Blood compact ( Spanish: ''Pacto de sangre''; Tagalog: ''Sanduguan'') was an ancient ritual in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

intended to seal a friendship or treaty, or to validate an agreement. The contracting parties would cut their hands and pour their blood into a cup filled with liquid, such as wine, and

drink A drink or beverage is a liquid intended for human consumption. In addition to their basic function of satisfying thirst, drinks play important roles in human culture. Common types of drinks include plain drinking water, milk, juice, smoothie ...

the mixture. A famous example of the blood compact was the 1565 El Pacto de Sangre or '' Sandugo'' between Spanish explorer

Miguel López de Legazpi Miguel López de Legazpi (12 June 1502 – 20 August 1572), also known as ''Adelantado, El Adelantado'' and ''El Viejo'' (The Elder), was a Spanish conquistador who financed and led an expedition to conquer the Philippines, Philippine islan ...

and

Datu Sikatuna Datu Sikatuna (or ''Catunao'') was a Datu or chieftain of Bo-ol in the island of Bohol in the Philippines. He made a blood compact ('' sanduguan'') and alliance with the Spanish explorer Miguel López de Legazpi on March 25, 1565 at Hinawanan Ba ...

, the chieftain of

Bohol Bohol (), officially the Province of Bohol (; ), is an island province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region, consisting of the island itself and 75 minor surrounding islands. It is home to Bohola ...

. An earlier blood compact, the first between natives and Europeans took place in 1521 between navigator Ferdinand Magellan and Rajah Humabon of

Cebu Cebu ( ; ), officially the Province of Cebu (; ), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 surrounding islands and islets. The coastal zone of Cebu is identified as a ...

. Another type of blood compact was also described by Antonio Pigafetta during their stopover in

Palawan Palawan (, ), officially the Province of Palawan (; ), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in terms of total area of . The capital and largest c ...

(after the death of Magellan). It was made between the crew of the expedition and a ''

datu ''Datu'' is a title which denotes the rulers (variously described in historical accounts as chiefs, sovereign princes, and monarchs) of numerous Indigenous peoples throughout the Philippine archipelago. The title is still used today, though no ...

'' of

as a symbol of peaceful intentions. The ''datu'' made a small cut on his chest using a knife borrowed from the expedition. The ''datu'' then dipped a finger on the blood and touched it to the tip of his tongue and on his forehead. The crew of the expedition did the same to seal the compact. A similar ritual was practiced by initiates into the 19th century revolutionary group, the

Katipunan The Katipunan (), officially known as the (; ) and abbreviated as the KKK, was a revolutionary organization founded in 1892 by a group of Filipino nationalists Deodato Arellano, Andrés Bonifacio, Valentin Diaz, Ladislao Diwa, José Dizon, an ...

. Though they did not consume their blood, they used it to sign their membership contracts. Another relatively recent blood compact was in the 1860s between the close friends Sultan Jamalul Alam of the

Sultanate of Sulu The Sultanate of Sulu (; ; ) is a Sunni Muslim subnational monarchy in the Philippines, Republic of the Philippines that includes the Sulu Archipelago, coastal areas of Zamboanga City and certain portions of Palawan in today's Philippines. H ...

and Herman Leopold Schück, a Prussian merchant mariner. Schück eventually settled in

Sulu Sulu (), officially the Province of Sulu (Tausug language, Tausūg: ''Wilaya' sin Lupa' Sūg''; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines in the Sulu Archipelago. It was part of the Bangsamoro, Bangsamoro Autonomous R ...

and introduced the Kahawa Sug coffee varietal to the islands.

References

Culture of the Philippines Filipino nobility Blood in culture {{Philippines-stub

See also

References