islands to

conduct their mission. To speed up the conversion process, these proselytizers usually married into the families of the rich and ruling class. By the 13th century, most of the lands in Southeast Asia were Islamized. From there, Islam filtered to Mindanao and Sulu, the southern part of the Philippines, in the 14th

• century. In 1380, an Arab teacher, Mukdum, arrived in Sulu from the Malay peninsula to

preach Islam. He built the first mosque in Simunul, Sulu. Around 1390, he was followed by Raja Baginda, a minor ruler of Menangkabaw, Sumatra. About 1450, Abu Bakr, a Muslim scholar, came to Sulu and married Paramisuli, the daughter of Raja Baginda. After Baginda died, Abu Bakr established a sultanate form of government with himself as sultan. Islam then spread rapidly to all parts of Sulu.

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Serif Kabungsuan was responsible for the spread of Islam in Mindanao. He led a force

• f Muslim Samals from Jahore that conquered the natives of what is now Cotabato and

converted them to Islam. He also married into an influential family and founded the first sultanate of Mindanao, with himself as head. On the other hand, Muslim Malay traders from Borneo spread Islam to the natives in Manila and in the provinces of Batangas, Mindoro, and Pampanga. When the Spaniards arrived in the Philippines during the first half of the 16th century, many parts of Luzon, including the large native kingdoms of Manila and Tondo, had already been Islamized. However, the further spread and influence of Islam were cut short by the conquest and Spanish colonization of the Philippines starting in 1665. Chinese and Indians. Chinese influences on Filipino life were mainly economic. However, at the same time, cultural influences were inevitable. Many words in the Philippine language have Chinese origins. The Chinese also taught the ancient Filipinos the use of gongs, umbrellas, lead, and porcelain, as well as the manufacture of gun powder, and metallurgy and mining methods. Filipinos also adopted customs from the Chinese. Many words in the Philippine language also appear to have Sanskrit origins. In addition, ancient religious beliefs of the Filipinos show Indian influence. It is said that some elements of the Indian culture reached the Philippines through the Hinduized Malays who settled in the country permanently. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_route [edit]Maritime trade Much of the Radhanites' Indian Ocean trade would have depended on coastal cargo-ships such as this dhow. Main article: Ship transport Evidence of maritime trade between civilizations dates back at least two millennia.[12] Navigation was known in Sumer between the 4th and the 3rd millennium BCE, and was

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probably known by the Indians and the Chinese people before the Sumerians.[8] The Egyptians had trade routes through the Red sea, importing spices from the "Land of Punt" (East Africa) and from Arabia.[13] Evolution of Indian trade networks. The main map shows the routes since Mughal times, Inset A shows the major prehistorical cultural currents, B: pre-Mauryan routes, C: Mauryan routes, D: routes c. 1st cent. CE, and E: the "Z" shaped region of developed roads. Maritime trade began with safer coastal trade and evolved with the manipulation of the monsoon winds, soon resulting in trade crossing boundaries such as the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal.[12] South Asia had multiple maritime trade routes which connected it to Southeast Asia, thereby making the control of one route resulting in maritime monopoly difficult.[12] Indian connections to various Southeast Asian states buffered it from blockages on other routes.[12] By making use of the maritime trade routes, bulk commodity trade became possible for the Romans in the 2nd century BCE.[14] A Roman trading vessel could span the Mediterranean in a month at one-sixtieth the cost of over- land routes.[15] [edit]Visible trade routes The peninsula of Anatolia lay on the commercial land routes to Europe from Asia as well as the sea route from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea.[16] Records from the 19th century BCE attest to the existence of an Assyrian merchant colony at Kanesh in Cappadocia (now in modern Turkey).[16] Trading networks of the Old World included the Grand Trunk Road of India and the Incense Road of Arabia.[2] A transportation network consisting of hard-surfaced highways, using concrete made from volcanic ash and lime, was built by the Romans as early as 312 BCE, during the times of the Censor Appius Claudius Caecus.[17] Parts of the Mediterranean world, Roman Britain, Tigris-Euphrates river system and North Africa fell under the reach of this network at some point of their history.[17] According to Robert Allen Denemark (2000):[18] "The spread of urban trading networks, and their extension along the Persian Gulf and eastern Mediterranean, created a complex molecular structure of regional foci so that as well as the zonation of core and periphery (originally created around Mesopotamia) there was a series of interacting civilizations: Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus Valley; then also Syria, central Anatolia (Hittites) and the Aegean (Minoans and Mycenaeans). Beyond this was a margin which included not only temperate areas such as Europe, but the dry steppe corridor of central Asia. This was truly a world system, even though it occupied only a restricted portion of the western Old World. Whilst each civilization emphasized its ideological autonomy, all were identifiably part of a common world of interacting components." These routes - spreading religion, trade and technology - have historically been vital to the growth of urban civilization.[19] The extent of development of cities, and the level of their integration into a larger world system, has often been attributed to their position in various active transport networks.[20] http://www.sdsanantonians.com/archive/history/sa/history_magellan/The%20Philippines%20Bef

