Literature

Laguna Copperplate inscription (also shortened to LCI) is the first written

document found in a Philippine language. The plate was found in 1989 by Alfredo
E. Evangelista. in Laguna de Bay, in the metroplex of Manila, Philippines, the LCI
has inscribed on it a date of Saka era 822, corresponding to May 10[citation needed],
900 CE.It was written in the Kawi Script and contains many words from Sanskrit,
old Javanese, old Malay and old Tagalog. The purpose of the document is that it
released its bearer, Namwaran, from a debt in gold amounting to 1 kati and 8
suwarnas (865 grams).The document mentions the places of Tondo, Pila and
Pulilan in the area around Manila Bay and Medan (or rather, the Javanese
Kingdom of Medang), Indonesia.The discovery of the Inscription has highlighted
the evidence found of cultural links present between the Tagalog speaking
people of this time and the various contemporary civilizations in Asia, most
notably the Middle kingdoms of India and the Srivjaya empire, a topic in
Philippine history of which not much is presently known.

Transliteration

The transliteration is as follows:

Swasti. Saka warṣatita 822 Waiakha masa di(ng) jyotisa. Caturthi Krisnapksa
Somawara sana tatkala Dayang Angkatan lawan dengan nya sānak barngaran si
Bukah anak da dang Hwan Namwaran di bari waradāna wi shuddhapattra ulih
sang pamegat senāpati di Tundun barja(di) dang Hwan Nāyaka tuhan Pailah
Jayadewa. Di krama dang Hwan Namwaran dengan dang kayastha shuddha nu
di parlappas hutang da walenda Kati 1 Suwarna 8 di hadapan dang Huwan
Nayaka tuhan Puliran Kasumuran. dang Hwan Nayaka tuhan Pailah barjadi
ganashakti. Dang Hwan Nayaka tuhan Binwangan barjadi bishruta tathapi
sadana sanak kapawaris ulih sang pamegat dewata [ba]rjadi sang pamegat
Medang dari bhaktinda diparhulun sang pamegat. Ya makanya sadanya anak
cucu dang Hwan Namwaran shuddha ya kapawaris dihutang da dang Hwan
Namwaran di sang pamegat Dewata. Ini gerang syat syapanta ha pashkat ding
ari kamudyan ada gerang urang barujara welung lappas hutang da dang Hwa

English translation

Long Live! Year of Syaka 822, month of Vaisakha, according to Jyotisha (Hindu
astronomy). The fourth day of the waning moon, Monday. On this occasion, Lady
Angkatan, and her brother whose name is Bukah, 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 Kasumuran 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...

Calatagan Pot
Translations
In the early 1960's, an artifact was offered by treasure hunters to National
Museum staff as they were working on a nearby excavation. It was the Calatagan
pot, the first pre-Hispanic artifact with writing to be found. As such, it is the best
known and written about among all artifacts with writing. Even at that, it is still
undeciphered.

The late Dr. Robert Fox brought the pot to the offices of the Manila Times to ask
help from its editor, Chino Roces, in deciphering the writing around the mouth of
the pot. The newspaper, as a result, commissioned the sculptor Guillermo
Tolentino, an expert on Philippine syllabaries, to decipher the writing. Tolentino
had a hard time with certain letters so he, as a spiritist, reportedly summoned his
special powers to come up with a translation. The authenticity of the pot has
been questioned since it first showed up. For one thing, no other pot has been
found decorated with writing. Carbon dating was reportedly done on the pot but
the results pointed to such an extremely
early date that it had to be rejected. Dr. Fox
wanted to do some thermoluminescence
testing but didn't live to see it done.

The symbols are divided by stop marks into

six groups (which may be phrases), each
consisting of five or seven symbols.

