Sanduguan Shrine is a commemorative site of the Sanduguan (a blood compact) between Datu Sikatuna -the chieftain of Bohol, and Miguel Lopez de Legaspi -Spanish conquistador on March 16, 1565. Symbol of alliance and friendship, the two leaders made a cut in their arms and mixed drops of their blood with wine then drank it.
The Shrine is composed of statues made from brass. The scene defects Sikatuna seated at the left side of the picture raising a cup as if in a toast. Legazpi is in the middle with three of his men beside him, including a priest.
HISTORY. In 1521, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan became the
first person from Europe to reach Asia by sailing west, a voyage of which he
would meet an untimely death in the island of the Philippines. Spain sent
expeditions to colonize the East Indies in their competition with Portugal to
seize control over the spice trade. However, all of these expeditions failed.
It was not until Miguel López de Legazpi, sailing from Mexico with five ships
and five hundred men, reached the Philippines in 1565 and a Spanish settlement
was established. López de Legazpi was greeted by hostile Muslim tribes
opposing a foreign invasion. His attempt to land on the island of Cebu resulted
in the death of one of his soldiers prompting him to explore another island and
seek trade with various tribes.
Sailing south toward the island of Mindanao, López de
Legazpi's fleet encountered high winds forcing them to sail northward to the
island of Bohol. There, he captured a vessel from Borneo whose Malay sailors
informed the Spaniards that the natives inhabiting the region traded with
people from Borneo and Indonesia. Arriving in Bohol, López de Legazpi
noticed the hostility of the people. The Malayan servant explained that such
hostility was due to the expeditions conducted by the Portuguese from the
Moluccas islands. In 1563, Portuguese fleets arrived in Visayan waters and
enslaved about 1,000 inhabitants.[4] López de Legazpi, with the help of the
Malayan sailor, explained to the tribes in Bohol that they were not Portuguese
and that they had come to the islands to trade. Upon learning this, the
chieftains and their tribes became friendlier and welcoming to the Spaniards. source: wikipedia
The Inscription in the Monument. “About the middle of March 1565, the fleet of Captain
General Miguel López de Legazpi anchored along these shores. In the course of
this visit, López de Legazpi entered into a blood compact with Datu Sikatuna
for the purpose of insuring friendly relations between the Spaniards and
Filipinos. Each of the two leaders made a small cut in his arm,
drew a few drops of blood from the incision, mixed it with wine, and drank the
goblet containing the blood of the other. Thus was the first bond of friendship
between Filipinos and Spaniards. It is observed in the following manner: one from each
party draws two or three drops of blood from his own arm or breast and mixes
them in the same cup, with water or wine. Then the mixture must be divided
equally between two cups and neither person may depart until both cups are
alike drained.”
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The location of the Sanduguan Shrine is more or less 15 minutes from the province's capital city- Tagbilaran . So Tara Na sa Bohol:) and let's visit one of most interesting places in amazing 7107 Islands!
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My beloved Bohol!!! Pumunta ka ba dito? :)
ReplyDeleteBy the way, sinubmit ko sa social bookmarking site (www.unsayuso.com) ko yung article ko kung okay lang...
Nice post. Anything na may touch of history amuses me. Thanks Traveling Morion!
ReplyDeletethanks too Andy :)
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