Readings in Philippine History

PRE-COLONIAL PERIOD: Writings about the Philippines and its People

Learning Objectives:
1. Describe, analyse and appreciate the rich history of the Filipino people from pre-colonial times
to the present through the lens of selected primary sources
2. Elucidate the peopling of the Philippines
3. Validate the relations of early Filipinos with neighboring countries
4. Analyze the data and materials used in relation to origin, genuineness and reliability

Pre – Colonial Culture

 During the early period thousand years ago, the early Filipinos were
composed of different groups that came from different part of Asia. With
different groups they form their own community, system of education and
religious belief.
 They were situated along the seashores, streams, rivers, forests, fertile land
areas and even in cave
 In water areas – they look for fish, shells, and pearls as their source of living
- They also used boat and craft as there means of transportation for an easier
travel and carrying their goods for trade for one place to another
 In land areas – they cultivate plant, rice, bananas and crops

During the pre-colonial time there was already an indigenous spiritual traditions practiced
by the people in the Philippines.
 These spirits are said to be the:
a) anito or diwata - that they believed to be good and bad.
 Some worship specific deities like:
a) Bathala – a supreme God for the Tagalog
b) Laon or Abba – for Visayan
c) Ikasi –for Zambal
d) Gugurang -for the people of Bicol, Ilokano and Ifugao
 Aside from those supreme deities they also worship other gods like:
a) Idialao – God of Farming
b) Lalaon – God of Harvesting
c) Balangay – God of Rainbow
d) Sidapa –God of Death
 Others also worship the moon, stars, caves, mountains, rivers, plants and trees.
Some creatures are being worship too like the bird, crow, tortoise, crocodile and
other things they believed has value and connected to their lives.
 The variation of animistic practices occurs in different ethnic groups.
 Magic, chants and prayers are often key features. Its practitioners were
highly respected (and some feared) in the community, as they were healers,
midwife (hilot), shamans, witches and warlocks (mangkukulam), babaylans,
tribal historians and wizened elders that provided the spiritual and
traditional life of the community.
 In the Visayas region there is a belief of witchcraft (kulam) and mythical
creatures like aswang, Nuno sa Punso and other mythical creature.
Pre – Colonial Writing Systems
1. Angono Petroglyphs
 In the hills of Angono Rizal what appears to be the ancient pictograms dating
5000BCE
 The place called Angono Rock Shelter appears to be inhabitated
 Rock shelters are rock overhangs which provide shelter for early humans
 The rock is made of volcanic tuffa and compacted volcanic ash
 The walls of the shelters were drawings of turtles, deer, wild pig, and other
animals
2. Baybayin/Alibata
 During the early period almost everyone in the society-male or female
knows how to read and write.
 Early wrote various materials such as tree bar, leaves, bamboo slats
 The use of baybayin was widespread and there were variants of baybayin
depending on the region
3. Calatagan Clay Pot
 Another account proved after the discovery of a jar in Calatagan, Batangas
 This system of writing came from the alphabet of Sumatra
 The first Visayan, Tagalog, Ilokano and some ethnic groups their own
dialect and form of writing
4. This is called kirim of Maranao and jiwi of the Tausug
 The muslims have also their own system basing on their dialect which are
still using until this day
5. Butuan Ivory Seal
 Which were found in swidden pile in Butuan
 Archaeologists said that these seals were used to trade or to show ownership
of items
6. Laguna Copper Plate
 The most famous archaeological piece containing precolonial baybayin was
found in the river bed in Lumban Laguna
 Written in Old Malay, it contains a proclamation that certain official was
forgiven of his debt of 865grams of gold.
7. Namrawan
 Which term used by the Visayas to refer to a dead person
 The name of the deceased person is never used as a way of respecting the
dead
8. Butuan Silver Strip
 Other items where ancient Filipino writing survives were in those etched
metal
 Which was found inside the coffin dating back 1000 A.D
9. The Jawi System of Writing
 Another system of writing used by preclinical Filipinos and this was adopted
by the Moros in southern Philippines
 Arabic and its introduction to Southeast Asia was done so that the people
will be able to read the Qur’an
 The choice of writing among Tausug and Maguindanao royalty
 It was also the choice of Islamic missionaries and aside from using it to read
Muslim religious text
 It also the choice of the kings and nobles as well as religious scholars
 It also used for writing poetry and stories
Pre – Colonial Clothing
 The men wore a sleeve-doublet made of Canga (rough cotton)
 That reached slightly below the waist. It is collarless with a front opening.
Their loins were covered with a pane that hung between the legs and mid-
thigh.
 The women also wore a sleeve dress but shorter than the men. They also
wear a pane attached to the waist and reaching to the feet accented by a
colourful belt. The materials used for their dress is of fine line or Indian
Muslin.

