READINGS IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY

History

- History is the recorded experience of the human race, and man can profit from experience in
any field of knowledge.
- Systematic account of phenomena
- Chronology is not history. Chronology is a list of events
- Must show a pattern on how man and his society have evolved from its primitive form to the
present.
- Without history, we shall be in hourly danger of being deceived by ignorant braggarts, who not
frequently hailed as a new discovery what men and believed many thousands of years ago
(Gotthold Ephraim)
- History is both humanities and social sciences
- History cannot be reconstructed fully.

Historian

- Historian is both, guardian of historic heritage and narrator of human culture

- His responsibility shifts from the obligation to acquire a complete knowledge of the
irrecoverable past by means of the surviving evidence to that of recreating a very similar image
of as much of the past as the evidence makes recoverable.
- History is the recorded experience of the human race, and man can profit from experience in
any field of knowledge
- Systematic account of phenomena

Why Study History?

- Curiosity about the past of one’s family or locality

- Urge to explain to oneself the origin of one’s culture
- Patriotism
- Understand the social background

Source

- Materials from which historians construct meanings

- An object of the past or testimony concerning the past which historians depend in the depiction
of the past

Sources of History

- Primary
o Testimony of the witness, or of a witness by any other of the senses
o Produce a contemporary of the events
o Unwritten
- Secondary
o Testimony who is not an eyewitness
 o Written

Source Typologies: Unwritten

- Archeological Evidence
o Articles from daily life, artistic creations, roads, bridges, coins, paintings.
- Oral Evidence
o Tales, folk songs, protest songs, popular rituals

Artifacts as Sources of History

- Results of events in history

- Written or not; they are raw materials out of which history can be written (Gottschalk)

Source Typologies: Written

- Narrative
o Written to impart a particular message
o e.g., scientific tract, novel, film, biography
- Diplomatic/Judicial
o Legal instrument
o Ordinances, statutes, the judgment of courts
- Social Documents
o Products of record-keeping; contains economic, social, political, and judicial import
o Mini8cipal accounts, tax rolls, registry, lists of leaders

Historical Analysis

- Select subject for analysis

- Collection of probable sources
- Examination of credibility of sources
- Extraction of credible particulars from the source

External Criticism

- Authenticity
- Lower criticism
- Checks genuineness of the document
- Authorship and circumstance: time, place and purpose

Internal Criticism

- Reliability
- Higher criticism
- Meaning and trustworthiness of the document
- Value and worth of its content
- Questions author’s motive, competence and accuracy

How to Identify Reliability of Sources

 - According to Jav Vansina
o Is the narrator a witness?
o Does the narrative come to the research via a social institution?
o Does the narrative coherent with the language, style, ritual, and norms of the period?
- Historians must verify via external evidence.

Historians Must Consider

- Conditions under which a source was produced (historiographical context)

- Historical context
- The way a given source was created, why and how it was preserved
- Content of text
- Author issues
- Publisher
- Institution allocation
- Audience

Reliability of Sources (Louis Gottschalk)

- The closer the time of making a document was to the event it records, the better it is likely to be
for historical purposes
- The more serious the author’s intention to make a mere record, the more dependable his
document as a historical source
- The fewer the number for whose eyes the document was meant (i.e., the greater its confidential
nature), the more “naked” its contents are likely to be
- Testimony of an experienced or expert is more reliable than a casual writer

Why are Documents Fabricated?

- Bolster false claim as title

- Sale or money
- Political propaganda
- Mislead contemporaries

Test of Authenticity

- Making best guess of the date of the document

- Examines materials to see whether they are not “anachronistic’ (chronological inconsistencies)
- Best guess who the possible author
- Use of technical tools

Clio’s Laboratory

- Paleography
o Study of handwriting
- Diplomatic
o Science of charters, terminological conventions and formulas
- Statistics
o Marriage, birth records of populations, economic growth
 - Archeology
o Allied geology, chemistry, physics, biology,
o Use of scientific tools

Additional Technical Tools

- Sigillography – study of seals

- Epigraphy – study of tests written on stone or metal
- Chronology – Study of different ways of keeping and marking time
- Heraldry – study of coat of arms
- Genealogy – study of family relationships
- Codicology – study of handwritten books
- Numismatics – study of coins
- Prosopography – Use of biographical materials to construct group portraits
- Papyrology – Study of writing papyrus
- Linguistics – study of grammar, voabularies

Paleography

- Study of handwriting

Diplomatic

- Science if charters, terminological conventions, and formulas

Statistics

- Marriage, birth records of populations, economic growth

Archeology

- Allied geology, chemistry, physics, biology

- Use of scientific tools

Chronology

- Chronologist clarifies the various calendars that have been in the use in different places at
different times and make it possible to translate dating from one calendar into the others
- Julian Calendar -> Gregorian Calendar
- Julian Calendar, named after Julius Caesar, was supposed to start at the winter solstice but
started January 1 as what tradition was. It spread because of the Roman Empire.
- Pope Gregory XII reformed the calendar in the 16 th century
- Recalculation of dates, e.g., Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 is still referred to as October
Revolution but commemorated November 7

