SUCESOS

DE LAS
ISLAS
FILIPINAS
SUCESOS DE LAS ISLAS FILIPINAS

Dr. Antonio de Morga

Sanchez Garay
Published on 1609

It is a historical account which

described the scenarios in the
Philippines from 1493 to 1603
under the colonial rules of Spain.
Annotations of Jose Rizal on Morga’s Sucesos de Las Islas Filipinas
Physical Appearance
(Clothing, Fashion
Dentistry, Concepts of
Beauty, Jewelry)
 MORGA
Page (241) Visayans or called
“the tattooed one” for the
reason that most male
residents since childhood,
decorated their entire bodies
by painting their skins,
following a pattern therein
drawn (3) and by putting
certain black powder where
the blood oozes out, and this
can never be removed.
 RIZAL
Page (241) Drawing first on
skin what has to be tattooed.
As it will be soon further, the
Bisayan used the same method
the Japanese use today.
 MORGA RIZAL
Page (241) Visayans or called Page (241) Drawing first on
“the tattooed one” for the skin what has to be tattooed.
reason that most male As it will be soon further, the
residents since childhood, Bisayan used the same method
decorated their entire bodies the Japanese use today.
by painting their skins,
following a pattern therein
drawn (3) and by putting
certain black powder where
the blood oozes out, and this
can never be removed.
 MORGA
Page (244) In the middle of the
waist, the
men wore the bahague the
legs being
bare and the feet also bare the
uncovered, with a narrow
kerchief tied
around it tightly over the
forehead and
temples, called potong.
 RIZAL
Page (244) It was not proper
for anyone to wear potong
until he has killed at least one
man. And to wear certain
stripes on it, like a crown, he
must have killed seven men.
Even now an indio can be seen
wearing the balindawag in the
style of the potong means to
crown.
 MORGA
Page (244) In the middle of the
waist, the
men wore the bahague the
legs being
bare and the feet also bare the
uncovered, with a narrow
kerchief tied
around it tightly over the
forehead and
temples, called potong.
RIZAL
Page (244) It was not proper
for anyone to wear potong
until he has killed at least one
man. And to wear certain
stripes on it, like a crown, he
must have killed seven men.
Even now an indio can be seen
wearing the balindawag in the
style of the potong means to
crown.
 MORGA
Page (245) In a certain
province named
Zambales, they shave their
heads
closely from the middle to the
forehead,
with a large lock of loose
hair(1) on the
back of the head.
 RIZAL
Page (245) This manner of
wearing the
hair and the long attire of the
Visayans
have an analogy to the
 MORGA RIZAL
Page (245) In a certain Page (245) This manner of
province named wearing the
Zambales, they shave their hair and the long attire of the
heads Visayans
closely from the middle to the have an analogy to the
forehead,
with a large lock of loose
hair(1) on the
back of the head.
Food, CropsN Produced,
Dietary beliefs and
Practices, Methods of
Farming
 MORGA
Page (247-248) They prefer to
eat saltfish which begins to
decompose and
smell.
 RIZAL
Page (248) This is another
preoccupation of the Spaniard,
who, like any other nation, in the
matter of food loathe that to which
they are not accustomed or is
unknown to them. The fish that
Morga mentions does not taste
better when it is beginning to rot: it
is bagoong and all those who have
eaten and tasted it know
it is not or ought not to be rotten.
 MORGA RIZAL
Page (247-248) They prefer to Page (248) This is another
eat saltfish which begins to preoccupation of the Spaniard,
decompose and who, like any other nation, in the
matter of food loathe that to which
smell.
they are not accustomed or is
unknown to them. The fish that
Morga mentions does not taste
better when it is beginning to rot: it
is bagoong and all those who have
eaten and tasted it know
it is not or ought not to be rotten.
 MORGA
Page (257) The ordinary food
of the natives is a very small
fish which is netted, dried in
the sun or air, then cooked in
various ways; and they enjoy
them better than the larger
fishes. Among them they call
this fish laulau.
 RIZAL
Page (257) What is now called
laulau is the salted and dried
sardine, it seems the author refers
to the tawilis of Batangas or dilis.
