Content:
another village or barangay w/o paying
Social Stratification
Government system had chiefs called datus, the
captain of wars; the one who whom governed,
obeyed, and reverenced.
A unit of government is called Barangay, a tribal
gathering.
Caste System:
 Nobles or Maharlica
 Commoners or Aliping namamahay
 Slaves or Aliping sa guiguilir
Politics
Barangay is composed of 30-100 families
 Investigations and sentences by the
datu happen in front of the whole
barangay; there is an Arbiter named
from other village for fairness, either a
datu or not.
 A man of low birth is condemned to
death if he insulted the daughter or
wives of a chief; same with witches and
other class.
 No one is sentenced to slavery unless
they merited the death penalty.
 Witches are killed and their accomplices
and children become slaves.
 There are offenses that were punished
by fines in gold. Aggrieved person is to
receive the money.
 Failure to pay a debt will result to
becoming aliping namamahay.
 If debt is shouldered by another, debtor
has to pay double the amount.
Marriage Customs
o Maharlika + Slave = Children are
divided; odd-birthed for the father and
even-birthed for the mother; last odd-
birthed child is half free and half slave.
o Maharlicas could not, after marriage, to
a certain fine of gold.
Inheritance, Dowry, and other practices:
1. Inheritance
 Legitimate children of Father and
Mother inherits equally
 Children of two legitimate wives
receives inheritance and the dowry of
their mother.
 Child by slave has no inheritance but
the legitimate children were bound to
free the mother, and gives him taels or
a slave, if the father is a chief.
 Aside from legitimate children, if he had
sons by a free unmarried woman (not a
real wife), then they are classed as
natural children.
a) They do not inherit equally with
the legitimate children.
b) If there is no legitimate
children, then inaasaya inherits
it all; same with a child w/ a
slave woman.
c) If there is not children at all,
inheritance goes to the father,
grandfather, brother, or nearest
relatives if deceased.
 Child of free married woman with other
man:
a) If husband punishes the
adulterer, the child enters
partition and becomes
legitimate.
b) If adulterer were not punished
by the husband, the child will
not be considered legitimate
and will inherit nothing at all.
 Adopted Children inherits double of
what was paid for their adoption.
  Dowry given by the parents to their son - Those are the customs observed by
who is marrying a chief’s daughter > Juan de Plasencia among natives.
sum of the given dowry to the other - Old men says that DATU who does
sons. anything contrary to the customs would
not be esteemed; And Datus who
2. Dowry
perform tyrannies is declared or
 Dowry given by the parents to their son considered wicked.
who is marrying a chief’s daughter >
sum of the given dowry to the other
sons.
 Men gives it to the women’s parents;
a) If parents are alive, they get to
enjoy it; if they die, and dowry
has not been consumed, it is
divided among the children
b) If wife has no parents, she gets
to enjoy her dowry.

3. Divorce

 Divorce before having any children:

a) If the wife divorced to marry
another man, all her dowry and
equal additional amount will be
given to the husband.
b) If she left him w/o marrying
another man, then she has to
return the dowry.
c) If husband left his wife, he loses
half of the dowry and other half
is returned to him.
 if a husband divorced with children, the
dowry and a fine will go to his children,
held by grandparents and responsible
relatives.
 Half of the dowry has to be returned to
wife or husband if they die w/o
children.