Celean B.

Ortega
Humanities Presentation
Pre-Colonial/ Colonial Arts

HISTORY

Tabon Man is a fossilized human remains discovered on the island of Palawan in the Philippines
on May 28, 1962 by Dr. Robert B. Fox, an American anthropologist of the National Museum of
the Philippines. These remains, the fossilized fragments of a skull and jawbone of three
individuals, were believed to be the earliest human remains known in the Philippines[1] until a
metatarsal from "Callao Man" discovered in 2007 was dated in 2010 by uranium-series dating as
being 67,000 years old.[2] The Tabon fragments are collectively called "Tabon Man" after Tabon
Cave, the place where they were found on the west coast of Palawan. Tabon Cave appears to be a
kind of Stone Age factory, with both finished stone flake tools and waste core flakes having been
found at four separate levels in the main chamber. Charcoal left from three assemblages of
cooking fires there has been Carbon-14 dated to roughly 7,000, 20,000, and 22,000 BCE.

Early Settlers of the Philippines

1. Negritos

The Negritos were a primitive people with a culture belonging to the Old Stone Age
(Paleolithic). They wandered in the forests and lived by hunting, fishing, and gathering wild
fruits and roots. Their homes were temporary sheds made of jungle leaves and branches of trees.
They wore little clothing. They had no community in life, hence they developed no government,
writing, literature, arts, and sciences. They possessed the crudest kind of religion which was a
belief in fetishes. They made fire by rubbing two dry sticks together to give them warmth. They
had no pottery and never cooked their food. However, they were among they were among the
world's best archers, being skilled in the use of the bow and arrow.

2. The Indonesians

The Indonesians, First Sea-Immigrants. After the submergence of the land bridges, another Asian
people migrated to the Philippines. They were the maritime Indonesians, who belonged to the
Mongoloid race with Caucasian affinities. They came in boats, being the first immigrants to
reach the Philippines by sea. Unlike the Negritos, they were a tall people, with height ranging
from 5 feet 6 inches to 6 feet 2 inches.

The Indonesian culture was more advanced than that of the Negritos it belonged to the New
Stone Age (Neolithic). The Indonesians lived in grass-covered homes with wooden frames, built
above the ground or on top of trees. They practised dry agriculture and raised upland rice, taro
(gabi), and other food crops. Their clothing was made from beaten bark and decorated with fine
designs. They cooked their food in bamboo tubes, for they knew nothing of pottery. Their other
occupations were hunting and fishing. Their implements consisted of polished stone axes, adzes,
and chisels. For weapons, they had bows and arrows, spears, shields, and blowguns (sumpit).
They had one domesticated animal - the dog.

3. The Malays

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The seafaring Malays also navigated the vast stretches of the uncharted Pacific, discovering and
colonizing new islands, as far south as Africa and Madagascar. Their unchronicled and unsung
maritime exploits impressed the British Orientalist A.R. Cowen, who wrote: "The Malays indeed
were the Phoenicians of the East, and apparently made even longer hauls than the Semitic
mariners, their oceanic elbowroom giving them more scope than the coasts of the Mediterranean
and the Red Sea."

The prehistoric Malays were the first discoveries and colonizers of the Pacific world. Long
before the time of Columbus and Magellan, they were already expert navigators. Although they
had no compass and other nautical devices, they made long voyages, steering their sailboats by
the position of the stars at night and by the direction of the sea winds by day.

Culturally, the Malays were more advanced than the Negritos and the Indonesians, for they
possessed the Iron Age culture. They introduced into the Philippines both lowland and highland
methods of rice cultivation, including the system of irrigation; the domestication of animals
(dogs, fowls, and carabaos); the manufacture of metal tools and weapons; pottery and weaving;
and the Malayan heritage (government, law, religion, writing, arts, sciences, and customs). They
tattooed their bodies and chewed betelnuts. They wore dresses of woven fabrics and ornamented
themselves with jewels of gold, pearls, beads, glass, and colored stones. Their weapons consisted
of bows and arrows, spears, bolos, daggers, krises (swords), sumpits (blowguns), shields and
armors made of animal hide and hardwood, and

Malayan Immigration to the Philippines. In the course of their exodus to the Pacific world, the
ancient Malays reached the Philippines. They came in three main migratory waves. The first
wave came from 200 B.C. to 100A.D. The Malays who came in this wave were the headhunting
Malays, the ancestors of the Bontoks, Ilongots, Kalingas, and other headhunting tribes in
northern Luzon. The second wave arrived from 100 A.D. to 13th century. Those who came in
this migratory wave were the alphabet-using Malays, the ancestors of the Visayans, Tagalogs,
Ilocanos, Bicolanos, Kapampangans, and other Christian Filipinos. The third and last wave came
from the 14th to 16th century A.D. The Muslim Malays were in this migratory wave and they
introduced Islam into the Philippines.

