Of all the characters mentioned in the Maragtas tradition, by far the best-known is unquestionably Datu Puti, if for no other reason than the popular condiment line named after him. What many people don’t realize however, is that he was an actual person long before he became a mascot. What do we know about the real Datu Puti?
Unlike some of the other figures involved in the Maragtas tradition, Datu Puti does not appear in any extra-Philippine records. Everything we know about him comes from the stories that were passed down orally for centuries until they were first recorded in the mid-1800s.
Like many other folk stories around the world, the details of the Maragtas story differ depending on the storyteller. The key facts around Datu Puti are remarkably consistent across all versions of the story though.
Datu Puti was a powerful figure in Odtohan, acting as Raja Makatunao’s right-hand man and most influential councilor. Many versions of the story even say that he was actually Makatunao’s brother. Without written records it’s impossible to know for certain if that’s true, but whatever the case may be, it’s clear that he was a person of great import.
He also does not appear to have initially consorted with the other datus that rebelled against Raja Makatunao. Of the ten datus that fled Odtohan, he was the last to join the group, coming to their side only when he learned of their planned coup. His motives in joining their alliance are never made clear, although a few possibilities present themselves.
- Perhaps he agreed with their reasons, if not their planned means. Being told from the datus’ perspective, the Maragtas story is certainly not immune from exaggeration, but it paints Makatunao as a despot. If this was indeed the case, Datu Puti may not have agreed with everything the raja was doing. He could have viewed joining the other datus as a chance to distance himself from the raja before the inevitable backlash began.
- Maybe he feared that the alliance of datus was too powerful to put down easily and would trigger a civil war that would weaken the nation, leaving it open to attacks from the outside. It’s possible he joined them and advised them to leave Odtohan to prevent such a conflict.
- Similarly, he may have thought their planned coup had a chance of succeeding and merely wanted to protect his brother and/or family’s position by directing their attention elsewhere.
Whatever his reasons, all versions of the story agree that it was Datu Puti’s idea for the allied datus to leave Odtohan rather than go to war against Raja Makatunao. The other datus seem to have respected him immensely; as soon as he joined their alliance they all agreed to follow his command.
After arriving on Panay, Datu Puti was his party’s chief representative in the exchange with the Ati. He conducted negotiations on their behalf, and most – if not all – of the items offered in exchange for the island were donated by him.
Curiously, almost immediately after negotiations had concluded, Datu Puti announced that he would be returning to Odtohan. Tradition specifically states that it was he who chose Datu Sumakuel as his successor to lead the others in his absence. None of the other datus seem to have opposed his appointment, another example of his esteem among them.
The narrative is once again silent on his reasons for returning to Odtohan so soon. We’re told that two other datus accompanied him when he left Panay and the three of them somehow ended up on Luzon. His companions appear to have changed their minds about returning to Odtohan at that point, because when he left Luzon for Odtohan, they stayed and became the forebears of the Tagalogs.
After Datu Puti left Luzon, he was never heard from again. We don’t know what fate awaited him when he returned to Odtohan. Was he reinstated to his position as though nothing had happened? Was he executed for aiding the Raja’s enemies? Did he even reach Odtohan? Perhaps he got lost or his ship sunk on the return voyage. We may never know.
All art on this page was created by Ethel Martinez for our upcoming book. To get more sneak peeks at the book and her other projects follow her at https://www.instagram.com/ate.ethels.fond.memories/
Leave a Reply