Mariano Marcos State University

College of Arts & Sciences

Department of Social Sciences

Jerry C. Buenavista
Faculty
 SocSc 01:

READINGS IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY

 CHAPTER II:
CONTENT AND CONTEXTUAL
ANALYSIS
OF SELECTED PRIMARY SOURCES
Learning Objectives:

1. To relay what the document/artifact is saying.

2. To determine the provenance or source of the document/artifact.
3. To identify the author or writer of the historical source.
4. To highlight the author’s main argument or what he is trying to say about
the topic.
5. To discuss the context of the primary source’s production.
6. To share the important learning or connection of the topic in your
appreciation of Philippine History.
Outline:

A. The Importance of the Historical Method

§ a.1 Explain what the Historical Method is and its importance
§ a.2 Distinguish historical revisionism from historical denialism
§ a.3 Historical Criticism: External (Contextual Analysis) Criticism and Internal (Content Analysis) Criticism

B. The Author’s Perspective

§ b.1 Identify the author’s background, his main argument for writing the content, and his point-of-view

C. Sample of Content and Context Analysis

§ Manunggul Jar
§ The Laguna Copperplate Inscription
A. HISTORICAL METHOD

It is the process of critical examining and analyzing the

records of the past and survivals of the past. (Gottschalk,
1969)

It comprises the techniques and guidelines by which

historians use primary sources and other evidence to
research and then to write histories. The study of historical
method and writing is known as historiography.
Others define historical method as the process by
which historians gather evidence and formulate
ideas about the past. It is the framework through
which an account of the past is constructed.
Significance of Historical Method:
q The historical method helps us in finding solutions for contemporary
problems. There are some problems in the past that might provide
solutions to our current situation.

q It also provides an understanding of the trends that have happened before.

q It also provides an understanding the importance and repercussions found

in cultures.

q Finally, it provides the reevaluation of the historical data and facts already
presented.
Historical Revisionism vs. Historical Denialism

Contrary to popular belief, historical revisionism is not the process

whereby “truth” is distorted. It is the practice of legally amending
existing narratives through the discovery of new factual evidence. Newly
found historical data undergoes a rigorous process before being accepted
as truth.
 Example:

The emergence of the “history from below” approach has allowed

historians to provide more space for the often overlooked figures in
history – women, the masses, and the marginalized.

Despite the solid evidence and testimonies from survivors, Nazi

sympathizers still argue that the Holocaust was only a hoax created by the
Jews and that the victims were lying about living in death camps.
These acts of denial imply that we don’t only turn a blind eye to the plight of
those who suffered (and are suffering), but we also lose out on a lot of
knowledge that can push us forward in our development.

Combating denialism takes a concerted and constant effort, but it also helps
us learn from our mistakes and make amends.

Germany has consistently been confronting its atrocious past – they’ve built a
Holocaust memorial and history museums that exhibit the brutality of Adolf
Hitler’s regime and memorialize the lives of its victims.
History is a chronicle of the ups and downs and the triumphs and tragedies
of our past. It serves as a solid reminder that we can only move forward if
we start acknowledging the mistakes previous generations have committed.

“Denying the future generation of the truth denies them the ability and
power to direct our society towards a better future.”
HISTORICAL CRITICISM

The historian’s primary tool of understanding and

interpreting the past is the historical sources. Historical
sources ascertain historical facts. Such facts are then analyzed
and understood by the historian to weave a historical
narrative.

Using the primary sources in historical research entails two

kinds of criticism: external criticism and internal criticism.
 EXTERNAL INTERNAL
CRITICISM CRITICISM
examines the
authenticity of the examines the
document of the credibility/truthfulness
evidence being used of the content of the
evidence
1. EXTERNAL CRITICISM (CONTEXT ANALYSIS)

The practice of verifying the authenticity of evidence by :

§ examining its physical characteristics
§ consistency with the historical character of the time it was
produced
§ the materials used for the evidence

Examples of the things that will be examined when conducting external criticism
of a document include the quality of the paper, the type of ink, among others
The ‘External Criticism’ is of a less intellectual type of
criticism of the documents. It includes examinations of
documents like manuscripts, books, pamphlets, maps,
inscriptions, and monuments. The problem of authenticity of
document arises more in the case of manuscripts than the
printed documents because the printed document has
already been authenticated by the editor.
Technical Tools in Identifying and Authenticating Historical
Sources

§ Paleography
§ Diplomatics
§ Archaeology
§ Statistics
§ Additional Technical Tools
Technical Tools in Identifying and Authenticating Historical Sources

q Paleography is the study of handwriting.

