History of Physical Education in the Philippines: Spanish Era

SPEAR 201 Historical and Philosophical Background of Physical Education

Prepared by: Noralie B. Morales

HISTORY OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION

IN THE PHILIPPINES

SPANISH ERA(1521 - 1898)

SPANISH ERA (1521 - 1898)Philosophy: Physical and material well-being was subordinated to a wholesome spiritual life that looked to Heaven for a

reward.In this kind of philosophy, physical

education had no place.

Play was regarded as a sign of laziness and was therefore not only discouraged, but even suppressed

to a certain extent.

Philosophy: Physical and material well-being was subordinated to a wholesome spiritual life that looked to Heaven for a

reward.The people indulged only in the

activities and amusements approved and tolerated by the

church. The only physical activities allowed the people were those connected in

some way with church affairs.

SPANISH ERA (1521 - 1898)


reward.

Santa Cruz de Mayo

- to commemorate the finding of the Holy Cross in 324 by Empress Helena and re-enacted her search and pilgrimage to Jerusalem

Activities:



reward.

Santa Cruz de Mayo

- when the religious ceremony was over, all the children went to the pabiten which was hung at a certain height and lowered now and then

Activities:



reward.

Santa Cruz de Mayo

- as the pabiten was lowered, the children shouted and jumped as high as they could, trying their best to grab the choicest as well as the biggest number of items

Activities:



reward.

The feast of the Immaculate Conception

- a celebration in honor of the Virgin Mary

- an elaborate affair climaxed by a long procession where Filipino dancers dressed as a cardinal, canon, or pastor accompanied the saints on the floats and danced with timbrels in their hands

Activities:



reward.

Fertility Dance

- performed by barren women before the image of the Virgin in Obando, Bulacan and the Nuestra Señora de Talarin in Paco, Manila

Activities:


Obando Fertility Rites


reward.

Dinulog or Pit Señor Santo Niño dance

-performed in Cebu by the participants whosought favors from the Child Jesus

Activities:



reward.

Turumba

- held in Pakil- dedicated to the Virgin Dolores- characterized by street

dancing

Activities:



reward.

Easter

-after the mass and sermon, the townspeople danced and made merry in the churchyard

Activities:



reward.

Moro-Moro

-an adaptation of Spanish plays and was interspersed with many dances and quaint gesticulations

Activities:



reward.

Moro-Moro

-the characters were Moors and Christians, the offering being a carry-over of the constant struggle for supremacy between Mohammedanism and Christianity

Activities:



reward.

Moro-Moro

-the Moors and Christians engage in swordplay as they fight each other (in pairs, trios, and small armies)

Activities:



reward.

Moro-Moro

-the princess is a graceful figure as she dances back and forth on the stage singing her lines

Activities:



reward.

Moro-Moro

-the hero shifts himself around the stage lightly and dodgingly in his encounters with lions, bears, and robbers, much like a modern boxer does

Activities:



reward.

Moro-Moro

-with bamboo or wooden swords and lances, little children would rush back and forth playing soldier

Activities:



reward.

Comintang

-as the musician played and sang, a boy and a girl pantomimed the words of the song

Activities (Dances):



reward.

Comintang

-the boy performs amorous movements with his arms and body as he expressed his love to his lady fair




reward.

Comintang

-his gestures were an unfailing source of great satisfaction to the spectators




reward.

Comintang

-when rejected by the girl, the boy feigned illness and collapsed into a chair

-the girl, frightened at the turn of events, would rush to his aid




reward.

Comintang

-when the girl approached him, he immediately rose again, apparently cured, and resumed dancing happily around her




reward.

Pampango

-a dance wherein the woman skillfully moves her hips about to the accompaniment of loud clapping




reward.

Bagay

-performed to melancholy and languorous melody

-characterized by graceful arm movements




reward.

Pabayo Dance

-performed by young men on moonlight nights in front of the house of a dalaga

-they loaded mortars with pinawa or half-cleaned rice and proceeded to pound the rice, three or four pestles to a mortar




reward.

Pabayo Dance

-this they did in quick but measured cadence till the grains were completely cleaned




reward.

Hinal-o

-took its name from the word hal-o meaning pestle

-men hopped, skipped, and jumped skillfully between large and small pestles arranged in rectangular form




reward.

