Pre-Colonial and Traditional

GROUP 1:

PRE-COLONIAL AND TRADITIONAL

Essay for Report

Far Eastern University
Sampaloc, Manila

In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for Introduction
to Communication Media Course

By:

Cerdeña, Sade Glor A.

Dela Cruz, Christine Joyce C.
Javier, Andrea Lizette
Padilla, Ralph Ivan
Vicente, Blessie Amor
Zabate, Nicky James

October 29, 2018

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Pre-Colonial and Traditional

In pre-colonial times, the Philippines was divided into different territories where tribes live.

A village or a group of people living together was called a Barangay. Barangay comes from the

word “balangay” which is a sailboat used by the pre-colonial voyagers. It was mostly composed

of 30 to 100 families and was ruled by a Datu or a chieftain. There was no presence of a central

government during this period.

The Datu has the duty to rule, govern, and protect the people. Datus are the executive,

legislative, jury, and the commanding officer during a war. However, they do not work or decide

alone, the elderly had the most influence with the Datu’s decisions due to them possessing

experience and wisdom. The Datu was also the one who makes the laws with the help and guide

of the village elders. An example would be the Maragtas code, also known as the Kalintiaw code,

that is said to be the oldest written law in the country. When a law is enacted, a town crier called

Umalohokan would go around the village and announce to the people the new law. In terms of

juridical duties, a court or a meeting takes place if there is conflict among the people, the Datu’s

verdict in death, exile, or demotion of social class is always absolute even if the elders are against

it. Trials by combat and trial by ordeal were the most common type of punishment. Combat, as the

term applies, it is a matter of survival; a life or death outcome. As for the ordeal, it involves the

culprit subjecting to a physical challenge.

A Datu is only replaced when he had died, can no longer assume his duties, or has done

something that has brought shame to his name or the barangay. The natural successor of a Datu

would be his son, but if no heir is capable of taking the throne then a Datu would be chosen.

Qualifications to become one involve wisdom, wealth (must be of noble class), and physical

strength (proven in previous battles).

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Pre-Colonial and Traditional

The inhabitants of the barangay also have their own social stratification. Maginoo or

Tumao was the highest class at that time. They were considered as the noble class. A Datu belongs

in the Maginoo class due to him being the richest person in the barangay. The second class consist

of Maharlikas and Timawas, who were the middle class or sometimes partly noble. Maharlikas

were the freemen or the common members of the barangay and they are required to pay tribute to

the Datu as a form of pre-colonial taxation. Timawas are also common members but they are highly

attached to the Datu. Whenever there is a war, the Timawas must aid the Datu in the battle arming

themselves at their own expense. They do not pay tribute but offer their loyalty and service instead.

If a Timawa wants to end his services to become a Maharlika, he would have to hold a huge feast

that costs 18 pesos of gold, which was a heavy price at that time. The lowest class during that time

was the Alipin or Oripun that was considered as slaves and dependent people. The Alipins were

categorized into two: Namamahay and Sagigilid o Saguiguilid. Namamahay are the more free type

of alipins as they are free to do things as commoners would do: marry, buy lands, and promote

their social status, either by marrying a person with a higher status, which rarely happens, or buying

their freedom from their masters. Sagigilid(s) however, are considered as property. They would be

used as payment by their masters or as trades. They also cannot marry without consent nor allowed

to buy their freedom. People become alipins when they cannot pay off debts or have committed

crimes, and in turn, must provide service as their punishment. Slavery is also hereditary. It is passed

down to generations until the debt is settled. Social class during the time was not permanent.

Maharlikas can become alipins due to debt and datus can be removed from their position if he had

done something wrong. This also includes alipins’ possibility of climbing up the social class.

The rights of women during the time was not an issue because the presence of gender

oppression was not existent. Women possessed equal rights as men. They could ask for divorce,

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inherit property, participate in social matters, dictate the terms of their marriage, even retain their

maiden names if they chose to do so, and even lead a tribe.

In terms of the cultural practices during the pre-colonial period, symbolism was a key

factor. In clothing, the basics were bahag for men and malong for women. You can judge the

bravery of a man by the color of his clothing, a red bahag and pudong (headdress) is worn when

he has killed enemies in battle. As for nobility, gold accessories and lining can be seen representing

wealth and power.

Tattoos were also a part of their symbolism aside from just ornamentation. Tattoos were

believed to be a rite of passage to the other world when a person dies. Tattoos also represent the

competency of a warrior in battle. Numerous tattoos would intimidate and make enemies cower.

The location of tattoos also indicates the experience of a warrior in battle. Chest tattoos were

considered as breastplates and were only permitted to be worn by warriors who have killed ten or

more. Facial tattoos, from ear to chin to the eye, were also restricted only to the boldest and

toughest warriors. Those who have killed two individuals have tattoo patterns on their hands. A

tattoo artist in the Cordilleras is called “manbatek”. Instruments used in the process was a light

stick that is used for tapping called “pat-ik” and “gisi” which holds the needles.

The Philippines, an archipelago, is fragmented that it is no wonder that Filipinos speak

multiple languages. The parent language from which all these Philippine languages originated

from is Austronesian. This language family is widely distributed across the world that linguists

have noted similarities of the country's languages and dialects and of those outside the archipelago.

Such similarities indicated that there was social contact between speakers, hinting to movement of

people and ideas. This led to an inference that languages are learned and disseminated through

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Pre-Colonial and Traditional

migration. Migrants introduce and influence their own languages and at the same time absorb and

adopt those of others.

A proto-language is what linguists call as the seed from which a language tree sprouted,

and one of the characteristic of such proto-Austronesian seed is of root words consisting two

syllables. Words such as patay (dead), mata (eye), luma (old), and bili (buy) of the Philippines.

