View source for Laguna Copperplate Inscription

{{Short description|900 inscription found in the Philippines}}
{{Use Philippine English|date=April 2021}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2023}}
{{Infobox artifact
| name = Laguna Copperplate Inscription
| image = Extract from Inskripsyon sa Binatbat na Tanso ng Laguna.jpg
| image_caption = The inscription displayed at the [[National Museum of Anthropology (Manila)|National Museum of Anthropology]] in Manila
| material = Copper
| height = <{{convert|20|cm|in|abbr=on}}
| width = <{{convert|30|cm|in|abbr=on}}
| weight = 
| language = Mainly [[History of the Malay language|Old Malay]] with some [[Sanskrit]] and either possibly [[Old Javanese]] or [[Old Tagalog]] according to [[Antoon Postma]]
| created = {{start date and age|900|4|21|p=yes|br=yes}}
| discovered_date = 1987
| discovered_place = [[Lumban]], [[Laguna (province)|Laguna]], Philippines
| location = [[National Museum of the Philippines]]
| culture = 
}}
The '''Laguna Copperplate Inscription'''<ref>({{langx|fil|Sulat na inukit sa binatbat na tanso sa Laguna}})</ref> is an official [[wikt:acquittance|acquittance]] ([[debt relief]]) certificate inscribed onto a copper plate in the [[Shaka era|Shaka]] year 822 ([[Gregorian calendar|Gregorian]] A.D. 900). It is the earliest-known, extant, calendar-dated document found within the [[Philippines]].<ref name="Postma">{{Cite journal |last=Postma |first=Antoon |date=April–June 1992 |title=The Laguna Copper-Plate Inscription: Text and Commentary |url=http://www.philippinestudies.net/ojs/index.php/ps/article/download/1033/1018 |journal=Philippine Studies |publisher=Ateneo de Manila University |volume=40 |issue=2 |pages=182–203 |jstor=42633308}}</ref>

The plate was found in 1987 by a laborer near the mouth of the [[Lumban river|Lumbang River]] in Wawa, [[Lumban]], [[Laguna (province)|Laguna]], in the [[Philippines]]. The inscription was mainly written in [[Old Malay]] using the Old Javanese script called [[Kawi alphabet|Kawi]] script, with several technical [[Sanskrit]] words and either [[Old Javanese]] or [[Old Tagalog]] [[Filipino styles and honorifics|honorifics]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Postma |first=Antoon |date=1991 |title=The Laguna Copper-Plate Inscription: A Valuable Philippine Document |url=https://journals.lib.washington.edu/index.php/BIPPA/article/viewFile/11381/10020 |journal=Indo-Pacific Prehistory 1990 Assn. Bulletin 11 |volume=2 |pages=161–165 |via=University Libraries – University of Washington}}</ref> After it was found, the text was first translated in 1991 by [[Antoon Postma]],<ref name="MS">{{Cite news |last=Patanñe |first=E.P. |date=March 31, 1991 |title=New Philippine date challenges historians |page=4 |work=[[Manila Standard]] |publisher=Kagitingan Publications, Inc. |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=8cBNEdFwSQkC&dat=19910328&printsec=frontpage&hl=en |access-date=April 25, 2021 |quote=A copper plate containing an Old Malay inscription [...] deciphered by the Dutch Ethnographer [sic] Antoon Postma, carries a clear date of Saka 822, a Sanskritized reckoning equivalent to A.D. 900.}}</ref> a [[Dutch East Indies|Dutch]] anthropologist and [[Hanunó'o script]] researcher.<ref name="Postma" />

The inscription documents the existence and names of several surrounding states as of A.D. 900, such as the [[Tagalog people|Tagalog]] [[city-state]] of [[Tondo (historical polity)|Tondo]].<ref name="Postma" /> Some historians associate the toponym ''Medang'' in this inscription regarding the [[Mataram Kingdom|Medang palace]] in [[Java]] at that time, although the name is a common term of [[Malayo-Polynesian languages|Malayo-Polynesian]] origin.<ref name="Postma" />

==Description==
The inscription is made out of [[copper]] and measures about {{convert|20|x|30|cm|sp=us}}, with the words directly embossed onto the plate. It differs in manufacture from Javanese scrolls of the period, which had the words inscribed onto a heated, softened metal scroll.<ref name="mts" />

It records the date as the year 822 of the [[Shaka era]], the month of Vaishakha, and the fourth day of the waning moon on the weekday of Somavara, which corresponds to Monday, April 21, 900, on the [[Julian calendar]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Santos |first=Hector |year=1996 |title=The Date of the Laguna Copperplate Inscription |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/42634198 |journal=Philippine Studies |volume=44 |page=515 |jstor=42634198 |quote=It involved the reconstruction of an ancient calendar used in the Philippines over a millennium ago using clues provided by Indian and Indonesian calendars from which it was derived. Let me present the answer right at the start. Then I will show how this equivalent date was derived. The Julian equivalent is: Monday, 21 April 900 A.D |number=4}}</ref> The text is Old Malay, with numerous loanwords from Sanskrit and a few non-Malay vocabulary elements whose origin may be Old Javanese.<ref name="Postma" /> The Sanskrit words are used for technical terms, while the Javanese words are used for [[Style (form of address)|forms of address]]. The Old Malay it uses differs from examples found in Java and Sumatra.<ref name="Andaya">{{Cite journal |last=Andaya |first=Leonard Y. |date=October 2001 |title=The Search for the 'Origins' of Melayu |journal=Journal of Southeast Asian Studies |volume=32 |issue=3 |page=321 |doi=10.1017/S0022463401000169 |jstor=20072349 |s2cid=62886471}}</ref> The document states that it releases its bearers, the children of ''Namwaran'', from debt in [[gold]] amounting to 1 ''[[Catty|kati]]'' and 8 ''suwarnas'' (865 grams; 27.8 troy ounces).<ref name="mts">Morrow, Paul (July 14, 2006). [http://www.mts.net/~pmorrow/lcieng.htm "Laguna Copperplate Inscription"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080205031106/http://www.mts.net/~pmorrow/lcieng.htm |date=February 5, 2008 }}. Sarisari etc.</ref><ref name="bibinargka">{{Cite web |title=The Laguna Copperplate Inscription |url=http://www.bibingka.com/dahon/lci/lci.htm#lci_graphics |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141121194304/http://bibingka.com/dahon/lci/lci.htm |archive-date=November 21, 2014 |access-date=September 4, 2008}}</ref>

