In the Land of Limahong
by Oliver Carlos
There was a legend which says that the light-skinned people of Pangasinan were descendants of a Chinese historical character named Limahong. Most Pangasinenses have Malayan brown complexion, but there are few who have not, one of them is me. My clan hails from Pangasinan, and if the legend is true, then I must be related to Limahong, or to one of his men. I once had a student who was from that province, and her skin complexion was light like mine. She told me the same legend, that her clan might have originated from Limahong’s community.
I heard about Limahong when I was a little boy. He was a famous Chinese conqueror who established a settlement along the Agno River in Pangasinan. But I had limited information about the man. He’s also not mentioned much in history classes.
When I grew up to be a history professor, I researched more about this fellow Limahong. I found out that historians didn’t portray him nicely. He was said to be a pirate who had thousands of men under his command. He tried to invade Manila beginning on November 29, 1574 but was repelled by the Spaniards who were very new in the Philippines at that time.
Unsuccessful in his Manila campaign, Limahong set his sights on Pangasinan. He sailed there and established a colony along the Agno River, in the present-day San Carlos area. Aside from armed men, Limahong also had in his group hundreds of Chinese women and children, ready to settle in the lands they would get. Some sources also say that Limahong married a local princess there. It’s not a remote possibility that the other Chinese men also intermarried with the Pangasinenses. My Tamolang grandfather hails from Aguilar, Pangasinan and he looks very Chinese. My middle name Tamolang, is a contraction of the Chinese name Tam Wu Lang, which means “spokesperson who is son of a warrior.” Could it be that our patriarch in the 1500s was Limahong’s spokesperson?
Later, the Spaniards were able to drive out Limahong from Pangasinan, but many of his people were left behind, particularly in the present-day Bugallon-Aguilar-Mangatarem zone. As for their leader Limahong, he was never heard of again in any history book.
Who exactly was Limahong? In the eyes of the Spaniards, he’s a villain who disturbed the peace and quiet of their new colony, Felipinas. For the imperial Chinese, he was an outlaw, a wanted man. He was a notorious raider of ports in southern China. I now have mixed feelings on whether to be proud of my possible Limahong connection or not.
But the Bible tells us that it doesn’t matter if we had some ancestors of shady character. Jesus’ genealogy itself isn’t purely Hebrew or Jewish. He had an ancestor who was a non-Israelite, a pagan in their perspective. Her name is Ruth, she’s a Moabite. In Israelite tradition, having connections with pagan people is a taboo, even the half-breed Samaritans were looked down upon.
Ruth was an immigrant who became the great grandmother of King David, whom Jesus’ earthly father descended from. The lesson here is that when God has a plan, he can use anybody, regardless of that person’s past or background. It all will start with a heartfelt commitment to God’s purposes and his ways. Ruth, on migrating to Bethlehem, gave up her pagan background and pledged to her Israelite mother-in-law:
“Where you go, I will go, and where you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.” (Ruth 1:16, NIV)
Ruth embraced a brand-new life in Israel when she opted to follow her mother-in-law in returning to her native land. It’s not only Israelite culture that she accepted to be her own, but also Israel’s God. Ruth not only established a new address, but also a new and personal relationship with the one and only true God.
The rest is history. Ruth became a beautiful piece in the big jigsaw puzzle God was building through the centuries leading to Christ’s birth. How about you? Are you also willing to be used by God beginning today?
