Reign of the first born sons - what is this tradition among Lakan Dula descendants?
The reign of the first born son to the Royal Sultanate of Sulu
and North borneo is also followed to the last male heir successor
to the throne , this is in conjunction to the traditional lineage
of the Islamic Royal succession, the last male heir first born son
has to continue the lineage to the throne. The unbroken hierarchy
to the throne is successive to the three Royal rank to avoid
confusion among the heir. The Sultan must have been a Rajah Mudah
and Maharajah Adinda, without going through this process , there
would be a chaos in the lineage to the throne as what claiming
Sultan is doing now. The passed on relative to the throne cannot be
a Sultan but Datu's only. This can be best explained if there are
three brothers to the throne , the first two older brother son's
are called passed on to the hierarchy because the last male heir
successor oldest son will take place of the Sultan simply because
the oldest son will be the Rajah Muda of his father. this is not
contestable because even to the second brother , the first born son
of the last male heir successor is the Maharajah Adinda and his
father is the Rajah Muda of the second brother, this predictive
pattern is one way and not transferrable to each other. Before the
Spaniards came, native Filipinos have a very prosperous Kingdom,
based in Intramuros, Manila. The natives called their king Lakan
and the name of their last King is Dula.
Lakan Dula is the first born son. He could never have been
crowned Lakan if he is not the first born son.
It was in Lakan Dula's era when Britain and Spain are fighting
for world power. Britain's way is to gain the trust of native
royalties all over the world by diplomacy or intermarriages and
then group these royalties into federation under its leadership.
Spain's way is through conquest and subjugation. Lakan Dula's tall
and fair appearance came from his great grand father who has
British blood, a Lord of Manor from Oxfordshire. Lakan Dula is the
early attempt of the British to gain the trust of the native Manila
aristocracy.
In a book written by Rowena Reyes-Boquiren, Ph.D.,from the
division of Social Sciences of University of the Philippines
College Baguio, entitled HISTORY OF COLONIALISM AND STRUGGLE :
