Philippines In Ancient Times

1

The Philippines In Ancient Times

(Teodoro Agoncillo)

Cleve Kevin Robert V. Arguelles, MA*MA Philippine Studies, University of the Philippines

PH History: Philippines in Ancient Times (CVA, 2014)

2

Economic Life The ancient Filipinos practiced agriculture, which

was the main source of their sustenance. Rice, coconut, sugar cane, cotton, banana, hemp, orange, and many kinds of fruits and vegetables were raised.

Land cultivation was done in two ways: the kaingin system and tillage. In the kaingin system, the land was cleared by burning

shrubs and bushes. The cleared land was then planted to crops.

In the tillage system, the land was plowed and harrowed, then followed by planting.


3

Economic Life Pigafetta, the historian of the Magellan expedition

which reached the Philippines in 1521, said that he found in Sugbu (Cebu) such foodstuff as sorgo, orange, garlic, gourd, lemon, coconut, sugar cane, and many fruits.

The ancient Filipinos also practiced irrigation. They increase their crop production by irrigating ditches.

The rice terraces in Banawe, Mountain Province attest to this ancient practice. The ditches of these rice terraces are stone-walled and run for thousands of feet up the mountain side.


4

Economic Life Aside from agriculture, the ancient Filipinos engaged in

industries such as fishing, mining, shipbuilding, poultry and livestock raising, logging , pottery, and weaving.

Textlies like sinamay were woven with threads obtained from banana and cotton plants.

The ancient Filipinos also domesticated chickens, native ponies, carabaos, pigs, and goats. Fishing was a common industry because most of the settlements were along rivers and seas.


5

Economic Life Antonio de Morga, a Spanish official in the judiciary who

wrote about the early Philippines, said that “this industry [fishing] is quite general in the entire country and is considered a natural activity for the self-support of the people.”

Mining was also another important industry before the coming of the Spaniards. In 1959, Miguel Lopez de Legazpi reported to the Viceroy of Mexico that there was “more or less gold…in all these islands; it is obtained from rivers and, in some places, from mines which the natives work.”


6

Economic Life Shipbuilding and logging were also thriving industries.

Morga testified that many Filipinos were “proficient in building ocean-going vessels.”

The Filipino shipbuilders built all kinds of boats for travel, war, and commerce. The Spaniards later classified these boats into banca, lapis, caracoa, virey, prau, and vinta.

No currency was used in trading. Goods were bought and sold through the barter system called baligya. Commerce extended far and wide into nearby foreign islands such as Borneo, Malaya, Thailand, Cambodia, Sumatra, and India.


7

Social Life The ancient Filipinos were divided into social

classes. These were the nobles, the freemen, and the dependents.

The nobles, composed of the chiefs and their families, were the early society’s upper class. They were highly respected in their community.

In the Tagalog region, the nobles usually carried the title of Gat or Lakan (Lakan Dula, Gat Maitan).


8

Social Life Next to the nobles were the freemen who may be

regarded as the society’s middle class during the ancient period.

The members of the lower class were the dependents called the alipin among the ancient Tagalogs. The low social status of the dependent was acquired by captivity in battle, by failing to pay one’s debts, by inheritance, by purchase, or by being pronounced guilty of a crime.


9

Social Life Among the Tagalogs, the dependents were

classified into aliping namamahay and aliping sagigilid.

The namamahay had his own house and family. He served his master by planting and harvesting his master’s crops, by rowing the master’s boat, and by helping in the construction of the master’s house.

The sagigilid had no house of his own, he lived with his master, and could not marry without the latter’s consent.


10

Social Life Among the Visayans, the dependents were of three

kinds: the tumataban, who worked for his master when told to do so; the tumarampuk, who worked one day a week for his master; and the ayuey, who worked three days a week for his master.

Dependents were further classified into three levels: first, as full dependent (whose parents were both dependents); second, as one-half dependent (with one parent as dependent); and third, as semi-dependent (with one parent being one half-dependent and the other free).


11

Social Life These levels were not permanent. Anyone could

move up or down a level upon payment of debts or by purchase. Thus, there were no slaves in the real sense of the word- only dependents due to debts or captivity from war or battles.


