Customs of the Tagalog

Fray Juan De Flasencia

Introduction
One of the most significant primary sources of Philippine history is Fray Juan de
Plasencia's The Customs of the Tagalog. It discusses the way of life of the ancient Filipinos, their
governmental structure, their social standings, and their rituals, traditions, and religious beliefs.
The outcome of this document will have a significant impact on how the Spaniards rule the
Filipino people throughout the Spanish era. Even if it currently has less relevance in the modern
world, it is nevertheless crucial for us to understand the historical origins of who we are.
A. Background of the Author
 Early Years
 Life in the Philippines
 Works
Early Years
- Miguel Juan de Plascencia was a Franciscan Order friar from Spain. On July 2, 1578, he
was among the first Franciscan missionaries to arrive in the Philippines. He spent the
majority of his missionary life in the Philippines, where he founded several towns on the
island of Luzon and wrote several religious and linguistic books, most notably the
Doctrine Cristiana (Christian Doctrine), the first book printed in the Philippines.
Life in the Philippines
- After a stopover in Mexico, he is thought to have arrived in the Philippines on July 2,
1578. He immediately joined forces with another missionary, Fray Diego de Oropesa,
and they began preaching around Laguna de Bay and Tayabas, Quezon, in Quezon
Province, where he founded several towns.
Written Works
- Juan de Plasencia wrote a number of books aimed primarily at improving natives'
understanding of the Spanish language and missionaries' understanding of local
languages in order to facilitate the task of spreading Christianity. He recognized early on
the importance of learning the native languages in order to facilitate evangelization, and
in a letter to the King of Spain dated 18 June 1585, he mentioned some of his works to
that effect. "In the language more common in these Islands, I have written some works
like the "Arte de la lengua tagala" and "Declaracion de toda la doctrina Cristiana," and
now I am writing the "Vocabulario." These are very necessary for all the ministers if they
would only be printed. It would be particularly favorable if Your Majesty would send me
a "cedula" so they could be sent for printing in Mexico at the expense of His Real
Hacienda. It would be of great use for these souls."
Death
- Juan de Plasencia died in Liliw, Laguna in 1590.

B. Background of the Primary Source

Type of Primary Source
 Personal Experiences and Observation
Parts or Chapters
 It describes the experiences he has living with Tagalog indigenous.
Locate where the primary source can be found
 A scenario in page 227 of the book can be used as a primary source
Date Published
 It was written in the year 1598
Determine the intended audience
 Filipino Citizen, King of Spain
Look for the purpose or motive of the source
 To inform
 To have an idea or to know about our ancestors

C. Content Analysis of the Primary Source

Look for corroboration between the research you gathered from the internet and the
primary source
 “The Customs of the Tagalogs'' mainly focuses on the government, administration of
justice, slaves, inheritance and dowries. Juan de Plasencia mentioned in his account
that every barangay, a tribal gathering consists of 30-100 families together with their
slaves, have their own Dato, at the top of the social status, who governed the people
and was the captain in their wars, followed by the Maharlikas, commoners and slaves.
 “This people always had chiefs, called Datos, who governed them and were captains
in their wars. The subject who convicted any offense against them, or spoke but a
word to their wives and children, was severely punished.”

Look for bias

 The writing style or attribution is important in giving meaning to this colonization
text. First the author, Juan de Plasencia, was not a native Tagalog but a Franciscan
missionary who arrived in the Philippines in 1577. The King of Spain tasked him
with documenting the customs and traditions of the colonized ("natives") based on,
arguably, his own observational data and verdicts. A large portion of his accounts
were also based on inaccurate comparisons and were not accompanied by accurate
information. He repeatedly compared local traditions to Western belief systems which
is the country where he came from. The Tagalog idol, lic-ha, for example in his work,
was matched with a Roman statue of a dead man who was brave in battle and
 endowed with special abilities. These two objects are clearly different in nature and
do not belong in the same category. Datos were also characterized as the substitute of
European "nobles," trying to undermine indigenous political systems. Badly, Juan de
Placencia mocked the Tagalogs' religious ritual and religious beliefs by categorizing
them as devil-ish. According to the work of De Plasencia, despite including some of
the rites and traditions of the early Filipinos, such as the Datu, it only concentrates on
western beliefs. His writing was mostly prejudiced and focused on the culture from
which he was born. It is strongly in the favor of the Spanish colonization which gives
a negative impact to the culture of the Filipinos wherein according to De Plasencia,
the ones mocked some of the traditional practices of the Filipino. While it shows that
it is strongly against the culture of the Filipinos because he mainly describes it as a
Western individual not as a Filipino.