• re%20Magellan.doc

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The Philippines Before Magellan

By: Charity Beyer-Bagatsing From the notes of Dr. H. Otley Beyer Word count: 1,471 including author‘s biography. Four hundred years ago, Ferdinand Magellan anchored his little exploring fleet in Philippine waters in the evening on March 16, 1521. Herein, to most people Philippine history begins with Antonio Pigafetta‘s splendid diary of Magellan‘s voyage. Spanish colonization both in the Americas and the Philippines has been characterized by a fanatic zeal for the Christian faith and corresponding hatred for all other forms of belief led them to regard the native writings and art as works of the devil—to be destroyed wherever found. In Mexico and Peru many old records were preserved in more or less modified form in the writings of the early Christians and Spanish half-castes, but in the Philippines the destruction was ruthlessly thorough and only a few fragments have survived. One Spanish priest in southern Luzon boasted of having destroyed more than three hundred scrolls written in the native character. How valuable those old records might have been to us. The results is that we have no trustworthy native material, and our past can only be pieced together from data painstakingly gathered from neighboring countries, to be patiently pieced together with local tradition and archeological discoveries. It is of no wonder that most historians have been content to pass over the Pre-European period and begin the body of their work with Magellan‘s voyage. When Magellan arrived in the Philippines, he did not came across a land occupied by ignorant wild savages but discovered one of the epicenters of the international trade industry which extended from the Atlantic to the Pacific. William Henry Scott in his book the Pre-Hispanic Source Materials intenerates “When the pre- Hispanic epoch was brought to a close by Ferdinand Magellan’s arrival in 1521, Luzon traders were sailing to Timor, Malacca and Canton, had a colony in Minjam on the Malay Peninsula, a Portuguese appointed magistrate in Malacca and marriage relations with the Sultan of Brunei, and the Manila bourgeoisie were learning to speak Malay.” The pre-Hispanic Filipinos were very literate and used syllabaries of Indian origin. Father Chirino (1604, 39):“These islanders are so given to reading and writing that there is hardly a man and much less a woman, who does not read and write in the letters of the island of Manila. The first actual mention of the Philippines is recorded in the official Sung history when certain traders from Ma-i (the present island of Mindoro) brought valuable merchandise to Canton for sale in 982 A.D. As early as the tenth century Philippine vessels were crossing the oceans to China and Champa for exportable trade goods. From the 12th to the 15th centuries, accounts of Bruni, Sulu, Ma-i and others of the Philippine islands became more numerous. The following abbreviated account comes from Chau Ju Kua written about 1225. The salient points of this report are as follows:

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“The island of Ma-i lies north of Borneo. When trading ships enter the anchorage, they stop in front of the officials place, for that is the place for bartering of the country. There is a great market there. After a ship has been boarded, the natives mix freely with the ship’s folk. The chiefs are in the habit of using white umbrellas, for which reason the traders offer them as gifts. The custom for trade is for the local traders to assemble in crowds and carry the goods away with them in baskets; and, even if one cannot at first know them, and can but slowly distinguish the men who remove the goods, yet there will be no loss. The local traders then carry these goods on to other islands for barter, and as a rule takes them about eight – nine months before they return, when they repay the merchants on shipboard with what they have obtained for the goods. The products of the country consist of yellow wax (beeswax), cotton, pearls, tortoise-shell, medicinal betel nuts, fiber cloth (sinamay). The goods used in trading are porcelain, trade-gold, iron cauldrons, lead, colored glass beads, iron needles, pieces of iron, colored cotton stuffs, red taffetas, ivory, silks of different colors, copper pots, sycee shoes, and the like.” The San-hsu (or three islands) belong to Ma-i; their names are Kia-ma-yen (Kalamian or Culion), Pa-lau-yu (probably Penon de Coron) and Pa-ki-nung (probably Busuanga), and each has its own tribes scattered over the islands. When the ships arrive there, the natives come out to trade with them. In the remotest valleys, there lives another tribe called Hai-tan (Aetas). They are smaller in nature, they have curly hair and they nest in tree tops. Whenever foreign traders arrive at the settlements, they announce their presence to the natives by beating drums. Upon this, the natives race for the ships in small boats, carrying cotton, yellow wax, native cloth and coconut husk mats which they offer for barter. If the prices cannot be agreed upon, one or two of the natives remain on board the ship as hostages while the chief of the traders must go on shore to meet the native ruler in order to come to an understanding. These being reached the natives are

