Readings in Philippine History

CHAPTER 3: EARLY COMMUNITIES OF THE FIRST FILIPINOS

Reported by: Ramos, Vanny
Salinas, Catherine

EMERGENCE OF FILIPINOS

 In the course of the centuries, long before the Spanish colonized the Philippines in the 16 th century.
 Native Filipinos came in contact(by commerce)
 The early contacts with these great Asian people, the first Filipino native culture an way of life was
enriched
 Filipinos came from a mixture of Asian, European, and American people.
 Asian – the Negritos, Indonesians, Malays, Chinese, Indians, Arabs, and other Asians.
 European – Spanish, British, and other Europeans.
 Americans – Mexicans, South and North America.

 According to Dr. H. Otley Beyer (American Anthropologist) the racial ancestry of Filipinos is as follows:
 Malay – 40%  Indian (Hindu) – 5%
 Indonesians – 30%  European and American – 3%
 Chinese – 10%  Arab – 2%

BALANGAY

 Balanghai is the first wooden watercraft over excavated in Southeast Asia.

 Also known as the Butuan boat.
 This artifact is evidence of early Filipino craftsmanship during pre-colonial times.
 Balanghai festival is also a celebration on Butuan, Agusan Del Norte to commemorate the comings of early
migrants in the Philippines.
 First Spaniards arrived in the 16th century.
 The name barangay originated from balangay, a malay word meaning “sailboat”.
 The term barangay was adopted and modern defined context during President. Ferdinand Marcos regime.
 The barangay’s were eventually codified under 1991 Local Government Code.
 The first barangays started as small communities of around 50-100 families.
 According to Legazpi, he found communities with twenty to thirty people only.
 During Spanish era, smaller ancient barangays were combined to form towns.
 Every barangay was headed by the cabeza de barangay (barangay chief) who formed part of the Principalia.
 Principalia – the elite ruling class of the municipalities of the Spanish Philippines.
 This position was inherited from the first datus.
 Spanish monarch ruled each barangay through the Cabeza, who also collected taxes (called tribute).

INTER-BARANGAY RELATIONSHIP

 Inter-barangay relationships were varied.

 The relationship was peaceful and friendly.
 Alliances were formed through marriages and blood-brotherhood or blood compacts, locally known as
sanduguan.
 Causes of inter-barangay conflicts included (1) unwarranted killings of residents (2) stealing wives from
another barangay (3) treachery.

SOCIAL ORGANIZATION AND STRATIFICATION

 Barangays in some coastal places in Panay, Manila, Cebu, Jolo, and Butuan and other countries in Asia
established principalities.
 The aristocratic group in these pre-colonial societies was called the Datu class.
 The ruling classes made use of arms to maintain the social system.
 Their jurisprudence would still be borne out today by the called code of Kalantiyaw and the Muslim laws.
  Morga’s Sucesos de Las Islas Filipinas - a record of what the Spanish conquistadores came upon, used by
Dr. Jose Rizal as testimony of achievements of indios in pre-colonial times.

LEADERSHIP

 Leadership in the community was assumed by the oldest member of the kin group.
 Leadership in other parts of the archipelago was weakly defined in strictly political terms.
 Chiefs had absolute powers over than people.

SOCIAL STUCTURE

 Spanish Augustinian Friar Martin – Tagalog were described as more traders than warrior.
 Francisco Colin – made an attempt to compare Tagalogs social structure and Visayas social structure.

A. TAGALOGS SOCIAL STRUCTURE

 The term timawa came into use within just twenty years after the comings of the Spaniards.
 Alipin (third class) who have escaped bondage by payment, favor or flight.
 The warrior class in tagalogs was called Maharlika class.
 Non-maginoo works in the datu’s field.

B. VISAYAS SOCIAL STRUCTURE

 The term datu or lakan or apo refers to the chief belongs in maginoo class.
 If the datu had the personality and economic means, he could retain and restrain competing peers.
 Oripuns are obligated to work in the datu’s field.
 The visayan timawa neither paid tribute nor performed agricultural labor.
 The early Filipino laws include:
 Oral laws – customs (ugali) of the racel which were handed down from generation to generation.
 Written laws – promulgated by the datus with the help of the elders to put into writing.
 Umalahokan – are the written laws announced to the people by a barangay crier.
 Two types of persons belong to alipin class:
 Aliping namamahay
 Aliping saguiguilid

URBAN AND RURAL AREAS

 Urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features.
 Urban areas are created and developed by the process of urbanization.
 Metro manila is the most populous area with 16.3 million people in the Philippines and 11 th in the world.
 Half of Filipino population lived in rural areas
 Poverty
 Agriculture, Fishery, and Mining.
 Cordillera and Mindanao highlands are among the poorest in the country.

