SPIRITUAL BELIEFS OF THE EARLY FILIPINOS

 The name of the Philippines came from the navigator Ruy Lopez de Villalobos when he named
the archipelago Las Islas Felipinas in 1542 after the heir of the Spanish throne Prince Phillip II.
According to William henry Scott, Filipino was used in some friar accounts of the early 17 th
century to refer to the natives before they became indios.

 The Philippines did not have any thriving or powerful kingdoms or vast empires before the advent
of Islam and its sultanates in the 15th century, and Spanish colonization in the late 16th century.

 The archipelago was decentralized and divided into localized settlements called barangay, this
term came from balangay, an Austronesian sea-going vessel. These barangays were not just small
political entities but they could also seen as economic, social, cultural, and spiritual institutions.

 The spiritual life in the barangay was led by the local spiritual leader called babaylan in Visayas
and catalonan in Luzon particularly in tagalog areas. This postion was usually obtained by a
female but a male could also serve as one; however he must act and dress as a female. The
position could be passed from one generation to the next, but being a child or a relative of the
babaylan is not enough to become the next spiritual leader; since one must also require all the
skills and abilities needed to fulfil the position. The babaylan led the barangay in all rituals,
particularly those involving sacrifices for the local deities and spirits to gain favors, as she was
believed to have the power to transcend to the spiritual realm. Due to linguistic and geographical
difference, the use of the terms for these deities varies, Visayans called them diwata while the
tagalogs used anito. These deities manifested by the forces of nature but they can also be
represented through wooden carvings and other inaminate objects.

 It shows that the country already had its own belief systems and world views before the coming
of Islam and Christianity. The primary source coming from the religious and non-religious
accounts that would give light on how they worshipped their deities from the Visayan archipelago
to the islands of Luzon and Mindanao.
 Excerpt from Relation of the Worship of the tagalogs, Their Gods, and Their Burials and
Superstitions by Fray Juan de Plasencia
Fray Juan de Plasencia
 First Franciscan missionaries in the Phils.
 Responsible for the foundation of various towbns in Luzon (Laguna and Tayabas) for the
conversion to Catholicism
 Author of numerous religious books such as Doctrina Christiana, first book printed in the
Philippines and used by the Spaniards to aid them in the Christianization of the Philippines;
Las costumbres de los Tagalos en Filipinas and Vocabulario de la Lengua Tagala (early
Filipino cultural traditions).

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  Known to be the defender of the natives from the Spanish officials which resulted in the
Manila Synod of 1582 (A synod is a council assembled by the church wherein they decide
matters of doctrine, administration, or application.
 He was also instrumental in the resettolement of the natives as he suggested the reduccion
plicy in the synod.
 He died in Liliw, Laguna in 1590.
 This excerpt is the second part of the Costumbres de los Tagalos (1859) which was a report
to a Spanish noble after receiving His Lordship’s letter requesting information about the
natives.
 The Costumbres is Plasencia’s account of the traditions, society, marriage, laws, dowries,
and spiritual beliefs of the Tagalogs.
Primary Source:
 Simbahan – which means a temple or place of adoration;
 Pandot or worhisp – formerly when they wished to celebrate a festival, they celebrated it
in the large house of a chief.
 Sibi – a temporary shed on each side of the house to protect people from the wet when it
rained
 Sorihile – set of small lamps on the posts of the house; in the center of the house they
placed one large lamps with adorned leaves of the white palm with many designs.
 Nagaanitos – the whole barangay or family united and joined in the worship.
 Badhala – they especially worshiped. The title signifiy “all powerful” or “maker of all
things”. Bathala, Batala or Badhala is the most powerful deity of the early Tagalog
pantheon. The name Bathala came from the Sankrit term bhattara which means noble lord.
 Sun – account on its beauty
 Moon – when it was new, they held great rejoicings, adoring it, and bidding it welcome.
 Stars – (Tala) one exception of the morning star
 Lic-ha – they possessed many idols, which were images with different shapes
 Dian Masalanta – the patron of lovers and of generation
 Lacapati and Idianale – the patrons of the cultivated lands and of husbandry
Lacapati – is the deity of fertility and agriculture among the early tagalogs. A
hermaphrodite which represents life and regeneration through sexual union.
 Buaya (crocodiles) – they paid reverence to water-lizards from fear of being harmed by
them, and offer a portion of what they carried in their boats.
 Catalonan – who sung praise and poetic songs a.k.a. the officiating priest, male or female.
The devil was sometimes liable to enter into the body of the catalonan.
 Reasons for offering sacrifice and adoration: recovery of the sick person, prosperous
voyage on the sea, good harvest in the sowed lands, a successful delivery in childbirth,
happy outcome for married life.
 Manunggul Jar- a Neolithic jar found in Manunggul cave , Lipuun Point, Palawan in the
early 1960s. one of the most important archaeological artifacts in the Philippines as it

