A RESEARCH PAPER

THE SITE OF THE FIRST MASS IN THE PHILIPPINES

Submitted to:

Sir. Jesus Cryrus A. Maravilla

Submitted by:

Anja Magayon

Rebecca Talar

Criselda Morabe

Harold Garcia

Harvey Bonquin

John Louie Elumacass

Mario Tan

MichaelAngelo Lontoc

Nicole Romasanta

Nilo Baculo

Ralph Lao

Rechel De Lumen

(5:00-6:30 pm T/TH)
I. The Butuan Tradition
The Butuan claim rests upon a tradition that was almost unanimous and unbroken for three
centuries, namely the 17th, the 18th and the 19th. On the strength of that tradition and
embodying it, a monument was erected in 1872 near the mouth of the Agusan River at a spot
that was then within the municipal boundaries of Butuan, but which today belongs to the
separate municipality of Magallanes, named after Ferdinand Magellan. The monument was a
brick pillar on which was a marble slab that contained an inscription which might be translated
as follows:
To the Immortal Magellan: the People of Butuan with their Parish Priest and the
Spaniards resident therein, to commemorate his arrival and the celebration ofthe First
Mass on this site on the 8th ofApril 1521. Erected in 1872, under the District Governor
Jose Ma. Carvallo.
The monument was erected apparently at the instigation of the parish priest of Butuan, who
at the time was a Spanish friar of the Order of Augustinian Recollects. The date given for the
first Mass (8 April 1521) may be an obvious error, or it may be a clumsy and anachronistic
attempt to translate the original date in terms of the Gregorian calendar. In any case, that
monument is a testimonial to the tradition that remained vigorous until the end of the 19th
century, namely, that Magellan and his expedition landed at Butuan and celebrated there the
first Mass ever offered on Philippine soil.
The Butuan tradition was already in possession by the middle of the 17th century: so much so
that it was accepted without question by two Jesuit historians who otherwise were quite careful
of their facts.
One of these historians was Father Francisco Colin S.J. (15921660) whose Labor evangelica was
first published in Madrid in 1663, three years after his death. The work was reissued 240 years
later in a magnificent three-volume edition annotated by Father Pablo Pastells S.J. (Madrid,
1903). Here is Colin's account of Magellan's arrival and of the first Mass:
At the end of three months and twelve days during which they traversed 4,000 leagues,
having crossed the Equator a second time, they climbed up to 15 degrees’ North
latitude where they came upon two islands which they named Las Velas [the Sails]. At
12 degrees, North they came upon the Ladrones Islands. A few days later theysaw the
island of Ibabao [Samar] in this Archipelago. But the first island they touched at was
Humunu, a small uninhabited island near Guiuan Point .... To that and other islets they
gave the name of Buenas Senas [Good Omens] but to the entire Archipelago they gave
the name San Lazaro, being the Saturday of Saint Lazarus' Sunday in Lent of the year
1521.
On Easter Day, in the territory of Butuan, the first Mass ever offered in these parts
was celebrated and a cross planted. Magellan then took formal possession of the Islands
in the name of the Emperor and of the Crown of Castille.
The man who gave the most signal service to our men was the chiefofDimasaua [sic] , relative
ofthe chief of Butuan and ofthat of Zebu, whither he led the armada, which entered that harbor
at noon on the 7th of April, the Octave of Easter Colin had obviously read some authentic
accounts of Magellan's voyage, for his narration is accurate up to the landing in Homonhon. (He
spells it Humunu, as does Pigafetta.) After that, Colin's account becomes vague. He abruptly
brings Magellan to Butuan without explaining how he got there. Then he brings him to Limasawa
(which he misspells Dimasaua), and from there the account becomes again accurate and
detailed. The important thing in Colin's account as far as our present purpose is concerned, is the
fact that he represents the first Mass, as well as the solemn planting of the cross and the formal
taking possession of the Islands in the name of the Crown of Castile, as having taken place at
Butuan on Easter Sunday of 1521.

The other Jesuit writer of the mid-17th century was Father Francisco Combés S.J.
(1620-1665) who, like Colin, had lived and worked as a missionary in the Philippines,
and whose Historia de Mindanao y Jolo was printed in Madrid in 1667, two years after
the author's death and five years after Colin's work was published. Combés History
ofMindanao was also reissued 230 years afterwards in a handsome edition edited by
Wenceslao Retana assisted by Father Pastells. In his account of Magellan's voyage,
Combés gives a somewhat different version of the route taken by the Discoverer. Here
is his account
The first time that the royal standards ofthe Faith were seen to fly in this island (of
Mindanao] was when the Archipelago was first discovered by the Admiral Alonso (sic]
de Magallanes. He followed a new and difficult route [across the Pacific], entering by
the Strait of Siargao, formed by that island and that of Leyte, and landing at the island
ofLimasaua which is at the entrance ofthat Strait. Amazed by the novelty and
strangeness of the [Spanish] nation and the ships, the barbarians of that island
welcomed them and gave them good refreshments.