Challenges in Analysis

- Semantics
- Two or more different text of the same document
- Problem in understanding and appreciating behavior in contemporary setting
The Mechanism of Communication: Three Phases

- Messenger – by people who walked and run with news

- Pack Animals – courier system using animals
- Mechanical Media – telegraph, telephone, fax, radio, tv. World as ‘global village’

Dangers of ‘Short-Circuiting’ of Information Flows

- Tales told orally can easily change in the telling

- Message delivered electronically can be literally distorted
- Listener or reader can misinterpret what is reported

Strong Information

- Challenges
o Few events actually recorded
o People who produced originally collected documents did not think they were worth
saving
o Archives frequently destroyed in catastrophe, fire, war
o Many institutions and individuals do not seek aggressive to preserve records
o Quality of materials on which records are kept
o There is too much to collect, archivist overwhelmed by task deciding what to save, what
to discard
- Solutions
o microfilms
o Creations of storage centers from documents that have lost official use but cannot vet

Technical Analysis of Sources

- Source must be comprehensible at the most basic level of language, handwriting, vocabulary
- Source must be carefully located in place and time
- Source must be checked of authenticity

Source Criticism

- Genealogy - Original, copy of an original, copy of copy

- Genesis - Where source was produced, by whom
- Originality - If documents are products of intellectual tradition
- Interpretation - Deciphering intended meaning
- Authorial Authority - With what authority does the author speak
- Competence of Observer - Psychological state of the author, selectivity of report, prejudices,
outside influences especially those of higher authorities
- Trustworthiness of the Observer - People lie hence the need to study life of individual; check for
inconsistencies, lapses, suppressions in the story of the document tells

What is Historical Fact

- particularly derived direct or indirectly from historical documents and regarded as credible after
careful testing in accordance with canon of historical method
 - relevant particular within the document rather than the document as a whole
- credible: is not what happened but that it is close to what actually happened as we learn from
critical examination of the best available sources
- find relevant particulars, then, separate credible from incredible

Contextual Analysis

- assess text within the context of its historical and cultural setting, and its textuality
- Systematic study of social, political, economic, philosophical, religious and aesthetic conditions
that were in a place at the time and place when the text was created

Historical Context

- Historical context refers to the moods, attitudes, and conditions that existed in a certain
time. Context is the 'setting' for an event that occurs, and it will have an impact on the relevance
of the event. Context is an important factor to consider when describing something in history
- Historical context refers to the time period in which a story occurs. Both historical events (like
wars) and time periods (like the Great Depression) can influence a story.

Summary

- History is more than the chronology of events. History is the analysis of the events in the past.
- History cannot be fully reconstructed. Historians must complete the gap.
- Source is an object of the past or testimony concerning the past which historians depend in the
depiction of the past.
- There are two kinds of sources: primary and secondary
- Louis Gottschalk Reliability of Sources: TIME, INTENT, AUDIENCE and EXPERIENCE
- External criticism value’s authorship: time and authenticity of the document
- Internal criticism looks into the motive and accuracy of the writer.

Philippines

Earthly Names

- Ma-I – Land of the Barbarians

- Chin-San – Mountain of Gold
- Lui-Sung – Land Adjacent to the Mainland
- Mintolang – Mindanao
- Pishoye – Visayas
- Malilu – Manila
- Islas de Poniente – Western Islands
- Archipelago of Magellan
- Archipelago of Legaspi
- Archipelago of St. Lazarus – name given by Magellan in 1521
- Filipinas – given by Ruy Lopez de Villalobos in 1542 in honor of King Philip II of Spain
o The name was originally given by Bernardo de la Torre
- Pearl of the Orient – was first coined by Juan Delgado
 o Romantic name glorified by Jose Rizal
- Philippine Islands – the anglicized name of the Philippines during the American Period
- Republic of the Philippines – the name given to the Philippines after the decolonization of the
1946.
- Maharlika – name given by former President Ferdinand Marcos.

The Philippine Setting

Graphical Location

- Motto: For God, People, Nature and Country.

- More than 7,107 islands
- Located in Southeast Asia
- Total land area: 115, 707 sq. mi.
- Luzon – largest island, world’s 17th largest island
- Mindanao – second largest island
- Samar – third largest island

Surrounded by Water

- Bashi Channel – north

- Celebes Sea – south
- Pacific Ocean – east
- South China Sea / West Philippines Sea – west

Y’ami Island – northernmost part – part of Batanes Province and lies 78 miles south of Taiwan.

