Rajah Humabon was the Rajah of Cebu at the time of Portuguese explorer, Ferdinand Magellan's arrival in the Philippines in 1521.[1] There is no official record of his existence before the Spanish arrival, but extensive narration by Italian historian Antonio Pigafetta was made on Humabon and the Philippine indigenous kingdoms, prior to the Spanish colonization.
There is no official record on the origins of Rajah Humabon prior to the arrival of Magellan. One of this native kings were Sri Lumay, a native from Sumatra, who settled in the Visayas, and had several sons. One of his son was Sri Alho, who ruled a land known as Sialo which included the present-day towns of Carcar and Santander in the southern region of Cebu. Sri Ukob ruled a kingdom known as Nahalin in the north which included the present-day towns of Consolación, Liloan, Compostela, Danao, Carmen and Bantayan. He died in battle, fighting with the tribal group known as magalos from Mindanao.[2]
The youngest of his sons was Sri Bantug who ruled a kingdom known as Singhapala (a variation of the Sanskrit Singha-Pura meaning City of the Lion, the same root for the name of Singapore), in a region which is now part of Cebu City, who died of disease and was succeeded by his son Sri Hamabar, also known as Rajah Humabon. Sri Bantug had a brother called Sri Parang, the limp, but could not govern his kingdom because of his infirmity. Sri Parang handed his throne to his nephew Humabon as regent and became the Rajah (king) of Cebu.
Sri Parang, the limp, also had a young son, Sri Tupas, also known as Rajah Tupas who succeeded Rajah Humabon as king of Cebu.[3] The phrase Cata Raya Chita was documented by historian Antonio Pigafetta to be a warning in the Malay language, from a merchant to the Rajah. Following Pigafetta's inscription, the phrase is creole Malay for "Kata-katanya adalah raya cita-cita". (Kata (word), raya (great, main, large), cita-cita (ambitious)"), or "What they say is mainly ambitious".
Another interpretation is that this phrase is that of Kota raya kita, an indigenous Old Malay phrase of merchants under the authority of Rajah Humabon, with a meaning in English of: "We are of the great fortress": Kota (fortress), Raya (Rajah, royal, great), kita (we).
The meeting between Rajah Humabon and Enrique of Malacca, the slave accompanying Magellan's voyage, is the evidence of the existence of the Old Malay being the indigenous language spoken in the Philippines, documented by Antonio Pigafetta and Spanish explorer Miguel López de Legazpi.
According to Spanish and Philippine historical accounts, Rajah Humabon was the first indigenous king of the Philippines who converted to Christianity, after he, his wives and the people of Cebu were baptized by Magellan's priest. Humabon was named Carlos in honour of king Charles I of Spain, while his principal wife Hara Amihan was named Juana, after king Charles' mother, Johanna. He also made a blood compact with Magellan, as a sign of friendship. According to Pigafetta, it was Humabon who had requested Magellan to kill his rival Datu Lapu Lapu, the Datu (chieftain) of nearby Mactan island. Humabon's conversion to Christianity however, had an adverse effect of allowing the Spaniards to control Humabon and his people. After quarrel and mis-understanding erupted between the Spaniards and the Cebuanos, Rajah Humabon and his warriors plotted to poison the remaining Spanish soldiers in Cebu after the death of Magellan at the Battle of Mactan.