Pre – Colonial Form of Government

 Barangays
 As the unit of government, a barangay consisted from 30 to 100 families.
 It was headed by a datu and was independent from the other group
 Usually, several barangays settled near each other to help one another in case
of war or any emergency.
 The position of Datu
 Was passed on by the holder of the position to the eldest son or, if none, the
eldest daughter.
 However, later, any member of the barangay could be chieftain, based on his
talent and ability.
 He had the usual responsibilities of leading and protecting the members of his
barangay.
 In turn, they had to pay tribute to the datu, help him till the land, and help him
fight for the barangay in case of war. In the old days, a datu had a council of
elders to advise him, especially whenever he wanted a law to be enacted.
 Umalohokan
 The law was written and announced to the whole barangay by a town crier

Social Classes
 Semicommunal and semislave social system in many parts and also a feudal system in
certain parts, especially in Mindanao and Sulu, where such a feudal faith as Islam had
already taken roots.
 The Aetas had the lowest form of social organization, which was primitive communal
 The social structure comprised a petty nobility, the ruling class which had started to
accumulate land that it owned privately or administered in the name of the clan or
community
 an intermediate class of freemen called the maharlikas who had enough land for their
livelihood or who rendered special service to the rulers and who did not have to work
in the fields and the ruled classes that included the timawas
 the serfs who shared the crops with the petty nobility
 The slaves and semi slaves who worked without having any definite share in the
harvest.
 There were two kinds of slaves then:
1. those who had their own quarters, the aliping namamahay
2. Those who lived in their master's house, the aliping sagigilid
 One acquired the status of a serf or a slave by inheritance, failure to pay debts
and tribute, commission of crimes and captivity in wars between barangays
 Marriage Customs
 Before marriage, the groom gave a dowry to the family of the bride (bigaykaya).
It consisted of gold, land, slaves or anything else of value. The groom had to work
in the house of his bride for a certain period of time to do the following:
 Carrying water and firewood to the house
 Assisting the bride’s father in plowing the field
 Assisting in the planting and harvesting of rice
 Other dowries were in the form of the following:
 Panghimuyat: the amount of money given to the bride’s parent, the mother
for the nocturnal efforts in rearing the girl to womanhood.
 Bigay- suso- the payment given to the girl wet- nurse who fed the bride
during infancy with milk from her breast.
 Humaraw- the amount given to the bride’s parents as reimbursement for the
amount spent in feeding the bride during infancy.
 Sambon- the amount given to the bride’s relatives.

Arts Of The Pre-Colonial Filipinos

1. Pottery – one of the oldest and most widespread of decorative arts, consisting of
objects made of clay and hardened with heat.
2. Tagbanua of Palawan – use whimsical sculptures of birds, lizards, turtles, snakes,
pigs and other animals for their rituals as house décor and as toys for children.
3. Sarimanok – also known as papanok in its feminine form
- A legendary bird of the Maranao people who originate from Mindanao an
island in the Philippines
- It comes from the word sari and manok
- Sari – means cloth or garment which is generally of assorted colors
- Manok – means chicken
4. Weaving The Philippines is a diverse country. The culture in the north is very
different from the ones in the south. But there are several things that bind the
islands together. These are the common denominator that unites the Filipinos as a
Nation.
 Mat weaver – the place of Sama indigenous community of Ungos Matata
- This mat weaver is known for their complex geometric patterns,
proportions and unique combination of colors
5. Metalcraft – incudes all works or objects created from metal by the process of brass
casting and blacksmithing, goldsmithing, silversmithing and tinsmithing
6. Tausog House – to the seafaring Tausog of Sulu, a house built on flat dry land or a
site that
7. slopes towards Mercca is lucky.
8. Torogan House – this ancestral house home of Maranao Sultan or datu has a
soaring, salakot shaped roof, ornate bearns and massive posts-all proclaiming
exalted status

 Philippjne Island by Chau Ju Kua

o The name given to Philippines by the early Chinese traders such as Chau Ju Kua and
Wang Ta- Yuan.
o Same names such as Mintolang for Mindanao, Makilu for Manila, and Pishoye for
Visayas were also dubbed to Philippines by the Chinese.
 o Ma- i - is generally accepted to refer to the island of Mindoro in Luzon because of its
gold and proximity in the Chinese mainland.
o Barter – system of trading

Self-Assessment: (30pts)
1. Describe the Filipino culture during pre-colonial. (10pts)
2. Give me 10 reasons why life was better in Pre-Colonial Philippines? (10pts)
3. Enumerate and describe some artifacts found in the Philippines. (10pts)