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Laguna Copperplate Inscription: Readings in Philippine History

The document summarizes the Laguna Copperplate Inscription, the earliest known written document found in the Philippines. It was discovered in 1989 in Laguna province and dates to April 21, 900 CE. Written in Old Kawi script with elements of Old Malay, Sanskrit, Old Javanese and Old Tagalog, it records a royal debt pardon issued by the Kingdom of Tondo forgiving the heirs of Namwaran for a debt of gold. The copperplate provides insights into pre-colonial Philippine societies and cultures.

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Niña Rica Punzalan
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464 views2 pages

Laguna Copperplate Inscription: Readings in Philippine History

The document summarizes the Laguna Copperplate Inscription, the earliest known written document found in the Philippines. It was discovered in 1989 in Laguna province and dates to April 21, 900 CE. Written in Old Kawi script with elements of Old Malay, Sanskrit, Old Javanese and Old Tagalog, it records a royal debt pardon issued by the Kingdom of Tondo forgiving the heirs of Namwaran for a debt of gold. The copperplate provides insights into pre-colonial Philippine societies and cultures.

Uploaded by

Niña Rica Punzalan
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Readings in Philippine History SY 2018-2019

Punzalan, Niña Rica V

BSA 1-1

LAGUNA COPPERPLATE INSCRIPTION

"Long Live! Year of Siyaka 822, month of Waisaka, according to astronomy. The fourth
day of the waning moon, Monday. On this occasion, Lady Angkatan, and her brother
whose name is Buka, the children of the Honourable Namwaran, were awarded a
document of complete pardon from the Commander in Chief of Tundun, represented
by the Lord Minister of Pailah, Jayadewa.

"By this order, through the scribe, the Honourable Namwaran has been forgiven of all
and is released from his debts and arrears of 1 katî and 8 suwarna before the
Honourable Lord Minister of Puliran, Ka Sumuran by the authority of the Lord
Minister of Pailah.

"Because of his faithful service as a subject of the Chief, the Honourable and widely
renowned Lord Minister of Binwangan recognized all the living relatives of Namwaran
who were claimed by the Chief of Dewata, represented by the Chief of Medang.

"Yes, therefore the living descendants of the Honourable Namwaran are forgiven,
indeed, of any and all debts of the Honourable Namwaran to the Chief of Dewata.

"This, in any case, shall declare to whomever henceforth that on some future day
should there be a man who claims that no release from the debt of the Honourable …"

—1994 translation by Paul Morrow

The earliest known evidence for written literature in the history of the
Philippines, the Laguna Copperplate Inscription is a sheet of copper metal with
ancient writing discovered in the province of Laguna in 1989. It was found by a
dredger working near the mouth of the Lumbang River emptying out into Laguna de
Bay.

From there the plate made its way to the National Museum of the Philippines,
where the Dutch anthropologist Antoon Postma recognised the writing on the plate as
being akin to Kawi, an ancient Javanese script. This allowed him to translate the text
on the plate, the findings of which he published in 1992. One of the findings was that
—luckily—it was very explicitly dated to the 21st of April, 900 C.E.. The text was
hammered out onto the copper sheet in Old Kawi script, but the language appears to
be in Old Malay, with substantial elements of Sanskrit, Old Javanese and Old Tagalog
mixed in, making the entirety sound like an early case of code-switching.
Readings in Philippine History SY 2018-2019

The document is essentially a royal debt pardon, issued by the Kingdom of Tondo
("Tundun"), officially releasing the heirs of the late Namwaran from a debt in gold
amounting to a rough equivalent of 926 grams. To this day, the copperplate remains
as part of the permanent exhibit of the Museum of the Filipino People, a subdivision of
the National Museum Complex in the City of Manila.

Relevant Tropes:

East Indies: The pre-Philippine cultures suggested and mentioned in the plate paint a
picture similar to the rest of the precolonial kingdoms across maritime Southeast Asia.

Even Evil Has Standards / Everyone Has Standards: There is no context in the plate to
suggest that the ruler of Tondo could be considered anything like "evil", but at least he
doesn't force Namwaran's children to pay their now dead father's debts.

Evil Debt Collector: Averted with the chief of Tondo, who magnanimously forgives the
late Namwaran's debts by not passing them on to his family, although the plate
doesn't specify how Namwaran got into debt in the first place (and whether his
creditors didn't try to pursue him in life).

The Good Kingdom: Tondo, based on the north bank of the Pasig River delta, where it
empties into Manila Bay. Today it survives as a mere electoral district of the city of
Manilanote —and is both a poverty-stricken Wretched Hive and a notorious Gangster
Land to boot. How the Mighty Have Fallen, indeed.

Still, Tondo was by no means the most powerful entity mentioned by


name, as its leader invokes the authority of successively higher rulers across
the region, suspected either to be elsewhere in Luzon, the Visayas to the south,
or as far south as Java and Medang.

The Low Middle Ages: Quite fortunately, the copperplate was inscribed with a very
specific date, as though it were time-stamped. The date reads: "Year 822 of the Shaka
Era, month of Waisakha, the fourth day of the waning moon, Monday." In the modern
Gregorian calendar this corresponds to the 21st of April, 900 C.E., making this trope
the equivalent time period (in Europe and the Arab/Islamic world).

Mundane Made Awesome: Ancient documents like this are often expected to contain
things like epic poetry or references to mythology or high culture, but the LCI is
basically just a government debt-relief letter.

No Ending: The plate is cut off where it decrees some sort of warning against anyone
who would try to contest the pardon, and the implied penalty (whether a legal penalty
or threat of supernatural

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