Legends and Hoaxes about the Malay Settlers. The legends surrounding the settling of the
Philippines by Malay migrants are notably celebrated in the ati-atihan festival and perpetrated by
hoaxers in the fraudulent documents containing the Maragtas chronicle and the Code of
Kalantiaw.

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According to one legend, at around 1250 A.D., ten datus and their families left the kingdom of
Borneo and the cruel reign of sultan Makatunaw to seek their freedom and new homes across the
seas. In Sinugbahan, Panay, they negotiated the sale of Panay's lowlands from the Negrito
dwellers, led by their Ati king Marikudo and his wife Maniwantiwan. The purchase price
consisted of one gold saduk (native hat) for Marikudo and a long gold necklace for
Maniwantiwan. The sale was sealed by a pact of friendship between the Atis and the Bornean
Malays and a merry party when the Atis performed their native songs and dances. After the
party, Marikudo and the Atis went to the hills where their descendants still remain.

and the Malay datus settled the lowlands. One of Aklan, Panay's fascinating festivals to this day
is the ati-atihan, a colorful mardi gras celebrating the legendary purchase of Panay's lowlands. It
is held in Kalibo annually during the feast day of Santo Niño in January. The riotous participants,
with bodies painted in black and wearing bizarre masks, sing and dance in the streets, re-enacting
the ancient legend of the welcome held by the Atis for the Malay colonizers.

The Maragtas goes on to describe the formation of a confederation of barangays ("Madya-as")

led by one Datu Sumakwel, who passed on a code of laws for the community. The fictitious
story also alleges the expansion of the Malay datus to other parts of the Visayas and Luzon.
Although previously accepted by some historians, including the present authors, it has become
obvious that the Maragtas is only the imaginary creation of Pedro A. Monteclaro, a Visayan
public official and poet, in Iloilo in 1907. He based it on folk customs and legends, largely
transmitted by oral tradition.

The Code of Kalantiaw, a code of laws said to have been promulgated by Datu Kalantiaw of
Aklan in 1433, was also previously accepted by historians and lawyers. But it has been proven to
be a fraud. The Code of Kalantiaw was contained in a set of documents sold by Jose E. Marco, a
collector and author from Negros Occidental, to Dr. James E. Robertson, Director of the
Philippine Library and Museum, in 1914. Robertson then published an English translation of the
penal code, and Filipino scholars came to accept the code as a deliberate hoax.

Challenge to the Migration Theory. The migration theory offered by H. Otley Beyer to explain
the early settlement of the Philippines has been challenged by such scholars as Robert B. Fox
and F. Landa Jocano. According to these scholars, Philippines prehistory is far too complex to be
explained by "waves" of migration. It seems doubtful that early immigrants came in a fixed
period of time and with a definite destination. Nor can archaeological and ethnographic data,
show that each "wave" of immigrants was really a distinct racial and cultural group.

According to the other viewpoint, the early Filipinos were not passive recipients of cultures but
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transmitters and synthethizers of them. For example, comparative studies of Pacific cultures
show that some of the inhabitants of Micronesia, Polynesia and other Pacific islands came from
the Philippines. Moreover, by the time the Spaniards came to the Philippines, the early Filipinos
had developed a distinctly Filipino, as opposed to Malayan civilization.

Birth of the Filipino People. Whether one accepts the migration theory or not, it appears that out
of the interracial mixture of the early settlers - indigenous tribes or Asian latecomers - was born
the Filipino people. Prior to the arrival of the Europeans, the Filipinos had already established a
propensity for intermarriage with the assimilation of multiple races and cultures.

