1|Page JOHN MARK ZINGAPAN BS-EDUCATION

‘‘An argument without an End’’ Dutch
Historian Geyl
‘‘Every generation write its own history
using the same sources’’
Theodoro Agoncillo
‘‘Ang kasaysayan ay salaysay na may
sanaysay sa sinasalaysayang salinglahi’’
Zeus Salazar
Written sources- these are the published
materials such as books, magazines,
sanctions, articles and more.
Division of History
 Period where no written records exist
or when the writings of people were
not preserved.
 Analyzed through fossils and artifacts
by archaeologists and anthropologists.

History/kasaysayan History

 Derived from the Greek noun iotopia
(historia) means learning and inquiry.
 The study of past events,
chronological record of the significant
events.
 History is not a one branch but
integrated/variations.
 It is multidimensional/different
perspectives.
 Wide talk which can be written, oral,
visual and combination.
Filipino term about history/kasaysayan
Salalysay- narrative/story
 A period when man started to write
and record events using the system of
writing.
Role of Historians
 To look at the available sources and
select the most relevant for history and
subject of study.
 Organized the past that is being
created.
 To seek the meaning, recovering the
past, to let people see continuing
relevance of memories (historical
understanding).

Saysay- meaning/essence History as a Social Science

Kasaysayan  Economics
 Political science
As a narrative (Which can be written,  Sociology
visual, oral or a combination of all three)  Anthropology
about past events that has meaning to a
 Philosophy
certain group of people in a given time and
 Geography
place.
 Psychology
 Salaysay and saysay are Importance of History
inseparable.
 Without both you cannot have true  To unite a nation
history  To legitimize regime & forge a sense
Passing history through direct of collective identity
experiences  To make sense of the present
 To not repeat mistakes on the past
 Pantayong pananaw- pilipino ay  To inspire
nagsulat
Historiography
 Pansilang pananaw- iba ang nagsulat
Historical revisionism- revised facts  Writing of history (Historical Writing)
 Based on critical examination of
Historical distortion- nilalayo sa facts sources selection of particular details
from authentic materials in those
Historical Sources- materials used for sources and the synthesis of those
the writing of history details into narrative.
2|Page JOHN MARK ZINGAPAN BS-EDUCATION

 Done through a Historical Research Another type of classifications:

with the aid of Historical Methodology.
History as reconstruction
 Historian is many times removed from
the events under investigation
 They rely on surviving records
1. written and non-written,
2. published or unpublished,
3. textual, oral or visual sources
Written Sources
1. Published materials

