Republic of the Philippines

City of Taguig

Taguig City University

Gen. Santos Avenue, Central Bicutan, Taguig City
 LESSON 1
The Philippines and the Filipinos During
Pre-Colonial Period
The Philippines is an archipelago composed of 7,107 islands and islets. There are three major
islands in the Philippines. The largest of these islands is Luzon which is approximately 40,814 sq. miles.
Second largest is Mindanao which is approximately 36,906 sq. miles. These two islands comprise exactly
two-thirds of the total land area of the Philippines. While the smallest of the three major islands was
Visayas.

The Filipinos during the pre-colonial era were completely different from the current Filipinos.
Different in terms of houses, mode of dressing, ornaments, society, laws, customs, religion, rites,
practices, education, literature, music and dances, arts, and their government systems.

One of the typical ancient Filipino houses was made of bamboo, wood nipa palm, cogon, or
whatever native materials found in the area. This mode of housing was popularly known to us today as
bahay-kubo. Their modes of dressing were different from ours today. Male Filipinos wore collarless
short-sleeved jacket called the Kanggan as the upper part of their clothing. The lower part of their
clothing was the bahag which is a strip of cloth wrapped around the waist and in between legs. On the
other hand, women wore baro or camisa as the upper part of their clothing. The skirt of the lower part was
called saya and among the Visayans the patadyong. They also had no shoes. They walked bare-footed but
had gold anklets.

Ancient Filipinos also has their own fashion in terms of their ornaments. Gold was their common
armlets, rings, necklaces, bracelets and pendants. They even used gold as fillings between their teeth.
Tattoos were adorned in their bodies and faces. For men, it represents their war record as to how many
enemies a warrior killed, the more tattooed he was. For women, they had tattoos to enhance their beauty
as men find tattooed women attractive. Nowadays, gold are still used as an ornament but this is only
exclusive for women. While tattoos nowadays are considered as expression of art and is most commonly
seen to men.

Their society was also divided into three social classes: the nobles, the free men and the
dependents or the alipins. The chiefs, their families and relatives composed the upper class or nobility.
The middle class or freemen who were usually free-born persons or freed slaves constituted the majority
of the social classes. The alipins belonged to the lowest class. This only shows inequality towards society.
That is why nowadays, everyone in the society is equal no matter how rich or poor they are.

Women in ancient Filipino society are recognized as equal of men. Why? It’s because they could
succeed as rulers of the barangay. They could engage in trade and commerce and they had the exclusive
right of naming their children. Women were regarded highly during pre-Spanish times. One could even be
punished severely as to enslave him for insulting any woman of rank, or taking away her robe in public
and leaving her naked, or causing her to flee or defend herself so that it falls off. This pre-colonial
concept of decency quite coincides with our current concept of respect to women.

Their political unit was the barangay, which was composed of 30-100 families. This barangay
was ruled by a chieftain called Datu, Hari or Rajah. Each barangay was independent and was considered
“village state” for having the elements of statehood.
 They also have written and customary or oral laws. The oral laws were tribal customs and
traditions handed down from generation to generation. One example of written laws was The Maragtas
Code. In terms of judicial process, their court was composed of the chieftains as the judge and the
community elders as the jury. Trials were usually done in public. If the court could not clearly determine
the guilt or innocence of both parties in a case, they will end up to a trial by ordeal or pagsubok. In case of
theft, the suspects were ordered to retrieve a stone in a boiling pot of water. The one whose hand was the
most scalded was the alleged guilty. In some instances, the suspects were ordered to chew uncooked rice.
He whose saliva was thickest was adjudged guilty. We can see clearly the big difference in judicial
process during the pre-Spanish times. Nowadays, trials were done in a court room. Judges make their
decisions based on the evidences and written laws to make it fair to both parties.

The early Filipinos believed in the immortality of the soul. They also believed in life after death.
They worshipped a Supreme Being they called Bathalang Maykapal. The pre-Spanish Filipinos
worshipped nature, the sun, the moon, the animals, the birds, and even old trees.

Their marriage customs are also far from what we are used to. Traditionally, early Filipinos
married within their own class. Thus, a noble married a woman of his rank; a freeman married that of his
class and a slave married that of his status. But, there was no restriction whether a noble wants to marry a
freeman or between a freeman and a dependent. As a condition to marriage, the man must give the bigay-
kaya or dowry to the family of the bride. The groom also served the bride’s parents for months. He must
fetch water, chop woods for the girl’s family and help the girl’s father in his farming chores. The ancient
Filipinos also allowed divorce. But this is only limited to the just causes such as adultery on the part of
the wife, childlessness, loss of love, and abandonment on the part of husband.

