The narrow coastal shelf of the north-west is a string of river-mouth settlements between the mountains and the sea, with Chinese jars turning up along it.
The Abra river brings down gold from the Cordillera. The Zhufan zhi's Li-yin-tung is read as Lingayen on the English page 'Ma-i', a neighbour on the south. For 1200 no text names the coast; the picture is geography.
Who he is
- Title
- Headmen of the Ilocos coast river mouths (Vigan, the Abra mouth, Laoag)
- Since
- not pinned
- Born
- not known
- Family
- not known
- Confidence
- low
No source names the chief of this place for 1200. The word datu (and barangay) is recorded by the Spanish from the 1560s; the Copperplate of 900 uses Sanskrit-Malay titles instead. Everything about 1200 is inference from archaeology and later accounts.
What it holds
- River-mouth landings
- Gold trade from the Abra and Cordillera uplands
Allies and rivals
Tied to its neighbours by marriage, debt, feud and raid; nothing above it.
How things stand that morning
Not described for 1200.
Wealth
Gold, rice, salt, Chinese jars; no figures.
Military
War boats and raiding parties in the later record; no numbers.
Threats
- Raiders from the next coast
- Typhoon and flood
- A change in the Chinese trade
Places of note
- Vigan: Abra mouth settlement.
- Laoag: Northern river mouth (position from the gazetteer).
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Geography and scattered finds; the campaign board marks it 'likely'.
"The campaign board" is OMNIA's working map. These notes record where its earlier claims were checked against the sources.
On the map: A river mouth community's near land, drawn as a seeded block.
Sources and studies
- Wikipedia, 'Ma-i' (read in this pass): Song shi 971 and 982, the Zhufan zhi and Daoyi zhilue notices, the Mindoro and Bay readings
- The OMNIA board (September 2026) note for this place: a lead only, not a source
- Background knowledge of Southeast Asian history (Wolters; Hall; Bellwood; Scott; Junker; Reid), recalled and not re-read in this pass
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.