==Text==
{| class="wikitable"
!Line
! Kawi text
! Transliteration by Hector Santos (1995)<ref name="SantosTranslitteration1996">{{Cite web |last=Santos |first=Hector |date=October 26, 1996 |title=Sulat sa Tanso: Transcription of the LCI |url=http://www.bibingka.com/dahon/lci/transcri.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141029061518/http://www.bibingka.com/dahon/lci/transcri.htm |archive-date=October 29, 2014 |access-date=October 10, 2017 |website=www.bibingka.com}}</ref>
! Preliminary translation by Antoon Postma (1992)<ref name="Postma" />
! Notes
|-
| 1 
| 𑼱𑽂𑼮𑼱𑽂𑼡𑼶 𑼯𑼒𑼮𑼂𑼱𑼴𑼡𑼶𑼡 𑽘𑽒𑽒 𑼮𑼿𑼱𑼴𑼓 𑼪𑼴𑼱 𑼣𑼶 𑼙𑽂𑼫𑽀𑼡𑼶𑼰 𑼗𑼡𑼸𑼂𑼢 𑼒𑼺𑼰𑽂𑼠𑼦𑼒𑽂𑼰 𑼱𑽀-
| ''swasti shaka warshatita 822 [[Vaisakha|waisakha]] masa ding [[jyotisha]]. [[chaturthi]] [[Hindu calendar#Day|krishnapaksha so-]]'' 
| Hail! In the [[Shaka era|Saka]]-year 822; the month of March–April [= [[Vaisakha|Vaishakh]]] according to the astronomer: the fourth day of the dark half of the moon; on
| 
|-
| 2 
| 𑼪𑼮𑼴𑼬 𑼱𑼴𑼪 𑼡𑼡𑽂𑼒𑼴𑼭 𑼣𑼫𑼁 𑼄𑼖𑽂𑼒𑼡𑼥𑽁 𑼭𑼮𑼥𑽁 𑼣𑽂𑼖𑼥𑽁𑼛 𑼱𑼴𑼥𑼒𑽁 𑼨𑼂𑼖𑼴𑼬𑼥𑽁 𑼱𑼶 𑼨𑼸𑼒𑼃
| ''[[Hindu calendar#Day|-mawara]] sana tatkala dayang angkatan lawan dengannya sanak barngaran si bukah''
| Monday. At that time, Lady Angkatan together with her relative, Bukah by name, 
| 
|-
| 3 
| 𑼄𑼥𑼒𑽁 𑼣 𑼣𑼁 𑼲𑽂𑼮𑼥𑽂𑼥𑼪𑽂𑼮𑽂𑼬𑼥𑽁 𑼣𑼶𑼨𑼬𑼶 𑼮𑼬𑼣𑼴𑼥 𑼮𑼶 𑼯𑼸𑼣𑽂𑼤𑼦𑽁𑼂𑼡 𑼈𑼭𑼶𑼃 𑼱𑼁 𑼦𑼪𑽂𑼔𑼡𑽁 𑼱𑼾𑼥𑼴𑼦𑼡𑼶 𑼱𑼶 𑼡𑼸𑼠𑽂𑼣𑼸-
| ''anakda dang hwan namwaran di bari waradana wi shuddhapat(t)ra ulih sang pamegat senapati di tundu-'' 
| the child of His Honor Namwaran, was given, as a special favor, a document of full acquittal, by the Chief and Commander of Tundun
| 
|-
| 4 
| 𑼥𑽁 𑼨𑼬𑽂𑼙𑼴 𑼣𑼁 𑼲𑽂𑼮𑼥𑽂𑼥𑼴𑼫𑼒 𑼡𑼸𑼲𑼴𑼥𑽁 𑼦𑼿𑼭𑼃 𑼙𑼫𑼣𑼾𑼮 𑼣𑼶 𑼒𑽂𑼬𑼪 𑼣𑼁 𑼲𑽂𑼮𑼥𑽂𑼥𑼪𑽂𑼮𑽂𑼬𑼥𑽁 𑼣𑽂𑼖𑼥𑽁 𑼣𑼁 𑼒𑼴𑼫-
| ''n barja(di) dang hwan nayaka tuhan pailah jayadewa. di krama dang hwan namwaran dengan dang kaya-''
| representing the Leader of Pailah, Jayadewa. This means that His Honor Namwaran, through the Honorable Scribe  
| 
|-
| 5 
| 𑼱𑽂𑼢 𑼯𑼸𑼣𑽂𑼤𑼴 𑼥𑼸 𑼣𑼶𑼦𑼂𑼭𑼦𑽂𑼦𑼱𑽁 𑼲𑼸𑼡𑼁 𑼣𑼮 𑼭𑼾𑼥𑽂𑼣𑼒𑼴 𑽑 𑼱𑼸 𑽘 𑼣𑼶 𑼲𑼣𑼦𑼥𑽁 𑼣𑼁 𑼲𑽂𑼮𑼥𑽂𑼥𑼴𑼫𑼒 𑼒 𑼡𑼹𑼲𑼥𑽁 𑼦𑼸-
