What is "lakandula"

Lakan Dula was the regnal name of the last Lakan (king or paramount ruler) of the pre-colonial Kingdom of Tondo when the Spaniards first conquered the lands of the Pasig River delta in what is now Manila, the capital of the Philippines in the 1570s.

The firsthand account of Spanish Royal Notary Hernando Riquel says that he introduced himself to the Spanish as "Bunao Lakandula", indicating that his given name was "Bunao". However, the word Lakan which in current Tagalog form means gentleman, was a title equivalent to prince meaning he was Prince Dula. He later converted to Christianity and was baptised Carlos Lakandula. Another common variation of the name is Gat Dula (alternatively spelled as a single word,Gatdula). He is sometimes erroneously referred to as Rajah Lakandula, but the terms "Rajah" and "Lakan" have the same meaning, and in this domain the native Lakan title was used, making the use of both "Rajah" and "Lakandula" at the same time redundant and erroneous.

Along with Rajah Matanda and Rajah Sulayman, he was one of three Rajahs who played significant roles in the Spanish conquest of the kingdoms of the Pasig River delta during the earliest days of the Philippines' Spanish Colonial Period.

While it is unclear whether the entire name "Lakandula" represented a single titular name during his own lifetime, a few of his descendants in the first few generations after his death came to refer to themselves as the "Lakandula of Tondo", taking that name on as a noble title.