MR. ORLANDO JABAGAT PAJO GENERAL EDUCATION COURSE 102

Readings in Philippine History Course Module SY=2020-2021

Table of Contents

Module 1

Lesson 1

Lesson 2

Introduction of the Course

RMC VISION MISSION

An Introduction to Philippine Historiography: Sources and

Discourses

Lesson 3 History of the Philippine Islands

Lesson 4

Module 2

The Manunggul Jar

Overview of the Readings in Philippine History

Lesson 1 The Laguna Copperplate

Lesson 2

Lesson 3

Duties of the katipunan of the Sons of the People (KKK0

Act of Declaration of Philippine Independence

Lesson 4

M3 Lesson

1899 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines (Malolos

Convention)

1 Treaty of Peace between the United States of America and the

Kingdom of Spain (Treaty of Paris)

Lesson 2

Lesson 3

Jose Rizal’s Retraction Controversy

Convention between the United States of America and Great

Britain Delimiting the Boundary between the Philippine

Archipelago and the State of North Borneo {1930}

Lesson 4 Minutes of the Proceedings on the National Territory of the 1971

Constitutional Convention.

Module 4

Lesson 1

The Role of Islam in the History of the Filipino People

History of Terrorism in the Philippines

Lesson 2 Agreement on Peace between the Government of the Republic of

the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front

Lesson 3

Lesson 4

Report of the Cholera Epidemic in the Philippines

Mintal “The Little Tokyo of the Pre-War Philippines”

An Introduction to Philippine Historiography: Sources and

Discourses

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this lesson, the student will be able to:

Define history

Differentiate history from historiography

Restate the sources of history

Analyze how historians write a history

Recall some Filipino historians and their contributions to historiography

Introduction

History deals with the study of past events. Individuals who write about history are called

historians. They seek to understand the present by examining what went before. They undertake

arduous historical research to come up with a meaningful and organized reconstruction of the past.

But whose past are we talking about? This is a basic question that a historian needs to answer

because this sets the purpose and framework of a historical account. Hence, a salient feature of

historical writing is the facility to give meaning and impart value to a particular group of people

about their past. The practice of historical writing is called historiography. Traditional method in

doing historical research focuses on gathering of documents from different libraries and archives

to form a pool of evidence needed in making a descriptive or analytical narrative. However,

modern historical writing does not only include examination of documents but also the use of

research methods from related areas study such as archaeology and geography.

Sources of History

Basic to historical research is utilization of sources. There are diverse sources of history

including documentary sources or documents, archaeological records, and oral and video accounts.

To date, most of our historical sources are documents. These refer to handwritten, printed, drawn,

designed, and other composed materials. These include books, newspapers, magazines, journals,

maps, architectural perspectives, paintings, advertisements, and photographs. Colonial records

such as government reports and legal documents form a significant part of our collection of

documents here and abroad, particularly in Spain and the United States. In the 20th century and up

to now, memoirs or personal accounts written by important historical personages constitute another

type of documents. Philippine presidents such as Emilio Aguinaldo, Manuel Quezon, and

Diosdado Macapagal wrote their memoirs to highlight their roles as nation-builders.

On the other hand, archaeological records refer to preserved remains of human beings, their

activities, and the environment where they lived. In the Philippines, the most significant excavated

human remains include the Callao Man’s toe bone (dated 67 000 BCE) and the Tabon Man’s

Module 1: Introduction of the Course - Lesson 1 and 2

skullcap (22 000 BCE). Aside from human remains, other archaeological records are generally

categorized as fossils and artifacts. Fossils are remains of animals, plants, and other organisms

from the distant past, while artifacts are remnants of material culture developed by human beings.

These include clothing, farm implements, jewelry, pottery and stone tools.

Oral and video accounts form the third kind of historical source. These are audio-visual

documentation of people, events, and places. These are usually recorded in video and audio

cassettes, and compact discs. Aside from scholars, media people also use oral and video accounts

as part of their news and public affairs work.