Historical Method Books, magazines, journals,

Historians have to verify sources, to date Travelogue

them, locate their place of origin and  transcription of speech
identify their intended functions.
2. Manuscript [any handwritten or
History means interpretation typed record that has not been printed]
 Interpretation by evidence  Archival materials
2 kinds of interpretation  Memoirs, diary
1. Historical interpretation- it is written Non- written Sources
evidence and subjective to challenge
because they have various Oral history, Artifact, Ruins, Fossils, Art
interpretations. works, Video recordings, Audio recordings
Opinion- it is a subjective your own
opinion only. Primary Source
2. Traditional History- it requires written  Materials produced by people or
evidences to prove that your groups directly involved in the event or
knowledge is true, it is also observing topic being studied.
facts.  They are either participants or
witnesses.
Mantra- no document, no history  These sources range from eyewitness
Historical Sources accounts, diaries, letters, legal
documents, and official documents
 These are objects from the past or (government or private) and even
testimonies concerning the past on photographs
which historians depend in order to What are Primary Sources?
create their own depiction of that past.
Howell and Prevenier, From Reliable  Testimony of an eyewitness
Sources an Introduction to Historical  A primary source must have been
Method produced by a contemporary of the
event it narrates -Louis Gottschalk,
 ‘‘Tangible remains of the past’’ Understanding History
Anthony Brundage, Going to
Sources Four Main Categories of Primary
Sources
Historical Sources
1. Written sources
 materials used for the writing of 2. Images
history. 3. Artifacts
4. Oral testimony
They are classified into two:
What are Secondary Sources?
1. Primary Sources
o A secondary source interprets and
2. Secondary Sources
analyzes primary sources. These
3|Page JOHN MARK ZINGAPAN
sources are one or more steps
removed from the event.
o Secondary sources may have pictures,
quotes or graphics of primary sources
in them.
Examples:
o History textbook
o Printed materials (serials, periodicals
which interprets previous research)
Historical Criticism
in order for a source to be used as
evidence I history, basic matters about its
form and content must be settled.
• Each source of evidence has varying
degrees of reliability depending on the
historical problem
• A trained historian will know how to
perform authentication and credibility
tests on each source before its
usefulness is accepted
• Some of the procedures of historians
are to verify the authenticity of the
source material first by checking if the
content is original.
• To test the authenticity of evidences,
the historian uses the related tools and
techniques of other sciences.
External criticism
• The problem of authenticity
• To spot fabricated, forged, and faked
documents
• To distinguish a hoax or
misinterpretation
*Only after the tests on authenticity or
external criticism can the historian
evaluate the credibility and reliability of the
work of an author, in terms of criteria of
willingness and ability to tell the truth.
Internal criticism (author, account, dates
etc.)
• The problem of credibility
• Relevant particulars in the document
• Verisimilar- as close as what really
happened from a critical
examination of best available
sources.
Test of Credibility
BS-EDUCATION
1. Identification of the author
Eg. To determine his reliability; mental
processes, personal attitudes.
2. Determination of the approximate date
3. Ability to tell the truth
• Nearness of the event, competence of
witness, degree of attention.
4. Willingness to tell the truth
• To determine if the author consciously
or unconsciously tells falsehoods.
5. Corroboration
• Eg. Historical facts- particulars which
rest upon the independent testimony
of two or more reliable witness.
Corroboration of one statement to
another statemen, there’s a similarity.
Anachronistic- particularly in date
2 types of External criticism
information
Disinformation- twisting of information or
distortion
Missed information- lack of information
about something you really don’t know
about.
FIRST VOYAGE AROUND THE WORLD
- Antonio Pigafetta
ANTONIO PIGAFETTA (1491– C.1534)
In the battle of Mactan, he was the
eyewitness of all events. So, he wrote a
journal.
■ Born sometime in 1491 in Vicenza, a
town about a hundred kilometers west
of Venice, Italy.
■ Eldest son of Giovanni Pigafetta to
second wife Angela Zoga.
■ Studied astronomy, geography and
cartography
■ worked in the ships owned by the
Knights of Rhodes.
■ Joined the delegation of Monsignor
Francesco Chieregati when he was
assigned as Papal Nuncio to Spain in
1519.
■ In the same year, he became
acquainted with the lucrative spice
trade and heard the news of the
4|Page JOHN MARK ZINGAPAN
voyage to be undertaken by Ferdinand
Magellan.
■ Presented his credentials to Magellan
and to the Casa de la Contratacion,
the office in charge of voyages to New
World.
New world- to discover new things.
■ He was admitted as one of the
sobresalientes (supernumeraries)*
■ Survived the challenges and
catastrophes that the expedition
encountered along the way and he
even got wounded in the Battle of
Mactan.
■ Returned to Spain on September 6,
