The Maragtas Legend
How do historians know about events that occurred in the Philippines before the time of the Spaniards? How do they know the names of the people who lived then and the things they did if there are almost no authentic written documents from that era?
Much of what we know about the prehispanic era came to us through legends. These are stories that were not written but were spoken by each generation to its following generation. Many legends are usually nothing more than stories about the creation of the world, the first man and woman and such. It is easy to see that these are not meant to be regarded as fact. There are some legends that may have a been based on actual events but they are not reliable records of the past because legends can change with each telling. Often a teller's memory can be weak or mistaken or the teller may even add or remove parts of the story just to spice it up.
This article is about one legend called Maragtas but not the Maragtas that was once taught to Filipino school children. This article is about a modern myth that surrounds a book entitled Maragtas. And, just like the legends of old, this one has been “spiced up” too. In this case, however, the legends have become confused with history. And, as we shall see, when history and legend are mixed, the stories often sound better but the truth always suffers.
The Legends of Maragtas
The stories known as the Maragtas are legends that may or may not be based on actual events in the remote past. They are about the ten datus or chiefs who escaped the tyranny of Datu Makatunaw of Borneo and immigrated to the island of Panay. Once there, they supposedly bought the lowland plains of the island from Marikudo, the leader of the indigenous Aytas, for the price of a solid gold salakot (hat). According to the legend, these ten chiefs and their families are the very ancestors of the entire Visayan population. This is the legend that has been celebrated yearly in the Ati-atihan festival since the late 1950s when it became a part of the annual feast of the Santo Niño in Kalibo, Aklan.
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1998 Paul Morrow
Latest revision: 22 April, 2007
Some of information about The Maragtas Legend
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