• ffered presents of silk umbrellas, porcelain, and rattan baskets. After the traders return to their

ships, the hostages are released. A ship will not remain at anchor longer than three days or four days which it proceeds to another place.” Several late Sung and Yuan period Chinese documents make frequent reference to the Philippine trade centers. Ports in Sulu are described to having a well developed organized network for exportable forest and maritime products (sandalwood, laka-wood, ebony, animal hides and pearls). The Sulu pearls are known to be whiter and rounder than those from other places and command a high price. In addition to the above, we find the following accounts of trade in Sulu from the brush of a Chinese author in 1349: ―When a ship arrives there, the natives take all the goods and carry them for sale in the interior, while they also sell to the neighboring countries and when they come back, the native articles are delivered to the merchants as payment. The natives are always afraid that our ships will not return, and whenever a ship leaves they detain some men as hostages to make sure the ship will call again. ― Medieval Filipinos merchants and mercenaries were deemed as honest business entrepreneurs throughout Southeast Asia as stated by Wang-Ta-yuan in his Tao I Chih Lueh written in 1349 after 20 years of travels in the pursuit of overseas profits ―The shipboard merchants advance them credit for never have they defaulted since the beginning.”

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During the early 14th century, the ties between Chinese- Philippines trade relations grew

• stronger. In 1406, in the reign of Chinese Emperor Ch‘eng-tsu a Filipino chieftain visited the

Imperial Court at Nanking and was presented gifts of horses, silver and other products. This was followed by other trips. Another visit occurred during Emperor Hung-wa‘s reign in 1572 when the Filipino tribute embassy was welcomed at his court. Early Spanish documents provide a detailed documentation of the Southeast Asian trade

• industry. Asides from the Chinese junks; large trade ships from Borneo, Thailand and Japan

were regularly arriving at some of the larger Philippine coastal ports: Manila, Mindoro, Pangasinan, Cebu, Jolo (Sulu), and Cotabato. Filipino traders had significant knowledge and presence at other Southeast Asian trade ports such as Melaka, Borneo, Ternate (Moluccas) and Myanmar. Chiefs in pre-Hispanic Philippines also financed and equipped outgoing trade voyages for foreign trade. Furthermore they made attempts to attract foreign trade partners by investing in port facilities, good harborage, military protection for merchants, housing, provision and entertainment for foreign traders, and developed efficient systems for mobilizing the trade

• goods. Sixteenth century descriptions of Manila records a well fortified heavily populated trade

port with special quarters for Chinese and Japanese merchants and a well organized port area managed by a grand chieftain and a number of lesser chiefs. The blissful period of pre-Hispanic Philippines clearly indicates a sophisticated cultured people who focused on peaceful commercial trade, maritime exploration while maintaining friendly and viable economic relations with their neighbors. A far cry from the depictions made by European historians who portrayed a people whose existence began as a colony of Spain and for many years was deemed as the only source for the study of Philippine history. The purpose of this article is to remind this present generation about the grand history of their ninunos (forefathers) and rekindle our diwa (spirit of greatness) that has always been the heritage of the Filipino people.

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Keda h, not Malacca, the oldest kingdom

KUA LA LUMPUR: Local history books may have to be re-written to accommodate a Universiti Sains Malaysia(USM) archaeological team‘s discovery that the Kedah sultanate pre-dates Malacca as the oldest in the Malay peninsula. The team from USM‘s Centre for Global Archaeological Research (PPAG) has unearthed evidence of ancient artifacts and an iron smelting site in Kedah dating back to 110 AD. Among the discoveries were a complete and intact foundation of a stone building constructed with detailed geometrical precision, revealing the unification of the concept of squares and circles. The excavation, which began in February 2009, is expected to provide answers to various questions regarding the history of the excavation site at Sungai Batu, Bujang Valley. Associate Prof Dr Mokhtar Saidin, the director of PPAG, said that these latest crucial discoveries must be acknowledged by the government, and concedes that Kedah pre-dates Malacca as the starting point of local history. S Gobikrishnan, an independent researcher, added: ―It (the government) must accept the hard evidence and set the record straight about the early history of Bujang Valley, and Malaysia‘s history should start with Kedah and not Malacca.‖ Gobikrishnan, the head of the Lembah Bujang Independent Research Group for the past seven years, said the federal government deliberately concealed the facts about the history of Kedah and in the process played out the Sultanate of Kedah by giving prominence to Malacca. According to him, Merong Mahawangsa, the founder of the Kedah kingdom, was originally a prince by the name of Maaran Mahavamsan from Persia and not Macedonia. Wrong assumptions He said most historians have made wrong assumptions about Merong Mahawangsa. ―Mahavamsan‖, means ―from

Latest archaeological findings by a USM archaeological team places the Kedah sultanate as possibly the oldest in the world.

