Tamblin

Tamblin, also spelled Tamblot, was a native spiritual leader (babaylan) on the island of Bohol in the central Philippines. He arose in 1621 as the figurehead of a religious uprising against Spanish colonial rule and the Catholic mission system, promoting the return to indigenous beliefs and asserting divine authority to liberate the island from Christianized authority.

The movement drew thousands of adherents and spread through many interior communities, challenging the Spanish authorities and their Christianized allies. The uprising disrupted mission activities and posed a serious challenge to the colonial administration for about a year. Spanish forces, sometimes with native Christian counterparts, mounted a military response and pursued measures to restore order and suppress the movement. By 1622 the rebellion had been quelled, and Tamblin’s fate is not clearly documented in primary sources—accounts vary, with some noting his disappearance.

Historians regard the Tamblin uprising as one of the earliest substantial anti-colonial revolts in the Philippines. It is viewed within the broader context of resistance to Spanish rule and religious assimilation in the Visayas during the early colonial period. The event influenced later patterns of rebellion in the region, including subsequent uprisings in Bohol and neighboring areas.