From Swimming Elephant to Divine Wind
Where did we come from? If the origin of our people were revised, maybe we can arrive at a consensus. I admit that I may be biased, but, according to my observations, it all started in Cagayan Valley when the continental people bridged their way from the North. They may have traveled on the backs of snorkeling elephants, since pachyderm fossils have been found in the Valley. African elephants crossing the Alps are as difficult to imagine as an Asian elephant stroking along the edges of the continent.
"It all started in Cagayan Valley
when the continental people bridged their way from the North."
The more conventional transport however was a particular invention. The Austro/Malay/Polynesian sailors discovered the vinyl quality of the Asian Bamboo. Rigged together, the Balsa slowly found its way to the outlying islands.
The Indigenous natives of Northeast Luzon bear the lighter skin and physical attributes of those closer to the northern region. I originally thought that the Rice Terraces originated from the Indonesian mainland, but in South China you could find elaborate terraces that are probably older. From here, our island became one of the major outposts of great seafarers that crossed the Pacific in a series of island hopping migration. The Balsa became balangina, a giant ocean outrigger against a harsh wind that only the strong survive.
The Pacific Ocean has two weather systems that exist; a clockwise rotation on top and the lower part has the cyclone (counterclockwise) on the southern part. The ancient navigators went against the Easterly double belt corridor, created by these two oblong weather systems and the Earth’s rotation. In contrast, the Kon-tiki voyage was easy since the wind originating from South American was on their backs.
Magellan’s fleet just followed the same friendly wind and rediscovered
the Philippines. When he was killed by Lapu-lapu one of the surviving
ships tried to return home by taking the East direction and failed. It
took a divine intervention by a priest-turned-navigator (Urdaneta) who
piloted the first Manila Galleon by charting the route going north and
then east (clockwise rotation). This may have been too cold for our early
nomads, who were without the proper “baru” (Is this word of
Indian origin?)
Perhaps I should also consider a little of the survival-of-the-fittest theory, natural selection: As you go farther East of you could find the Pacific Islanders getting bulkier, perhaps a product of those survivors with the ability to store the energy to reach so far. As noted earlier by Tanso, these people were first class seafarers. Their series of migrations may have continued to the American continents if not for the gigantic project in Easter Islands that consumed all the natural resources of the island. There were not enough trees to build another boat for the continued voyage to the East. Religion was certainly not a part of their luggage nor did they have any intention of going back west. Their languages speak for themselves. It is the only manifestation of their origin. Eastern religion traveled east to the Philippines while the Christian faith propagated west. The first Mass in Mazzua signaled the meeting of the major sectarian denominations from the opposite direction.
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