Which is smaller and a larger
quantity of it is eaten by the
natives
 MORGA
Page (257) The ordinary food
of the natives is a very small
fish which is netted, dried in
the sun or air, then cooked in
various ways; and they enjoy
them better than the larger
fishes. Among them they call
this fish laulau.
RIZAL
Page (257) What is now called
laulau is the salted and dried
sardine, it seems the author refers
to the tawilis of Batangas or dilis.
Which is smaller and a larger
quantity of it is eaten by the
natives
 MORGA
In lieu of olives and other
aperitive fruits, they have a
green, very small fruit, more
diminutive than a nut, called
paos which comes in several
sizes, but all smaller than
mango, which when properly
prepared for eating, has good
taste when served as pickles or
brined
 RIZAL
Paho. A kind of mango, very small 1
½ to 5 centimeters long, with soft
strong and strong smell.
 MORGA
Page (257) The ordinary food
of the natives is a very small
fish which is netted, dried in
the sun or air, then cooked in
various ways; and they enjoy
them better than the larger
fishes. Among them they call
this fish laulau.
RIZAL
Page (257) What is now called
laulau is the salted and dried
sardine, it seems the author refers
to the tawilis of Batangas or dilis.
Which is smaller and a larger
quantity of it is eaten by the
natives
 Trade and Technology
(Traded goods, modes of
trading, Boat-Building,
Gold-working, Iron- Working)
 MORGA
Page (262-263) A jar is worth a great deal of
money, and is adorned on the outside with
fine gold-plating with much elaboration, and
is covered with brocade cloth, so that there
are vases which are worth or sold for two
thousand eleven reales (pieces of eleven)
tales each, or less, as the case may be, even
if its slightly dented or has a flaw, for the
reason that this is of no consequence so long
as tea can be safely kept in them. The natives
of these islands sell these articles to the
Japanese as best they can, and take pains to
look for them for this purpose; and as a
matter of fact, these vases have become very
scarce owing to the great demand there is
for them
 RIZAL
Page (263) Dr. Jagor, in his famous
work Reisem in den Philippines
(Berlin, 1973) in chapter XV deals
with these jars, describing some,
giving very curious and
interesting details about their
history, shape, and value some of
which enormous prices, like those
of the sultan of Borneo who
scorned the price of 100,000 Pesos
offered for one of them.
 MORGA
Page (262-263) A jar is worth a great deal of
money, and is adorned on the outside with
fine gold-plating with much elaboration, and
is covered with brocade cloth, so that there
are vases which are worth or sold for two
thousand eleven reales (pieces of eleven)
tales each, or less, as the case may be, even
if its slightly dented or has a flaw, for the
reason that this is of no consequence so long
as tea can be safely kept in them. The natives
of these islands sell these articles to the
Japanese as best they can, and take pains to
look for them for this purpose; and as a
matter of fact, these vases have become very
scarce owing to the great demand there is
for them
RIZAL
Page (263) Dr. Jagor, in his famous
work Reisem in den Philippines
(Berlin, 1973) in chapter XV deals
with these jars, describing some,
giving very curious and
interesting details about their
history, shape, and value some of
which enormous prices, like those
of the sultan of Borneo who
scorned the price of 100,000 Pesos
offered for one of them.
 MORGA
Page (264) Cotton is also raised
throughout the islands. And they spin it
into thread and sell it by skeins to the
Chinese and other nationals who come
over to trade it in. They also weave
blankets in various ways which they also
sell or trade
 RIZAL
Page (264) Not only did they have
large harvest of rice but also of
cotton which they wove into textile
or their garments and which is very
much esteemed in New
Spain.
 MORGA
Page (264) Cotton is also raised
throughout the islands. And they spin it
into thread and sell it by skeins to the
Chinese and other nationals who come
over to trade it in. They also weave
blankets in various ways which they also
sell or trade
RIZAL
Page (264) Not only did they have
large harvest of rice but also of
cotton which they wove into textile
or their garments and which is very
much esteemed in New
Spain.
 MORGA
Page (264-265) Cantanduanes islands.