While at Limasaua, enjoying rest and good treatment, they heard of the River of Butuan,
whose chieftain was more powerful. His reputation attracted our men thither to see for
themselves or be disillusioned, their curiosity sharpened by the fact that the place was
nearby. The barbarian [chief] lived up to our men's expectations, providing them with the
food they needed .... Magellan contented himself with having them do reverence to the cross
which is erected upon a hillock as a sign to future generations of their alliance .... The
solemnity with which the cross was erected and the deep piety shown by the Spaniards, and
by the natives following the example of the Spaniards, engendered great respect for the
cross.
Not finding in Butuan the facilities required by the ships, they returned to Limasaua to seek
further advice in planning their future route. The Prince ofLimasaua told them ofthe three
most powerful nations among the Pintados [Visayans], namely those of Caraga, Samar, and
Zebu. The nearness of Zebu, the facilities of its port, and the more developed social structure
(being more monarchial) aroused everyone's desire to go thither. Thus, guided by the chief of
Limasaua, passing between Bool and Leyte and close to the Camotes Islands, they entered the
harbor of Cebu by the Mandawe entrance on the 7th of April 1521, having departed from
Limasaua on the first day of that month.
For the present purpose, the main point in that account is that Magellan landed at Butuan and
there planted the cross in a solemn ceremony. Combés does not mention the first Mass. What
he mentions are the other two events which, from Pigafetta's account, had occurred on the same
day as the first Mass, namely the planting of the cross and the formal claiming of the Archipelago
on behalf of the Castilian Crown. These events, says Combés, took place at Butuan.
There are features of Combés's narrative which subsequent writers would take over, and in some
cases distort. Combé's pictures Magellan as entering Philippine waters through the Strait of
Siargao (or of Surigao).
Colin and Combés Compared. — It is to be noted that both Colin and Combés picture Magellan
as visiting both Butuan and Limasawa. In Colin's account, Magellan went first to Butuan, then to
Limasawa and from thence to Cebu. Combés, on the other hand, mentions two visits to
Limasawa: in his version, Magellan visits Limasawa first; from there he goes to Butuan; then he
returns to Limasawa and thence to Cebu.
Both Colin and Combés agree that it was from Limasawa and with the help of Limasawa's
chieftain that the Magellan expedition went to Cebu. Both Colin and Combés also agree that
Magellan arrived in Cebu on the 7th of April 1521: on the Octave of Easter, or one week after the
first Mass which — in this tradition — was supposed to have been celebrated at Butuan.
Both Colin and Combés were to exercise a strong influence over subsequent writers. An example
of the quick and wide diffusion of Colin's influence is the following. In 1698 (thirty-five years after
Colin's work had appeared in Madrid) there issued from the press in Naples a multi-volume work
(subsequently reprinted several times in several places) entitles Giro del Mondo (A Voyage
Around the World). It was written by the Calabrian, Giovanni Francesco Gemelli Careri, who had
visited many places, including the Philippines. Of the first Mass on Philippine soil he says:
On Whit Sunday the first Mass was said on the land of Butuan, a cross erected and possession
taken in the name ofthe most invincible Charles 5th. The lord of Oimasaua (sic), kinsman of
the king of Butuan and to him ofCebu, was assisting to Magellan, for he brought the ships into
that port on the 7th ofApril. Before Mass was said on Whit Sunday, the lord and the king of
Cebu were baptized, and by their means, many men of note and others to the number of 500,
and after dinner the queen with 300 more Careri has obviously confused two distinct events:
one event was the first Mass (which he places at Butuan); the other event was the baptism of
the rajah of Cebu. Careri is also confused regarding dates. Neither event took place on
"Whitsunday"; the first Mass occurred on Easter Sunday, the baptism in Cebu took place two
weeks later. But the important point at the moment is the fact that Careri may have read (or
 misread) Colin: note his misspelling ofthe word for Limasawa. Alternatively, Careri and Colin
were using the same source.
As for Combés, he too is constantly being quoted by subsequent writers who either cite him by
name or merely take over his material without attribution. One of those who cite him by name
is the 18th century Augustinian scholar, fray Joaquin Martinez de Zuniga ( 17601818) who wrote
a history of the Philippines which was promptly translated into English, and whose other work,
the Estadismo, we shall quote below. One of Combés' statements which was repeated oftenest
by subsequent writers was his remark that the Strait of Siargao lies "between" that island and
Leyte, and that the island of Limasawa is "at the mouth " or "entrance" of that Strait. A glance at
the map will show that that statement was not altogether accurate.

The 18th Century

One passage in Colin which seems to have been misunderstood, and which may have misled
some later writers, occurs in an early section of his book in which he describes the island of
Mindanao:

After that ofManila, the island of Mindanao is the largest in size and the best in qualities
among the islands of this Philippine Archipelago. Upon these two largest islands, the
other islands depend for protection and security. Mindanao takes its name from the
principal Province or Kingdom in it, and this is so called from its many lakes: for danao
in the language most widely used in these islands means "lake"; whence,
"Maguindanao", the place and the dwellers of lakes

The first Province that faces the sea from across New Spain [Mexico] is that of Caraga, which
begins at the Cape of San Agustin and stretches some fifty leagues to the point ofSurigao in
the northeast; and from there the coastline stretches westward some fifteen leagues to the
river of Butuan, noteworthy in the history of these Islands, not so much for its gold and other
good qualities as for the fact that it was one of the first places where the Discoverer, the
Illustrious Hemando de Magallanes, landed and was accorded good treatment
Colin does not say that Magellan first sighted the Cape of San Agustin and then sailed northwards
along the Pacific coast of Mindanao, rounded Surigao point, and then sailed westward to Butuan.
Indeed in another place (as we have seen) he said explicitly that Magellan entered Philippine
waters farther north, namely, near Samar, landing first at Homonhon. But careless readers,
seeing Colin's description of eastern Mindanao, coupled with Combés's statement that Magellan
had "entered" Philippine waters through Siargao Strait, jumped to the conclusion that Magellan
must have come by the southern route as later explorers did. This mistake became quite
widespread in the 18th and 19th centuries.

One of the major historians who made this error (and who in turn influenced later
writers) was the Augustinian; fray Juan de la Concepcion (1724-1787) whose 14-volume
History of the Philippines was published in Manila shortly after his death. Here is what
 fray Juan says about Magellan's coming and about the first Mass in the Islands The
General left the islands which he called las Velas latinas or the Archipelago of San Lazaro
— a name which they still retain, although they have also added the name ofMarianas
Islands. It is said that this was the Celebes of antiquity, although I do not think this
opinion is solidly founded. They sailed 300 leagues westward, discovered many islands
with abundant supplies. Magellan had with him a native Indian who understood their
language, which was a great help. They first saw Cape San Agustin at the southern tip
ofthe large island of Mindanao. They sailed along the coast of the province of Caraga,
entered the strait of Siargao which is formed by the Banajao Point and the island of
Leyte, and they landed at the island of Limasawa which is at the entrance ofthe strait
.... With the good reception given them by the natives of Limasawa, they rested and
recovered from past sufferings. There, Magellan heard ofthe River of Butuan, whose
datu or chieftain was more powerful. He decided to go to the mouth of that river, being
led thither by the hopes aroused by its fame. The chieftain [of Butuanl lived up to those
hopes. He sent a boat with ten men to inquire what kind ofships, of men, etc. Magellan
replied through the interpreter that they were vassals of the great and powerful King
ofCastile; that all they sought was peace and free trade; that they desired to buy food
suppjies at a fair price. The chieftain replied that he did not have enough to supply so
large an expedition, but that he would bring what he could. They brought on board 4
pigs, 3 goats, and a supply of rice. It was Easter Sunday. The General ordered the
construction on land of a shelter made ofbranches. Then he ordered all his men to
disembark to hear Mass, which was celebrated with great devotion by all, thanking God
for His blessings. And this was the first Mass ever offered in these Islands. He then
ordered a large cross to be set up on a hill.