Saluag island – southernmost part – part of Tawi-Tawi province, only 34 miles from Borneo

Divided into three geographic division:

- Luzon – 38 provinces
- Visayas – 16 provinces
- Mindanao – 27 provinces

Philippines

- 81 provinces
- 143 cities
- 1,491 municipalities
- 42,028 barangays

Oldest in the Philippines

- Oldest Province – Cebu – 1565

- Oldest City – Cebu City
- Oldest Street – Colon Street
- Oldest Fort – Fort San Pedro
 - Oldest Stone Church – Baclayon Church – Iloilo
- Oldest Hospital – San Lazaro Hospital
- Oldest Bridge – Jones Bridge (Puente de España
- Oldest School – University of Santo Tomas
- Oldest Corporation – Ayala Corporation – 1834 by sugar barons Domingo Roxas and Antonio de
Ayala
- Oldest Bank – Bank of the Philippine Islands (Banco Español-Filipino de Isabel II)
- Oldest vice – chewing betel nut (nganga)

Newest Provinces

- Davao Occidental – Davao Region, January 14, 2013

o Capital: Malita
- Dinagat Island – CARAGA region, December 2006
o Capital: San Jose
- Zamboanga Sibugay – Zamboanga Region, February 22, 2001
o Capital: Ipil

Newest Region

- Negros Island Region – Region XVIII

o Negros Occidental
o Negros Oriental
o May 29, 2015 – Executive Order 183

The National Territory

- Provided in Article 1 of the 1987 Constitution and based on the Archipelagic Doctrine.

Archipelago Doctrine

- An international law than was concluded during the United Nations Convention on the Laws of
the Sea (UNCLOS)
- Provides that an archipelagic country’s territory shall be composed of all the islands composing
the archipelago including the territorial sea, the air space over the territorial sea and its bed and
subsoil.

The Mountains and Mountain Ranges

- Sierra Madre – straddles the eastern side of the island from Cagayan provinces in the north and
extends to the Bernardino Strait in the south.
- Cordillera Central – forms the western wall of the Cagayan Valley
- Caraballo – intersects with the Cordilleras in Northern Nueva Ecija and splits the range into
northern and southern parts.
- Mt. Apo – Davao/Cotabato – the Philippines’ highest peak
- Mt. Dulang Dulang – Bukidnon; second highest mountain
- Mt. Pulag – Benguet; third highest mountain

Plains
 - Central Plain of Luzon – widest plain in the country which covers the provinces of Bulacan,
Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac and Pangasinan.
- Central Mindanao – has a main plain forming a basin covering North Cotabato, South Cotabato
and Maguindanao.

Valleys

- Cagayan Valley – set between Sierra Madre, Caraballo and Cordillera mountain ranges
- Compostela Valley – covers part of Davao Oriental
- Agusan Valley – covers two provinces: Surigao and Agusan.

Rivers

- Cagayan River – longest river which extends to three provinces: Cagayan, Nueva Vizcaya and
Isabela.
- Rio Grande de Pampanga – second longest river
- Agno River – third longest River which extends between Benguet and Pangasinan
- Agusan River – Mindanao’s longest river
o Fourth longest river
o Used as transportation channel to float down logs and mills to be processed into
plywood and lumber.
- Rio Grande de Mindanao – most extensive river system draining the entire central basin of
Mindanao.
o Fifth longest river
- Some of the river have fast-moving waters or are dammed to impound water for the generation
of electricity.
o Agus River – runs five power stations in Mindanao from Iligan to Maria Cristina Falls
o Angat River – Bulacan hydroelectric
o Magat River – Isabela power
o Ambuklao and Binga dam – Benguet

Waterfalls

- Maria Cristina and Limunsudan Falls – Iligan

- Tinuy-an – Surigao del Sur
- Pagsanjan Falls - Laguna

Lakes

- Laguna de Bay – country’s largest lake

o Second largest in Southeast Asia after Tonle Sap in Cambodia
- Lake Lanao – second largest lake
- Taal Lake – third largest
o Created by the collapse of a huge volcanic crater and by subsidence or sinking of the
land
- Lake Mainit – northeastern Mindanao
o Country’s deepest lake
 o Fourth largest
- Lake Naujan – Mindoro
o Fifth largest
- Lake Buhi – Camarines Sur
o Home of one of the world’s smallest edible fish, the sinarapan

Earthquakes, Volcanoes and Typhoons

- Pacific Ring of Fire – most seismically and volcanically active area in the world.