12

Social Life The Filipino women, before the arrival of the Spaniards,

enjoyed high position in society. As a custom, women were the equal of men in ancient Filipino society.

Women could own and inherit property and sell it; they could engage in trade and industry; and they could succeed to chieftainship of her community or barangay in the absence of a male heir.

Wives also enjoyed the right to give names to their children.


13

Social Life In most cases, a woman of one class married into the

same class. Thus, a noble married a woman from a noble family; a woman from the freeman class married into this class; and the man from the lowest class married into his own class.

However, there were exceptions when a man, for example, showed bravery and courage in battle, or when he had become powerful enough to lead the people of his community.

A man could marry as many women as he could support. However, illegitimate children were not given the right to inherit from their father.


14

Social Life Courtship during that period of Philippine history

was long and difficult.

A man served the parents of the girl he loved for years. He chopped wood, fetched water, and did errands for the girl’s parents. When accepted by the latter, the marriage was then arranged.

The man was required to give dowry, called bigay-kaya, which usually consisted of a piece of land or gold.


15

Social Life To the parents of the girl, the man must give a gift called

panghimuyat. To the girl’s wet nurse, the man must also give a gift called bigay-suso. These arrangements were made by the parents of the bride and groom.

The marriage ceremony was simple. It consisted of the bride and the groom drinking from the same cup. Then an old man would announce that the ceremony was about to begin. A priestess would bow to the assembled guests and then would take the hands of the couple and join them over a plate of uncooked rice. She would then shout and throw rice to the guests. The latter would respond without a loud shout and the ceremony was over.


16

Political Life The community called barangay was the basic unit of

political life/government. It consisted of 30 to 100 families.

The Tagalog word “barangay” was derived from the Austronesian balangay, a boat which transported the Austronesian immigrants to the Philippines.

Each barangay was independent and was ruled by a chieftain. It was the primary duty of the chieftain to rule and govern his people justly and to promote their welfare.


17

Political Life The subjects, on the other hand, served their

chieftains in times of war with other barangays and helped him in tilling and sowing the land.

Subjects paid tribute to the chieftain called buwis.

The chieftain’s children and other relatives were highly respected in the community and were exempted from paying tributes and from rendering personal services to the chieftain.


18

Political Life The chieftain was powerful and exercised the powers

of the executive, the legislative and the judiciary.

In war, he was the supreme commander.

When making laws, he is aided by the council of elders. This is also the case when he is administering justice.

Relations existed between barangays. They traded with one another and forge alliances for protection against common enemies. An alliance is usually sealed through a blood compact ritual called sanduguan.


19

Political Life When the chieftain had a law in mind, he called in

the council of elders to give their opinion.

If the elders approved the proposed law, the chieftain ordered a town cryer, called umalohokan, to announce to the the approval of the law.

With a bell in one hand, the umalohokan would ring it as he went along to call the attention of the people.


20

Political Life Most disputes during ancient times were decided

peacefully.

The court of justice was composed of the chieftain as judge and the elders of the barangay as member of the “jury.”

If conflicts arose between members of different barangays, the differences were resolved by arbitration. A board composed of elders from neutral barangays acted as arbiter.


21

Political Life The trial of a case was usually held in public. The

accuser and the accused faced each other with their witnesses. The man who had more witnesses was usually judged to be the winner.

The trial by ordeal was also done by ancient Filipinos. As practiced, it consisted of ordering the suspects, in the case of theft, to dip their hands into a pot of boiling water. The suspect whose hand was scalded the most was judged guilty.


22

Political Life Another form of trial by ordeal consisted of

ordering the suspects to plunge into a deep river with their lances. The one who rises to the surface first was pronounced guilty.

Still another form was ordering the suspects to chew uncooked rice. The one whose saliva was thickest was the culprit.


23

Cultural Life When the first Spaniards came to the Philippines in

1521, they found the early Filipinos with a culture that was different from theirs.

