Muhammad Kudarat

Sultan Muhammad Kudarat
Sultan of Maguindanao
Reign	1619–1671
Born	Qudratullah Katchil Sultan Muhammad Dipatuan Kudarat 1581 Maguindanao, Captaincy General of the Philippines
Died	1671 (aged 89–90)
House	Sultanate of Maguindanao
Father	Sultan Laut Buisan
Religion	Sunni Islam

Muhammad Dipatuan Kudarat (1581–1671) was a Sultan of Maguindanao in Mindanao. During his reign, he successfully opposed the Spaniards who attempted to conquer his land and hindered the Roman Catholic to the island of Mindanao much like the other Muslim rulers of the southern Philippine Archipelago. He was a direct descendant of Shariff Kabungsuwan, a Malay-Arab missionary who brought Islam to the Philippines between the 13th and 14th century.^[1] The Autonomous Muslim Mindanao Region province of Sultan Kudarat is named after him, together with the Municipality of Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao, where his descendants of Datus and rulers are still the current political leaders.

Under the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos, Sultan Kudarat became a Philippine national hero.^[2]

Ruler and Sovereign

Sultan Dipatwan Kudarat, the Corralat of Combes. The word Dipatwan is Malay in origin and means "master" or "sir." The word Qudrat is Arabic and means "Power." The letters d and r and r and / are interchangeable in Moro, and the word qudrat is commonly pronounced qudlat or kurlat; hence the corrupted form "Corralat." Sultan Kudarat overshadowed his father, Bwisan, and ruled with a strong hand. He was probably the strongest and greatest Mindanao sultan that ever lived. He fought the Spaniards bitterly and held their sovereignty in check for many years. His sea raiders terrorized Luzon and the Visayas for being foot soldiers of the newly arrived Iberians and controlled the southern seas for a long time.

In 1636 General Corcuera led an expedition against him and after considerable difficulty reduced his fort and defeated his forces. Kudarat appears to have had a large number of firearms, and his fort was very strongly fortified. The Spaniards captured 8 bronze cannons, 27 Lantaka or culverins, and 100 muskets.

In 1645 his relations with then Imperial Spain had undergone a distinct change. He had become more powerful, but he was naturally desirous of peace and made a treaty with the Spanish Government. This treaty was in the nature of an alliance for mutual aid and protection. It secured better commercial facilities and gave the Jesuits the privilege of building a church in the sultan's capital. Thirteen years later hostilities were renewed and another campaign was directed against Simway. This time Kudarat succeeded in blocking the river at different places and successfully checked the invasion.

Kudarat was the most famous ruler of the Magindanaos. He succeeded his father as chief of Magindanao in 1619 and was titled Katchil.

In 1619-1621, there was a war between him and the Rajah of Bwayan that was either dynastic in character or a contest for primacy in the Pulangi. Both sides asked help from the Dutch East Indies who decided to stay neutral but who warned them that the war was only to the advantage of the Spaniard Conquistadors.

In 1622, Kudarat appeared to have suffered some reverses which led him to sail to Cebu to borrow some artillery from the Spaniards. Soon after this, he was able to hold his own against Bwayan.

In 1625-1626, because its king, an ally of Kudarat, was ousted, Kudarat attacked the island of Sarangani, burned its capital, slew scores of his enemies, and captured many others. The people of Sarangani were then made tributary to him.

In 1627, Datu Maputi (Amonkaya), the new and young ruler of Bwayan, recognized Kudarat as his partner in the Pulangi. The next year, the Dutch sent an ambassador to him to discuss plans for a concerted effort against the Spaniards. Kudarat knew that the Dutch were using him as a tool for their own imperialistic policies; so he put in a few conditions of his own which the Dutch were not willing to accept. At this time, Kudarat was very apprehensive about Spanish missionary activities in areas like Butuan, Caraga, and Dapitan which the Iranuns feared would be used as bases against them in the future.

The garrisoning Reduccioness of Caraga caused Kudarat to act. He induced the people there to resist with the result that it took the Spaniards more than two years to pacify Caraga. The Spaniards blamed the fierceness of the resistance to Kudarat's aid.

In 1634, his men joined the Sulug in an attack on Dapitan and the Visayas. To protect their missions and contain the activities of the Magindanaos, the Spaniards, on Jesuit advice, built a strong fort in Zamboanga the next year. Fear of the growing strength of Kudarat led the Spaniards to lead an expedition to Mindanao in 1637. The aims were to destroy his cottas, capture or kill him, and make Catholics of the Muslims as well as the non-Muslims Lumad in Mindanao. Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera, the Spanish Governor General, personally led the expedition.