Doctrina Christiana, the first published work

Primary and Secondary Sources

There are two general kinds of historical sources: primary and secondary. Primary

Sources refer to documents, physical objects, and oral/video accounts made by an individual or a

group present at the time and place being described. These materials provide facts from people

who actually witnessed the event. Secondary sources, on the other hand, are materials made by

people long after the events being described had taken place.

Most historical narratives today are so reliant on documentary sources due to the plethora

of written records and the lack of archaeological records and oral/video memoirs. Although having

several documents about an event allows for easier counterchecking of facts history researchers

are confronted with one basic challenge with regard primary sources- their ability to read and

understand texts in foreign languages.

Many of our untapped archival documents here and abroad are written in Spanish. A good

knowledge of Spanish is a huge advantage. But this skill is unusual among today’s historians who

prefer to read translations of Spanish texts such as the 55-volume. The Philippine Islands, 1493-

1898 (1903-1909) edited by Emma Blair and James Robertson, which is the most cited collection

of primary sources about the Philippines before the advent of the American colonial regime. The

collection includes translations of portions of 16th- century chronicles such as Antonio Pigafetta’s

Primo Viaggio intorno al mundo (1524), Miguel Loarca’s Relacion de las Yslas Filipinas (1582),

and Juan de Plasencia’s Relacion de las Islas Pilipinas (1592).

Filipino historians, such as the father-daughter tandem of Gregorio Zaide and Sonio Zaide,

have also compiled and translated colonial documents. They published the 10- volume

Documentary Sources of Philippine History (1994).

Aside from reading the Spanish originals documents or translated words, another daunting

task for Filipino historians is to discern the cultural context and historical value of primary sources

because most of these primary documents were written by colonialists and reflected Western

cultural frames. For examples, derogatory terms used to Label Filipinos such as “pagan,”

“uncivilized,” “wild,” and “savage” abound in these colonial documents. Uncovering myths and

misconceptions about Filipino cultural identity propagated by the Spanish and American

colonizers is extra challenging for contemporary Filipino scholars.

If the key function of primary source documents is to give facts, secondary source

documents, on the other hand, provide valuable interpretations of historical events. The works of

eminent historians such as Teodoro Agoncillo and Renato Constantino are good examples of

secondary sources. In his interpretation of the Philippine Revolution, Agoncillo divided the

revolution into two phases: the first phase covers the years from the start of the revolution in

August 1896 to the flight of Emilio Aguinaldo and company to Hong Kong as a result of the Pact

of Biak-na-Bato, while the second phase spans from Aguinaldo’s return to Manila from Hong

Kong until his surrender to the Americans in March 1901.

However, Constantino refuted Agoncillo’s leader-centric scheme of dividing the revolution

into two phases by stressing that Agoncillo’s viewpoint implied that the revolution came to a halt

when Aguinaldo left the country. Constantino disputed the soundness of Agoncillo’s two-phase

scheme by asserting that the war of independence continued even without Aguinaldo’s presence

in the country.

Aside from the issue on Philippine Revolution, there are other contending issues in

Philippine history such as the venue of the first Christian mass in the country and the question of

who deserves to be named national hero. By and large, interpretations serve as tools of discernment

for readers of historical sources, but they should be cautious of frames of analysis used for biased,

discriminatory, and self-serving ends.

Historical Criticism

Many documents have primary and secondary segments. For instance, examining a

newspaper as a historical source entails a discerning mind to identify its primary and secondary

components. A news item written by a witness of an event is considered as a primary source, while

a feature article is usually considered as a secondary material. Similarly, a book published a long

time ago does not necessarily render it as a primary source. It requires a meticulous reading of the

document to know its origin.

To ascertain the authenticity and reliability of primary sources to be used in crafting a

narrative, a historian needs to employ two levels of historical criticism, namely, external criticism

and internal criticism. External criticism answers concerns and questions pertinent to the

authenticity of a historical source by identifying that composed the historical material, locating

when and where the historical material was produced, and establishing the material’s evidential

value.

