What does Pigafetta's account and the short documentaries reveal about the early Filipinos and the

Philippine precolonial society?

The pigafetta’s account and the short documentaries shows that the early Filipinos or the precolonial
society in Philippines is already home to societies with varies degrees of sophistication, religious belief
and cultural practices particularly in samal (samar), ceylun (leyte) and zubu (cebu). They also had their
own political unit which every barangay had their own leaders called “datu”, “raja” or chieftain and it
was a hereditary position. Early Filipinos economic activities was through trading or exchanging of
coconuts, gold, rice, fish, jar of fine wine called uraca, bananas and other products in addition zulu port
or cebu was the largest and the one with most trade. According to the Pigafetta’s account early Filipinos
particularly the leaders was painted or full of tattoos, they wore gold earings, gold armlets, silk cloth
that covers their lower private parts and kerchiefs in their head which give Magellan an idea that
Philippines is full of gold at the same time Native Filipinos are very hospitable but they can also be
hostile to one another or to their enemies. In precolonial Filipinos worshipped nothing but they raised
their clasped hand and head to the sky calling their God “Abba”. However, heathen people are full of
tattoos and heavy drinkers also Moros people are Muslim who are already existing in the precolonial
period. Their way of transportation is Balangahai a small boat.

(2) In your own words, why is it important to know about the early civilization as a foundation of our
country today?

Knowing about the early civilization as a foundation of our country today is very significant to the
Philippine society particularly in today’s generation were Filipinos are forgetting their real identity and
we are being greatly influenced again by the western and eastern culture to the point of forgetting our
own cultures as Filipinos. We already know that the Philippines had been colonized for many decades
and we are still struggling to learn more about our real Filipino cultures in the period of pre-colonial
because of the influenced of the colonialization of Spanish and America also the Japanese invasion. For
me learning this will help the new generation to know the early people who live in the Philippines and
gives us the insight into how or why history has unfolded and became as it is.

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DEADLINE: September 15, 2021 (11:59PM)

From the Filipino perspective, it is important to recall crucial elements in this story that have often been
overlooked in Western narratives in the past 500 years. When Magellan reached the archipelago, the
islands were already home to societies with varying degrees of sophistication. Several “Datus” who
allied themselves with the Europeans were clearly operating on their own network of trade anamilial
relations that enabled them to interact with Magellan and his crew confidently. From the 10th to 13th
centuries, the archipelago was home to societies that cultivated the talents of goldsmiths who crafted
jewelry, regalia and other artifacts made from gold, to be discovered later in 20th century Surigao.

In earthquake and typhoon-prone Philippines, the preservation of artifacts and architecture is near
impossible. It is easy to believe that everything we had, we learned from Spain. No wonder, then, that
the occasional discoveries of pre-colonial antiquities and prehistoric remains, some dating as far back as
60,000 years ago, have evoked the precolonial past that some Filipinos sentimentally seek asa basis for
a national identity that is free of colonialism.