Matapang, v., brave; valiant, bold; intrepid; spirited; vigorous; gritty; redoubtable; courageous; strong; firm; gallant; doughty; graceful; stalwart; stalwart; spunky; plucky; aggressive; saucy; pungent; poignant. (A Tagalog English and English Tagalog Dictionary, Nigg, 1904)

... In their zeal the padres would often baptise the children in spite of the threats of the fathers and the tears and prayers of the mothers.  It was under circumstances of this nature that Padre Sanvitores lost his life.  While baptising a child at Tumhun, the bay in which the leper settlement is now established, he was killed by the child's father, a chief named Matapang, aided by one of his retainers... (The Plant World, v.6, 1903)