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 signifies not only prehistoric indigenous burial practices but also the belief in a soul and
life after death of early Filipinos.
 Source: The Philippine Islands, Vol. VII.
 Excerpt from Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas by Antonio de Morga
Antonio de Morga
 Spanish high ranking official in the Philippines from 1593 to 1603.
 A lawyer by profession, held the position of oidor or judge of the real Audencia
 The author of Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas (Events in the Philippines Islands) the most
comprehensive accounts of 16th century Spanish colonization. The book coversd the
political, economics, social, and cultural life of the Filipinos and Spaniards from 1493 to
1603. Based on documentary research, observation and personal involvement of Morga.
 The excerpt of the Sucesos talks about the “ignorance, stubbornness” of the non Christian
Filipinos.
Primary Source:
 Pagans – refers the natives (barbarously and with greater blindness) without any knowledge
of the true God. The devil deceived them with a thousand errors and blindnesses.
 Anitos – the term in which they worshiped and make images in the said forms. They kept
in caves and in private houses, offered perfumes and odors, and food and fruit.
 Batala – a yellow colored bird that dwells in their woods as some natives worshipped it.
 Crocodiles – they worship and adore by kneeling down and clasping of hands because of
the harm they receive from those reptiles, by doing that they will become appeased and
leave them,
 Worship of Idols– there were no temples nor houses generally used for the worship of idols.
But each person possessed and made in his house his own anitos without any ceremony.
 Catalonas – Old men and women, experienced witches and sorcerers, who described by
Morga, made the natives deceived.
 Antonio de Morga, a Spaniard and Christian shows his own biases in this document.

 Excerpt from Relacion de las Islas Filipinas by Miguel de Loarca

Miguel de Loarca
 Spanish conquistadores; Spanish military officer; the first Spaniard to conduct the colony’s
earlist census; became on of the earlist encomenderos in the Philippines.
 Documented the customs and traditions of early Filipinos in his work Relacion de las Islas
Filipinas (1582). This excerpt from his Relacion talks about the beliefs of the people from
Panay or so called Pintados.

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 Excerpt from Relacion de las Islas Filipinas by Pedro Chirino
Pedro Chirino
 A well known (friar) and devoted Jesuit missionaries of the early colonial period; founder
of various towns and parishes; crucial role recording the ancient Tagalog script baybayin
to Latin alphabet.
 The author of relacion de las Islas Filipinas (1604) which was later transformed into a
massive two volume History of the Philippine Province of the Society of Jesus that
discusses Jesuit missions and Catholic conversion of the Filipinos;
 Died on Manila on September 16, 1635.
 Relacion, an important chronicle of the early colonization period, focusing on the spiritual
transformation of the colony based on Chirino’s experience in the laborious evangelical
mission of the Jesuits. The document is an excerpt from chapter 21 from 82 chapter book
which narrates the “fals religion of the pagans” and superstitions of the Filipino.
Primary Source:
 The government and religion is founded on tradition and custom introduced by the Devil,
who spoke to them through their idols.
 Bathala Mei capal- deity of the Tagalos, which means “God the creator or maker”;
 Laon – supreme deity of the Visayans/Bisayans, which denotes antiquity. The counterpart
in Tagalog is Bathala, Kabunian in Ilocos and Cordillera, Gugurang among Bicolanos.
 Idolatry – adoration and deification of their ancestors based on valiant deeds, or cruelties,
or obscene and lewd acts.
 Larauan – which signifies idol, image or statue.
 The devil communicates with them through their idols or anitos, playing the role of the
dead man whom they are adoring; often enters into the person of the priest himself.