Severe Earthquakes

- June 3, 1863 – destroyed Manila Cathedral and damaged Governor General’s Palace forcing the
government to relocate in Malacañang.
o Killed Fr. Pedro Pablo Pelaez – one of the early Filipino Church reformers.
- July 16, 1990 – caused by the movement among the Philippine Fault Zone.
o Created twin earthquake with intensity 7.8 which affected Baguio, Cabanatuan and
Dagupan.
- October 15, 2013 – (Bohol) deadliest earthquake in the country in 23 years.
o The energy of the quake released was equivalent to 32 Hiroshima bombs.
o 7.2 magnitude

Volcanoes

- Mt. Pinatubo – Zambales

o Most destructive volcano
o Last eruption 1991 after 600 years
- Mt. Mayon - Albay
o Known for its perfect cone
o Erupted 30 times since 1615 buried the towns of Cagsawa and Daraga
o Cagsawa – belfry of the town’s church remains
- Taal – Batangas
o Located in a lake which is actually a crater of a giant volcano which collapsed during pre-
hispanic times.
- Other active volcanoes
o Mt. Kanlaon – Negros
o Mt. Hibok-Hibok – Camiguin
o Mt. Didicas – Babuyan Islands
o Mt. Apo - Mindanao

Worst Typhoons of the Philippines

- Uring – Thelma – November 2-7, 1991

o 5,101 deaths in Leyte and Negros
- Rosing – Angela – October 30, November 4, 1995
o 1800 died in CALABARZON, NCR and Bicol
- Frank – Fengshen – June 18-23, 2008
 o 1410 died in Eastern-Western Visayas, Romblon, Marinduque, CALABARZON, NCR,
Central Luzon
- Nitang – Ike - August 31-September 4, 1984
o 1492 died in Surigao, Bohol, Cebu, Negros
- Reming – Durian - November 26-December 1, 2006
o 754 died in Bicol, CALABARZON, Marinduque, Mindoro
- Other Unforgettable typhoons:
o Ondoy – Ketsana - September 24-27, 2009
 464 died in NCR, CALABARZON, Central Luzon
o Pepeng – Parma - September 30-October 11, 2009
 492 died in Northern Luzon, Cordillera
o Pedring –Nesat- September 26-30, 2011
 43 died in NCR and Central Luzon
o Sendong - Washi – December 16-17, 2011
 1268 died in Mindanao
o Pablo - Bopha – December 2-9, 2012
 1,146 died Mindanao
o Yolanda – Haiyan - November 8, 2013
 Had 6 landfalls
 A total of 161,973 families (792,018 persons) were evacuated to 812 evacuation
centers in 37 provinces, 38 cities, 215 municipalities in Regions IV-A, IV-B, V, VI,
VII, VIII, X, XI and CARAGA

Climate and Weather

- Tropical climate since the country lies just above the equator.
- Two distinct seasons: dry and rainy season

Natural Resources

- The Philippines is blessed with abundant natural wealth.

- It has rich variety of flora and fauna that could be found in the country’s forests, swamps and
coral reefs.
- Rice – principal crop of the Philippines
o 2009 – world’s biggest importer of rice
- Coconut –tree of life
- Sugar
- Tobacco

Plants found only in the Philippines

- Star of Leyte
- Waling-waling
- Hardwood
o Apitong
o Tanguile
 o Yakal
o Bagtikan
o Palosapis
o Manggachapui

Animals found only in the Philippines

- Tamaraw
- Philippine Eagle
- Philippine Freshwater Crocodile
- Pandaca pygmaea – smallest fish
- Butanding – whale shark
- Sinarapan – smallest edible fish

Minerals

- Gold – the Philippines is one of the world’s largest producers.

The Filipino People

- Austronesian Race
- Malayan qualities – brown skinned, with wide eyes, medium built, average height excess of five
feet.
- Evidence of Indian, Chinese, Arabic influences on the physical characteristics of the people.
- Mestizos – intermarriage between Chinese and European
- Agriculture – main source of livelihood
- Catholic – religion of 80% of the people

Ethnolinguistic Groups

- Luzon
o Tagalogs – Bulacan to Quezon province and the islands of Mindoro and Palawan and
part of Camarines Norte.
o Pampangos – inhabit Central Luzon covering Pampanga, parts of Tarlac, Bataan and
Nueva Ecija.
o Ilocanos – La Union, Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur as well as Pangasinan, Northern Tarlac,
Zambales and the Cagayan Valley.
o Pangasinense – Pangasinan
o Ibanag and Itawes - Cagayan Valley
o Ivatan – Batanes
o Bicolanos – Southern Luzon
o Igorots – Ifugaos, Bontocs, Ibalois, Kalingas and Apayaos
o Tinguians
o Ilongots
- Visayas
o Cebuanos – dominant ones colonized eastern Negros, part of Leyte and much of
Mindanao.
 o Ilonggos – influence also spread to Mindanao.
o Boholanos
o Samarnons/Waray
o Aklanons
- Mindanao
o Lumads – Mandaya, Bilaan, Tiruray, T’bolis, Subanons
o Moros – Spanish colonizers thought that they were Muslims
 Tausug and Samal – Sulu
 Maranao – Lanao Provinces
 Maguindanaos and Iranuns – Cotabato
 Yakans – Basilan
 Badjaos – Sulu
 Jama Mapun – Cagayan de Sulu
 Palawani – southern Palawan

