PRE- SPANISH

PERIOD
House
• Houses were made of light
materials like wood, bamboo and
nipa palm. A ladder was placed to
prevent strangers from intruding
when the owner was not around.

• Strong post at the lower part of the

house was enclosed. A jar of heart
was placed in a gallery called
“batalan”.
Dress
• Male Clothing
- Consisted of the upper and lower parts. The
upper part was a jacket with short sleeves called
“kangan” while the lower part was a strip of cloth
wrapped around the waist and in between the legs
called “bahag”. Male used a piece of cloth, or a
headgear called “putong”.

- Putong symbolized the number of persons

the wearer had killed.
Dress
• Female Clothing
- They wore “baro or
camisa”, a jacket with sleeves.
The lower part was called
“saya”.
 SOCIAL CLASSES
Nobles – who were composed of
rules and their families, occupied
the highest class. They were
usually addressed as Gat, Lakan, • Aliping namamahay – were not full
Raja or Datu. pledge slave. They had their own
respective families and their own
houses. They were required to serve
their masters only during planting and
Freemen (Timawa)- were the harvesting period.
working class.

Slaves-were classified into • Aliping sagigilid – were the real

slaves, they were homeless, forbidded
two: to form their own families, required
to stay in their masters dwelling and
they could be used as a payment for
debt.
Government

➢ The government was called “barangay”.

➢ There was no national government. There
were many independent barangays and
datus. But there was no datu strong enough
to unite the archipelago into one nation.
Some barangays, however, united to form a
confederation.
➢ It was headed by a ruler called datu or raja.
 Power and
Functions of Datu
• Implementing laws.
• Maintaining peace and order.
• Giving protection to his subjects.
• He also made the law, with the assistance of
group of elders who gave advice.
• (a newly enacted law was made known to the
public through town crier called
“umalohokan”).
• He acted also as a judge during trial.
• (it was easy for the datu to run for the
barangay since the population was very
small.
 ➢ Ancient Filipinos started the
practice of paying taxes. The
purpose of paying taxes was
simple, it was for the protection
they received from the datu.

➢ The collected tax was called buwis.

The chieftain’s family members
were enjoying exemption from
paying taxes. Non-payment of
taxes was already punishable
during this period.

Taxation
Tributor
This is levying of tax to all Filipinos aged 19-60
except government employees, soldiers with
distinguished services, decendants of Lakandula
and some few native chieftains, choir members,
sacristans, porters of the church, and
government witnesses.

The alcalde mayors, encomendero,

gobernadorcillo, and the cabezas acted as
tribute collectors.
Alliances

• Like community of nations, alliances

among barangay were formed. The
purpose of forming alliances was for
trade, peace and mutual protection.

• An alliances was sealed through blood

compact (sanduguan), to ensure
conformity, sincerity and commitment
of the chieftains.
COURTSHIP
AND
MARRIAGE • The man was required to give a dowry.
- “Bigay-kaya” – was the type of dowry consisted of
a piece of land or gold.
- The groom’s parent gave a gift called
“panghimuyat”.
- “Himaraw” – was another payment for raising the
future bride during her infancy period, to be paid by the
groom’s parent also.
- Including the bride’s wet nurse received a share
of dowry; it was called “bigay-suso”.
Religious Beliefs
• Before Roman Catholicism and Islam were introduced, natives
worshipped many gods and goddesses.

a. Bathala – supreme being

b. Idiyanale – god of agriculture
c. Sidapa – god of death
d. Agni – god of fire
e. Balangaw – god of rainbow
f. Mandarangan – god of war
g. Lalahon – god of harvest
h. Siginarugan – god of hell
 SUPERSTITIOUS BELIEFS
• Natives believed in:

a. aswang (witch)
b. dwende (tiny creatures like humans)
c. kapre (tall and apelike creatures smoking
cigarettes, usually found on trees.
d. mangkukulam (an old lady capable of
harming others using a doll and a pin)
e. tikbalang (half-man and half-horse creature)
f. tiyanak (a baby that sucks blood on human.
g. They also believed in magical power of
amulets and charms such as anting-anting,
kulam and the use of gayuma or love
potion.
• They also believed in the immortality
of souls and life after death.

• There were sacred animals, which they

venerate like white monkey (manaul)
and crocodiles.

• There were also sacred place and

sacred trees, which nobody was
allowed to cutdown.

• They also worshipped the sun and the

moon.

• Regular sacrifices and prayers were

offered to placate deities and spirits.
EDUCATION

• To transmit knowledge, it was acquired

through observation, imitation and
practice. There was no formal
education during pre-Spanish period.
Children were taught to read and write
by their parents. It was fair to say that
they were literate.

• The purpose of education during their

time was for survival. Their father on
hunting animals taught males, fishing,
agriculture and other economic
activities while their mothers in
managing the household taught
females.
1 WHOLE YELLOW PAD:

COMPARE AND CONTRAST the societal norms and

governance structures of the Filipino people during the
pre-colonial era and their contemporary counterparts
in the present day.

PRE COLONIAL PERIOD PRESENT