They are well populated by natives who
are good and subject to Spanish
encomenderos, having parish schools,
churches and a mayor who governs
them. Most of them are laborers, while
others are engaged in working places
gold mines and in trading from one
province to another on the Luzon
mainland, which is very near to them.
 RIZAL
Page (265) The men of these island are
great carpenters and shipbuilders “who
make many of them and very light one
and they take them to be sold in the
territory in a very strange way: they make
a large ship without covering nor iron nail
nor futtock timbers and they make
another that fit in the hollow of it, and
inside it they place another so that in a
large biroco there go ten and twelve
boats that they call biroco, virey,
barangay and binitan.”
 MORGA
Page (264-265) Cantanduanes islands.
They are well populated by natives who
are good and subject to Spanish
encomenderos, having parish schools,
churches and a mayor who governs
them. Most of them are laborers, while
others are engaged in working places
gold mines and in trading from one
province to another on the Luzon
mainland, which is very near to them.
RIZAL
Page (265) The men of these island are
great carpenters and shipbuilders “who
make many of them and very light one
and they take them to be sold in the
territory in a very strange way: they make
a large ship without covering nor iron nail
nor futtock timbers and they make
another that fit in the hollow of it, and
inside it they place another so that in a
large biroco there go ten and twelve
boats that they call biroco, virey,
barangay and binitan.”
 MORGA
Page (292) There were no
temples or houses of common
worship of idols anywhere in
the islands, and each one
performed in his own house.
 RIZAL
Page (291) small tower of
bamboo, wrought neatly. It
was really dedicated to the
anito, though they did not
make any sacrifices there nor
did it serve for anything more
than being dedicated to it.
 MORGA
Page (292) There were no temples or
houses of common worship of idols
anywhere in the islands, and each one
performed in his own house.
RIZAL
Page (291) small tower of bamboo,
wrought neatly. It was really dedicated to
the anito, though they did not make any
sacrifices there nor did it serve for
anything more than being dedicated to it.
 MORGA
Page (293) Great sorcerers and wizards
who deceived the people and
communicated to them whatever they
wished, and according to their needs,
and answered to them questions with a
thousand and one lies and absurdities
They made prayers and offered
ceremonies to the idols in behalf of their
people: they believed in omens and
superstitions which the devil inspired
them to so, so that they could tell where
their sick person would live or die.
 RIZAL
Page (293) Speaking of the sick and
anitos to prove their falsehood, Fr.
Chirino tells the case of Francisco
Armando who, while sick, offered half of
his body to the Anito to ace if he would
be cured, then half of his body was
paralyzed and he could not move. And
the missionary concluded that “this was
public testimony of his heathenism.”
 MORGA
Page (293) Great sorcerers and wizards
who deceived the people and
communicated to them whatever they
wished, and according to their needs,
and answered to them questions with a
thousand and one lies and absurdities
They made prayers and offered
ceremonies to the idols in behalf of their
people: they believed in omens and
superstitions which the devil inspired
them to so, so that they could tell where
their sick person would live or die.
RIZAL
Page (293) Speaking of the sick and
anitos to prove their falsehood, Fr.
Chirino tells the case of Francisco
Armando who, while sick, offered half of
his body to the Anito to ace if he would
be cured, then half of his body was
paralyzed and he could not move. And
the missionary concluded that “this was
public testimony of his heathenism.”
 MORGA
Page (294) They Buried their dead
in their own houses, keeping their
bodies and bones for long time in
boxes, and venerating their skulls
as if they were living in their
presence.
 RIZAL
Page (294) We find it more natural and
pious for them to venerate the remains
of the parents to whom they owe
everything and they call “Second gods on
earth” Idolatry we prefer that of our
parents to whom we owe our being and
our educations to that of some dirty friar,
maniacal hermit, or fanatical martyr
whom we don’t know and with whom we
have no feeling and who probably will
never remember us.
 MORGA
Page (294) They Buried their dead in
their own houses, keeping their bodies
and bones for long time in boxes, and
venerating their skulls as if they were
living in their presence.
