Panay Island
Encyclopedia
Panay is an island
in the Philippines
located in the western part of the Visayas
. Politically, it is divided into five provinces
: Aklan, Antique
, Capiz
, and Iloilo, all in the Western Visayas
Region
. It is located southeast of the island of Mindoro and northwest of Negros, separated by the Guimaras Strait. Between Negros and Panay Island lie the island-province of Guimaras
. To the north is the Sibuyan Sea
and the islands of Romblon
; to the southwest is the Sulu Sea
and the Panay Gulf
.
The island has many rivers including Akean
, Banica
, Iloilo
, and Panay
.
Panay is the setting of the famous legend of Maragtas
, which chronicled the arrival of the Malay race
to the Philippine islands.
The island lent its name to several United States Navy
vessels named USS Panay
, mostly famously the one sunk in 1937 by the Japanese in the Panay incident
.
by Pedro Monteclaro say ten Bornean
datus landed at a site now known as San Joaquin town in Iloilo province. They purchased Panay from the Ati
, cultivated the land, and renamed the island Madya-as. They divided it into three communities: Irong-irong
, Akean
(which includes the Capiz
area), and Hamtik.
Capiz, which was part of Aklan in pre-Spanish times, was one of the early settlements of the Malayas, centuries before the coming of the Spaniards to the Philippines. It was part of the Confederation of Madjaas, formed after the purchase of Panay by the Bornean datus from the Negrito king named Marikudo.
When the Spaniards led by Miguel López de Legazpi
came to Panay from Cebu
in 1569, they found people with tattoos, and so they called it Isla de los Pintados. How the island itself came to be called Panay is uncertain. The Aeta called it Aninipay, after a plant that abounded in the island. Legend has it that Legazpi and his men, in search of food, exclaimed upon the island, Pan hay en esta isla!. So they established their first settlement in the island at the mouth of the Banica River
in Capiz and called it Pan-ay. This was the second Spanish settlement in the Philippines, after San Miguel, Cebu.
Panay received its present name from Spanish officials who named the island after one of its earliest settlements, the town of Pan-ay in the province of Capiz. It was, however, once referred as Aninipay by the indigenous aetas and later Madia-as by the Malay settlers who first arrived in the island in the 12th century.
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
located in the western part of the Visayas
Visayas
The Visayas or Visayan Islands and locally known as Kabisay-an gid, is one of the three principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Mindanao and Luzon. It consists of several islands, primarily surrounding the Visayan Sea, although the Visayas are considered the northeast...
. Politically, it is divided into five provinces
Provinces of the Philippines
The Provinces of the Philippines are the primary political and administrative divisions of the Philippines. There are 80 provinces at present, further subdivided into component cities and municipalities. The National Capital Region, as well as independent cities, are autonomous from any provincial...
: Aklan, Antique
Antique province
Antique is a province of the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital is San Jose and is located at the western portion of Panay Island, bordering Aklan, Capiz, and Iloilo to the east. Antique faces the Sulu Sea to the west....
, Capiz
Capiz
Capiz is a province of the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital is Roxas City and is located at the northeastern portion of Panay Island, bordering Aklan and Antique to the west, and Iloilo to the south. Capiz faces the Sibuyan Sea to the north...
, and Iloilo, all in the Western Visayas
Western Visayas
Western Visayas, one of the regions of the Philippines, is designated as Region VI. It consists of six provinces; Aklan, Antique, Negros Occidental, Capiz, Guimaras and Iloilo and 16 cities making it the region with the highest number of cities. Iloilo City is the regional center...
Region
Regions of the Philippines
In the Philippines, regions are administrative divisions that serve primarily to organize the provinces of the country for administrative convenience. Currently, the archipelagic republic of the Philippines is divided into 17 regions...
. It is located southeast of the island of Mindoro and northwest of Negros, separated by the Guimaras Strait. Between Negros and Panay Island lie the island-province of Guimaras
Guimaras
Guimaras is an island province of the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Among the smallest provinces, its capital is Jordan. The island is located in the Panay Gulf, between the islands of Panay and Negros...
. To the north is the Sibuyan Sea
Sibuyan Sea
The Sibuyan Sea is a small sea in the Philippines that separates the Visayas from the northern Philippine island of Luzon.-Description:It is bounded by the island of Panay to the south, Mindoro to the west, Masbate to the east, and to the north Marinduque and the Bicol Peninsula of Luzon Island.The...
and the islands of Romblon
Romblon
Romblon is an island province of the Philippines located in the MIMAROPA region. It lies south of Marinduque and Quezon, east of Mindoro, north of Aklan and Capiz, and west of Masbate. Its capital is also named Romblon....
; to the southwest is the Sulu Sea
Sulu Sea
The Sulu Sea is a body of water in the southwestern area of the Philippines, separated from the South China Sea in the northwest by Palawan and from the Celebes Sea in the southeast by the Sulu Archipelago. Borneo is found to the southwest and Visayas to the northeast.Sulu Sea contains a number of...
and the Panay Gulf
Panay Gulf
Panay Gulf is an extension of the Sulu Sea, reaching between the islands of Panay and Negros in the Philippines. The gulf contains the island-province of Guimaras and extends into the Santa Anna Bay between Panay and Guimaras and into Guimaras Strait, between Guimaras and Negros...