1522 aboard the Victoria with Juan
Sebastian Elcano and more than a
dozen more survivors.
■ Presented himself to Charles V (now
Holy Roman Emperor), a book
written by his own hand, in which
were set down the things that
happened from day to day during their
voyage.
■ Now known as Magellan's Voyage. A
Narrative Account of the First
Circumnavigation, a detailed tale of
exploration and exotica.
■ Emperor Charles was apparently not
impressed, and Pigafetta received no
honor beyond his wages.
■ he passed by Portugal and France and
shared to the people the things he
knew about Magellan’s expedition.
■ In Italy the Pope was impressed
enough to give him residence while he
prepared his manuscript for
publication.
■ *Joined the Knights of St. John of
Jerusalem in its battle against the
Turks.
■ Died sometime in 1534.
James Alexander Robertson
Born 1873 in Corry, Pennsylvania.
Sixth of eight children born to Canadian
parents, John McGregor Robertson and
Elizabeth Borrowman Robertson, who
BS-EDUCATION
became naturalized U.S. citizens after
relocating to Corry in 1866.
1923: Gained a position as professor
at Stetson University in DeLand, Florida,
and lectured there for the next ten years.
1935: Moved to Annapolis, Maryland as
the archivist for the Maryland State
Archives' Hall of Records.
1902: Robertson became involved in the
compilation of a massive multivolume
work on the history of the Philippines,
initially called The Philippine Islands,
1493-1803.
Spices- became the most expensive and
in demand commodity among Europeans.
Purpose:
• For medicinal
• And to served foods
Reasons of Invading the Philippines:
• Age of exploration;
• Spices; and
• Expanding territory
Silk Road or the Arabian-Italian trade
route (country who are in the blue lines)
• China
• Turkey
• Iran
• Italy
• Afghanistan
• Russia
• Eastern Europe
Portugal and Spain
• Crashing the route and affected the
trading
• The rivalry between Spain and
Portugal in the Iberian Peninsula was
exacerbated by trade as both were
interested in exploring and developing
trade.
• Both were located in ideal places to
start exploring Africa and to start
thinking about trying to round Africa
and find a way to the Spice Islands in
Asia.
• had to get the pope to divide up the
New World into parts that would be
Spanish and parts that would be
Portuguese.
5|Page JOHN MARK ZINGAPAN
Africa colonized by Europe
Prince Henry- put up a maritime school
that trained sailors who would later
discover a sea route going to Southeast
Asia via the Atlantic and Indian Ocean.
This route enabled them to trade directly
with the producers of spices and other
oriental goods.
Royal Crown of Spain- supported the
plan of Ferdinand Magellan to go to the
east by sailing westward, a proposal that
was not supported by Portugal.
King of Portugal- never supported the
plan of Magellan.
 Along the way the expedition suffered
natural and man-made challenges and
out of the five ships that left Spain only
three reached the Philippines.
Magellan’s voyage- was instrumental in
introducing Christianity in the Philippines
but it also cost his life after the Spaniards
lost in the Battle of Mactan.
Two ships, the survivors of Magellan
were able to reach the Spice Island and
on September 7, 1522, Juan Sebastian
Elcano and 17 more mighty survivors
arrived in Spain aboard the ship Victoria.
ABOUT THE BOOK (FIRST VOYAGE
AROUND THE WORLD) 1519-1522- A
secondary source which interpreted by
many sources.
 Antonio Pigafetta- was one of the
survivors who kept a journal that
became the main source about the
first encounter of the Spaniards and
the Filipinos.
 The original journal of Pigafetta-did
not survive in history and what was
handed down to us are copies of the
manuscript that never came out of the
press during his life time. (The book is
secondary source)
 Three of them were in French and two
are kept in the Bibliotheque Nationale
in Paris.
 British Collector Sir Thomas
Phillipp. - The third one was originally
owned
BS-EDUCATION
 Later, Beinecke Rare Book bought it
and it is now kept in the Manuscript
Library of Yale University in New
Haven.
 The fourth copy was written in
mixed Italian, Spanish and
Venetian language and could be
found in Ambrosian Library in
Milan.
 In 1800, Carlo Amoretti published
an Italian version of it and the
following year a French version
came out in Paris.
 Pinkerton of his part translated it to
English and published it in 1819.
 James A. Richardson made his
own English version of the
Ambrosian copy and it appeared in
The Philippine Islands.
 This is the copy the is widely
circulated in the Philippines.
 Pigafetta’s travelogue contributed
immensely to the enrichment of
Philippine historiography.
 His writing described vividly the
physical appearance, social life,
religious beliefs and cultural
practices of the people they
encountered in the islands of
Samar, Leyte and Cebu.
 His account also contains
information about the economic
activities of the local folks and the
goods they offered for trade.
 He got all this information through
the help Enrique de Malaccca,
Magellan’s slave/interpreter.
 Lastly, Pigafetta gave us an
eyewitness account of the Battle of
Mactan which resulted to the death of
Magellan and him getting wounded.
--------------------------------------------------------
