The Lequios is a group of ancient Hebrews who settled around Ophir,
which the Spaniards considered the Philippine islands to be, before
its colonization. Some historians are saying that the Samar Island of
the Philippines could be the seat of the Ophir because the island was
named after Samaria, the ancestral homeland of Datu Iberein of the
Lakanate of Lawan. In Spain there is a 16th Century Book entitled
"Coleccion General de Documentos Relativos a las Islas Filipinas."
It is found in the Archivos de Indias de Sevilla. It was reprinted in
1920 in Barcelona, Spain by the Compania General de Tobaccos de
Filipinas. Its Tomo III (1519-1522), pages 112-138, contains Document
No. 98 describing how to locate the land of Ophir.This same volume also
contains the official documents regarding the voyage of Ferdinand
Magellan. It also contains the logbook of Francisco Albo, the chief pilot
of the ship Victoria. This logbook is also one of the main references regarding
the voyage of Ferdinand Magellan. Ophir was "…in front of China towards
the sea, of many islands where the Moluccans, Chinese,
When 17th-century Spanish missionary Francisco Colin came to the Philippines,
he mentioned that “there are no kings or rulers worthy of mention” in the islands.
He made a common mistake among European observers at the time in searching
for evidence of early wealth and power in authoritative law codes, centralized
government, and temple complexes, which the Philippines then lacked. They were
surprised, however, when they discovered that Filipinos, commoners and
nobility alike, wore gold jewelry or clothing as everyday accessories. Historian
Tribe, and his entourage in 1543. Upon seeing a Spanish vessel anchored off the coast
of Samar, the datu wearing golden earrings and chains rowed to the Spanish boat.
His oarsmen wore gold necklaces.Iberein is merely an example of some of the
wealthy and influential rulers of the Philippines in pre-colonial times. Among the
most wealthy and powerful were Rajah Sulayman and Lakan Dula of
Manila (circa 1570), and Sultan Kudarat of Maguindanao (circa 1619 to 1671).
Henry Scott describes the house of the ruling datu: had the largest house in the
community and it was not only his dwelling, workplace, and storehouse but also served
as the community center for civic and religious affairs, with a kind of public lounging
platform below or in front. Wooden partitions carved with foliage in high relief provided
separate chambers for him and his wife.family, binokot. daughters, concubines, and the
houses for slaves. Partial flooring laid over the tie beams made a kind of loft or attic.
Similar grandeur was forbidden in other datus: to construct a house large enough to
entertain the whole community was in itself a form of competition. Women of the
Lakanate of Lawan populated by the Lequios Tribe are known from far away lands as
pretty and faithful.This long generations of pretty women are instrumental in the
growing prosperity and influence of the Lequios Tribe’s Lakanate of Lawan among
far away settlements -- in Albay, indianized settlement of Datu Buntuan, gold rich
settlement of the Kalagan people, civilized settlement of Mulanay, battle - tested
settlement of Mangatang and even settlement in Tundok. There are even historical
research which suggests that the Otley Bayer Theory of the Philippine Migration
towards the direction of the Lakanate of Lawan from as far as Judea, India, China,
Muslim settlements, and lately, Spain -- is primarilly driven by these romanticised
legends and seafarer stories of gold, spices, prosperous life and beautiful women.
These intermigration from elsewhere in the direction of Lawan ended, in most
of them, in other places which started new settlements, in addition of the settlements
all over the archipelago initiated by the Lakanate of Lawan in their search for precious
gold to be tradedin their ancient homeland in Samaria. With the recent French
discovery of the 700,00o year old rhinoceros man in the Philippines, the findings that
the ancient alphabet of the Philippines called Baybayin came from a settlement in the
Lakanate of Lawan called even today as Baybay, and the Australian study which says
that the Philippines is the homeland of the polynesians including findings that it could
be the seat of the biblical Ophir, the Lequios Tribe (now called in vernacular as Waray)
sparked the golden age of the Philippine ancient history. To paint a picture this golden
age, an account of Fr. Alcina, as written by Henry Scott, talked about a pretty princess
named Bingi of Lawan. There lived in this place a chief called Karagrag, who was its
lord and ruler. He was married to a lady of his rank called Bingi, a name which had been
bestowed on her because of her chastity, as we shall see. (I was not able to find out if
she came from the same town; most probably she was from upstream on the Catubig
River, where she was the daughter of the chief there.) This lady, according to what they
recount, was endowed with many fine virtues and ready celebrated for her beauty
among these natives, so much so that, moved by the fame of her beauty, the Datu,
or ruler, of Albay got ready a hundred ships. This chief was called Dumaraug, which
means the victor, and with all those ships he weighed anchor in his land, and
within a short time came in view of the [Lawan Island] town of Makarato. His
unexpected arrival excited the town, but since it was well-fortified by its natural
location and it was the season of the Vendavales (the best time for going there from
Albay) when the force of the sea and its waves were strong and turbulent, he did not
venture to go straight in but took shelter instead near the beach which Rawis Point
makes with very fine sand and free of shoals, where, became of an islet across the
entrance from the sea, the surf is less obstructive and the sea milder and calm. From
there he sent a small boat with a sign of peace to announce the purpose of his coming,
which was simply to carry Bingi away as his wife, the fame of whose beauty alone had
left him lovestruck. Datu Dumaraog went back to Albay, failing to win the heart of
Princess Bingi of the Lequios Tribe.
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