Internal criticism, on the other hand, deals with the credibility and reliability of the

content of a given historical source. This kind of criticism focuses on understanding the substance

and message that the historical materials wants to convey by examining how the author frame the

intent and meaning of a composed material.

Locating Primary Sources

There are substantial primary sources about the Philippines here and abroad. In the country,

government institutions such as the National Library and the National Archives are major

repositories of documentary sources.

The National Library has complete microfilm copies of the Philippine Revolutionary

Records (1896-1901), a compilation of captured documents of Emilio Aguinaldo’s revolutionary

government, and Historical Data Papers (1952-1953), a collection of “history and cultural life” of

all towns in the country spearheaded by public school teachers during President Elpidio Quirino’s

term. The Manuscript’s Section of the National Library’s Filipiniana Division contains the

presidential papers of different administrations from Manuel Quezon to Joseph Ejercito. Search aids

such as the “Checklist of Rare Filipiniana Serials (1811-1914),” “Filipiniana Serials in Microfilm,”

and several registers of Philippine presidential papers are provided for faster and easier way to

look for historical materials.

The National Archives, on the other hand, holds a substantial collection of catalogued and

uncatalogued Spanish documents about the Philippines composed from 1552 to 1900. These

consist of 432 document categories such as Administration Central de Rentas y Propiedades

(Central Administration of Rentals and Properties), Administration de Hacienda Publica

(Administration of Public Finance), Aduana de Manila (Customs Office of Manila), Almacenes

Generales (General Stores), Asuntos Criminales (Criminal matters), Ayuntamiento de Manila

(Town Council of Manila), Colera (Cholera), Padron General de Chinos (General register of

Chinese), and Presos (Prisoners). For local historians, valuable materials from the National

Archives include Cabezas de Barangay (Heads of Barangay), Ereccion de los Pueblos

(Establishment of Towns), Guia Oficial (Official Guide), and Memorias (Official Reports of

Provincial Governors), Aside from Spanish sources, the National Archives is also the repository

of 20th-century documents such as civil records, notarial documents, and Japanese wartime crime

records. There are also some sources written in Tagalog such as the documents pertinent to

Apolinario de la Cruz, the leader of the Coonfradia de San Jose in the 19th century.

Academic institutions such as the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Ateneo de

Manila University in Quezon City, University of Santos Tomas in Manila, Silliman University in

Dumaguete City, and University of San Carlos in Cebu City have also substantial library and

archival holdings. The Media Services Section of the UP Main Library has microfilm copies of

Philippine Radical Papers, a compilation of documents relevant to the Partido Komunista ng

Pilipinas (PKP) and its allied organizations as well a People’s Court Proceedings, a collection of

court proceedings against Filipino leaders who corporate with the Japanese during their short-lived

occupation. The Ateneo de Manila’s Rizal Library houses the American Historical Collection that

consists of vital documents relevant to the American experience such as the Reports of the

Philippine Commission (1901-1909), Annual Reports of the Governors-General of the Philippine

Islands (1916-1935), and records of the Philippine legislature from 1907 to 1934.

Privately owned museums and archives, such as the Ayala Museum in Makati and Lopez

Museum in Pasig City, have also considerable historical resources. Religious congregations such

as the Augustinians, Dominicans, Jesuits, and Recollects also have extensive archival holdings

that remain untapped.

Outside the Philippines, there are several documents about the country found in Spain and

the United States. The bulk of Spanish documents are found at the Archivo General de Indias in

Sevilla, Spain. Important American sources are available at the Manuscript Division of the United

States Library of Congress, Harvard University’s Houghton Library, United States National

Archives, and the University of Michigan’s Bentley Historical Library.

In this age of Internet, there are open access online archives on Filipino history and culture,

such as the extensive digital Filipiniana collection of the University of Michigan, which consists

of manuscripts and photographs of the early part of 20th century Philippines. Another rich online

source of primary documents is the University of Illinois at Chicago Field Museum. It houses the

extensive photographic collection of Dean Worcester, the secretary of Interior of the American

colonial government in the country from 1901 to 1913.