The Filipino Character

Positive

- Strong belief in the existence of a Supreme Being

- Religiosity of the Filipinos
o We observe religious events like Christmas and Easter for the Catholics and Ramadan,
Eid’l Fitr and Eid’l Adha for the Muslims.
o This religiosity sometimes carried beyond what religion prescribes.
o Carries amulets and charms
o Anting-anting
- Seguristas or people who would like to be assured of good results
o Avoid taking risks
- Give great respect for their elders
- Close family ties
o Extended Families
- High regard for women
- Value of innnateness of one’s character
o Loob – essence of the person itself not just his policy in life.
- Hospitality
- Love of smile and are fond of humor
- Positive outlook in life
- Non-confrontational people
o Hiya – self propriety
o Person is prudent
o Strong concept of honor, loyalty, pakikisama

Negative

- Tendency towards laziness or indolence

- Individualistic
 o Prone to jealousy in the progress of others
o Talangka – crab mentality
o Indiscipline
- Fatalism – things happen because of fate
o Bahala na
o Forgiving nation
o Imitate things
o Ningas cogon – beginning things with initial enthusiasm.

Regional Traits

- Filipinos tend to be regionalistic and would give more consideration to their region or province
than the nation.
- Regionalism has been institutionalized in Philippine politics.
- Ilocanos – thrifty and hardworking
o Dry environment because of less rainfall
- Pampangos – melting pot of various native and outside influences
- Tagalog – neither frugal or extravagant
o Melting place of people coming from various regions
o His dialect is the basis of the national language and his region is the political and
commercial capital of the country.
- Bicolanos – very religious and even tempered
- Many Filipino priests came from this region.
- Predilection to spicy food was attributed as a sign of bravery and ability to endure.
- Visayans – love to live life to the fullest
o Good singers and composers
- Visayans of Eastern Visayas are mostly Waray.
- Central Visayans are mostly Cebuanos
- Visayans in Western Visayas consist of Ilonggos.
o Known for colorful intonation.
- Moros – Southern Mindanao, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi
o Adventurous spirit and are proud of their history and religion.

Pre – Hispanic Culture

Our Nation’s Past

Prehistoric and Pre-colonial Philippines

Popular Theories on Peopling the World

- Creationism
o Everything is created by God
o Book of Genesis
o This theory is the fundamental insight in the 17 th and 18th century
 - Out of Eden Theory/Out of Africa
o Africa is the cradle of human race.
o Anthropologists have unearthed that the oldest human skeletons is in East Africa.
o Hadar, Olduvai and Laetoli.
o Anthropologists assembled about 40% of a young girl that was given the nickname
“Lucy”

Stories on the Origin of the Philippines

Mu or Lemuria

- Lost continent in the Pacific

- Covers the Pacific Ocean and extends to Japan as far as the Polynesian islands of Hawaii.

Volcanic in Origin

- Fritjof Voss and Brailley Willis

- The Philippines is comprised of 200 active and inactive volcanoes which helped in the formation
of the land.

Continental Drift Theory

- Alfred Wegener
- Continents of the earth were moving through geologic time which takes millions of years.

“Out of Taiwan Theory”

- Archaeologist Peter Bellwood

- Migration did not first take place on a south to north direction as proposed by Beyer.
- The early humans crossed to the Philippines from what is now Southern China and northern
Vietnam to Formosa down to the archipelago.
- Similarities and ages of archaeological evidences such as boats and pottery in South China,
Northern Vietnam, the Philippines and Micronesia, which included the Marianas.

Nunsatao Theory

- Proposed by anthropologist Wilhelm Solheim believed that the ancestors of the Filipinos came
from Southeast Asia.
- F. Landa Jocano – believed that the source of the Filipino people began within the islands.

The Development of Early Communities

Cagayan Man and Tabon Cave

- As early as 500,000 BCE to 250,000 stone tools were found along with bones of a dwarf species
of elephant were found in Cagayan.
- Cagayan Man – Homo erectus Philippinensis
- Similar to the Java Man or Pithecanthropus Erectus of Indonesia and the Peking Man or
Sinanthropus Pekinensis of China.
 - 1962 – skull cap of man was discovered in the Tabon Cave of Palawan.
- Archaeologists learned that man had been in the Philippines for at least 22,000 years.
- The cave was dated back to half a million years old and had been occupied for more or less
50,000 years.
- 1962 – skull cap of man was discovered in the Tabon Cave of Palawan.
- Archaeologists learned that man had been in the Philippines for at least 22,000 years.
- The cave was dated back to half a million years old and had been occupied for more or less
50,000 years.

Germinal Period

- 250,000 BCE to 10,000 BCE

- Peopling of the Philippines transpired. (Felipe Landa Jocano)
- Otley Beyer – peopling of the Philippines came from a south to north pattern with the Aetas
coming from Southwestern Asia.
- Peter Bellwood – disproved the Migration Theory by stating that the wave of migration began
from north to south.

