ME:: pre magellan Philippines was super interesting; Celestino C. Macachor:: Searching for Kali in the Indigenous Chronicles of Jovito Abellana By: Retracing our Past on Pandan Leaves – Pre-colonial Cebu
Discovered: Nov 20, 2025 15:00 (UTC) ME:: pre magellan Philippines was super interesting; Celestino C. Macachor:: Searching for Kali in the Indigenous Chronicles of Jovito Abellana By: Retracing our Past on Pandan Leaves – Pre-colonial Cebu
QUOTE
Legends and myth have been told about how the ancient name of Cebu City or as some old timers fondly call Sugbo originated. None of these versions so far have held up to the scrutiny of scholars and historians until Jovito Abellana published his book Bisaya Patronymesis Sri Visjaya where he extensively wrote about Aginid, Bayok sa atong Tawarik (Glide on, Odes to our History)[1]. The Aginid a discovery made by Jovito Abellana’s great grandfather is probably the only pre-colonial chronicle of the history of Cebu written in ancient alibata script on pandan leaves and other indigenous materials. Unfortunately most of the materials were lost in the subsequent upheaval that followed the Spanish defeat by Cebuano guerillas and the ensuing Filipino American War. Amidst strong support by some scholars to institutionalize the Aginid, the Cebu Normal University published it in 1998. Abellana wrote it in alibata (Cebuano hieroglyphic) form with an English translation. The Aginid tells of the fiery story of pre-colonial Cebu then known as Sugbo – which means scorched earth. This version on the origins of Sugbo, is important as it establishes the basic hypothesis why eskrima was invented in the first place – in defense against Moro invaders. And to add credence to the discovery of the Aginid by Jovito Abellana, other cognates of the word Sugbo can be found in the Cebuano lexicon such as: sugba – to grill, subu’ – to forge steel, sug-ang – set a cooking fire, sugnod – to burn. Let us go back to the story of how Sugbo got its name. In the olden times Sugbo (now present day Cebu City) was part of the island of Pulua Kang Dayang or Kangdaya. The ancient poem Diyandi tells us that so many hundred years ago natives had burned the town Sugbo as a way to drive away Muslim invaders from Mindanao. The natives would then flee to the mountains and later launch a counter offensive against the demoralized and exhausted invaders. The first ruler of Sugbo Sri Lumay who came from Sumatra successfully repulsed the invaders with his scorched earth tactics. Thus the place became known as Sugbo or scorched town. Jovito Abellana translated the Diyandi which was written in ancient alibata script and probably written during the time of Datu Tupas. It is a stirring chronicle of the story of the rich culture and colorful history of pre-colonial Cebu.
Aginid, Bayok sa Atong Tawarik (Glide on, Odes to Our History)
Extracted from Marivir Montebon’s book Retracing Our Roots – A Journey into Cebu’s Pre-Colonial Past[2] are excerpts of the story of pre-colonial Cebu according to the Aginid, Bayok sa atong Tawarik (Glide on, Odes to Our History) as translated by Jovito Abellana:
“Sri Lumay of Sumatra settled in Sugbo with his son, Sri Alho, ruling the south known as Sialo which included Valladolid, Carcar, up to Santander. His other son, Sri Ukob, ruled the north known as Nahalin which includes the present towns of Consolacion, Liloan, Compostela, Danao, Carmen, and Bantayan. As a ruler, Sri Lumay was known to be strict, merciless, and brave. He assigned magalamags to teach his people to read and write ancient letterings. He ordered routinary patrol by boats from Nahalin to Sialo by his mangubats (warriors). A strict ruler, Sri Lumay was a loving person that not a single slave ran away from him.