The Filipinos eagerly watched the dances brought over by the

Peninsulars from the Old World, imitated them, and gradually

incorporated the steps, moods, and styles into their own dances.




reward.

They injected local leitmotifs to the dances or substituted native props,

like bamboo and coconut for the Spanish castanets.




reward.

The stamping of the feet replaced the Zapateado while the rigid posture and fixed arm and foot positions gave way

to flowing, smooth movement.




reward.

Dances learned from the Spaniards:Activities:

• Waltz• Gallop• English

Contradance• German Redowa• French Rigaudon

• Fandango• Jarabe• Habanera• Cachucha• Jota


The Filipinos were not deterred from playing games and engaged in their own native sports. Some were forms of amusement, as pastimes, for self-defense and others were even in a

form of gambling. These undesirable activities were not suppressed by the Spanish government for they

helped increase the revenue of the Crown.


Traditional Game:

Sipa (meaning to kick)

-played in three ways:*lambatan or by net*bilangan or by points*mudansa or fancy kicking

exhibition- the game was played as singles or doubles,and by four or eight players on one team


Traditional Game:

Sipa

-a native ball made of a hollow sphere of rattan was kicked back and forth but it was not supposed to touch the ground

-highly-skilled players could deftly kick the ball over their heads or about their sides while directing it to a definite player


Sports activities designed to teach self-defense:

Arnis or native fencing

-two men each held a wooden bolo or saber about thirty inches long and two inches wide and engaged each other in a duel

-only the hardest native wood was used in carving the bolos which were later seasoned in fire




-experts in arnis mastered the technique of protecting themselves and disarming anyone who attacked them with bolos

-since firearms were rare at the time, actual bolo duels were common




-among the skills involved were:*taga – hitting with a club or

bolo*sangga – parrying*buno – throwing down



• buhat araw• aldabis sa itaas• tabas talahib• tagang alanganin

• saboy• aldabis sa

ilalim• saksak• bartikal


-the fundamental hits were called:




-there were at least four parries:o sanggang papaliso sanggang harango sanggang tagao sanggang palipad




-among the great Filipinos who mastered the art of the arnis were:o Jose Rizalo Andres Bonifacioo Gregorio del Pilaro Antonio Luna



Dumog - native form of wrestlingSumping – finger wrestlingSanggol – arm wrestling


Recreational Games:Sintak, Siklot, and Chongka

- favorite games of Filipino girls

-tests of individual skill and were played with shells, seeds, pebbles, or marbles

-usually played with sigays or little shells


Recreational Games:Tubigan

-a tag game usually played on moonlight nightsPiko-piko

-a form of hopscotchLuksong tinik - meaning jumping over thorns, the

latter hurdle being a bridge improvised by the fingers of the players


Recreational Games:Lanse

-a puzzle made of a flat piece of bamboo thirteen and one-half inches long with two cords tied to it

Takip-silim - a blindfolded player tried to catch

the rest of his playmates who were in circle formation


Recreational Games:

Buwan-buwan-a form of dodge gameTaguan

-hide and seekLuksong lubid - jumping ropeBato-bato - stone passing


Recreational Games:Lubi-lubi

-two teams jumped forward or backward depending on who guessed correctly where the pebble was

Luksong alon-rope swinging clockwise by two teams

Luksong palia - alternate jumping to a designated

area by two teams


Recreational Games:

Paligsahang kalabao-carabao race

Paluan ng palayok - hitting a pot containing water and moneyTarumpo - top spinning


Recreational Games:

Buchay-tossing pebbles or corn kernels into the air and catching the same with the back of the hand

Kalahoyo - directing stones into a hole by

using a flat pebble


Spanish-influenced Games:• cara-cabesa

• juego de anillo

• a la viva• corocochillo

• santito• bulong pare• pasa en

orden• juego de

prenda• vivora de amor

• Bordon de los bordones

• Presohan• bola-boaya• banda

• palmo• Biola• San Miguel

Arcangel• San Pedro• San Juan


Card games, game of chance, and other amusements with the element

of gambling:Trucos-a game resembling billiard played by soldiers, priests and government officialsBriscas

