Lapulapu

in Cebu Lapulapu was one of the two chiefs of Mactan before the Spanish arrived in the archipelago, the other being Zula. When Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan arrived in the Philippines in the service of Spain, Zula was one of those who gave tribute to the Spanish king while Lapulapu refused. bows, and "bamboo" spears. Magellan repeated his offer not to attack them if Lapulapu swore fealty to Rajah Humabon, obeyed the Spanish king, and paid tribute, which Lapulapu again rejected. At the taunting request of Lapulapu, the battle did not begin until morning. Magellan, perhaps hoping to impress Humabon's warriors with the superiority of European armor and weapons, told Humabon's warriors to remain in their ships. Magellan and 49 of the heavily armored Spaniards (armed with lances, swords, crossbows, and muskets) waded ashore to meet Lapulapu's forces. They set fire to a few houses on the shore in an attempt to scare them. Instead, Lapulapu's warriors became infuriated and charged. Two Spaniards were killed immediately in the fighting, and Magellan was wounded in the leg with a poisoned arrow. He ordered a retreat, which most of his men followed except for a few who remained to protect him. However, he was recognized as the captain by the natives, whereupon he became the focus of the attack. Outnumbered and encumbered by their armor, Magellan's forces were quickly overwhelmed. Magellan and several of his men were killed, and the rest escaped to the waiting ships. 's journal showing Cebu, Mactan, and Bohol; with a label indicating that the "Capitaine general" died on Mactan (c. 1525) The historian William Henry Scott believes that Lapulapu's hostility may have been the result of a mistaken assumption by Magellan. Magellan assumed that ancient Filipino society was structured in the same way as European society (i.e. with royalty ruling over a region). While this may have been true in the Islamic sultanates in Mindanao, the Visayan societies were structured along a loose federation of city-states (more accurately, a chiefdom). The most powerful datu in such a federation has limited power over another member datu, but no direct control over the subjects or lands of the other datu. Thus Magellan believed that since Rajah Humabon was the king of Cebu, he was the king of Mactan as well. But the island of Mactan, the dominion of Lapulapu and Zula, was in a location that enabled them to intercept trade ships entering the harbor of Cebu, Humabon's domain. Thus, it was more likely that Lapulapu was actually more powerful than Humabon, or at least was the undisputed ruler of Mactan. Humabon was married to Lapulapu's niece. When Magellan demanded that Lapulapu submit as his King Humabon had done, Lapulapu purportedly replied that: "he was unwilling to come and do reverence to one whom he had been commanding for so long a time". After Magellan's voyage, subsequent expeditions were dispatched to the islands. Five expeditions were sent: Loaisa (1525), Cabot (1526), Saavedra (1527), Villalobos (1542), and Legazpi (1564). The Legazpi expedition was the most successful, resulting in the colonization of the islands. ==Name==

The earliest record of Lapulapu's name comes from Venetian diarist Antonio Pigafetta who accompanied Magellan's expedition. Pigafetta noted the names of two Datus of the island of Matan (Mactan), the chiefs Zula and Çilapulapu. In Philippine languages, si (plural siná) is an article used to indicate personal names. Thus Si Lapulapu, as rendered by Rizal, was subsequently interpreted by others to mean this way (though Rizal never explicitly asserts this himself) and the Si was dropped, eventually cementing the Mactan leader's name in Filipino culture as Lapulapu, Lapu-lapu, or Lapu-Lapu (e.g. Siya si Lapulapu "He is Lapulapu" vs. Siya si Si Lapulapu "He is Si Lapulapu"). However, this meaning for Si or Çi in Lapulapu's recorded name is doubtful because not all names recorded by Pigafetta contain it, as would be the case if it were. In an annotation of his 1800 edition of Pigafetta's account, Carlo Amoretti surmised that the Si or Çi found in several native names recorded by Pigafetta was an honorific title. In 1604, Fr. Prudencio de Sandoval in his Historia de la Vida y Hechos del Emperador Carlos V spelled the name as Calipulapo, perhaps through transposing the first A and I and misreading the Ç. This further became Cali Pulaco in the 1614 poem Que Dios le perdone (May God Forgive Him) by mestizo de sangley poet Carlos Calao. This rendition, spelled as Kalipulako, was later adopted as one of the pseudonyms of the Philippine hero Mariano Ponce during the Propaganda Movement. The 1898 Philippine Declaration of Independence of Cavite II el Viejo, also mentions Lapulapu under the name Rey Kalipulako de Manktan (King Kalipulako of Mactan). This name variation has further led to claims that Lapulapu was a Caliph and thus Muslim, whereas Pigafetta notes that the region was not Islamized. In 2019, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines' National Quincentennial Committee, tasked with handling preparations for the 500th anniversary commemoration of Magellan's arrival, stated that Lapulapu without the hyphen is the correct spelling of the Mactan ruler's name, being based on Pigafetta's original spelling, which they took to be Çilapulapu (approximately rendered as "Silapulapu", not "Kilapulapu", in equivalent Philippine orthography). The committee agreed with previous scholarship that the Si in his name reported by Pigafetta probably was an indigenous form of the Hindu honorific Sri, so Lapulapu would probably have been called Si Lapulapu. This executive order now requires government and non-government entities to adopt the name "Lapulapu" in all references pertaining to him. ==Origins==