Transcription

LA-BAG MAN NA LA-NGA-KIN Group 2

NI-NO MAN NI I-MA NGA Group 3
GA KA-KA-I-LA-NGA-NIN Group 4
BA I-YAN NGA KI-NA-NO Group 5
NGA KA-LA-BIS NG GAN-YANG Group 6
PA- * -KI-NA-BANG Group 1

Translation

Ang Tunay na Diwa ng Alay Title added

Labag man nga lang (sa) aki't (kalooban) Group 2
Kanino man, kay ina'y magalay, Group 3
gaano man ang kanyang kakailanganin, (sa kabila) Group 4
Aba! kanino man nga iyan galing, Group 5
labis ang ganyang ating Group 6
pakikinabangin (sa wakas) (na pagpapala ni Bathala). Group 1

Butuan Silver Strip

"Butuan paleograph deciphered using Eskaya script" by Jes Tirol (in UB

Update) attempts to show that a "translation" of the Butuan silver strip had been
done by using the Eskaya script. A clipping of this article was provided by Antoon
Postma of Mindoro, who in turn obtained it from the late William Henry Scott of
Mountain Province. This proves that "real" scholars do share information.

Eskaya is a secret organization based on the island of Bohol. Its members claim
that their ancestors arrived on the island in 677 A.D. from Sumatra. Tirol writes:

One of the books of the Eskaya of Bohol is entitled Unang Katawhan Sa

Bohol (First People of Bohol). According to the book, Dangko and his 12
children of 11 boys and one girl and his men arrived in Bohol in 677
A.D. They started from Sumatra-Manselis which is the western side of
Sumatra, Indonesia on board a "Lutsa." (See: "Lorcha," Webster Int'l
Dictionary, Unabridged.)

The only daughter of Dangko got married to a chieftain of Butuan. From that time on
until the present, the inner psyche of an Eskaya is geared towards Butuan. Since the
center of Eskaya culture is now at Biyabas, Guindulman, Bohol, the migrant Eskaya in
Butuan maintain close contact with the Eskaya of Bohol.

A chart showing values for the symbols of the Eskaya script provided by Jesus T.
Peralta of the National Museum is shown on the Eskaya page. There are many
interesting things in the chart. One is that Eskaya writing system includes
symbols for numerals, even one for "zero." It also includes symbols for
consonant clusters, a characteristic that was not a feature of old Philippine
languages. The figure below relates the symbols on the silver strip to those of
Eskaya and their corresponding phonetic values and meanings.
The translation reads as follows:
This 821 year when Liyuxie (Les Ece) traveled, I accompanied the trip and returned the next year.
I was in good condition.
I will repeat the Eskaya sound and Meaning columns from the above chart below for those who
find them hard to read.
1 Ce "His , Her, This"
2 Ual "eight (8)"
3 Tre "2"
4 Oy "1"
5 Pong "Apong" means "year"
6 De "De Ra" means
7 Ra "When he left"
8 Les "Les Ece" same as
9 Ece "Liyuxie" the ambassador of Butuan Kingdom to China in 1011 A.D.
10 Ciuo "Ciou Cod Col Ning"
11 Cod means
12 Col "I accompanied the trip"
13 Ning
14 Gue "Gue Apong" means
15 Pong "Return the next year"
16 The period punctuation mark
17 Co "I or me"
18 Gre "Co Greyalo" means "I was in good condition or I am well
 The Butuan Ivory Seal

Shown on the right is an ivory seal from Butuan. The upper representation is how a wax
impression from the tool would look like. The lower view shows the face of the ivory
seal except that it has been flipped (mirror image) to show the writing in its correct
orientation. The combination of the positive impression and the negative but flipped view
gives a better idea of what the writing looks like than either one alone.

The ivory seal's provenance is unknown to me. Antoon Postma reports that it was shown
to him by Dr. Angel Bautista in 1990 at a conference in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. He says
that the seal was in Bautista's custody but does not know whether it belonged to the
National Museum or not.

The writing is stylized Kavi, each letter being fitted into an oblong box so that it appears
distorted. Postma states that the script is similar to that on the inscription of Puh Serang
near Kediri dated 1002. He further indicates that the writing says "Butban," which
presumably stands for "Butwan" or "Butuan" since b and w are frequently
interchangeable.

The two smaller symbols are of a different style from the three main symbols. These are
the symbols located immediately under the first two of the three larger symbols. Because
they are not stylized to look square and are much thinner than the upper symbols, I
thought that they could have been written in a script different from the main and larger
symbols.