- won upon gaining thirty-one pointsDuplo - consists of arithmetical

combinationsDice



of gambling:Casino, monte and panguinguia

Billar de barimbao - similar to the European billiard gameCapona - played by counting off small

pebbles in four and betting on the remainder



of gambling:Tablita - player threw a copper disk

over a string stretched across a wooden board containing twenty-six squaresCara-cruz and Birachapo

- heads-or-tails types of gamePrinola - played with hexagonally-

topped dice



of gambling:Horse Racing

Ripa - a lottery played with twenty

cardsChabaqui - a form of lottery played with

a wooden tablet containing painted numbers from one to twelve and a corresponding set of numbered cards


Philosophy: Filipino intellectuals subscribed to the classical idea that

both the mind and body must be equally developed.

La Independencia

influential Filipino paper during Spanish regime

published a long editorial on March 29, 1898, which proposed a new curriculum for the public elementary schools




La Independencia

its most outstanding features were the emphasis on physical education, absence of Christian doctrine, and its stress that a history of the Philippines written by a Filipino be taught

however, the authorities refused to include physical education in the curriculum.




Teodoro Sandico and Graciano Reyes

two licensed primary and secondary instructors who applied for permission to open night schools for adults of both sexes with gymnastics as one of the subjects to be taught

the application was disapproved because it would undermine Spanish authority.




Mariano Espiritu

a teacher who taught the primary course and the first two years of the secondary course in La Union and Ilocos Norte

he always encouraged his pupils to play sipa and other games in order to develop physical fitness among them




Ramon Tisay

a teacher who taught in Silay, Negros Occidental

gave private lessons in fencing


SPANISH ERA (1521 - 1898): JOSE RIZALPhilosophy: A sound mind could

flourish bestin a sound body.

the pioneer Filipino proponent of formal physical education

he proposed a modern school curriculum and included instruction in gymnastics, fencing, swimming, horsemanship, and dancing

when he was writing the Noli Me Tangere he included this proposal

Philosophy: A sound mind could flourish best

in a sound body.

he brought home with him some gymnasium equipment when he returned to Calamba from his European studies and then set up the gymnasium

he taught his relatives and friends various exercises on the apparatus

Activities:

SPANISH ERA (1521 - 1898): JOSE RIZAL


in a sound body.

Early morning hike among the townspeople of Calamba going to the nearby hill called the Lecheria

Activities:



in a sound body.

Mountain climbing expedition to Mt. Makiling.

Activities:

His companions: Paciano Rizal Leandro Lopez Mariano Herbosa Lieutenant Jose Ataviel de

Andrade



in a sound body.

Outdoor gymnasium with bodybuilding paraphernalia composed of:

• parallel bars• Roman rings• Chinning bar

Activities under the physical fitness program he conducted when he was

exiled to Dapitan:



in a sound body.

• Pupils undergo rigid physical training.

• Judo• Wrestling• Spanish fencing• American boxing• Arnis• Marksmanship


exiled to Dapitan:



in a sound body.

Hagis

• a game played by Rizal and his pupils

• the object of this game was to throw stones in such a way that they would hit a piece of wood suspended from a branch of a mango tree


exiled to Dapitan:



in a sound body.

Hagis

• anyone hitting the wood five times in succession was awarded a prize of cartridges and the privilege of participating in the hunting expeditions


exiled to Dapitan:



in a sound body.

He decided to change the narrow concept of education established

by the Spaniards. By tearing down that narrow concept, he paved the way towards the development of a well-balanced personality: a sound

mind in a sound body.


Jose Rizal (middle) with Juan Luna (left) andValentin Ventura (right)

SPANISH ERA (1521 - 1898)Points to

remember: A close study of the curriculum during the Spanish regime shows that no provision was made for physical education.

In spite of the lack of incentive in the school system for organized physical education and the opposition of the priests to games, dances, and physical exercises not connected with church activities, the Filipinos still indulged in them in their private gatherings.

Although the Filipinos were not given enough incentive in physical education by the Spaniards, they were aware of its importance.

SPANISH ERA(1521 - 1898)

Reference: History of Physical Education in the Philippines by Cecilia Bocobo-

Olivar

HISTORY OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION

IN THE PHILIPPINES