Certain phrases in the foregoing account are reminiscent of Combés and Colin; yet fray Juan has
misread his sources. He has mixed up several things. First, he seems to think that the islands
called "Las Velas" and the Marianas Islands and the Archipelago of San Lazaro were all one and
the same thing. Second, he has misconstrued Magellan's route, depicting him as sighting the
southeastern tip of Mindanao and sailing northwards along the Pacific coast of this island, and
then entering by the Siargao Strait into Limasawa "which is at the entrance of that strait."
In the late 18th and in the 19th century, we find writers (including some who were otherwise
careful in their scholarship) who repeat fray Juan de la Concepdon's error that the "Archipelago
of San Lazaro" was another name for the Marianas Islands. But even more often

repeated was fray Juan's reconstruction of Magellan's route. For instance, we find the
following passage in Robert MacMicking's Recollections (first published in London in 1851);
"Coasting along the shores of Caraga, the ships anchored off Limasawa where Magallanes was
well received by the natives
The 19th Century
Towards the end of the 18th century and at the beginning of the 19th, one of the important
writers who accepted the Butuan tradition was the Augustinian, fray Joaquin Martinez de Zuniga
(1760-1818), whose Historia de Filipinas was published in Sampaloc in 1803. His other work, a
description of his travels around the Islands, remained in manuscript for nearly a century, until
Retana brought it out in a twovolume edition in 1893. In this latter work, fray Joaquin has this to
say:

On Easter Sunday of the year 1521 Magellan was in Butuan. He ordered the sacrifice
of the Mass to be celebrated ashore, and he planted a cross on a hillock near the
beach. The natives were present at these ceremonies, and they also witnessed the
taking of possession of the land in the name of the Crown of Castile. These rites over,
Magellan proceeded to Cebu where they killed him.

By the 19th century, the Butuan tradition was taken for granted, and we find it mentioned in
writer after writer, each copying from the previous, and being in turn copied by those who came
after. Among the many who could be cited as mentioning the first Mass in Butuan is the
Englishman, John Foreman:
On the 16th of March 1521 the Ladrones Islands were reached .... After a bloody combat
... the fleet continued its course westward. Coasting along the North of the Island
ofMindanao they arrived at the mouth of the Butuan River, where they were supplied
with.

Unfortunately, in copying what previous authors had written, some subsequent writers
copied not only the essence of the Butuan tradition but also a good deal of the erroneous
details that were peripheral to that tradition. The accumulated errors of three centuries may
be found illustrated in the work of a Dominican friar, whose two-volume treatise on the friars
was published at Santo Tomas in Manila in 1901. Here is his account of the coming of Magellan
and the first Mass After many days of good sailing, he caught sight of the Marianas Islands
which he named the Archipelago of San Lazaro, having discovered them on the Saturday of
Passion Sunday (7 March 1521 ). A little later he came to Philippine territory where the
Spaniards were well received by the natives at Punta Guiguan to the east of Samar; and
passing later through the Strait of Surigao, they dropped anchor at Limasagua, whose chieftain
came aboard and was entertained by Magellan. The latter, on Easter Sunday, disembarked at
Butuan, a town in the island of Mindanao, where the first Mass in the Philippines was
celebrated. He returned to Limasagua; and learning of the importance of Cebu, he proceeded
thither; following the coast between Samar and Leyte and passing by the Camotes, he arrived
in Cebu on 7 April 1521.
The misstatements in that short passage are numerous, not the least of which is the almost
incredible notion that Magellan had sailed from "Limasagua" (sic) to Cebu by coasting
between Samar and Leyte! The good friar had not only not checked on original sources: he
had not even bothered to look at a map!Yet fray Valentin was merely following (down to the
misspelling of Limasagua and Guiguan) the account in two works of the historian, Jose
Montero y Vidal, whose El Archipielago filipino had appeared in Madrid in 1886, followed a
year later by his three-volume Historia general de Filipinas. In both works, the well-known
historian had.

Magellan sailing to Cebu from "Limasagua ", following the incredible route between Leyte and
Samar. By that route, Magellan should have ended up in the Bicol Peninsula, not in Cebu.b
But, shorn of these peripheral errors, the essence of the Butuan tradition was accepted by
even otherwise careful scholars at the end of the 19th and the early decades of the 20th
century. Retana certainly accepted the Butuan tradition. In his edition of Martinez de Zuniga's
Estadismo in 1893, he made no adverse comment on the mention of the first Mass in Butuan.

When Retana published that in 1893, the Butuan tradition was already very well entrenched. Two
decades earlier, in 1872, the provincial and municipal authorities, together with the Spanish
Augustinian Recollect missionaries of Butuan, had erected the monument of which mention was
made earlier in his article. That monument was not only a witness of the Butuan tradition, but it
also was accepted in turn as confirmatory evidence for that tradition's veracity. The Jesuit
scientists of the Manila Observatory, in compiling their two-volume work, El archipielago filipino
(published in Washington in 1900) mentioned that monument and did not question the tradition
which it represented.
As late as the 1920's the textbook in Philippine History in use at the Ateneo de Manila accepted
the Butuan tradition, although it took care to correct previous authors' mistakes concerning the
Marianas Islands and other mistakes:
Magellan sailed on and reached the Southern Ocean on November 27 with only three
vessels. He sailed a northerly and later a north-westerly course .... Finally, they made
port in the islands ofthe "Lateen Sails" or "the Ladrones", for the natives robbed them
of whatever they could find in the ships, which they had been allowed to board. In the
17th century these islands took the name of "Marianas." On March 16th, they descried
the island of Samar and to the southeast that of Homonhon, Malhon or Jomonhol, all
which names it bears at present. Here they stopped and were well received by the
inhabitants who offered them abundant provisions. In Limasawa, the chief, named
Bancao, made himselfthe friend of the voyagers and received from the admiral the
title ofprince. From Limasagua the voyagers sailed to the coast of Butuan. A cross was
planted on a little promontory near the seashore, on the left side as one enters the
 Agusan river. There the first Mass said on Philippine soil was celebrated. A simple
monument stands as a record of this important event.

