chiefdom · Maritime Southeast Asia

Kedatuan of Madja-as

1200 CE – 1569 CE (approx.)

A confederation of Visayan settlements on Panay, known from the legend of ten Bornean datus who bought the island from the Ati people.

Origins

The story of Madja-as comes from the Maragtas, published by Pedro Monteclaro in 1907 from oral tradition. It tells of ten datus fleeing a tyrant in Borneo, led by Datu Puti, who bought the lowlands of Panay from the Ati chief Marikudo for a golden salakot, a native hat, and a long gold necklace. Historians such as William Henry Scott regard the account as folklore, not history.

Rule and society

Panay's real 16th-century society, described by the Spanish, was made up of independent coastal communities led by datus, with nobles, freemen and dependants. They grew rice, traded with Chinese and Bornean merchants and practised ancestor worship.

Decline and legacy

Miguel Lopez de Legazpi moved his base to Panay in 1569 and Spanish rule followed. The Madja-as legend is now celebrated in the Ati-Atihan and Binirayan festivals and remains part of Visayan identity.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

Connections (1)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Kedatuan of Madja-as. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kedatuan-of-madja-as
MLA
“Kedatuan of Madja-as.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kedatuan-of-madja-as. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Kedatuan of Madja-as.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kedatuan-of-madja-as.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Kedatuan of Madja-as’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kedatuan-of-madja-as (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