BLOOD COMPACT SHRINE
NOTE: Rewritten Message from the above photos:
BLOOD COMPACT SHRINE
” This iconic bronze sculpture done in 1999 by world-renowned Boholano National Artist, the late Napoleon V. Abueva commemorates a very significant events in the Philippines history – the friendship sealed in blood bylocal chieftain Rajah Sikatuna and Spanish conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legazpi. Cnnsidered as the first treaty of international friendship in the country between two different races, religions, cultures, and civilizations. It was a pact based on respect and equality. This event commonly known as “Sandugo””.
History:
Miguel Lopez de Legazpi landed on the shores of Bohol on March 1565. It was the fifth expedition that the king of Spain had sent to the Philippines archipelago after Magellan. Sailing fron Navidad, Mexico (the surrogate of the crown of Spain) on November 21, 1564 with Father Andres Urdaneta, he reached Cebu on February 13, 1565 but was not able to land as they were met with resistance. So he sailed to the nearby islands of Samar, Leyte, Limaswa and Camiguin in search of provisions.
Eventually on their way to Mindanao, the fleet met with bad weather and was forced to seek refuge and dropped anchor at a village southeastern part of Bohol, which is now called Jagna. As the natives there were unfriendly, they set sail again and seek other villages where the people were mere hospitable. In a village few kilometers from the old Tagbilaran, Legazpi dropped anchor. He went ashore together with the Muslim interpreter and some of his men and approached Sikatuna in a pleasing manner that impressed the local chieftain. With Legazpi’s overtures, tact and diplomacy, Sikatuna was sold to host visitor’s ideas and eventually became friends.
As was the native custom at that time, the two sealed their friendship through a blood compact wherein both draw two or three droplets of blood from their arms into a cup of wine, then the blood-wine mixture was divided equally between the two which both drank up to the last drop. Thus, the Blood compact was sealed on March 16, 1565.
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