B Nantha Kumar

| September 10, 2011

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a great generation‖ and Maaran Mahavamsan comes from the lineage of Alexander the Great.

“After Alexander won the Battle of Gaugamela in Persia, he married a local princess by the name of Shaher Ul

• Beriah. And Maaran Mahavamsan was a 11th generation decendent of Shaher Ul Beriah,‖ said Gobikrishnan.

Although Maaran Mahavamsan was born in Persia, his name clearly suggests he was of Hindu stock, said Gobikrishnan, who added that for trading purposes, he travelled to a port city called Nagapattinam which still exists today in South India. From there he sailed to Kedah and formed the Kingdom of Kedah. Athough there are many theories for Maaran‘s arrival in Kedah, trade seemed to be his main purpose. Moreover, Kedah was considered part of ―greater India‖ from West India to Cambodia. Gobikrishnan also said that under Maaran‘s administration, Kedah become a famous entreport and a second century inscription found at the Puhar Port (in Chola Kingdom, India) clearly acknowledges the existence of Kedah. The inscription states that Kedah was famous among traders for trading in ―luxuries‖ (spices). A recent discovery also showed that Kedah had an old port constructed of wood in Merbok.

“So, all the earliest sites like the iron smelting foundary, port and stone structures showed that Kedah played an

important role as an industrial and trading centre.

“Starting with Maaran Mahavamsan until Maharaja Durbar Raja who was also known as Sultan Muzaffar Shah

(1136-1179), Kedah had eight Hindu kings before Durbar Raja converted to Islam,‖ said Gobikrishnan. Parameswara originated from Kedah? He added that the Kedah sultanate was unique and one of the oldest in the world.

“The current Sultan Abdul Halim Mu‘adzam Shah is the

35th generation of Merong Mahawangsa. The federal government deliberately refused to accept these facts.

“Why is the federal government acknowledging Malacca

as the first Malay sultanate when the facts show that Kedah deserved that honour? asked Gobikrishnan. He also pointed out that Ganga Negara, the Thailand kingdom, and even Parameswara, the founder of Malacca, all originated from the Kedah kingdom. Gobikrishnan appreciated the federal government‘s initiative to set up a place for taking care of the things found in Bujang Valley. ―But, it is not enough. The government should re-write the history and honoured Kedah and the Sultan.‖ He added that sidelining Kedah from history is a big embarrassment to the Kedah sultanate which was the earliest in the Malay Peninsula. Gobikrishnan also urged the Kedah state government to take the initiative to ensure Kedah takes its rightful place in Malaysia‘s history. Fawn, This article is from a friend of mine. I hope it doesn't create confusion. The Indians first made their way along the coast from India to Malaysia. Kedah was on the Malaysian coast. The article dates trade routes there to 110 AD. Many town histories- legends start with the arrival of a foreign prince(in this case a descendant of Alexander the Great, no less). When I introduce you, I can talk a little about China and the on-off attitude toward trade that China exhibited. Chinese

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began to take part in Southeast Asian trade late, around 900-1000. Dr. Peralta called this the Age of Contact, although contact began with India and the Middle East much earlier, around the beginning of the Christian era. These are some points that I would include although you don't have to:

• 1. The lowlanders traded with the highlanders. Local people traveled and traded extensively, using water. A short list
• f products would be interesting.
• 2. There was a lot of barter but the local people also used gold dust, which they weighed with scales. A scale was

found in one of the shipwrecks and it is reported in the Spanish journals. (The point is they were not stupid, gullible or

• inept. Magellan offered some beads and bells to the ruler who served him good food on Chinese porcelain dinner

ware.)

• 3. Foreign goods arrived and foreign influence in language and religion. We do not know how many foreign people

arrived.

• Relax. It will be fun.

I will ask Roderick about pre-tour on Monday October 3. You don't have to be there. We might even do it by phone. Thanks, Teresa http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_wind TRADE WINDS From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia This article is about the weather phenomenon. For other uses, see Tradewind (disambiguation). The westerlies (blue arrows) and trade winds (yellow arrows)[dubious – discuss] The trade winds (also called trades) are the prevailing pattern of easterly surface winds found in the tropics, within the lower portion of the Earth's atmosphere, in the lower section of the troposphere near the Earth's equator.[1] The trade winds blow predominantly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisphere, strengthening during the winter and when the Arctic oscillation is in its warm phase. Historically, the trade winds have been used by captains of sailing ships to cross the world's oceans for centuries, and enabled European empire expansion into the Americas and trade routes to become established across the Atlantic and Pacific

• ceans.