Il. The Shift in Opinion

Some recent defenders of the Butuan tradition have blamed the shift of
opinion on two Americans, namely Emma Blair and James Alexander Robertson,
whose 55-volume collection of documents on the Philippine Islands was published in
Cleveland from 1903 to 1909. But the "blame" (if blame it is) does not rest alone
upon Blair and Robertson. They indeed contributed enormously to the shift in
opinion but the man initially responsible for the shift seems to have been a Spanish
Jesuit scholar. Father Pablo Pastells S.J. A word about the career of this remarkable
man may not be out of place before we proceed.
Pablo Pastells was born in 1846 in Figueras, in the province of Gerona, Spain.
At 15 he entered the Condliar Seminary in Barcelona which at the time was directed
by the Jesuits, and eventually, at the age of 20, he entered the Jesuit novitiate in
Spain and later did further studies in France. He was ordained a priest in 1871, and
five years later came to the Philippines (1875), where, after a briefstay in Manila, he
was assigned as a missionary to Mindanao. He served on the Pacific coast (Bislig,
Caraga, Cateel) and took part in an expedition in 1884 that explored the Agusan River
to its sources. In 1887 he was transferred to the northern coast of Mindanao, with
headquarters at Jasaan in Misamis Oriental. The following year he was recalled to
Manila and was appointed Superior of the entire Jesuit Mission in the Philippines, a
post which he occupied for six years (1888-1893). It was after he left the Philippines
and returned to Barcelona that he did his most notable work as a scholar. He
collected an enormous number of documents from the Archivo de Indias in Seville
and from other sources. He also had at his disposal the magnificent Philippine library
of the Tabacalera (Compafiia General de Tabacos de Filipinas) in Barcelona. Pastells'
published works included (a) his three-volume edition of Colin (Madrid 1903); (b) his
three-volume History of the Jesuit Missions in the Philippines in the 19th Century
(Barcelona 1916-17); and (c) his History of the Jesuits in Paraguay (Madrid 1912). He
had earlier collaborated with Retana in the latter's edition of Combes (Madrid 1897).

The shift in opinion from Butuan to Limasawa was due to a rediscovery and a more attentive
study of two primary sources on the subject: namely, Pigafetta 's account and Albo's log. the
effect of that study was may be seen in the change in Pastell's thinking. Pastells had collaborated
with Retana in a new edition of Combés. Retana (as we have seen) had accepted the Butuan
tradition in his edition of Martinez de Zuniga in 1893. In their joint edition of Combés of 1897,
neither Retana nor Pastells showed any sign of change of opinion. They accepted the Butuan
tradition as if they were not aware of any contrary opinion.
Meanwhile, however, Pastells was preparing his own edition of Francisco Colin's Labor
evangélica, which was eventually published in three volumes in Madrid in 1903. While preparing
that edition, Pastells
had occasion to restudy both Pigafetta and Albo, and it was then that he realized that the three-
century Butuan tradition had been erroneous. Colin, of course (as we have seen earlier) had
contributed materially to the strengthening of that tradition by stating that the first Mass had
been celebrated at Butuan.

Magellan did not go to Butuan. Rather, from the island of Limasawa he proceeded
directly to Cebu. In that island, he had dealings with Rajah Siagu, chieftain of Butuan;
and this would explain the author's [i.e. Colin's] error. See the "Voyage" of Pigafetta and
the diary of Albo, both ofwhom were eyewitnesses.

Ill. The Evidence for Limasawa

The evidence may be outlined as follows:
1. The evidence of Albo's Log-Book
2. The evidence of Pigafetta
(a) Pigafetta 's testimony regarding the route;
(b) The evidence of Pigafetta's map;
(c) The two native kings;
(d) The seven days at "Mazaua";
(e) An argument from omission.
3. Summary of the evidence of Albo and Pigafetta.
4. Confirmatory evidence from the Legazpi expedition.

1. The Evidence ofAlbo's Log-Book

Francisco Albo joined the Magellan expedition as a pilot ("contramaestre") in Magellan's
flagship "Trinidad". He was one of the eighteen survivors who returned with Sebastian
Elcano on the "Victoria" after having circumnavigated the world. Albo began keeping his
own diary — merely only a log-book — on the voyage out, while they were sailing
southward in the Atlantic along the coast of South America, off Brazil. His account of their
entry into Philippine waters (or, as it was then called, the archipelago of San Lazaro) . . .
may be reduced to the following points:
(a) On the 16th of March (1521) as they sailed in a westerly course from the Ladrones,
they saw land towards the northwest; but owing to many shallow places they did not
approach it. They found later that its name was Yunagan.
 (b) They went instead that same day southwards to another small island named
Suluan, and there they anchored. There they saw some canoes but these fled at the
Spaniards's approach. This island was at 9 and two-thirds degrees North latitude.
(c) Departing from those two islands, they sailed westward to an uninhabited island
of "Gada" where they took in a supply of wood and water. The sea around that island
was free from shallows. (Albo does not give the latitude of this island, but from
Pigafetta's testimony, this seems to be the "Acquada" or Homonhon, at 10 degrees
North latitude.)
(d) From that island they sailed westwards towards a large island named Seilani which
was inhabited and was known to have gold. (Seilani — or, as Pigafetta calls it, "Ceylon"
— was the island of Leyte. See below, on Pigafetta's map.)
(e) Sailing southwards along the coast of that large island of Seilani, they turned
southwest to a small island called "Mazava". That island is also at a latitude of 9 and
two-thirds degrees North.
(f) The people of that island of Mazava were very good. There the Spaniards planted
a cross upon a mountain-top, and from there they were shown three islands to the
west and southwest, where they were told there was much gold. "They showed us
how the gold was gathered, which came in small pieces like peas and lentils."