There is no reliable written record of Lapulapu's origins, but the Cebuano oral tradition holds that the Sugbuanons of Opong was once ruled by a Datu named Mangal and later succeeded by his son named Lapulapu. ==Religion==

'' in the Boxer Codex (c. 1595) The historical record strongly suggests that Lapulapu was an adherent of Visayan indigenous animistic anito beliefs. The inhabitants of the Sulu Archipelago believe that Lapulapu was a Muslim belonging to the Tausūg or the Sama-Bajau people of Mindanao, Moreover, prominent Cebuano anthropologist José Eleazar Bersales says that Cebu was never islamized, referenced from an excavation in Boljoon in southern Cebu. Direct evidences such as accounts of Pigafetta and the native oral tradition did not indicate Lapulapu as a Muslim but a Visayan animist and a Sugbuanon native. Visayans were noted for their widespread practice of tattooing; hence, Spaniards referred to them as the Pintados. Pigafetta, who recorded Magellan's encounter with the Cebuanos, explicitly described Rajah Humabon as tattooed. He also records the consumption of pork, dog meat, and palm wine (arak) by the Cebuanos, as well as the common custom of penile piercings (tugbuk or sakra). Tattooing, body modification, pork, dog meat, and alcohol are all ḥarām (forbidden) in Islam. The supreme deity of the Visayans, as explicitly recorded by contemporary historians, was identified as Abba by Pigafetta and Kan-Laon (also spelled Laon) by the Jesuit historian Pedro Chirino in 1604, comparable to the Tagalog "Bathala". There is no mention of Islam. This is in contrast to the other locations visited by the Magellan expedition where Pigafetta readily identifies the Muslims whom they encountered; he would call them Moros after the Muslim Moors of medieval Spain and northern Africa, to distinguish them from the polytheistic "heathens". In fact, during the mass baptism of the Cebuanos to Christianity, he clearly identifies them as "heathens," not Moros: ==Aginid==

The book Aginid, Bayok sa Atong Tawarik ("Glide on, Odes to Our History") published in 1952 by Jovito Abellana supposedly records the oral chronicles from the reign of the last king of Cebu, Rajah Tupas (d. 1565). However, its historicity is disputed as its provenance cannot be traced to earlier than Abellana. Most Filipino historians thus regard it as a hoax akin to the Maragtas and the Code of Kalantiaw, other disputed pre-Hispanic Philippine writings, or more generously, a work of imaginative historical fiction that takes major liberties and should not be treated as authoritative. The supposed Aginid chronicle gives Lapulapu the full name Lapulapu Dimantag, for di-mataga ("cannot be hacked"), which is also the surname of a prominent family in Mactan. The Oponganon-Cebuano oral tradition effectively disputes this claim, saying his father was Datu Mangal of Mactan, indicating that Lapulapu a native of Opong. The supposed Aginid chronicle records the founding of the kingdom of Cebu by Sri Lumay (also known as Rajamuda Lumaya), who was a half-Tamil and half-Malay from Sumatra. His sons, Sri Alho and Sri Ukob, ruled the neighboring communities of Sialo and Nahalin, respectively. The islands they were in were collectively known as Pulua Kang Dayang or Kangdaya (literally "[the islands] of the lady"). Sri Lumay was known for his strict policies in defending against Moro raiders and slavers from Mindanao. His use of scorched earth tactics to repel invaders gave rise to the name Kang Sri Lumayng Sugbo (literally "that of Sri Lumay's great fire") to the town, which was later shortened to Sugbo ("conflagration").) According to the Aginid, this was the period in which Lapulapu (as Lapulapu Dimantag) was first recorded as arriving from "Borneo" (Sabah). He asked Humabon for a place to settle, and the king offered him the region of Mandawili (now Mandaue), including the island known as Opong (or Opon), hoping that Lapulapu's people would cultivate the land. They were successful in this, and the influx of farm produce from Mandawili enriched the trade port of Sugbo further. Enrique stayed in Cebu with Humabon while the Spanish escaped to Bohol. According to the Aginid, Lapulapu and Humabon restored friendly relations after the Battle of Mactan. Lapulapu later decided to return to Borneo with his family and 17 of his men. Nothing more is known of him after this. ==Legacy==

