Juan De Plasencia

Juan de Plasencia and His Background

 He is the author of the Customs of the Tagalogs

 A Franciscan friar who came from Extremadura, Spain. (Fransican - The Franciscans are a group
of related mendicant Christian religious orders within the Catholic Church.
 He came from Extremadura, Spain.
 As a religious missionary, he adopted the life of poverty and the life offered for the purpose of
preaching and helping the poor.
 He is among the first batch of missionaries who came to the Philippines in 1578.
 He was assigned to different mission areas in Luzon, particularly in Laguna and the present-day
provinces of Quezon, Bulacan and Rizal.
 He became the custos or superior of the Franciscans in the Philippines from May 23, 1584 until
1588
 He later died in Laguna in 1590.

Background of the Document

 Costumbres de los Tagalos (Customs of the Tagalogs) was among the series of accounts written
by various friar-missionaries and colonial officials during the early years of Spanish occupation in
the Philippines
 It is written by Juan de Plasencia in Nagcarlan, Laguna and finished on October 21, 1589
 Plasencia was ordered by the king of Spain to write an account that described the natives in the
areas assigned to his Order.
 As Plasencia was not able to primarily witness all Readings in Philippine History 39 of the events
he would describe, he collected information from old men and individuals whom he thought as
most able—all of whom were known to him.
 It became clear that Plasencia was tasked to account his observations of the natives so that the
colonizers would have a basis in effectively dealing with the former.

Excerpts Taken from the Document

1. On Government and Social Organization: The Tagalogs were ruled by their chiefs called by them
as datos (spelling in the account). They governed and served them as their captains in times of
war. They were obeyed and revered to a point that any offense committed against their person
or word spoken against their wives and children were severely punished. Plasencia likened the
datos to the knights of the Spaniards. Their communities were referred to as barangay, a term
which was drawn from the boat they used to reach these islands. Barangays were small
communities composed of thirty up to one hundred families.
 Next to the datos were the Maharlicas (nobles) who were required to accompany the dato
especially in times of war. This was their main duty, especially because they were not required
to pay taxes or tributes. Apart from accompanying the dato in his exploits, the maharlicas had to
pay their own expenses such as food, clothing, armor and their boat to be used in war. Next
were the commoners which Plasencia referred to as the Aliping Namamahay. Although they
lived in their own houses while serving their masters, one privilege they could enjoy was their
immunity from being sold to anyone. Moreover, they could also be inherited by their master’s
son although they could not be brought with him should the son wish to transfer to another
barangay.

The last level belonged to the slaves. Plasencia identified them as Aliping Sa Guiguilir/Guiguilid
who were usually the captives in war and enslaved together with their children. They lived with
their master and served as farmers in their master’s field. Since they were slaves, they could be
sold, including their children. If any of the Sa Guiguilir happened to possess gold beyond the sum
of his value as slave and could pay it to his master, then he could ransom himself and become a
Namamahay or a commoner. The price for ransom could not go below five taels. If the
agreement with his master went beyond the minimum ransom price or ten taels for that matter,
then he could be totally free.

The difference between the Aliping Namamahay and the Aliping Sa Guiguilir should be noted
because in page 168 of the book, a confusion between the two terms was encountered. Many
were classed as slaves even when they were really not. The Indians, seeing that the alcalde
mayor did not understand this, adopted the custom of taking away the children of the Aliping
Namamahay, making use of them as Aliping Sa Guiguilir, as servants in their households which
was considered illegal. If the Aliping Namamahay would appeal to justice, it would be proven
that he was an alipin like his father and mother before him. And whether or not he was indeed
an Aliping Namamahay, his status would be taken in the context of Aliping Sa Guiguilir. Without
further declaration, he would be considered as an alipin at once, thus becoming a Sa Guiguilir
who could also be sold elsewhere. The Aliping Sa Guiguilir, together with their master, could be
transferred to another barangay by virtue of inheritance, provided that he and his master would
remain in the same village. On Marriage. These are the different situations concerning marriage
among the Maharlicas, Aliping Namamahay and Aliping Sa Guiguilir

Situation 1: Those who were considered Maharlicas both on their paternal and maternal sides could
continue to enjoy their status forever. If, for instance they became slaves, it happened because of
marriage.

Situation 2: If the Maharlicas had children among their slaves, the children and their mothers would be
considered freemen.

Situation 3: If the Maharlicas had children with the female slaves of another Maharlica, the female slave
would be compelled, when pregnant, to give her master half of a gold tael because of her risk of death,
and for her inability to work during pregnancy. In this case, the child would be considered half-free due
to his father. If his father would not supply him with food and hence would not recognize him, the child
would be considered totally as slave.

