Luisa R.

Guinto AB-ECO 1-J September 16, 2022

REACTION PAPER
“PRE-COLONIAL WOMEN”

According to the known culture in our Philippine History, Maria Clara was an example of
an ideal Filipino woman. As interpreted, she was a modest, conservative, silent-type, and not
loquacious woman, which is a criticism from the late Jose P. Rizal. With this, he added if women
before continued to be in this type of character, there will be no progress and equality will not be
achieved.
However, before Spanish colonization, women are said to be sexually aggressive,
liberated, and progressive in the community. Women in Philippine society have always enjoyed
a greater share of the equality. They could also become village chiefs in the absence of a male
heir. Before the arrival of the Spaniards, Filipino women could also achieve status as medicine
women or high-priestesses and astrologers”. Wherein they served as spiritual leaders,
historians, and healers also known as “Babaylan”. The Babaylan worked alongside
the DATU on important social activities.
Women before colonization were known to be of great value, parents tended to separate
the child from their siblings, and provide proper care, up to the point that even her feet didn’t
touch the ground. In this way, if the woman is about to be married, the groom or soon-be
husband needed to give or provide a gift that equals the value of the bride.
In the pre-colonial day, there is no dichotomy of a good or bad woman when it comes to
sexuality. Women in the pre-colonial period were allowed to have pre-marital sex prior to
marriage, and it believes that a woman with more experience in “sex” is more attractive in that
period. Women in the pre-colonial period dislike having many kids in a way that they think of it
as if they are a “Pig”. Having four children is already enough for them. And they have the means
of removing it or what we called “Abortion” to a woman who also knows to abort it. They also
have ways of controlling birth or “birth control, Babaylans have such herbs or plants to control it.
On the time that Spaniards arrived in the Philippines, they were shocked regarding
women are engage in sexual activities with their visitors as part of the hospitality. In regards to
this, Spaniards implemented proper dress codes for women. In addition, women are not allowed
to look at a man’s eyes when going to church, even in confession it’s a matter of question-and-
answer portion. The Spanish period has broken the equality of men and women during that
time.
The pre-colonial period proved that women has been empowered and had a very
important role in society. Women can do what a man can do and during those periods women
are not judged and criticized for what they doing or what type of life they have. Equality among
them was observed.