EARLY CONTACTS

CHINESE TRADE

 Earliest date suggested for direct Chinese contact in the Philippines was 982 C.E

THE GROWTH OF ISLAMIC SULTANATE

 In 1380, Makhdum Karim, the first Islamic missionary to the Philippines brought Islam to the archipelago.

SULTANATE OF BRUNEI

 Around the year 1500 C.E, the Kingdom of Brunei under sultan Bolkiah attacked the Kingdom of Tondo
and established a city with the Malay name of Selurong.
EXPANSION OF TRADE

 Jocano refers to the time between the 1st and 14th century C.E as Philippines emergent phase.
 The first surviving written artifact from the Philippines, now known as the Laguna Copperplate Inscription
was written in 900 C.E.

CUSTOMS AND TRADITION

 The customs and traditions, the government and mode of living have, to a great extent, come down to the
present and maybe found in remote rural areas which have so far succeeded in resisting the impact of
modern civilization.

FILIPINO WEDDING PRACTICES

 Pamanhikan or pamamanhikan or the “parental marriage proposal”- a formal way of asking the
parents of the Filipino woman for her hand.

Other matters discussed:

 Wedding plan  Date of the wedding
 Budget for the wedding  List of guests

 After the pamamanhikan, the couple performs the paalam or “wedding announcement visitations”

Typical Filipino wedding invitation:

 Date and venue for the wedding ceremony and for the wedding reception
 Names and roles for the principal sponsors of the bride

 Weddings in the Philippines are commonly held during the month of June.
 The median age for marriage is twenty-two.
 A woman who reaches the age of thirty-two without marrying is considered past the age for marriage.
 Divorce is illegal, but annulment is available for the dissolution of a marriage

Reasons for annulment:

 Physical incapacity  Physical violence
 Pressure to change one`s religious or
political beliefs

FILIPINO ETIQUETTE

 Mano Po- it is a way to give respect to elders and a way of accepting a blessing from the elder.
 Mano is agalon for hand while the word Po is often used at the end of a sentence when addressing elders
or superiors.

DEATH AND THE AFTERLIFE

 A twenty-four-hour vigil is held at the deceased person`s home.

 Mourning is worn for six weeks after the death of a family member.
 The indigenous Polynesian people of what is now called the Philippines were adherents of a mixture of
Animism, Islam, Hinduism and Vajrayana Buddhism.
 “Araw” (Sun) and “Buwan” (moon) - appear to remove tumors and diseased tissue by sticking their
hands into a patient`s body.

THE PHILIPPINE NATIONAL COSTUMES

 Filipiniana – traditional clothing of the Filipino, one of the unique feminine and simply beautiful national
costume in Asia.
 3 kinds:
 Baro at saya
 Maria Clara- panuelo on the neck is added
 Traje de Mestiza- half Filipino half Spanish; has a featured of butterfly sleeves but remained panuelo
on the neck.

 The early Filipinos had a weakness for personal adornment, for women as well as men, burdened
themselves with such trappings as armlets called kalumbiga, pendants, bracelets, gold rings, earrings, and
even leglets.
 The tattoo, was a form of ornament to enhance the beauty of the man or woman.
 Visayans were the most tattooed people called Pintados or painted ones.

BAYANIHAN

 Bayanihan- community members volunteer to help a family move to a new place by volunteering to
transport the house to a specific location.
 A mural by Filipino National Artist Carlos “Botong” Francisco illustrates the process of bayanihan.

COMMON FAMILY TRAITS

 Father - head and the provider of the family.

 Mother – takes responsibility of the domestic needs, emotional growth and values formation of the
children.
 Another trait Filipinos made themselves exceptional from others is their strong respect for elders.
 “Po” and “Opo” – used to show respect to people of older level.

RELIGION AND SPIRITUAL BELIEFS IN THE PHILIPPINES

 Filipino Catholicism is practiced alongside and influenced by pre-colonial indigenous religions and
indigenous Filipino concepts that are found in other areas of Southeast Asia.
 Religion in the Philippines is indeed influenced by western religions.
 Debt and dependency- foundations of most social relationships.
 Many Filipinos in rural communities make use of healers to cure illnesses.
 Tawo (demons) and Healers (witches)
 Saint worship- each family may hold a particular saint who resides on their land or with them.

ISLAM

 Muslim minority remains in the Southern Islands of the Philippines and Mindanao.
 Moro – term designated to refer to the Muslim group.
 Yeger suggests that Muslim influence from the Middle East came into the Philippines around the 10 th
century CE.
 Islamic missionaries – played a part in bringing Islam to Mindanao.