EARLY PHILIPPINE SOCIETY AND CULTURE

 Since the Philippines is archipelagic in nature, decentralized communities to exist.
 Barangay – the primary political, economic and sociocultural institution in the Philippines.
It composed of 30-100 families living in a not well defined but customarily agreed territory.
Can form alliance with other barangays to become powerful and prosperous and can
achieved through marriage and blood compact. The baranganic society can be divided into
three socioeconomic classes:
(1) Maginoo (Tagalog) and Kadatoan (Visayan) – First is the ruling class or nobility

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 (2) Maharlika (Tagalog) and Timawa (Visayan) Commoners of Freemen – Formed the
majority of the people in the barangay.
(3) Slaves – a person becomes one through debt bondage, raids and wars, and punishment
for a crime.
 Social mobility – members of the barangay particularly the comoners can transfer to other
barangay if they are against the rule of datu.
 Datu – the highest official of the barangay. The datu must be from the ruling class because
wealth, power, and influence were needed to maintain such position. The Datu governs the
barangay as its primary maker, executor, and adjudicator of laws. He was also responsible
in providing protection for the barangay in times of raids and wars as the leader of the
bagani, the warriors of the community.
 Excerpt from the Boxer Codex
 Boxer Codex – A Comprehensive account of the Philippines and other parts of Asia Pacific
in the late sixteenth century. A significant source of early Filipino beliefs systems, customs,
and tradition which makes it highly important in Philippine historiography.
 Anonymously authored, but prominently acquired by the British Scholar Charles R. Boxer
in 1947
 Translated by the National Artist, Carlos Quirino, Ma. Luisa Garcia and Mauro Garcia.
 The original manuscript of Boxer Codex is presently housed by Indiana University in their
Lily library, one of the largest rare book and manuscript libraries in the United States.
 The excerpt is from the fourth chapter of the codex titled “Customs, Ceremonial Usages,
and Rites of the Bisayans” wherein the focus is on the tattoting and clothing traditions of
the Visayans.
 The Bisayans paint their bodies with very elegant tattoos using iron or brass rods, the points
of which are heated on a fire by an artisans who are adept of this.
 They do this with such order, symmetry, and coordination which elicit admiration from
those who see them.
 Paintings all parts of the body: chest, stomach, legs, arms, shoulders, hands, muscles,
posteriors. The women (hands) and men (serve as clothing)
 Bahaque – a cotton cloth two fathoms long or a bit longer, and three foourths of a fathom
wide, they wrap around the waist between legs to cover their private parts and posteriors,
leaving the rest of the body naked.
 Purones – The men carry on their heads with multi colored head scarfs
 Pezuelo – a chemise with half sleeves that reach the elbows.

 Excerpt from the Cronicas by Juan Francisco de San Antonio

 Juan Francisco de San Antonio – a missionary of the Franciscan order; A rich contributions
to Early Filipino historiography.