Situation 4: If a free woman had children by a slave, the children would be regarded as freemen,
provided that he was not the free woman’s husband.

Situation 5: If a Maharlica and a slave—whether Namamahay or Sa Guiguilir—married, their children

would be classified according to birth order: odd birth order (first, third, fifth, etc.) would inherit the
status of the father while the even birth order (second, fourth, sixth, etc.) would inherit the status of the
slave mother. If the child was the only offspring, he would be regarded as half-free, half-slave.

The classification of the children was irrespective of their sex. What was evident was those who
inherited the status of the mother would work as slaves. If, in case, the last child was an odd birth, the
child would consider as half free and half slave.

After marriage, the Maharlicas could not move from one barangay to another without paying a certain
amount of fine in gold. The fine ranged from one to three taels and also a banquet sponsored for the
entire barangay. This fine was larger or smaller according to the inclination of the different villages.
Failure to pay the fine might result to a war between the barangays, the one where he left and the other
where he would live anew. This tradition was equally applied to men and women, except that when a
man from a certain barangay would marry a woman from another, their children would later on be
divided equally between the two barangays.

2. On Loans. The debtors were condemned to a life of toil because of the excessive interest added
to their debts. As a result, debtors were plunged into difficulty until they became slaves,
together with their children. In order to earn a living, sometimes their debt was sold to other
people, so the debtor had to pay more debt and had to experience an increasingly pitiful state.
3. On Inheritance. Though legitimate children could inherit equally, there were some situations
wherein the mother or father showed favoritism by bestowing more gold or gifts to a child . The
dowry they gave to a son in order to marry the dato’s daughter was not included in the partition
of the inheritance. In like manner, the property that was provided by the parents to their child
could not be considered inheritance, unless it was declared a necessity and not for accumulating
a wealth. If a man had a child by one of his slaves, their children would not inherit anything.
Instead, his legitimate child would be bound to free the slave and must give her a tael or a slave.
A man’s child from another woman would inherit everything when there was no legitimate child
with the wife. However, if it happened that the man died without an heir—legitimate or natural,
the inheritance could be acquired by his parents, grandparents or the closest relative in their
absence
4. On Inheritance of Adopted Children. The adopted child could inherit twice of the amount paid
in his adoption. For example, if one tael of gold was paid upon a child’s adoption, he should be
given two taels of inheritance by the adopting parents thereafter. Children whose fathers died
before their adoption could not inherit anything from the adopting parents. The rule was simple:
the arrangement on inheritance stopped at the death of their biological fathers.
5. On Investigations and Punishments. Investigations made and sentences passed by the dato
should take place in the presence of the people of the barangay. If any of the litigants felt
aggrieved, an arbiter would be unanimously chosen from another village or barangay, be he a
dato or not. The arbiter must be known of his integrity as fair and just by rendering rational
 judgment according to their customs. If the controversy was between two chiefs, they had to
convoke judges who would serve as arbiters in order to avoid going into war. The same
procedure would be applied if the disputants came from two different barangays. This
convocation would always involve the serving of wine by the complainant to the individuals
present.

The account of Plasencia proved the adherence of the Filipinos to moral standards. They had
laws by which they could condemn a man of low birth to death if he insulted the daughter or
wife of a chief. They condemned no one to slavery, unless the person merited the penalty of
death. They also killed witches after they had made some recompense to the injured persons.
The children of the witches and their accomplices would become the slaves of the chief. All
other offenses were punished by fines in gold which, if not paid with promptness, the offender
would be compelled to serve the aggrieved until payment would be made.

The payment of fine had to be done on the following day, so the offender had to surrender half
of his cultivated lands and that of his produce to his master in exchange for money . The master,
in turn, would provide him and his children with food and clothing, thus remaining him and the
children to servitude until such time that he could compensate the debt. If he could pay his
debt, his master would claim that he fed and clothed his children and should also be paid
thereof. In this way, he would keep possession of the children if the additional payment could
not be met promptly.

