Pre-Spanish Philippines

Culture
 Clothing

Male Attire

Upper part was a collarless, short-sleeve jacket called kangas

The chief wore red jacket

Those below him wore either black or blue

Lower part – bahag

Headger - putong
 Female

Upper part – baro or camisa

Lower part – saya or skirt or patadyong for the

Bisayans

Tapis – wrap around the waist

 Ornaments

Both men and women had a weakness for

personal adornment

Since gold was a common commodity, both

men and women inserted filling on their teeth
as ornament
 Tattoo
 For men, tattoos were signs of valor and
manly attributes

 For women, tattoos enhanced beauty

The ancient Bisayans were the most

tattooed inhabitants of the Philippines
(Pintados)
 Houses
• Nipa house

• Tree houses

• Houses on boats – Bajaos or Sea Gypsies of

Sulu
 Social Classes

Nobles – rulers or chiefs

Freemen (maharlika) – working class
Slaves – alipin

Alipin namamahay
Alipin sagigilid
How to Become a Slave

By captivity
Debt
Inheritance
Purchased
Commission of a crime
 Women Position in Society
• Women were equal to men. Men respected
the women

• Courtship takes a long period of time and too

difficult. Bride service is a tradition.

• Man was required to give bigay-kaya or bride

price, usually consisted of a piece of land or
gold
 Ordinarily, marriage is done within the
same rank or social classes.

 A man could marry as many women as he

could support.

 Divorce was granted. A divorced man or

woman could remarry.
 Early Laws

Unwritten – customs and traditions

Written – promulgated by the datus and by the

Council of Elders

Umalihokan announced the new law

 Judicial Process
 Trials were held publicly

 In criminal cases, the trial is by ordeal

because it is believed that the gods would
protect the innocent and punish the guilty
• They had superstitious beliefs

• Early Filipinos used charms and amulets as

magical powers to protect them from danger.
They believed in anting-anting or agimat,
gayuma, etc.

• They believed in the anitos

o No schools but children were taught in their
homes by their mothers

o There are more than 100 languages and

dialects in the Philippines

o The Filipinos wrote in their native

syllabary. The syllabary consisted of 17
symbols, 3 vowels, and the rest are
consonants.
• Filipinos had oral and written literature
like myths, legends, songs and epics.

• They had music and dances

• The architecture was represented by

the bahay kubo. They also have the
art of tattoing.
 There was NO national
government.

The unit of government was the

barangay which consisted of 30
to 100 families.
Thank You!