Background of the author

Fray Juan de Plasencia, whose real name was Joan de Puerto Carrero, del
convento de Villanueva de la Serena, was a Spanish friar of the Franciscan Order. In
the early 16th century, Fray Juan was born into the illustrious Portocarreros family in
Plasencia, Extremadura, Spain. He was one of Pedro Portocarrero's seven children, the
captain of a Spanish schooner. On July 2, 1578, he was among the first Franciscan
missionaries to arrive in the Philippines. He established many communities in Luzon
and wrote various religious and linguistic works there. He is the author of what is said to
be the first book printed in the Philippines, the Doctrina Cristiana, which was produced
not only in Spanish but also in Tagalog, in both Latin and the indigenous' writing
Baybayin script, and even had a Chinese translation.

He wrote several books aimed at improving both the natives' understanding of

the Spanish language and missionaries' understanding of local languages to make the
mission of spreading Christianity easier. His other works include the "Relación de las
Costumbres de Los Tagalos" (1589), which not only helped comprehend and preserve
many of the local population's ancient traditions. Also, it provided the first Civil Code,
which was applied by local governors to administer justice. In the year 1590, Fray Juan
died in Liliw, Laguna.

Historical background of the document.

Fray Juan de Plasencia wrote Customs of the Tagalogs in the backdrop of the
circumstances when he arrived in the Philippines. Fray Juan de Plasencia and another
confrere, Fray Diego de Oropresa, were preaching across Laguna de Bay and as far as
Tayabas (now Quezon Province) only two months after their arrival in Manila, converting
people to Catholic faith. Tayabas, Calilaya, Lucban, Mahayhay, Nagcarlang, Lilio, Pilia,
Santa Cruz, Lumbang, Pangil, Siniloan, Morong, Antipolo, Taytay, and Meycawayan
were among the locations he preached and built in the present-day provinces of
Bulacan and Rizal.

The society was divided into three social classes: the Nobles, who were made up
of datus and families, the Maharlika, who were freemen or commoners, and the alipin,
who were dependents. Tagalogs used the terms Gat and Lakan to refer to members of
the nobility. They are living in a home constructed of wood, bamboo, and nipa palm.
Males are supposed to wear a headpiece called Putong, which represents the number
of people murdered by the wearer, a kanggan, which serves as their jacket with short
sleeves, and bahag, which acts as their bottoms. Females wear baro, camisa, and saya
as a kind of clothing. The government's smallest unit is the barangay, which is controlled
by a chieftain and comprises 30-100 households, including relatives and slaves.

Content presentation and analysis of the important historical information found in

the document
Fray Juan de Plasencia depicts the early Filipinos' government, laws, culture,
tradition, and belief system. We can start with the chiefs at that time. We called them
Datus, which people obeyed and reverenced. But if people disobeyed, they were
severely punished. Chief or Datus rules his tribe, which we call now barangay.

Moreover, there are three castes or classes in every tribe. These are Nobles,
Commoners, and Slaves. Nobles or Maharlika are the types of castes that don't pay
taxes or contribute anything to the chief, but they need to accompany him in wars. While
commoners or aliping namamahay are married, they need to serve their masters
whether he is the chief. Also, they always need to be with Datu. And the last type of
castes is the slaves or aliping sa guiguilir. These people serve their master in his house
and on his cultivated land, or they can also be sold.

Furthermore, at that time, they also had laws. Fines in gold or death punished the
people who disobeyed. At the same time, inheritance and dowry are much more
confusing and complicated than now. And every village has a different practice on
inheritance and dowry.

Contribution and relevance of the document in understanding the grand narrative

of Phil. History

The document written by Plasencia serves as an eye opener to the information

that was instilled to us up until now. We thought and believed that the culture and beliefs
that we have came from Spaniards. Little did we know that through this document we
are able to understand and break the wrong information that we believed. What this
document taught us is that we, Filipinos, have the culture, government, and civilization
in the first place even before the Spaniards came. It is a way for us to understand that
we have the original way of life not until Spaniards came to introduce, teach, and
influence us their culture which made our culture richer, mixed and improved that we are
still practicing and applying in present days. Also, this tells us that we Filipinos should
appreciate and be proud of the culture originated and inherited by our ancestors.
Personal Insights

Reading Juan de Plasencia’s work reminded me of my high school days when

our subject teacher at Araling Panlipunan taught us about this subject. This type of
structure, similar to the social ranking, still exists and divides us based on our standing
in society. Although we have laws defending human rights, we cannot deny that those
with a higher social status enjoy nearly all the benefits of living a decent life while those
with lower status strive to improve their situation. People who are affluent and wealthy
are given the top seats, while those who are poor and have nothing are given the lowest
seats. It only proves that life will never be fair and equal, but we can lessen its burden.
We may improve our humanity by practicing justice and equality, and we can begin by
treating others with respect, regardless of their status, money, or lack thereof.

This manuscript made me realize how difficult it was for our ancestors to live at their
time when people were considered commodities to be possessed. I particularly admire
the early judicial system, which incorporated fairness for each party led by the Datu or
other veterans of the conflict. As time passes by, everything changes, evolves, and
continues to develop. Things like rules and regulations are less crucial now than they
were before, but our culture and traditions are still alive, and they are being taught to us
to ensure that they would not perish. This enlightens us that our culture does not come
from others but rather originated from us. With that, we should be proud of what we
have. Let us be proud of the way of life our ancestors had back then, and together, we
all help our country grow and prosper for our way of living to continue to improve and be
better.

Links of information used:

About Juan de Plasencia: Spanish friar of the Franciscan Order (n/a - 1590) |
Biography, Facts, Career, Wiki, Life (peoplepill.com)

Life and Works of Fray Juan de Plasencia (tripod.com)