Colonial Historiography

Philippine historiography has changed significantly since the 20th century. For a long time,

Spanish colonizers presented our history in two parts: a period of darkness or backwardness before

they arrived and a consequent period of advancement or enlightenment when they came. Spanish

chroniclers wrote a lot about the Philippines but their historical accounts emphasized the primacy

of colonization to liberate Filipinos from their backward “barbaric” life ways In the same manner,

American colonial writers also shared the same worldview of their predecessors by rationalizing

their colonization of Filipinos as a way to teach the natives of the “civilized lifestyle” which they

said the Spaniards forgot to impart including personal hygiene and public administration. Colonial

narratives have portrayed Filipinos as a people bereft of an advanced culture and a respectable

history. This perception challenged Filipino intellectuals beginning in the 1800s to rectify such

cultural bias or prejudice. In 1890, Jose Rizal came out with an annotation

of Antonio de Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas (Events in the Philippine Islands), a book

originally published in 1609. He used de Morga’s book, a rare Spanish publication that positively

viewed precolonial Filipino culture, as a retort to the arrogant Spaniards. However, cultural bias

against Filipino culture continued even after Rizal’s death and the end of Spanish colonialism.

Jose Rizal Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas

Learning from the fate of its colonial predecessor, the United States did not only use brute

force but also affected ingenious ways of pacification such as the use of education as a tool to

control their subjects and increase political and economic power of the elite few. These colonial

instruments were so ingrained among Filipinos that they perceived their colonial past in two ways:

initially maltreated by “wicked Spain” but later rescued by “benevolent America.” This kind of

historical consciousness has effectively erased from the memories of Filipino generations the

bloody Philippine-American War as exemplified by the Balangiga Massacre in Eastern Samar and

the Battle of Bud Bagsak in Sulu. Consequently, such perception breathes new life to the two-part

view of history: a period of darkness before the advent of the United States and an era of

enlightenment during the American colonial administration. This view has resonated with Filipino

scholars even after the Americans granted our independence in 1946.

Philippine Historiography after World War II

The stark reality of Filipino historians thinking like their colonial counterpart’s during the

postcolonial period troubled a small group of professors and cultural workers who were mostly

alumni of the University of the Philippines. This spurred the emergence of Filipino scholars who

challenged the narrow view of colonial narratives and developed historical writing from the

viewpoint of a nationalist agenda.

In the 1950s, Teodoro Agoncillo pioneered nationalist historiography in the country by

highlighting the role of the Filipino reformists and revolutionaries from 1872, the year that saw the

execution of the Gomburza priests, to the end of the Philippine Revolution as the focal point of the

country’s nation-building narrative. Two of his most celebrated books focus on the impact

of the Philippine Revolution: The Revolt of the Masses: The

story of Bonifacio and the Katipunan (1956) and Malolos:

The Crisis of the Republic (1960). His writings veered away

from emphasizing Spanish colonial period and regarded

events before 1872 as part of the country’s “lost history.”

This discourse of “lost history” was not accepted by another

known scholar, Renato Constantino, whose published work

entitled “The Miseducation of the Filipino” became a staple

reading for academics

and activists beginning in the

late1960s. Constantino advanced the

idea of a “people’s history” – a

study of the past that sought to

analyze society by searching out people’s voices from colonial historical

materials that typically rendered Filipinos as decadent, inept and vile.

Following this mode of historical inquiry, he authored The Philippines:

A Past Revisited (1975), a college textbook that offered a more critical

reading of Philippine history compared to Agoncillo’s History of the

Filipino People (1973). Undoubtedly, these two

nationalist scholars inspired or challenged other historians to reevaluate the country’s national

history.

Three other Filipino historians set new directions in redefining Philippine historiography

in the last 30 years of the 20th century. The first of these scholars is Zeus Salazar who

conceptualized “Pantayong Pananaw” as an approach to understanding the past from our own

cultural frame and language. He emphasized the value of our Austronesian roots to defining

Filipino culture and encouraged other scholars to conduct outstanding historical researches in

Filipino such as the work of Jaime Veneracion’s Kasaysayan ng

Bulacan (1986).

