Customs of the

Tagalog

By Fr. Juan de
Background of the
Author
❖ Spanish friar of the
Franciscan order
❖ Was among the first group of
Franciscan missionaries who
arrived in the PH (July 2,
1578)
❖ Born into the illustrious
family of the Portocarreros in
Plasencia, Extremadura, Spain
in the early 16th century
❖ Spent most of his missionary
life in the PH; founded
numerous towns: Bulacan,
Laguna, and Rizal
❖ Authored religious and
linguistic books: Doctrina
Christiana – first book
printed in the Philippines
❖ Passed away in Liliw, Laguna
( 1590 )
Background of the
Customs of the
Tagalog
❖ The King of Spain tasked Juan de Plasencia, through a
letter, to document the customs and traditions of the
natives based on his observation and judgment ❖ He
collected Indios from different districts and obtained the
simple truth from them ❖ “Customs of the Tagalogs” is a
part of longer monographs written by the chroniclers of
the Spanish
❖
expeditions to the Philippines in the early 16th and 17 th
centuries.
❖ This document comprises the
explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the
islands and their people, the history and records of
the catholic missions.
❖ Given the significant number of
biases, inaccurate judgment, and pretensions of
the author of the Customs of the Tagalog, the
next was not for local consumption but
Western readers.
❖ The Customs of the Tagalog was intentionally
made to provide an eroticized description of
the Tagalog natives, clearly fed by politics
and propaganda.
The Customs of
the Tagalogs

Caste System
Caste System
❖ Datu/Chief o Governs the barangay
o Leads the barangay in wars o
Presides and gives sentences in
litigations ❖ Maharlika/Noble o Do
not pay taxes
Juan de plasencia
o Accompany the Datu in wars o Need
to pay if they’re going to move to
another barangay
❖ Aliping Namamahay/Commoners o Act as
servants o Get married o Own properties
o Cannot be sold o Cannot be obliged to
leave the barangay with their masters
husband.
❖ Aliping Saguiguiler/Slave o Serve their master
until the end o Can be sold o Lowest of the
caste system Lands of the barangay belongs to
the citizens of the barangay unless purchase or
inherited. Mountain ranges have no owner; shared
by all. Fisheries are only for those who belong
to the chief’s barangay. There are barangays
where Maharlika pays the Dato; this only happens
if the barangay is purchased by another Datu.
Children from Maharlika + slave parents are half
free man, half slave. Unmarried woman’s child to
a slave will be considered a free man; if the
slave is not her husband.
Marriage
❖ Maharlika + slave = odd birthed children
belong to the father; even birthed children
belong to the mother
❖ Only child and/or the last odd birthed child
will be half free and half slave
❖ Marrying a woman of another barangay will
result to a division of their children to the
barangays involved.
Investigations,
Sentences, and
Offences
❖ Litigations happen in front of the whole
barangay. ❖ Drinks will be commenced by the
plaintiff after the litigation. ❖ If the
litigant felt injustice, another dato will be
invited to preside over the case; this’ll also
happen if there’s a controversy between two
chiefs. ❖ Insulting the family of a dato
constitutes a crime ❖ Death penalty is
bestowed upon witches, those of low class, and
those of the same class as the ones who
insulted the dato.
❖ Debt and failure of payment of such will
result in being demoted to an aliping
namamahay
❖ If the debt is shouldered by another
person, the slave will then have to pay
double the amount of the debt
❖ Slavery is not condemned unless he merited
it on himself.
❖ Witches will be killed and their
descendants will be slaves for the dato.
Family Relations,
Inheritance, and
Dowries
❖ Manysilat
(Manisilat) –
power to apply
remedies to lovers
that they would
abandon and
despise their own
wives;
homewrecker.
❖ Hocloban
(Hukluban) –
kill someone
with just a
raise of the
hand or salute.
❖ SIlagan -
eats livers
of those
wearing white
❖ Magtatangal
- shows up
at night
while holding
his head or
entrails
❖ Osuang
(Aswang) –
sorcerer;
eats flesh of
men and flies
❖ Manggagayoma – specialize in making
charms and antidotes
❖ Pangatahojan – soothsayer; predicts
the future
❖ Bayoguin – male that acts like a
woman
❖ Catalonan – gives redemption to
people
❖ Sonat – preacher; ability to help
someone die, whether salvation or
condemnation
❖ Objects of sacrifice: goats, fowls, and swine;
decapacitated, flayed, and laid before the idol ❖
Reason for sacrifice and adoration: personal matters
Burials
❖ Tagalogs o Chief – placed below a
little house or porch which they made;
mourned for 4 days; place in a boat-
like coffin after. In the boat,
different animals were placed; 2 male
and 2 female per specie.
o Warrior – an alive slave will be tied
under his body until he/she dies. For a
number of days, the corpse’s relatives
will sing, lament, and praise him;
they’ll celebrate a feast.
❖ Negritos o Dug a deep hole where they will
place the corpse. Put a half coconut on top
representing a shield. o They will hunt and
kill Indians as punishment for the death of
their kind. o They hang tokens on their necks
to avenge the fallen one o They believe in
the existence of maca and casanaan o Vibit -
ghosts o Tigbalaang – phantoms o Patianac -
Any woman who o died during the birth of the
child will receive punishment where the woman
will be heard crying
Contribution
❖ Enabled the exploration of the
ancient lives of people living in
Central Luzon. ❖ Serve as basis for
historical reconstructions of Tagalog
society.
❖ Allowed for further analysis of the
practices of the ancient Tagalogs and
comparisons with other accounts of
succeeding period and significant
events in Philippine history.
❖ Aids in realizing the mastery of local
language and culture led to the success
of Christianity in the PH
❖ Inform the Filipinos about the
differences and similarities of our
culture then and now
❖ Confirms that Filipinos have their own
government and beliefs even before the
Spaniards came
❖ Disproves the claim of some Spaniards
that locals were uncivilized and lacking
in culture, as it provided an elaborate
observation on the functioning
government, tax system, criminal justice
system, indigenous calendar, long
standing customs and traditions, and
beliefs.
❖ Aids in realizing the mastery of local
language and culture led to the success
of Christianity in the PH
❖ Inform the Filipinos about the
differences and similarities of our culture
then and now
❖ Confirms that Filipinos have their own
government and beliefs even before the
Spaniards came
❖ Disproves the claim of some Spaniards
that locals were uncivilized and lacking in
culture, as it provided an elaborate
observation on the functioning government,
tax system, criminal justice system,
indigenous calendar, long standing customs
Thank You for listening

Presentation of Group 1:
Aguila, Frea
Cahigas, Mark Joseph
Labaguis, Kurt Justine
Manic, Ken Cyrus
Narzoles, Justin Philip
Rolluque, John Micheal
Zoleta, John Micheal