LOCAL STREAMS IN PHILIPPINE NATIONALISM (Prepared for the 1999 Ibon
Philippine Educators Training, ) Baguio City.), she said that the
first uprising in Manila against Spain happened in 1571 in Marikina
Valley in what is now known as Cainta, probably in the vicinity of
Balanti, near the known settlement of Lakan Dula descendants in
what is now known today as Jesus de la Pena. The full blown revolt
of Lakan Dula happened three years later involving 10,000 natives
and its spread form Manila to Cavite, Batangas and Mindoro. Take
note that during the British invasion of Manila, the first ever
election happened also in Marikina Valley and the British forces
and deserters, mostly Sepoys, also escaped and settled in Cainta,
showing the link of Lakan Dula to the British royalty. The British
also participated in Philippine history when it befriended the
Sultanate of Sulu and lease Sabah and manuevere it to be joined in
the Malaysian Federation, which is under its control during those
times. Today, the reign of the first born sons of the descendant of
the Sultanate of Sulu is still uneasy with that maneuver of the
British. The bloodline of the Sultanate is still intact, thru the
first born sons. The lineage of the hierarchy has been broken when
Dayang Dayang Hadji Piandao assume as the lady Sultan which was not
allowed in the Islamic Royal Succession, when pressured , Dayang
Dayang Hadji Piandao caused to substitute her husband Ombra Amil
bangsa who also is not Kiram. this was coupled by another tragedy
in the hierarchy when Abraham Rasul were asked by President Marcos
while the reigning Rajah Mudah Punjungan Kiram was in Sabah,he
instead pointed Mahakuttah Kiram, Muhammad Fuad A. Kiram I is the
brother of the late Mahakuttah . Both sons of Sultan Esmail Kiram
has never been a Maharajah Adinda nor Rajah Mudah of their father
because the next in line to the throne is the younger brother of
their father Punjungan Kiram, Mahakuttah Abdulla Kiram (Sultan
1974-1986) was mistakenly assume the throne while Punjungan was in
Sabah,he was the son of the late HM Sultan Muhammad Esmail E. Kiram
I (Sultan 1947-1973), who gave the power of attorney to Philippine
Pres. Diosdado Macapagal in 1962 then to Philippine Pres. Ferdinand
E. Marcos in 1969 for the Philippine Government to recover Sabah.
His grandfather was HM Sultan Mawallil Wasit Kiram, successor to
his brother HM Sultan Jamalul Kiram II (Sultan 1893-1936),
childless, who died of poisoning. HM Sultan Mawallil Wasit Kiram
ruled only for six (6) months due to death by poisoning in 1936,
whereupon the throne was inherited by his first-born son HM Sultan
Muhammad Esmail E. Kiram I. The father of HM Jamalul Kiram II was
HM Sultan Jamalul Ahlam Kiram who leased North Borneo (Sabah) to a
British Company in 1878. HRH Prince Ezzarhaddon A. Kiram is the
Crown Prince of the Royal Hashemite Sultanate of Sabah and is known
as the Prince of Kota Kinabalu while his brother HRH Prince
Al-mezzheer A. Kiram is the Crown Prince of the Royal Hashemite
Sultanate of Sulu and is known as the Prince of Jolo.
First born sons are traditional and hereditary leaders in most
culture of the world. Even Jesus is a first born son. Recently, the
Discovery Channel filmed Rameses: Wrath of God or Man?, in which a
team of archeologists led by professor Kent Weeks will investigate
the tomb of the princes of Rameses II, who is believed to be the
Pharaoh of the Exodus. One of the findings to be shown on the
program is the skull of Amun-her-khepeshef, whom Weeks identifies
as the firstborn son of Rameses II. This shows how important the
first born sons even during the time of the Egyptian pharaohs.
First born sons are also valued in Scottish rites as shown in
this excerpt: "On the advice of an expert, it is presumed that in
this particular translation the Judge is the Almighty, who is being
asked to understand what it is that makes it necessary for the
owner of the sword to take a life in battle. For the purpose of
greater simplicity, I always refer to the sword by the name that,
throughout my life, I've most commonly heard it called ...
Discerner. Traditionally, the custom of passing the sword from one
generation to the next, always father to first born son, remained
unbroken well into the 1600s."
In Marikina Valley, where the Lakan Dula and British influence
are very strong, the culture of installing the first born son as
the leader of the clan was shown in the Mayorazgo Tuason, which
appeared to be the only noble estate in the Philippines. The
succession to the mayorazgo was based on male primogeniture (first
born or eldest son). This was not only a Spanish policy but also a
Chinese custom. In fact, Son-tua, the original surname of the
Tuasons, means "eldest son." The first holder of the mayorazgo was
Don Vicente Dolores Tuason. The hereditary and titular leader of
the Dulay Clan of Marikina Valley is also an uninterrupted
succession of the first born sons tracing back from way back sixth
generation. The present leader is the 5th generation eldest son
Sofronio l, and he is grooming his only son, Sofronio ll, as the
sixth hereditary titular head of the clan. Ceferino Dulay, 4th
generation head of the clan is a friend and ward leader of
President Diosdado Macapagal, who is also a descendant of Lakan
Dula. Ceferino settled in Marikina Valley from Tondo. Emiliano
Guevara settled in Marikina Valley from Quiapo. Unlike the Dulay
Clan of Marikina Valley, the reigns of the first born sons of the
Tuazon and Guevara Clans of Marikina Valley are now obscure. The
reign of first born sons is prevalent in other clans and tribes in
the Philippines as shown by this excerpt from the northern
Philipppines,: "In his testimony, program recipient and partner
Peter Bangngayon of the Tulgao tribe related how his family had
been filled with hatred and absorbed in trying to avenge his father
who was killed by a Basao member when he was still small. Being the
first born son, the responsibility to revenge fell on his shoulder
and he was then persistently prompted by his tribe mates to carry
out that duty."
How important then is the reign of the first born sons among the
descendants of Lakan Dula. Technically speaking, if we can identify
the present and current first born son of the long line of Lakan
Dula descendants from the generation of Lakan Dula to the present,
we have in a way identify the hereditary and titular head of the
Kingdom of Manila, the way the Sultanate of Sulu was able to
identify theirs. And the guy could just be mixing around with the
people... never knowing his significance to the Filipino culture.
Could he be Tom Dula…, of the Tom Dooley fame?
The reigning first born son is just around us, he is probably
from among the several Filipino clans who are tracing their roots
from Lakan Dula.
Is that important enough?
