DID MAGELLAN ATTEMPT TO LAND IN CALICOAN ISLET, GUIUAN, ON MARCH 16, 1521?

 

By Msgr. Lope C. Robredillo, SThD

 

 

A few days ago, someone messaged me if it was true that Ferdinand Magellan tried to land in Calicoan, an islet at the tip of Samar island, on March 16, 1521.  I flatly said NO; he did not.  Of course, I respect and even appreciate such a debatable speculation in Samar historiography; I surmise it is a product of research.  But I beg to disagree.  And in this difference of opinion, I would like to propose a more exact location where the Great Explorer first wished to beach in what is now the Philippines.

To begin with, there are 6 best known primary sources for the Magellanic expedition: [1] “Relación de un portugues, compañero de Odoarte Barbosa, que fué en la nao Victoria el año de 1519,” by an Anonymous Portuguese; [2] “Navegación y viaje que hizo Fernando de Magallanes desde Sevilla para el Maluco en el año de 1519” by a Genoese Pilot; [3] “Libro que trata del descubrimiento y principio del estrecho que se llama de Magallanes” by Ginés de Mafra; [4] “A viagem de Fernão de Magalhães por uma Presencial” by Martín Lopez de Ayamento; [5] “Diario ó derrotero del viaje de Magallanes desde el cabo de San Agustin en el Brasil hasta el regreso a España de la nao Victoria” by Francisco Albo; and [6] “Primo viaggio intorno al mondo” by Antonio Pigafetta.  

None of them, however, mentions Calicoan, and none of them has any statement, unless distorted, from which one can deduce that Magellan did make an attempt in that islet.  Maximilianus Transylvanus, who wrote “Relacion escrita por Maximiliano Transilvano de cómo y por quién y en qué tiempo fueron descubiertas y halladas las islas Molucas, donde es el propio nascimiento de la especiería, las cuales caen en la conquista y marcacion de la Corona Real de Espaňa. E divídese esta relacion en viente parráfos principales,” on the basis of the testimonies of Sebastian del Cano and other survivors, does not give a iota of indication about the Calicoan claim, either.

Some of these documents, however, can help determine the location of his intended place of landing. The basic information comes, first of all, from Antonio Pigafetta in his “Primo viaggio.”  In his Medieval Italian, Lombardo relates: “Sabato a sedize de marso 1521 dessemo neLa aurora soura vna tera alta logi trecento legue delle ysolle de li latroni laqªL e ysola et se chiamma Zamal.”  Here’s an English translation: “At dawn, on Saturday, March sixteen, 1521, we came upon a high land at a distance of three hundred leguas from the land of Latroni—an island named Zamal” (Robinson’s). Clearly, Pigafetta had in mind the big island of Samar, not the islet of Calicoan.  

But where in Samar?  In his “Derrotero,” Francisco Albo provides additional data: “Los 16 del dicho vimos tierra y fuimos a ella al Noroeste, y vimos que salía la tierra al Norte, y había en ella muchos bajíos y tomamos otro bordo del Sur, y fuimos a dar en otra isla pequeña y allí surgimos, y esto fue el mismo día, y esta isla se llama Suluan, y la primera se llama Yunagan. Aquí vimos unas canoas y fuimos a ellas, y ellas huyeron, y esta isla está en 9º2/3 de la parte del Norte.”  Here’s an English translation: “On the 16th (March) we saw land, and went towards it to the N.W., and we saw that the land trended north, and that there were many shoals near it, and we took another tack to the south, and we fell in with another small island, and there we anchored: and this was the same day, and this island is called Suluano [sic], and the first one is named Yunuguan [sic]; and here we saw some canoes, and we went to them, and they fled; and this island is in 9⅔°N. latitude” (Stanley’s).  

In Albo’s account, Yunagan cannot be Calicoan, since it is clearly referred to as the first island they saw; it could only be the big island of Samar.  And all commentators of Albo and Pigafetta I know of identify Yunagan with the Samar of Pigafetta.  If Yunagan were Calicoan, how could Albo have characterized the island as having so many shoals?  Where is the high land in Calicoan that the explorers saw at a distance?  In sailing south, neither Pigafetta nor Albo narrates that they attempted to beach several times along the way until they reached Suluan island.  Thus, to claim that Magellan ventured to land in Calicoan would be no different from to claim that he did so in Matarinao, Burac and Asgad in Salcedo or even in Dumpao beach, Sapao in Guiuan! 