| ''stha shuddha nu di parlappas hutangda wale(da)nda kati 1 suwarna 8 di hadapan dang hwan nayaka tuhan pu-''
| was totally cleared of a salary-related debt of 1 kati and 8 suwarna (weight of gold): in the presence of His Honor the Leader of Puliran,  
| 
|-
| 6 
| 𑼭𑼶𑼬𑼥𑽁 𑼒𑼱𑼸𑼪𑼸𑼬𑼥𑽁 𑼣𑼁 𑼲𑽂𑼮𑼥𑽂𑼥𑼴𑼫𑼒 𑼡𑼸𑼲𑼴𑼥𑽁 𑼦𑼿𑼭𑼃 𑼨𑼂𑼙𑼣𑼶 𑼔𑼠𑼯𑼒𑽂𑼡𑼶 𑼣𑼁 𑼲𑽂𑼮𑼥𑽂𑼥𑼴𑼫𑼒 𑼡𑼸-
| ''liran ka sumuran. dang hwan nayaka tuhan pailah barjadi ganashakti. dang hwan nayaka tu-'' 
| Kasumuran; His Honor the Leader of Pailah, representing Ganashakti; (and) His Honor the Leader 
| 
|-
| 7 
| 𑼲𑼴𑼥𑽁 𑼨𑼶𑼥𑽂𑼮𑼴𑼖𑼥𑽁 𑼨𑼂𑼙𑼴𑼣𑼶 𑼨𑼶𑼯𑽂𑼬𑼸𑼡 𑼡𑼢𑼴𑼦𑼶 𑼱𑼴𑼣𑼴𑼥𑽂𑼣 𑼱𑼴𑼥𑼒𑽁 𑼒𑼦𑼬𑼴𑼮𑼶𑼱𑽁 𑼈𑼭𑼶𑼃 𑼱𑼁 𑼦𑼪𑽂𑼔𑼡𑽁 𑼣𑼾-
| ''han binuangan barjadi bishruta tathapi sadanda sanak kaparawis ulih sang pamegat de-'' 
| of Binuangan, representing Bisruta. And, with his whole family, on orders of the Chief of Dewata
| 
|-
| 8 
| 𑼮𑼡 𑼮𑼂𑼙𑼴𑼣𑼶 𑼱𑼁 𑼦𑼪𑽂𑼔𑼡𑽁 𑼪𑽂𑼞𑼁 𑼣𑼬𑼶 𑼩𑼒𑽂𑼡𑼶𑼥𑽂𑼣 𑼣𑼶𑼦𑼂𑼲𑼸𑼭𑼸𑼥𑽁 𑼱𑼁 𑼦𑼪𑽂𑼔𑼡𑽁 𑼫𑼪𑼒𑼴𑼛 𑼱𑼴𑼣𑼴𑼛 𑼄𑼥𑼒𑽁
| ''wata [ba]rjadi sang pamegat medang dari bhaktinda di parhulun sang pamegat. ya makanya sadanya anak''  
| representing the Chief of Mdang, because of his loyalty as a  subject (slave?) of the Chief, therefore all the descendants  
| 
|-
| 9 
| 𑼗𑼸𑼗𑼸 𑼣𑼁 𑼲𑽂𑼮𑼥𑽂𑼥𑼪𑽂𑼮𑽂𑼬𑼥𑽁 𑼯𑼸𑼣𑽂𑼤𑼫 𑼒𑼦𑼬𑼴𑼮𑼶𑼱𑽁 𑼣𑼶 𑼙𑼸𑼡𑼁 𑼣 𑼣𑼁 𑼲𑽂𑼮𑼥𑽂𑼥𑼪𑽂𑼮𑽂𑼬𑼥𑽁 𑼣𑼶 𑼱𑼁 𑼦𑼪𑽂𑼔𑼡𑽁 𑼣𑼾𑼮𑼡 𑼆𑼥𑼶 𑼔𑽂𑼬𑼁
| ''chuchu dang hwan namwaran shuddha ya kaparawis di hutangda dang hwan namwaran di sang pamegat dewata. ini gerang'' 
| of His Honor Namwaran have been cleared of the whole debt that His Honor owed the Chief of Dewata. This (document) is (issued) in case  
| 
|-
| 10 
| 𑼱𑽂𑼫𑼴𑼡𑽁 𑼱𑽂𑼫𑼴𑼦𑼴𑼥𑽂𑼡𑼴𑼲 𑼦𑼯𑽂𑼗𑼴𑼡𑽁 𑼣𑼶𑼁 𑼅𑼬𑼶 𑼒𑼪𑼸𑼣𑽂𑼫𑼥𑽁 𑼅𑼣 𑼔𑽂𑼬𑼁 𑼈𑼬𑼁 𑼮𑼬𑼸𑼙𑼬 𑼮𑽂𑼭𑼸𑼁 𑼒𑼦𑽂𑼦𑼱𑽁 𑼲𑼸𑼡𑼁 𑼣 𑼣𑼁 𑼲𑽂𑼮...
| ''syat syapanta ha pashchat ding ari kamudyan ada gerang urang barujara welung lappas hutangda dang hwa'' ... 
| there is someone, whosoever, some time in the future, who will state that the debt is not yet acquitted of His Honor...
| <small>Line 10 of the inscription is cut mid-sentence.<ref name="Postma" /></small>
|}