1. From Mazava they sailed northwards again towards Seilani. They followed the coast of
Seilani in a northwesterly direction, ascending to 10 degrees of latitude where they saw three
small islands.
2. From there they sailed westwards some ten leagues, and there they saw three islets,
where they dropped anchor for the night. In the morning, they sailed southwest some 12
leagues, down to a latitude of 10 and one-diird degree. There they entered a channel between
two islands, one of which was called "Matan" and the other "Subu "
3. They sailed down that channel and then turned westward and anchored at the town (la
villa) of Subu where they stayed many days and obtained provisions and entered a peace-pact
with the local king.
4. The town of Subu was on an east-west direction with the islands of Suluan and Mazava.
But between Mazava and Subu, there were so many shallows that the boats could not go
westward directly but had to go (as they did) in a round-about way.
Such is Albo 's testimony. The island that he calls Gada seems to be the acquada of Pigafetta,
namely the island of Homonhon where they took in supplies of water and wood. The large island
of Seilani which they coasted is the island of Leyte. Coasting southwards along the eastern coast
of that island, then turning southwest they came upon a small island named, Mazava, which lies
at a latitude of 9 and twothirds degrees North. That fits the location of the small island of
Limasawa, south of Leyte. The island's southern tip is at 90 54' N. It is to be noted that Albo does
not mention the first Mass, but only the planting of the cross upon a mountain-top from which
could be seen three islands to the west and southwest. This also fits the southern end of
Limasawa. It does not fit the coast of Butuan from which no islands could be seen to the south
or the southwest, but only towards the north.
2. The Evidence from Pigafetta
The most complete account of the Magellan expedition is that by Antonio Pigafetta entitled
Primo viaggio intomo al mondo (First Voyage Around the World). Like Albo, he was a member of
the expedition and was therefore an eyewitness of the principal events which he describes,
including the first Mass in what is now known as the Philippine Archipelago, but which Magellan
called the Islands of Saint Lazarus. Of Pigafetta's work there are two excellent English
translations, one by Robertson (from the Italian) and another by Skelton (from the French. The
pertinent section in Pigafetta's account is that part in which he narrates the events from the 16th
of March 1521 when they first sighted the islands of the Philippine Group, up to the 7th of April
when the expedition landed at Cebu. That was a period of approximately three weeks. (We have
reproduced this entire section in Appendix B, below, from Robertson's translation. It corresponds
to chapters 16 to 20 in the Skelton translation. In examining the evidence from Pigafetta, we shall
consider five points: (a) Pigafetta's testimony as regards the route taken by the expedition from
the Pacific Ocean to Cebu; (b) The evidence of Pigafetta's map; (c) The presence of two native
kings; (d) The events of the seven days at the island of "Mazaua "; (e) An argument from
Pigafetta's Testimony Regarding the Route. The route taken by the Magellan expedition may be
reconstructed if we follow Pigafetta's account day by day. Here is a summary of his account.

1. Saturday, 16 March 1521. — Magellan's expedition sighted a "high land" named "Zamal"
which was some 300 leagues westward of the Ladrones (now the Marianas) Islands.
2. Sunday, March 17. "The following day" after sighting Zamal Island, they landed on
"another island which was uninhabited" and which lay "to the right" of the above-mentioned
island of"Zamal." (To the "right" here would mean on their starboard going south or southwest.)
There they set up two tents for the sick members of the crew and had a sow killed for them. The
name of this island was "Humunu" (Homonhon). This island was located at 10 degrees North
latitude.
3. On that same day (Sunday, 17 March) Magellan named the entire archipelago the "Islands
of Saint Lazarus", the reason being that it was the Sunday in the Lenten season when the Gospel
assigned for the Mass and the liturgical Office was the eleventh chapter of St. John, which tells
of the raising of Lazarus from the dead.
4. Friday, 22 March. — At noon the natives returned. This time they were in two boats, and
they brought food supplies.
5. Magellan's expedition stayed eight days at Homonhon: from Sunday, 17 March, to the
Monday of the following week, 25 March.
6. Monday, 25 March. — In the afternoon, the expedition weighed anchor and left the island
of Homonhon. In the ecclesiastical calendar, this day (25 March) was the feast-day of the
Incarnation, also called the feast of the Annunciation and therefore "Our Lady's Day." On this
day, as they were about to weigh anchor, an accident happened to Pigafetta: he fell into the
water but was rescued. He attributed his narrow escape from death as a grace obtained through
the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary on her feast-day.
7. The route taken by the expedition after leaving Homonhon was "toward the west
southwest, between four islands: namely, Cenalo, Hiunanghan, Ibusson and Albarien." Very
probably "Cenalo" is a misspelling in the Italian manuscript for what Pigafetta in his map calls
"Ceilon" and Albo calls "Seilani": namely the island of Leyte. "Hiunanghan" (a misspelling of
Hinunangan) seemed to Pigafetta to be a separate island, but it is actually on the mainland of
Leyte (i.e. "Ceylon"). On the other hand, Hibuson (Pigafetta's Ibusson) is an island east of Leyte's
southern tip.
Thus, it is easy to see what Pigafetta meant by sailing "toward the west southwest" past those
islands. They left Homonhon sailing westward towards Leyte, then followed the Leyte coast
southward, passing between the island of Hibuson on their portside and Hiunangan Bay on their
starboard, and then continued southward, then turning westward to "Mazaua".
8. Thursday, 28 March. — In the morning of Holy Thursday, 28 March, they anchored off an
island where the previous night they had seen a light or a bonfire. That island "lies in a latitude
of nine and twothirds towards the Arctic Pole [i.e. North] and in a longitude of one hundred and
sixty-two degrees from the line of demarcation. It is twenty-five leagues from the Acquada, and
is called Mazaua". They remained seven days on Mazaua Island. What they did during those
seven days, we shall discuss in a separate section below, entitled "Seven Days at Mazaua."
9. Thursday. 4 April. — They left Mazaua, bound for Cebu. They were guided thither by
the king of Mazaua who sailed in his own boat.
10. Their route took them past five "islands": namely: "Ceylon, Bohol, Canighan, Baibai, and
Gatighan."
Pigafetta thought that Ceylon and Baibai were separate islands. They were parts of the same
island of Leyte. "Canighan" (Canigao in our maps) is an island off the sothwestem tip of Leyte.
They sailed from Mazaua west by northwest into the Canigao Channel, with Bohol Island to port
and Leyte and Canigao Islands to starboard. Then they sailed northwards along the Leyte coast,
past Baibai to "Gatighan". The identity of Gatighan is not certain. But we are told that it was
twenty leagues from Mazaua and fifteen leagues from "Subu" (Cebu).
11. At Gatighan, they sailed westward to the three islands of the Camotes Group, namely,
Poro, Pasihan and Ponson. (Pigafetta calls them "Polo, Ticobon, and Pozon.") Here the Spanish
ships stopped to allow the king of Mazaua to catch up with them, since the Spanish ships were
much faster than the native balanghai — a thing that excited the admiration of the king of
Mazaua.
12. From the Camotes Islands they sailed [southwestward] towards "Zubu".
13. Sunday, 7 April. — At noon on Sunday, the 7th of April, they entered the harbor of "Zubu"
(Cebu). It had taken them three days to negotiate the journey from Mazaua northwards to the
Camotes Islands and then southwards to Cebu.
That is the route of the Magellan expedition as described by Pigafetta. It coincides
substantially and in most details with the route as described in Albo's log. In that route, the
southermost point reached before getting to Cebu was Mazaua, situated at nine and two-thirds
degrees North latitude.