(Personal touch of the book)
Ferdinand Magellan (Portugese – Fernao
de Magalhaes) – captain-general (leader)
of the expedition. Goes in the Philippines
in 1521.
6|Page JOHN MARK ZINGAPAN
Antonio Pigafetta (Italian) – official
chronicler of the expedition
Raia Colambu (Raja Kulambu) – king of
Mazaua (Limasawa)
Raia Siaui (Raja Siagu) – king of Butuan
Raia Humabon – king of Zubu (Cebu)
Raia Cilapulapu and Raia Zula -chiefs
(kings) of Matan (Mactan)
----------------------------------------------------
Latitudes and Leagues!
(Geographical Position of the Islands)
Zamal – three hundred leagues from the
islands of Ladroni
Mazaua – (latitude) nine (degrees) and
two-thirds degrees toward the Arctic Pole,
(longitude) one hundred and sixty-two
degrees from the line of demarcation, and
twenty-five leagues from the Acquada
(Humunu-Homonhon)
Twenty leagues from Mazaua to Gatighan
Fifteen leagues from Gatighan to Zubu
(Cebu)
Of Suns, Moons and Bloods!
(Chronology of Dates)
March 16, 1521 (dawn of Saturday) the
Spanish colonizers arrived at Zamal
(Samar)
March 17, 1521 – their captain-general
desired to land at Humunu (Homonhon)
and which he named, Acquada da li buoni
Segnialli (“the Watering-place of Good
Signs) and later the entire group of islands
as Archepalago of St. Lazaro.
March 18, 1521 – they met and
exchanged goods with our ancestor from
the island of Zuluan
March 25, 1521 – they weight anchored
and changed course toward west
southwest
March 28, 1521, they anchored near the
island of Mazaua (Limasawa) and they
met the king who came in balanghai
March 29, 1521 (Holy Friday) – they
finally met the king who entered their ship
BS-EDUCATION
March 31, 1521 (Easter Sunday) – they
went ashore to say mass and set up cross
on the summit of the mountain
April 7, 1521 (Sunday) – they entered the
port of Zubu (Cebu)
Monday – their notary together with their
interpreter went ashore to meet with the
king of Zubu
Tuesday – the king of Mazaua and later
the prince of Zubu went aboard their ship
Wednesday – they consecrated the place
and buried their two dead crews
Friday – they showed our ancestors with
different merchandise
April 14, 1521 (Sunday) – they baptized
our ancestors from Zubu and few from
neighboring islands
April 26, 1521 (Friday) – Raia Zula came
to seek help to fight the other chief of
Matan, Cilapulapu
April 27, 1521 (Saturday) – the Spaniards
wave ashore in the island of Matan and
fighting commenced between them and
men of Raia Cilapulapu and led to the
death of Magallanes
May 1, 1521 (Wednesday) – 21 Spaniards
were massacred by the Zubuanos thus
forcing the remaining Spaniards to depart
Zubu immediately.
Description of Ancestors
Seignior (king/chief)
 Matured (old man in some encounters)
 Some are bit larger than his men and
the finest looking man
 Some are painted (tattooed)
 Wore gold earrings
 Some have black hair and hung to
shoulders
 Head covered with silk (kerchiefs)
 Wore cotton cloth all embroidered with
silk which covered him from the waist
to the knees
 Some have spots of gold on every
tooth
 Some are perfumed with storax and
benzoin
7|Page JOHN MARK ZINGAPAN
 Wore armlets and other rings for the
feet
 Wore necklace of great value
Others (men)
 Naked, with cloth woven from a bark
of a tree about (cover) their privies
 Dark, fat and painted (tattooed)
 Anointed with their bodies with
coconut and beneseed oil as a
protection against sun and wind
 Some have dark hair that hung to the
waist
 Have their penises pierced from one
side to the other near the head with a
gold or tin bolt as large as a goose
quill.
Others (Women)
 Clad in tree cloth from waist down
 Hair is black and reaches the
ground
 They are as white and as large as
the Spaniards
 Holes on their ears which are filled
with gold (earrings)
 Constantly chewing a fruit which
they call areca which resembles a
pear, cut into four and wrapped
with betre (betel) leaves
 Women age six upward have their
vaginas gradually opened because
of the men’s penises
The Cultural Milieu
(Customs, Traditions and more…)
 Thanksgiving/Gratitude
• Raised clasped hands and face
towards the sky and then turned to
others
 Friendship (casi-casi)
• A ritual of friendship wherein one has
to shed a drop of his blood from his
right arm and the other will do the
same and partake each other’s’ blood
 Marriage
BS-EDUCATION
• One can have many wives as they
wish but one of them is the principal
wife
Customs, Traditions and more
■ Trade
• Our ancestor has a custom that all
ships that will enter their port should
pay tribute
o Festivities
• Our ancestor are heavy drinkers
• Before the king drinks, he raised his
clasped hands towards the sky and
then towards the person he is drinking
with and the former extends his fist of
the left hand towards the latter
• Sometimes they have a meal that
would last for six hours
■ Entertainment
• Our ancestor played musical
instruments like drums, metallic discs,
gongs and bells
• Also, our ancestors can dance
o Religion
• Our ancestors don’t have formal
religion but they have God which
they call “Abba”
• Although, no religion they have
idols made of wood, hollow and
lack of back parts
■ Food
• Our ancestors eat umay (rice),
coconut, meat and fish, and drink
uraca (arrack) – a wine taken from
palm (coconut)
■ Animals and Other Produce
8|Page JOHN MARK ZINGAPAN BS-EDUCATION