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  Cronicas or Philippine Chronicles is a comprehensive study of the early Filipinos as well
as the Chinese and Japanese in the Philippines during the early colonial period such as the
native languages, clothings, ornaments and physical features.
 The focus of this excerpt is the Visayans marriage custom, rituals, ceremonies and dowry
system.
Primary Source:
 The chiefs and wealthy were allowed to have some slaves as concubines, esp if their own
wives did not prove fruitful.
 A man can have one legitimate wife (own family, very closely related, first degree) and
marriage is indissoluble.
 The dowry or Bigaycaya – was given by the groom to the bride’s parents. The practive of
the dowry varied depending on the socioeconomic status of the couple.
 Pasonor – gift to the married couple to suit the occasion
 Panhimuyat – the sum that had to be paid to the mother of the bride in return for her care
and labor in the rearing and education of her daughter
 Pasoso- the sum tha was to be paid to the chichiva or nurse, who had reared her.
 The bigaycaya is not the same in all the villages. Some converted the property of the parents
of the bride, way of trade, selling of their daughters for a reasonable price.
 Pamamuhay – the furnishing of the house of the couple.
 Palapla- a sort of bower, by which they make the house larger so that all the guest may be
accommodated easily.
 Excerpt from the Labor Evangelica: Of the Government and Political Customs of these Peoples
by Francisco Colin, S.J.
 Francisco Colin (1592-1660) Jesuit missionary and historian of the early colonial period.
 Labor Evangelica (1663) discuss the custom and traditions of the natives of the Philippines.
Most studied groups are the tagalogs and the Visayan such as clothing, physical
appearance, marriage, eating patterns, songs and dances, and bathing habits.
 The excerpt focus on the social structure, government and political customs of these two
groups of early Filipinos.
Primary Source:
 Three kinds and classes of people: the chiefs, (Visayan= dato; Tagalogs= Maginoo) the
commoner who are the commoner people (Visayans= timauas, Tagalogs= maharlica) and
the slaves (Visayas=oripuen; Tagalog= alipin)
 If a man of one barangay happened to marry a woman to another, the children had to be
dividided between the barangay, in the same manner as the slaves.
 The Datu was the political ruler of the barangay. As the main warrior, he was responsible
for the safety of the barangay. He also had shares in tributes paid by the people called buhis.
The datu was usually the wealthiest person in the barangay, Notably, wealth is a
requirement to become a datu. As the artiber of the law, the datu acted as judge of the

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 barangay, In determining the guilt or innocence of a violator, the datu was assisted by the
elders of the barangay. The timawas were the commoners or freemen in the early Tagalog
society. Their Visayan counterparts were the maharlikas.

SPANISH COLONIZATION OF THE PHILIPPINES

 A period for more than 300 years; hospitality extended by the early Filipinos to Magellan’s
expedition, a description of the Battle of Mactan written by Antonio Pigaffeta, chronicler
of the Magellan Expedition.
 Instructions given by the King of Spain to Miguel Lopez de Legazpi to establish a Spanish
settlement
 Introduction of Spanish colonial institutions such as the reduccion (settlement of the
Filipinos in newly created towns), the payment of tribute and forced labor.
 The early revolts: Bancao Revolt, Sumuroy Revolt
 The campaign for reforms: The Propaganda Movement, La Solidaridad
 The revolution against Spain: The Philippine Revolution

THE PHILIPPINES BECOMES A SPANISH COLONY

 Europe saw an age of exploration and expansion brought about by various factors:
(1) the economic motive of finding a direct access to the profitable Oriental trade of luxury
goods such as silk and spices.
(2) scientific and technological progress in shipbuilding, cartography and navigational
instruments. The effort of Portuguese Prince Henry who established a navigational school
that gathered together scholars and sailors from all over Meditteranean.
(3) the quest to explore unknown and distant lands also involved the religious mission of
spreading the Christian faith.
 Spain and Portugal maintained an anti-Muslim attitude emanating from the recent
Reconquista of the Iberian Peninsula against the Muslim Moors and a religious zeal to
convert the peoples of Asia and Africa.
 The Philippines was part of the Spanish empire for more than three centuries.
- Native societies underwent great transformation;
- The islands were named Las Phelipinas by Spanish voyagers;
- The population was organized into pueblos or towns;
- Pagans practices were suppresses and Catholic Christianity was introduced;
- A central government was established in the colonial capital of Manila