==Analysis==
Postma, who first translated the Laguna Copperplate Inscription, suggested that the place names and personal names in the inscription needed to be carefully studied by scholars because "they furnish vital clues regarding the political and topographic background" of the world around the time of the inscription. He identified as [[toponym]]s the words ''Pailah'', ''Tundun'', ''Puliran'', and ''Binuangan'', and posited that ''Dewata'' and ''Medang'' could be either personal names or toponyms. Postma identified three of these toponyms, ''Binuangan'', ''Pailah'', and ''Puliran'', as Malayo-Polynesian in origin, and three other toponyms, ''Tundun'', ''Dewata'', and ''Mdang'', as being of Sanskrit origin.<ref name="Postma" />

After carefully considering possible interpretations of the text, including the possibility that Pailah and Puliran were located in the Laguna Lake region, Postma concluded that he was confident that [[Binuangan, Obando|Binuangan]], [[History of Bulacan#Prehistory|Pailah]], and [[Pulilan|Puliran]] "find their equivalents within the limited area of what is now known as [[Bulacan]] Province in the Philippines, [and that] the text of this same inscription can be considered to refer indeed to these places, already existing already under identical names in the tenth century".<ref name="Postma" /> The text itself, however, being written in 900, was created in the ninth century.

===Toponyms as Bulacan settlements===
Postma emphasized that his interpretation of the inscription place names being in Bulacan puts these named settlements on key locations on Central Luzon's river systems, which he referred to as "water highways", which allowed "an effective (and often only) means of transportation and communication between the different settlements", as well as providing Chinese and Southeast Asian maritime traders easy access to interior trading centers via rivers. He also noted that Central Luzon's rivers were "much deeper and certainly were more navigable than they are today".<ref name="Postma" />

Postma's assertions have been challenged, notably by the Pila Historical Society Foundation and local historian Jaime F. Tiongson, but have not been fully resolved by [[scholarly peer review]].<ref name="Tiongson20061111">{{Cite web |last=Tiongson |first=Jaime F. |date=November 11, 2006 |title=Puliran in the Laguna Copperplate Inscription: Laguna de Bay or Pulilan, Bulacan? |url=http://blog.bayangpinagpala.org/2006/11/puliran-in-laguna-copperplate.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121128015427/http://blog.bayangpinagpala.org/2006/11/puliran-in-laguna-copperplate.html |archive-date=November 28, 2012 |access-date=November 18, 2011 |website=Bayang Pinagpala}}</ref><ref name="Tiongson20061129">{{Cite web |last=Tiongson |first=Jaime F. |date=November 29, 2006 |title=Pailah is Pila, Laguna |url=http://blog.bayangpinagpala.org/2006/11/pailah-is-pila-laguna.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120707143824/blog.bayangpinagpala.org/2006/11/pailah-is-pila-laguna.html |archive-date=July 7, 2012 |access-date=November 18, 2011}}</ref>

===Words affirmed as toponyms===
Postma asserted that he was fairly certain that four words in the inscription were place names, or toponyms: "Pailah" (lines 4 and 6), "Tundun" (line 3), "Puliran" (line 6), and "Binuangan" (line 7).<ref name="Postma" />

====Tundun====
Tundun, whose name Postma believed to be "[[Indosphere|Sanskrit in origin]]", was referenced in line 3 of the inscription.<ref name="Postma" /> It is the most easily recognizable of the toponyms identified by Postma in the inscription, and scholarly consensus generally agrees with Postma's original identification of the inscription's Tundun as [[Tondo (historical polity)|Tondo]], the polity located on the northern seaside of the [[Pasig River]] delta, where the Pasig River empties into [[Manila Bay]].<ref name="Patanne1996">Patanñe, E.P. Philippines in the Sixth to Sixteenth Centuries. 1996.</ref>{{rp|page=134}}<ref name="JojoandDonnaAbinales2005">Abinales, Patricio N. and Donna J. Amoroso, State and Society in the Philippines. Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield, 2005.</ref>{{rp|page=38}}

Postma left an avenue for an alternative interpretation open, however, saying that Mdang and Tondo "because of their lingual consonants (n and d) that are of Sanskrit origin might originally be toponyms existing on the Island of Java".<ref name="Postma" />

====Pailah====
Postma identified Pailah, whose name he believed to be [[Austronesian languages|Austronesian]] in origin, as a "locality with its leader". It was referenced twice, in lines 4 and 6 of the inscription. Locating its possible location in [[Bulacan]], Postma proposed its site to be "the village of Paila, in Barangay of San Lorenzo at the eastern part of the municipality of [[Norzagaray]], with coordinates 14–54.5 & 121-06.9".<ref name="Postma" /> However, it might also be referred to the Pailaha region part of [[North Sulawesi]] province located in the northern [[Sulawesi]].

