The earliest legend of Mindanao and Sulu appears to be that Sinbad the sailor visited Mindanao on one of his voyages. In Sulu we have Moro legends to the effect that Alexander the Great held court in Jolo in BC 320. Many of the Moros proudly trace their descent from the great Macedonian conqueror.

We find Philippine regions mentioned in Chinese writings as early as the third century, but it appears that the Moros did not come under the influence of China until a much later date. The Chinese writer, Chao-Ju-Kua, writing in 1280 but referring to a much earlier period, describes the people of the Philippines, and it is known that the Chinese mapped and named the principal islands at an early date.

It has been maintained by some writers that Ptolemy, the Egyptian geographer, included the Philippine Islands in his tables under the name Maniola Islands.

Trade relations were carried on between China and the Philippines as early as the fifth century, for the annals of the Liang dynasty mention Malacca, and trade with Java had developed by the year 600. By AD 1000 trade was well-developed on regular lines.

Chinese traders greatly influenced the culture of the Moros. We find examples of vases in Mindanao and Sulu brought from China centuries ago by these hardy traders. The Moros have imitated the dress of China in the sleeved jackets and wide trousers worn by both sexes today. The grass helmet of the Moros is identical with the coolie hat of China.

Chinese trading junks visited the Philippines at least three centuries before the coming of Magellan and they brought to the islands porcelain, silk cloth, metal ware and jade in exchange for pearls, wax, tortoise shell and betel of the South Archipelago.

The Chinese came to conquer and they remained to trade. There is evidence of a futile clashing of the Chinese two-handed swords against the krises of the Moros.

Among the most interesting survivals of the old China trade is the Bagobo custom of sewing tiny bells to their jackets. The Bagobos, a tribe of long-haired hill men of southern Mindanao, have continued this custom. In their barrios may be seen jackets sewn with ancient bells from China. Yellow is the royal color of the Maguindanao Moros of the Lake Lanao district of Mindanao, indicating an early contact with the Chinese.

The ordinarily placid disposition of the Chinese is very well suited to contact with savage tribes. During the early days of the Spanish conquest, isolated Chinese merchants were able to maintain their tiny stores in districts which were untenable to the Spaniards. Occasionally the storekeepers were bushwhacked by Moro bandits, but another Chinese would blandly open on the same site and the trade went on.

It appears that about the year 1400 Chinese adventurers returned to the islands in force, and for a time the Philippines came under the domination of China as a part of the empire of the Mings. This connection, lasting officially for about forty years, has a profound influence upon the islanders.

Siamese trading junks also conducted an early trade with the islands, and it has been noted that a few days before the arrival of the squadron of Magellan, a Siamese vessel entered the harbor of Cebu. Pigafetta tells us that the King of Cebu demanded the payment of port dues from the ships of Magellan. "I make no exceptions," said the king to the Spaniards. "Four days ago a ship from Siam brought to me concubines and it paid dues."¹ Borneo, the Moluccas and Sumatra also participated in this early trade, drawn by the magnet of the rich pearl beds of Sulu. The extent of the activity of Portuguese traders is not clearly known. It is certain that they had relations with Mindanao and Sulu at an early date, far in the van of the Spaniards.

The Chinese taught the Japanese the use of the sail about AD 100 and there is faint evidence that the newly manned ships of Nippon sailed to the Philippines during that period.

As early as the year 1500, we find the city of Brunei in North Borneo a thriving trade center of more than 70,000 inhabitants. The commerce of this city was augmented by a constant stream of Malay boats pouring in from the ports of the South Pacific.

Marco Polo sailed from Chinchow in 1292, carrying a royal bride from the court of Kublai Khan to the the Khan of Persia. His ship spent many months on the coast of Sumatra waiting for a favorable monsoon, and Polo probably utilized the time to explore the coasts of Mindanao and Sulu.

From the Malay sailors Polo learned of Zanzibar and Madagascar and Abyssinia, carrying back to Europe geographical knowledge of the absorption of which was far beyond the capacity of European nations of the period.²

The world was in a commercial frenzy and the Malays were leading the way to new products and exotic shores.

When Albuquerque conquered Malacca in 1511, he reported the presence in the harbor of two trading vessels from the Philippines. These early commercial voyages must have been extensive journeys, and they were a supplement to the illicit pirate and slave trading expeditions conducted by the Malays.

History is reluctant in placing credit for the first white man to visit Mindanao. In 1512, nine years after the "discovery" of the Philippines by Magellan, unnamed Portuguese sailors effected a brief landing on Mindanao.

During the year 1523 we find evidence of the death of Barbosa and thirty-five men before the krises of the Moros of Mindanao.

In February 1579, we see Juan Arce de Sadornil conducting a brief and disastrous campaign against the Moros of Borneo and Sulu.

During the same year we have a picture of Captain de Ribera toiling through the forests of Mindanao to reach the mouth of the Rio Grande River in Cotobato. An ascent is made up the river to a point well within the Moro territory. With De Ribera at the head, the malaria-stricken Spaniards wade ashore, holding their arquebuses above their heads to keep their powder dry. The forces of Sultan Correlat fall upon the white men with terrible suddenness. Ribera calls to his men to hold their fire until the maddened Moslems are well with range of the spreading fire. The arquebuses thunder, and clouds of white smoke drift through the tree tops. The Moros do not hesitate before this terrific hail of iron. "What manner of men are these Moslems?" cries De Ribera, "who fear not the hail of the arquebus?" The Moro charge comes on to close grips. Kris rings on steel helmet. Toledo blade shears through carabao-horn armor.

Harassed by Moros on all sides and bearing his ill and desperately wounded men with him, this doughty commander retires to Manila, a victim of the two potent "M's" of Mindanao -- malaria and Moros.

In December, 1579, Sir Francis Drake careened his vessel on the shores of a small island south of Celebes, and it is probable that this famous explorer touched the shores of Sulu.

To the Portuguese appears to belong the credit for being the first white men to reach Mindanao. These early visits of white men were little more than parties of exploration. They accomplished nothing except to give a pre-view of the military prowess of the Moros.

The main struggles of this early period were between races of the East. The white men were incidents. In most cases the white men were accidents.

The closing years of the old pagan civilization found the Moros engaged in desultory conflict with Japanese corsairs in the north. The Moros had gradually extended their sphere of influence to include Luzon and the northern islands of the Philippines. A bridge of sailing vintas connected Luzon with Sulu.

In the face of attacks from all quarters, the Moros came to the year 1400 and awaited the coming of Mohammedanism.

Behind them were fifteen centuries of successful combat!

Filipiniana Reprint Series © 1985 Cacho Hermanos, Inc.

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