Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 317 views

    Customs of The Tagalogs: Readings in The Philippine History

    Uploaded by

    Cedrick Mesa Sali-ot
    The document provides details about Tagalog society in pre-Hispanic Philippines based on Fray de Plasencia's 1589 book "Customs of the Tagalogs". It describes Tagalog society as consisting of nobles, commoners, and slaves. The basic political unit was the barangay ruled by a dato. Inheritance and social status were determined by parentage. Marriage customs including dowries are outlined. Religious practices such as idol worship and animist beliefs are also summarized.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Customs of The Tagalogs: Readings in The Philippine History

    Uploaded by

    Cedrick Mesa Sali-ot
    317 views24 pages
    The document provides details about Tagalog society in pre-Hispanic Philippines based on Fray de Plasencia's 1589 book "Customs of the Tagalogs". It describes Tagalog society as consisting of nobles, commoners, and slaves. The basic political unit was the barangay ruled by a dato. Inheritance and social status were determined by parentage. Marriage customs including dowries are outlined. Religious practices such as idol worship and animist beliefs are also summarized.

    Original Title

    Ge105.Customs of the Tagalogs

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    The document provides details about Tagalog society in pre-Hispanic Philippines based on Fray de Plasencia's 1589 book "Customs of the Tagalogs". It describes Tagalog society as consisting of nobles, commoners, and slaves. The basic political unit was the barangay ruled by a dato. Inheritance and social status were determined by parentage. Marriage customs including dowries are outlined. Religious practices such as idol worship and animist beliefs are also summarized.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    317 views24 pages

    Customs of The Tagalogs: Readings in The Philippine History

    Uploaded by

    Cedrick Mesa Sali-ot
    The document provides details about Tagalog society in pre-Hispanic Philippines based on Fray de Plasencia's 1589 book "Customs of the Tagalogs". It describes Tagalog society as consisting of nobles, commoners, and slaves. The basic political unit was the barangay ruled by a dato. Inheritance and social status were determined by parentage. Marriage customs including dowries are outlined. Religious practices such as idol worship and animist beliefs are also summarized.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 24

    CUSTOMS OF THE TAGALOGS

    READINGS IN THE PHILIPPINE HISTORY

    Jenelyn A. Bustillo, MBA


    ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    FRAY DE PLASENCIA

    • Real name: Joandre Portocarrero

    • Born and raised in Extramadura, Spain in the 16th century

    • Member of the Franciscan Order

    • His interaction with Tagalog converts to Christianity in uenced him in writing


    the book Relation de las Costumbres de los Tagalogs (Customs of the
    Tagalogs, 1589)

    fl
    ABOUT THE BOOK

    • Original document of the book is currently kept in the Archive General de


    Indias (A.G.I.) in Seville, Spain

    • While the duplicate copy of it is kept in the Archive Franciscano Ibero-Oriental


    (A.F.I.O.) in Madrid, Spain

    • The English translation appeared in Volume VII of the Blair and Robertson’s
    The Philippine Islands
    DESCRIPTION OF THE
    PHIL. SOCIETY DURING
    PRE-HISPANIC TIME

    • They have chiefs called “dato.”


    These chiefs ruled over a few
    people called “barangay”

    • Chief, captain of wars, whom


    governed, obeyed and reverence

    • There were three castes: nobles,


    commoners, slaves
    SOCIAL CLASSES
    The society was made up of 3 classes:

    • Nobles - composed of the dates and their families

    • Mahadlika or Maharlika

    • Free-born, did not pay taxes or contribute to the dato

    • Timawa

    • consisting of the freemen or commoners

    • Lived in their own houses and have freedom

    • Slaves: Alipins and their dependents - (namamahay / guiguilir)

    • They served their master in his house and his cultivated lands and can be sold

    Members of the nobility were addressed as either Gat or Lakan by the Tagalogs
    ON THE BARANGAY

    • They have chiefs called “dato.” These chiefs ruled over a few people called
    “barangay”

    • The chief had some sheries, with established limits, and the sections of the
    rivers for market

    • No one could sh or trade in the market without paying for the privilege,
    unless he belonged to the chief’s Barangay or village
    fi
    fi
    ALIPIN OR DEPENDENTS

    • Acquire their status by


    inheritance, captivity, purchase,
    failure to settle debts, or by
    committing a crime

    • Aliping namamahay

    • Aliping sagigilid
    ALIPIN
    SLAVES CAN BE EMANCIPATED THROUGH:

    • By forgiveness

    • By paying debt

    • By condonation

    • By bravery (where a slave can possibly become a dato) or marriage


    ALIPIN

    • In these three classes, those who are maharlikas on both the father’s and
    mother’s side continue to be so forever, and if it happens that they become
    slaves, it is through marriage.

    • If two persons married, one is commoner and the other was slave, the children
    were divided

    • “I have not been to ascertain with any certainty when or at age the division of
    children was made”

    • Whether namamahay or sa guiguilir - the children were divided in this way - the
    rst whether male or female goes to the father as did the third and the fth; the
    second, fourth and the sixth belonged to the mother and so on
    fi
    fi
    ALIPIN

    • Dependents were not slaves although they are classi ed as one

    • No distinction was made between them except that when the alcaldes-
    mayores treated them as such, they are not distinguished between them

    • Since no distinction was made between a namamahay and a sa guiguilir,


    most of them are treated as same

    • The alcaldes-mayores put this in document in order to resolve it

    fi
    POSITION OF WOMEN

    • Women before the coming of the Spaniards enjoyed a unique position in


    society that their descendants during the Spanish occupation did not enjoy.