.
The island has many rivers including Akean
Akean
Akean is a river on Panay in the Visayas. The name of the river is where the term Aklan came from, and is derived from the word akae, which means to boil or to froth. Because of the swiftness of the river current, the water of the Aklan river seems to boil or froth. Akean therefore means "where...
, Banica
Banica
Banica can be*Banica, Dominican Republic, a municipality in the Elías Piña Province*a district of Roxas City in the Philippines*a river of the Philippines on Panay Island*a river of the Philippines on Negros Island flowing through Dumaguete City...
, Iloilo
Iloilo River
The Iloilo River located in the Province of Iloilo, Philippines is actually an arm of the sea for having water source from the sea. Its river mouth opens to Iloilo Strait then traverses across Iloilo City Proper, Lapuz, Lapaz, Mandurriao, Molo and Arevalo Districts...
, and Panay
Panay River
Panay River is a river of the Philippines, draining a large portion of the island of Panay in Western Visayas region....
.
Panay is the setting of the famous legend of Maragtas
Maragtas
The Maragtas is a work by Pedro Alcantara Monteclaro titled History of Panay from the first inhabitants and the Bornean immigrants, from which they descended, to the arrival of the Spaniards. The work is in mixed Hiligaynon and Kinaray-a languages in Iloilo in 1907...
, which chronicled the arrival of the Malay race
Malay race
The concept of a Malay race was proposed by the German scientist Johann Friedrich Blumenbach , and classified as the brown race. Since Blumenbach, many anthropologists have rejected his theory of five races, citing the enormous complexity of classifying races...
to the Philippine islands.
The island lent its name to several United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
vessels named USS Panay
USS Panay (PR-5)
|-External links:* * *...
, mostly famously the one sunk in 1937 by the Japanese in the Panay incident
Panay incident
The USS Panay Incident was a Japanese attack on the American gunboat while she was anchored in the Yangtze River outside Nanking , China on December 12, 1937. Japan and the United States were not at war at the time. The Japanese claimed that they did not see the American flags painted on the deck...
.
History and legend
Folkloric legends recorded in the MaragtasMaragtas
The Maragtas is a work by Pedro Alcantara Monteclaro titled History of Panay from the first inhabitants and the Bornean immigrants, from which they descended, to the arrival of the Spaniards. The work is in mixed Hiligaynon and Kinaray-a languages in Iloilo in 1907...
by Pedro Monteclaro say ten Bornean
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
datus landed at a site now known as San Joaquin town in Iloilo province. They purchased Panay from the Ati
Ati (tribe)
The Ati is a Negrito ethnic group in Panay, which is located in the Visayas , the central portion of the Philippine archipelago...
, cultivated the land, and renamed the island Madya-as. They divided it into three communities: Irong-irong
Irong-Irong
Irong-Irong appears in the Maragtas legend of the coming of ten Bornean datus to the island of Panay. The datus bartered with a local Ati chieftain for the plains and valleys of the island, offering gold in return....
, Akean
Akean
Akean is a river on Panay in the Visayas. The name of the river is where the term Aklan came from, and is derived from the word akae, which means to boil or to froth. Because of the swiftness of the river current, the water of the Aklan river seems to boil or froth. Akean therefore means "where...
(which includes the Capiz
Capiz
Capiz is a province of the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital is Roxas City and is located at the northeastern portion of Panay Island, bordering Aklan and Antique to the west, and Iloilo to the south. Capiz faces the Sibuyan Sea to the north...
area), and Hamtik.
Capiz, which was part of Aklan in pre-Spanish times, was one of the early settlements of the Malayas, centuries before the coming of the Spaniards to the Philippines. It was part of the Confederation of Madjaas, formed after the purchase of Panay by the Bornean datus from the Negrito king named Marikudo.
When the Spaniards led by Miguel López de Legazpi
Miguel López de Legazpi
Miguel López de Legazpi , also known as El Adelantado and El Viejo , was a Spanish conquistador who established one of the first European settlements in the East Indies and the Pacific Islands in 1565. He is the first Governor-General in the Philippines...
came to Panay from Cebu
Cebu Island
Cebu is an island of the Philippines. It is the main island of Cebu Province at the center of the Visayan Islands, south of Manila.It lies to the east of Negros Island; to the east is Leyte and to the southeast is Bohol Island. It is flanked on both sides by the Cebu Strait and Tañon Strait...
in 1569, they found people with tattoos, and so they called it Isla de los Pintados. How the island itself came to be called Panay is uncertain. The Aeta called it Aninipay, after a plant that abounded in the island. Legend has it that Legazpi and his men, in search of food, exclaimed upon the island, Pan hay en esta isla!. So they established their first settlement in the island at the mouth of the Banica River
Banica River
Banica River is*a river of the Philippines on Panay Island.*a river of the Philippines on Negros Island flowing through Dumaguete City...
in Capiz and called it Pan-ay. This was the second Spanish settlement in the Philippines, after San Miguel, Cebu.
Panay received its present name from Spanish officials who named the island after one of its earliest settlements, the town of Pan-ay in the province of Capiz. It was, however, once referred as Aninipay by the indigenous aetas and later Madia-as by the Malay settlers who first arrived in the island in the 12th century.