Timothy Jay Schwab who is The God Culture is plunging ever deeper into examining the account of Fernando Pinto's shipwreck in the Ryukyu Islands. This time he is analyzing Pinto's "Ilha de Fuego."
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| https://thegodculturephilippines.com/ilha-de-fuego-was-not-in-ryukyu-etymology-geography-pinto-s-real-island-of-fire/ |
Here are Tim's points on this topic.
SECTION 1: Colonial Invention — The Impossibility of “Ilha de Fuego” in Ryukyu
“Ilha de Fuego” is a Portuguese term meaning “Island of Fire.” There was no native name or tradition of this in Ryukyu. The fact a 1554 propaganda map began labeling a Ryukyu after Pinto with a Portuguese name is fraud.
The Philippines, however, has: Apoy Island in Batanes. “Apoy” means “fire” in both Tagalog and Ivatan. Babuyan Islands, traditionally called the “Burning Isles.” Multiple active volcanoes within the corridor Pinto describes fit Batanes and Babuyan especially. The island size he heard fits Luzon.
Ryukyu’s Suwanosejima Island is too small (27.66 km²), has no horses, and no recorded historical gold trade.
SECTION 2: 🔥 A Laughable Assertion: Suwanosejima as Pinto’s “Island of Fire”?
🏝️ Uninhabited in Pinto’s Time [Perhaps he was imprisoned and put on trial by ghosts???]: Suwanosejima suffered a massive volcanic eruption in the 15th century and remained uninhabited until the 19th century, making it impossible for Pinto to have encountered a populated kingdom there in 1544–1545.
📜 Pinto Described a Thriving Civilization: Pinto’s own account details a functioning society—towns like Pungor and Gundexilau, horsemen, a legal system, a king, and courts. None of this matches an empty volcanic island.
There are a lot of things wrong here. First of all, in Portuguese it's Ilha de FOGO, not FUEGO. Tim is confusing Spanish and Portuguese. What a great start to an article involving etymology.
Second of all, Tim claims the Portuguese designation Island of Fire is fraudulent because there is no native place in the Ryukyu Islands named Island of Fire. This is a horrible argument which ignores the way Europeans named places they discovered. Exonyms are common on European maps and in journals of the time period. The Philippines is an example of an exonym because that is not what the natives called these islands. If Tim wants to label exonyms as being fraudulent, the resulting absurdity would be enormous. It is also absurd that Tim claims to be able to correctly interpret 16th century maps and yet has no idea about exonyms.
Declaring the place name Island of Fire fraudulent reflects a deep misunderstanding of how exploration and naming practices worked in the 16th century and once more reveals that Tim is a completely unreliable researcher. It is also more proof that either there is no God Culture research team or they are the worst and most unqualified research team in the world.
Third of all, Tim claims Pinto could not have landed on the island of fire, Suwanosejima, because it was uninhabited until the 19th century due to a massive eruption. But Pinto DOESN'T claim to have landed on the island of fire. He claims to have landed on the Greater Lequios and knew this by espying the island of fire from afar off. This is the definition of a straw man argument.
Here is Pinto's original text and a translation from Rebecca Catz.
Os poucos que escapamos deste miserável naufrágio, que não foram mais que vinte e quatro, fora algumas mulheres, logo que a manhã foi clara conhecemos que a terra em que estávamos era do Léquio grande, pelas mostras da ilha do fogo e a Serra de Taydacão,
https://fundar.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/peregrinacao-vol-ii.pdf pg. 29
There were only twenty-four of us, besides some women, who survived this miserable shipwreck. When day broke we could tell from the landmarks of Fire Island and the Tavdacéo Mountains that we were off the main island of the Ryukyus.
Travels of Mendes Pinto, p. 290, Rebecca Catz translator
At this point Tim is taking tiny pieces from Pinto's journal to bolster his claims but has he actually read it? Did he pay attention to this part where it says very clearly Pinto knew he had landed on Greater Lequios because he could see Fire Island and the Tavdacéo Mountains? Everything Tim says about what is and is not Fire Island is based on a false premise and must be rejected as unreliable claptrap. Did The God Culture Research Team approve this nonsense or is this all Tim's doing? Is it likely a whole team of researchers misread and misunderstood what Pinto wrote?
Here is challenge for Tim. Read the entire narrative of Pinto's shipwreck in the Lequios Islands. Then read it a few more times just to be sure you didn't miss anything. This narrative can be found between pages 289-301 in Rebecca Catz's translation. Next, find every instance of Ryukyu in her book and compare that to the first English edition where Lequios is used. Then attempt to reconcile Pinto's travels with your claim he actually landed in the Philippines taking the whole narrative, from leaving China to leaving the Lequios Islands, as well as every other mention of the Lequios, into account.
Here is an interesting passage Tim has not yet considered.