• Dogs, cats, swine, fowls, goats, rice, enhancing the knowledge of

ginger, coconuts, figs (banana), cartography at that time.
oranges, lemons, millet, panicum, ■ The chronicle contributed immensely
sorgo, wax and gold to European historiography because it
preserved and popularized the
o Dwellings achievements of the Magellan-Elcano
expedition.
• Built up from the ground on huge posts
of wood and thatched with fig and Economics and Trade
palm leaves ■ There was an evidence of agricultural
activities based on their produce.
Word Game! ■ They engaged in trade with
(Terminologies) neighboring countries such as China.

Arts, customs, traditions and religion

• uraca (arrack) – palm wine, this
■ As described, Filipinos have their
resembles tuba at present
unique musical instruments;
• (h)umay – rice
■ They have arts as seen in their bodies
• caphri – heathen
being tattooed (in some villages);
• anime – a gum of a tree wrapped in
■ Performed rituals during dining and
palm or fig (banana) leaves for lights
some gatherings;
• baloto – small boat
■ They have a lot of burial practices;
• balanghai – big boat (resembles fusta
■ Worship of anitos (wooden idols) and
in Spanish)
ritual for healing of ill persons.
• aghon – gongs (resembles bells in
Spanish)
On the other hand, the document also
• laghan – a large sea snails which kills
narrated the status (inferiority) of the
whales by eating whale’s heart
Filipinos in some ways such as;
(Christian Names given to our ■ Warfare - weapons
Ancestors) ■ Manner of dressing
■ System of writing
Conversion of our Ancestors
On Christianization
 Raia Humabon – Don Carlos ■ The documents narrated the
 Son of Raia Humabon (prince)– conversion of early Filipinos into
Fernando Christianity
 Raia Culambo – Johanni
 A Muslim - Christoforo ■ at present
 Queen (Amihan) – Johanna textbook writers use his book as
 her daughter (wife of the prince)- their source of historical information every
Catherina time they discuss the beginning of
 Queen of Mazaua - Lisabeta Christianity in the Philippines. Their
accounts about the first mass in the
Philippines, the conversion of Rajah
Contribution and relevance of Humabon and his wife and the story of the
pigafetta’s document image of the Sto. Nino were mostly taken
from Pigafetta’s book.
Geography
■ The Pigafetta document gave a
detailed chronicle of the significant
events of the exploration of Ferdinand
Magellan.
■ It provided a description, location and
distances of the places visited thereby
9|Page JOHN MARK ZINGAPAN
Customs of the Tagalogs
Juan de Plasensia, O.F.M.
Primary source- He personally witnessed
the events and observations that he
discussed in his account. (Note: His work
is narrated in the first person.)
Fray Juan de Plasensia (real name is
Joan de Puerto Carrero) is one of the
seven children of Pedro Puerto Carrero, a
Spanish boatman who had travelled
around the Mediterranean Sea.
 He grew up in Plasensia, in the region
of Extremadura during the Golden Age
(Siglo de Oro) of Spain.
 He belonged to the Franciscan Order
established by St. Francis of Assisi
and came together with the first batch
of Franciscan missionaries Casa de la
Contratacion of Seville (21 May
1577) Fray Joan de Puerto de Carrero
del Convento de Villanueva dela
Serena was included in the said list.
24 June 1577- The group left the port of
San Luca de Barrameda for Mexico and
arrived in the following month of
September.
15 March 1578- They left the port of
Acapulco and passed by Marianas or
Ladrones Islands for supplies, and
reached the port of Cavite on 2 July
1578.
After two months upon arrival in the
Philippines, he and Fray Diego de
Oropresa were assigned to do mission
works in Southern Tagalog area by
converting souls to the Catholic faith.
 Aside from performing sacerdotal and
missionary functions, he also helped in
the foundation and organization of
numerous provinces, such as Bulacan,
Morong (now Rizal), Tayabas (now
Quezon), Laguna, and towns such as,
BS-EDUCATION
Tayabas, Calilaya, Lucban, Mahayhay,
Nagcarlang, Lilio, Pila, Sta. Cruz,
Lumbang, Pangil, Siniloan, Morong,
Antipolo, Taytay, and Meycauayan.
Relacion de las Costumbres de Los
Tagalos (Customs of the Tagalogs,
(1589)-He writes a book entitled because
his continuous interaction with the people
he converted to Christianity, it describes
the political, social, economic and cultural
practices of the Filipinos before they were
Christianized.
 His biggest challenge was how to
make the articles of faith
comprehensible to people who have
never heard of Christ nor the Catholic
Church.
In 1593 -He published the book Doctrina
Christiana en Lengua Espanola Y
Tagala, the first printed book in the
Philippines.
 He used it as reading material for
those Filipinos who wanted to deepen
their faith in the newly accepted
religion.
Venerable -The Franciscan Order
honored him with the title.
 He died in Liliw, Laguna in 1590.
Historical Background
 In the first century of Spanish rule,
colonial officials had the hard time
running local politics because of the
limited number of Spaniards who
wanted to live outside Intramuros, the
Walled City.
 This situation forced them to allow
Filipinos to hold the position of
gobernadorcillo.
 To ensure that they would remain loyal
to the Crown, they instructed the friars