Equally important is the

contribution of Reynaldo Ileto

who wrote about his “history

from below” treatise in his

ground-breaking work, Pasyon

and Revolution: Popular

Movements in the Philippines,

1840-1910 (1979). In this work,

Ileto endeavored to recognize the way of thinking of ordinary folks

by using alternative historical sources such as folk songs and

prayers. His other works spurred new interpretations of common

topics such as Jose Rizal, Philippine-American War, and

American colonization.

Teodoro Agoncillo

Zeus Salazar

Reynaldo Ileto

Renato Constantino

Samuel Tan

There is Samuel Tan, another prolific historian who is remembered for mainstreaming the

role and relevance of Filipino Muslims in the country’s national history. His definitive work, The

Filipino Muslim Armed Struggle, 1900-1972 (1978), sougth to examine the struggle of Filipino

Muslims in the context of 20th –century nation-building dynamics during the American colonial

regime and subsequent postcolonial Filipino administrations. In

his book, A History of the Philippines (1987), Tan tempted to

write a national history reflective of the historical experiences

not only of lowland Christianized Filipinos but also of the other

different cultural communities in the archipelago.

Since the latter part of the 20th century, there have been

considerable changes in the way historians compose our national

history. However, contemporary Philippine historiography still

continues to be characterized by the dominance of political

narratives, colonial histories, elite-centric perspective, and

patriarchal orientation as well as emphasis on lowland

Christianized Filipinos.

Political Narratives

Most of our national histories today favor narratives that deal with the political aspects of

nation-building such as the legacies of political leaders and establishment of different government.

Questions such as the following are focal points in these narratives. Who was the first Spanish

governor-general vital in implementing the encomienda policy? Who was the governor-general

responsible for the massive employment of Filipinos in the American colonial bureaucracy? Who

served as the last president of the Philippine Commonwealth and the inaugural chief executive of

the Third Republic? Who was the Philippine president responsible for the declaration of martial

law? The challenge for present-day historians is to present a more holistic history that goes beyond

politics by means of integrating other aspects of nation-building such as its economic and cultural

aspects.

Colonial Histories in Historical Narratives

Another weakness of most national histories is the importance given to colonial histories.

This continues to breed Filipinos who are more familiar with stories about our colonial history

rather than stories of our precolonial past. Up to now, some social studies textbooks misrepresent

ancient Filipinos as savages or barbarians by portraying colonizers, especially the Spaniards and

American, as liberators of the Filipinos from cultural backwardness. The key to uncover such

cultural prejudices is to examine available historical sources and to write about our past by

understanding the myths and misconceptions that characterized the Filipino culture for centuries.

Elite-centric Perspective in Historical Narratives

Some historical narratives focus on the contributions of the elite in nation-building such as

what the Illustrados (educated Filipinos) fought for in the 19th century or how the local politicians

negotiated with their American counterparts to obtain an independence law during the first half of

the 20th century. Though eminent historians such as Constantino and Ileto reiterated the importance

of a “people’s history” and “history from below,” respectively, so much has to be done in terms of

writing about the roles played by ordinary people in our history.

Patriarchal Orientation in Historical Narratives

Most of the country’s historical narratives highlight the heroism of men in different ways:

leading revolts and liberation wars against colonizers, championing the cause of independence,

and spearheading political and economic development. Women, on the other hand, are viewed by

several historians as merely support to men. Let us take for example the women leaders such as

Gabriela Silang, Tandang Sora, and Corazon Aquino. Silang assumed the leadership of the Ilocos

revolt after her husband was murdered in May 1763. Tandang Sora’s decision to offer her barn and

farm to revolutionaries in August 1896 was linked to her son’s involvement in the Katipunan.

Aquino rose to prominence as a martyr’s widow who led a movement to depose a dictatorship in

February 1986. These representations show women’s roles as consequences of their connection to

the men in their lives. With this bias in mind, it is imperative for contemporary historians to use

gender-sensitive approaches in understanding history to avoid typecasting women as dependent,

emotional, less important, passive, submissive, and weak.