But, here is an interesting bit of detail.  Take note that Suluan, according to Albo, is located at 9⅔°N. latitude.  When Magellan left Ladrones (Guam) on March 9, they sailed to the northwest at 12° latitude, and on March 14, at 10⅔° latitude.  When they approached Samar, however, the Genoese Pilot in “Navegación y viaje que hizo Fernando de Magallanes desde Sevilla para el Maluco en el año de 1519” observed that they were at 11°N. latitude. 

In Spanish cartography, where is Guiuan to be found?   Neither the Pilot nor Albo gives an estimate of the location of Guiuan, but Felix Huerta says in his Estado geográfico, typográfico, estadístico-histórico de la Santa Apostólica de S. Gregorio Magno, etc. that Guiuan is located at 10°35 latitude.  What about Calicoan?  It is probably situated at 10°28 latitude or thereabouts.  If, in the Middle Ages, 1 latitude is around 111 kilometers, one can easily estimate that Calicoan island is really far removed from the 11°N latitude where Magellan attempted to land.  In other words, Magellan did not attempt to land in Calicoan islet; this is too far south. 

This bring us to the question: What place in Samar island is located at 11°N. latitude? According to Huerta, it is Hernani: “[Hernani] se halla situado á los 11°15” de latitud, en terreno llano, sobre el costa E. de la isla.” That is to say, Hernani is situated at 11°15” latitude, on a flat terrain on the east coast of the island. In view of this, it would be more correct to say that Magellan attempted to land in the vicinity of the old town of Hernani, because this town was located at 11°15” latitude.  It cannot be Lanang (Llorente), either, because this town lies at 11°32’40” latitude; it is too far north. 

Which is why, in footnote 71, Chapter 1, of my book, Homonhon Island: The Correct Site of the First Mass in the Philippines, I made the following comment in relation to the word “Zamal” in Pigafetta’s account: “[Zamal] refers to Samar or, more precisely, Ibabao, and the explorers could have seen from a distance the mountain peaks of Mt. Apoy, Mt. Mactaon and Mt. Bihag. In his log-book, ‘Diario ó derrotero,’ in Fernandez de Navarette, Coleccion de los viages y descubrimientos, 220, Francisco Albo calls the island Yunagan that extended north and had many shallows.  In this derrotero, it appears that, having gone toward Ibabao to the northwest, Magellan tried to go ashore—this information is not found in Pigafetta. 

“The exact place where the attempt had been made is undoubtedly in the vicinity of Hernani (Nag-as), since the Genoese Pilot, in his Navegación y viaje que hizo Fernando de Magallanes desde de Sevilla para el Maluco en el año de 1519, in Medina, Documentos Inéditos, 2:404, notes that on the day of March 16 when the venture was undertaken, the Armada was at 11ᴼN latitude.  However, on account of the dangerous shoals that made landing impossible, Magellan decided to navigate southward, obviously passing Sungi point in Candulom island. Although the circumnavigators saw some boats from this islet, they never encountered any natives because the latter fled.  The Captain-General anchored off Suluan for the night.” 

May I end this brief essay with a suggestion. If I were a resident or an official of the municipality of Hernani, Eastern Samar, I would propose to the civil or ecclesiastical authorities in the municipality to place a marker in the ruins of the old Church of Hernani to commemorate the attempt of Ferdinand Magellan to go ashore; the claim of Calicoan island cannot stand closer historical scrutiny, whereas that of Hernani can.  This way, Hernani can demonstrate that it is really a part of the 500^th international celebration of the Magellan-Elcano circumnavigation of the world.

 

GUIUAN’S MUSEUM OF RELIGION AND CULTURE:

AN HISTORICAL VIEW

 

by Msgr Lope C. Robredillo, SThD

 

At last, the dream of a number of Guiuananons, especially those who love its history and items of cultural importance, has become true—the town can now boast of being the only one in Eastern Samar that has a museum.

The museum, owned by the Roman Catholic Church, is located behind the parish priest’s office at the ground floor of the rectory (convento) of the Immaculate Conception parish. (To go to the museum, one has to get inside the parish priest’s office.)  Constructed from late 2014 to early 2015 by Msgr Lope Robredillo, then Moderator of the Team Ministry (2009-2015) of the Guiuan parish, it was formally opened on May 25, 2015 after it was blessed by the Most Rev. Crispin B. Varquez, Bishop of Borongan. 