====Puliran====
Postma identified Puliran, whose name he believed to be [[Austronesian languages|Austronesian]] in origin, as a "locality with its own leader" referenced in line 6 of the inscription. Postma asserted that  Puliran was probably located in modern-day [[Bulacan]], on the current site of "[[Pulilan#History|Pulilan]], along the [[Angat River]] (pronounced: Anggat) north of Manila, (coordinates: 14–54.2 & 120-50.8)".<ref name="Postma" />

====Binuangan====
Postma believed that the place-name of Binuangan, referenced in line 7 of the inscription as a locality with its own leader, was [[Austronesian languages|Austronesian]] in origin. Locating its possible location in [[Bulacan]], Postma proposed its site to be "the village of [[Binuangan, Obando|Binuangan]], belonging to the municipality of [[Obando, Bulacan|Obando]], situated at the mouth of the [[Bulacan River]], with coordinates 14–43.2 & 120–543".<ref name="Postma" />

===Inscription words believed to be possible place names===
Based on linguistic analysis, Postma concluded that the words Dewata and Mdang "could be either personal names or toponyms". He noted that their names seemed to be [[Sanskritisation|Sanskrit]] in origin but did not go into a deep discussion of where they might have been located, other than to say [[Medang Kingdom|Mdang]] was already known as a place name in Indonesia.

Abinales and Amoroso (2005) note that the leaders of [[Rajahnate of Butuan|Dewata]] and Mdang (if these words are indeed to be accepted as toponyms) were not present for the transaction but were rather invoked as authorities in certifying the cancellation of the debt in question: "Jayadewa invokes the authority of the chief of Dewata, who in turn represents the [[Medang Kingdom|chief of Medang]]".<ref name="JojoandDonnaAbinales2005" />

====Mdang====
Postma's paper proposing his translation and interpretation of the inscription mentions that his search of the Indonesian toponym listings developed by Damais and Darmosoetopo, as well as his consultation with the 14th Congress of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association (IPPA) in August 1990, determined that Mdang was the only (possible) toponym in the inscription that matched known Indonesian place names.<ref name="Postma" />

Abinales and Amoroso (2005), citing Patanñe (1996) note that this seems to refer to "a temple complex in Java, where the [[Medang Kingdom|kingdom of Mataram]] was a rival to [[Srivijaya]]".<ref name="JojoandDonnaAbinales2005" />

====Dewata====
Scholars after Postma, such as Patanñe (1996) and Abinales and Amoroso (2005) have come to [[Rajahnate of Butuan|identify the Dewata]] of the inscription as a settlement in or near "present-day [[Mount Diwata]], [[Monkayo|near Butuan]]".<ref name="JojoandDonnaAbinales2005" />

While it is clear from the text of the inscription that Jayadewa of Tondo is invoking the authority of the Chief of Dewata, the precise relationship between Dewata and Mdang is less clear. E.P. Patanñe notes: "This relationship is unclear but a possible explanation is that the chief of Dewata wanted it to be known that he had a royal connection in Java."<ref name="Patanne1996" />

===Other proposed interpretations of toponyms===
Postma's assertions regarding the exact locations of ''Pailah'', ''Puliran'', and ''Binuangan'' have been challenged by the Pila Historical Society Foundation and local historian Jaime F. Tiongson, who assert that the place names ''Pailah'' and ''Puliran'' are more likely to refer to places close to where the plate was found—in Lumban—given that archeological findings in nearby [[Pila, Laguna|Pila]] show the presence of an extensive settlement during precolonial times.<ref name="Tiongson20061111" /><ref name="Tiongson20061129" />

According to Tiongson's interpretation, ''Pailah'' refers to Pila; ''Puliran'' refers to Puliran, the old name of the territory that occupied the southeastern part of [[Laguna de Bay]] at the time; and ''Binuangan'' refers to a modern-day barangay, Binawangan in [[Capalonga]], [[Camarines Norte]].<ref name="KimuellGabriel2013">{{Cite web |last=Kimuell-Gabriel |first=Nancy A. |date=March 3, 2013 |title=Ang Tundo sa Inskripsyon sa Binatbat na Tanso ng Laguna (900 MK.-1588) |url=http://www.bagongkasaysayan.org/ebook/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/3.Ang-Tundo_Kimuell-Gabriel_Marked.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170822104639/http://www.bagongkasaysayan.org/ebook/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/3.Ang-Tundo_Kimuell-Gabriel_Marked.pdf |archive-date=August 22, 2017 |access-date=July 7, 2017 |website=www.bagongkasaysayan.org |publisher=Bahay Saliksikan ng Kasaysayan – Bagong Kasaysayan (BAKAS), Inc.}} '''[[Gray literature]]''' partly based on 
{{cite thesis |last=Kimuell-Gabriel |first=Nancy A. |date= 2001 |title= TIMAWA: Kahulugan, Kasaysayan at Kabuluhan sa Lipunang Pilipino. Tesis Masteral |type= PhD Thesis |publisher= Departamento ng Kasaysayan, Unibersidad ng Pilipinas, Diliman }}</ref>{{rp|page=125}}<ref name="Tiongson20061111" /><ref name="Tiongson20061129" />