RIZAL
Page (294) We find it more natural and
pious for them to venerate the remains
of the parents to whom they owe
everything and they call “Second gods on
earth” Idolatry we prefer that of our
parents to whom we owe our being and
our educations to that of some dirty friar,
maniacal hermit, or fanatical martyr
whom we don’t know and with whom we
have no feeling and who probably will
never remember us.
 Social Organization
( Social Classes and Social
Relations)
 MORGA
Page (275) Those principal men
used to have friendship and
relationship with each other, and
sometimes even wars and
differences with each other.
 RIZAL
Page (275) it can be deduced from this
that friendly relations were more
common than wars.
 MORGA
Page (275) Those principal men used to
have friendship and relationship with
each other, and sometimes even wars
and differences with each other.
RIZAL
Page (275) it can be deduced from this
that friendly relations were more
common than wars.
 MORGA
Page (279) Those who helped in
building the master’s house and to
serve frequently as helpers in the
same when there are guests, and
to serve there whenever the
master requires them to do, also
without any compensation, and
the latter are known as
Namamahayes slaves whose
children and descendants are also
slaves to serve in the same
capacity.
 RIZAL
Page (279) Namamahay from bahay
(house), one who lives in his own house.
This kind of slaves, if they can be called
slaves, still exist and are called kasama
(for being now the partner or laborers of
a capitalist or farmer).
 MORGA
Page (279) Those who helped in building
the master’s house and to serve
frequently as helpers in the same when
there are guests, and to serve there
whenever the master requires them to
do, also without any compensation, and
the latter are known as Namamahayes
slaves whose children and descendants
are also slaves to serve in the same
capacity.
RIZAL
Page (279) Namamahay from bahay
(house), one who lives in his own house.
This kind of slaves, if they can be called
slaves, still exist and are called kasama
(for being now the partner or laborers of
a capitalist or farmer).
 MORGA
Page (282) The groom was the
on who contributed a dowry,
given by his parents, while the
bride did not bring anything to
the marriage community until
she inherited her own right
from her parents.
 RIZAL
Page (282) The character of the
Filipino woman to be a help rather
than a burden to the husband. The
husband does take a heavy burden
or the matrimonial yoke, but a
companion to help him and to
introduce economy in the irregular
life of a bachelor.
 MORGA
Page (282) The groom was the one who
contributed a dowry, given by his
parents, while the bride did not bring
anything to the marriage community
until she inherited her own right from her
parents.
RIZAL
Page (282) The character of the Filipino
woman to be a help rather than a burden
to the husband. The husband does take a
heavy burden or the matrimonial yoke,
but a companion to help him and to
introduce economy in the irregular life of
a bachelor.
 Literacy, Writing
System and Modes
of Entertainment
 MORGA
Page (272) – Writing is well
developed through certain
characters or signs resembling
Greek or Arabic, numbering
fifteen signs in all, three of which
are vowels which serve in lieu of
our five vowels, the constant is
twelve. With these and certain
points or signs and
commas, everything one desires to
say can be expressed and spoken
fully and easily, just like with our
own Spanish Alphabet.
 RIZAL
Page (272) We are far from
believing that alphabet offers the
simplicity and clarity of Latin, but
neither can we accept the belief
of others authors who, without
knowing thoroughly that writing,
claim to find it very imperfect for
the difficulty of pronouncing.
 MORGA
Page (272) – Writing is well developed
through certain characters or signs
resembling Greek or Arabic, numbering
fifteen signs in all, three of which are
vowels which serve in lieu of our five
vowels, the constant is twelve. With
these and certain points or signs and
commas, everything one desires to say
can be expressed and spoken fully and
easily, just like with our own Spanish
Alphabet.
RIZAL
Page (272) We are far from believing that
alphabet offers the simplicity and clarity
of Latin, but neither can we accept the
belief of others authors who, without
knowing thoroughly that writing, claim to
find it very imperfect for the difficulty of
pronouncing.
 MORGA
Page (272) Language spoken in
Luzon and adjoining islands is very
different from the spoken in the
Visayas. People in Manila province
called Tagalog have a rich and
abundant language and this
language is not difficult to learn
and to speak the same
 RIZAL
Page (272) Tagalog spirit, a lover
and simplicity and clarity,
contradict the error later adduced
by other writers with respect
to the imperfect writing and
consequent difficult reading.