Formative Period

- 10,000 BCE to 500 BCE

- Tools fashioned were flaked from stone by striking one stone with the other to form sharp
edges.
- The homes were provided by nature ranging from a simple roof of leaves propped up by sticks
or caves
- Caves contributed to the development of community life since it served as shelters especially
during Ice Ages.
- Pottery – used not only to store food but to bury the dead.
- 3,000 BCE – settlements started to form at the mouths of rivers and coastal areas.
- The familiarity with the inland and later the surrounding seas gave birth to a maritime tradition.
- Settlements also occurred in the highlands and in the lowlands.

Incipient Period

- 500 BCE to CE 900

- Dawning of the Metal Age which occurred around 800 HCE.
- Barangays which were formerly a confederation of family members began to include other
barangays.
- Political system developed and centered on the council of elders
- The natives wore jewelry worked from gold, jade, carnelian and other materials.
- Writing started in 200 CE with Sanskrit influence.
- CE 1,200 baybayin developed in many regions.
- CE 300 – boat building tradition
- CE 600 – natives managed to build boats for trade and warfare.

Emergent Period

- CE 900 – CE 1,400
 - Transition to the historic period witnesses by hardening of distinct political and economic
institutions.
- Formation of ethnolinguistic groups. Resulted through the years of socialization, interaction with
outside groups.
- Piracy – considered a legitimate activity and it was not limited to the Moros who practiced it
both as a legitimate profession and as a form of resistance to Spanish aggression.

Early Contacts with Neighboring Countries

Chinese Trade in the Philippines

- Greatly improved during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1650).

- Emperor Yung Lo – sent a fleet of vessels to the Philippines, under the command of Admiral
Cheng Ho, to visit Lingayen, Manila Bay, Mindoro, and Sulu in 1405-1406).
- Ko Cha Lao – governor assigned by Emperor Yung Lo as he tried to impose sovereignty over
Luzon.

Economic and Cultural Changes

- Using the compass on sea voyages, Chinese traders competed with the Arabs from the 11 th-12th
century.
- Sung porcelain – unearthed in Sta. Ana, Manila and around the Laguna de Bay.
- Chao Ju-Kua- wrote Chu fan-chi in 1225 where the Chinese mentioned the following places:
o Ma-i – Mindoro or Baé in Laguna; barbarians
o Min-to-lang – Mindanao
o Ma-li-lu – Manila
o Su-lu – Sulu
o Pi-sho-ye - Visayas
- Although trade was conducted in general through barter system, by the 8 th century, a type of
currency began to be used in the form of barter rings.
- Piloncitos (gold coins) – was used as a medium of exchange in 12 th century.

Cultural Exchanges

- Influence indigenous lifestyle, customs, and religious beliefs of the ancient Filipinos.
- Much of the Chinese influence in Filipino life is economic in nature.
- There are hundreds of Tagalog words which have their origin in Chinese. Most of them have
economic meanings.

Chinese Influences

- Ten percent of Filipino blood is of Chinese in origin.

- Use of umbrellas, porcelain, gongs, shoes
- The manufacture of gunpowder
- Metallurgy and mining methods
- Arranged marriage
- Wearing white, instead of black for mourning the death of family and relatives
 - Hiring professional mourners.

Indian Influence

- The ancient Filipinos were also influenced by Indians.

- Five percent of Filipino blood is of Indian in origin.
- The influence of India to our ancestors may have come through, the ancestors of the present
Indonesians.
- The Malays who came to the Philippines were possibly Hinduized Malays (those who professed
the Hindu religion of India).
- The Indian influence is clearly seen in some of the words in the different languages of the
Philippines, including Tagalog.
- Sanskrit words or their variations are also found in Visayan and Maguindanaoan languages.
- Several deities in the myths of ancient Filipinos show traces of Indian influence.
o Indra Batara – Lord of the Universe
o Idiyanale – god of agriculture
o Agni – god of fire
- The Philippine Catholic wedding ceremony has Indian influences.
o the use of cord and veil during the wedding is Indian in origin.
- The Laguna Copperplate – contains an inscription in an old Philippine language, stating the full
payment of a loan obtained by a woman trader from her contacts in the nearby Indonesia.

The Coming of Islam

- After Mohammad’s death in 632 AD, Islam spread outside of Arabia in two stages:
o Islam was brought to the rest of the Middle East, Northern Africa, Spain and Central
Asia.
o Muslim missionaries traveled with Arab merchants to India, China and finally to
Southeast Asia where a number of them settled and intermarried with members of the
royalty.
o They also set up mosques and madrasahs (schools).
- Tuan Masha’ika – a trader from Malaya who introduced Islam in 1240’s when he went to Sulu.
o Tarsila – genealogy, his wealth increased and with it, the status of Muslims in the
communities was raised.
- Karim ul’ Makdum – a missionary from Java arrived in Buansa (Sulu), strengthened Islam when
he arrived in 1380.
- Rajah Baginda – arrived from Sumatra in 1390
o Further deepened the Islamic consciousness by building madrasahs in Sulu.
- Abu Bakr – married Rajah Baginda’s daughter, Paramisuli, succeeded in establishing a
government similar to the Sultanate of Arabia.
- Sharif Kabungsuan – arrived from Johore (Malaysia), converted many inhabitants of
Maguindanao (Cotabato and Lanao) to Islam.
o First Sultan of Maguindanao.

