MODULE 3

Content and Contextual Analysis of Selected Primary

Sources

Title: Customs of Tagalog

Learning Outcomes:
 Examine the context and perspective of the document
 Explain the relationship among the members of a barangay
 Discuss the religious and spiritual practices and beliefs of early Filipinos
 Determine the significance of the document to Philippine History
 To properly interpret Juan de Plasencia’s Customs of the Tagalog through examining
the content and context of the document.


Study Guide:
 You are expected to read, analyze and synthesize the content of the module.
 In the latter part of module, there is/are post-assessment/s (either written or
performance tasks) which shall be answered/performed by you.
 Submission of output/s shall be based on the schedule stipulated in course guide .

Course Guide:
No. of Strategies
Class
Meetings
2 Textual Reading
Introduction:
This lesson requires the students to critically analyze The Customs of the Tagalogs
written by Juan de Plasencia, a Franciscan Missionary in the Tagalog region in 1578 to 1590.
This would also elicit appreciation among the students on how rich are the Tagalogs’ practices
and belief systems. Besides, this would also give us insights on how Spaniards view these
customs during their occupation in the archipelago.

LESSON 2
Customs of the Tagalogs by Fray Juan De Plasencia
Content:
The authorship plays a pivotal role in putting meaning(s) to this colonial text. The
author, Juan de Plasencia was, in the first place, not a native Tagalog but a Franciscan
missionary who first arrived in the Philippines in 1577.
He was tasked by the King of Spain to document the customs and traditions of the
colonized (“natives”) based on, arguably, his own observations and judgments. Notably, de
Plasencia wrote the Doctrina Cristiana, an early book on catechism and is believed to be the
first book ever printed in the Philippines and The Customs of the Tagalogs describing the way
of life of the Tagalogs. Such initiatives were an accustomed practice of the colonizer during
the Age of Discovery to enhance their superiority over the colonized and validity of their so-
called duties and legacies to the World. It is a common fact that during this era, the Spanish
colonizers, spearheaded by missionaries, drew a wide variety of texts ranging from travel
narratives and accounts of the colony to even sermons (Mapanoo, 2015).
In this particular text, we are not just to look at it as a window of the past but as a mirror
to reflect if the descriptions used by Plasencia really match the customs of the Tagalogs in the
context of the Filipinos, the Tagalogs in particular. We are to critically examine its content and
context validity. Did Plasencia made biases in writing the account? How did he view these
customs that are completely strange of him? Is his account a credible source of our history?
etc.
There are at least three major discursive issues that can be extracted from the document,
Customs of the Tagalogs written by Juan de Plasencia in 1589, if we are to put socio-political
context into the text – first, the issue of authorship; second, the discourse of power in colonial
writing; and third, the logic of binarism or the Occident-Other dichotomy. These are
interrelated threads that probably constitute major segments of colonial historical writing in the
Philippines. (Mapanoo, 2015).
BACKGROUND OF THE AUTHOR?
Born to the illustrious family of Portocarreros in Plasensia in
the region of Extremadura, Spain in the early 16th century. He
was one of the seven children of Pedro Portocarrero, a captain
of a Spanish schooner. Juan de Plasencia grew up during the
period known as the Siglo de Oro, a Golden Age when arts
and literature flourished in many parts of Spain, among them
his native Extremadura. Fray Joan de Puerto Carrero, del
convent de Villanueva de la Serena, waas his
real name.
Fray Juan de Plasencia came together with the first batch of
Franciscan missionary’s in the Philippines. Arrived at a port
in Cavite, a few kilometers south of Manila on the 2nd of July
1578.

ABOUT THE TEXT?

Title: Relacion de las Costumbres de Los Tagalogs (Customs of the Tagalogs)
Currently kept in Archivo General de Indias in Seville, Spain

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE DOCUMENT

Social Classes

Chieftain
(Datu)

Nobles (Maharlika

Commoners (Aliping Namamahay

Slaves (Aliping Saguiguilid

  DATU- chief, captain of wars, whom governed, obeyed and reverenced.
(holds/exercise the power of legislative, judiciary and executive)
 Nobles or Maharlika- Free-born, they do not pay taxes
 Commoners or aliping namamahay- They live in their own houses and owner of their
property and gold.
 Slaves or Aliping Saguiguilid- They serve their master in their houses and they
cultivated lands and they can be sold
TRIVIA: Slaves (Visayan)
 Tumataban- worked for his master when summoned to do so
 Tumarampuk- worked one day for his master
 Ayuey- worked three days for his master

House/s- Made of wood, bamboo, and nipa palm.

Mode of Dressing

Male
 Headgear is called Putong
(symbolizes the number
of persons the wearer
had killed)
 (Upper) a jacket with
short sleeves called
kanggan.
 (Lower) bahag
 Female
 (Upper) Baro or
Camisa

 (Lower) Saya

Ornaments- A decorative object or detail that adds quality or distinction to a person, place or
thing.
TRIVIA:
 Bul-ol represents a spirit which the people revere.
 Visayans were the most tattoed among ancient Filipinos. When the Spaniards came, they
called the former as pintados.