Early Filipinos, because of their belief in life after death and in the immortality of soul, were very
respectful of their dead. They embalmed their dead like the Egyptians and buried them near their houses,
complete with gold, cloth and other objects of value, for they believed that if they departed rich, they
would be well received in the other world, but coldly if they departed poor.

The early Filipinos were also music and dance lovers. Some of their native instruments could still
be seen nowadays as part of Filipino culture. Some of these are the Kudyapi, tultogan, silbay, and the
kutibeng. The favorite dances of Visayans were the Balitaw and Dandansoy. Tagalogs have Kumintang as
their love dance. Their songs and music were expressed in all aspects of their lives. They had songs and
music in celebration of victory in war, for good harvest; for religious rituals; and for each death and
burial.

Pre-colonial Filipinos are obviously far too different from the Filipinos after the Spanish Era.
This shows that even before the Spanish came to the Philippines, we already have established our original
way of living. That is why I truly agree about Prof. Landa Jocano’s statement: that the Filipinos possessed
an elaborate civilization in the past, but because of the colonization of different countries, our perception
about pre-colonial Filipinos are distorted, and somehow erased.

Through history, we can trace the way pre-colonial Filipinos lived. We can actually compare and
see how far we have been developing. I believe that every Filipinos have an inherent desire for what is
good, that is the reason why our culture and way of living changes. Everything that seems bad and unjust
in the past, we correct or change.

These characteristics, traits, rituals and way of living of Early Filipinos only show that the
original Filipino culture is rich and simple. Although imperfect, they paved the way to unlocking the true
nature of Filipinos: brave, strong and powerful yet hospitable, respectful and cheerful.
 LESSON 2
Asian Cultural Heritage
The Philippines is believed to have a culture that is greatly influenced by many countries.
Although early Filipinos may be believed to have their indigenous culture, many of these are erased
through time. Prof. Landa Jocano strongly argues: “The Filipinos possessed an elaborate civilization in
the past. This achievement did not become part of the Filipino consciousness, even today, because of the
advent of colonization during which a systematic distortion of our perception about us was carried out.”
Meaning to say, we are unconscious about what real Filipinos are, how they lived, and how did its culture
changed in the course of time.

There are many factors that explain how these changes in occurred. First is the Indianization
Process. The exodus of Indian traders, Hindu missionaries and the immigrant to Southeast Asia during the
first century A.D. resulted to the Indianization of the area. The Orang Dampuans who were vassals of the
Sri Vidjaya Empire came to Philippines and they established trading posts in Sulu. Therefore, trading is
the reason of Indian influence for Filipinos. Indian influences were actually traceable in the languages,
religious beliefs, literature, customs and traditions of the early Filipinos. Dr. T.H. Pardo de Tevera
actually mentioned 340 Sanskrit words manifested in Tagalog language. Examples are ahas, asawa, paa,
hari, Kota, bathala, balita, and many others.

Malays are also believed to have influenced early Filipinos. The migration theory gave undue
credit to Malays as to the original settlers of the lowland areas in the Visayas. To this day, the ati-atihan, a
colorful song and dances festival is celebrated in Aklan. This is to reenact the warm welcome accorded to
the Malays by the Atis, which resulted to the purchase of Panay. Codes were also part of the Malayan
influences. The Sumakwel Code was one of these codes. Some of the contents of the codes are: “T he lazy
person shall be arrested and sold to a rich family to serve as slave, as such, to learn the lessons of service
and the value of work in the house and in the fields.” ,”Robbery of any sort shall be punished severely.
The fingers of the thief shall be cut-off.” The Code of Kalantiaw was another of the several codes in the
Malay influences. Kalantiaw Code was accepted as the second oldest legal code in the Philippines.

China was also one of the countries that influenced us Filipinos. Chinese came to Manila Bay
bringing a variety of goods such as porcelain, silk, tea, live fowls, etc. Chinese were primarily interested
in trade, so their influences on Filipino life were mainly economic and social. The early Filipinos learned
from the Chinese the art of gunpowder, mining, methods and the use of porcelain, gongs, umbrellas, lead
and kites. From the Chinese, originated the dishes lumpia, mami, okoy, pansit bihon, chop suey and
siopao. Sauces like toyo came from the Chinese. Some Chinese customs were eventually adopted by the
Filipinos. The arrangement of marriage of children by parents, the use of go-between in negotiating
marriage, the use of white clothes or dress during the period of mourning and the filial respect for elders
accorded by the children were examples of practices borrowed from the Chinese.