 MORGA RIZAL
Page (272) – Writing is well developed Page (272) Tagalog spirit, a lover and
through certain characters or signs simplicity and clarity, contradict the error
resembling Greek or Arabic, numbering later adduced by other writers with
fifteen signs in all, three of which are respect to the imperfect writing and
vowels which serve in lieu of our five consequent difficult reading.
vowels, the constant is twelve. With
these and certain points or signs and
commas, everything one desires to say
can be expressed and spoken fully and
easily, just like with our own Spanish
Alphabet.
 MORGA
Page (273) Writing was done on
bamboo pieces or on paper, the
line beginning from the right to the
left as in the Arabic writing. Almost
all the natives, booth men and
women, know how to write in his
dialect, and there are few who do
not write it well and properly
 RIZAL
Page (273) With respect to the
direction of writing of the Filipinos
there are some very contradictory
opinions. It must be noted
that the writers who have taken up
the subject in these recent times,
excepting Marche, believed to be
horizontal.
 MORGA
Page (273) Writing was done on
bamboo pieces or on paper, the line
beginning from the right to the left as in
the Arabic writing. Almost all the natives,
booth men and women, know how to
write in his dialect, and there are few
who do not write it well and properly
RIZAL
Page (273) With respect to the direction
of writing of the Filipinos there are some
very contradictory opinions. It must be
noted
that the writers who have taken up the
subject in these recent times, excepting
Marche, believed to be horizontal.
Laws and Justice
System
 MORGA
Page (280) Thus, all this system of
slavery can be traced to unsavory
and
unjust causes, among them the
suits
between the natives, which have
engaged the attention of the
Courts of
Justice and confessors and the
human
conscience.
 RIZAL
Page (280) This kind of slave still
exists in many places and especially
in the Province of Batangas, but it
must be admitted that their
condition is very different from that
of the slave in Ancient
Greece and Spaniards.
 MORGA
Page (280) Thus, all this system of
slavery can be traced to unsavory and
unjust causes, among them the suits
between the natives, which have
engaged the attention of the Courts of
Justice and confessors and the human
conscience.
RIZAL
Page (280) This kind of slave still exists in
many places and especially in the
Province of Batangas, but it must be
admitted that their condition is very
different from that of the slave in Ancient
Greece and Spaniards.
 MORGA
Page (286). The contracts and
negotiations with the natives were
generally considered illegal, so that
each
of them had to take care of himself
or see
how he could best attend to his
business.
 RIZAL
Page (286). So, we are the
contracts of all
nations and of all people and so
also is
and was the spirit of the contracts
of the
first Spaniards with the Filipino
chiefs and
God grant they might have always
adhered to the letter of those
contracts.
 MORGA
Page (286). The contracts and
negotiations with the natives were
generally considered illegal, so that each
of them had to take care of himself or
see
how he could best attend to his business.
RIZAL
Page (286). So, we are the contracts of all
nations and of all people and so also is
and was the spirit of the contracts of the
first Spaniards with the Filipino chiefs and
God grant they might have always
adhered to the letter of those contracts.
 MORGA
Page (286). Loans made for profit
were very common, and they bore
excessive interest, thus doubling or
increasing the more their
settlement was being delayed, until
the creditors would take everything
their debtors had, together with
their persons and their children, if
they had any, in the capacity of
slaves.
 RIZAL
Page (286). This is grievously true
and not true that it survives to this
day. In many provinces and in many
towns everything Morga says takes
place for word. It is to be regretted
that not only Indios are engaged in
usury but also the mestizos,
the Spaniards and even some
religious.
 MORGA
Page (286). The contracts and
negotiations with the natives were
generally considered illegal, so that each
of them had to take care of himself or
see
how he could best attend to his business.
RIZAL
Page (286). So, we are the contracts of all
nations and of all people and so also is
and was the spirit of the contracts of the
first Spaniards with the Filipino chiefs and
God grant they might have always
adhered to the letter of those contracts.