Pila Historical Society Foundation Inc.
5. La Noble Villa de Pila (c1610)
Even before the Spaniards arrived, Pila (an ancient Tagalog word meaning “soft stone”) was a religious, cultural and commercial center in the region surrounding the great lake, which came to be known as Laguna de Bay. The oldest written record in the
Philippines, a copper plate dating to 900 AD and found in nearby Lumbang, mentions the town and leaders of “Pailah” twice and “Puliran.” These possibly refer to Pila and Pulilan, respectively, the latter being the old name of the western portion of the lake near where Pila lies. According to oral traditions, from the center in Pinagbayanan and later in Pagalangan, the datu of Pila ruled over one of the biggest territories in the region, which extended as far as Talim Island, Tanay, and other lakeshore towns. The name of the chief was Gat Salyán Maguinto. His patronymic, which means “laden with gold,” alluded to the robust gold trade he presided over. Early elite Pileñas bore such names as Dalisay (pure gold) and Hilapo (high grade gold) appended to their Christian names. xx
The Franciscan chronicler, Plasencia (1589) further gathered that another datu of Pila, “with his own gold” purchased the new site in Pagalangan from another chief who had owned it and who thus moved to another place. The datu then farmed out the arable land among the nobles and the freemen who, in return, paid him an annual rent of a hundred gantas of rice. It was the only documented example of a pre-hispanic private estate (the equivalent of a Spanish hacienda) in the Philippines as distinguished from the communal lands. xxi
Unlike the adjacent town of Baé, Pila gave only minor resistance to the conquistadors in 1571 since there were no nearby hills for the people to retreat to. It was during the conquest of the province of Laguna that Salcedo first heard of the gold fields of Paracale farther South. When the Franciscans arrived in 1578, they took over the christianization of the town from the Augustinians. Pila, together with Lumbán, became the center from which radiated the Franciscans in their evangelization work in the provinces of Laguna and Tayabas. They first built a church of hardwood and bamboo dedicated to St. Anthony of Padua. It took 18 years—from 1599 to 1617—for the stone edifices of the church and convent to be completed. The encomienda of Pila was so big that it had to be shared by two conquistadors, Andrade and Peñalosa. They built not one but two convents for the Franciscans indicating the large sums they had collected from the residents. xxii
Due to its wide influence, Pila was conferred the special title La Noble Villa in around 1610. It was the only Philippine villa erected in the 17th century. The Franciscans established in it the second printing press in the Philippines in 1611. The first Spanish-Tagalog dictionary, Vocabulario de Lengua Tagala was printed in Pila in 1613. (It was 25 years older than the first book published in the United States in 1638.) The title page of this work contains the earliest reference to “La Noble Villa de Pila.” It is not known exactly when the villa was erected. The local pastor, Fray Pedro de San Buenaventura, OFM, compiled the dictionary to facilitate the evangelization of the region where the language of Pila was regarded as one of the purest forms of Tagalog. Another authoritative dictionary of the language was put together also in Pila by Fray Francisco de San Antonio, OFM in the 1620s. xxiii
The Franciscans transfered their infirmary from Lumbang to the new villa in 1618. It remained there until 1673 whence it moved to Sta. Cruz, Laguna. During this period, a long list of intrepid missionaries retired and died there and were buried in the local cemetery. Archbishop Fernando Montero de Espinosa of Manila, newly arrived from México, expired in the infirmary in 1644. xxiv
Distinguished Spanish families in the walled city likewise settled in the villa and included the Thenorios, del Rios, Sarmientos, de Silvas, Caviedeses and Robleses. In the late 17th to the 18th centuries, they intermarried with the local nobility the most prominent of which were the Riveras, owners of the Hacienda de Sta. Clara. The estate appeared to be part of the pre-hispanic “hacienda” cited earlier. At the turn of the 18th to the 19th century, the town center at Pagalangan had to be abandoned due to severe perennial flooding from Laguna de Bay. Not without opposition, the villa moved to Hacienda de Sta. Clara. Don Felizardo de Rivera (1755–1810), the eldest of the three brothers who owned the hacienda, drew up the gridiron plans for the new site based on the classical Spanish system of church-plaza-town hall complex. He is considered the founder of Nueva Pila. vi The town has been declared a National Historical Landmark (2000) and its church, the Diocesan Shrine of San Antonio de Padua (2002).
