Rajahnate of Butuan, Richer Than Srivijaya

Detail of a neck ornament. Ayala Museum, 81.5171.
Photography by Neal Oshima; Image courtesy of Ayala Museum

This is what made the Srivijayan-Majapahit Empire the richest empire during those times:

"It was no surprise why the Majapahit Empire was the richest kingdom in the world when it had controlled the Maharlikan archipelago. The same reason is also attributed to the legendary King Solomon’s temple made of gold that were mined from the land of Ophir." (The Maharlikans: Fact #8)

The polity known as Butuan in the southern Philippines rose to commercial prominence in the tenth century, but ultimately declined in the thirteenth century for unknown reasons. The cultural area associated with this land transcended the political boundaries of the present-day Philippine provinces of Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, and Surigao del Sur.

Early Chinese sources offer clues to the power of Butuan at its peak. The Song Shi (History of the Song) documents that the Butuan king Ch’i-ling, or Kiling, sent emissaries to the Chinese imperial court in 1003 and 1007 and other texts make note of trade between China and Butuan. The astonishing quantities and impressive quality of gold treasures recovered in Butuan suggest that its flourishing port settlement played an until recently little-recognized role in early Southeast Asian trade. Surprisingly, the amount of gold discovered in Butuan far exceeds that found in Sumatra, where the much better known flourishing kingdom of Srivijaya is said to have been located.

Highlighted in this section of the exhibition are selections from a spectacular hoard of gold necklaces, chains, waistbands, bangles, ritual bowls, implements, and ceremonial weapons that was accidentally discovered in 1981 in the hamlet of Magroyong near Butuan. Objects from this cache, known as the Surigao Treasure, are among the most intriguing in the collection of early Philippine gold objects assembled from the 1960s to 1981 by archaeologist-collector Cecilia Y. Locsin (1930–2013) and her husband Leandro V. Locsin (1928–1994) that are now part of the collections of the Ayala Museum.

The personal adornments recovered from Butuan appear to be primarily elite regalia. These splendid adornments and ritual objects were probably part of a ruling family’s bahandi, or collective heirloom wealth. The identity and fate of the royal family who presumably owned the treasures are unknown. Future excavations in Butuan may provide us with more information about everyday life in the ancient society that produced these technically astounding works.

Source: The Kingdom of Butuan

Maharlika, A Sacred Language

The Bible tells us about the story of the Tower of Babel, when mankind spoke of only one universal language. Then Gods (Elohim) said, “let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. So the Gods scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.” (Gen. 11:7-8).

What must be the original language of mankind confounded by the Gods? 

There is an old wisdom which tells that the words or language of God Elohim is as powerful as His hidden name, and mankind is in no way has the natural strength to endure His presence and power. This was proven true by the presence of a thick veil in the Solomon’s Temple which served as barrier between God and man, as God’s “eyes are too pure to look on evil” (Hab. 1:13), and He can tolerate no sin. It is also said that the entire book called Torah contains the complete names of God and is broken down into pieces so that mankind can understand it. Only the angels know of His words and language.

By applying this old wisdom it is understood from the very beginning that the Muians (heavenly beings) spoke their original language spoken in the heavens which is, in the esoteric, this language is called the divine language of the Gods (and the angels). The Muians introduced this language to the first humans, the Maharlikans. However, being in the lower dimension and of slower mental vibratory frequency, this language cannot be understood by the Maharlikans, it has to be unabridged. From this language came the Adamic, Aramaic, Archaic, Latin and Sanskrit language, among others. The descendants of Adam and Eve (Maharlikans) used the Adamic (Edenic), the Christ the Aramaic, the Europeans the Latin, and the Hindus the Sanskrit. These languages have in part hidden in some of its selected words the sacred characteristics of those languages used during the ancient times depicting the sacredness of their true origin. For example, in Sanskrit the word AUM or OM (from Mu or Um) is used to designate the holy name of God. The Egyptians used AMN (sounds like AUM) being the name of the “hidden god”. The Christ is also called the AMEN (Rev. 3:14). Christians end their prayers with "Amen". Be it the AUM, OM, UM, AMN or AMEN, these words stand for one and the same being, the name of the "unconcealed" or "hidden" sacred name of God.

Now, this confirms as claimed through etymological orientation that the word or term "Maharlika", of Sanskrit origin, is in itself carries a sacred orientation. It was wholly taken from the word "Maharloka" by changing only the letter "o" into "i", which practice of substitution can only be explained in the esoteric wisdom of the Kabbalah. That is, Maharloka in Sanskrit means great plain (heaven of the Gods) while Maharlika means great creations (children of the Gods).