Lesson 2.

2
 Lesson 2.2

Customs of Tagalogs
• From the Two Relations by Fray Juan De Plasencia, O.S.F.
• Juan de Plasencia: Los Costumbres de los Indios Tagalos de Filipinas

• Born to the illustrious family of Portocarreros in Plasensia in the region of

Extremadura, Spain in the early 16th Century. He was one of the seven
children of Pedro Portocarrero, a captain of a schooner.
• Juan de Plasensia grew up during the period known as the Siglo de Oro, a
Golden Age when arts and literature flourished in many parts of Spain,
among his native Extremadura.
• Fray Juan de Puerto Carrero, del convent de Villanueva de la Serena. Was his
real name.
 Barangay
• Barangay refers to a tribal gathering in Tagalog.

• Ruled by a chief which consist of sometimes a

hundred houses, sometimes less than thirty.

• The word “barangay” is derived from balangay, the

name for the sailboats that originally brought settlers
of Malay stock to the Philippines.
• Even at the present day, it is ascertained that barangay, from its origin was a
family of parent, children, relations and slaves.

• There were many of these barangays in each town, or, at least, on account of
wars, they did not settle far from one another, except in friendship and
relationship. The Chieves in their various wars, help one another with their
respective barangay.
 Datos (Datu)
• It was the highest rank a person can have.

• Refers to the chief or leader who governed a barangay

and serves as the captain whenever there is a war.

• Also the one whom they take orders with.

• Anyone who committed any offense against them, or

spoke but a word to their wives and children, was
severely punished.
In addition to the chiefs, who corresponded to
our knights, there were three castes called:

1.) Nobles

2.) Commoners

3.) Slave
 Nobles
• They are free-born called Maharlica

• It is second highest rank next to the Dato.

• Maharlicas does not need to pay taxes but they must

show them selves and offer help to the Datu if they
been summoned.

• Also they must accompany the Datu in times of war

or to attack another village.

• They also have the right to have a slave.

Social Classes Chieftain
(Datu)

Nobles
(Maharlika)

Commoners
(Aliping Namamahay)

Slaves
(Aliping Saguiguilir)
 Commoner
• Also called as Aliping Namamahay.

• They married and serve their master whether he be a Dato

or not.

• Aliping Namamahay serve their master in his cultivated

lands

• Also they must accompanied him whenever he went.

• They can live in their own houses and they have their own
property and gold.
• Their children can inherit the property and gold and also can enjoy the rank of
their fathers.

• If ever they are fall to or inheritance into the hand of the son of their master,
they can’t be sold or became a slave and cannot carried away from their village
but they remained to their native village and cultivating the sowed land.
 Slaves
• Slaves or “Aliping Guiguilir” or we mostly knows as
“Aliping sagigilid”
•
• It was the lowest rank among these classes.

• They have no rights and they can also be sold.

•
• They serve their master in his house and cultivated his
lands.
•
• Also they receive a portion of their harvest if their master
see them that they deserve it.
• If any person among those who where made slaves through war, trade by a gold-smith
or happened to posses any gold beyond the sum that he had to give his master, he can
ransom him self and becoming Aliping Namamahay.

• The price of the ransom are not less than 5 taels and if he gave 10 taels or more he
might become wholly free.
* Maharlicas on both the father’s and mother’s side continue to be so forever; and if it
happens they should become slaves, it is through marriage.

* If a maharlika had children among their slaves, the children and their mother became
free

* If a maharlika had children by the slave-woman of another, she was compelled, when
pregnant, to give her master half of a gold tael.
- Half of the child was free (the half belonging to the father)

* If a free woman had children by a slave, they were all free, provided he were not her
husband.
* If two persons married, of whom one was a maharlica and the other a slave, the
children are divided:
- Father: 1st, 3rd, 5th
- Mother: 2nd, 4th, 6th

* If there should not be more than one child he was half free and half slave.

* If there were an odd number of children, the odd one was half free and half slave

* Maharlicas could not, after marriage, move from one village or barangay to another,
without paying a certain fine in gold.

* Failure to pay the fine might result in a war between the barangay which the person left
and the one which he entered.
* This applied equally to men and women, except that when one married a woman of
another village, the children were divided equally between two barangays.

* Investigations made and sentences passed by the dato must take place in the presence
of those in his barangay.

* They had laws by which they condemned to death a man of low birth who insulted the
daughter or wife of a chief; likewise witches, and others of the same class.
* They condemned no one to slavery, unless he merited the death penalty.

* As for the witches, they killed them, and their children and accomplices became slaves
of the chief
* This is was done in the following way:

- Half the cultivated land and all their produce belonged to the master.
- If the father by any chance pay his debt, the master then claimed that he had fed and
clothed his children, and should be paid therefor.
- If the culprit had some relative or friend who paid for him, he was obliged to render the
latter half his service until he was paid.
* In what concerns loans, there was formerly, and is today, an excess of usury, which is a
great hindrance to baptism as well as to confession
* The debtor is condemned to a life of toil; and thus the borrowers became slaves, and
after the death of the father the children pay the debt.
 Inheritance
The legitimate children of father and mother inherited equally, except when in the case
where the father and mother showed a slight partiality by such gifts as two or three taels, or
perhaps jewels.

When the parents gave a dowry to any son, and , when, in order to marry him to a chief ’s
daughter, the dowry was greater than the sum given to other sons, the excess was not
counted in the whole property to be divided. But any other thing that should have been
given to any son, though it might be for some necessity, was taken into consideration at the
time of partition of property.
Adopted children of whom there many among them, inherit the double of what was paid
for their adoption.

Dowries are given by men to the women’s parents before marriage. If the parents are both
alive, they both enjoy the use of it.

In case of divorce before the birth of children, if the wife left the husband for the purpose
of marrying another, all her dowry and an equal additional amount fell to the husband.

In the matter of marriage dowries which the fathers bestow upon their sons when they are
about to be married, and half of which is given immediately.
If one had children by two or more legitimate wives, each child received the inheritances
and dowry of his mother, with its increase, and that the share of his father’s estate which
fell to him out of the whole.

If a man had a child by one of his slaves:

-The former children had no share in the inheritance
-The legitimate children were bound to free the mother, and to give him something (a tael
or a slave).

If a man/chief had also some son by a free unmarried woman, to whom the dowry was
given but who was not considered as real wife, all thse were classed natural children.
Religious Beliefs
• In the past they worship a supreme
being called “Bathala”.

• Who is believe to be the maker of all

things.
• They also worshipped the Sun, Moon and other
stars.

• In addition, they haven’t established the division of

years, months and days. So they determine the year
by cultivation of soil, counted the moon and
different effects of trees when yielding fruits,
flowers, and leaves.
• They paid reverence to the crocodiles or “buaya”
because of the fear of being harmed by them.

• They even gave offerings of animal portion which

they throw on the water or near where the
crocodile dwells.
• They also believed in Heaven or “Maca”
and Hell or “Casanaan”
• In terms of their burial practices, they bury the deceased
either at the porch or beside their house.