Limasawa

Limasawa is a small island south of Leyte, amid the straits linking the central and southern Philippines. It is identified with Mazaua, where Rajah Colambu received Ferdinand Magellan's expedition in March 1521. The visitors exchanged gifts with islanders, and Colambu and Magellan made a pact of friendship. On Easter Sunday, 31 March, the expedition's chaplain Pedro de Valderrama celebrated Mass ashore in the presence of the visitors and local rulers. Colambu spoke of the trade at Cebu and accompanied the fleet towards that island when it departed in April. The encounter brought the voyagers into an existing maritime world in which Malay could serve as a language of communication between rulers and travellers.