Maynila (historical entity)

Kota Seludong
Maynila کوتا سلودوڠ
Former vassal polity of the Bruneian Empire
1500s–1570
Capital		Manila
Languages		Old Malay, Tagalog
Religion		Philippine religion and Sunni Islam
Government		Rajahnate
History
•	established by the Kingdom of Brunei under Sultan Bolkiah	1500s
•	Conquest by Spain	1570
Preceded by Succeeded by Kingdom of Tondo Bruneian Empire Viceroyalty of New Spain Spanish East Indies Manila (province)
Today part of		Philippines

Maynila, also known as Seludong (Old Malay: Kota Seludong, Jawi script: کوتا سلودوڠ), was one of three major polities that dominated the area by the lower reaches and mouth of the Pasig River before the arrival of Spanish colonizers in the 16th century. It was a vassal polity of the Bruneian Empire. It is the site of present-day Manila, the capital of the Republic of the Philippines.

Etymology

Early records claim that Maynila was named after the Yamstick Mangrove (Scyphiphora hydrophyllacea, formerly named Ixora manila blanco), whose local name was "nila" or "nilad", by the time the Spanish colonizers arrived in the late 16th century. The name "maynila" itself transliterates as "There is nila (here)", and an alternative name for the place is "maynilad." Emma Helen Blair, in the multi-volume collection of Philippine documents The Philippine Islands, notes "the name Manila is derived from a Tagalog word, ' Manilad ', meaning 'a place overgrown with Nilad' which is the name of a small tree, bearing white flowers" - a description that matches Scyphiphora hydrophyllacea/Ixora manila.

Nila or Nilad

However, there is some argument among historians as to which plant the name refers to, and whether the plant was actually called "nila" or "nilad." Other plants suggested as being the origin of the name include the indigo plant (Indigoferra tinctori), and a species of mangrove (Lumnitzera littorea).

Historians Ambeth Ocampo and Carmen Guerrero Nakpil assert that nila is popularly referred to as nilad by modern-day people unfamiliar with the actual name of the plant. On his Facebook page, Ocampo notes that "Some idiot added a 'd' to give us: Maynilad, Maharnilad, and Lagusnilad! In Fr. Blanco's Flora de Filipinas circa 1877 we find the Ixora manila. There is no "d" after nila."

A number of early sources disagree, however, suggesting that the plant referred to as "nilad" is the Indigo plant (Indigoferra tinctoria), a different plant altogether.

Julio Nakpil asserted that the dropping of the "d" at the end of the name was probably a mistake on the part of the Spaniards: "Maynilad seems to us reasonable for the following reason: the prefix 'may' means "to have" or "there is" (mayroon) ; and the prefix 'ma' means abundant (marami); and 'nilad' is a shrub, also called sagasa (Lumnitzera littorea), growing profusely on the banks of Manila, and for that reason it was called Manilad before and after the coming of the Spaniards who, because of their defective pronunciation of our language, dropped the last letter, converting it into Manila."

History

See also: Timeline of Manila, Timeline of Philippine history, and Prehistory of Manila

Establishment

File:Philippines (pre 1521).jpg

Before the Western contact , the Philippine archipelago had its own rulers and polities roughly equivalent to kingdoms.

See also: Hinduism in the Philippines, Religion in pre-colonial Philippines, Indosphere, and Indianisation

The early inhabitants of the present-day Manila engaged in trade relations with its Asian neighbours as well as with the Hindu empires of Java and Sumatra, as confirmed by archaeological findings. Trade ties with China became extensive by the 10th century, while contact with Arab merchants reached its peak in the 12th century.

During the reign of Sultan Bolkiah (1485–1521) the Sultanate of Brunei decided to break Tondo's monopoly in the Chinese trade by attacking Tondo and establishing the polity of Seludong (Maynila) as a Bruneian satellite. This is narrated through Tausug and Malay royal histories, where the names Seludong, Saludong or Selurong are used to denote Manila prior to colonisation.

Beginning of the Spanish Colonial Era

In the mid-16th century, the areas of present-day Manila were governed by native rajahs. Rajah Matanda (whose real name was recorded by the Legaspi expedition as Ache) and his nephew, Rajah Sulayman "Rajah Mura" or "Rajah Muda" (a Sanskrit title for a Prince), ruled the Muslim communities south of the Pasig River, including Maynila while Lakan Dula ruled non-Muslim Tondo north of the river. These settlements held ties with the sultanates of Brunei, Sulu, and Ternate, Indonesia (not to be confused with Ternate in present-day Cavite). Maynila was centered on a fortress at the mouth of the Pasig river (Kota means fortress or city in Malay). When the Spanish came and invaded Manila they described, Kota Selurong, "The City of Selurong" of Maynila, as a settlement with a fortress of rammed earth with stockades and in between battlements there are cannons. The cannons were native-made and forged by Panday Piray and these were locally called lantakas. When the Spanish invaded and burned Manila's Kota Selurong to the ground, they built up the Christian walled city of Intramuros on the ruins of Islamic Manila.

See also

• Ma-i
• Kingdom of Namayan
• Kingdom of Tondo
• Confederation of Madya-as
• Rajah Matandâ
• Rajah Sulayman
• Battle of Bankusay Channel
• History of Manila
• List of Sunni Muslim dynasties
• History of the Philippines (Before 1521)
• Hinduism in the Philippines

Additional reading

• Nick Joaquin's Almanac for Manileños
• The River Dwellers by Grace P. Odal