assigned in the parishes to supervise
and monitor the activities of the
gobernadorcillo. Hence, the friars
ended up performing the
administrative duties that colonial
officials should have been doing in the
local level.
 They supervised the election of the
local executives, helped in the
collection of taxes, directly involved in
educating the youth (subject of
10 | P a g e J O H N M A R K Z I N G A P A N
religion) and performed other civic
duties.
 As years went by, the friars ended up
the most knowledgeable and influential
figure in the pueblo.
Duties of Friars
 inform periodically their superiors of
what was going on in their respective
assignments.
 report the number of natives they
converted, the people’s way of life,
their socio-economic situation and the
problems they encountered.
 submitted short letters while others
who were keen observers and gifted
writers wrote long dispatches, they
also shared their personal
observations and experiences. (Eg.
Plasensia’s Relacion de las
Costumbres de Los Tagalos (Customs
of the Tagalog, 1589)
ABOUT THE TEXT
The work of Plasensia is considered by
many historians as an example of a friar
account, is one of the most
contemporaneous accounts during the
early part of the Spanish period.
Archivo General de Indias (A.G.I.) in
Seville, Spain - Original text of
Plasensia’s Customs of the Tagalogs.
Archivo Franciscano Ibero-Oriental
(A.F.I.O.), in Madrid, Spain- A duplicate
copy
English version (volume VII) of the Blair
and Robertson collections- Philippines
pre-Hispanic Philippines of the
Filipiniana Book Guild series by Mauro
Garcia -English translation was published
as part of the volume.
Content Presentation and Analysis
The contents of the writings of Fray Juan
de Plasencia depicts the ancient or pre-
colonial life of the Filipinos before and
upon the arrival of Spain as embodied in
Plasencia’s detailed narration of how life
was in this period.
BS-EDUCATION
Most of the important data and information
had been found in most of the
communities in the country though it is not
always true that they are generally similar
to one another.
It proves that these occurrences, beliefs,
events, and practices had been existing
long before the arrival of Spain, hence, it
is just appropriate to debunk the western
depiction of the islands as barbaric,
uncivilized and uncultured when they
arrived. The period of Islamization of the
southern part of the country had also
contributed much to the development of
culture and some sort of civility in these
places.
Barangay – tribal gathering ruled by
chiefs
 It is called a “barangay” because they
associate themselves with the “Malay”
who are one of the first people to
arrive in the Philippines through a boat
in which they call “barangay” or
Balangay.
Datu- the chiefs of the village; they
governed the people as captains even in
wars, were obeyed, and revered; any
subject who committed any offense
against them, or spoke to their wives and
children, were severely punished.
Social Hierarchy
Three status/castes within a barangay:
1. Maharlica (Nobles) are those who are
born free;
2. Aliping Namamahay (Commoners)
3. are those who serve their masters
however, they can have their own
properties
4. Aliping sa Guiguilir (Slaves) are
those considered to be slaves who
serve their masters or can be sold off.
Maharlica
He would keep their status for a lifetime
however, this can be taken if he/she
marries a slave and the kids would be
divided and they would inherit the status of
their mother or father.
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Status of women
Women in pre-colonial Philippine society
had the right to inherit property, engage in
trade and industry, and succeed to the
chieftainship of the barangay in the
absence of a male heir.
*They also had the exclusive right to name
their children.
*The men walked behind them as a sign of
respect.
Property
The land area was divided among the
whole barangay, especially the irrigated
portions.
No one from a different barangay could
cultivate land unless they inherit or buy the
land
The lands on the tingues, or mountain
ridges, are not divided but owned by the
barangay as a whole.
Any individual (regardless of their
barangay) that starts to clear any land
area may sow in it.
Fisheries of chiefs had established limits,
and sections of the rivers for markets and
if you were a member of the chief’s
barangay, which owns such rivers and
water systems, you had to pay for the
privilege of fishing or selling in the chiefs’
fisheries.
Marriage Customs
Men were in general, monogamous; while
their wives are called asawa, while
concubines are called “friends”
In order to win the hand of his lady, the
man has to show his patience and
dedication to both the lady and her
parents
Courtship usually begins with
paninilbihan
If the man wins the trust of the parents, he
does not immediately marry the woman,
but he has to satisfy several conditions:
 give a dowry or bigay-kaya
 pay the panghihimuyat
 pay the parents himaraw
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 bribe for the relatives called sambon
(frequent practice among the Zambals)
Once he had settled all of the above
requirements, he brings his parents to
meet with the bride-to-be’s parents to