Government- The unit of government is called Barangay ruled by a chieftain, and consist of
30 to 100 families together with their relatives and slaves.
Administration of Justice- The chieftain’s executive function includes implementing laws,
ensuring order and giving protection to his subject. Disputes between individuals were settled
by a court made up of the chieftain and council of elders.
Inheritance- The 1st son of the barangay chieftain inherits his father’s position; if the 1st son
dies, the 2nd son succeeds their father; in the absence of male heirs, it is the eldest daughter
that becomes the chieftain.
Slaves
 A person becomes slave by: (1) by captivity in war, (2) by reason of debt, (3) by
inheritance, (4) by purchase, and (5) by committing a crime.
 Slaves can be emancipated through: (1) by forgiveness, (2) by paying debt, (3) by
condonation, and (4) by bravery (where a slave can possibly become a Datu) or by
marriage
Marriage Customs
 Men were in general, monogamous; while their wives are called Asawa.
 Courtship begins with Paninilbihan.
 Prior to marriage the man requires to give a dowry: (1) Bigay- kaya (a piece of land or
gold); (2) Panghihimuyat (a gift for the bride’s parents); (3) Bigay-suso (for brides wet
nurse).
  Marriage between couples belonging to defferent social classes were not common.
 Several grounds of divorce are: (1) Adultery, (2) Abandonment on the part of the
husband, (3) Cruelty, and (4) Insanity.
Religious Belief
They worship many gods and goddesses:
 bathala, supreme being;
 Idianale & Lacapati god of agriculture; husbandry
 Sidarapa, god of death;
TRIVIA:
 Agni, god of fire; • Bathala (Tagalog)
 Balangaw,god of rainbow • Abba (Cebuano)
 Mandarangan, god of war; • Laon (Bisaya)
 Lalahon, god of harvest; and
 Siginarugan, god of hell.
 Dian Masalanta, patron of lovers and generations
 Buaya (water-lizards), they paid reverence
They believe also in sacred animals and tress.

Superstitious Beliefs
 Believe in Aswang, Dwende, Kapre, Tikbalang, Patyanak/Tiyanak.
 They (Tagalogs) also believe in magical power of amulet and charms such
as anting-anting, kulam and gayuma or love potion.
Example of which are:
CATOLONAN- was either a man or a woman, (also spelled Catalonan,
Catalona, Catulunan in Kapampangan) is a priest in the indigenous religions of
the Tagalog and Kapampangan people. Spanish friars and missionaries also called them
anitero (male) and anitera (female). They guarded the dambana, along with religious
practices, of a community called barangay.

MANGAGAUAY- also known as goddess of disease, also spelled mangagaway,

witches who deceived by pretending to heal the sick. These priests even induced maladies
by their charms, which in proportion to the strength and efficacy of the witchcraft, are
capable of causing death. In this way, if they wished to kill at once they did so; or they
could prolong life for a year by binding to the waist a live serpent, which was believed to
be the devil, or at least his substance.

MANYISALAT- the same as mangagauay. These priests had the power of applying
such remedies to lovers that they would abandon and despise their own wives, and in fact
could prevent them from having intercourse with the latter. If the woman, constrained by
these means, were abandoned, it would bring sickness upon her; and on account of the
desertion she would discharge blood and matter.
MAGTATANGGAL- As it flies, the stomach and entrails dangle below it, and these
organs twinkle like fireflies as the Penanggalan moves through the night. It preys on
 pregnant women with an elongated proboscis-like tongue. In Malaysia it is called
the Penanggalan (Penanggal). In Thailand it is called the Krasue, in Laos it is
the Kasu or Phi-Kasu and in Cambodia it is the Ap. According to the folklore of that
region, it is a detached female head capable of flying about on its own.

OSUANG- (also similar to Manananggal) that can fly after separating itself from the
lower half of its body. It eats babies and fetuses from a mother's womb by means of passing
their long tongue through a small hole from the roof of a house. The sharp end of the tongue
touches the mother's navel to suck the blood of the fetus or unborn child. This creature's
name was derived from the Filipino word, tanggal, which means "to separate" because of
the manananggal's ability to separate itself from its lower body. According to legend, to
destroy the manananggal, one should search for the lower body that she leaves behind. Salt,
ash, and/or garlic should then be placed on the exposed flesh, preventing the monster from
combining again and leaving it vulnerable to sunlight. Small containers of salt, ash and raw
rice, and the smell of burning rubber are said to stop the manananggal from approaching
one's house.
MANGAGAYOMA- They made charms for lovers out of herbs, stones, and wood, which
would infuse the heart with love. Thus did they deceive the people, although sometimes,
through the intervention of the devil, they gained their ends. Today the Gayuma is known
as a Filipino love spell to help the love lives of those with lonely or broken hearts.

Economic Life
 Agriculture in the plane lands: planting of rice, corn, banana, coconut, sugar canes and
other kinds 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.

Language and System of Writing

 Major languages: Tagalog, Ilocano, Pangasinan, Pangpangan, Sugbuhanon,
Hiligaynon, Magindanaw and Samarnon this languages 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.
*END OF MODULE*
Further Readings and Resources:
1. Life and Works of Fray Juan de Plasencia (http://ofmphilarchives.tripod.com/id8.html)
2. Ang Ugali Ng Mga Tagalog ulat ni Juan de Plasencia nuong 1589
(http://www.elaput.com/plas01.htm)
References:
Candelaria, et.al. 2018. Readings in the Philippine History. Rex Printing Company, Inc.
Manila, Philippines.
Ligan, et.al., 2018. Readings in the Philippine History. Mutya Publishing House, Inc. Malabon
City.
Torres, J. V.,2018. BATIS: Sources in Philippine History. C&E Publishing, Inc.
http://www.artesdelasfilipinas.com/archives/186/accustomed-othering-in-colonial-writing
http://ofmphilarchives.tripod.com/id8.html
http://www.elaput.com/plas01.htm
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwje2rLprfniAhWHM
t4KHfZnABIQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.revolvy.com%2Fpage%2FJua
n-de-Plasencia&psig=AOvVaw2xXDJAXKuIGkGhmOPwG3tB