Johnry G.

Camahalan Block 2NB

How important is validating primary and secondary sources in understanding

the history of our pre-colonial ancestors?

- Historical sources are critical to our understanding of the past and our success in history
assessment pieces; hence, it is critical that we grasp what historical sources are and the
numerous sorts and varieties that exist. So, first and foremost, let's determine the historical
source. A historical source gives us knowledge about a historical issue, such as pictures,
letters, relics, etc. We always employ sources in history, no matter what we do. There are also
two types of sources: main and secondary. The key distinction between a primary and
secondary source is when they were created. To establish whether a source is main or
secondary, we must first ascertain its original date.

So these lead to why it is important that we validate the sources in understanding history,
especially the history of our precolonial ancestors. Given the fact that there are a lot of
sources out there, plus the so-called "Marites," it is really essential to validate whether what
these sources speak is true. One of the best examples is the Magellan song by Yoyoy
Villame. I remember how this song was used to give people an idea of what happened in
1951 when Magellan was here in the Philippines. And it is no wonder many people can tell
who Magellan is when he discovers the Philippines and whatnot. However, let's look into the
detail of the song. We can see that there are lines there that are not considered to be accurate.
For example, the first two lines, which begin with "On March 16, 1521, when Magellan
discovered the Philippines," are written from the perspective of an outsider and do not
accurately reflect the fact that people had been living on the islands for thousands of years
and interacting with others long before the arrival of Magellan. And this is all because of my
knowledge about our ancestors' precolonial history, so studying our ancestors' precolonial
history will help us determine whether these sources, foreign sources, in particular, are telling
the truth because it seems like Filipino was nothing up until foreigners arrived. But that is not
the case because Filipinos are already practicing many different traditions and cultures long
before the colonial period.