Alphabets change overtime, as fashions, aesthetic taste, and the

technology of writing develop different ways. Alphabets are also
determined by social and cultural context.

A skilled paleographer can spot fakes. Paleographers working in periods when most surviving
documents were produced by teams of scribes can often tell not just when, but where, a
document was written.
q Diplomatics or the science of charters, is the study of the formal
properties of such sources.

Each section of such a document employs a style that varies depending

upon the legal conventions and more general stylistic tastes of the age.

Scholars who work with such materials regularly become very familiar with these conventions and
can use them, along with more external characteristics such as ink and handwriting, to help date the
undated documents.
q Archaeology

Archaeological evidence is, of course, most precious for lost civilizations,

and is sometimes effectively the only way to know about their histories.

q Statistics

Historians of the past few generations have increasingly turned to

statistical methods, in the hope of providing more exact measures of
events in the past, to make history more like a science, and to reduce the
impressionistic quality of much of narrative history writing.
TESTS OF AUTHENTICITY

q ‘Authorship’ the first question while examining the authenticity

of a document is its author. Even the anonymous writings can
provide us useful and important knowledge. But the discovery of
an author’s or writer’s name adds the authenticity of the
information because of the character, connections and
trustworthiness of the author determine the authenticity
q “Date of Document”, i.e. the time, place of publication of the
document must be inquired to determine the authenticity of
the document. In the modern publications, year and place of
publication is indicated on the book or document on the title
page or backside (overleaf). However, in the old manuscript
where the data and place are absent, it can be found out
from the language or from the date of birth and death of the
author.
q the historian confronts the textual errors which may be
either unintentional or deliberately committed. Unintentional
error can take place in the copies of the documents (originals
are not available). These mistakes may be caused by the
scribe, typist or printer.
q after the confirmation of the authenticity of the sources, historians
are confronted with the different terms used in the document. The
meaning of words often changes from generation to generation.
Therefore historians must find out the meaning and sense in which
it has been used in the document. The misinterpretation of terms
may lead to a misunderstanding of historical development.
OTHER AUTHORS IDENTIFIED HOW TO TEST AUTHENTICITY

§ determine the date of the document to see whether they are

anachronistic
e.g. pencils did not exist before the 16th century

§ determine the author

e.g. handwriting, signature, seal

§ anachronistic style – e.g. idiom, orthography, punctuation common in a

certain period in history
§ anachronistic reference to events – the document should be consistent with the
presence of lack of elements in history; e.g. too early, too late, too remote

§ provenance or custody – e.g. determines its genuineness

2. INTERNAL CRITICISM (CONTENT ANALYSIS)

Looks at the content of the source and examines the circumstances of its
production

Looks at the truthfulness and factuality of the evidence by looking at the

author of the source, its context, the agenda behind its creation, the
knowledge which informed it, and its intended purpose

Entails that the historian acknowledges and analyze how such reports can
be manipulated to be used as war propaganda, etc.
Validating historical sources is important because the use
of unverified, falsified, and untruthful historical sources can
lead to equally false conclusions.

Without thorough criticisms of historical pieces of

evidence, historical deceptions and lies will all be probable.
Content Analysis applies appropriate techniques depending on the
type of source (written, oral, visual). In the process, students will be
asked, for example, to identify the author’s main argument or thesis,
compare points of view, identify biases, and evaluate the author’s
claim based on the evidences presented or other available evidence at
the time.

It is a systematic evaluation of the primary source that enable an

individual to present and develop an argument based on his own
understanding of the evidences from his readings.
TESTS OF CREDIBILITY

q identification of the author

e.g. to determine his reliability; mental processes, personal
attitudes

- Did the author make the testimony?