===Vocabularies===
The inscription contains a great number of words derived from Sanskrit, starting with a line of astronomical terms that indicate the date of the inscription in detail. It also has some Old Javanese and Old Tagalog words expressing ceremonious forms of address. However, the main language of the inscription is Old Malay, which served as the ''lingua franca'', or trade language, of the whole archipelago during those times.<ref name="Postma" /> The most significant indication of Old Malay features is found in verbal affixes used in the inscription, e.g. ''bar-'', ''di-'', and ''dipar-'', which correspond to ''ber-'', ''di-'', and ''diper-'', respectively, in modern Malay and Indonesian. Old Malay words and their modern Malay and Indonesian counterparts are listed below, each followed by its English gloss:
{{div col|colwidth=35em}}
* {{transliteration|poz|sana}} = ''sana'' = there
* {{transliteration|poz|tatkala}} = ''tatkala'' = while, during
* {{transliteration|poz|dayang}} = ''dayang'' (also used in Tag.) = court maiden
* {{transliteration|poz|lawan}} = ''lawan'' (Tag. cognate is {{lang|tl|laban}}) = counterpart
* {{transliteration|poz|dengan}} = ''dengan'' = with
* {{transliteration|poz|-nya}} = ''-nya'' = his / her / its (possessive suffix)
* {{transliteration|poz|sanak}} = ''sanak'' = relative, kindred
* {{transliteration|poz|anak}} = ''anak'' (also used in Tag.) = child
* {{transliteration|poz|bari}} = ''beri'' (Tag. cognate is {{lang|tl|bigay}}) = give
* {{transliteration|poz|ulih}} = ''oleh'' = by, from
* {{transliteration|poz|di}}, {{transliteration|poz|ding}} = ''di'' = at, in, of
* {{transliteration|poz|jadi}} = ''jadi'' = become
* {{transliteration|poz|tuhan}} = ''tuan'' = leader, master
* {{transliteration|poz|shuddha}} = ''sudah'' = already
* {{transliteration|poz|lappas}} = ''lepas'' (Tagalog cognate is {{lang|tl|lipas}}) = unbounded, escaped
* {{transliteration|poz|hutang}} = ''hutang'' (Tagalog/Indonesian cognate is {{lang|tl|utang}}) = debt
* {{transliteration|poz|hadapan}} = ''hadapan'' (borrowed into Tag. as {{lang|tl|harapan}}) = in front
* {{transliteration|poz|tathapi}} = ''tetapi'' = but
* {{transliteration|poz|sadanda}} = ''sadanya'' (preserved in Minangkabau) = whole, all
* {{transliteration|poz|dari}} = ''dari'' = from
* {{transliteration|poz|bhakti}} = ''bakti'' = dedication, devotion
* {{transliteration|poz|hulun}} = ''hulun'' (Classical Mal.) = slave, subject
* {{transliteration|poz|makanya}} = ''makanya'' = therefore
* {{transliteration|poz|chuchu}} = ''cucu'' = grandchild
* {{transliteration|poz|kaparawis}} = ''diperhabis'' = cleared (compare to Old Javanese ''(h)awis'' = cleared)
* {{transliteration|poz|ini}} = ''ini'' = this
* {{transliteration|poz|gerang}} = {{transliteration|poz|gerang}} (Classical Mal.) = perchance
* {{transliteration|poz|ari}} = ''hari'' = day
* {{transliteration|poz|kamudyan}} = ''kemudian'' = afterwards, later
* {{transliteration|poz|ada}} = ''ada'' = exist, there is
* {{transliteration|poz|urang}} = ''orang'' = person, people
* {{transliteration|poz|barujara}} = {{transliteration|poz|berujar}} (Classical Mal.) = state, say, utter (compare to Old Javanese ''tujara'')
* {{transliteration|poz|wellung}} = ''belum'' = not yet
{{div col end}}
Aside from the Sanskrit and Old Malay words, there are also some pure Old Javanese words that have no cognates in Old Malay, or at least have not been found in other Old Malay inscriptions, like ''ngaran'' (name) and ''pamegat'' (leader, chief). In an Old Malay inscription, one would expect ''barnama'' instead of ''barngaran'' because ''nama'' is the Sanskrit-derived word for 'name' in Old and Modern Malay. ''Pamegat'' is another Old Javanese word that frequently occurs in Old Javanese inscriptions but not in Old Malay ones. It is often preceded by the honorific ''sang'', as in the inscription. These words are accepted as Old Javanese words but could be Old Tagalog as well because they exist in both of these languages.<ref name="Postma" />

==Significance==
The Laguna Copperplate Inscription, together with other recent finds such as the [[Golden Tara]] of [[Butuan]] and 14th-century pottery and gold jewelry in [[Cebu]], is highly important in revising  [[History of the Philippines (900–1521)|ancient Philippine history]], which some Western historians previously considered culturally isolated from the rest of Asia, as no evident pre-Hispanic written records had been found at the time. Philippine historian [[William Henry Scott (historian)|William Henry Scott]] debunked these theories in 1968 with his ''Prehispanic Source Materials for the Study of Philippine History'', which was subsequently published in 1984.<ref>{{Cite book |last=William Henry Scott |title=Prehispanic Source materials for the Study of Philippine History |year=1984 |publisher=New Day Publishers |isbn=971-10-0226-4}}</ref> The locations mentioned are all near rivers, suggesting Old Malay may have come to the area along trade networks.<ref name="Andaya" />

The inscription demonstrates pre-Hispanic literacy and culture and is considered a [[national treasure]]. It is currently deposited at the [[National Museum of Anthropology (Manila)|National Museum of Anthropology]] in [[Manila]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ocampo |first=Ambeth R. |author-link=Ambeth Ocampo |date=October 28, 2016 |title=A receipt in copper |url=https://opinion.inquirer.net/98769/a-receipt-in-copper |access-date=October 20, 2020 |website=INQUIRER.net |publisher=[[Philippine Daily Inquirer]] |language=en}}</ref>