haggle and make the final arrangements;
this is called pamamalae or
pamamanhikan or pamumulungan.
The wedding ceremonies vary depending
on the status of the couple; but normally,
those from the upper class, a go-between
was employed.
Weddings are officiated by the priestess or
babaylan.
Uncooked rice is then thrown on the
couple after the wedding ceremony.
Politics
Government
 unit of government was the barangay,
which consisted of from 30 to 100
families. The term came from the
Malay word balangay, meaning boat
Datu- barangays were headed, the chief
or Datu was the chief executive, the
legislator, and the judge; he was also the
supreme commander in times of war.
 the subjects served their chieftain
during wars, voyages, planting and
harvest, and when his house needs to
be built or repaired; they also paid
tributes called buwis
Sangduguan- Alliances among
barangays were common and these were
formalized in a ritual.
*Conflicts between or among barangays
were settled by violence; those who win by
force is always right.
Legislation
Datu- before laws are made, he consults
with a council of elders who approved of
his plan.
Umalohokan- who explains the law to
everyone, they are not immediately
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enforced until the new legislation is
announced to the village.
Laws
Customary (handed down from
generation to generation orally) or Written
(promulgated from time to time as
necessity arose) dealt with various
subjects such as inheritance, property
rights, divorce, usury, family relations,
divorce, adoption, loans, etc.
Judicial Process
Arbiter-a board made up of elders from
neutral barangays, disputes between
individuals were settled by a court made
up of the village chief and the council of
elders; between barangays.
Trial by Ordeal
He is made to go through a number of
ordeals which he must pass, to determine
the innocence of an accused. (Eg. Dipping
one’s hand in boiling water, holding a
lighted candle that must not be
extinguished.)
Religious Beliefs
Pre-colonial Filipinos believed in the
existence of a number of gods whom they
worship and made offerings to according
to rank
 i.e. Bathalang Maykapal (Creator),
 Idinayale (god of agriculture),
 Sidapa (god of death),
 Balangaw (rainbow god),
 Mandarangan (war god),
 Agni (fire god)
 Lalahon (goddess of harvest),
 Siginarugan (god of hell),
 Diyan Masalanta (goddess of love)
Worship and Belief (Religion)
 no temples or sacred places in which
Filipinos would worship
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Simbahan- A place to worship which is
constructed at a large house of the chief
where people of the tribe go to celebrate
festivals (aka pandot or worship).
Nagaanitos - worship; (anito - soul or
spirit of ancestors)
Sibi - a temporary shed, made on each
side of the chief’s house, for the
assembled people.
Bathala - one of their many idols, whom
they specially worshipped.
sun - almost universally respected and
honored because of its beauty;
moon - they would rejoice, especially
when new
stars - they did not name them except for
the morning star, which they called Tala
“Seven little goats” - the Pleiades; a star
cluster
Balatic - the Greater Bear constellation
Mapolon - the change of seasons
lic-ha - idols; images with different
shapes;
Dian masalanta - an idol; patron of lovers
and generation
Lacapati and Idianale - idols; patrons of
the cultivated lands and husbandry;
Buaya - crocodiles; were respected by the
Tagalogs due to their fear of being harmed
by them; they offered a portion of what
they carried in their boats to them.
babaylan/ baylana or katalona- who
acted as mediums to communicate with
these spirits.
‘12 Priests of the Devil’
1. Catolonan
o Priest from a people of rank
o Officiates the offering sacrifice for a
feast and the food to be eaten being
offered to the devil
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2. Mangagauay
o They pretend to heal the sick in order
to deceive others
3. Manyisalat
o They can cast remedies to couples for
them to abandon one another
4. Mancocolam
o Can emit fire from himself which
cannot be extinguished
5. Hocloban
o Much more powerful than a
mangagauay in which they can kill
anyone without the use of any
medicine. They can also heal those
who are ill.
6. Silagan
o They would tear out and eat the
liver of those they saw were
wearing white
7. Magtatangal
o They would go out at night without
their heads and put it back into their
bodies before the sun rise
8. Osuang
o Tribesmen reported that they saw the
“osuang” who can fly and murdered a
man and ate his flesh.
9. Mangagayoma
o They would seduce their partners
with charms and other accessories
so they can deceive them.
10. Sonat
o This devil helped people to die. They
can also know if the soul they helped
to die can either be saved or not.
11. Pangatahojan
o They can predict the future.
12. Bayoguin
o These are men who are in the nature
of a woman.
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Plasensia - referred to certain ‘devil-ish
belief’s e.g. the mangagauay and
mangagayoma.
Superstition
They find omens in events they witness
 (i.e. when someone sneezed, met on
their way a rat or serpent, or the
Tigmamanuguin bird sang they would
go home in fear that evil would befall
