There is a spot in Lapu-Lapu City in Mactan island that’s revered by islanders more than any other place. A marker says it was on that site that a man who had sought dominion over the island in the name of the Spanish king had died in the hands of the brave warrior chieftain Lapu-Lapu 485 years ago. (Click on photos to view larger images)
Lapu-Lapu’s deed is fact but it spawned legends about the man–how he defeated the Spanish forces with their powerful artillery (guns, swords, cannons, cross-bows, body armor) and killed their leader Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan–and what became of him.
It is said in the island that the chieftain did not die or that at least nobody ever saw him die and the islanders believe he has been turned into a stone and is forever guarding the seas of Mactan. Fishermen in the island city point to a stone shaped like a man in the deep and they throw coins at it as a way of asking permission to fish in the chieftain’s seas. 
Another popular story passed on from generation to generation of island residents says Lapu-Lapu became the statue placed on a pedestal at the center of the city plaza. This statue faces the old City Hall building, where the mayors used to hold office, and once held a crossbow in the immortal stance of someone about to shoot an arrow at an enemy. The people decided to replace Lapu-Lapu’s crossbow with a bolo after three mayors of the city died one after the other from a heart attack.
One of the folklore about Lapu-Lapu also tells of a man forewarned about the attack. In a council with other people in the tribe over the coming battle, Lapu-Lapu reportedly took his pestle and said he was going to throw it hard and if it would go through three coconut trees then they had nothing to fear because they were going to win. It did and the rest is history and myth.
The place where Lapu-Lapu and his men triumphed over the Spanish invaders on April 27, 1521 has been turned into a shrine. The shrine sits along the boundaries of the villages of Punta Engańo and Mactan in Lapu-Lapu City on the island of Mactan.
Magellan had come to Cebu through Homonhon, an uninhabited island in the province of Eastern Samar. There, he and his crew were sighted by Rajah Calambu of Limasawa and he guided them to Cebu on April 7.
In Cebu, Magellan became friends with Rajah Humabon who prevailed upon the Portuguese explorer to go to Mactan and punish Lapu-Lapu. It is widely believed that Humabon was at odds with Lapu-Lapu and that they fought over control of land.
Antonio Pigafetta, chronicler of Magellan’s trip, survived the battle in Mactan and told of how they were overwhelmingly overpowered on the island’s shores by at least 1,500 native warriors, a report that has been held by historians as questionable and grossly exaggerated.
Three monuments in the Mactan Shrine are worthy of note: the Magellan Marker, the Magellan monument, and chieftain Lapu-Lapu’s statue.
A note written in the marker, shaped like a large headstone, says it was on that spot that Magellan fell dead in the hands of Lapu-Lapu. A little farther away is a monument to Magellan, an obelisk on a base of several levels said to have been built in 1866 during the administration of Augustinian priest Simon Aguirre, who was cura of Opon (the old name of Lapu-Lapu City) in 1857-71.
As early as December 1840, Spanish Governor-General Francisco Alcala had approved a plan to construct a monument in honor of Magellan. The circumstances of this monument’s construction was not clear but Karl von Scherzer, a member of an Austrian naval expedition who visited the Philippines in 1858, wrote about a monument to Magellan on the promontory of Punta Engańo. Historians believe this does not refer to the obelisk that is now in the shrine.
Also within the Mactan Shrine is a statue of chieftain Lapu-Lapu holding a bolo in one hand and a shield in the other. The shrine that houses the three monuments doubles as a plaza that locals and tourists frequent.
The shrine is host to the annual Kadaugan sa Mactan celebration by the Lapu-Lapu City Government. The celebration commemorates the battle for Mactan and is held in the shores near the shrine every April.
Beside the shrine are several stores that sell cheap native trinkets made of seashells. Also near the shrine are sutukil restaurants that cook fresh seafood.
More photographs, click on images to view larger photos:
[...] These photos of the Magellan monument in Lapu-Lapu City is hosted in Zooomr. For more about the Mactan Shrine in Lapu-Lapu City, read our previous article. Filed in Landmarks [...]
what is yhe political significance of yhe battle of mactan
All these Lapu-lapu battle of Mactan and the killing of magellan are all product of the fertile Filipino Imagination. In the first place nobody really knows how Lapulapu look like . Lapu lapu might look like the late Serging Osmena who knows? Not this muscular individual who looks like Adonis.Lapu Lapu might be malnourished like most of the poor children of Cebu. The chronicle of
Anotnio Pigaffeta never mentioned that it was Lapulapu who personnaly finished off Magellan but rather Lapulapu’s warriors. Probably Lapu lapu just posed with the dead body of Magellan after the battle has settled and it was safe for him to do a “photo Opps”.
Of course lapu lapu is still alive he turned into a fish. The only fish named after a hero.