The last scenario became an unsettled problem usually on the part of the debtor, the reason
why he and his children would remain as slaves. If the debtor had some relatives or friends who
could pay for him, he would be obliged to render half of his services to them until he could settle
his payment. The services to be rendered would not be in the context of being an Aliping Sa
Guiguilir but within that of Aliping Namamahay. If the creditor could not or refused to serve his
creditor then he would have to pay twice the amount of what was previously lent to him. In this
way, slaves were made by debt by being a Sa Guiguilir if they served the master who was
favored by the judgment or by being an Aliping Namamahay when they served the person who
lent them money to pay the value of their offense.
6. On Marriage Dowries. Dowries were given by the men to the women's parents. If the parents
were still alive, they could enjoy the dowry given to them. If the dowry was not consumed by
the parents because of death of the parents, the wife and her siblings would equally inherit it in
addition to the rest of the estate. If the wife, at the time of her marriage, did not have a living
father, mother or grandparents, she would enjoy the dowry by herself. As regards to unmarried
women, their customs would not allow them to own a property—be it an estate or a dowry. This
is because their labors were usually considered as devotion to their parents.
When the sons were about to get married, their fathers would bestow instantly upon them the
half of the dowries that they should give to the parents of their brides. Failure to provide
dowries would require a certain sum which varied according to the practice of the barangays or
the individual’s affluence. The fine was at its heaviest when the groom or the bride would
withdraw from the marriage because the nuptial was a pre-arranged affair by their parents who
previously died. In this scenario, the dowry had to be returned by the family of the bride. If the
 parents of the bride were alive, the fine was heavier because it was thought that her parents
wanted her to marry for the sake of financial gains alone.
7. On Divorce. The pre-colonial Filipinos practiced divorce, contrary to what the present Filipinos
have. Until the coming of the Spaniards, divorce was practiced due to certain grounds. For
instance, when the wife left the husband before giving birth to a child for the purpose of
marrying another, the entire dowry would go to the husband. But when the wife left him and
would not marry another man, the dowry would be returned. When the husband left his wife,
he would lose his half of the dowry. When the husband and wife had a child, the entire dowry
and fine would go to the child. The dowry for the children would be taken cared by the
grandparents or close relatives. If they were childless and the wife died, the parents would
return half of the dowry to the husband. If the husband was the one who died, half of the dowry
would be returned to his relatives.

The Worship of the Tagalogs, their Gods, their Burials and Superstitions

1. On the Worship Practices of the Tagalogs. Plasencia noted the absence of temples consecrated
for the performance of sacrifices, the adoration of native idols and the general practice of
idolatry in all the villages or in other parts of the archipelago. Although the Tagalogs used the
term Simbahan which meant a temple or place of adoration, in reality festivals referred to as
pandot or worship were celebrated not in the Simbahan but in the large house of the chief.
There, they constructed a temporary shed on each side of the house, with a roof called sibi for
the purpose of sheltering the assembled people, and to protect them from the rain.

They also constructed the house in a manner that could accommodate many people, dividing it
into three compartments following the fashion of ships. On the posts of the house, they set
small lamps called sorihile. At the center of the house was placed a large lamp which was
adorned with leaves of the white palm wrought into many designs. They also brought together
many drums, large and small, which they beat successively while the feast lasted for four days.
During this time, the whole barangay or family would unite and join in the worship which they
called nagaanitos. The house, for the above-mentioned period of time, was called a temple.

