Site of the First Mass

• For three centuries, Butuan had been known as the home of the first Catholic Mass in our country
• in 1872 there erected a monument near the Agusan River which celebrates Magellan‟s arrival and first Catholic Mass in the country on April 8, 1521, However, when Blair and Roberston introduced their volumes of “The Philippine Islands” from 1903 to 1909, the landscape would change– Butuan‟s standing would be challenged
• Pigafetta clearly stated that the mass was held at “Mazaua.”
• Some historians suggest that it was on the little island south of Leyte called Limasawa
• other scholars pointed out that it was on Masao, located at the mouth of the Agusan River in northern Mindanao, near Butuan.
• The first group which identified with the “Butuan tradition” depended on oral traditions and chronicles, with the absence of primary documents about Magellan's voyage, until the end of the 19th century
• Blood compact


  A ritual involving the exchange of blood between Europeans and Filipinos, often to seal a friendship or treaty.
• Ferdinand Magellan


  Portuguese explorer who organized the Spanish expedition to the East Indies that resulted in the first circumnavigation of the Earth.
• Rajah Humabon


  A ruler of Cebu who engaged in the first recorded blood compact with Europeans in the Philippines, specifically with Ferdinand Magellan.
• Cebu


  An island province in the Philippines where the first recorded blood compact between Europeans and Filipinos took place.
• Antonio Pigafetta


  The personal chronicler of Ferdinand Magellan's expedition, who provided detailed accounts of their journey.
• Palawan


  An island province in the Philippines where a blood compact was made between the crew of Magellan's expedition and a local leader (datu).
• Datu


  A tribal chief or leader in Filipino culture.
• Sandugo / Pacto de Sangre


  The ritual of blood compact, used to seal friendship or validate agreements, as practiced by early Filipino and European settlers.
• Rajah Kolambu


  A local ruler who participated in a blood compact with Ferdinand Magellan on the island of Limasawa.
• Limasawa


  An island believed by some historians to be the site of the first Catholic Mass in the Philippines.
• Rajah Siagu


  Brother of Rajah Kolambu, also invited to the first Catholic Mass in the Philippines.
• Butuan


  A city in the Philippines, another claimed site of the first Catholic Mass in the country.
• Easter Sunday

  The Christian holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
• Catholic Mass


  The central act of Catholic worship, commemorating the Last Supper of Jesus Christ.
• Christianity


  The religion based on the teachings of Jesus Christ, which was introduced to the Philippines during the colonial period.
• Pedro de Valderrama


  The priest who conducted the first documented Catholic Mass in the Philippines.
• Leyte


  An island province in the Philippines, where Mazaua (believed to be Limasawa) is located.
• Masao


  A historical belief that the first Catholic Mass in the Philippines was held in Butuan.
• Antonio Sanchez de Mora


  A Spanish medieval history expert who confirmed the location of the first Easter Mass in the Philippines as Limasawa.
• National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP)


  A government agency responsible for preserving and promoting Philippine history.
• National Historical Institute


  The predecessor of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines.
• James Alexander Robertson


  Translator of Antonio Pigafetta's writings, which provide valuable insights into Magellan's expedition.
• Arthur H. Clark Company


  Publisher of historical works, including translations and analyses of primary sources.
• Miguel A. Bernad


  A Jesuit historian who wrote about the debate surrounding the location of the first Catholic Mass in the Philippines.
• March 31, 1521 - Easter Sunday, first documented Catholic Mass in the Philippines. This event marked the introduction of Christianity in the archipelago and played a significant role in shaping Philippine history and culture
• Butuan or Limasawa: The Site of the First Mass in the Philippines: A Reexamination of the Evidence - reexamines the evidence regarding the site of the first Catholic Mass in the Philippines, which is a subject of historical debate between the Butuan and Limasawa camps. Significant contribution to the ongoing discussion about this important event in Philippine history.
• In 1906, James Alexander Robertson provided an English translation in which the second group of historians relied “heavily and almost exclusively on.” This material would become the origin of Limasawa‟s claim. In a particular footnote of the translation, he noted: “It (Mazaua) is now called the island of Limasawa, and has an area of about ten and one-half square miles.” Before this period, the Limasawa tradition did not exist not until Robertson “arbitrarily and without explanation identified Mazaua with the island of Limasawa.”
• Celedonio Resurrecion's 


  “The Rules of Evidence to the True Identity of Pigafetta‟s Mazaua,” published in 1990
• scholars like Schumacher, Bernad, and Scott were “uncritical historians” who tried to discredit the “Butuan historiographic tradition” with Robertson‟s translation as the standpoint
• Pigafetta written in his account: “nouve gradi et duo tersi” or nine degree and two-third (Lat. 9 deg 00 min North) toward the Artic

  The location stated in Pigafetta‟s account was the same with the logbook records presented by pilots Albo, and Pancaldo, Moluccas Governor Brito, from the records of the captured Magellan‟s flagship–Trinidad) as well as the Philippine Gazetteer in 1945
• The Humunu-Mazaua distance of 25 leguas is equivalent to 1 deg 26 min, close to Humunu-Mazaua (Homonhon-Masao) distance of 1 deg 45 min
• The distance between Mazaua and Cebu is twenty leguas, and fifteen leguas from Catighan to Cebu
• Mazaua, according to Pigafetta‟s account following Magellan‟s death, boarders Chippit is a land belongs to the same land as Butuan and Calaghan
• There is a strong oral tradition, called as the Oral Mazaua (Masao) Tradition, which tells that Magellan went in the Islet of Masao