Pengiran Seri Laila (c. early 1500s), or Panguilan Salalila in Spanish records, was a pengiran or married member of the Bruneian royal family and was the uncle of Sultan Sayf ul-Rijal of Brunei. By the 1570s, he had much involvement with the Kingdom of Luzon and Brunei's Castilian War. His name is now often found as the surname "Salalila" from Tagalog and Kapampangan regions of Luzon in the Philippines. Based on perceived similarities between the names, he is sometimes also called Sulaiman I (Abecedario: Súláiman, from Arabic: sulaiman سليمان) in the belief that he shared the name of his supposed grandson, Rajah Sulayman. Oral traditions cited by Odal-Devora (2000) identify him as a son of the legendary Dayang Kalangitan and Rajah Lontok. Genealogical traditions cited by Majul (1973) claim that he converted to Islam from Tagalog religion as a result of the missionary efforts of the Sultanate of Brunei. Salalila's rule ended when he died some time in the early 1500s, and he was succeeded by his wife, who was not named in historical accounts. By 1570, his son Ache had succeeded to the position himself, and had come to be known as "Rajah Matanda" (lit. "Old Rajah").

Sources

Little is known for sure about Salalila due to the lack of firsthand documentary sources covering the timeframe of his life and reign. The little that is known for certain by scholars comes from the account given by his son "Prince" Ache to Sebastian Elcano and the other surviving members of the Magellan expedition in 1521. Some additional details can be gleaned from extant genealogical sources, such as the "Lakandula documents" deposited at the Philippine National Archives but these accounts are often conflicting and present conflicts interest. As a result, the factuality and accuracy of the details presented in these documents requires careful assessment by historiographers.

Name

Identification in historical documents as "Salalila"

The records of Ache's 1521 account before the crew of Sebastian Elcano's expedition did not identify Salalila by name. However, he is referred to using the name "Salalila" in the "Lakandula documents" deposited at the Philippine National Archives, as well as by apocryphal sources, such as the alleged 1539 "Will of Pansomun".

Sulaiman theory

His supposed identification as "Sulaiman I" was presented as a theory in the 1950s, based on the similarities of "Salalila" and "Suleiman". However, this identification is the subject of debate among present-day historiographers.

Known relations

Historically documented relations

A number of Salalila's relations are documented in Ache (Rajah Matanda)'s 1521 account. This includes:

Other relations as told by folk traditions

20th century folk traditions hold Salalila to be a son of Dayang Kalangitan and Rajah Lontok.

Death and succession

According to Ache's 1521 account, Salalila died while Ache was still very young, and was succeeded by his wife, who was not named in the accounts. By 1570, Salalila's wife had died and Ache had succeeded to Salalila's position himself, and introduced himself as "Rajah Matanda" to the forces of Martin de Goiti (in 1570) and Miguel López de Legazpi (in 1571).

Footnotes