3. The evidence of Pigafetta 's Maps

Both the Ambrosian and the Nancy codices of Pigafetta's narrative are illustrated with
maps, or more precisely, diagrams or sketches. Pigafetta was no cartographer and his maps
had probably no value as navigational charts. But they are extremely useful in helping to
identify the islands which he mentions in the narrative, and they help to establish the relative
positions (and even the relative sizes) of those islands.
One such map (Blair and Robertson, Vol. 33) shows the Irge island of Samar (in the map it is
spelt Zzamal), and the smaller islands of Suluan, Abarien, Hiunangan, and "Humunu"
(Homonhon), which is also described as "Aguada ly boni segnaly."
A second map (BR 33) is really a double map. One map shows the island of Mindanao or
Maguindanao (the map spells it Mamgdanao). It shows on the northern shore a deep
indentation which is recognizably Panguil Bay. To the west of that is "Cippit". To the extreme
east, bordering on the Pacific, are Butuan, Calagan, and Benasan (spelt in the map Butuam,
Calagam, Benasam). The other map shows the southern tip of Zamboanga, the island of
Basilan, and the Sulu archipelago.
A third map (BR 33) is the one most pertinent to our present investigation, because it shows the
island of Mazaua (the map spells it Mazzana) in relation to the "islands" of "Ceilon" and "Baibai"
(i.e.
Leyte) and to those of Bohol, Gatighan and the three islands of the Camotes Group (in the map
called Polon, Pozon and Ticobon)

The Two Kings

There is confirmatory evidence in the presence of two native "kings" or rajahs at Mazaua during
the Magellan visit. One was the "king" of Mazaua — who later guided the Magellan expedition
to Cebu. The other was a relative ("one of his brothers" as Pigafetta says), namely the king or
rajah of Butuan.
Of this latter individual, Pigafetta says that he was "the finest looking man" that he had seen in
those parts. (We shall have more to say about him later.) At the moment, the relevent fact is that
he was a visitor to Mazaua. His territory was Butuan, which was in another island:
That island ofhis was called Butuan and Calagan. When those kings wished to see one
another, they both went to hunt in that island where we were.
The "island where we were" was Mazaua, where they stayed seven days. Therefore Mazaua
could not have been Butuan.

Seven Days at Mazaua In that island of "Mazaua" — which according to both Pigafetta
and Albo was situated at a latitude of nine and two-thirds degrees North — the Magellan
expedition stayed a week. "We remained there seven days," says Pigafetta. What did they
do during those seven days?
Was it possible (as some writers have suggested) that the expedition left Mazaua, went south
to Butuan, offered Mass there, and then returned to Mazaua before proceeding to Cebu?
The answer must be sought in Pigafetta's day-by-day account of those seven days. Here is the
summary of his account:
1. Thursday, 28 March. — In the morning they anchored near an island where they had seen a
light the night before. A small boat (boloto) came with eight natives, to whom Magellan threw
some trinkets as presents. The natives paddled away, but two hours later two larger boats
(balanghai) came, in one of which the native king sat under an awning of mats. At Magellan's
invitation some of the natives went up the Spanish ship, but the native king remained seated
in his boat. An exchange of gifts was effected. In the afternoon of that day, the Spanish ships
weighed anchor and came closer to shore, anchoring near the native king's village. This
Thursday, 28 March, was Thursday in Holy Week: i.e. Holy Thursday.
2. Friday, 29 March. — "Next day. Holy Friday, " Magellan sent his slave interpreter ashore in a
small boat to ask the king if he could provide the expedition with food supplies, and to say that
they had come as friends and not as enemies. In reply the king himself came in a boat with six
or eight men, and this time went up Magellan's ship and the two men embraced. Another
exchange of gifts was made. The native king and his companions returned ashore, bringing with
them two members of Magellan's expedition as guests for the night. One of the two was
Pigafetta.
3. Saturday, 30 March. — Pigafetta and his companion had spent the previous evening
feasting and drinking with the native king and his son. Pigafetta deplored the fact that, although
it was Good Friday, they had to eat meat. The following morning (Saturday) Pigafetta and his
companion took leave of their hosts and returned to the ships.
4. Sunday, 31 March. "Early in the morning of Sunday, the last of March and Easter day,"
Magellan sent the priest ashore with some men to prepare for the Mass. Later in the morning
Magellan landed with some fifty men and Mass was celebrated, after which a cross was
venerated. Magellan and the Spaniards returned to the ship for the noon-day meal, but in the
afternoon, they returned ashore to plant the cross on the summit of the highest hill. In
attendance, both at the Mass and at the planting of the cross were the king of Mazaua and the
king of Butuan.
5. Sunday, 31 March. — On that same afternoon, while on the summit of the highest hill,
Magellan asked the two kings which ports he should go to, in order to obtain more abundant
supplies of food than were available in that island. They replied that there were three ports to
choose from: Ceylon, Zubu and Calagan. Of the three, Zubu was the port with the most trade.
Magellan then said that he wished to go to Zubu and to depart the following morning. He asked
for someone to guide him thither. The kings replied that the pilots would be available "any time.
" But later that evening the king of Mazaua changed his mind and said that he would himself
conduct Magellan to Zubu but that he would first have to bring the harvest in. He asked Magellan
to send him men to help with the harvest.
6. Monday, 1 April. — Magellan sent men ashore to help with the harvest, but no work was
done that day because the two kings were sleeping off their drinking bout of the night before.
7. Tuesday, 2 April, and Wednesday, 3 April. — Work on the harvest during the "next two
days", i.e. Tuesday and Wednesday, the 2nd and 3rd of April.
Thursday, 4 April. — They leave Mazaua, bound for Cebu.
"We remained there seven days," says Pigafetta. Every day is accounted for. The Mass on Easter
Sunday was celebrated on that island of Mazaua, and not in Butuan or elsewhere.