Teachings of Islam

- The basic tenets of Islam are found in the Qur’an (Koran), the holy book of the Muslims.
The Sultanate

- The Sultanate governed a much larger territory through a centralized network of officials with
the Sultan on top.

Life and Culture in Prehispanic Philippines

Barangay

- A boat drawn up on the shore which Pigafetta called as ‘balangai’

- Ancient barangay or balangai is also a sailing vessel used around the pre-colonial Southeast Asia
- 30 to 100 families
- Independent from one another
- Ruled by a Chieftain (Datu, Lakan, Sultan, etc.)
- all the functions of government – executive, legislative and judicial, sometimes even religious.
- Relationship between different Barangay
o advised by the elders (agorangs)
o The subjects served their chieftain
o BUWIS (tributes)
o Trade between barangays
o Treaty of Friendship and Alliance was
concluded by SANDUGUAN

Laws

- Customary laws were handed down ORALLY from generation to generation

- Written laws were those that the chieftain and the elders promulgated from time to time as
necessity arose.
- Many of the written laws were destroyed by the early Spanish missionaries and many more
destroyed by the elements.
- The laws, customary and written, dealt with various subjects
- How a Law was Made:
o The elders immediately approve of such rules.
o The UMALOHOKAN, will be summoned and ordered to go around the barangay to
announce the promulgation of the new rules and regulations.
o The umalohokan called the attention of the subjects by ringing the bell that he had with
him.
o The people gathered around him and heard from him the provisions of the new law.
o The law is effective immediately. Anybody violating the law was promptly arrested and
brought before the chieftain to be judged according to the merits of the case

Social Classes

- Nobility
- Freemen
- Slaves
Pre-Hispanic Pillars of Society

Datu

- Political, military, economic leader of the barangay.

- Highest leader in the barangay.
- Criteria to become a datu:
- Inherited
- Performance in the battlefield

Bagani

- Barani
- Bayani
- Defenders of the barangay.
- Known for their bravery, strength, agility
- Sometimes, the datu itself can be the bagani. But often, the datu chose some skilled members
to protect the community.
- Ranked according to the number of people killed in the battle.

Panday

- Leader of the barangay who is known to acquire practical skills in making weapons, armaments
and even stuff used at home.

Babaylan

- Spiritual leader of the barangay

- Known for their contribution in terms of astrology, religion, medicine.
- Facilitates the ritual practices of the barangay
- Role given to women

Nobility (Maharlika)

- Consists of the chiefs and their families

- Wielded tremendous influence in the barangay
- Enjoyed rights that were not usually enjoyed by the other members of society
- Privileged people, the aristocratic class who ruled the various tribes.

Freemen

- Also called Timaguas, Timawas, Hidalgo in the Spanish language

- Includes the dependents who had earned their freedom
- Larger or smaller number compared to the slaves
- Sometimes they are exempted from paying tribute
- Their principal duty is to follow the Chief to war when they were required.

Slaves: Aliping Namamhay

 - They lived in their own house near the Chief residence
- They work two days a week for the Chief
- They pay tribute by ½ of their produce
- They built & repaired tools, houses, fences
- Their children & wives had other duties and services to perform

Slaves: Aliping Saguiguilid

- slave proper
- They don’t have any property
- They have to live all the time in the surrounding or inside the house of the master (chief ).
- Their master could require them any kind of service
- They could be sell by their master
- The master could kill them
- Their wives or children belonged likewise to the master

Slaves: Tomatabanes

- They had few duty compared to the Aliping Namamahay & Aliping Sagigilid.
- They were bound to pay some tribute
- After their death the master have the right over children & property.
- Master could make the children work for 5 days a month or force them to pay a monthly tribute
- Women had to spin a skein of cotton every month

Culture

- When the first Spaniards came to the Philippines in 1521, they found the early Filipinos with a
culture that was different from theirs.

Clothing

- Male Clothing
o Kangan – jacket with short sleeves
o Chief – red
o Commoner – black or blue
o Bahag – consisted of a cloth wound about the waist, passing down between the thighs.
o Putong - headgear
- Female Clothing
o Naked from waist up
o Saya – skirt
o Patadyong – Visayans
o Tapis – piece of white or red cloth usually wrapped around the waist or the chest.
- The ancient Filipinos had no shoes. They walked barefooted.

