Namayan facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Namayan ᜈᜋᜌᜈ᜔ (Baybayin)
Before 1175–1571
Santa Ana (highlighted in blue) and Pasay (highlighted in green) on a detail of the 1819 map "Plano de la ciudad de Manila, capital de las Yslas Filipinas", prepared by Francisco Xavier de Herrera lo Grabó for the Manila Land Survey Year of 1819. According to Fray. Felix Huerta, the district of Santa Ana was raised on the former capital site of the pre-Hispanic polity called Sapa or Namayan.
Status	Barangay state under the house of Lakan Tagkan Personal union with Tondo through the traditional lineage of Kalangitan and Bagtas (Legendary antiquity)
Capital	Maysapan
Common languages	Old Tagalog (official), Old Malay
Government	Feudalism under Barangay state led by the house of Lakan Tagkan
History
• Established	Before 1175
• Conquest by Spain	1571
Currency	Piloncitos and gold rings
Preceded by Succeeded by Prehistory of the Philippines Barangay state Viceroyalty of New Spain Spanish East Indies
Today part of	Philippines

Namayan (also known as Sapa, Maysapan, Nasapan, or Lamayan) was an old kingdom in the Philippines. It was located along the Pasig River. People believe it was strongest around the year 1175.

Namayan was made up of several smaller communities called barangays. It was one of the most important kingdoms along the Pasig River. Other strong kingdoms nearby were Tondo, Maynila, and Cainta. This was just before the Spanish arrived.

Scientists have found old items in Santa Ana, where Namayan's main city used to be. These findings show that people lived there continuously for a very long time. This is even longer than in Maynila and Tondo.

Where Was Namayan's Capital?

Today, three places are thought to have been the main centers of Namayan. Two are in what is now Santa Ana, Manila. The third is a part of Mandaluyong, across the river.

Sapa: The Main Center

The place most linked to the kingdom is Santa Ana. This area grew around the Our Lady of the Abandoned Parish. However, this spot only became important after 1578. That's when Franciscan missionaries built the Santa Ana de Sapa church. They built it a bit away from the original town. Locals called the area "Maysapan" or simply "Sapa."

Sapa means "small creek" in the Tagalog and Kapampangan languages. There are creeks nearby that fit this description. One is now called Estero de Tripa de Gallina. Another smaller creek is near Del Pan, Havana, and Tejeron streets. Old Santa Ana had many small streams. Some of these might now be hidden by city growth.

The name "Santa Ana de Sapa" later became the name for the whole district of Manila. A priest named Fr. de Huerta wrote that the town got its name from Saint Anne. The "Sapa" part came from it being next to a small river from the Pasig River.

Lamayan: The Ancient Capital

Local stories say that the ancient capital was in an area called Lamayan. This name means "the place where a wake was held." It was right on the banks of the Pasig River. This is where Lakan Tagkan and Buwan once ruled. You can still find a street with this name today.

Namayan in Mandaluyong

Another place, Barangay Namayan in Mandaluyong City, also carries the kingdom's name. It was clearly part of the old kingdom. It's located on the Pasig River, right across from Lamayan.

Namayan's Territory

Namayan's land stretched from Manila Bay to the Pasig River and Laguna de Bay. Fr. de Huerta gave a more detailed description. He said Namayan was a group of several barangays. He listed these communities as they were known in the mid-1800s.

Map showing all three polities of Tondo (red), Maynila (purple) and Namayan (grey) and its respective approximate territories based on various sources.

Many of these places are now districts or parts of the modern City of Manila:

• Maysapan (the main royal area; now Santa Ana)
• Meycatmon (meaning "a place with Catmon trees")
• Calatondangan (Kalatundungan)
• Dongos (Dungos)
• Dibag
• Pinacauasan
• Yamagtogon
• Dilao (Paco)
• Pandacan
• Quiapo
• Sampaloc
• San Miguel

Four other settlements are now separate cities in and around Metro Manila:

• San Juan del Monte (now San Juan)
• San Felipe Neri (now Mandaluyong)
• San Pedro de Macati (now Makati)
• Taytay, Rizal

Spanish records from 1578 show that these settlements were part of Santa Ana de Sapa. They were considered "visitas" or satellite communities.

