(Ca.1622)
Rebel Chieftain of
Limasawa
One of the first converts to
Catholicism under the conquistador
Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, Datu Bankaw
was the old chief of Limasawa, site of the ‘first’ Catholic mass held in the
Philippines. He receives a royal gift from the Spanish monarch Philip II in
recognition of his grandfather’s hospitality to the navigator Magellan. Later,
in appreciation of his own hospitality toward Legaspi and his men, whom he
provided with food and other provision, the Spanish king sent him a letter of
gratitude.
In 1622, after around 50 years of peaceful life within the Catholic fold, Bankaw apostatized. Earlier, on the island of Bohol, the babaylan Tamblot
Had instigated a religious revolt against
the Spaniards. Assuring the natives of divine aid from the Diwatas, he had
convinced them of victory over their Spanish oppressors. Although his
insurrection was quelled by the alcalde mayor of Zebu (Cebu), it had spread to
Leyte , where Bankaw, by this time around 75 years old, was aided in his own
revolt by his two sons and a daughter, who had likewise apostatized. He built a
temple to the native gods, and with the help of his son Pagali, convinced six
other villages to join the insurrection.
Greatly alarmed, the
parish priest, Fr. Melchor de Vera, immediately journeyed to
After mobilizing a flotilla of 40
vessels manned by Spanish soldiers and Cebuano natives armed with arquebuses,
Captain Alcaraso sent the rebels surrender feelers, which Bankaw and his men
out rightly rebuffed. Consequently, the government forces formed into three
groups for a three- sided assault on the rebels’ fort in the hills. In the
ensuring battle, the rebels, despite their numbers, where defeated. Many died,
including Bankaw and one of his sons. Both were beheaded. His other son and
daugther were captured along with other. Later, Bankaw’s was put on a plate and
displayed
In public as a warning
against further insurrection. Several other rebels also shot, while a babaylan
was burned at the stake. These atrocities were all meant to strike terror not
only among the Leyteños but other natives as well.
Thus ended the revolt of Datu
Bankaw.
Bryan Salazar