Among the ancient Filipinos, the male clothing consisted of the upper and lower parts. The upper part was a jacket with short sleeves called kangan. The lower part of the clothing was called bahag, which consisted of a cloth wound about the waist, passing down between the thighs. The color of the jacket indicated the rank of the

wearer: red for the chieftain, while those in lower rank wore either black or blue.


24

Cultural Life The women were usually naked from the waist up. They

wore a saya or skirt.

Among the Visayans, this lower part was called the patadyong. A piece of white or red cloth, called tapis, was usually wrapped around the waist or chest.

The ancient Filipinos had no shoes. They walked about barefooted.

Men usually wore a headgear called putong, a piece of cloth wrapped around the head. The color of the putong showed the number of persons the wearer had killed.


25

Cultural Life The ancient Filipinos wore ornaments made of gold and

precious stones. Women as well as men worse armlets called kalumbiga, pendants, gold rings, earrings, leglets, and braclets.

Gold was common, so they used it not only in making rings, armlets, and bracelets, but also as fillings in between the teeth. These fillings were made to adorn the teeth.

The body was also adorned by tattooing including the face. The women also tattooed their arms and faces to make themselves beautiful.


26

Cultural Life However, among men, tattooing had another use. It

was used as a man’s war record, that is, the more a man was tattooed the more he was admired by the people of his community for his bravery in battle.

According to the first Spanish missionaries who wrote about the ancient Filipinos, the Visayans were the most tattooed people of the Philippines. For this reason, they were called the pintados.


27

Cultural Life The Filipino house of today in the barrios is no

different from the typical ancient Filipino house.

The ancient house was built of bamboo, wood, and nipa palm. This kind of house was (and is) suited to the tropical climate of the country.

The house was set on stakes called haligi, which were made of bamboo. This held the house above the ground. The lower part of the house was enclosed with stakes. Fowls were placed inside the enclosure.


28

Cultural Life To go up the house, one had to ascend a ladder

made of bamboo. At night or when the owner of the house was not around, the ladder was drawn up.

There was also a sort of gallery called batalan where household work was done. What is called the sala now was used not only as an area for receiving visitors, but also as a place to sleep in.

A small room near the sala, called the silid, was a place where mats, pillows, and baskets of rice were kept.


29

Cultural Life Among the Ilongots and the Kalingas of Northern

Luzon and among the Mandayas and the Bagobos of Mindano, the houses were built on treetops.

On the other hand, the Bajaos or Sea Gypsies of Sulu had their houseboats.


30

Cultural Life There were no formal schools but children of school age

were taught in their own homes by their mothers who were their first teachers.

Father Pedro Chrino’s testimony, a Spanish Jesuit missionary, says that there was hardly a man or a woman who did not know how to read or write.

Our ancestors possessed a system of writing or alphabet called a syllabary, baybayin or alibata where every letter is pronounced as a syllable. Some samples of this ancient writing that have come down to the present are found among the Hanunuo Mangyans of Mindoro and Palawan.


31

Cultural Life The ancient Filipinos had a literature that may be

classified into written and oral.

Among the Tagalogs, the oral literature consisted of sabi (maxims), bugtong (riddles), talindaw (boat song), tagumpay (victory songs), uyayi and hele (cradle song), ihiman (wedding song), kumintang (war song), and many others.

In the 19th century, kumintang became a love song. It disappeared and was replaced by kundiman.


32

Cultural Life The early Filipinos had also written literature.

The Ifugaos of Northern Luzon had epics which were originally recited but later on were written down. Their epics are the Hudhud and the Alim. Hudhud glorifies Ifugao history and its hero,

Aliguyon. Alim tells the story of gods that resemble the Indian

gods in the epic Ramayana.

The epic of the Ilocanos, Biag ni Lam-ang originated even before the arrival of the Spaniards.


33

Cultural Life The Bicolanos have their epic called Handiong.

The Muslims have several epics: the Bantugan, Indarapatra and Sulayman, Bidasari, and parang sabil.

The other non-Muslim and non-Christian peoples of Mindanao also have their epics, but these have not yet been written down completely and have not been translated into English or any of the well-known Philippine languages.


