Module 1: The Meaning and Relevance of
the History
•This module emphasize relevance of
studying Philippine history in the 21st
Century. It focuses on analyzing Philippine
history from multiple perspectives based on
selected primary sources from various
disciplines and genres.
The Meaning and Relevance of History
In conducting any historical research,
different sources of information are required
to gain extensive knowledge on a particular
topic. Some researchers rely on written
sources while others choose to make use of
oral sources. No matter what source is being
utilized, it is important to know Which among
the gathered sources can provide accurate
details and information about the historical
event or subject being researched on.
It is important to distinguish primary from
secondary sources. The degree to which the
author of a piece is removed from the actual
event being described illustrates whether the
source is reporting impressions firsthand or
secondhand. As such, the primacy of primary
over secondary sources should be
considered by every researcher.
Primary sources are considered as
contemporary accounts of an event,
personally written or narrated by an individual
person who directly experienced or
participated in the said event. Aside from
eyewitness testimonies, primary sources also
include materials that capture the event such
as photographs, voice and video recordings,
and the like. These materials are considered
as original sources that directly narrate the
details of the event. These sources can be in
the form of diary and journal entries, letters,
memoirs, journals, speeches, interviews,
official records such as government
publications, minutes reports, artworks, and
artifacts. Primary sources mostly include
unpublished works of individuals that were
discovered after some time such as during
historical excavations and historical
researches done in public and private
libraries. In some instances, newspaper or
magazine articles are also considered
primary sources as long as they were written
soon after the events and not as historical
accounts.
On the other hand, secondary sources
serve as interpretations or reading of primary
sources. Usually; the author of a piece
incorporates his or her personal insights and
interpretations, thus detaching the original
value of the component of the subject being
discussed. These sources usually contain
analyses of primary sources by experts,
academicians, and professionals. These are
usually in the form of published works such
as journals, articles, reviews, books,
conference papers, and documentaries. They
can also be based on interpretations of other
secondary sources, or a combination of
primary and secondary sources. Many
historical researches also bank on secondary
sources to get different perspectives on a
particular topic. However; relying too much on
secondary sources may blur out the actual
details of particular historical events.
Therefore, primary and secondary sources
should be evaluated. Most scholars use the
following questions in evaluating
the validity and credibility of sources of
historical accounts:
1. How did the author know about the given
details? Was the author present at the event?
How soon was the author able to gather the
details of the event?
2. Where did the information come from? Is it
a personal experience, an eyewitness
account, or a report made by another
person?
3. Did the author conclude based on a single
source, or on many sources of evidence?
If the evaluation of an available source shows
any indication that it is an interpretative work
rather than a factual firsthand account, it is
considered as a secondary source. Thus, in
conducting historical research, it is important
to identify first whether the available sources
are primary or secondary sources. This is to
determine how reliable and helpful these
sources are.
It is already common knowledge in the
academe that both primary and secondary
sources are important in fleshing out the
details of significant events in history.
However, classifying a source as primary or
secondary has never been an easy task.
Nevertheless, the primacy of primary over
secondary sources has always been
recognized. This is due to the fact that a
primary source provides better and more
accurate historical details compared to a
secondary source. However, the authenticity
and reliability of primary sources should be
scrutinized before they are used. In this day
and age, the proliferation of fake news is
evident in both print and digital media
platforms. Thus, it becomes more apparent
that sources of texts should be scrutinized for
their credibility. However, in a nation where
there is minimal documentation of oral
history, it is very difficult to trace the primary
sources of many written historical records
that can help in understanding the relevance
of historical events in addressing
contemporary social issues.
Although primacy is given to primary sources;
there are instances when the credibility of
these sources are contestable.
Garraghan (1950) identified six points
ofinquiries to evaluate the authenticity of a
primary source:
1. Date — When was it produced?
2. Localization — Where did it originate?
3. Authorship — Who wrote it?
4. Analysis — What pre-existing material
served as the basis for its production?
5. Integrity - What was its original form?
6. Credibility — What is the evidential value
of its content?
The absence of primary documents that can
attest to the accuracy of any historical claim
is really a problem in the extensive study of
history. In that sense, the significance of
secondary sources should not bet
discredited. Secondary sources are readily
available in print and digital repositories,
Secondary accounts of historical events are
narratives commonly passed on from. one
generation to the next. or knowledge that is
shared within a community. Yet, similar to the
usual problem with passing information from
one point to, another, details can be altered.
As information is relayed from person to
person, the accuracy of the source material is
compromised. Nevertheless, secondary