4. An Argument from Omission

If "Mazaua" were Butuan, or near Butuan, there is a curious omission in Pigafetta's account which
would be difficult to explain. Butuan is a riverine settlement. It is situated on the Agusan River.
The beach called Masao is in the delta of that river. If the Magellan expedition were at that delta,
and if the Mass were celebrated there, why is there no mention of the river? Later, after
Magellan's death and after the Cebu debacle, the survivors of his expedition went to Mindanao
and it seems, went to Butuan. Pigafetta describes quite vividly a trip up river to see the queen.
But that was after Magellan's death. Forty years later, members of Legaspi's expedition visited
Butuan, and the river anchorage forms a very important part of their account.
The fact that there is no mention of the river is a significant fact in Pigafetta's account of their
seven-day stay at "Mazaua." We must therefore take him literally: Mazaua was an island
surrounded by sea, not a river delta.

5. Summary of the Evidence of Albo and Pigafetta

Taking the evidence of Albo's log-book together with that from Pigafetta's account, we may take
the following points as established:
i Magellan's expedition entered Philippine waters south of the island of
Samar and dropped anchor at Homonhon where they stayed a week. Then they
sailed westward towards Leyte and then southwards parallel to the eastern coast
of that island and that of the adjoining island of Panaon. Rounding the southern
tip of the latter, they anchored off the eastern shore of a small island called
 Mazaua. There they stayed a week, during which on Easter Sunday they celebrated
Mass and planted the cross on the summit of the highest hill.
ii The island of Mazaua lies at a latitude of nine and two-thirds degrees
North. Its position (south of Leyte) and its latitude correspond to the position and
latitude of the island of Limasawa, whose southern tip lies at 9 degrees and 54
minutes North.
iii From Mazaua the expedition sailed northwestwards through the Canigao
channel between Bohol and Leyte, then norther wards parallel to the eastern
coast of this latter island, then they sailed westward to the Camotes Group and
from there southwestwards to Cebu.
iv At no point in that itinerary did the Magellan expedition go to Butuan or
any other point on the Mindanao coast. The survivors of the expedition did go to
Mindanao later, but after Magellan's death.

6. The Legazpi Expedition

There is confirmatory evidence from the documents of the Legazpi expedition, which sailed
into Philippine waters in 1565, forty-four years after Magellan. One of the places that Legazpi
and his pilots were anxious to visit was precisely Mazaua, and to this end they inquired about
"Mazaua" from Camotuan and his companions, natives of the village of Cabalian at the
southeastern end of the island of Leyte.
Guided by these natives, the Legazpi ships rounded the island of "Panae" (Panaon), which was
separated from Leyte by a narrow strait, and anchored off "Mazaua' — but they found the
inhabitants to be hostile, apparently because of Portuguese depredations that had occurred in
the four-decade interval between the Legazpi and the Magellan expeditions.
From Mazaua they went to Camiguing (which was "visible" from Mazaua), and from there they
intended to go to Butuan on the island of "Vindanao" but were driven instead by contrary winds
to Bohol. It was only later that a small contingent of Spaniards, in a small vessel, managed to go
to Butuan.
The point seems clear: As pilots of the Legazpi expedition understood it, Mazaua was an island
near Leyte and Panaon; Butuan was on the island of Mindanao. The two were entirely different
places and in no wise identical.

The Geography of "Mazaua'

The question may be asked: If "Mazaua" is the little island of Limasawa, why did Magellan go
there? Why go to an insignificant little island; why not instead to the larger islands? The answer
must be sought in geography. He was coasting southward down the eastern coast of Leyte (Albo's
"Seilani"; Pigafetta's "Ceylon") with Hibuson Island on his left. This took him down to the
southern tip of what looks like a part of Leyte but is really a separate island, the island of Panaon.
When his ships rounded the tip of Panaon, the wind was blowing westward from the Pacific. It
was late March: in March and April in this part of the Philippines, the east wind is strong. It is
what the people of Limasawa call the "Dumagsa", the east wind. Sailing with the wind, Magellan's
vessels would find themselves going west or southwest, toward the island of Limasawa. Having
seen a light on the island one night, they dedded the following day to anchor off it.
A visit to Limasawa will convince the traveller that here indeed is the place circumstantially
described by Pigafetta. The island is shaped 'like a tadpole, running north to south. The northern
portion is almost all hills, with the slopes dropping steeply to the sea, leaving only a narrow
coastal strip. But the southern portion of the island is almost all level land with a few hills. It has
a good harbor, protected on the west by Panaon Island and on the east by Limasawa. The fields
in this portion of the island are fertile. It is easy to understand why an expedition should wish to
stay a week anchored off this fertile island where the natives were friendly and there was enough
food, water and wood. Here the Mass could be said with solemnity. Here, on one of the hills, the
cross could be planted which everyone could see from the plain. And from the top of that hill
could be seen the islands to the south, to the west and to the east.
It is unfortunate that in the controversy that has arisen between the supporters of Butuan and
those of Limasawa, this question of geography has been given little notice.
If the island of Limasawa is the "Mazaua" of Pigafetta and the "Masava" of Albo, why then is it
now called Limasawa? Were Pigafetta and Albo wrong? Or were the historians and map-makers
wrong from the 17th century onward?