In meteorology, the trade winds act as the steering flow for tropical storms that form over the Atlantic, Pacific, and southern Indian Oceans and make landfall in North America, Southeast Asia, and India, respectively. Trade winds also steer African dust westward across the Atlantic ocean into the Caribbean sea, as well as portions of southeastern North America. Shallow cumulus clouds are seen within trade wind regimes, and are capped from becoming taller by a trade wind inversion, which is caused by descending air aloft from within the subtropical ridge. The weaker the trade winds become, the more rainfall can be expected within neighboring landmasses. Contents [hide] 1 History 2 Cause 3 Weather effects 4 See also 5 References [edit]History http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Map_prevailing_winds_on_earth.png A Spanish galleon

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See also: Age of Discovery and Age of sail The term trade winds originally derives from the early fourteenth century late Middle English word 'trade' meaning "path" or "track."[2] The Portuguese recognized the importance of the trade winds in navigation in the Atlantic ocean as early as the 15th century.[3] The full wind circulation, which included both the trade wind easterlies and higher- latitude Westerlies, was not known across the Pacific ocean until Andres de Urdaneta's voyage in 1565.[4] The captain of a sailing ship seeks a course along which the winds can be expected to blow in the direction of travel.[5] During the Age of Sail the pattern of prevailing winds made various points of the globe easy or difficult to access, and therefore had a direct impact on European empire-building and thus on modern political geography. For example, Manila galleons could not sail into the wind at all.[4] By the 18th century the importance of the trade winds to England's merchant fleet for crossing the Atlantic Ocean had led both the general public and etymologists to identify the name with a later meaning of 'trade', "(foreign) commerce".[6] Between 1847 and 1849, Matthew Fontaine Maury collected enough information to create wind and current charts for the world's oceans.[7] [edit]Cause File:Airmasseorigin.gif General distribution of air masses near North America. The green region labeled mT describes a maritime tropical air mass, which is the type of air mass within the belt of the trade winds. See also: Air mass, Hadley cell, Humidity, Intertropical Convergence Zone, Monsoon, Monsoon trough, Near- equatorial trough, and Prevailing winds As part of the Hadley cell circulation, surface air flows toward the equator while the flow aloft is towards the poles. A low-pressure area of calm, light variable winds near the equator is known as the doldrums,[8] equatorial trough,[9] intertropical front, or the Intertropical Convergence Zone.[10] When located within a monsoon region, this zone of low pressure and wind convergence is also known as the monsoon trough.[11] Around 30° in both hemispheres air begins to descend toward the surface in subtropical high-pressure belts known as subtropical ridges. The sinking air is relatively dry because as it descends, the temperature increases but the absolute humidity remains constant, which lowers the relative humidity of the air mass. This air mass is dry and subsident, or sinking through the troposphere, and sometime reaches the ground. When this warm, dry air reaches the surface it is known as a superior air mass. The superior air normally resides over the top of maritime tropical air masses over oceans, forming a warmer and drier layer over the more moderate maritime tropical air mass below. When the temperature increases with height, it is known as a temperature inversion. When it occurs within a trade wind regime, it is known as a trade wind inversion.[12] The surface air that flows from these subtropical high-pressure belts toward the Equator is deflected toward the west in both hemispheres by the Coriolis effect.[13] These winds blow predominantly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisphere.[14] Because winds are named for the direction from which the wind is blowing,[15] these winds are called the northeast trade winds in the Northern Hemisphere and the southeast trade winds in the Southern Hemisphere. The trade winds meet at the doldrums.[8] As they blow across tropical regions, air masses heat up over lower latitudes due to more direct sunlight. Those that develop over land (continental) are drier and hotter than those that develop over oceans (maritime), and travel northward on the western periphery of the subtropical ridge.[16] Maritime tropical air masses are sometimes referred to as trade air masses.[17] The one region of the Earth which has an absence of trade winds is the north Indian

• cean.[18]

[edit]Weather effects Nā Pali coast, Kaua฀i, showing trade wind cumuli Clouds which form above regions within trade wind regimes are typically composed of cumulus which extend no more than 4 kilometres (13,000 ft) in height, and are capped from being taller by the trade wind inversion.[19] Trade winds

• riginate more from the direction of the poles (northeast in the Northern Hemisphere, southeast in the Southern

