Customs of the

TAGALOGS
Verse of the week

sss
CHAPTER II: UNDERSTANDING THE
PERSPECTIVE
Customs of the Tagalog
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
First Century of Spanish Rule
- Spanish officials allow Filipinos to hold the position of
gobernadorcillo.
- The friars ended up performing the administrative duties that
colonial officials should have been doing at the local level.
- The friars who were assigned in mission territories which they
prepared reports on the number of natives they converted, the
people’s way of life, their socio-economic situation, and the
problems they encountered.
Customs of the Tagalog
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
First Century of Spanish Rule
- Plasencia’s Relacion de las Costumbres de Los Tagalogs (Customs
of the Tagalogs, 1589) is an example of this kind of work. It
Customs of the Tagalog
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
First Century of Spanish Rule
- Miguel de Loarca, an encomendero of Panay wrote his Relacion
de las Islas Filipinas (1582). It described the Filipinos’ way of life in the
Western Visayas area.
- Lieutenant Antonio de Morga wrote Sucesos de las Islas
Filipinas. It is the state of the Philippines in the latter part of 16th
century.
SPANISH MISSIONARIES WHO CONTINUED THE
HISTORIOGRAPHICAL TRADITION
Fr. Pedro Chirino S.J. (Relascion de las Islas Filipinas (1604)
Fr. Juan Delgado S.J. (Historia General, 1751)
Fr. Francisco Colin S.J. (Labor Evangelica, 1663)
Fr. Francisco Ignacio Alcina S.J. (Historia natural del
sitio, fertilidad y calidad de las Islas e Indios de
Bisayas, 1668)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Fray Juan de Plasencia (Juan De Portocarrero)
- member of the Franciscan Order who came together with the
first batch of missionaries to the Philippines in 1578.
- He and a fellow, Franciscan Fray Diego de Oropesa, were
assigned to do mission works in the Southern Tagalog area.
- write a work titled Relacion de las Costumbres de Los
Tagalogs (Customs of the Tagalogs, 1589)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Fray Juan de Plasencia (Juan De Portocarrero)
- He wrote the Doctrina Christiana en Lengua Española y
Tagala which later became the first printed book in the
Philippines in 1593.
- Plasencia died in Liliw, Laguna in 1590.
ABOUT THE TEXT
The original document of Customs of the Tagalogs is currently
kept in the Archivo General de Indias (A.G.I.)in Seville, Spain.
A duplicate copy of it is kept in the Archivo Franciscano Ibero-
Oriental (A.F.I.O.), in Madrid, Spain
An English translation appeared in Volume VII of the Blair and
Robertson's The Philippine Islands.
Another English translation was published as part of the volume
for precolonial Philippines in the second series of the Filipiniana
Book Guild.
EXCERPTS FROM CUSTOMS
OF THE TAGALOGS
EXCERPTS FROM CUSTOMS
OF THE TAGALOGS
This people always had chiefs, called by them “Datos“. These
chiefs rule over a "Barangay”.
These chiefs ruled over a few people; sometimes as many
as a hundred houses, sometimes even less than thirty.
It is ascertained that the barangay in its origin was a
family of parents, children, relations and slaves.
There were many of these barangays in each town, or at least,
on account of wars, they did not settle far from one
another.
THREE CASTES
1) Nobles (Maharlica) - Free born, they did not pay
taxes or contribute to the Dato.

2) Commoners (Timawa) - they lived, in their own houses and have

freedoms.

3) Slaves (Alipin/Oripon) - they served their masters in

his house and his cultivated lands and can be sold.
 Ancient
Filipino Social
Hierarchy

The Chiefs

The Nobles

The Freemen

The Slaves
THE COMMONERS
They are called “aliping namamahay”.
They are married, and serve their master, whether
he be a dato or not, with half of their cultivated lands, as was
agreed upon in the beginning.
They accompanied him wherever he went beyond the
island, and rowed for him. They live in their own
houses, and are lords of their property and gold.
THE SLAVES
They are called “aliping sa guiguilir”.
They serve their master in his house and on his
cultivated lands, and may be sold.
The master grants them, should they see fit, and providing
that he has profited through their industry, a
portion of their harvests, so that they may work
faithfully.
A person can A person can
be slaved by: be slaved by:
Captivity in war By forgiveness
Reason of debt By paying debt
Inheritance By condonation
By purchase By bravery (where slave can
By committing crime be a Datu or Marraige)
THE MAHARLICAS
on both father's and mother's side continue to be so forever;
and if it happens that they should become slaves, it is through
marriage.
If these maharlicas had children among their slaves, the children
and their mothers became free.
if one of them had children by a slave-woman of another, she was
compelled, when pregnant, to give her master half of the gold
tael.
THE MAHARLICAS
if two persons are married, one was a commoner and the other
was slave, the children were divided.
The maharlicas could not, after marriage, move from one village
to another, or from one barangay to another.
Investigations made and sentences passed by the Dato must take
places in the presence of those of his barangay.
They had laws by with they condemned a man of low birth who
insulted the daughters or wife of a chief or witches.
THE MAHARLICAS
For loans, the debtor is condemned to life of toil. Borrowers
become slaves and after death, the children pay for it.
for inheritance, for the legitimate children of a father and mother
inherit equally.
Dowries are given by meant to the women's parentsbefore
marriage. if the parents are both alive, they both enjoy the use of
it.
The case of Divorce, if the wife left, the husband for the purpose
of marrying another, all her dowry will go to the husband, but if he
did not marry another the dowry was returned.
MARAMING SALAMAT!