Emphasis on Lowland Christianized Filipinos

National histories tend to show partially toward lowland Christianized Filipinos at the

expense of other cultural communities such as Muslim Filipinos and other indigenous peoples such

as the Manobos of Mindanao, Ibalois of Cordillera, and Mangyans of Mindoro. Celebrated figures

of our past are all lowlander Christians and predominantly Tagalogs including Jose Rizal, the

leading propagandist; Andres Bonifacio, the Katipunan founder; Emilio Aguinaldo, the

revolutionary leader who declared independence; and Manuel Quezon, the first president of the

Philippine Commonwealth. Non-Christians and highlanders remain unrecognized in historical

narratives. Muslim Filipinos, in particular, have been subjected to negative characterization by

lowland Christians in published works such as history books. This is caused by the culture of

mistrust that developed between Christians and Muslims during the colonial periods. Muslim

Filipinos are depicted as brutal, cruel, ferocious, and vicious as exemplified by their attacks of

Christian towns. This narrow-minded view has to be reevaluated in order to correct

misrepresentations of Muslim Filipinos in this age of political correctness and cultural sensitivity.

Because of the need to reassess our national histories, many local stories- narratives about

origins and development of a barangay, town, city, province, or an ethnolinguistic community –

have been written in the last three decades. The writing of these stories broadens the scope of our

national history reflective of the roles played by the country’s cultural communities in nation –

building.

Source: Gonzalez, M C, Madrigal, C., San Juan, DM, Ramos, DJ (2014). Chronicles in a changing

world: Witnesses to the history of the Filipino people. Santillan, NM (Chapter): Diwa Learning

Systems Inc: Innovation in Education, Makati.

Learning Activity: Essay

Requirements:

1. What is history? How is it different from historiography?

2. What are the sources of history? Enumerate them.

3. How do historians write history?

4. Who are some of the notable Filipino historians? What are their contributions to

Philippine historiograph

History of the Philippine Islands An Excerpt from the Original Work of Antonio De Morga

……relation of the Filipinas Islands and of their natives, antiquity, customs, and government,

both during the period of their paganism and after their conquest by the Spaniards, and other

details.

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this lesson, the student will be able to:

Quote the observations of the writer about the inhabitants of the Philippine islands when the Spaniards arrived

Describe the culture of the inhabitants of the Philippine islands before the colonization

Criticize the way the Filipinos were described by the writer.

“In various parts of this island of Luzon are found a number of natives black in color. Both

men and women have wooly hair, and their stature is not very great, though they are strong and

robust. These people are barbarians, and have but little capacity. They possess no fixed house or

settlements, but wander in bands and hordes through the mountains and rough country, changing

from one site to another according to the season. They support themselves in certain clearings, and

by planting rice, which they are very skillful and certain. [217] They live also on honey from the

mountains, and roots produced by the ground. They are barbarous people, in whom one cannot

place confidence. They are much given killing and to attacking the settlements of the other natives,

in which they commit many depredations; and there is nothing that can be done to stop them, or to

subdue or pacify them, although this is always attempted by fair or foul means, as opportunity and

necessity demand.’’

The apparel and clothing of these natives of Luzon before the entrance of the Spaniards

into the country were generally, for the men, certain short collarless garments of cangan, sewed

together in the front, and with short sleeves, and reaching slightly below the waist, some were blue

and others black, while the chiefs had some red ones, called chinanas. [218] They also whore a

strip of colored cloth wrapped about the waist, and passed between the legs, so that it covered the

privy parts, reaching half-way down the thigh; these are called banaques. [219] they go with legs

bare, feet unshod, and the head uncovered, wrapping a narrow cloth, called protong [220] just

below it, with which they bind the forehead and temples. About their necks they wear gold

necklaces, wrought like spun wax, [221] and with links in our fashion, some larger than others. On

theie arms they wear armlets of wrought gold, which they call calombigas, and which are very

large and made in different patterns. Some wear strings of precious stones- cornelians and agates;

and other blue and white stones, which they esteem highly. [222] They wear around the legs some