Excerpts from the First Voyage Around the World by Antonio Pigafetta

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  Ferdinand Magellan – Portuguese sailor who defected to Spain after his services to the
Portuguese crown were not recognized.
 Participated in the capture of Malacca by the Portuegues forces in 1511
 Managed to persuade King Charles V for an expedition that would discover a Western
route to the East
 First Voyage Around the World- the Italian nauthor was Antonio Pigaffeta
 March 16, 1521 – almost 2 years of hardship at sea, they saw the island of Samar in the
eastern part of the country.
 Magellan observe that the ocean was calm and tranquil and called it Mar Pacifico – which
the Pacific Ocean its current name
 Mazaua- a small island in which the first recorded mass in Philippine history
 The island of Ladroni – an island named Zamal (Samar)
 The port of Cebu – they met Cebu ruler – Raja Humabon – convince to become vassal of
the King and a servant of Christ
 The two chiefs of Mactan – Zula and Lapu-lapu followed by a battle
 Victoria – the remaining little ship commanded by Sebastian del Cano who was able to
return safely
 Ruy de Villalobos gave the islands the name Las Phelipinas in honor of the Spanish crown
prince Philip II (son of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V)
Excerpts from “Instruction to Miguel Lopez de Legazpi from the Royal Audencia of New
Spain”
 King Philip II, decided to relinquish his claims to the Moluccas to Portugal and colonize
the Philippines
 Miguel Lopez de Lagzapi, organized in Mexico, the Philippines would be ruled from
Mexico, also known as New Spain, a viceroyalty of the Spanish empire.
 In the island of Bohol, Legazpi performed the blood compact with chief Sikatuna which
signified a friendly relationship.
 Became the first governor-general of the Philippines
 Legazpi arrived in the island of Cebu (April 27, 1565) and defeated the recalcitrant
Cebuanos and establish settlement calling it Nombre de Jesus after a wooden image of holy
child was discovered by one of his men.
 Due to lack of food, he transferred cam to nearby island Panay and sent the master camp,
Martin de Goitin to explore in northern region of Luzon.

Excerpts from Relation of the Conquest of the Island of Luzon

 De Goiti – found the port and town of Maynilad along the mouth of the Pasig River
 Peace was negotiated between the Spaniards and the natives of Maynilad led by its Muslim
chief Raja Soliman but hoslities soon ensued by the Spaniards with the helo of their Visayan
allies.

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 Legazpi transferred to Maynilad in 1571 and made it the capital of the new colony. They
encountered several Chinese traders in which contributed to the decision to transfer to
Manila
 Manila develop into a city within walls or Intramuros where most of the Spanish residents
lived.
 Miguel Lopez de Legazpi held the tile (adelando – advanced officer). As the Spaniards
approached, the houses of the natives in Manila was on fire and fled.
 May 18 1571, after negotiations with raja Matanda and Lakandula, the adelando conquered
Manila. Three years later, it was given the title Muy Insigne y Siempre Leal Ciudad
(Eminent/ Distinguished and Ever Loyal City) from Spain.
 The encomienda system was established in 1565. The word encomienda comes from the
Spanish encomendar, meaning to “entrust”; a grant from the Spanish crown to a meritorious
Spaniard to exercise control over a specific place including its inhabitants.
 A civilizing tool called reduccion, comes from the word reducer, meaning to resettle.
Natives population was ressetled in new settlements where a church was constructed and
natives were within the hearing distance of the church bells (bajo el son de la campana). The
Spanish saw the reduccion as a means to make the Filipinos law-abiding citizens of the
Spanish crown.
 Those who rejected the Spaniards and the religion they brought went to the hills and were
called as remontados, cimarrones, ladrones monteses, malhechores, or tulisanes from the
Spaniards point of view.
 Polo y servicios involved the Chinese or Filipino male mestizos from 16 to 60 years old to
render free and personal service to community projects.
 Exemption to the polo y servicios : (1) the native ruling elite and their sons; (2) those able
to pay the falla – meaning absence – amount equal to 1 ½ real, every day for 40 days; (3)
person with disabilities.
 The repartimiento system allowed the masters in colonies to recruit natives to work for
public or community projects.
 Different economic institutions like polo y servicios and tribute (personal tax) were
imposed on the native in order to support the different colonial projects in the archipelago.

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