An Ethnohistory of Sapian
Below is an ethnohistory of Sapian, Capiz, Philippines as narrated by Francisco “Kitong” Orillos.
Sapian started as a settlement in the 17th Century called Katadman. It was located in the site where the cemetery is now located.
In one of the folktales, Spanish colonizers from Iloilo, where Miguel Lopez de Legaspi established a supply base for Cebu, stopped by one day. When they met children playing with coins, they asked what is the name of the place. The confused children, thinking that the Spaniards were asking what are they holding, said that it is Salapi. They Spaniards thought the name of the place was Salapi, but later records and map have been inadvertently corrupted to refer to the area as “Sapian”.
In another folktale, it is said that the people of Sapian are very well-off, or “pingkasan”. Probably, because of the of their access to the bountiful Sapian Bay and the fertile plains and lush mountains in the area, that enabled them to fish and farm productively. “Sapi” means money in Cebuano and Cebu City was the center of the trade during the early part of Spanish colonialization. Cebuano traders were said to frequently bring their trade in Kapid (now Capiz; denoted as Kapid because of the large twin rivers in that region). When they traded with people from Katadman they noticed that they have more money. So, the traders referred to those people Sapianon, or those who have more money.
Another popular legend is about the ten Bornean datus.1 It was said that Panay Island, where Sapian is located, was populated by dark skinned and curly haired aetas, known as atis. During the height of Sri Vijayan Empire in Borneo in the 12th and 13th centuries, a tyrant Sultan Makatunaw wanted to kill 10 of his datus who were campaigning for reforms. Makatunaw considered them as threats to his throne, so he ordered them killed. The ten datus discovered the plot to kill them and planned their escape. Led by Datu Puti, they hastily brought along their families, servants and whatever personal belongings that they can carry along. They loaded them into several balangays2 and sailed northward for several days, to as far away from Makatunaw’s sphere of power as possible. They finally decided that they are far enough and landed in Antique. They were met by the atis led by their king, Marikudo and his wife, Maniwangtiwang. Datu Puti intimated to them their desire to settle in the island and offered to buy it with a golden salakot and a necklace. Marikudo accepted and took the salakot for himself and gave the necklace for his wife. The atis thenceforth retreated to the hinterlands. The ten datus initially organized a settlement in the mountains of Madyaas as a precaution against possible retribution by Makatunaw. When they decided that it is safe for them to go down from the mountains four of the datus decided to stay behind while Datu Puti and the other datus sailed on towards Manila. The remaining datus organized the Confederation of Madyaas, and divided the islands into four districts, Datu Paiburong will be in Irong-Irong (because of the nose-shaped of a mountain in that direction), Bangkaya will have Kapid, Datu Sumakwel will have Aklan, and soon. They meet regularly in Madyaas to set wide policies for the island. Another phase in that folktale is about Datu Kalantiaw, son of Datu Bangkaya, who was ruled Aklan. His seat of power is in Batan, Aklan which could have easily radiated to Sapian. He is said to have issued the first code of law in the Philippines, called the Code of Kalantiaw.
1 The legend has been proven to be a hoax. It is Teodoro Agoncillo imagination on a letter about “Maragtas” by a priest in Iloilo. It is much the same the tribe Tasaday was “discovery” of Elizalde.
2 Balangays are sailboats during that period, especially used by the Muslims in the south to travel from island to island. Balangays, which were powered by a sail and several oarsmen, can carry a few dozen people. When Agoncillo’s book “The History of the Filipino People” was published in 1971 the tale of the Ten Bornean Datus, which later anthropologists challenged as a hoax, reverberated in the academe as a revolution in Philippine History. So, Ferdinand Marcos, in trying to relate governance with the ethnic history, used the term “barangay” to denote the smallest unit of government in the Philippines. This remained unchallenged today even with the subsequent studies proving the tale to be a hoax. The Local Government Code during the Aquino Administration continues to refer to the smallest government units are barangays. However, indigenous term “Balangay” refers to backstroke swim, probably because “balangays” were dugout boats sailing on their backs.