We proceeded on our voyage in the battered condition we were in, and three days later we were struck by a storm that blew over the land with such fierce gusts of wind that that same night we were driven out of sight of the shore. And since by then we were unable to approach it again, we were forced to make with full sail for the island of the Ryukyus where this pirate was well known to both the king and the other people there. With this in view we sailed ahead through the islands of this archipelago, but since at this time we were without a pilot, ours having been killed in the recent battle, and the northeast winds were blowing head on and the currents were running strong against us, we went tacking with great effort from one board to the other for twenty-three days until finally, at the end of that time, our Lord brought us within sight of land. Coming in closer to see if it showed any sign of an inlet or harbor with good anchorage, we noticed a huge fire burning over to the south, almost at a level with the horizon. This led or to believe that it was probably inhabited and that them might be people there who would sell us water, which we were running short of.
As we were anchoring opposite the island in seventy fathoms of water, two small canoes with six men on board came rowing our from shore. They came alongside, and after an exchange of greetings and courtesies in their fashion, they asked us whence the junk had come. Our answer was that we had come from China, bringing merchandise to trade with them, if they would give us leave to do so. One of them replied that as long as we paid the duties that were customarily charged in Japan, which was the name of that big land mass outlined ahead of us, the nantoquim, lord of that island of Tanegashima, would readily grant us permission. He followed this up by telling as everything else that we needed to know and showed us the port where we were supposed to anchor.
Travels of Mendes Pinto, p. 274, Rebecca Catz translator
Pinto says they set sail for the Ryukyus, that is Lequios Islands, which he calls an archipelago and says they sailed through it for 23 days. When they arrive in the Lequios Islands they are told the "big land mass outlined ahead of" them is named Japan. In fact the title of this chapter is "The Discovery of Japan." If the Lequios Islands are Batanes or Luzon, how could Japan be "that big land mass outlined ahead" of them? I eagerly await what will no doubt be Tim's gymnastic answer.
Tim also employs his trademark fake Filipino etymology to prove that Pinto was actually in the Batanes. Here's one that's a real hoot.
🏝️ Gundexilau Decoded: Ivatan and Tagalog Linguistic Echoes
Gundes (Ivatan):
Traditional stone houses in Batanes, uniquely engineered to withstand typhoons.
➔ "Gunde" = House.Ilaw (Tagalog):
Means "light", as in guiding light (e.g., lighthouse or brightness).Gundexilau (as heard by Pinto):
➔ Likely a blending of "Gunde" (house) + "Ilaw" (light). Lighthouse!
➔ In a region where stone houses and guiding lights (natural high ground, beacon fires) were critical for navigation and survival.
⛯ Logical Reconstruction:
In a seafaring, typhoon-prone culture like the Ivatan, a town named "House of Light" (stronghold + guiding beacon) makes perfect sense.
📜 Pinto, a foreigner, may have slightly misheard or conflated the terms into "Gundexilau."
📜 This fits the pattern of Iberian transliterations of native words throughout the Age of Exploration.
Gundexilau: A likely corruption of “Gundes Ilaw,” combining Ivatan terms for “houses of light.” "Ilaw" = "light" in Tagalog/Ivatan. Tayid Lighthouse sits near Mt. Matarem today.
Tim says the town of Gundexilau mentioned in Pinto's journal is actually a solitary lighthouse!
Yet Pinto describes Gundexilau as a town complete with a prison equipped with an underground dungeon.
After taking us into custody with detailed documents drawn up by notaries public, they departed immediately. Late in the afternoon of the same day we reached a town called Gundexilau, where they put us into an underground dungeon, in which we spent the night, suffering unbearable hardship, in a pool of water swarming with leeches that left us all quite bloody.
But according to Tim's brilliant etymological move of combining unrelated Tagalog and Ivasasy words, Gundexilau isn't a town at all. It's Tayid Lighthouse. Silly Fernando Pinto. Joke's on you!
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| https://wanderlog.com/place/details/10222443/tayid-lighthouse |
Tayid Lighthouse, situated in Mahatao on Batan Island, is a captivating destination offering breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean and the West Philippine Sea. This hexagonal-shaped lighthouse stands as a symbol of Batanes' dedication to maritime heritage and guiding seafarers. Originally built in 2002 to aid fishermen at night, it now attracts tourists seeking stunning vistas of the iconic Racuh-A-Payaman (Marlboro Country) and the picturesque Batanes landscape.
What!? Tayid Lighthouse, was constructed in 2002!? Looks like the joke's on Timothy Jay Schwab!
Contrary to what Tim says anyone is free to comment on any article on this blog as long as they have a Gmail account.
It is important to note that the same anonymous blogger responsible for these daily defamatory attacks has blocked The God Culture and associated accounts from commenting on his blog, effectively preventing public rebuttal to his accusations. This deliberate censorship reveals an intent to control narrative and deceive readers by omission.
That paragraph is a straight up lie. No one is blocked and anyone can comment as long as they have a Gmail account.
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