Juan de Plascencia’s Customs of the Tagalog:

In general, a barangay is the name of a Tagalog community made up of a family of parents,

children, relatives, and slaves. Long before the Spaniards entered the Philippines, there was a
social structure in the population, as Plascencia mentioned in his works, and the Tagalogs had a
caste system. This demonstrates that the Taagalog have their own sort of governance. Whereas
the Dato is the chieftain or ruler of the barangay, followed by the social classes in ascending
order, the nobles or Maharlicas are born with exceptional privilege. The commoners, or Aliping
Namamahay, are entitled to their own holdings such as land and other things without having to
pay taxes, and the lowest of them all are the slaves, or Aliping Saguiguillir, who are sold to serve
their chosen masters. In the essay, Juan de Plascencia focused on the requirements for becoming
a member of an important social class. Thus, in the past, the Tagalog's manner of improving their
social standing was through marrying with someone from a higher social level. In terms of
Tagalog beliefs and customs, their religion is paganism since they worshiped numerous gods and
believed in holy animals. The simbahan is a temple or place of devotion that is seldom used to
celebrate the pandot festival of worship.

While some of their superstitions include the presence of magtatangal, osuang, mancocolam,
and mangagauay among them, as well as the efficacy of amulets and charms such as anting –
anting, kulam, gayuma, or love potion. Juan de Plascencia’s description of Tagalog beliefs was
somewhat prejudiced. His writings, in a manner, Tagalogs' culture was discriminated upon. For
example, he mentioned mangagauays who "deceived the people by appearing to treat the ill" and
mangagayomas who "deceived the people via the involvement of the 'devil '." He quoted
antagonizing descriptions of such traditions in his literature, implying that these Tagalog people
are unfriendly. As a result, the Tagalog culture as a whole suffers. Juan de Plascencia’s recording
of Tagalog beliefs was slightly prejudiced. His works, in a manner, prejudiced against Tagalog
culture. For example, he mentioned mangagauays who "deceived the people by appearing to treat
the ill" and mangagayomas who "deceived the people via the involvement of the 'devil '." He
quoted antagonizing descriptions of such traditions in his literature, implying that these Tagalog
people are unfriendly. As a result, the Tagalog culture as a whole suffers.

This narrative of Juan de Plascencia supports the argument that even before the Spaniards
occupied the Philippines, Filipinos had their own set of traditions, customs, rituals, beliefs, and
governance that they followed. He offered knowledge that is useful for today's generation in
knowing our past and identifying traditions that are no longer done today. Even now, some of the
16th century rituals are being observed by various ethnic groups in the Philippines. The Bagobo
tradition, for example, mandates the bride-to-father be's to provide a return present equal to one-
half of whatever is agreed upon as dowry, and there are still individuals, particularly the elders,
who believe in the reality of tikbalang and tiyanak. Even in today's generation, the notion of
Barangay is still present. It is obvious that our habits and practices have changed with time;
nonetheless, there are still remnants of our history that remain and will continue to remind us of
our beginnings. It is a privilege to learn about our past and to understand how rich the
Philippines was in terms of cultures, beliefs, and practices.