Pre-colonial history of the Philippines
Barangay government
Ruling class (Maginoo, Tumao): Apo, Datu, Lakan, Panglima, Rajah, Sultan, Thimuay
Middle class: Timawa, Maharlika
Serfs, commoners and slaves (Alipin): Aliping namamahay, Alipin sa gigilid, Bulisik, Bulislis, Horohan, Uripon
States in Luzon
Caboloan
Cainta
Ibalon
Ma-i
Rajahnate of Maynila
Namayan
Tondo
States in the Visayas
Kedatuan of Madja-as
Kedatuan of Dapitan
Rajahnate of Cebu
States in Mindanao
Rajahnate of Butuan
Rajahnate of Sanmalan
Sultanate of Sulu
Sultanate of Maguindanao
Sultanates of Lanao
Key figures
Jayadewa Dayang Kalangitan Ache Agustin de Legazpi Dimasangcay Adel Gat Pangil Gugu Sarikula Lakandula Laut Buisan Lontok Magat Salamat Regimo Diraja Salalila Sasaban Sulayman III Kamal ud-Din Katuna Tarik Sulayman Tupas Urduja Kabungsuwan Kudarat Humabon Lapulapu Alimuddin I Muedzul Lail Tan Kiram
The book of Maragtas
Religion in pre-colonial Philippines
History of the Philippines
Portal: Philippines

Some of these old settlement names are no longer used. However, Philippine National Artist Nick Joaquin wrote that Namayan's territory included many modern areas. These include Santa Ana, Quiapo, San Miguel, Sampaloc, Santa Mesa, Paco, Pandacan in Manila. It also included Mandaluyong, San Juan, Makati, Pasay, Pateros, Taguig, Taytay, and Parañaque.

Economic Activities in Namayan

Fr. Huerta described the first settlement in Santa Ana as a fishing village. But it had other businesses too. People worked in carpentry and masonry. They also made pineapple cloth, smoked fish (tinapá), cigars, bricks, sugar, and bread.

This was different from Tondo and Maynila. Tondo controlled goods coming from China. Maynila controlled selling those Chinese goods to other ports in the islands.

Gold as Money

A collection of Piloncitos.

Like Tondo, the people of Namayan used Piloncitos as money. These were small gold pieces, some as tiny as a corn kernel. They weighed from 0.09 to 2.65 grams. Larger Piloncitos weighed about 2.65 grams. Piloncitos have been found in Mandaluyong, Bataan, and along the Pasig River.

Besides Piloncitos, Namayan also used gold rings. These were like the first coins made in the Kingdom of Lydia (modern-day Turkey). These gold rings were used for trade in the Philippines until the 1500s.

Namayan's Rulers

Fr. Huerta also wrote about the family that ruled Namayan. He traced their history back to a ruler named Lakan Tagkan and his wife, Buan. He wrote: "The people of this town came from a ruler called Lacantagcan, and his wife named Bouan. They were the lords of the Namayan lands. The first Christian name in this important family's history is Martin. Martin was the son of Calamayin. Calamayin was the son of Laboy. Laboy was the son of Palaba. Palaba was the first son of the ruler Lacantagcan and his wife Bouan."

Historian William Henry Scott noted that "Rajah Kalamayin" was the ruler of Namayan when the Spanish arrived in the early 1570s. Huerta wrote that Kalamayin's son was named "Martin" after he became a Roman Catholic. Huerta only traced the family tree through Martin, so he only mentioned Palaba, the oldest son of Tagkan and Bouan. The other four sons and any daughters were not named.

However, Huerta did mention that Tagkan had another son named Pasay. Pasay's mother was a slave from Borneo. "Lacantagcan had five children with his wife Bouan. He also had a son with a slave from Borneo. This son was named Pasay. He was the reason for the town known by the same name. He settled there as a landowner, supported by his father."

This shows that the rulers of Namayan and the settlement of Pasay were related. But it's not clear exactly how they were connected in the 1500s. Scott noted that Pasay's rulers talked directly with the Spanish. They did not have "Rajah Kalamayin" speak for them.

Some local stories say Tagkan's child Pasay was a daughter, a "Dayang-dayang" (princess). But Huerta used a word that means "son" when describing Pasay.

Historian Grace Odal-Devora found that Kapampangan stories also mention "Sultana Kalangitan." She was called "the Lady of the Pasig" and ruled the Kingdom of Namayan. She is said to be the grandmother of "Prinsipe Balagtas" (or Bagtas). The legend says the Kapampangan people came from him. Odal notes that this shows how the ruling families of the Tagalog people were connected.

Documented Rulers of Namayan

The rulers of Namayan from the 1570s and three generations before that were recorded by Franciscan historian Fray Felix Huerta. His book, Estado geográfico, topográfico, estadístico, histórico- religioso de la santa y apostólica Provincia de San Gregorio Magno, is an important source for local Philippine history.

Legendary Rulers of Namayan

Besides Huerta's records, some rulers are linked to Namayan through old stories. These stories are found in documents like Fernando Malang's will (1589) and recorded by scholars like Grace Odal-Devora and writers like Nick Joaquin.

After Spanish Arrival

When the Santa Ana de Sapa church was built in 1578, Franciscan missionaries chose a spot some distance from the old town. Because of this, today's Santa Ana is not exactly where Namayan's original capital was. This has led to questions about old graves found near the Santa Ana church recently.

Images for kids

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See also

In Spanish: Reino de Namayan para niños