source materials in the study of Philippine
history without conjectures ane refutations
have the capacity to fill in gaps caused by the
lack or absence of primary sources.
Louis Gottschalk (1969) emphasized that it is
impossible for historians to avoid using
secondary sources due to difficulty in
accessing primary sources. Most often,
historians depend on secondary sources to
improve their background knowledge of
contemporary documents and detect any
errors they may contain' Specifically;
Gottschalk suggested. That secondary
sources must only be used for (1) deriving the
setting wherein the contemporary evidence
will fit in the grand narrative of history; (2)
getting leads to other bibliographic data; (3)
acquiring quotations or citations from
contemporary or other sources; and (4)
deriving interpretations with a view of testing
and improving them but not accepting them
as outright truth. Historians should be
prepared to verify the information provided by
secondary sources.
Martha Howell and Walter Prevenier (2001)
stated that before any source can be
considered as evidence in a historical
argument, it must satisfy three preconditions.
First, it must be comprehensible at the most
basic level of vocabulary, language, and
handwriting: The first precondition sets the
ground for the contentions on the
acceptability of the source and for all the
aspects of the debate. Second, the source
must be carefully located in accordance with
place and time. Its author, composer, or
writer; and the location where it was
produced/published should be noted for the
checking of authenticity and accuracy. One
example is a personal letter which usually
indicates when (date) and where (place) it
was written. This information can assist in
corroborating the details of the source given
the whereabouts of its author as stated in a
letter. Third, through the first two
preconditions, the authenticity of the source
must always be checked and counterchecked
before being accepted as a credible source in
any historical findings. Subtle details such as
the quality of paper used, the ink or the
watermark of the parchment used, the way it
was encoded using a typeface or the way the
tape was electronically coded should be
carefully scrutinized to check if it Was forged
or mislabeled by archivists.
Cases of forgery and mislabeling are
common in Philippine historiography. One
example of the latter is Ambeth Ocampo’s
discovery of the alleged draft of Jose Rizal’s
third novel, the Makamisa. The stack of
writings was labeled Borrador del Noli Me
Tangere. However, upon reading the draft, it
is clear that it is not connected to Noli Me
Tangere and El Filibusterismo. This is a clear
case of mislabeling for the discovered draft
seems misplaced in the stack where it was
taken from. A closer look at the characters in
the novel, however, reveals a different setting
and story. This falsifies the alleged third novel
of Rizal. An example of forgery in historical
documents is the story of the great forger,
Roman Roque, who allegedly forged the
signature of Gen. Urbano Lacuna that led to
the captivity of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo. Roque
also forged the signature of Jose Rizal in the
great retraction controversy. Another
example, the claim that the supposed
autobiography of Josephine Bracken written
on February 22, 1897, which asserts her
marriage to Rizal under Catholic rites, was
badly forged. The penmanship on the
document varies significantly when compared
to the other letters written by Bracken.
Given the possibility of forgery and
mislabeling, historians’ not only evaluate the
sources in terms of external characteristics
that focus on the questions of where, when,
and by whom. They also evaluate in terms of
internal criteria which include seven factors
identified by Howell and Prevenier (2001);
1. The genealogy of the document - refers
to the development of the document. The
document may be original, a copy, or a copy
of the copy;
2. The genesis of the document - includes
the situations and the authorities during the
documents production;
3. The originality of the document -
includes the nature of the document whether
it is an eye/earwitness account or merely
passing of existing information;
4. The interpretation of the document
-pertains to deducing meaning from the
document;
5. The authorial authority of the document
- refers to the relationship between the
document’s subject matter and its author;
6. The competence of the observer - refers
to the authors capabilities and qualifications
to critically comprehend and report
information; and
7. The trustworthiness of the observer
-refers to the author’s integrity—whether he
or she fabricates or reports truthfully.
In general, the reliability of primary sources is
assessed on how these sources are directly
related and closely connected to the time of
the events they pertain to. On the other hand,
the reliability of secondary sources depends
on the elapsed time from the date of the
event to the date of their creation. More likely,
the farther the date of creation from the actual
event, the more reliable the source is. This is
because as time passes, more materials are
likely to be made available. With this, those
who engage in historical research-have the
opportunity to exhaust all available materials
in order to come up with extensive outputs.
Juan de Plasencia: his own soul as well as the lives and
possessions of the poor Indians.”
Las costumbres de los Indios Tagalos de
Filipinas
Background of the Author Historical Background of the Document
 Born to the illustrious family of
Portocarreros in Plasensia in the
Social Classes
region of Extremadura, Spain in the
early 16th century. He was one of the *insert diagram
seven children of Pedro Portocarrero,
CHI
a captain of a Spanish schooner.
EFT
 Juan de Plasencia grew up during the
EIN
period known as the Siglo de Oro, a
Golden Age when arts and literature (DA
flourished in many parts of Spain, NOBLES
TU)
among them his native Extremadura. (MAHARLIKA)
 Fray Joan de Puerto Carrero, del
COMMONERS
convento de Villanueva de la Serena.
Was his real name. (ALIPING NAMAMAHAY)