Hemisphere) during the cold season, and are stronger in the winter than the summer.[20] As an example, the windy season in the Guianas, which lie at low latitudes in South America, occurs between January and April.[21] When the phase of the Arctic oscillation (AO) is warm, trade winds are stronger within the tropics. The cold phase of the AO leads to weaker trade winds.[22] When the trade winds are weaker, more extensive areas of rain fall upon landmasses within the tropics, such as Central America.[23] During mid-summer in the Northern Hemisphere (July), the westward-moving trade winds south of the northward- moving subtropical ridge expand northwestward from the Caribbean sea into southeastern North America. When dust from the Sahara moving around the southern periphery of the ridge travels over land, rainfall is suppressed and the sky changes from a blue to a white appearance which leads to an increase in red sunsets. Its presence negatively impacts air quality by adding to the count of airborne particulates.[24] Over 50% of the African dust that reaches the United States affects Florida.[25] Since 1970, dust outbreaks have worsened due to periods of drought in Africa.

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There is a large variability in the dust transport to the Caribbean and Florida from year to year.[26] Dust events have been linked to a decline in the health of coral reefs across the Caribbean and Florida, primarily since the 1970s.[27] [edit]See also Intertropical Convergence Zone [edit]References ^ Glossary of Meteorology (2010). "trade winds". American Meteorological Society. Retrieved 2008-09-08. ^ Carol G. Braham, Enid Pearsons, Deborah M. Posner, Georgia S. Maas, and Richard Goodman (2001). Random House Webster's College Dictionary (second ed.). Random House. p. 1385. ISBN 0375425608. ^ Hermann R. Muelder (2007). Years of This Land - A Geographical History of the United States. Read Books. p. 38. ISBN 9781406777406. Retrieved 2009-11-09. ^ a b Derek Hayes (2001). Historical atlas of the North Pacific Ocean: maps of discovery and scientific exploration, 1500-2000. Douglas & McIntyre. p. 18. ISBN 9781550548655. Retrieved 2009-11-08. ^ Cyrus Cornelius Adams (1904). A text-book of commercial geography. D. Appleton and company. p. 19. Retrieved 2009-11-07. ^ Oxford English Dictionary (2 ed.). p. 225. ^ Derek Hayes (2001). Histoical atlas of the North Pacific Ocean: maps of discovery and scientific exploration, 1500-

• 2000. Douglas & McIntyre. p. 152. ISBN 9781550548655. Retrieved 2009-11-08.

^ a b Sverre Petterssen (1941). Introduction to Meteorology. Mcgraw-Hill Book Company, Inc.. p. 110. ISBN 9781443723008. Retrieved 2009-11-09. ^ Glossary of Meteorology (June 2000). "Doldrums". American Meteorological Society. Retrieved 2009-11-09. ^ Glossary of Meteorology (June 2000). "Intertropical Convergence Zone". American Meteorological Society. Retrieved 2009-11-09. ^ Glossary of Meteorology (June 2000). "Monsoon Trough". American Meteorological Society. Retrieved 2009-11-09. ^ Glossary of Meteorology (June 2000). "Superior air". American Meteorological Society. Retrieved 2009-10-28. ^ Glossary of Meteorology (2009). "trade winds". Glossary of Meteorology. American Meteorological Society. Retrieved 2008-09-08. ^ Ralph Stockman Tarr and Frank Morton McMurry (1909).Advanced geography. W.W. Shannon, State Printing, pp.

• 246. Retrieved on 2009-04-15.

^ JetStream (2008). "How to read weather maps". National Weather Service. Retrieved 2007-05-16. ^ Glossary of Meteorology (June 2000). "Tropical air". American Meteorological Society. Retrieved 2009-10-28. ^ Glossary of Meteorology (June 2000). "Trade air". American Meteorological Society. Retrieved 2009-10-28. ^ John E. Oliver (2005). Encyclopedia of world climatology. Springer. p. 128. ISBN 9781402032646. Retrieved 2009- 11-09. ^ Bob Rauber (2009-05-22). "Research-The Rain in Cumulus over the Ocean Campaign". Retrieved 2009-11-08. ^ James P. Terry (2007). Tropical cyclones: climatology and impacts in the South Pacific. Springer. p. 8. ISBN 9780387715421. Retrieved 2009-11-08. ^ G. E. Pieter and F. Augustinus. "The influence of the trade winds on the coastal development of the Guianas at various scale levels: a synthesis". Marine Geology 208 (2-4): 145–151. doi:10.1016/j.margeo.2004.04.007. ^ Robert R. Steward (2005). "The Ocean's Influence on North American Drought". Texas A&M University. Retrieved 2009-11-08. ^ John E. Oliver (2005). Encyclopedia of world climatology. Springer. p. 185. ISBN 9781402032646. Retrieved 2009- 11-08. ^ Science Daily (1999-07-14). African Dust Called A Major Factor Affecting Southeast U.S. Air Quality. Retrieved on 2007-06-10. ^ Science Daily (2001-06-15). Microbes And The Dust They Ride In On Pose Potential Health Risks. Retrieved on 2007-06-10. ^ Usinfo.state.gov (2003). Study Says African Dust Affects Climate in U.S., Caribbean. Retrieved on 2007-06-10. ^ U. S. Geological Survey (2006). Coral Mortality and African Dust. Retrieved on 2007-06-10. View page ratings Rate this page What's this? Trustworthy Objective Complete Well-written I am highly knowledgeable about this topic (optional) Submit ratings Categories: Climate pattern | Atmospheric dynamics | Wind

