Ma-i

Ma-i Mait
before 971 AD[1][2]–after 1339 AD (last historical reference)[1][2]
Status	Sovereign state which conducted trade with Brunei, and with the Song and Yuan dynasties[3]
Capital	Under debate[1] Possibilities include Bulalacao, on the island of Mindoro, and Bay, Laguna
Government	Barangay state[4]
History
• Established	before 971 AD[1][2]
• Mentioned in a Song dynasty list of states conducting trade in the south seas[1]	971 AD
• Noted by Song dynasty records as having brought trade goods to the southern Chinese coast[1]	982 AD
• Described in detail in an account of countries conducting trade with the Yuan dynasty[1]	1339 AD
• Disestablished	after 1339 AD (last historical reference)[1][2]
Currency	Barter ("caldrons, pieces of iron, red cloth or taffetas of various color stripes, ivory, and "tint or the like"")[5]
Succeeded by Captaincy General of the Philippines
Today part of	Philippines

Part of a series on the
Pre-colonial history of the Philippines
Social classes Ruling class (Maginoo, Ginu, Tumao) Apo, Datu Bagani Lakan Panglima Rajah Sultan Thimuay Middle class Timawa Maharlika Commoners, serfs, and slaves Aliping namamahay Alipin sa gigilid Bulisik Bulislis Horohan Uripon
Political entities Luzon Caboloan Cainta Ibalon Ma-i Maynila Namayan Pulilu Sandao Tondo Visayas Cebu Bo-ol/Dapitan Madja-as Mindanao Buayan Butuan Lanao Maguindanao Sanmalan Sulu
Key figures Agustin de Legazpi Azim ud-Din I of Sulu Batarah Shah Tengah Datu Daya Datu Sikatuna Dayang Kalangitan Dimasangcay Adel Dayang Sasaban Gat Pangil Gugu Sarikula Jayadewa Kamal ud-Din Laut Buisan Lakandula Lapulapu Magat Salamat Muedzul Lail Tan Kiram Muhammad Kudarat Sultan Muwallil Wasit Rajah Humabon Rajah Lontok Rajah Matanda Rajah Salalila Rajah Sulayman Rajah Tupas Regimo Diraja Kabungsuwan Sharif ul-Hāshim Sri Lumay Tarik Sulayman Urduja
Primary sources and artifacts Boxer Codex Butuan Ivory Seal Laguna Copperplate Inscription Monreal Stones The Philippine Islands, 1493–1898
By topic Cultural achievements Historiography Monarchs consorts Paramount rulers Religion Warfare
See also: History of the Philippines
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Ma-i, or Maidh (also spelled Ma'I, Mai, Ma-yi or Mayi; Baybayin: ᜋᜁ; Hanunoo: ᜫᜡ; Hokkien Chinese: 麻逸; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: mâ-i̍t; Mandarin Chinese: 麻逸; pinyin: máyì; Wade–Giles: ma²-i⁴), was an ancient sovereign state located in what is now the Philippines.

Its existence was first documented in 971 in the Song dynasty documents known as the History of Song,^[1][2] and it was also mentioned in the 10th-century records of the Bruneian Empire.^[6] Based on these and other mentions until the early 14th century, contemporary scholars believe Ma-i was located either in Bay, Laguna,^[1] or on the island of Mindoro.^[7]

Research by Fay Cooper Cole for the Field Museum in Chicago in 1912 showed that the ancient name of Mindoro was Mait.^[8] Mindoro's indigenous groups are called Mangyans, and to this day, the Mangyans call the lowlands of Bulalacao in Oriental Mindoro Mait. For most of the 20th century, historians generally accepted the idea that Mindoro was the political center of the ancient Philippine polity.^[1]: 119 However, a 2005 study by Filipino-Chinese historian Go Bon Juan suggested that the historical descriptions better match Bay, Laguna (pronounced Ba-i), which is written similarly to Ma-i in "Chinese orthography". According to Go Bon Juan's understanding,^[1]: 119 in Hokkien Chinese, the literary reading for the first character, 麻, is "mâ", while the vernacular reading could also be pronounced and read as "bâ" or "môa" but the second character, 逸, has the literary reading of "i̍t", while a vernacular reading of "ia̍k" (Quanzhou) or "e̍k" (Amoy & Zhangzhou) or "ia̍t" (Amoy).