Regardless of author reputation, one must consider all sources

regard to be guilty of deceit
q determination of the approximate date
e.g. handwriting, signature, seal

- used for sources that do not give explicitly give the date and
timeframe of the event
- consider the terminus non ante quem (not before which) and post
quem (not after which)
q personal equation

-also called “frame of reference”

- Was the author eyewitness of the events he narrate? If not,

what were his sources of information?
- When did he write the document?
- How much time elapsed between the event and the record?
- What was his purpose in writing or speaking?
- Who were his audience and why?
B. Examination of the Author’s Main Argument and Point of
View

When studying historical sources you need to be aware of

documents’ sources and their authors’ point of view. Point of
view refers to perspective of the author toward a particular
person or issue that has been shaped over a period of time due
to his/her experiences, motives, beliefs, origin, age gender,
social status and ideology
In analyzing the author’s argument and point of view, you should ask
yourselves the following questions:

• Who is the speaker/source? (age, gender, profession/work, social status,

etc.,)
• What is the occasion? (Circumstances, current situation, place, time, etc.)
• Who is the intended audience? (written privately or written to be
read/heard by others)
• What is the purpose? (motives, beliefs, ideology, etc.)
• What is the subject? (topic, content, ideas)
• What is the tone? (emotions etc.)
Historical sources are written by various authors with
different perspectives.

Perspective refers to the point of view of the said writer

who was a witness to the event. Though historical sources
are important in the writing of history, the historian is
careful in using these sources as the writer may be biased or
prejudiced on the subject he/she is discussing.
Perspective provides primary information about the author’s work. It
sets up the opinion, attitude, and background of the writer. It is
especially vital to history, since the authors of primary sources have their
own takes of the events.

The author’s background consists of the author’s early life, his

educational attainment, and the kind of environment he or she grew up
with.
The point-of-view is the way how the author addresses the content to
the reader. It can be first- person, second-person, or third-person.
The author also expresses his or her content with an argument in mind.
This is the main theme the author intends for the readers to see his or
her side of the story.

The author’s attitude reflects the tone or mood of the material at hand.
It reflects the current situation in the material at the time of its
conception, or the current emotions the author was feeling when he
made the material.
CODE OF KALANTIAW: A Hoax
 CODE OF KALANTIAW

The Code of Rajah Kalantiaw was a supposed legal code in the epic
history Maragtas that is said to have been written in 1433 by
Datu Kalantiaw, a chief on the island of Negros in the Philippines. The
code is now believed by many historians to have been a hoax and that
it had actually been written in 1913 by Jose E. Marco as a part of his
historical fiction Las antiguas leyendas de la Isla de
Negros (English: The Ancient Legends of the Island of Negros), which
he attributed to a priest named Jose Marco.
HISTORY AND AUTHENTICITY DISPUTE

In 1917, the historian Jose Marco wrote about the Code of Kalantiaw in his
book Historia Prehispana de Filipinas("Prehispanic History of the
Philippines") where he moved the location of the Code's origin from Negros
to the Panay province of Aklan because he suspected that it may be related
to the Ati-atihan festival. Other authors throughout the 20th century gave
credence to the story and the code. It first gained scholarly acceptance when
Marco donated five manuscripts of the fraudulent documents to the
American historian James Alexander Robertson.
In 1965, then University of Santo Tomas doctoral candidate William Henry
Scott began an examination of prehispanic sources for the study of Philippine
history. Scott eventually demonstrated that the code was a forgery
committed by Marco. When Scott presented these conclusions in his doctoral
dissertation, defended on 16 June 1968 before a panel of eminent Filipino
historians which included Teodoro Agoncillo, Horacio de la Costa, Marcelino
Foronda, Mercedes Grau Santamaria, Nicolas Zafra and Gregorio Zaide, not a
single question was raised about the chapter which he had called The
Contributions of Jose E. Marco to Philippine historiography. However, in 1971
a decoration to be known as the Order of Kalantiao was created, to be
awarded to any citizen of the Philippines for exceptional and meritorious
services to the Republic in the administration of justice and in the field of law.
In 2004, National Historical Institute (NHI) Resolution No. 12 "[d]eclaring
that Code of Kalantiao/Kalantiaw has no Valid Historical Basis" called for:
(1) the official affirmation that the Kalantiaw Code is a twentieth-century
fraudulent work by Jose Marco
(2) the President of the Philippines cease to honor retiring Supreme
justices and other international dignitaries with the ‘Order of Kalantiaw’,
and
(3) the revoking of Executive Order 234, which recognized Datu Bondahara
Kalantiaw as "The First Philippine Lawgiver" and declared a Hall of Fame
and Library to be constructed in his honor in Batan, Aklan as a national
shrine. This NHI resolution was approved by the Office of the President in
2005.
 LAWS OF THE CODE OF KALANTIAW