III. The Importance of Butuan

It must be remembered that we are dealing here solely with a question of fact: Was the first
Mass on Philippine soil — namely the one celebrated on Eastern Sunday in March 1521 — was it
celebrated at Butuan or Limasawa? To reject the Butuan claim is in no way to downgrade the
cultural or historical importance of Butuan.
Indeed, it is about time that Philippine historians and students of Philippine culture should
awaken to the importance of Butuan in prehistoric days.
Pigafetta himself is a witness to that importance. The king of Butuan, he says, "was the finest
looking man that we saw among those people." Here is how Pigafetta describes him:

His hair was exceedingly black and hung to his shoulders. He had a covering of silk on his head,
and wore two large golden earrings fastened in his ears. He wore a cotton doth all
embroidered with silk, which covered him from the waist to the knees. At his side hung a
dagger, the haft of which was somewhat long and all of gold, and its scabbard of carved wood.
He had three spots of gold on every tooth, and his teeth appeared as ifbound with gold. He
was perfumed with storax and benzoin. He was tawny and painted [i.e. tattooed] all over.

From hearsay, Pigafetta tells us of the splendors of the kingdom of Butuan of which he had heard:
Pieces of gold the size of walnuts and eggs are found by sifting the earth in the island of that
king who came to our Ships. All the dishes of that king are of gold and also some portion of
his house, as we were told by the king himself. According to their customs he was very grandly
decked out, and the finest looking man that we saw among those people.

From the accounts of Legazpi 's expedition, which visited Butuan forty-four years aster Magellan's
death, we know that Butuan was an important trading port for interisland (and possibly for
foreign) commerce.
A visit to the new Museum at Butuan (officially affiliated to the National Museum in 1978) will
dissipate any doubts as to the archaeological importance of Butuan and the Agusan River delta.
Almost all of the archaeological artifacts on display in that museum had been dug up in that delta.
Butuan's importance is underlined by the fact that it was the first place in Mindanao where a
Christian mission was established. It was served, first by the Jesuits and later by the Augustinian
Recollects.
Thus, the importance of Butuan in the history of the Philippines is in no way dependent upon its
claim to have been the site of the first Mass in the Philippines. To reject that claim is in no way
to belittle Butuan's importance. Butuan in its own right deserves an honorable place in the study
of Philippine culture and history.

IV. The Butuan Monument

The site where it was erected was near the river-edge and after a few decades that site went
under water. The monument was saved by the local population, who dragged it to higher ground
and left it lying on its side. There it remained for decades. In 1953 a petition was sent to the
National Historical Committee (which had been created in 1933 and of which Luis Montilla was
the current chairman) asking that the Butuan monument be rehabilitated and reerected. This
petition put the Committee in a quandary, since to comply with it would give the impression that
the Philippine government was giving official sanction to the tradition that the first Mass on
Philippine soil had been celebrated at Butuan. Accordingly, the petition was referred to the
Secretary of the Committee, Mr. O.D. Opiana, for study and comment. Opiana formulated his
conclusions and recommendations in a memorandum addressed to Montilla dated 30 September
1953. In that memorandum, Opiana reviewed some of the evidence in favor of the Butuan
tradition by citing some of the authors that support it. Then, having quoted an impressive array
of authorities in favor of Butuan, the Butuan contention was brushed aside, merely quoting what
seemed (in that context) an apodictic statement by Don Jayme de Veyra: "En Limasawa y no en
Butuan fue en donde se celebr6 la primera Misa en estas regiones." ("In Limasawa, not in Butuan,
the first Mass in these regions was celebrated," )
De Veyra gave no proof for his verdict, except to say that he remembered" having seen among
Pardo de Tavera's papers a manuscript on this subject, entitled "Notas para una cartografia de
Filipinas" (Notes for a Philippine cartography). On the strength of this, Opiana recommended to
the National Historical Committee that the petition to rehabilitate the Butuan monument be
dismissed.
The Committee did not accept this recommendation, although they accepted De Veyra's
(and Pardo de Tavera's) opinion. They compromised. On 11 December 1953, they passed a
resolution, agreeing to comply with the petition to rehabilitate and reerect the Butuan
monument; but they stipulated that the marble slab with the inscription claiming that this was
the site of the first Mass should be removed "for revision purposes.'
The Committee's action was correct, and so, for that matter, was Opiana's memorandum.
Nevertheless, it is easy to understand why the defenders of the Butuan tradition should have
been offended by what to them must have seemed like a high-handed and arbitrary rejection of
their claim. They were not shown why the Butuan tradition was wrong; nor were they given valid
reasons why De Veyra's verdict was correct.
In the event, despite the resolution of 1953, the Historical Committee apparently did nothing
to rehabilitate the Butuan monument. When I saw it in 1978 (a quarter century after the
Historical Committee's resolution) the monument was still lying on its side. The benchmark of
the U.S. naval survey of 1905 was still there. But the original marble slab of 1872 had been
removed.
In 1978, however, a more honorable future was being prepared for that monument. The
municipal authorities were constructing a concrete pedestal, shaped like the prow of a ship,
upon which to mount the monument. That monument should be preserved. It is a historic
artifact. But the historical error in the 1872 inscription should be pointed out for what it is: a
historical error.

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