34

Cultural Life Pigafetta mentioned that the natives of Sugbu (Cebu)

played such musical instruments as the timbal, the cymbal, the drum, and other instruments, most of which were made of wood or bamboo.

Natives in Samar was seen playing a stringed instrument called kudyapi by an officer of the Spanish explorer Villalobos.

Among the Negritos of Zambales and Bataan, the favorite musical instruments were the kullibaw (Jew’s harp); the bansic, a flute made of bamboo; and the gangsa, a kind of guitar.


35

Cultural Life The Ilocanos had their musical instruments like the

kutibeng, a sort of guitar with five strings; the flute; and the kudyapi. Their favorite dances were the kinnallogong (hat dance) and the kinnoton (ant dance).

Among the Visayans, the favorite dances were the balitaw (exchange of extemporaneous love verses) and dandansoy (courtship dance).

Among the Tagalogs, drama, dance and music developed almost at the same. This was because drama could not be staged without the accompanying music and dance. So the music and the dance were classified into balatong, dalit, lulay, kumitang, tagulaylay, subli, barimbaw, tagayan, and others.


36

Cultural Life The earliest Filipino works of art may be seen in their tools

and weapons. These tools and weapons were at first rough, but as time went on, the Filipinos began to polish them.

Later, beads, amulets, bracelets and other ornaments were used to improve their appearance. With the introduction of bronze, certain instruments were manufactured like bronze gongs, bells, and even drums.

The early Filipinos also used metals and glass. Simple weapons, such as daggers, bolos, knives, and speakers, were made with artistic designs in their handles.

Pottery with beautiful designs was also made, while images of wood, ivory, and horn were carved.


37

Cultural Life Muslim art, in particular, deals with plan and

geometrical designs, while Ifugao art deals with animal and human representations.


38

Cultural Life The prehistoric Filipinos believed that the soul was

immortal. They also believed in life after death as evidenced by the mannungul jar, a container for bones of the dead.

They believed in one Supreme Being they called Bathalang Maykapal or simply Bathala. Aside from the Supreme Being, they also worshipped minor deities whose functions were closely related to the daily life of the people.

Thus, the god of agriculture was called Idiyanale; the god of death, Sidapa; the god of fire, Agni; the god of rainbow, Balangaw; the god of war, Mandrangan; the goddess of harvest, Lalahon; the god of hell, Siginarugan; and other gods and goddesses.


39

Cultural Life The ancient Filipinos worshipped the sun and

venerated the moon, the animals and birds for they believed in the interconnectedness of the unseen with the visible. Thus, the objects of nature should be respected.

The soul-spirits called anito were venerated. This is called the “cult of the dead.”

The memory of dead relatives was kept alive by carving images of gold, stone, and ivory. The image was called larawan or likha among the Tagalogs, diwata among the Visayans, and bulol among the Ifugaos.


40

Cultural Life The offerings or rituals were laid down by a woman

priest called baylana, babaylan, or katalona, and occasionally by male priests.


41

Cultural Life The ancient Filipinos believed in the life hereafter

and the relationship between the living and the dead, which made them respect the memory of the dead.

When a relative died, s/he was placed in a coffin and buried under his/her house. The living relatives placed his/her cloth, gold, and other valuable in the coffin. This was done because they believed that in this way, the dead relative would be gladly received in the Other World.


42

Cultural Life Upon the death of a person, the neighbors and

relatives made fires under his/her house.

Armed sentinels guarded the coffin lest some sorcerers open it and thus release the foul smell of the dead person.

Professional mourners were hired by the relatives of the dead person in order to show their deep feeling of loss. Mourning for a woman is called morotal while for a man it is called maglahi. Mourning for a dead chieftain was called laraw.


43

Reference Agoncillo, Teodoro (1990). History of the Filipino

People, 8th edition. Quezon City: C & E Publishing, Inc.

Text directly lifted and used for this lecture-presentation on Philippine history. All images were sourced from Google Images.

44

The Philippines In Ancient Times

(Teodoro Agoncillo)

Cleve Kevin Robert V. Arguelles, MA*MA Philippine Studies, University of the Philippines

Education

Philippines In Ancient Times