Before the
Philippines was known as the Philippines, it was known by ancient names like
Ma-i—and it could have been the shortest country name in the world had the
name stuck! There were still a couple of
names our islands were called, and here are some of them:
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MA-I
This old name of pre-colonial Philippines originated
around the 13th century when our islands group was dubbed by ancient
Chinese dubbed as “Ma-I” or “Mayi, the “country of the blacks”. However, the
Spaniards identified the islands group as no other than Mindoro, which they
renamed, a theory supported by Ferdinand Blumentritt in his ethnographic study
of the Philippines. Most historians
think otherwise: “Ma-I”, they say was not just an island, but is a name
attributed to all the islands found in the southern part of South China
Sea—that included Luzon, Calamian,
Babuyan. Busuanga, Lingayen, Palawan, Lubang, and 3 other islands—which are all
part of our archipelago.
PANYUPAYANA
This Sanskrit term meaning “Lands surrounded by water”,
is ascribed to the Philippines, as for a time, the islands were part of the
great Sri Sri Vijaya Empire. This explains the profound influence on many
aspects of our culture which is often described
by scholars as “Hinduistic”. Trinidad Pardo de Tavera, a historian, observed
dominant Hindu elements in our pre-colonial civilization—from language,
literature, religious beliefs—leading to the name that describes the
geographical feature of the cluster of islands.
ISLANDS OF ST.
LAZARUS
The Portuguese explorer, Ferdinand Magellan, sailing for
the Spice Islands in the name of Spain, reached the islands of Homonhon in
eastern Samar on the Sabbath of St. Lazarus (16 March 1521). Magellan thus
named the new country, “Las Islas de San Lazaro” (St. Lazarus Islands or
Archipelago of St. Lazarus) to honor the saint from Bethany, whom Jesus called
back from the dead. The name lingered on in maps until the end of the 16th
century.
ISLAS DEL PONIENTE
This name—Islas del Poniente or Islands of the West---is
attributed to Magellan upon realizing that there were more islands like Cebu
and Leyte, besides the ones he just reached. But it would now seem that this
was the name used by the chroniclers of Magellan’s voyage, as the explorer came
here from Spain by a westerly route.
LAS ISLAS
FELIPENAS
Initially, this name was bestowed by the Spanish explorer
Ruy López de Villalobos to Samar and
Leyte in 1543, to honor the Prince of Asturias, Philip (Felipe, in Spanish), who would later reign
as King Philip II of Spain. It was during his reign that Spain reached the
zenith of its power, leading to the coining of the expression to describe
Spanish dominion-- "the empire on which the sun never sets".
ISLAS FILIPINAS
Filipinas (English: Philippines) evolved from Felipinas.
The Spanish name is :Pilipinas” in the national language.
PERLA DEL ORIENTE
A Spanish Jesuit missionary and historian Fray Juan J.
Delgado, worked in the country for over 50 years. He was the first to call
Manila as Perla del Oriente (Pearl of the Orient) for its reputation as a rich
trade center of the East. This idea was picked up by the national hero, Dr.
Jose P. Rizal, who referred to the Philippines as “Perla del mar de oriente”,
or “Pearl of the Orient Seas” (Perlas ng Silanganan, in Pilipino). This has
become a descriptive sobriquet for the Philippines, and its visual translation
is even used in the Department of Tourism logo.
SOURCES:
Fell, R.T. Early Maps of Southeast Asia, Oxford
University Press. 1991.pp. 51-56
Names of the Philippines: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_the_Philippines
Names of the Philippines at Different Times in History,
uploaded by Aileen Olmedo: https://www.scribd.com/doc/116918682/Names-of-the-Philippines-at-Different-Times-in-History