The first speakers of Austronesian arrived in the Philippines at around 5000 B.C. and during this

millennia, speakers from various directions interacted to produce these multiplicity of languages

as it proliferated and diversified within the archipelago.

Before the Spaniards came, the Filipinos were already literate in an indigenous script called

baybayin. It is one of the alphabets from the Southeast Asian islands, derived from ancient India,

which share the Sanskrit characteristic that any consonant is followed by the vowel a when

pronounced. The use of this writing system is only for poetry and personal letters, not historical

records and law codes. Ancient Filipinos still mainly rely on oral tradition by word of mouth and

folk media to pass down information from one to another.

Folk media is a channel of communication that defined those verbal, actions, aural, and

visual forms which are known or familiar to the folk. These include the customs, traditions, beliefs,

and practices for the purpose of entertaining, informing, enlightening, instructing, and educating

the people. Folk media, like all forms of communication or expression, is dynamic and is subject

to change as it adapts new ideas and methods.

The different types of folk media are the following: Drama, a one-play act, is usually a

soap opera with a lesson. It more than mere entertainment since watching one is an opportunity to

gain insights about life, a man’s relationship, personal and communal welfare, and to hear the

message of the playwright; Zarzuela, a musical play similar to light opera, is always accompanied

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Pre-Colonial and Traditional

by dances and songs. It has developed into a full blown, three-act melodrama and is usually a play

on family and other social relationships. The main appeal of zarzuela lies is social criticism in the

form of satire, underlying in the sharp, witty, humorous, and often earthy language of its dialogue

and musical score; Cancionan, from Ilocos region, always feature in town fiestas and is usually

presented as an argument in song and verse. It is a contest that pits male against female in an

argument on any topic and uses wit, humor, irony, and satire as natural components to prevent it

from being just a dull musical contest; Balagtasan, a poetic debate between two protagonist, uses

rhythmic and colorful language, with humor, satire and irony to provoke arguments and generate

thinking from its audiences. It can lend itself to any topic, issue, idea or sentiment, and provide an

opposing view in romantic, domestic, religious, ethical, political, and economic matters; Balitao,

a courtship-debate in song and dance, is performed by a man and woman and usually focuses on

love, courtship, and marriage; and lastly, Puppet theater, a shadow puppet show famously known

as carillos, is made from cardboard that was skillfully manipulated by a narrator behind the screen.

The rationale of these forms of Theater Arts like drama and musical plays are used for

communication campaigns and are effective in disseminating information.

Traditional media is any form of mass communication available before the advent of digital

media. Any single item or set of items only relying upon physical form for the conveyance of

information leading to meaning in the mind of user. Traditional media constitutes a set of media

covering media channels.

Bugtong or riddle, known to be a test of wit, is a form of entertainment, especially before

the advent of electricity, where families would sit around the fire and elders would quiz the

younger generation with it. Riddles requires thinking in order to solve them and it serve the

function of passing down knowledge from one generation to the next; Salawikain or proverbs,

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those sayings that are steeped in traditional Filipino culture and wisdom, are good sources of

information about traditions, beliefs and customs. It is important as it serves as a guide to living,

advice on social relations and encouragement in facing trials and realities; Tanaga or short poems,

consisting of four lines that follows a rhyme scheme, are those that tackles philosophical ideas and

views about the world, events, or people. It is used by the elderly to teach morals to the young

ones, along with stories and myths; Folk epics, a narrative account of heroic exploits or events

under supernatural control, is the kind of story also considered as old time history as they embody

or validate the beliefs of our ancestors, their customs, ideals and ways of living. An example would

be Biag ni Lam-ang, which was the oldest recorded Ilocano epic; Duplo, a poetic debate by trained

men and women, is usually done in the last night of the mourning period for the dead. The

performance consist of two teams, composed of young women which were called dupleras, and

young men which were called dupleros. The karagatan was also a poetic debate like the duplo

except its participants were amateurs. It is a test for young men vying for a maiden's hand wherein

the maiden's ring would be dropped into the sea and whoever retrieves it would have the girl’s

hand in marriage. Pananapatan or Panunuluyan is a presentation of Mary and Joseph showing

their hardships and long journey to Bethlehem to deliver baby Jesus. It is presented before it strikes

midnight on Christmas eve. Panunuluyan is generally organized by a local parish or a school. The

characters, Joseph and Mary, are usually picked because they are either well-known or good-

looking or they could be both; but outside appearance isn’t enough, they are also picked for their

talents especially singing. During the month of May, a festival is held- Tibag is one of the festival

in towns or barrios having devotions to the Holy Cross. The word comes from the act of excavating

the three mounds during the search for the cross. It is performed in commemoration of an event

that brought St. Helena in discovery of the true cross. Pasyon is a narrative poem about passion

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Pre-Colonial and Traditional

and life of Jesus. It came around the 17th century among the various Christianized groups in the

Philippines. The first Tagalog “version” of pasyon was produced in 1704. It was a very popular

Lenten activity which was undertaken in order to purify one’s soul. It may be presented in two

ways: Hablada and Cantada, and both are spoken slowly. Hablada are lines spoken rhythmically

emphasizing the rhyming in each stanza and conveying the dignity of the theme and presentation;

Cantada is when characters are important, such as Christ or Mary, the passages are sung. Other

characters may speak their lines or improvise them. Moro-Moro is a theatrical presentation

intended to convert. Knowing the powerful influence that plays had on the community, many

priests used plays to convert natives to Christianity. It was often held in public plazas, in church

patios, or even on an improvised stage in an open field. It is usually highlighted in fiestas and other

celebrations.

In conclusion, these types of traditional media can create new perspective for a better

reason and that’s it is adapting new ideas for the innovation of our communication media.

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Pre-Colonial and Traditional

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