Lesson 3: Week 3

strings of these stones, and certain cords, covered with black pitch in many foldings, as garters. [223]”

These principles, and lordship were inherited in the male line and by succession of father

and son and their descendants. If these were lacking, then their brothers and collateral relatives

succeeded. Their duty was to rule and govern their subjects and followers, and to assist them in

their interests and necessities. What the chiefs received from their followers was to be held by

them in great veneration and respect; and they were served in their wars and voyages, and in their

tilling, sowing, fishing, and the building of their houses. To these duties the natives attended very

promptly, whenever summoned by their chief. They also paid the chiefs tribute (which they called

buiz), in varying quantities, in the crops that they gathered. The descendants of such chiefs, and

their relatives, even though they did not inherit the lordship, were held in the same respect and

consideration. Such were all regarded as nobles, and as persons exempt from the services rendered

by others, or the plebeians, who were called timaguas. [224] The same right of nobility and

Chieftainship was preserved from the women, just as for the men. When any of these chiefs

was more courageous than others in war and upon other occasions, such a one enjoyed more

followers and men; and the others were under his leadership, even if they were chiefs. These latter

retained to themselves the lordship and particular government of their own following, which is

called barangani among them. They had datos and special leaders [mandadores] who attended to

the interests of the barangay.

The superiority of these chiefs over those of their barangani was so great that they held the

latter as subjects; they treated these well or ill, and disposed of their persons, their children, and

their possessions; at will, without any resistance, or rendering account to anyone. For every slight

annoyance and for slight occasions, they were wont to kill and wound them, and to enslave them.

It bating in the river, or who have raised their eyes to look at them less respectfully and for other

similar causes. [312]

When some natives had suits or disputes with others over matters of property and interest,

or over personal injuries and wrongs received, they appointed old men of the same district, to try

them, the parties being present. If they had to present proofs, they brought their witnesses there,

and the case was immediately judged according to what was found, according to the usages of

their ancestors on like occasions; and that sentence was observed and executed without any further

objection or delay, [313]

The natives’ laws throughout the islands were made in the same manner, and they followed

the traditions and customs of their ancestors, without anything being written. Some provinces had

different customs than others in some respects. However, they agreed in most, and in all the islands

generally the same usages were followed. [314]

There are three conditions of persons among the natives of these islands, and into which

their government is divided: the chiefs, of whom we have already treated; the timaguas, who are

equivalent to plebians; and slaves, those of both chiefs and timaguas.

The slaves were of several classes. Some were for all kinds of work and slavery, like those

which we ourselves hold. Such are called sagigilid; [315] they served inside the house, as did

likewise the children born of them. There are others who live by their own houses with their

families, outside the house of their lord; and come, at the season, to aid him in his sowings and

harvests, among his rowers when he embarks, in the construction of his house when it is being

built, and to serve in his house when there are guests of distinction. These are bound to come to

their lord’s house whenever he summons them, and to serve in these offices without any pay or

stipend. These slaves are called namamahay, [316] and their children and descendants are slaves

of the same class. From these slaves- sagigilid and namamahayan- are issue, some of whom are

whole slaves, some of whom are half slaves, and still others one-fourth slaves. It happens thus; if

either the father or the mother was free, and they had only child, he was half free and half slave. If

they had more than one child, they were divided as follows: the first follows the condition of the

father, free or slave; the second that of the mother. If there were an odd number of children, the

last was half free and half slave. Those who descended from these, if children of a free mother or

father, were only one-fourth slaves, because of being children of a free father or mother and of a

half-slave. These half slaves or one-fourth slaves, whether sagigilid or namamahay, served their

masters during every other moon; and in this respect so is such condition slavery.

In the same way, it may happen in division between heirs that a slave will fall to several,

and serves each one for the time that is due him. When the slave is not wholly slave, but half or

fourth, he has the right, because of that part that is free, to control his master to emancipate him

for a just price. This price is appraised and regulated for persons according to the quality of their

slavery, whether it be saguiguilid or namamahay, half slave or quarter slave. But if he is wholly

slave, the master cannot be compelled to ransom or emancipate him for any price.