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Images:

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The Philippines Before Magellan

By: Charity Beyer-Bagatsing From the notes of Dr. H. Otley Beyer Word count: 1,471 including author‘s biography. Four hundred years ago, Ferdinand Magellan anchored his little exploring fleet in Philippine waters in the evening on March 16, 1521. Herein, to most people Philippine history begins with Antonio Pigafetta‘s splendid diary of Magellan‘s voyage. Spanish colonization both in the Americas and the Philippines has been characterized by a fanatic zeal for the Christian faith and corresponding hatred for all other forms of belief led them to regard the native writings and art as works of the devil—to be destroyed wherever found. In Mexico and Peru many old records were preserved in more or less modified form in the writings of the early Christians and Spanish half-castes, but in the Philippines the destruction was ruthlessly thorough and only a few fragments have survived. One Spanish priest in southern Luzon boasted of having destroyed more than three hundred scrolls written in the native character. How valuable those old records might have been to us. The results is that we have no trustworthy native material, and our past can only be pieced together from data painstakingly gathered from neighboring countries, to be patiently pieced together with local tradition and archeological discoveries. It is of no wonder that most historians have been

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content to pass over the Pre-European period and begin the body of their work with Magellan‘s voyage. When Magellan arrived in the Philippines, he did not came across a land occupied by ignorant wild savages but discovered one of the epicenters of the international trade industry which extended from the Atlantic to the Pacific. William Henry Scott in his book the Pre-Hispanic Source Materials intenerates “When the pre- Hispanic epoch was brought to a close by Ferdinand Magellan’s arrival in 1521, Luzon traders were sailing to Timor, Malacca and Canton, had a colony in Minjam on the Malay Peninsula, a Portuguese appointed magistrate in Malacca and marriage relations with the Sultan of Brunei, and the Manila bourgeoisie were learning to speak Malay.” The pre-Hispanic Filipinos were very literate and used syllabaries of Indian origin. Father Chirino (1604, 39):“These islanders are so given to reading and writing that there is hardly a man and much less a woman, who does not read and write in the letters of the island of Manila. The first actual mention of the Philippines is recorded in the official Sung history when certain traders from Ma-i (the present island of Mindoro) brought valuable merchandise to Canton for sale in 982 A.D. As early as the tenth century Philippine vessels were crossing the oceans to China and Champa for exportable trade goods. From the 12th to the 15th centuries, accounts of Bruni, Sulu, Ma-i and others of the Philippine islands became more numerous. The following abbreviated account comes from Chau Ju Kua written about 1225. The salient points of this report are as follows: “The island of Ma-i lies north of Borneo. When trading ships enter the anchorage, they stop in front of the officials place, for that is the place for bartering of the country. There is a great market there. After a ship has been boarded, the natives mix freely with the ship’s folk. The chiefs are in the habit of using white umbrellas, for which reason the traders offer them as gifts. The custom for trade is for the local traders to assemble in crowds and carry the goods away with them in baskets; and, even if one cannot at first know them, and can but slowly distinguish the men who remove the goods, yet there will be no loss. The local traders then carry these goods on to other islands for barter, and as a rule takes them about eight – nine months before they return, when they repay the merchants on shipboard with what they have obtained for the goods. The products of the country consist of yellow wax (beeswax), cotton, pearls, tortoise-shell, medicinal betel nuts, fiber cloth (sinamay). The goods used in trading are porcelain, trade-gold, iron cauldrons, lead, colored glass beads, iron needles, pieces of iron, colored cotton stuffs, red taffetas, ivory, silks of different colors, copper pots, sycee shoes, and the like.” The San-hsu (or three islands) belong to Ma-i; their names are Kia-ma-yen (Kalamian or Culion), Pa-lau-yu (probably Penon de Coron) and Pa-ki-nung (probably Busuanga), and each has its own tribes scattered over the islands. When the ships arrive there, the natives come out to trade with them. In the remotest valleys, there lives another tribe called Hai-tan (Aetas). They are smaller in nature, they have curly hair and they nest in tree tops. Whenever foreign traders arrive at the settlements, they announce their presence to the natives by beating drums. Upon this, the