Kudarat's capital of Lamitan (close to the present Baras) fell on March 13, 1637, and one of the first things the Spaniards did was to burn the Mosque. Kudarat, with 2000 of his warriors, retreated to three cottas in the nearby heights. In spite of the determined and brave defense of the Iranuns, the cottas fell one by one. The Spaniards were able to capture treasures signifying the accumulation of many years. Qudarat was wounded in the defense and he was brought to the interior of the Butig area by his warriors to recover. In a short while, he was able to raise a new army and get the sympathy of the Samals in Zamboanga and Illana Bay area.

Soon, Spanish shipping and garrisons began to be harassed. The Spaniards, too, were having trouble with Datu Maputi, who, while happy about Kudarat's former reverses, had "no intention to have the Spaniards as his new masters".

In 1639, the Spaniards invaded the lands of the Maranaos. Kudarat hurried there to have a conference with the datus of the Lanao Lake. He explained to them the effects of submitting to the Spaniards and appealed to Maranao pride and love of independence. In a matter of months, the Spaniards were forced to leave hurriedly the lands of the Maranaos for safer parts in Mindanao.

By the end of 1639, an understanding was reached between Kudarat and Datu Maputi for a common front against the Spanish invaders. Datu Manakior, Datu of Tawlan, who was previously friendly with the Spaniards, at this time, began to really suffer serious reverses in Mindanao.

In 1642, Kudarat almost massacred a Spanish expedition coming to attack his new capital in Simway. Spanish forts were soon abandoned.

In 1645, the Zamboanga Governor personally went to Simway to negotiate a peace treaty vnth the redoubtable chief. In this treaty, Kudarat was recognized as sovereign over the whole contiguous area from Sibugay River to Tagalook Bay (the present Davao Gulf) while Bukidnon and part of the present Cagayan de Oro were asserted as belonging to his sphere of influence. By this time, Kudarat had formally assumed the title of Sultan.

In 1649, the peace between Kudarat and the Spaniards nearly broke when the latter made incursions in his territories and captured some of his vassals. Hasty explanations from the hurriedly-sent Spanish Ambassador kept the tenuous peace.

However, in 1655, relations once again started to deteriorate. The Magindanaos and Bwayan refused to accept Jesuit missionaries. There were mutual accusations concerning bad faith regarding the return of captives and artillery. Things came to a head when Baratamay, the new Rajah of Bwayan, had two Jesuit priests killed, one of them an Ambassador who had previously insulted the Sultan by insisting on his conversion to Catholicism. Anticipating a strong Spanish retaliation, Sultan Kudarat wrote to his allies and vassals to take up arms against the Spaniards. Declaring Jihad, he wrote to the Sultans of Sulu, Ternate, Brunei, and Makassar to support the struggle which he proclaimed was a defense of Islam and the Shari'ah. The initial Spanish offensive did not materialise according to their expectations. A desultory war then ensued. Once again, the Spaniards were expelled from the Pulangi.

In 1662, on account of the Koxinga threat, the Spaniards, in spite of Jesuit objections, decided to abandon their forts in Ternate and Zamboanga. In 1663, Zamboanga was abandoned and the Samals there became vassals of Kudarat while most of the Catholicn converts reverted to Islam. There was then to be a long peace between Kudarat and the Spaniards.

In 1671, after a reign of more than fifty years, the Sultan died. In his last years, he was being considered a "holy" man. Actually, he was learned man in Islamic jurisprudence Fiqh and was considered to be one of the best Panditas of the reign. He was an extremely pious man and fulfilled all of his Islamic duties. Utterly brave, he was invariably magnanimous in victory. His regal name was Nasir ud-Din, that is, "Helper of the Faith."

He died at about 1671 at the age of 90, and his grandchildren referred to him always as Nasir ud-Din.

Movies

Cesar Montano was role here of an same hero. then mingirl loh (罗敏儿) was roled too to traced into an combination within Arnis, Kampilan, & Chinese martial arts of Wuxia. it was released under sova films network and kampilan films in the Philippines soon in 2017.

References

1. Manobo
2. Sultan Kudarat, A Mindanao Hero, Mindanao's Most Powerful Ruler

External links

Biographies

• Sultan Dipatuan Kudarat