Early Relations with India. The early relations between the Philippines and the Indian empires of
Sri-Vijaya and Majapahit were commercial and cultural, not political. As a free and independent
people, the early Filipinos carried on trade with Borneo, Celebes, Java, Sumatra, and other
countries of Southeast Asia. And through Sri-Vijaya and Majapahit, they received India's
cultural influences. The early contact between India and the Philippines was decidedly indirect
via Malaysia.

PHILIPPINE MUSIC

The zither is classified under string instrument. It is made from a single bamboo section with
three to four inches in diameter. The strings used are the narrow strips of the outer part of the
bamboo itself raised by small wedges beneath; varying pitches are derived because of these
wedges.

The bamboo zither are found all over the country with different names. Ilongots call it kolesing;
Ibalois, kalshang; negritoes, pas-ing and Ifugaos call it patting.
The Tagbanuas call it pa’gang, while the Mangyans call it kudlung. The Bagobos call it tawgaw.

"Gadang" or "Ga'dang," derives from "ga" meaning "heat" or "fire," and "dang" meaning "burn,"
and means "burned by heat." The name probably alludes to the skin color of the Gaddang, which
is darker than any of the native peoples of the old Mountain Province. The Gaddang are found in
northern Nueva Vizcaya, especially Bayombong, Solano, and Bagabag on the western bank of
the Magat River, and santiago, Angadanan,

The instrument called the “kulintang” (or its other derivative terms) consist of a row/set of 5 to 9
graduated pot gongs, horizontally laid upon a frame arranged in order of pitch with the lowest

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gong found on the players’ left.[15] The gongs are laid in the instrument face side up atop two
cords/strings running parallel to the entire length of the frame, with bamboo/wooden sticks/bars
resting perpendicular across the frame creating an entire kulintang set called a pasangan

ARCHITECTURE

Except for towns and coastal fishing villages, Tausug communities are typically dispersed, with
individual houses located close to family fields. The household, or cluster of two or three
adjacent households, comprises the smallest territorial grouping. The next larger unit is the
hamlet ( lungan ). Still larger is the community ( kauman ), having a common name and
headman. The unity of a kauman depends on intermarriage, the existence of a core kin group
among its members, their attendance at a common mosque, recent history of conflict, and the
political skills of the community's headman. Boundaries between kauman tend to be ill-defined,
varying according to the dynamics of alliance and feuding and the relative power of successive
headmen. The Tausug house typically consists of a single rectangular room, bamboo- or timber-
walled, with a thatched roof, raised on posts about 2 to 3 meters above the ground. The structure
is generally surrounded by a series of elevated porches leading to a separate kitchen at the rear
and is often enclosed within a protective stockade encircling the house compound.

The Torogan is the ancestral house of the upper-class Maranao in the Lanao Region of
Mindanao. It is the dwelling place of the datu along with his wives and children.There could not
be any house larger than torogan of the datu within the sultanate, for this signifies rank, prestige
and wealth.

SCULPTURE

he Manunggul jar is one of the anthropomorphic potteries found by archaeologists from the
National Museum and by U.S. Peace Corps volunteers Hans Kasten, Victor Decalan, et. al. in a
burial site in the Tabon Cave Complex in Lipuun Point, Quezon Province in March 1964.
Discovered in Chamber A of Manunggul Cave, this burial jar featured a vessel carrying two
human figures in sitting position, with the one behind steering the boat and the other waiting to
reach the afterlife.

JEWELRY

Jewelry, another ancient art, began as amulets and charms to ward off evil spirits or to give
supernatural powers to the wearer. It was only later that is assumed a purely ornamental
character. The Cordillera groups have an ancient amulet design called the ling-ling-o, said to
signify fertility, found in necklaces, rings and earrings. The T’boli wear some of the most
splendid body ornaments in brass chains and bells, strings and nets of multi-colored beads, and
fine chains of horsehair forming neckpieces, earrings and rings, bracelets and anklets. Related to
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religious belief and to social function, body ornaments are worn to please the gods, to signify the
status of the wearer and enhance her charms. A belt made of a row of brass bells that tinkle with
every movement calls attention to the presence of a young marriageable girl. Often, jewelry is
worn along with elaborate tattoos on and around the arms and legs that function as a permanent
body design with motif from nature related to the animist worldview. Even in our day, anting-
anting medals with their mystical symbols and figures in relief are worn by the folk as amulets
rather than as mere body ornaments.