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natives race for the ships in small boats, carrying cotton, yellow wax, native cloth and coconut husk mats which they offer for barter. If the prices cannot be agreed upon, one or two of the natives remain on board the ship as hostages while the chief of the traders must go on shore to meet the native ruler in order to come to an understanding. These being reached the natives are

• ffered presents of silk umbrellas, porcelain, and rattan baskets. After the traders return to their

ships, the hostages are released. A ship will not remain at anchor longer than three days or four days which it proceeds to another place.” Several late Sung and Yuan period Chinese documents make frequent reference to the Philippine trade centers. Ports in Sulu are described to having a well developed organized network for exportable forest and maritime products (sandalwood, laka-wood, ebony, animal hides and pearls). The Sulu pearls are known to be whiter and rounder than those from other places and command a high price. In addition to the above, we find the following accounts of trade in Sulu from the brush of a Chinese author in 1349: ―When a ship arrives there, the natives take all the goods and carry them for sale in the interior, while they also sell to the neighboring countries and when they come back, the native articles are delivered to the merchants as payment. The natives are always afraid that our ships will not return, and whenever a ship leaves they detain some men as hostages to make sure the ship will call again. ― Medieval Filipinos merchants and mercenaries were deemed as honest business entrepreneurs throughout Southeast Asia as stated by Wang-Ta-yuan in his Tao I Chih Lueh written in 1349 after 20 years of travels in the pursuit of overseas profits ―The shipboard merchants advance them credit for never have they defaulted since the beginning.” During the early 14th century, the ties between Chinese- Philippines trade relations grew

• stronger. In 1406, in the reign of Chinese Emperor Ch‘eng-tsu a Filipino chieftain visited the

Imperial Court at Nanking and was presented gifts of horses, silver and other products. This was followed by other trips. Another visit occurred during Emperor Hung-wa‘s reign in 1572 when the Filipino tribute embassy was welcomed at his court. Early Spanish documents provide a detailed documentation of the Southeast Asian trade

• industry. Asides from the Chinese junks; large trade ships from Borneo, Thailand and Japan

were regularly arriving at some of the larger Philippine coastal ports: Manila, Mindoro, Pangasinan, Cebu, Jolo (Sulu), and Cotabato. Filipino traders had significant knowledge and presence at other Southeast Asian trade ports such as Melaka, Borneo, Ternate (Moluccas) and Myanmar. Chiefs in pre-Hispanic Philippines also financed and equipped outgoing trade voyages for foreign trade. Furthermore they made attempts to attract foreign trade partners by investing in port facilities, good harborage, military protection for merchants, housing, provision and entertainment for foreign traders, and developed efficient systems for mobilizing the trade

• goods. Sixteenth century descriptions of Manila records a well fortified heavily populated trade

port with special quarters for Chinese and Japanese merchants and a well organized port area managed by a grand chieftain and a number of lesser chiefs. The blissful period of pre-Hispanic Philippines clearly indicates a sophisticated cultured people who focused on peaceful commercial trade, maritime exploration while maintaining friendly and viable economic relations with their neighbors. A far cry from the depictions made by European

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historians who portrayed a people whose existence began as a colony of Spain and for many years was deemed as the only source for the study of Philippine history. The purpose of this article is to remind this present generation about the grand history of their ninunos (forefathers) and rekindle our diwa (spirit of greatness) that has always been the heritage of the Filipino people. Charity Beyer-Bagatsing is the great-granddaughter of Dr. H. Otley Beyer. She is the guardian

• f the Beyer Library Collection and Publisher of Northwest Woman Magazine. To contact the

author visit her website: www.northwestwoman.com or e-mail: editor@northwestwoman.com Optional Photographs: From the H.O. Beyer Collection

• 1. Bamboo with Baybayin writings on the outside and a scroll inside.

Luxury Trade Goods from the Pre-Hispanic Period.

• 2. Colored Glass Beads
• 3. Green Ming Jarlet
• 4. Ming Hole Bottom Dish

Optional Sidebar: Author’s Research Sources Barangay: 16th Century Philippine Culture & Society William Henry Scott Pre-Hispanic Source Materials for the Study of Philippine History (Revised Edition) William Henry Scott Raiding, Trading and Feasting: The Political Economy of Philippine Chiefdoms Laura lee Junker 1421 The Year China Discovered America Gavin Menzies Magellan‘s Voyage Around the World & the Discovery of the Philippines Antonio Pigafetta‘s Milan Edition The Philippines Before Magellan

• Dr. H. O. Beyer

The Philippine Saga

• Dr. H.O.Beyer & Jaime DeVeyra