The Filipinos had been trading with the Japanese long before the coming of the Spaniards. The
same as Chinese, Japanese were primarily interested in trade. And unlike the Chinese, the Japanese were
better treated and no discriminatory decrees were made against them. The Spaniards respected and feared
them.

Let us not forget the Arabic contributions in Filipino lives. The coming of Islam, the Muslim
religion was practiced in some areas such as Sulu, Mindanao, Cebu and Manila, for more than a century
before the arrival of Magellan in the Philippines. The Arabs also introduced the sultanate form of
government, Arabic art and literature; the Arabic alphabet, the Koranic Law; the mosque; the art of
warfare – lantakan or cannon, vinta or warboat and the kuta or fort.

According to H. Otley Beyer, the eminent anthropologist of the American period, Filipinos are
predominantly Asian in race. Their racial mixture is 40% Malay, 30% Indonesian, 10% Negrito, 10%
Chinese, 8% Indian, 3% American and 2% Arab. This shows that Filipinos nowadays are products of
foreign cultures, mixed and developed in time. We can say that Filipino culture is not original, yet it
possesses the good qualities and cultures, extracted from other influences and became part of Filipinos
nowadays.

Some believe: “Variety is the spice of life.” Variety gives life more meaning, color, and reason to
live for. Filipino culture may have lots of variety, but this variety actually makes it more interesting. We
may not say that our culture is original, but we can say that our culture is unique.

Plagiarism was one of the recent issues the Filipinos were accused to. Some say that Filipinos
only copy those of other countries. But I believe we Filipinos are original. Many of our traits and
behaviors are quite shocking and pleasing for other countries. One of which is being hospitable, gentle
and peaceful of Filipinos, which I believe are originally Filipino traits. We Filipinos consider it a privilege
to be able to offer help and friendship to all foreigners, including former enemies like the Japanese who
came to the country. They overdo their hospitality to a fault that some foreigners tend to misconstrue such
actions as a sign of racial inferiority.

I think that many original character traits of Filipinos may be the reason why we are living a
mixed culture. We Filipinos are deeply spiritual and religiously devoted. According to recent findings of
SWS or Social Weather Station (1991), it showed that about eight out of ten Filipinos have strong belief
about their religion and theses beliefs are stronger, the more urbanized the area. Meaning to say, foreign
countries may easily influence us through imposing religions just as the Arabs did.

Another trait that Filipinos have is adaptability and resiliency. Filipinos can integrate in any
culture and can cope in any climate. Filipinos, unlike the Chinese, Indians, Italians and the Jews, can
easily be assimilated by other cultural environments. This is one reason why Filipinos may have this kind
of culture, mixed and full of variety.

I believe that there is nothing wrong about having the same culture as the Chinese, or Spanish, or
American and many others. These only show how easily Filipinos can adapt to their international
relationships. We are curious about so many things, and curiosity for me is really good. We want to try
things that are new to us, and as we learn from those, we are slowly becoming a part of it. Although
sometimes it can lead to our downfall, we can still learn from it. Which leads us to just holding on to what
is good and removing or correcting what are bad and not acceptable for us.

Despite of the issues in Filipino cultural heritage, I strongly believe that generally why we have
this is because we think this is the most suitable way of living in our society nowadays. Filipinos tend to
adapt to other countries, which is not considerably bad, but is actually beneficial. We are the product of
the past, and we can only bring to mind these things and learn from it. The most important thing is that,
we are not violating or disrespecting other countries’ culture. We must learn to respect cultural
differences.
 LESSON 3
Spanish Explorations and Integration
One of the most popular conquerors of Philippines was Spain. Ferdinand Magellan was the key to
the discovery of the Philippine islands. On March 16, 1521 he sighted the mountains of Samar. Magellan
never really intended to conquer nor colonize, his main objective in his exploration was to go to Moluccas
Island and get spices from it.

The great European navigator met his death in the shores of the valiant warrior, Lapu-lapu.
Magellan found it too late that he understand the fighting ability and gallant defense of the native
warriors. The Spaniards were badly beaten and were forced to return to their boats. Magellan fell mortally
wounded and was speared repeatedly by the Mactan warriors.

