JUAN DE PLASENCIA

§ A Spanish Friar for the Franciscan order who was in the

Philippines for most of his missionary life
§ Wrote several religious and linguistic books including
the Customs of the Tagalogs. Some may know him for
his work, Doctrina Cristiana (Christian Doctrine) which
was the first book ever printed in the Philippines.
§ Born in the early 16th century as Juan Portocarrero in
Plasencia, in the region of Extremadura, Spain
§ Fray Juan de Plasencia came together with the first batch of

Franciscan missionaries in the Philippines.

§ Wrote a number of books designed primarily to promote

the understanding of both the Spanish language among the

natives, and the local languages among the missionaries, to
facilitate the task of spreading Christianity

§ Died in Liliw, Laguna in 1590.

• Relacion de las Costumbres
de Los Tagalos (1589)
• La Santina
• Un tomo de sermones varios
en tagalog
Juan de Plasencia
 DAT OS

§ Governed the Tagalogs

§ Captains in their wars
§ Chief of the barangay (boat in the Malay language)
§ Anyone who offended the dato and his family was severely punished
§Maharlica
§Aliping Namamahay
§Aliping sa Guiguilir
MAHARLICA
HIGHEST CLASS – NOBLES

§ Freeborn
§ Did not pay tax
§ Accompany the dato in
their war
§ When married, they cannot
transfer from one village to
another, or one barangay to
the other, without paying a
certain amount
 ALIPING NAMAMAHAY
COMMONERS

§ Serve their master

§ Accompany the dato
in war
§ Rowed for him in his
travel
§ Often mistaken as
slaves
 ALIPING SA GUIGUILIR
SLAVES

§In the master’s house and land

§Can be sold and transferred
§A portion of harvest is given to him
§Can be paid to the quality of work
 STATUS OF CHILD/CHILDREN

§ Maharlica + Maharlica Maharlica

§ Maharlica + Slave (own) Freeman (child & mother)

§ Maharlica + Slave (another) Slave AND Free

§ Maharlica + Slave (namamahay or sa guiguilir)

father, mother, father, mother, father

half free + half slave
§ (Payment) Given by the men
to the woman’s parents
§ Unmarried woman cannot
own property

Before birth:
Has intention of marrying
another (wife) = 2x dowry
given to the husband
§ Has no intentions of marrying
another (wife):
Dowry is given back to
the husband

§ After birth of the children:

the fine and dowry was given to
them which was held by their
responsible relatives

*”all do not do it”

 § They have the name
SIMBAHAN, which means a
temple or place of adoration.
§ They have this worship
called PANDOT

- celebrated inthe large house of the chief

- created a temporary shed called sibi for the purpose of sheltering
the assembled people
- the whole barangay who are united and joined during the worship, they
are called NAGAANITOS
 DISTINCTIONS AMONG THE PRIESTS OF THE
DEVIL WERE AS FOLLOWS:
1. CATALONAN - either man or woman
- an honorable one among the natives and
could be held by people of rank
2. MANGAGAUAY - also known as witches, deceive or pretends
to heal the sick
- if wishes to kill someone at once, they could;
and they could prolong life for a year by binding to
the waist a live serpent
3. MANYISALAT - same with mangagauay
- had the power of applying remedies to lovers that
they would abandon their own wives, and prevent
 - them in having sexual intercourse with the latter
- if the woman, constrained by these, were abandoned
it would bring sickness, would discharge blood and matter
4. MANCOCOLAM - duty was to emit fire from himself at night, once or
oftener each month
- the fire emitted could not be extinguished
5. HOCLOBAN - another kind of witch but of greater efficacy
than the mangagauay
- they could kill someone whom they chose either
by saluting or raising the hand
- they could heal those whom they made ill by
using other charms
6. SILAGAN - clothed in white who lives in the island of
Catanduanes
- tears out liver and eats it, thus causing death
7. MAGTATANGAL - occurs in Catanduanes
- purpose is to show himself at night to many persons,
without his head or entrails
- in the morning, returns his head or remaining, like an alive
person
- many natives affirmed seeing it

8. OSUANG - sorcerer
- flies, murders men, eats their flesh
- occurs in the Visayas islands, does not exist among the Tagalogs
9. MANGAGAYOMA

(GAYUMA or LOVE POTION)

10. SONAT
11. PANGATAHOJAN

12. BAYOGUIN
§ deceased buried beside the house
§ if he were a chief, placed beneath the little house or porch that
was built for this purpose
§ before interring him, mourns the chief for four days then
afterward laid him in a boat that will serve as a coffin or bier, a
guard was kept over him by a slave
§ if the deceased was a warrior, a living slave is tied beneath
him until the slave dies too
§ for many days the relatives of the deceased would bewailed
him, singing dirges, and praising him of his good qualities
until they got weary, this is accompanied by eating and
drinking also
§dug deep, perpendicular hole, and placed the
deceased within it, leaving in an upright position
with head unburied in which they put half of the
coconut to the head that will serve as a shield
§for retribution, they will pursuit the Indian who
killed the Negrito
§ Through this document, we are able to
acquire knowledge on the culture of the
Tagalogs back then
§ Knowing our past gives an individual sense
of being which then could be a national
identity Customs of the Tagalogs
Juan de Plasencia
§ This document clearly shows that we
already have a certain degree of
civilization even before the Spaniards
came
§ Social structure
§ Political organization
§ Religious belief
§ Ways of burying the dead
§ Culture
THANK YOU!
§LEADER: CASTRO, FERN ROSHAN
§MEMBERS: FAJARDO, NICOLA FRANCHESCA
RUIZ, GIANINA
VELASCO, CHIARA
VENCI, AMERY