Lakandula (Baybayin: , Spanish orthography: Lacandola) was the title of the last lakan or paramount ruler of pre-colonial Tondo when the Spaniards first conquered the lands of the Pasig River delta in the Philippines in the 1570s. The firsthand account of Spanish Royal Notary Hernando Riquel says that he introduced himself to the Spanish as "Sibunao Lacandola". While his given name has since been interpreted as being "Bunao", the historic meaning of the word Lakan, was a title equivalent to prince or paramount ruler, meaning he was the principal Datu or Prince of his domain. Along with Rajah Matanda and Rajah Sulayman, Buano, Lakan Dula (or Lakan of Tondo), was one of three rulers who played significant roles in the Spanish conquest of the Pasig River delta polities during the earliest days of the Philippines' Spanish colonial period. While it is questionable whether "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. Name and title Over time, the Lakandula's name has come to be written in several ways. However, according to the firsthand account written in Spanish by Hernando Riquel, the royal notary who accompanied Miguel López de Legazpi, the Lord of Tondo specifically identified himself as "Sibunao Lacandola, lord of the town of Tondo" when he boarded Legazpi's ship with the lords of Manila on May 18, 1571. According to Riquel, the lords of Manila introduced themselves as "Rajah Ache the Old and Rajah Soliman the Young, lords and principals of the town of Manila" In page 13 of "Cracks in the Parchment Curtain", preeminent historian William Henry Scott quotes Riquel's original text, which he found in the Spanish archives under "Archivo General de Indias Seccion Patronato leg. 24, no 24." The relevant part of the text read: ...declaracion llamarse Raha Ache el Viejo y Raha Solimane el Mozo, senores y principales del pueblo de Manila, y Sibunao Lacandola, principal del pueblo de Tondo...(emphasis added) Modern historians routinely remove the Filipino word "si", an article used to denote a personal names (meaning "I am ..."), from recorded names during this era because Spanish writers had not yet learned the local languages and often mistakenly included "si-" in Filipino names. Sibunao thus should be interpreted as "[Ako] si