Before the
Spaniards came, native Filipinos have a very prosperous Kingdom, based in Tondo, Manila. The natives called their king Lakan and the name of their
last King is Dula. Lakan Dula is the first born son. He could never have been
crowned Lakan if he is not the first born son.
It was in Lakan
Dula's era when Britain and Spain are fighting for world power. Britain's way
is to gain the trust of native royalties all over the world by diplomacy or
intermarriages and then group these royalties into federation under its
leadership. Spain's way is through conquest and subjugation. Lakan Dula's tall
and fair appearance came from his great grand father who has British blood, a
Lord of Manor from Oxfordshire. Lakan Dula is the early attempt of the British
to gain the trust of the native Manila aristocracy.
In a book written
by Rowena Reyes-Boquiren, Ph.D.,from the division of Social Sciences of
University of the Philippines College Baguio, entitled HISTORY OF COLONIALISM
AND STRUGGLE : LOCAL STREAMS IN PHILIPPINE NATIONALISM (Prepared for the 1999
Ibon Philippine Educators Training, ) Baguio City.), she said that the first
uprising in Manila against Spain happened in 1571 in Marikina Valley in what is
now known as Cainta, probably in the vicinity of Balanti, near the known
settlement of Lakan Dula descendants in what is now known today as Jesus de la
Pena. The full blown revolt of Lakan Dula happened three years later involving
10,000 natives and its spread form Manila to Cavite, Batangas and Mindoro. Take
note that during the British invasion of Manila, the first ever election
happened also in Marikina Valley and the British forces and deserters, mostly
Sepoys, also escaped and settled in Cainta, showing the link of Lakan Dula to
the British royalty. The British also participated in Philippine history when
it befriended the Sultanate of Sulu and lease Sabah and manuevere it to be
joined in the Malaysian Federation, which is under its control during those
times. Today, the reign of the first born sons of the descendant of the
Sultanate of Sulu is still uneasy with that maneuver of the British. The
bloodline of the Sultanate is still intact, thru the first born sons. HM Sultan
Muhammad Fuad Abdulla Kiram I is the most capable and most suitable member of
the Royal blood line as per Law of Succession of the Royal House of Sulu and
Sabah and is the legitimate and lawful Royal Hashemite Sultan of Sulu and
Sabah. HM Sultan Muhammad Fuad A. Kiram I is the brother of the late HM Sultan
Mahakuttah Abdulla Kiram (Sultan 1974-1986) and son of the late HM Sultan
Muhammad Esmail E. Kiram I (Sultan 1947-1973), who gave the power of attorney
to Philippine Pres. Diosdado Macapagal in 1962 then to Philippine Pres.
Ferdinand E. Marcos in 1969 for the Philippine Government to recover Sabah. His
grandfather was HM Sultan Mawallil Wasit Kiram, successor to his brother HM
Sultan Jamalul Kiram II (Sultan 1893-1936), childless, who died of poisoning.
HM Sultan Mawallil Wasit Kiram ruled only for six (6) months due to death by
poisoning in 1936, whereupon the throne was inherited by his first-born son HM
Sultan Muhammad Esmail E. Kiram I. The father of HM Jamalul Kiram II was HM
Sultan Jamalul Ahlam Kiram who leased North Borneo (Sabah) to a British Company
in 1878. HRH Prince Ezzarhaddon A. Kiram is the Crown Prince of the Royal
Hashemite Sultanate of Sabah and is known as the Prince of Kota Kinabalu while
his brother HRH Prince Al-mezzheer A. Kiram is the Crown Prince of the Royal
Hashemite Sultanate of Sulu and is known as the Prince of Jolo. (Copyright ©
2006 Royal Sulu. www.royalsulu.com. All rights reserved.)
First born sons
are traditional and hereditary leaders in most culture of the world. Even Jesus
is a first born son. Recently, the Discovery Channel filmed Rameses: Wrath of
God or Man?, in which a team of archeologists led by professor Kent Weeks will
investigate the tomb of the princes of Rameses II, who is believed to be the
Pharaoh of the Exodus. One of the findings to be shown on the program is the
skull of Amun-her-khepeshef, whom Weeks identifies as the firstborn son of
Rameses II. This shows how important the first born sons even during the time
of the Egyptian pharaohs.
First born sons
are also valued in Scottish rites as shown in this excerpt: "On the advice
of an expert, it is presumed that in this particular translation the Judge is
the Almighty, who is being asked to understand what it is that makes it
necessary for the owner of the sword to take a life in battle. For the purpose
of greater simplicity, I always refer to the sword by the name that, throughout
my life, I've most commonly heard it called ... Discerner. Traditionally, the
custom of passing the sword from one generation to the next, always father to
first born son, remained unbroken well into the 1600s."
In Marikina
Valley, where the Lakan Dula and British influence are very strong, the culture
of installing the first born son as the leader of the clan was shown in the
Mayorazgo Tuason, which appeared to be the only noble estate in the
Philippines. The succession to the mayorazgo was based on male primogeniture
(first born or eldest son). This was not only a Spanish policy but also a
Chinese custom. In fact, Son-tua, the original surname of the Tuasons, means
"eldest son." The first holder of the mayorazgo was Don Vicente
Dolores Tuason. The hereditary and titular leader of the Dulay Clan of Marikina
Valley is also an uninterrupted succession of the first born sons tracing back
from way back sixth generation. The present leader is the 5th generation eldest
son Sofronio l, and he is grooming his only son, Sofronio ll, as the sixth
hereditary titular head of the clan. Ceferino Dulay, 4th generation head of the
clan is a friend and ward leader of President Diosdado Macapagal, who is also a
descendant of Lakan Dula. Ceferino settled in Marikina Valley from Tondo.
Emiliano Guevara settled in Marikina Valley from Quiapo. Unlike the Dulay Clan
of Marikina Valley, the reigns of the first born sons of the Tuazon and Guevara
Clans of Marikina Valley are now obscure. The reign of first born sons is
prevalent in other clans and tribes in the Philippines as shown by this excerpt
from the northern Philipppines,: "In his testimony, program recipient and
partner Peter Bangngayon of the Tulgao tribe related how his family had been
filled with hatred and absorbed in trying to avenge his father who was killed
by a Basao member when he was still small. Being the first born son, the
responsibility to revenge fell on his shoulder and he was then persistently
prompted by his tribe mates to carry out that duty."
How important then
is the reign of the first born sons among the descendants of Lakan Dula.
Technically speaking, if we can identify the present and current first born son
of the long line of Lakan Dula descendants from the generation of Lakan Dula to
the present, we have in a way identify the hereditary and titular head of the
Kingdom of Manila, the way the Sultanate of Sulu was able to identify theirs.
And the guy could just be mixing around with the people... never knowing his
significance to the Filipino culture. Could he be Tom Dula…, of the Tom Dooley
fame?
The reigning first
born son is just around us, he is probably from among the several Filipino
clans who are tracing their roots from Lakan Dula.
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