    • Customary laws gave them the right to be the equal of men, for they could
    own and inherit property, engage in trade and industry, and succeed to the
    chieftainship of a barangay in the absence of a male heir.

    • They had the exclusive right to give names to their children.

    • As a sign of deep respect, the men, when accompanying women, walked


    behind them.
    DOWRIES
    Bigay-kaya

    • Panghimuyat, bigay-suso, himaraw, sambon

    • Dowries are given by men to the women’s parents before marriage. If the
    parents are both alive, they both enjoy the use of it.

    • In case of divorce, if the wife left the husband for the purpose of marrying
    another, all her dowry will go to the husband, but if she did not marry another,
    the dowry was returned.

    • Upon the death of the wife, who in year’s time had borne no children, the
    parents returned one-half the dowry of the husband
    The dowry was of seven kinds:

    1. kawasateg - consisting of a rather big amount to be given to the close


    relatives of the bride

    2. siwaka - consisting of brassware or a few hundred pesos to be given to


    those who had helped in arranging the wedding;

    3. enduatuan - consisting of brassware or money or animals to be given to the


    village chief;

    4. pangatulian - consisting of jewelry to be given to the girl’s mother


    The dowry was of seven kinds:

    5. tatas - consisting of a blade to be given to the girl’s uncle

    6. langkad - consisting of a special sum of money to be given to the girl’s


    parents as a sort of ne for having bypassed the elder sister of the bride, if
    she had any;

    7. lekat - consisting of an amount equivalent to ten or more pesos to be given


    to the girl’s attendant.
    fi
    MARRIAGE / CHILDREN

    • State of courtship: pamumulungan or pamamalae; panalanguni (Muslim) -


    pegkawing

    • In such cases, half the child is free, meaning the father will support the child;
    in case, he did not support the child, it means he did not recognize the child
    as his - in which case the child becomes a slave wholly

    • If a free woman had children by a slave, they were all free, provided she did
    not marry him

    • If two persons get married - one is maharlika and other one is a slave
    MIXED MARRIAGE

    • Children of parents who are both maharlika remain as one throughout their
    lives

    • If it happens that they should become a slave, it is through marriage - if these


    maharlikas had children with slaves, the children and their mother become
    free

    • If a maharlika had children by the slave of another, she was forced when
    pregnant, to give her master half a gold tael due to risk of death and inability
    to labor during pregnancy
    INHERITANCE / SUCCESSION

    • Legitimate children automatically inherited the property of their parents, even


    without a written will.

    • The property was divided equally among the children, although either parent
    might show a little partiality in giving a favorite son or daughter an extra jewel
    or a few pieces of gold.

    • Things given in advance to any son or daughter, unless expressly considered


    by the parents as outside the property to be inherited, were interpreted to be
    part of the inheritance of the recipient.
    INHERITANCE / SUCCESSION

    • In cases where there were children by a free unmarried woman, aside from the legitimate
    children, the former were considered natural children if begotten after the father’s rst
    marriage.

    • The natural children did not share the father’s property equally with the legitimate children.
    The latter were given two parts, while the remaining part was given to the natural children.

    • In the absence of legitimate children, the natural children inherited all the property of the
    father. If a man had legitimate children as well as children by a dependent, the latter did
    not inherit anything, but it was the duty of the legitimate to free the dependent woman
    and to give something to her children.

    • In the absence of heirs, however, the property of the couple went to their nearest relatives.

    fi
    LAW AND PUNISHMENT

    • Sentences passed by the dato must


    take place in the barangay

    • Umalohokan = town cryer

    • Dato = judge

    • Council of elders = jury

    • Oath: “May the crocodiles devour


    me if I tell a lie”

    • “May I die here and now if I do not


    tell the truth”
    TRIAL BY ORDEAL

    • Consisted of ordering the


    suspects, in case of theft, to dip
    their hand into a pot of boiling
    water

    • Holding lighted candles by the


    suspects

    • Plunge into a deep river with


    their lances

    • Chew uncooked rice


    WORSHIP

    • Adoration of idols

    • Pandot or worship

    • Sarihile - small lamps

    • Nagaanitos

    • Bathala - Supreme Being


    MINOR DIETIES

    • Idiyanale - god of agriculture

    • Sidapa - god of death

    • Agni - god of re

    • Balangaw - god of rainbow

    • Madarangan - god of war

    • Lalahon - goddess of harvest

    • Siginarugan - god of hell

    • Anito - soul-spirits
    fi
    CLOTHING

    • Kangan - sleeveless jacket

    • Red for chief, black or blue for


    commoners

    • Bahag - loincloth

    • Putong - tells social status /


    achievement of the individual
    wearing it.
    PRIESTS OF THE DEVIL
    • Catalonan / babaylan - female priestess

    • Mangagauay / tambalan - witches / healers or


    doctors

    • Manyisalat

    • Mangkukulam

    • Hocloban

    • Silagan

    • Magtatangal

    • Using

    • Mangagayoma

    • Sonat

    • Pangatahojan

    • Bayoguin

    You might also like