Mr. Diaz points out the fertile Filipino imagination. He also has quite a fertile imagination himself to think of Lapulapu looking malnourished just like the poor children of cebu. He contradicts himself.
You might want to check on your grammar too Mr. Diaz.
this is my project…thx ^^
the simple fact is that we could not substantiate for sure all that was written by pigafetta bec. the facts could not be corroborated by others.. it could not be avoided that there would be bias and exaggeration..I tis quite evident though that we filipinos defeated a superior enemy who were grossly over confident..letv us stop all those conjectures if it was really Lapu2x who killed magellan, who cares as long as magellan fell down by one of our own then so be it..
….Always remember that victors wrote history. Anything that pigaffeta wrote as official chronicler/historian will remain part of world history and is considered authority. Sad to say during that time Filipinos were no read no write and has nothing to do with it.
….I’m sure corrupted na ang historical facts ni Pigaffeta….
….Kung buhay na sana si Gat Jose Rizal that time…Lintek lang sana ang walang ganti…In short, wala tayong control sa mga nangyayari before…
….There is no used crying over spilled milk…Adios!
hay naku… what ever the story is- still lapu lapu and his warriors saved their barangay not to colonized by the portugese kaya magbigay na lang tayo ng pagpupugay sa kanya ( ^_^ ) piece be with you>>!!
of course none of us knows what lapu-lapu really looks like but for those who saw him in the past described him as what image you have seen right now. thus, lapu-lapu really looks like what you saw. dont expect to see a real face of lapu-lapu coz camera was not yet discovered. just expect you’ll see lapu-lapu through paintings and sculptures. whoever killed magellan, whether it be lapu-lapu or his warriors, still they are Filipinos and whatever they look like, we are proud of the bravery that they had made inspite of the Spanish powerful artillery….no offence…peace and god bless…
Sugbu
The queen city of the south, check it out for yourself.
Visit Cebu! January = Sinulog
Beaches sights to see lots to do.
Airport code CEB lands at Mactan International airport.
Go to the island Cebu.
History is here in Cebu.
Andoy (no explorer)
Visit Cebu!
Airport Code = CEB, Mactan International airport.
History abounds here in Cebu
why do lapulapu fish named after chieftain…is it bec. it was his favorite fish?
Ive gone through so much of this. It seems that my brain will explode any moment from now. Hell! why thus teacher keep giving assignment that even historian can’t tell. well if you know who killed lapu-lapu inform me. I’ll thank you for the rest of my life..
“whoever killed magellan, whether it be lapu-lapu or his warriors, still they are Filipinos and whatever they look like, we are proud of the bravery that they had made inspite of the Spanish powerful artillery….no offence”
…none taken…
actually, the reason why magellan fell is due to the fact that lapu-lapu resisted colonization or subsequently being branded as “filipino”… remember?
therefore, to say that he was the FIRST FILIPINO hero is actually, technically WRONG.
and according to a portuguese friend of mine whose great grand uncle was a professor of european history, there was a book that he once read that mentioned lapu-lapu’s troops met magellan’s men while they were in their small boats, rowing towards shore, on at least 20 feet of water… once capsized, the soldiers fell and drowned because they wore “iron-clad” armors that were nearly impossible to remove under the circumstances…
COD: DROWNING
those who survived were hacked while gasping for air.
by the way, LAPU-LAPU was a MORO. =)
Lapu-Lapu looks like Manny Pacquiao by examining the statue. Manny has also Dagohoy’s DNA. They are all Visayan and must share common DNA. No wonder Manny fights fiercely,ferociously and fearlessly in the ring. His next opponent is Oscar de la Hoya. It’s like reliving history: a Filipino warrior against a spanish conquistador!
thanks. this is a great help for me. and for every filipino
I thought his parents named him after the fish (da pish)
There are many glaring errors in the comments casted by almost everyone in this webpage. First and foremost, Azian (No.
said that Lapu-lapu and his warriors protected their barangay so they will not be colonized by the Portuguese. You need to clear that out dude, I agree that Magellan is naturally Portuguese, but during that particular time, he was commissioned by the Spanish royalty for the said expedition. SO – IT WAS THE SPANIARDS, NOT THE PORTUGUESE WHO WERE THE COLONIZERS OF THE PHILIPPINES.
And mind you, Mr. Manuel C. Diaz here is very stupid (even his grammatical structure is stupid). He questions how Lapu-lapu actually looked like and the Filipinos have such fertile imagination. I couldn’t really argue how stupid he is. One of the most stupid person I happened to read on web. Yuck.
It’s amazing how poorly considered comments can trivialize a very well written factual article.
The so-called “Battle of Mactan” was a fight between Lapu Lapu’s warriors, and Magellan’s crew who were trying to coerce the inhabitants of Mactan, along with several other islands, to convert to Christianity. Those who resisted were threatened, then had their villages burned. Lapu Lapu and his people, who continued to resist, were attacked as a further form of coercion.