Other arts that use weaving techniques are basketry, as well as the making of hats and fans. The
Cordilleras are rich in baskets for all purposes, reflecting occupational needs related to rice
planting on the mountain terraces, hunting in the forests and fishing in the streams. Their
backpack or pasiking for instance, is not only an example of good design but is also structured to
support the human frame. Aside from baskets and containers related to hunting and agricultural
activities, there are also many kinds of bamboo fish traps with shapes and sizes to suit the
different species of fish found in the rivers.

Many parts of the country have lively woodcarving traditions. The Cordillera groups
carve anito figures called bulol which double as ancestral spirits and granary gods. They are
often found in pairs to signify the value of fertility. Human and animal motifs are also integrated
into parts of houses such as door posts, as well as household objects such as bowls, forks and
spoons.

WOOD CARVING

Man's Grave Marker (Sunduk), early to mid-20th century

Bajau people, Sulu Archipelago, Philippines
Wood

TATTOOS
Symbolism is part of pre-colonial Filipino warrior culture. A certain clothing, tattoo or cicatrix
may connote the wearer’s status in the warrior society.
Tattooing was widely practiced in pre-colonial Philippines both for the purposes of
ornamentation and rite of passage. This was particularly prevalent in the Visayas and among the
highland tribes of northern Luzon. So widespread was the practice of tattooing in the Visayas
that the Spaniards coined the Visayans “pintados” [painted] because their bodies were covered
with tattoos. Batuk is the general term for tattoos in the Visayas. Even today, an annual feast
called Pintados Festival is celebrated in Tacloban to pay tribute to the ancient tattooing tradition

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of the Visayans. On the other hand, in the mountainous part of northern Luzon, tattooing
traditions are still preserved today within certain tribes.

The pintados (painted ones), inhabitants of the Visayan islands as described by the first
Spaniards to set eyes upon them, would use sharp metal instruments previously heated over fire.

PETROGLYPHS

The Angono Petroglyphs is the oldest known work of art in the Philippines. There are 127
human and animal figures engraved on the rockwall dating back to 3000 BC. These inscriptions
clearly show stylized human figures, frogs and lizards along with other designs that may have
depicted other interesting figures but erosion may have caused it to become indistinguishable.

Although it sits along the boundaries of Angono, Binangonan and Antipolo of the province of
Rizal, this heritage site was discovered by the late National Artist of the Philippines awardee
Carlos V. Francisco in 1965.[1] Since then, some rock carvings have been damaged due to neglect
and vandalism. In 1973, by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 260, it was declared as a national
cultural treasure by the Philippine government. During that time, a team led by the National
Museum of the Philippines started archaeological site conservation and site development of the
petroglyphs in which a mini-museum, viewdeck and stone path among others were constructed.
Surveys and a seismographic recording were conducted to assess also the effects of a quarrying
operation a few kilometers from the site.

The preservation and development of the Angono Petroglyphs is a collective effort of the
National Museum of the Philippines, the Department of Tourism, World Monuments Fund,
American Express and a Philippine real estate company.

Other arts that use weaving techniques are basketry, as well as the making of hats and fans. The
Cordilleras are rich in baskets for all purposes, reflecting occupational needs related to rice
planting on the mountain terraces, hunting in the forests and fishing in the streams. Their
backpack or pasiking for instance, is not only an example of good design but is also structured to
support the human frame. Aside from baskets and containers related to hunting and agricultural
activities, there are also many kinds of bamboo fish traps with shapes and sizes to suit the
different species of fish found in the rivers.

Many parts of the country have lively woodcarving traditions. The Cordillera groups
carve anito figures called bulol which double as ancestral spirits and granary gods. They are
often found in pairs to signify the value of fertility. Human and animal motifs are also integrated
into parts of houses such as door posts, as well as household objects such as bowls, forks and
spoons.
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Sources:

http://ethnicfilipinos.ph/filer/toledo-cebu/Symbolism-in-Pre-Colonial-Filipino-Warrior-
Culture.pdf

Read more: http://www.everyculture.com/East-Southeast-Asia/Tausug-

Settlements.html#ixzz16PGsoCHx
http://www.oocities.com/collegepark/pool/1644/precolonial.html