Despite of the humiliating defeat of the Spaniards in the Battle of Mactan, Magellan’s expedition
was still very significant. Aside from proving the sphere of the earth, it also broke the Venetian monopoly
of the trade routes to the east. The expeditions also brought awareness of the Europeans of the existence
of the Philippines. Lastly the discovery of the Philippines led to its Christianization.

The success of the voyage paved the way to the naming of our archipelago “Las Islas Filipinas”
in honor of Prince Philip of Asturias later King Philip II of Spain.

When King Charles I of Spain decided to send Magellan in search of Moluccas, his main
objective in mind was economic. He knew that trade in spices and in other oriental products like
ceramics, and tapestries was lucrative and that the control of the said trade will make Spain more wealthy
and strong. But when Spain sold its rights to the Moluccas to the Portuguese in 1529, 8 years after
Magellan discovered the Philippine archipelago, the royal policy shifted to other concerns.

The primary objective of Spanish colonization was propagation of Catholicism in “heathen

lands”. For this reason, every colonized territories, was always accompanied by religious missionaries.

The next objective of colonization was Spain’s ambition to achieve political glory. The colonial
expansionist policy of Spain was fueled by its desire to outdo other European powers in empire building.

The third aim of Spanish colonization was to acquire economic wealth. It was the prevailing
belief during those times that the exclusive right of the mother country to exploit the natural resources
particularly gold and silver of a colony would bring riches to Spain. Another motivation that fueled the
economic aim was the desire of Spain to monopolize the spice trade in Orient by making the Philippines
as an economic base.

Among the three objectives of Spanish colonization, the propagation of Christianity became the
most lasting and successful. Spain did not realize its imperialist ambitions in the Orient as it reached a
dead end after the colonization of the Philippines and impeded by the presence in the area of other rival
European powers.

As a colony, the Philippines did not contribute to the economy of Spain. It was actually a heavy
burden to its treasury and was subsidized by the Vice-Royalty of Mexico from 1527-1821. There were
even occasions when the King of Spain was advised by his counselors to abandon the country. But for the
sake of Christianity and through the intercession of Father Fernando Moraga, who went to Spain to plead
to King Philip III of Spain, the Philippines were retained as a colony.
 Spanish exploration and integration to the Philippines actually influenced early Filipinos in
different aspects of their living. Some of the changes are the laws applied to the Philippines, the central
government, the royal audiencia, the provincial and municipal governments, encomienda systems,
taxation, and polo y servicios.

Spanish exploration resulted to some social changes. On November 21, 1894, Gov. General
Narciso Claveria decreed that natives must adopt Spanish surnames, which would facilitate the
identification of families and individuals. The natives, as part of Christian practices, adopted fiesta, a
social and religious event honoring the feast day of the patron saint of a town. It was extravagant affair for
it obliged even families without financial means to provide a feast to visiting relatives, friends and
strangers. Generally, the preparation for the next fiesta often became the main pre-occupation of rural
people.

Even if the Spaniards refused to teach Spanish to the Indios, there are about 5,000 words in
Filipino language. Words like silla, sibuyas, panuelo, iskwela, hamon, pader and maestro, were derived
from Spanish language.

The Spaniards also legalized cockfighting, which long existed before they came. They also
introduced horse racing, lottery and occasionally, bullfights, card games such as tres siete, juego de
prenda and panguinque.

The practices of the Spaniards of surrounding themselves with muchachas or servants and
despising manual labor as unworthy of the aristocracy, was also adopted and psychologically internalized
by Filipinos. The white-collar job mentality of the prewar and early postwar generations of Filipinos
attested to this.

As a consequence of Spanish colonization, little by little, Filipinos lost their old traditions, gave
up their writings, their songs, their poems, their laws in order to learn by force other doctrines which they
did not know and understand. Then they declined, degrading themselves in their own eyes, they became
ashamed of what was their own; they began to admire and praise whatever was foreign and
incomprehensible. Their spirit was dismayed and it surrendered.

By the end of the Spanish rule, the transformation of the Philippine colony had a blending of the
native and Spanish cultures which became the bases of Filipinism or nationalism.

Things happen for a reason. We might think of the Spanish colonization as a bad and scary
experience, but this actually helped us be the way we are today. If I will be given a chance to turn back
time, I would not change anything that has ever happened because I think this event lead to the
advancement in terms of living of Filipinos. We may have been hurt, degraded, and dishonored but it
helped us be stronger, proud and honorable. Smiling despite of the problems we are facing is one
characteristic of Filipinos that foreigners cannot remove from us. Just like a diamond, starting as a big,
useless coal. But after years of extreme heat and pressure, it becomes more precious and perfect.