Museums in Eastern Samar

This is not to say, though, that one cannot find any other museum in the whole province.  For one thing, the Eastern Samar State University (ESSU) in Borongan campus has a mini-museum, just like the Bishop’s Residence in Borongan City that houses the Ibabao Museum of History and Culture, founded in 2007 also by Msgr Robredillo.  But the museum in Guiuan, known as Our Lady of the Rosary Museum of Religion and Culture, is relatively a spacious one. 

For those who have not yet seen a museum, however, the question that comes to mind is: What is a museum, in the first place?  For the sake of convenience, the definition by Webster’s is sufficient enough—it “is an institution devoted to the procurement, care, study, and display of objects of lasting interest or value; also, a place where objects are exhibited.”

In the Philippines, the finest and the best museum is the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Museum of Arts and Sciences, which is probably the oldest in existence.  In my student days, I loved to visit the Ayala Museum in Makati City, and bring friends there.  But the most well-known, because it is easily visible to commuters, is the National Museum of the Philippines on Taft Avenue, Ermita, Manila. In Samar island, it would not be complete to speak of museums without the mention of the Samar Archeological Museum at Christ the King College, Calbayog City, founded by the historian of Samar, Father Cantius Kobak, OFM. 

But museums are of different kinds.  Depending on the types of collection an institution displays, it can be categorized as museum of history, science, technology, archeology, aviation, anthropology, fine arts, applied arts, ethnology, etc.  A museum can even exhibit a more specialized category.  A museum of history, for example, can be classified as museum of local history, military history, folk history, modern history, etc.  

The Holy Rosary Museum of Religion and Culture 

The collection displayed at the Guiuan museum can be determined from its name.  It features objects related to the Catholic faith and to the cultural life of the people of Guiuan.  Hence, the name Our Lady of the Rosary Museum of Religion and Culture.  It uses a title of the Blessed Virgin to recall that it was established in honor of the patroness of the town.

A number of people have wrong impressions on these institutions.  Speaking of museums of history and culture, for instance, many think that they are only for those who cannot move on to the present and who like to dwell in the past.  For others, they are a preoccupation of the rich and the elite who have nothing else to do but glory in items that do not have relevance to the daily needs of people, like food and work.  No wonder, when one asks for support to put up a museum, the usual question is—what is its relevance to the current problems of the people?  Why collect, still less conserve, items that are usually discarded by many because they find them useless?  Why bother about old things?  Instead of constructing a museum, why not spend the money on food for the hungry? 

With reference to Our Lady of the Rosary Museum of Religion and Culture in Guiuan, the purpose of its founding can be gleaned from the marker unveiled near its entrance: “Our Lady of the Rosary Museum of Religion and Culture, built under the direction of Msgr Lope C Robredillo, Vicar General and Parish Priest, to care for, preserve and display shared religious and cultural heritage of the Immaculate Conception Parish of Guiuan, was blessed by the Most Rev Crispin B Varquez, DD, Bishop of Borongan, on 25 May 2015.”

According to this marker, the museum has three functions: custody, preservation and display.  In other words, the museum has collected objects of religion and culture with the end of view of preserving and caring for them for the future, preventing them from damage and deterioration, and exhibiting them for knowledge, education and entertainment. 

This bring us to the question: what items are set out in Our Lady of the Rosary Museum of Religion and Culture?

Sources of Funds 

          Before answering that question, it is important to know what made the dream to have it become a reality.  Contrary to what is sometimes heard from a few, the Museum was constructed mainly from donations, proceeds from the “gala” of town and parish fiesta, and from funds of the parish. 

Some details may be in order.  The biggest individual donors were Congressman and Mrs Ben Evardone (P50,000) and Ms Susan Rallestan (25,000) in 2012.  Our regular contributor, however, was Mrs Francisca Beronio who donated P1,000 for a number of months.  But the initial fund came from “gala” of Vespers Dance in 2010 when the family of the late Generoso Juaban was the hermano mayor (P94,850).  The Museum also got some cash from the “gala” of Oct 1, 2011 Vespers Dance (P14,600) and that of Dec 8, 2011 (P6,380).  That same year, the Pastors and the Staff Workers of the Convento held a caroling for a few nights before Christmas and reaped P63,600. 