Hygiene

- Daily bathing is done by Filipinos to maintain their health and hygiene.

- Pumice is used to scrub the body and a toothbrush made of husk for cleaning their teeth.
 - Coconut oil and mangrove bark were used to clean the hair and keep it free of lice.
- Citrus – used to clean the clothes and to remove the stains and odors in it.

Healing

- Massaging is done for injured and dislocated muscles.

- Manghihilot (massage expert) is called to release trapped energy points
- The resin of the pili tree is used as a healing balm
- The seeds of the tangan-tangan are made into an oil and a cure for swellings, chills and sores.
- Lagtang – a plant used as an antidote for poison and a cure for constipation.
- Vinegar was applied on the forehead and armpit to lower fever
- Animal parts were also used as medicine:
- Powdered black coral used to cure rheumatism

Ornaments

- The ancient Filipinos wore ornaments made of gold and precious stones.
- Kalumbiga – armlets
- Pintados or painted people

Pintados (Tattooing)

- Tattooing itself is was painful enough to serve as a test manhood

- Some postponed while others add labong scars on their arms with burning moxa, pellets of
woolly fibers.
- This is not done all in one sitting but in instalment
- It might cause high fever & sometimes even death due to infection
- The healing period is called Baug or Binogsok
- The 1st tattoo a person received were applied in the leg, then the chest tattoos the later to the
whole back
- Less frequently are tattoo on the abdomen and facial tattoos

Houses

- The Filipino house of today in the barrios is no different from the typical ancient Filipino house.
- Nipa Hut – this kind of house is suited to the tropical climate of the country.
- Tree houses – among the Ilongots and the Kalingas of northern Luzon and the Mandayas and the
Bagobos of Mindanao.
- Boat houses – Badjaos of Sulu; they lived in such houses because they are sea loving people.

Early Literature

- The ancient Filipinos had a literature that may be classified into written and oral.
- Oral literature consisted of:
o Sabi – maxims
o Bugtong – riddles
o Kasabihan – sayings
o Salawikain – proverbs
- The written literature consisted of:
 o Hudhud and the Alim - Ifugao
o Biag ni Lam-ang - Ilocano
o Handiong – Bicolano
o Bantugan, Indarapatra and Sulayman, Bidasari, and Parang Sabil - Muslims

Education and System of Writing

- There were no formal schools but children of school age taught in their own homes by their
mothers who were their first teachers.
- The ancient Filipinos were generally literate.
- Music and religion were also taught to the children,
- Baybayin or alibata – a system of writing where every letter is pronounced as a syllable.
o Seventeen symbols: three of which are vowels (patinig) and 14 are consonants (katinig).
- The early Filipinos wrote on large leaves of plants and trees, sometimes on barks of trees and
bamboo tubes.
- Used colored saps of trees as inks, while they used pointed sticks or iron as pencil.

Sacred and Profane 1. Immortality of the Soul and Life after Death

2. Bathalang Maykapal

3. Indianale (Agriculture)

4. Sidapa (Death)
Belief in a Supreme
Being 5. Agni (Fire)

6. Mandarangan (War)

7. Lalahon (goddess of Harvest)

8. Siginarugan (Hell)

9. Ancestral Spirits (Anitos)

10. Diwatas

Religious Beliefs

- The prehistoric Filipinos believed that the soul was immortal.

- Believed in life after death
- Manunggal jar – a container for bones of the dead
- Believed in one Supreme Being (Bathalang Maykapal)
- Worshipped minor deities
o Idiyanale – god of agriculture
o Sidapa – God of death
o Agni – god of fire
o Lalahon – goddess of harvest
o Siginarugan – god of hell
 o Anito – soul-spirits were venerated.

Women

- Women are recognized as equal to men

- Pre-hispanic religious rituals were always officiated by priestesses:
o KATALONA (Tagalog)
o BABAYLAN (Visayans)
o BALIANA (Bicol)
- Own & inherit property & sell it
- succeed to chieftainship
- Give names to their children
- Dalagas: unmarried woman (virgins or not)
- Bugus: chaste and known for their virginity

Marriage Customs

- Women of one class married into the same class

- Children by his first wife: legitimate children
- Courtship was long & difficult
- Man required to give:
o a dowry (bigay kaya)
o to the girl’s parents: panghimuyat
o girl’s wet-nurse: bigay-suso

Mourning and Burial Rites

- Laraw
o Mourning for the chieftain
- Morotal
o Mourning for a dead woman
- Maglahe
o Mourning for a dead man
- Sudden death of a man – killed by a sword, lightning or crocodile – were considered honorable
and his soul goes straight to Caluwalhatian by means of a rainbow

Burial

- The ancient Filipinos believed in the life hereafter and the relationship between the living and
the dead, which made them respect the memory of the dead.
- Morotal – mourning for a woman
- Maglahi – mourning for a man
- Laraw – mourning for a dead chieftain
-