them if they continued their journey)
The Tigmamanuguin bird’s (a blue bird as
large as a turtle-dove) song had two
forms: a good omen, and a bad omen.
Burial Practices/Beliefs
 Pre-colonial Filipinos venerated the
dead by keeping alive their memory
through the carving of idols of stone,
gold or ivory called likha or larawan;
food, wine and other things were also
shared with the dead
 The dead was placed in a wooden
coffin and buried under the house
complete with cloth, gold and other
valuable things
 The bones of dead ancestors were
placed under the house in order to
ward off would-be robbers/thieves
(Taytay, Palawan)
Laraw- Mourning for a dead chief, this
was accompanied by certain prohibitions
like engaging in petty quarrels, wars,
carrying daggers with hilts in the normal
position, singing in boats coming from the
sea or river, and wearing loud clothes.
Pasiyam- The celebration held on the
ninth night after the death of the person.
Tibaw- is a staged to honor the dead.
Relatives of the dead who was murdered
would not end their mourning until they
have exacted vengeance or balata.
 In burying the dead, the corpse would
be placed beside its house and be
mourned at for 4 days.
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 It will then be laid on a boat which
serves as a coffin which is guarded by
a slave.
 The grief of the relatives of the
deceased is followed by eating and
drinking.
Divination/Belief in Magic Charms
 Ancient Filipinos are quite
superstitious and put much value
into certain unexplained events or
occurrences, and the magic
charms
 they interpreted signs in nature like
the flight of birds, the barking of
dogs, the singing of lizards, and
the like, as good or bad omens
depending on the circumstances
 there was also the belief in the
existence of aswang,
mangkukulam, manggagaway,
tiyanak, and the tikbalang
 amulets and charms were also
used by the ancients like the
anting-anting, gayuma, odom or
tagabulag, wiga or sagabe, and
tagahupa
Contribution and Relevance of the
Document in Understanding of the
Grand Narrative of Philippine History
The document CUSTOMS OF THE
TAGALOGS had contributed much to the
understanding of the culture and heritage
of the Filipinos. In a way, it has mainly
provided us with significant and
meaningful information to better
appreciate and be proud of the cultural
legacy from our forebears. It was able to
instill in us a sense of oneness and
nationhood that befits a rich culture that is
of the Filipinos’ and as a result would be
able to move forward to progress hopefully
with everyone supporting one another in
the process.
Plasensia’s Customs of the Tagalogs is a
very popular primary source because it
vividly described the situation of the
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Philippines before it was tainted with
Spanish and Christian influences.
Scholars like it because it covered
numerous topics that are relevant in many
disciplines.
Political scientists for instance find it useful
because it contains a lot of information
about the social classes, political
stratifications and legal system of the
Tagalog region.
Many of what we know about the duties
and responsibilities of the Datus,
maharlikas and alipins came from
Plasensia’s account.
Plasensia also preserved and popularized
the unwritten customs, traditions, religious
and superstitious beliefs of the Filipinos.
One can also say that our historical
knowledge about the manananggal,
aswang, hukluban, gayuma, etc. came
from Plasensia’s works, in addition to oral
histories.
Priests and missionaries also read
Plasensia’s Customs of the Tagalogs and
Doctrina Christiana because they get a lot
of insights that help and inspire them to
become effective evangelizers.
One insight they got from Plasensia is the
the realization that one needs to master
the local language and study the culture of
the people if you want to be a successful
missionary.
They also learned from him that preaching
should be accompanied with reading
materials that contain the basic elements
of faith.
These readings serve as their guide and
reference when the missionaries are no
longer around.
All these insights from Plasensia are
applicable not only to missionaries but to
other professions as well.
Plasensia’s historical writings also
disprove the claim of some Spaniards and
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other historians that when they arrived in

the Philippines, Filipinos were still
uncivilized and lacking in culture.
It is clear in the excerpts quoted above
that at the time Plasensia was assigned in
the Tagalog region Filipinos were already
politically and economically organized.
They have a functioning government, tax
system, set of laws, criminal justice
system, indigenous calendar and long-
standing customs and traditions.
Moreover, they have already a concept of
supreme being (Bathala), practiced burial
customs and believed in life after death.
Lastly, Plasensia also mentioned that the
people he met were wearing garments,
gold ornaments and their houses were
decorated with idols.
All of these lead to the conclusion that
prior to the coming of the Spaniards,
Filipinos were already civilized and
maintained a lifestyle that was at par or
even better than other countries in
Southeast Asia.