Lakan Dula | |||||
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Lakan (King) of Tondo. | |||||
Reign | 1558–1571 | ||||
Successor | Agustin de Legaspi | ||||
Born | 1503 | ||||
Died | 1589 (aged 85–86) | ||||
Issue |
Dionisio Capulong ("Batang Dula") |
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House | Kingdom of Tondo | ||||
Religion |
Roman Catholicism (formerly Animism or Islam) |
Full name | |
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Lakandula |
Dionisio Capulong ("Batang Dula")
Magat Salamat
Phelipe Salonga
Maria Poloin
Martin Lakandula
Lakan Dula was the regnal name of the last Lakan (king or paramount ruler) of the pre-colonial Kingdom of Tondo when the Spaniards first conquered the lands of the Pasig River delta in the 1570s.
The firsthand account of Spanish Royal Notary Hernando Riquel says that he introduced himself to the Spanish as "Bunao Lakandula", indicating that his given name was "Bunao". However, the word Lakan which in current Tagalog form means gentleman, was a title equivalent to prince meaning he was Prince Dula. He later converted to Christianity and was baptised Carlos Lakandula. Another common variation of the name is Gat Dula (alternatively spelled as a single word, Gatdula). He is sometimes erroneously referred to as Rajah Lakandula, but the terms "Rajah" and "Lakan" have the same meaning, and in this domain the native Lakan title was used, making the use of both "Rajah" and "Lakandula" at the same time redundant and erroneous.
Along with Rajah Matanda and Rajah Sulayman, he was one of three Rajahs who played significant roles in the Spanish conquest of the kingdoms of the Pasig River delta during the earliest days of the Philippines' Spanish Colonial Period.
While it is unclear whether the entire name "Lakandula" represented a single titular name during his own lifetime, a few of his descendants in the first few generations after his death came to refer to themselves as the "Lakandula of Tondo", taking that name on as a noble title.
Over time, Lakandula's name has come to be written in several ways. However, according to the firsthand account written by Hernando Riquel, the royal notary who accompanied Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, the Lord of Tondo specifically identified himself as "Sibunao Lakandula, lord of the town of Tondo" when he went onboard Legazpi's ship with the Lords of Manila on May 18, 1571. The lords of Manila introduced themselves as "Rajah Ache the Old and Rajah Soliman the Young, lords and principals of the town of Manila"