2. On the Tagalog Deities. Among their many idols, there was one called Badhala (Bathala) whom
they especially worshiped. The title seems to signify “all powerful” or “maker of all things”. They
also worshiped the sun which, on account of its beauty, was almost universally respected and
honored by infidels. They worshiped also the moon, especially when it was a new moon. At
which time they held great rejoicings, adoring it and bidding it welcome. Some of them also
adored the stars, although they did not know them by their names with the exception of the
morning star which they called Tala. They knew, too, the seven little goats (the Pleiades) and,
consequently, the change of seasons, which they called Mapolon and Balatic. They possessed
many idols called lic-ha which were images with different shapes. At times they worshiped some
particular dead men who were brave in war and endowed with special faculties, to whom they
commended themselves for protection in their tribulations. They had another idol called Dian
Masalanta, who was the patron of lovers and of generation. The idols called Lacapati and
 Idianale were the patrons of the cultivated lands and of husbandry. They paid reverence to
water lizards called by them as buaya or crocodiles due to fear of being harmed by them. They
were even in the habit of offering these animals a portion of what they carried in their boats, by
throwing it into the water or placing it upon the bank.
3. On their superstitious beliefs. If they left their house and met on the way a serpent or rat, or a
bird called Tigmamanuguin which was singing on a tree, or if they chanced upon anyone who
sneezed, they returned at once to their houses. This is because they considered the incident as
an augury that some evil might befall them if they should continue their journey, especially
when the above-mentioned bird sang. This song had two different forms: one was considered as
an evil omen while the other one was a good omen. They also practiced divination to see
whether weapons such as a dagger or knife would be useful and lucky for their possessor
whenever occasions would offer.
Young girls who first had their monthly courses, their eyes were blindfolded for four days and
four nights. In the meantime, their friends and relatives were all invited to share food and drink.
At the end of this period, the catolonan took the young girl to the water, bathed her and washed
her head and removed the bandage from her eyes. The old men claimed that they did this in
order that the girls would bear children and have fortune in finding husbands whom they liked
and who would not leave them widows in their youth. There were also ghosts, which they called
vibit and phantoms which they called tigbalaang. They had another superstition. If there were
any woman died in childbirth, it was believed that she and the child suffered punishment. At
night, she could be heard lamenting. This was called patianac.
4. On their Knowledge of Time. The natives had no established division of years, months, and
days. These were determined by the cultivation of the soil, their counting by the moons, and the
different effect produced upon the trees when yielding flowers, fruits, and leaves. All this helped
them in making up the year. The dry and wet seasons were distinguished as sun-time and water-
time. Plasencia noted that since the Tagalogs became Christians, the seasons were not really the
same all throughout the year for he observed that at “Christmas” would be colder. The
Spaniards, since their advent in the country, had determined the seasons, introduced the
months which were divided into weeks.
5. On their Sacrifices and Other Forms of Idolatries. Their manner of offering a sacrifice was to
proclaim a feast and offer to the devil what they had to eat. This was done in front of the idol
which they anointed with fragrant perfumes such as musk and civet or gum of the storaxtree
and other odoriferous woods. They praise their idol with poetic songs sung by the officiating
priest, male or female, who is called catolonan. The participants made responses to the song,
beseeching the idol to favor them with those things of which they were in need, and generally,
by offering repeated health, they all became intoxicated. In some of their idolatries they were
accustomed to place a good piece of cloth, doubled, over the idol, and over the cloth a chain or
large, gold ring, thus worshiping the devil without having a sight of him.

The devil was sometimes liable to enter into the body of the catolonan, and, assuming her shape
and appearance, filled her with so great arrogance. The devil, being the cause of it, would seem
to influence the catalonan that she seemed to shoot flames from her eyes. Her hair stood on
end, a fearful sight to those beholding and she uttered words of arrogance and superiority. In
some districts, especially in the mountains, when in those idolatries that the devil incarnated
 himself and took on the form of his minister, the latter had to be tied to a tree by his
companions, to prevent the devil in his infernal fury from destroying him. The objects of
sacrifice were goats, fowls, and swine, which were flayed, decapitated, and laid before the idol.
They performed another ceremony by cooking a jar of rice until the water was evaporated, after
which they broke the jar, and the rice was left as an intact mass which was set before the idol;
and all about it, at intervals, were placed a few buyos—which was a small fruit wrapped in a leaf
with some lime, a food generally eaten in these regions— as well as fried food and fruits. All of
the above-mentioned articles were eaten by the guests at the feast; the heads [of the animals],
after being offered, as they expressed it, were cooked and eaten also. The reasons for offering
this sacrifice and adoration were, in addition to whatever personal matters there might be, the
recovery of a sick person, the prosperous voyage of those embarking on the sea, a good harvest
in the sowed lands, a propitious result in wars, a successful delivery in childbirth, and a happy
outcome in married life. If this took place among people of rank, the festivities lasted thirty days

6. On the Priests of the Devil. The first was called catolonan who was either a man or a woman.
This office was an honorable one among the natives and was held ordinarily by people of rank.
This rule was general in all the islands.
The second was called mangagauay or witches who deceived by pretending to heal the sick .
These priests even induced maladies by their charms, which in proportion to the strength and
efficacy of the witchcraft, were capable of causing death. In this way, if they wished to kill at
once they did so; or they could prolong life for a year by binding to the waist a live serpent,
which was believed to be the devil, or at least his substance. This office was general throughout
the land. The third was called manyisalat, which was the same as the magagauay. These priests
had the power of applying such remedies to lovers that they would abandon and despise their
own wives, and in fact could prevent them from having intercourse with the latter. If the
woman, constrained by these means, were abandoned, it would bring sickness upon her; and on
account of the desertion she would discharge blood and matter. This office was also general
throughout the land. The fourth was called mancocolam, whose duty was to emit fire from
himself at night, once or often each month. This fire could not be extinguished except as the
priest wallowed in the ordure and filth which fell from the houses. And he who lived in the
house where the priest was wallowing in order to emit this fire from himself fell ill and died. This
office was general in the islands. The fifth was called hocloban which was another kind of witch,
of greater efficacy than the mangagauay. Without the use of medicine, and by simply saluting or
raising the hand, they killed whom they chose. But if they desired to heal those whom they had
made ill by their charms, they did so by using other charms. Moreover, if they wished to destroy
the