ARRIVAL IN THE PHILIPPINES DATU

•Fray Juan de Plasencia came together with
the first batch of Franciscan missionaries in
the Philippines.
•Arrived at a port in Cavite, a few kilometers
south of Manila on the 2nd ofJuly 1578.
PURPOSE: RELACION DE LAS
COSTUMBRES AND INSTRUCCION
• To put an end to some injustices being
committed against the natives by contain
government officials.
“The chronicler, Francis enemies, and so I
can hardly express the sadness I feel any
time the news of such incidents reach my
ears or I myself am involved; however, If one
is to choose between enmity and friendship
and between peace and war, I belief enmity is
to be preferred. For considering the kind of
persons most of the alcaldes mayores are
nowadays, nothing indicates that friendship
with them will help the missions in any way.
On the contrary, it will destroy them.
Because, as I have observed, you can hardly
find one that is not blinded and moved by
greediness, thus destroying
•chief, captain of wars, whom governed,
obeyed and reverenced.
NOBLES OR MAHARLIKA
•Free-born, they do not pay taxes.
COMMONERS OR ALIPING NAMAMAHAY
•They live in their own houses and lords of
their property and gold.
SLAVES OR ALIPING SA GUIGUILID
•They serve their master in his house and his
cultivated lands and can be sold.
HOUSES
•Made of wood, bamboo, and nipa palm.
MALE
MODE OF DRESSING
•Headgear is called Putong (symbolizes the
number of persons the wearer had killed)
•(Upper) a jacket with short sleeves called
kanggan.
•(Lower) bahag
FEMALE MARRIAGE CUSTOMS
•(Upper) Baro or Camisa •Men were general, monogamous; while their
wives are called Asawa.
•(Down) Saya
•Courtship begins with Paninilbihan.
ORNAMENTS
•Prior to marriage the men requires to give
•A decorative object or detail that adds quality
dowry:
or distinction to a person; place or thing.
(1) Bigay-kaya (a piece of land or gold);
GOVERNMENT
(2) Panghihimuyat (a gift for the bride’s
•The unit of government is called
parents);
Barangayruled by a chieftain, and consist of
30 to 100 families together with their relatives (3) Bigay-suso (for bride’s wet nurse).
and slaves.
•Marriage between couples belonging to
ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE different social classes were not common.
•The chieftain’s executive function includes •Several grounds of common are;
implementing laws, ensuring order and giving
(1) Adultery,
protection to his subject.
(2) Abandonment on the ort of the husband,
•Disputes between individuals were settled by
a court made up of the chieftain and council (3) Cruelty, and
of elders.
(4) Insanity.
INHERITANCE
RELIGIOUS BELIEF
•The 1st son of the barangay chieftain inherits
his father’s position; if the 1st son dies, the •They worship many gods and goddesses:
2nd son succeeds their father; in the absence (1) bathala, supreme being;
of male heirs, it is the eldest daughter that
becomes the chieftain. (2) Idayanale, god of agriculture;

SLAVES (3) Sidarapa, god of death;

•A person becomes slave by: (4) Agni, god of fire;

(1) by captivity in war, (5) Balangaw, god of rainbow;

(2) by reason of debt, (6) Mandarangan, god of war;

(3) by inheritance, (7) Lalahon, god of harvest; and

(4) by purchase, and (8) Siginarugan, god of hell.

(5) by committing a crime. •Also believe in sacred animals and tress.

•Slaves can be emancipated through:

(1) by forgiveness, SUPERSTITIOUS BELIEFS

(2) by paying debt, •Believe in Aswang, Dwende, Kapre,

Tikbalang, Patyanak/Tiyanak.
(3) by condonation, and (
•They also believe in magical power of amulet
4) by bravery and charms such as anting-anting, kulam and
(where a slave can possibly become Datu) or gayuma or love potion.
by marriage.
ECONOMIC LIFE
•Agriculture in the plane lands: planting of
rice, corn, banana, coconut, sugar of
vegetable and fruits.
•Hunting in high lands.
•Fishing in river banks and sea.
•Shipbuilding, weaving, poultry, mining and
lumbering.
•Domestic trade of different barangays by
boat.
•Foreign trade with countries like Borneo,
China, Japan. Cambodia, Java, and Thailand.
*insert picture
LANGUAGE AND SYSTEM OF WRITING
•Major languages: Tagalog, Ilocano.
Pangasinan, Pangpangan, Sugbuhanon,
Hiligaynon, Magindanaw and Samarnon this
language is originated from the Malayo-
Polenisian language.
•System of writing: the alphabets consisted of
3 vowels and 14 consonants called Baybayin
•They used tap of tress as ink and pointed
stick as pencil.
•They wrote on large plant leaves, bark of a
tree or bamboo tubes.