By March 13, 2013, the parish office had an accumulated donations of P74,610.83  from many parishioners whose names were read at Sunday masses.  Dollar donations from individuals in the US amounting to $609, forwarded to the office by Mrs Praxedes Gonzales, and an offering of $400 from Dr Fernando Naputo swelled the fund by P45,744.36.  On June 28, 2014, a biggest accumulation of donations from many donors whose names were likewise read at mass, plus interest in the bank, amounted to P345,995.93.  Other donations in the total amount of P17,100, given thru Emma Terencio, were also intended for the Museum.

Another source of fund was the superavit from Stational Masses.  When Commissioner Marcelino and Mrs Elda Libanan were the hermano mayor in the town and parish fiesta of Oct 6, 2013, there was a superavit of P48,500 that was earmarked for the project.  So, too, with the superavit of P66,000 during the 2014 fiesta, although there was no hermano mayor.  Moreover, there was the fund from the old cemetery that was deposited in the bank.  As of Feb 18. 2015, the fund stood at P253,130.  From this date until Apr 28, 2015, P19,000 was added to it.  Further augmenting the fund were the “limosan” boxes that yielded P75,343.12 on Dec 31, 1914 and P14,049 on Mar 25, 2015. 

The total fund for the Museum ultimately reached P1,213,903.71.  However, as the detailed financial report on its construction shows, the total expenditures, which include materials and labor, added up to 1,351,704.14. 

 

Exhibits

          In turning now to the exhibits displayed at the Museum, there are basically two classes of materials that are arranged: church-related paraphernalia and materials associated with the Liberation period when American forces were stationed in Guiuan. 

          Of the church-related paraphernalia, the majority of them are liturgical.   Prominently shown as one enters the Museum are three monstrances encased in glass, mounted on pedestals.  Together with the image of Elizabeth of Hungary placed in similar casement, they constitute the centerpiece of the Museum, enclosed by parts of the old communion rail that serves as their fence.  Also belonging to the category of liturgical vessels are chalices, incensario and naveta, paten, and similar accessories.

          Among the most valuable, one might also mention the center altar card in which are written some parts of the Mass, that used to stand at the center of the altar and covered the tabernacle.  It goes back to the Jesuit period of the Church history in the Philippines.   The carroza, whose original design dates back to the Spanish time, is the only one in the entire province. 

          Counted among the old liturgical books that one can see is the pre-Vatican II Latin Missal, that was used during the time of Msgr Donato Guimbaolibot, who was tortured in connection with the Balangiga Massacre.  There is also a copy of the first printed Order of Mass in Samarenyo, containing the first songs in the native language, used after Vatican II.  Displayed, too, are novenas that were printed during the pre-American period.

          Speaking of books, the Museum boasts of possessing the oldest parish Register of Death in the entire Diocese of Borongan that can be traced back to the 1700s.  It has also the oldest Books of Baptism, Marriage and Confirmation in the parish. 

          One can also see a replica of a pre-Vatican II altar.  It was constructed to show how the stainless ramilletes, the only ones found in the whole diocese, were used.  The altar itself dons some of the tiles that used to cover the inside walls of the old church.  Above the tabernacle of this altar is installed the image of Our Lady of the Rosary, flanked by images of two angels bearing torches.  The other remilletes are displayed along with candle holders in the middle of the second section of the Museum.

          Of the textiles, carefully arranged are chasubles of various colors, stoles, chalice veils, humeral veils, among others.  Of the several pictures one can see, there are photographs of the several parish priests since the time of Msgr Guimbalibot, pictures of the church before and after Yolanda, and those taken after the strong typhoon in 1897 when the old church was rendered roofless. 

          As for objects related to the presence of the American forces in Guiuan in 1945, many of the collection pertain to kitchen wares.  Also on display is a short history of the town of Guiuan, written by Msgr Robredillo, as a very general introductory.  But of the rare natural objects that one can encounter in the Museum, most easily recognizable are the giant clams that were found in the mountain of Sulangan.  Of course, there are other objects that one can see in the Museum, apart from those already referred to, but these are probably enough to whet one’s appetite for cultural curiosity and study.

          In fine, the collection would not have been enriched without the generosity of some people, like Mr Elmer Garado, Father Manuel Lunario, the late Mrs Fe Dadul, Mr Fidel Delleva, Mrs Joan Magalona, Mrs Elena Cablao, Mr and Mrs Teofilo Flores, Ms Teresita Lomero, Ms Jennyrose Barlomento, Mrs Marciana Alde, Mrs Belen Abusman, Father Raymund Tabon, OSJ, Father Joberto Picardal and the Moderator of the Team Ministry of 2015.