Philippines, a copper plate dating to 900 AD and found in nearby Lumbang, mentions the town and leaders of “Pailah” twice and “Puliran.” These possibly refer to Pila and Pulilan, respectively, the latter being the old name of the western portion of the lake near where Pila lies. According to oral traditions, from the center in Pinagbayanan and later in Pagalangan, the datu of Pila ruled over one of the biggest territories in the region, which extended as far as Talim Island, Tanay, and other lakeshore towns. The name of the chief was Gat Salyán Maguinto. His patronymic, which means “laden with gold,” alluded to the robust gold trade he presided over. Early elite Pileñas bore such names as Dalisay (pure gold) and Hilapo (high grade gold) appended to their Christian names. xx
The Franciscan chronicler, Plasencia (1589) further gathered that another datu of Pila, “with his own gold” purchased the new site in Pagalangan from another chief who had owned it and who thus moved to another place. The datu then farmed out the arable land among the nobles and the freemen who, in return, paid him an annual rent of a hundred gantas of rice. It was the only documented example of a pre-hispanic private estate (the equivalent of a Spanish hacienda) in the Philippines as distinguished from the communal lands. xxi
Unlike the adjacent town of Baé, Pila gave only minor resistance to the conquistadors in 1571 since there were no nearby hills for the people to retreat to. It was during the conquest of the province of Laguna that Salcedo first heard of the gold fields of Paracale farther South. When the Franciscans arrived in 1578, they took over the christianization of the town from the Augustinians. Pila, together with Lumbán, became the center from which radiated the Franciscans in their evangelization work in the provinces of Laguna and Tayabas. They first built a church of hardwood and bamboo dedicated to St. Anthony of Padua. It took 18 years—from 1599 to 1617—for the stone edifices of the church and convent to be completed. The encomienda of Pila was so big that it had to be shared by two conquistadors, Andrade and Peñalosa. They built not one but two convents for the Franciscans indicating the large sums they had collected from the residents. xxii
Due to its wide influence, Pila was conferred the special title La Noble Villa in around 1610. It was the only Philippine villa erected in the 17th century. The Franciscans established in it the second printing press in the Philippines in 1611. The first Spanish-Tagalog dictionary, Vocabulario de Lengua Tagala was printed in Pila in 1613. (It was 25 years older than the first book published in the United States in 1638.) The title page of this work contains the earliest reference to “La Noble Villa de Pila.” It is not known exactly when the villa was erected. The local pastor, Fray Pedro de San Buenaventura, OFM, compiled the dictionary to facilitate the evangelization of the region where the language of Pila was regarded as one of the purest forms of Tagalog. Another authoritative dictionary of the language was put together also in Pila by Fray Francisco de San Antonio, OFM in the 1620s. xxiii
The Franciscans transfered their infirmary from Lumbang to the new villa in 1618. It remained there until 1673 whence it moved to Sta. Cruz, Laguna. During this period, a long list of intrepid missionaries retired and died there and were buried in the local cemetery. Archbishop Fernando Montero de Espinosa of Manila, newly arrived from México, expired in the infirmary in 1644. xxiv
Distinguished Spanish families in the walled city likewise settled in the villa and included the Thenorios, del Rios, Sarmientos, de Silvas, Caviedeses and Robleses. In the late 17th to the 18th centuries, they intermarried with the local nobility the most prominent of which were the Riveras, owners of the Hacienda de Sta. Clara. The estate appeared to be part of the pre-hispanic “hacienda” cited earlier. At the turn of the 18th to the 19th century, the town center at Pagalangan had to be abandoned due to severe perennial flooding from Laguna de Bay. Not without opposition, the villa moved to Hacienda de Sta. Clara. Don Felizardo de Rivera (1755–1810), the eldest of the three brothers who owned the hacienda, drew up the gridiron plans for the new site based on the classical Spanish system of church-plaza-town hall complex. He is considered the founder of Nueva Pila. vi The town has been declared a National Historical Landmark (2000) and its church, the Diocesan Shrine of San Antonio de Padua (2002).