| Kingdom of Namayan Namayan (sometimes also Sapa, Maysapan or Nasapan) |
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| Ancient Kingdom | ||||
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| Capital | Maysapan (now Santa Ana) | |||
| Government | Lakan | |||
| History | ||||
| - Established | unknown | |||
| - Conquest by Spain | 1571 | |||
The ancient Kingdom of Namayan, alternately referred to as the Kingdom of Sapa, Maysapan or Nasapan after its capital which goes by those names, was one of three major kingdoms that dominated the area around the upper portion of the Pasig River and the coast of Laguna Lake in the Philippines before the arrival of Spanish colonizers in the 16th century.
Namayan is said to be the oldest of the three kingdoms, pre-dating the kingdoms of Tondo and Maynila.[1] Formed by a confederation of barangays, it is said to have achieved its peak in 1175.[2]
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Namayan's territory has been described bordering Manila Bay, the Pasig river, and Laguna Lake.[1][2] A more precise description of Namayan's administrative area is given by Franciscan scholar Fr. Felix de Huerta, who, noting that Namayan was a confederation of several barangays, identified these component communities as they were named during the mid 19th century.[3]
These were:
Moreover, administrative and political records of Spanish Manila indicate that these settlements mentioned as territories of the Kingdom of Sapa were recorded in 1578 as parts and visitas of Sta. Ana de Sapa.[1]
The capital, Sapa, would later be called Maysapan, and then Santa Ana de Sapa, and is known today simply as Santa Ana, a district of the City of Manila.[2]
Fr. Huertas notes that "this town takes its name from the titular saint and the addition of Sapa for its having been established in a site immediately upon an estuary or rivulet proceeding from the Pasig River, which the natives call Sapa and the name of the town itself."[3]
Fr. Huertas also recorded the history of Namayan's rulers. It had been ruled from Sapa by Lakan Tagkan (Lacatagcan, Takhan), and Lady Buan. Their known issue was five individuals of whom the principal was named Palaba. Palaba sired a son named Laboy who, in turn, had a son named Calamayin whose own son was christened Martín when he converted to Catholicism.[3]
Of perhaps greater interest, however, is Tagkan's child by his Bornean slave-wife. The child, named Pasay, inherited the territory known today as the territories of Culi-culi, Baclaran and the modern city which still bears the name of this individual.[1] There is some discrepancy as to whether Pasay was a son or daughter, with some legends referring to "Dayang-dayang Pasay" ("Princess" Pasay).[2][3]
When the parish of Sta. Ana de Sapa was founded in 1578, Franciscan missionaries chose to build their church, and eventually another settlement, some distance away from the ancient town. The result is that the present-day Santa Ana is no longer located at the original site of the capital of Namayan.[3] This has raised some questions about pre-colonial graves that have recently been excavated near the Santa Ana church.[1] A street named Lamayan (Tagalog for "the place where a wake was held") is said to be the site of the ancient capital where Lakan Tagkan and Buwan once ruled.[1]
During the Spanish colonial era, Santa Ana was a fishing village that had other industries including carpentry, masonry, piña (pineapple cloth) embroidery, as well as the production of tinapâ, cigars, bricks, sugar, and bread.
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