house of some Indian hostile to them, they were able to do so without instruments. This was in
Catanduanes, an island off the upper part of Luzon. The sixth was called silagan who was clothed
in white, to tear out his liver and eat it, thus causing the victim’s death. This, like the preceding,
was in the island of Catanduanes. Let no one consider this a fable because, in Calavan, they tore
out in this way through the anus all the intestines of a Spanish notary, who was buried in
Calilaya by father Fray Juan de Mérida. The seventh was called magtatangal whose purpose was
to show himself at night to many persons without his head or entrails. In such wise, the devil
 walked about and carried, or pretended to carry his head to different places. In the morning, he
would return to his body and remained alive as before. This seemed to me to be a fable,
although the natives affirmed that they saw it because the devil probably caused them so to
believe. This occurred also in Catanduanes. The eighth they called osuang which was the
equivalent of a sorcerer. They said that they saw him flew and that he murdered men and ate
their flesh. This was among the Visayas Islands and not from the Tagalogs. The ninth was
another class of witch called mangagayoma. This witch could make charms for lovers out of
herbs, stones, and wood which would infuse the heart with love. The tenth was known as sonat
which was the equivalent of a preacher. It was his task to help a person to die. Likewise, he
could predict the salvation or condemnation of the soul. It was not lawful for the functions of
this priest to be fulfilled by others than people of high standing, on account of the esteem in
which he was held. This priest was general throughout the islands. The eleventh was the
pangatahojan who was a soothsayer and a predictor of the future. This type of priest was also
general in all the islands. The twelfth was the bayoguin who was signified a cotquean. A
cotquean was a man whose nature inclined toward that of a woman. All the various kinds of
infernal ministers were, therefore, as was stated: catolonan, sonat (who was a sort of bishop
who ordained priestesses and received their reverence, for they knelt before him as before one
who could pardon sins, and expected salvation through him) mangagauay, manyisalat,
mancocolam, hocloban, silagan, magtatangal, osuang, mangagayoma and pangatahojan.

7. On the Belief on Death and Other Associated Rituals. Their manner of burying the dead was as
follows: the deceased was buried beside his house. If he were a chief, he was placed beneath a
little house or porch which they constructed for this purpose. Before interring him, they
mourned him for four days and afterwards laid him on a boat which served as a coffin or bier.
He would be placed beneath the porch where a guard was kept over him by a slave. In place of
rowers, various animals were placed within the boat, each one being assigned a place at the oar
by twos. These animals, for example two goats, two deer or two fouls, were male and female of
each species. It was the slave's care to see that they were fed. If the deceased had been a
warrior, a living slave was tied beneath his body until in this wretched way he died. In the course
of time, all would suffer decay and for many days the relatives of the dead man bewailed him,
singing dirges and praises of his good qualities until finally theywearied of it. This grief was also
accompanied by eating and drinking. This was a custom of the Tagalogs. The Aetas, or Negrillos
(Negritos) who were inhabitants of the island had also a form of burial but different. They dug a
deep, perpendicular hole and placed the deceased within it, leaving him upright with head or
crown unburied. On top of the deceased, they would put half a cocoa-nut which was to serve
him as a shield. Then they went in pursuit of some Indian whom they killed in retribution for the
Negrillo who had died. To this end they conspired together, hanging a certain token on their
necks until one of them procured the death of the innocent one. These infidels said that they
knew that there was another life of rest which they called maca, just as if we should say
“paradise,” or, in other words, “village of rest.” They say that those who go to this place are the
just, and the valiant, and those who lived without doing harm, or who possessed other moral
virtues. They said also that in the other life and mortality, there was a place of punishment,
grief, and affliction, called casamaan, which was “a place of anguish;” they also maintained that
no one would go to heaven, where there dwelt only Bathala, “the maker of all things,” who
governed from above. There were also other pagans who confessed more clearly to a hell, which
they called, as I have said, casanaan; they said that all the wicked went to that place, and there
dwelt the demons, whom they called sitan. Plasencia ended his account with this statement:
“May the honor and glory be God our Lord's, that among all the Tagalos [sic] not a trace of this is
left; and that those who are now marrying do not even know what it is, thanks to the preaching
of the holy gospel, which has banished it.”