D. Contribution and Relevance of the Document in Understanding the Grand

Narrative of Philippine History
Look for the cause and consequences of the primary source
 Juan de Plasencia, a Spanish priest of the Franciscan Order, spent most of his
missionary life in the Philippines, where he founded numerous towns in Luzon and
wrote several religious and linguistic books. He wrote a number of books intended to
promote the understanding of both the Spanish language among the natives, and the
local languages among the missionaries, to facilitate the task of spreading
Christianity.
Look also for the turning point or dramatic moment of change that was cause by the event
or primary source
 Juan De Flasencia as a missionary, wrote the Customs of the Tagalog for the purpose
of taking into imagery the way of living of the Filipinos to the King of Spain. He was
tasked by the King of Spain to document the customs and traditions of the colonized
(“natives”) based on, arguably, his own observations and judgments. He spent most
of his missionary life in the Philippines, where he founded numerous towns in Luzon
and authored several religious and linguistic books. This narrative of Juan de
Plasencia supports the idea that Filipinos already had their own traditions, customs,
rituals, beliefs, and system of governance in place before the Spaniards conquered the
Philippines.

E. Relevance of the Document to the present time

 One of the historical significances us we can still see some culture of Filipinos even
though it’s already modernized. For example, one of Juan de Plasencia talked about in his
work which are the political aspects of the early Filipinos. The Deity who governed the
small town of the Philippines, is now already called the Barangay captain. It is still
present in the modern world; the rules and regulations, etc. etc.

 The Philippines already has an established civilization before the Spanish colonization.
The Dato is the same with, barangay captain, mayor or a leader of any community in
present time. This prehistorical information and fact are still evident after (many)
colonization and modernization. Filipinos in precolonial time already have their own
 rules (or law), for example the dowry (marriage, divorce), statuses after intermarriages
(statuses of the children), law of the barangay, in selecting the next Dato, their economy,
etc. The Spaniards labelled Filipino as savages, uncivilized but these information from
Juan Plasencio's Customs of Tagalogs said otherwise.

 It affirms that during the pre-Hispanic period, Filipinos already have a government and a
set of beliefs and practices. It somewhat disproves the claim of some Spaniards that
locals were uncivilized and lacking in culture, as it provided an elaborate observation on
the functioning government, tax system, justice system, and long-standing customs and
tradition.

 The relevance of Custom of the Tagalog in the present time is that it can be inferred that
many of the 16th-century beliefs and practices are still present and observed today, such
as the belief in mythical creatures and other superstitions. The people believe in things
that were already proven to be untrue because of the lack of development of technology
or modernization In Tagalog society today, there are still a lot of superstitions and beliefs
in mythical creatures, such as kapres, duwende and aswang These creatures have already
been proven to be nonexistent by experts such as doctors because they are imaginary For
example, people still believe that the presence of bamboo stalks in a room will bring bad
luck In villages and barrios, people still burn candles, incense, and wax images in their
homes to ward off evil spirits. Despite of the fact that many of these beliefs and practices
were already proven to be untrue, it seems as if there are no efforts to stop or condemn
these practices, perhaps because it is still important to the Filipino tradition.

 In this document, the lives of Filipinos are described prior to the invasion of the
Philippines by the Spanish. The majority of the content is still pertinent to the history of
our nation and civilization, despite many detractors' claims to the contrary. Customs of
the Tagalogs was written during the Spanish colonial period, like all other colonial texts,
with the intention of giving the Tagalog natives an exoticized description that would
appeal to them. This description was obviously influenced by politics and propaganda
and operated with a Western-gaze.

 The Relevance of Custom of the Tagalog in the present time is that of the administration
of justice. In the custom of Tagalog, it dictates that the chieftain’s executive functions
exclude implementing laws, ensuring order and giving protection to his subject like
nowadays the only branch of the government with the authority to enact new laws or
amend existing ones is Congress, which has complete legislative authority. In addition,
before the Spanish colonization, disputes between the individuals were settled by a court
made up of the chieftain and council of elders likewise in this day and age, we have
judges; conduct hearings and take in the arguments made by the other side. Law is
applied by judges and hearing officers who supervise court proceedings. They also hold
pre-trial hearings, settle administrative disagreements, help opposing parties negotiate,
and render legal judgements.

Members:
Ed Ardy D. Estremera
Mark A. Delos Reyes
Edmon G. Despabiladeras
Maria Rhodora B. Bitbit
John Mark L. Gueta
Arvie E. Sayson
Alexander H. Avenido
ME 2B

Individual & Group rating

Ed Ardy D. Estremera 9 10 10 10 10 10 10 9.86
Mark A. Delos Reyes 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10
Edmon G. Despabiladeras 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10
Maria Rhodora B. Bitbit 10 10 10 9 10 10 10 9.86
John Mark L. Gueta 10 10 10 9 10 10 10 9.86
Arvie E. Sayson 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10
Alexander H. Avenido 10 10 10 9 10 10 4 9
Average
rating