It is the earliest document that shows the use of mathematics in precolonial Philippine societies. The use of precise measurement for gold demonstrates a standard system of weights and measures, and fixing the precise day within the month in relation to the phases of the moon shows familiarity with rudimentary astronomy.<ref name="manapat">[http://www.philippinestudies.net/files/journals/1/articles/3360/public/3360-4866-1-PB.pdf Mathematical Ideas in Early Philippine Society]</ref>

==Southeast Asian context ==
{{See also|Indian honorifics|Greater India|Sanskritisation|Brahmi script}}
Prior to the European colonial era, [[Southeast Asia]] was under the [[Indosphere]] of [[greater India]], where numerous [[Indianized kingdom|Indianized principalities]] and empires flourished for several centuries in what are now Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, the Philippines, Laos, Cambodia, and central and southern Vietnam. The influence of Indian culture in these areas was given the term ''indianization''.<ref name="acharya">{{Cite web |last=Acharya |first=Amitav |title=The 'Indianization of Southeast Asia' Revisited: Initiative, Adaptation and Transformation in Classical Civilizations |url=http://www.amitavacharya.com/sites/default/files/Indianisation%20of%20Southeast%20Asia%20Revisited.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200107152930/http://www.amitavacharya.com/sites/default/files/Indianisation%20of%20Southeast%20Asia%20Revisited.pdf |archive-date=January 7, 2020 |access-date=April 3, 2018 |website=amitavacharya.com}}</ref> French archaeologist [[George Coedes]] defined it as the expansion of an organized culture that was framed by the Indian origins of royalty, [[Hinduism]] and [[Buddhist|Buddhism]], and the [[Sanskritization|Sanskrit dialect]].<ref name="coedes">{{Cite book |last=Coedes |first=George |title=The Indianized States of Southeast Asia |date=1967 |publisher=Australian National University Press}}</ref> This can be seen in the [[Indianization of Southeast Asia]], the [[Hinduism in Southeast Asia|spread of Hinduism]], and the [[Silk Road transmission of Buddhism|transmission of Buddhism]]. The [[Non-resident Indian and person of Indian origin|Indian diaspora]], both ancient (PIO) and current (NRI), played an ongoing key role as professionals, traders, priests, and warriors.<ref name="lukas">{{Cite journal |last=Lukas |first=Helmut |date=May 21–23, 2001 |title=1. Theories of Indianization Exemplified by Selected Case Studies from Indonesia (Insular Southeast Asia) |url=https://www.academia.edu/4803585 |journal=International SanskritConference}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Krom |first=N.J. |title=Barabudur, Archeological Description |date=1927 |publisher=The Hague}}</ref><ref name="smith">{{Cite journal |last=Smith |first=Monica L. |author-link=Monica L. Smith |date=1999 |title='Indianization' from the Indian Point of View: Trade and Cultural Contacts with Southeast Asia in the Early First Millennium C.E. |journal=Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient |volume=42 |issue=11–17 |pages=1–26 |doi=10.1163/1568520991445588 |jstor=3632296}}</ref> [[Indian honorifics]] also influenced [[Malay styles and titles|Malay]], [[Thai royal ranks and titles|Thai]], [[Filipino styles and honorifics|Filipino]], and [[Indonesian names#Honorifics|Indonesian]] honorifics.<ref name="tit1">Krishna Chandra Sagar, 2002, An Era of Peace, p. 52.</ref>

The pre-colonial [[Suyat|native Filipino script]] called [[Baybayin]] ({{Script|Tglg|ᜊᜌ᜔ᜊᜌᜒᜈ᜔}}), known in [[Visayan languages|Visayan]] as ''badlit'' ({{Script|Tglg|ᜊᜇ᜔ᜎᜒᜆ᜔}}), as ''kur-itan/kurditan'' in [[Ilocano language|Ilocano]], and as ''kulitan'' in [[Kapampangan language|Kapampangan]], was itself derived from the [[Brahmic scripts]] of India. Its use was recorded in the 16th century by [[Miguel López de Legazpi]].<ref name="baybayin">{{Cite web |last=Morrow |first=Paul |title=Baybayin, the Ancient Philippine script |url=http://www.mts.net/~pmorrow/bayeng1.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100821192259/http://www.mts.net/~pmorrow/bayeng1.htm |archive-date=August 21, 2010 |access-date=September 4, 2008 |publisher=MTS}}.</ref>

==Cultural references==
{{See also|Hinduism in the Philippines|Religion in pre-colonial Philippines|Indosphere|Indianisation}}
The inscription shows heavy [[Sanskrit]] and [[Kawi language|Old Javanese]] linguistic influences.<ref name="mts" /> Among the observations made by [[Antonio Pigafetta]] in the 16th-century ''[[Boxer Codex]]'' was that [[Old Malay]] had currency among classical-period Filipinos as a ''[[lingua franca]]''. The [[Golden Tara]] statue, an ancient artifact discovered in [[Butuan]], [[Agusan del Norte]], dates from the same period and strongly suggests the presence of [[Hinduism in the Philippines|Hindu]]–[[Buddhism in the Philippines|Buddhist]] beliefs prior to the introduction (and subsequent [[Religion in the Philippines|subscription]]) to [[Catholic Church in the Philippines|Roman Catholicism]] and [[Islam in the Philippines|Islam]] among [[Filipino people|Filipinos]].{{Citation needed|date=November 2022}}