Article I
Ye shall not kill, neither shall ye steal nor shall ye hurt the aged, lest ye incur the danger of death.
All those who this order shall infringe shall be tied to a stone and drowned in a river or in boiling
water.
Article II
Ye shall punctually meet your debt with your headman. He who fulfills not, for the first time shall
be lashed a hundredfold, and If the obligation is great, his hand shall be dipped threefold in
boiling water. On conviction, he shall be flogged to death.
Article III
Obey ye: no one shall have wives that are too young, nor shall they be more than what he can
take care of, nor spend much luxury. He who fulfils not, obeys not, shall be condemned to swim
three hours and, for the second time, shall be scourged with spines to death.
Article IV
Observe and obey ye: Let not the peace of the graves be disturbed; due respect must be accorded them
on passing by caves and trees where they are. He who observes not shall die by bites of ants or shall be
flogged with spines till death.
Article V
Obey ye: Exchange in food must be carried out faithfully. He who complies not shall be lashed for
an hour. He who repeats the act shall, for a day be exposed to the ants.
Article VI
Ye shall revere respectable places, trees of known value, and other sites. He shall pay a month's
work, in gold or money, whoever fails to do this; and if twice committed, he shall be declared a
slave.
Article VII
They shall die who kill trees of venerable aspect; who at night shoot with arrows the aged men
and the women; he who enters the house of the headman without permission; he who kills a fish
or shark or striped crocodile.
Article VIII
They shall be slaves for a given time who steal away the women of the headmen; he who
possesses dogs that bite the headmen; he who burns another man's sown field.
Article IX
They shall be slaves for a given time, who sing in their night errands, kill manual birds, tear
documents belonging to the headmen; who are evil-minded liars; who play with the dead.
Article X
It shall be the obligation of every mother to show her daughter secretly the things that are
lascivious, and prepare them for womanhood; men shall not be cruel to their wives, nor should
they punish them when they catch them in the act of adultery. He who disobeys shall be torn to
pieces and thrown to the caymans.
Article XI
They shall be burned, who by force or cunning have mocked at and eluded punishment, or who
have killed two young boys, or shall try to steal the women of the old men (agurangs).
Article XII
They shall be drowned, all slaves who assault their superiors or their lords and masters; all
those who abuse their luxury; those who kill their anitos by breaking them or throwing them
away.
Article XIII
They shall be exposed to the ants for half a day, who kill a black cat during the new moon or
steal things belonging to the headmen.
Article XIV
They shall be slaves for life, who having beautiful daughters shall deny them to the sons of the headman, or
shall hide them in bad faith.
Article XV
Concerning their beliefs and superstitions: they shall be scourged, who eat bad meat of respected insects or
herbs that are supposed to be good; who hurt or kill the young manual bird and the white monkey.
Article XVI
Their fingers shall be cut off, who break wooden or clay idols in their olangangs and places of oblation; he
who breaks Tagalan's daggers for hog killing, or breaks drinking vases.
Article XVII
They shall be killed, who profane places where sacred objects of their diwatas or headmen are buried. He
who gives way to the call of nature at such places shall be burned.
Article XVIII
Those who do not cause these rules to be observed, if they are headmen, shall be stoned and crushed to
death, and if they are old men, shall be placed in rivers to be eaten by sharks and crocodiles.