05/30/2023
Highlight: BAYBAYIN Gallery
The Laguna Copperplate Inscription
The Laguna Copperplate Inscription or LCI was found as a roll of copper sheet during sand dredging at the mouth of the Pagsanjan River in Lumban, Laguna in 1987. Initially thought as another metal scrap, the laborer, out of curiosity flattened the furled object revealing strange writings inscribed on its surface. The copperplate artifact was later brought to an antique dealer, who eventually offered it to the National Museum of the Philippines (NMP) for sale in 1990.
Although it was not found in controlled excavations, the purchase of the LCI was made to preserve what was thought to be a particular period in Philippine prehistory. The newly acquired artifact, measuring 30 cm. long and 20 cm. wide, was then shown to the attention of the late Antoon Postma, a Dutch anthropologist specializing in Mangyan culture and Philippine indigenous scripts, and a frequent visitor researcher of the NMP. Postma offered to examine and decipher the inscription with the help of another expert on ancient scripts, Dr. Johannes de Casparis.
These were their analysis: the LCI is composed of ten lines of finely hammered characters identified as early form of Kawi, a syllabic writing system widely used in Maritime Southeast Asia from 8th-16th century CE (or Common Era, which is an alternative to the traditional or Dionysian AD or After Death notation system for dating artifacts). The inscription is actually an official document, declaring the acquittal of a person of nobility (and that person’s family) from a gold-related debt, in the presence of local chieftains and officials. The date of the inscription was mentioned on the first line as Saka year 822 or 900 CE, making it the earliest calendar-dated historical document in the Philippines. The text however is unfinished, signifying a subsequent page, which was never found.
The Kawi script originated in Java, Indonesia, developed from an Indic writing system called Brahmi; adopted in the region as a result of the extensive trade with the Indian subcontinent in the early first millennium CE. Kawi inscriptions were often used for official and ritual purposes, either engraved on stone or metal sheets. The practice of inscribing in copperplates like the LCI was common in Java and Bali around the 9th-10th century CE where it served as legal tender for various transactions.
However, the LCI is distinct from the other copperplate artifacts in the Indonesian archipelago because of its major use of Old Malay, the lingua franca for doing trade in Maritime Southeast Asia around that time. Instead of the usual engraving or impressing into the heated metal the LCI was hammered. There was also the absence of the name of the king for that period in the inscription, which was a custom in Java when making official transactions. Place names on the other hand, believed to be located (and still existing) within the Philippines were also mentioned. Among these are Tundun, referring to Tondo in Manila, and Pailah and Puliran, located either in Bulacan or Laguna. The inclusion of local place names is said to be another reason for its local origin. The presence of Old Tagalog words in the inscription further led scholars to believe that the artifact is not of foreign origin but rather of local source to be read and understood by its local inhabitants.
The LCI remains a very important source of information of the cultural milieu of the Archipelago during the 10th century when maritime trade was very vibrant. It talks about gold and its various uses in business transactions, the Tagalog language and its relation to other languages in the region, social and/or political titles and the continuity of the existence of geographic places. However, it is limited because its archaeological context cannot be ascertained.
Because of its significance, the Laguna Copper Plate was declared a National Cultural Treasure in 2010 and is currently displayed at the Baybayin Gallery at the National Museum of Anthropology.
Reference:
© National Museum of the Philippines