==Other inscriptions from nearby regions==
These inscriptions are all from the province of [[Central Java]], Indonesia (except for the Kalasan inscription, which is in the adjacent [[Special Region of Yogyakarta]]).
*[[Canggal inscription]] (732)
*[[Kalasan inscription]] (778)
*[[Kelurak inscription]] (782)
*[[Karangtengah inscription]] (824)
*[[Tri Tepusan inscription]] (842)
*[[Shivagrha inscription]] (856)
*[[Mantyasih inscription]] (907)

==Discovery==
[[File:Laguna Copperplate Inscription.gif|thumb|upright=1.5|right|Emphasis on text of Namwaran's acquittance]]
The Laguna Copperplate Inscription was found in 1987 near the mouth of the Lumbang River near [[Laguna de Bay]]<ref name="Chua20130528">{{Cite web |last=Chua |first=Xiao |date=May 28, 2013 |title=KAHALAGAHAN NG LAGUNA COPPERPLATE AT IKA-400 TAON NG VOCABULARIO NI SAN BUENAVENTURA |url=https://xiaochua.net/2013/05/28/xiao-time-27-may-2013-kahalagahan-ng-laguna-copperplate-at-ika-400-taon-ng-vocabulario-ni-san-buenaventura/ |access-date=October 10, 2017 |website=It's Xiaotime!}}</ref> by a man named Ernesto Legisma, who was dredging sand to turn it into concrete. Suspecting that the artifact might have some value, the man sold it to an antique dealer, who, having found no buyers, eventually sold it to the [[National Museum of the Philippines]], where it was assigned to [[Alfredo E. Evangelista]], head of its [[anthropology]] department.<ref name="mts" /><ref name="pdi">{{Cite news |date=October 21, 2008 |title=Expert on past dies; 82 |newspaper=[[Philippine Daily Inquirer]] |url=http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20081021-167699/Expert-on-past-dies-82 |url-status=dead |access-date=November 17, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081024114447/http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20081021-167699/Expert-on-past-dies-82 |archive-date=October 24, 2008}}</ref> The National Museum refers to the artifact as the ''Laguna Copper Plate''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=National Museum of the Philippines |author-link=National Museum of the Philippines |title=National Cultural Treasures of Philippine Archaeology |url=https://www.nationalmuseum.gov.ph/nationalmuseumbeta/Collections/Archaeo/NCT.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181018055500/http://www.nationalmuseum.gov.ph/nationalmuseumbeta/Collections/Archaeo/NCT.html |archive-date=October 18, 2018 |access-date=June 13, 2019}}</ref>

A year later, Antoon Postma noted that the inscription was similar to the ancient Indonesian script of [[Old Kawi|Kawi]]. Postma translated the script and found the document dated itself to the [[Indian national calendar|Saka year]] 822, an old Hindu calendar date that corresponds to the year 900.<ref name="MS" /> It is from about the same time as the mention of the Philippines in the official Chinese [[Song dynasty]] ''[[History of Song (book)|History of Song]]'' for the year 972.<ref>William Henry Scott, ''Prehispanic Source Materials for the Study of Philippine History'', pg.65. {{ISBN|971-10-0226-4}}.</ref>

==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=27em}}
* Related topics
** [[Buddhism in the Philippines]]
** [[Indonesian Esoteric Buddhism]]
** [[Indosphere]]
** [[Indian cultural influences in early Philippine polities]]
** [[Hinduism in the Philippines]]
** [[List of India-related topics in the Philippines]]
** [[Golden Tara]]
** [[Tabon Caves#Tabon Caves Garuda Gold Pendant|Tabon Caves Garuda Gold Pendant]]
** [[Suyat]]
* Other similar topics
** [[Intaglio printing|Copperplate]]
** [[Early Indian epigraphy]]
** [[History of the Philippines]]
** [[History of India]]
** [[Indian copper plate inscriptions]]
** [[Indian inscriptions]]
** [[Tamil Copper-plate inscriptions]]
** [[Outline of ancient India]]
** [[Vatteluttu]]
{{col div end}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20141121194304/http://bibingka.com/dahon/lci/lci.htm Hector Santos' A Philippine Document from 900 A.D.]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080205031106/http://www.mts.net/~pmorrow/lcieng.htm Paul Morrow's "The Laguna Copperplate Inscription"]
* [https://archive.today/20121127191227/http://bayangpinagpala.blogspot.com/2006/11/test-2.html Laguna Copperplate Inscription and the Route to Paracale]
* [https://archive.today/20121204143601/http://bayangpinagpala.blogspot.com/2006/12/laguna-copperplate-inscription-purchase.html Laguna Copperplate Inscription Purchase Story]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gC2VBeEZQy4 Information on the Laguna Copperplate Inscription with vocalisation]

{{India-related topics in Philippines}}
{{Historic Filipino monarchs}}
{{Asia in topic|Hinduism in}}
{{Philippines topics}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Archaeological discoveries in the Philippines]]
[[Category:Hinduism in the Philippines]]
[[Category:900]]
[[Category:History of the Philippines (900–1565)]]
[[Category:Philippine scripts]]
[[Category:Malay inscriptions]]
[[Category:Collection of the National Museum of the Philippines]]
[[Category:History of Laguna (province)]]
[[Category:9th-century inscriptions]]
[[Category:Copper objects]]
[[Category:1989 archaeological discoveries]]
[[Category:Debt relief]]
[[Category:9th-century Sanskrit literature]]
[[Category:9th-century documents]]