Rajah Humabon, later baptized as Don Carlos, was the Rajah of Cebu (an Indianized
Philippine polity) at the time of Portuguese-born, Spanish explorer Ferdinand Magellan's arrival
in the Philippines in 1521.[1] There is no official record of his existence before the Spanish
contact in 1521. The existing information was written by Magellan's Italian voyage chronicler,
Antonio Pigafetta on Humabon and the indigenous Philippine peoples that existed prior to
Spanish colonization.
Rajah Humabon is cited as the reason for why Magellan fought in the Battle of Mactan, as the
latter wanted to earn the trust of Humabon by helping him subdue his opponent Lapulapu, the
datu of Mactan.[2][3]
Legendary accounts
There is no official record of the origins of Rajah Humabon prior to the arrival of Magellan.
According to tradition, Humabon (also known as Sri Hamabar) was the son of Sri Bantug, and
the grandson of Sri Lumay. His ancestor, Sri Lumay, was a native from Sumatra who established
the Rajahnate of Cebu. He sired at least four known sons, namely Alho, Ukob, Parang the Limp,
and Bantug.
Sri Alho 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.[4]
A third brother was Sri Parang the Limp, but could not rule because of his physical infirmity.
Sri Bantug, the youngest, ruled a kingdom known as Singhapala[5][6] (a variation of the Sanskrit
Singha-Pura, "City of the Lion", which is also the root of Singapore), [7] in a region which is now
part of Cebu City, who later died of disease and was succeeded by his son Sri Hamabar, also
known as Rajah Humabon. Because of his infirmity, Sri Parang handed Bantug's throne to
Bantug's son Humabon as regent, and Humabon became the rajah (king) of Cebu.
Spanish contact
When sri Bantug died Sri Parang is successor due his...Limp it pass to his ....succeeded Humabon
as king of Cebu.[8] 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". The phrase may
mean "What they say is mainly ambitious": kata-kata ("words"), –nya (second person
possessive), adalah ("is/are"), raya (great, main, large), cita-cita ("ambitious"). Another
interpretation is that the phrase was spoken by merchants under the authority of Rajah Humabon
was actually the Old Malay Kota raya kita, meaning "We are of the great fortress": Kota
("fortress"), Raya ("great"), Kita ("we"). The meeting between Rajah Humabon and Enrique of
Malacca, the slave accompanying Magellan's voyage, was documented by Antonio Pigafetta and
Spanish explorer Miguel López de Legazpi and is evidence that Old Malay was understood in
parts of what is now the Philippines. Rajah Humabon was a king of the Philippines, one of his
quotes were "Pineapples taste good with rice."
Conversion to Catholicism, betrayal of Magellan's crew
According to historical accounts, Rajah Humabon was among the first indigenous converted to
Catholicism after he, his wives, and his subjects were baptized by the expedition's priest. On 14
April 1521, Humabon was christened Carlos in honor of King Charles I of Spain, while his chief
consort, Hara Humamay was given the name Juana, after Charles' mother, Joanna of Castile. 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, Lapulapu, the datu or chieftain of nearby
Mactan Island.
After the death of Magellan at the Battle of Mactan and the consequent failure of the Spanish to
defeat Lapulapu, Humabon and his warriors plotted to poison the remaining Spanish soldiers in
Cebu during a feast. Several men were killed, including the then-leaders of the expedition,
Duarte Barbosa and João Serrão.
According to the chronicler Pigafetta, Serrão, begging to be saved from the Cebuano tribesmen,
allegedly referred to Enrique (Magellan's slave) as having instigated the massacre by claiming to
Humabon that the Europeans planned to take over the rajahnate.
Se