Recognition as a Filipino hero Lapulapu is regarded, retroactively, as the first Filipino hero. On April 27, 2017, President Rodrigo Duterte declared April 27 (the date when the Battle of Mactan happened) as Lapu-Lapu Day for honoring as the first hero in the country who defeated foreign rule. Duterte also signed Executive Order No. 17 creating the Order of Lapu-Lapu which recognizes the services of government workers and private citizens in relation to the campaigns and advocacies of the President. During the First Regular Season of the 14th Congress of the Philippines, Senator Richard Gordon introduced a bill proposing to declare April 27 as an official Philippine national holiday to be known as Adlaw ni Lapu-Lapu, (Cebuano, "Day of Lapu-Lapu"). The government of British Columbia, Canada, officially recognised April 27 as Lapu-Lapu Day in 2023, acknowledging the cultural contributions of the Filipino Canadians, one of the largest immigrant groups in the province. Each year, Lapu-Lapu Day is celebrated by Filipino Canadians in Vancouver. Kadaugan sa Mactan On April 27, 2024, "Lapulapu Day", 300 "eskrimadores," with "Lapu-Lapu Arnis de Abanico" performed a historical reenactment of "Kadaugan sa Mactan" at Mactan Shrine as witnessed by Mayor Junard Chan. Commemorations The government erected a statue in his honor on Mactan Island and renamed the town of Opon in Cebu to Lapu-Lapu City. A large statue of him, donated by South Korea, stands in the middle of Agrifina Circle in Rizal Park in Manila, replacing a fountain and rollerskating rink. Lapulapu appears on the official seal of the Philippine National Police. His face was used as the main design on the 1-centavo coin that was circulated in the Philippines from 1967 to 1994. In the United States, a street in South of Market, San Francisco is named after Lapulapu. That street and others in the immediate neighborhood were renamed by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors with names derived from historical Filipino heroes on August 31, 1979. On January 18, 2021, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, in cooperation with the Quincentennial Commemorations in the Philippines, launches the 5,000-Piso commemorative non-circulating banknote, in honor of his heroism. In urban legend and folklore According to local legend, Lapulapu never died but was turned into stone, and has since then been guarding the seas of Mactan. Fisherfolk in Mactan would throw coins at a stone shaped like a man as a means to "ask permission" from Lapulapu to fish "in his territory". Thus, the grouper fish was named after Lapulapu. Another urban legend concerns the statue of Lapulapu erected in 1933 at the center of the town plaza of Lapu-Lapu when the city was still a municipality with the name Opon. The statue faced the old town hall, where mayors used to hold office; Lapulapu was shown with a crossbow in the stance of shooting an enemy. Superstitious citizens proposed to replace this crossbow with a sword, after three consecutive mayors of Opon (Rito dela Serna, Gregorio dela Serna and Simeon Amodia) each died of heart attack. The statue was modified during the administration of Mayor Mariano Dimataga who took office in 1938. ==In popular culture==

• Portrayed by Mario Montenegro in the 1955 film Lapu-Lapu. • Portrayed by Calvin Millado in the 1995 children's educational series Bayani. • Portrayed by Lito Lapid in the 2002 film Lapu-Lapu. • Portrayed by Aljur Abrenica in the GMA 2010 Lupang Hinirang Music Video • Lapu-Lapu was the inspiration of a playable character of the same name in the mobile game Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. The character is a dual swordsman who has two instances and can swap between two weapons. In the game lore, he serves as the chief of Makadan (now Parlas, a sublocation in Vonetis Island), a reference to Mactan Island. • In the 2004 Bayani Agbayani song, "Otso Otso", he was mentioned the last time the song mentions, Two plus two. Ironically, the child rhyme mentions him at the second line: "One plus one, Magellan, Two plus two, Lapu-Lapu..." This presumably references the Battle of Mactan that Magellan was killed in. • The song "Panalo" by Ez Mil, had a line that mentions Lapu-Lapu being beheaded in the Battle of Mactan. The song was met with criticism for the line's lack of historical accuracy. Among the song's critics were the Lapu-Lapu City government and the National Historical Commission of the Philippines. • Portrayed by Zeus Collins in the 2019 film The Mall, The Merrier, as one of the statues in Tamol Mall. • Portrayed by Armando Alera in the 2022 series Boundless, which inaccurately portrays him and the Cebu/Mactan people with Pacific Islander trappings and mannerisms. • Portrayed by Michael Copon in the 2023 film 1521 • The Kuwaiti novelist Saod Alsanousi refers to Lapulapu in his novel, The Bamboo Stalk, which won the International Prize for Arabic literature. The protagonist of this novel Jose/Issa explains that Lapulapu represented Islam to him. • In the 2025 film Magellan by Lav Diaz, Lapulapu is framed as a phantom wakwak or aswang figure created by Rajah Humabon to cover up the truth that he and his men killed Magellan themselves, which is contrary to mainstream consensus that the chieftain is an actual historical figure. ==Shrine==

The Lapu-Lapu shrine is a bronze statue in Punta Engaño, Lapu-Lapu, Cebu, Philippines. ==Notes==