Code of Kalantiaw

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The Code of Rajah Kalantiaw was a supposed legal code in the epic history Maragtas that is said to
have been written in 1433 by Datu Kalantiaw, a chief on the island of Negros in the Philippines. The
code is now believed by many historians to have been a hoax and that it had actually been written in
1913 by Jose E. Marco as a part of his historical fiction Las antiguas leyendas de la Isla de
Negros (English: The Ancient Legends of the Island of Negros), which he attributed to a priest
named Jose Maria Pavon.
In 1990, Philippine historian Teodoro Agoncillo described the code as "a disputed
document."[1] Despite doubts on its authenticity, some history texts continue to present it as historical
fact.[2]

History and authenticity dispute[edit]

In 2019, the historian Josué Soncuya wrote about the Code of Kalantiaw in his book Historia
Prehispana de Filipinas ("Prehispanic History of the Philippines") where he moved the location of the
Code's origin from Negros to the Panay province of Aklan because he suspected that it may be
related to the Ati-atihan festival. Other authors throughout the 20th century gave credence to the
story and the code.
In 1965, then University of Santo Tomas doctoral candidate William Henry Scott began an
examination of prehispanic sources for the study of Philippine history. Scott eventually demonstrated
that the code was a forgery committed by Marco. When Scott presented these conclusions in his
doctoral dissertation, defended on 16 June 1968 before a panel of eminent Filipino historians which
included Teodoro Agoncillo, Horacio de la Costa, Marcelino Foronda, Mercedes Grau
Santamaria, Nicolas Zafra and Gregorio Zaide, not a single question was raised about the chapter
which he had called The Contributions of Jose E. Marco to Philippine historiography. However, in
1971 a decoration to be known as the Order of Kalantiao was created, to be awarded to any citizen
of the Philippines for exceptional and meritorious services to the Republic in the administration of
justice and in the field of law.[3]
Scott later published his findings debunking the code in his book Prehispanic Source Materials for
the Study of Philippine History.[4] Filipino historians later removed the code from future literature
regarding Philippine history.[5] When Antonio W. Molina published a Spanish version of his The
Philippines Through the Centuries as Centuries as historia de Filipinas (Madrid, 1984), he replaced
the Code with one sentence: "La tésis doctoral del historador Scott desbarate la existencia misma de
dicho Código" (The doctoral dissertation of the historian Scott demolishes the very existence of the
Code).[6]
The authenticity of the code had been questioned previously by other scholars,[8] However, despite
this and despite Scott's findings, changes in textbooks and in academic curriculum were not
forthcoming until almost thirty years following the release of Scott’s publication in 1969. In the interim,
the Code of Kalantiaw continued to be taught as a part of ancient Philippine history.[9]
In 2004, National Historical Institute (NHI) Resolution No. 12 "[d]eclaring that Code of
Kalantiao/Kalantiaw has no Valid Historical Basis" called for: (1) the official affirmation that the
Kalantiaw Code is a twentieth-century fraudulent work by Jose Marco, (2) the President of the
Philippines cease to honor retiring Supreme justices and other international dignitaries with the
‘Order of Kalantiaw’, and (3) the revoking of Executive Order 234, which recognized Datu Bondahara
Kalantiaw as "The First Philippine Lawgiver" and declared a Hall of Fame and Library to be
constructed in his honor in Batan, Aklan as a national shrine.[10] This NHI resolution was approved by
the Office of the President in 2005.[11]

Laws of the Kalantiaw Code[edit]

In his book, Struggle for Freedom (2008), Cecilio Duka provides a full reproduction of the code for
the reader's "critical examination... to decide on its veracity and accuracy".[12]
Article I
Ye shall not kill, neither shall ye steal nor shall ye hurt the aged, lest ye incur the danger of death. All
those who this order shall infringe shall be tied to a stone and drowned in a river or in boiling water.
Article II
Ye shall punctually meet your debt with your headman. He who fulfills not, for the first time shall be
lashed a hundredfold, and If the obligation is great, his hand shall be dipped threefold in boiling
water. On conviction, he shall be flogged to death.
Article III
Obey ye: no one shall have wives that are too young, nor shall they be more than what he can take
care of, nor spend much luxury. He who fulfils not, obeys not, shall be condemned to swim three
hours and, for the second time, shall be scourged with spines to death.
Article IV
Observe and obey ye: Let not the peace of the graves be disturbed; due respect must be accorded
them on passing by caves and trees where they are. He who observes not shall die by bites of ants
or shall be flogged with spines till death.
Article V
Obey ye: Exchange in food must be carried out faithfully. He who complies not shall be lashed for an
hour. He who repeats the act shall, for a day be exposed to the ants.
Article VI
Ye shall revere respectable places, trees of known value, and other sites. He shall pay a month's
work, in gold or money, whoever fails to do this; and if twice committed, he shall be declared a slave.
Article VII
They shall die who kill trees of venerable aspect; who at night shoot with arrows the aged men and
the women; he who enters the house of the headman without permission; he who kills a fish or shark
or striped crocodile.
Article VIII
They shall be slaves for a given time who steal away the women of the headmen; he who possesses
dogs that bite the headmen; he who burns another man's sown field.
Article IX
They shall be slaves for a given time, who sing in their night errands, kill manual birds, tear
documents belonging to the headmen; who are evil-minded liars; who play with the dead.
Article X
It shall be the obligation of every mother to show her daughter secretly the things that are lacivious,
and prepare them for womanhood; men shall not be cruel to their wives, nor should they punish them
when they catch them in the act of adultery. He who disobeys shall be torn to pieces and thrown to
the caymans.
Article XI
They shall be burned, who by force or cunning have mocked at and eluded punishment, or who have
killed two young boys, or shall try to steal the women of the old men (agurangs).
Article XII
They shall be drowned, all slaves who assault their superiors or their lords and masters; all those
who abuse their luxury; those who kill their anitos by breaking them or throwing them away.
Article XIII
They shall be exposed to the ants for half a day, who kill a black cat during the new moon or steal
things belonging to the headmen.
Article XIV
They shall be slaves for life, who having beautiful daughters shall deny them to the sons of the
headman, or shall hide them in bad faith.
Article XV
Concerning their beliefs and superstitions: they shall be scourged, who eat bad meat of respected
insects or herbs that are supposed to be good; who hurt or kill the young manual bird and the white
monkey.
Article XVI
Their fingers shall be cut off, who break wooden or clay idols in their olangangs and places of
oblation; he who breaks Tagalan's daggers for hog killing, or breaks drinking vases.
Article XVII
They shall be killed, who profane places where sacred objects of their diwatas or headmen are
buried. He who gives way to the call of nature at such places shall be burned.
Article XVIII
Those who do not cause these rules to be observed, if they are headmen, shall be stoned and
crushed to death, and if they are old men, shall be placed in rivers to be eaten by sharks and
crocodiles.