Lapu-Lapu

Lapu-Lapu
The statue of Lapu-Lapu on Mactan Island
Datu of Mactan
Reign	fl. 1521
Born	Lapu-Lapu

Lapu-Lapu (fl. 1521) was a ruler of Mactan in Visayas. Modern Philippine society regards him as the first Filipino hero because he was the first native to resist Spanish colonization. He is best known for the Battle of Mactan that happened at dawn on April 27, 1521, where he and his soldiers defeated Ferdinand Magellan. The battle ended Magellan's expedition and delayed the Spanish occupation of the islands by over forty years until the expedition of Miguel López de Legazpi in 1564. Monuments to Lapu-Lapu have been built in Manila and Cebu while the Philippine National Police and the Bureau of Fire Protection use his image.

Besides being a rival of Rajah Humabon of Cebu, little is known about the life of Lapu-Lapu. The only existing documents about his life are those written by Antonio Pigafetta. His name, origins, religion, and fate are still a matter of controversy.

Lapu-Lapu is also known under the names Çilapulapu,Si Lapulapu,Salip Pulaka,Cali Pulaco, and Lapulapu Dimantag.

The historical name of Lapu-Lapu is debated. The earliest record of his name comes from Italian diarist Antonio Pigafetta who accompanied Magellan's expedition. Pigafetta notes the names of two chiefs of the island of "Matan", the chiefs "Zula" and "Çilapulapu" (note Ç). The honorific Çi or Si is a corruption of the Sanskrit title Sri. In an annotation of the 1890 edition of Antonio de Morga's Sucesos de las islas Filipinas, José Rizal spells this name as "Si Lapulapu". The Aginid chronicle calls him "Lapulapu Dimantag".