Magellan’s actions, while reprehensible in the modern context, were consistent with policies of both the Catholic Church and the King of Spain in place at the time. Many inhabitants of neighbouring islands feigned conversion to gain the favour of the Spanish armada, but Lapu Lapu held firm.
The Spanish attackers, man for man unquestionably better armed, were overwhelmed by numbers. While there were re-enforcements available on their ships, they were not deployed. The armada, which had already suffered an attempted mutiny after which Magellan tortured, executed and marooned several men, and another successful mutiny where they lost one of their five ships, was not a harmonious group. Many (indeed, most) of those on board the remaining ships distrusted Magellan – some truly despised him. Some historians feel that the choice to not send more re-enforcements was a conscious decision to allow Magellan to die (i.e. – another mutiny).
Either way, the far superior numbers of Lapu Lapu’s forces pinned down Magellan and his men and proved victorious. Pigafetta reports 1500 warriors under Lapu Lapu, which is most probably seriously exaggerated, but is consistent with a commonly experienced phenomenon in historical research whereby the loser in a battle habitually inflates the numbers of his enemy, perhaps to excuse his own loss.
Pigafetta, who was loyal to Magellan, writes in terms complementary to his hero when read by a European or a Christian with the values prevalent at the time. Nevertheless, when read by any person with modern values, Pigafetta unwittingly becomes one of the greatest supporters of Lapu Lapu. Most of the details of that day would be lost were it not for him. And while his writings must be read with a certain caution, as must all historical primary sources, the overall accuracy of the verifiable components of his telling of the entire voyage (with the admitted exception of matters defamatory to Magellan) lend a degree credence to his story of the affair at Mactan.
History is determined by fate. A self evident fact. Why events transpire as they do, and the paths which nations tread, can generally be influenced by the dominant power of the age.
Empires have come and gone. Reputations have been made and fallen. All leave a legacy, all have impacted on our world today.
The Romans in their time influenced Europe, Egypt, the Mediterranean and North Africa. Great Britain stamped an empire over one third of the Globe at the height of her power.
In the sixteenth century there were two major players – Spain and Portugal. Whilst both played a hand, it was one – for good or ill – right down to the name, which was to seal the destiny of the Philippines.
Replenishment of the ship’s supplies proved to be easy as the mariners got their supplies from three big islands: Coulon (Leyte), Pooson (Camotes), and Zubu (Cebu). Magellan and his crew sought the graces and assistance of King Limasawa in the procurement of their supplies.
The Portuguese navigator and his men first set foot in Cebu on April l7, 1521 where their vessel was moored at the port of Cebu. Antonio Pigafetta, Magellan’s chronicler, described the sights and nuances of early Cebuano culture: “”The houses were built with logs and had ladders made of wood and were roofed with nipa. Many sailing vessels from Siam (Thailand), China, and Arabia were docked at the port. The people ate from porcelain wares and used a lot of gold and jewelry for decoration of their bodies and clothing. Their wines were in Jars. Men tattooed their naked bodies covering their private parts with Bahagui and silk turbans were on their heads. About their girls, they were beautiful and almost as white and as large as our girls although naked from waist up. Upper class women wore sack-like blouses called Chambara on top of a square length cloth shirt tied tightly around the waist. The women painted their lips and nails with bright colors, adorned their bodies with jewelries, but all of them were barefoot.
A religious milestone occurred in Cebu with the baptism of Zebu¡¯s King Humabon and wife Queen Juana and 400 of their people, signaling the spread of Christianity all over the islands. However, along with the advent of Christian proselytizing, the islanders were subjugated to the Spanish sovereignty. The Spanish reign in Cebu proved to be short-lived following the death of Magellan on April 28, 1521 in the rebellious hand of valiant Zubu warrior Lapu-lapu.
Undaunted by the fate of Magellan, forty years later Spanish colonizer Miguel Lopez de Legaspi and Fray Andres de Urdaneta set forth their sails to conquer Cebu. Legaspi reached Cebu on April 27, 1565 as the second Spanish conquistador. With the defeat of Rajah Tupas, leaving in his midst the village in shambles, Villa del Santisimo Nombre de Jesus rose from the ruins. This was named after the famous miraculous image of Senor Santo Nino de Cebu that was found unscathed among the ashes of a dwelling burned by Spaniards. However, the settlement which Legaspi built as another symbol of Christianity in the island stood as an omen; portending decades of Spanish colonial regime.
Is it then wrong for Filipinos to glorify Lapu-Lapu?
why magellan and lapu-lapu fight??
There were no Filipinos during the time of Lapu-Lapu the Cebuano warrior just like there were no Christians during the time of Christ.
it’s weird how pigafetta documented magellan’s death with such detail. wasn’t he too busy tyring to stay alive during the battle to even pay attention to what’s happening to magellan? just a thought…