The usual price of a saguiguilid slave among the natives is, at most, generally ten taes of

good gold, or eighty pesos, if he is namamahay. Half of that sum. The others are in the same

proportion, taking into consideration the person and his age.

No fixed beginning can be assigned as the origin of these kinds of slavery among these

natives, because all the slaves are natives of the islands, and not strangers. It is thought that they

were made in their wars and quarrels. The most certain knowledge is that the most powerful made

the others slaves, and seized them for slight cause or occasion, and many times for loans and

usurious contracts which were current among them. The interest, capital, and debt, increased so

much with delay that the barrowers became slaves. Consequently, all these slaveries have violent

and unjust beginnings; and most if the suits among the natives are over these, and they occupy the

judges in the exterior court with them, and their confessors in that of conscience. [317]

These slaves comprise the greatest wealth and capital of the natives of these islands, for

they are very useful to them and necessary for the cultivation of their property. They are sold,

traded, and exchanged among them, just as any bother mercantile article, from one village to

another, from one province to another, and likewise from one island to another. Therefore, and to

avoid so many suits as would occur if these slaveries were examined, and their origin and scurce

ascertained, they are preserved and held as they were formerly.

This marriage of these natives, commonly and generally were, and are: Chiefs with women

chiefs; timaguas with those of that rank; and slaves with those of their own class. But sometimes

these classes intermarry with one another. They considered one woman, whom they married, as

the legitimate wife and the mistress of the house; and she was styled ynasaba. [318] Those whom

they kept besides hey they considered as family. The children of the first were regarded as

legitimate and whole heirs of their parents; the children of the others were not so regarded, and left

something by assignment, but they did not inherit.

The dowry was furnished by the man, being given by his parents. The wife furnished

nothing for the marriage, until she had inherited it from her parents. The solemnity of the marriage

consisted in nothing more than the agreement between the parents and relatives of the contracting

parties, the payment of the dowry agreed upon to the father of the bride, [319] and the assembling

at the wife’s parents’ house of all the relatives to eat and drink until they would fall down. At night

the man took the woman to his house and into his power, and there she remained. These marriages

were annulled and dissolved for slight cause, which acted as mediators in the affairs. At such a

time the man took the dowry (which they call vigadicaya), [320] unless it happened that they

separated through the husband’s fault;

For when it was not returned to him, and the wife’s parents kept it. The property that they

had acquired together was divided in to halves, and each one disposed of his own. If one made any

profits in which the other did not have a share or participate, he acquired it for himself alone.

The Indians were adopted one by another, in presence of the relatives. The adopted person

gave and delivered all his actual possession to the one who adopted him. Thereupon he remained

in his house and care, and had a right to inherit with the other children. [321]

Adulteries were not punished corporally. If the adulterer paid the aggrieved party the

amount adjudged by the old men and agreed upon by them, then the injury was pardoned, and the

husband was appeased and retained his honor. He would still live with his wife and there would

be no further talk about the matter.

In inheritance all the legitimate children inherited equally from their parents whatever

property they had acquired. If there were any movable or landed property which they had received

from their parents, such went to the nearest relative and the collateral side of that stock, if there

were no legitimate children by an ynasaba. This was the case either with or without a will. In the

act of drawing a will, there was no further ceremony than to have written it or to have stated it

orally before acquaintances.

If any chief was lord of a barangay, then in that case, the eldest son of an ynasaba succeeded

him. If he died, the second son succeeded. If there were no sons, then the daughters succeeded in

the same order. If there were no legitimate successors, the succession went to the nearest relative

belonging to lineage and relationship of the chief who had been the last possessor of it.

If any native had slave women concubines of any of them, and such slave woman had

children, those children were free, as was the slave. But if she had no children, she remained a

slave. [322]

These children by a slave woman, and those borne by a married woman, were regarded as

illegitimate, and did not succeed to the inheritance with the other children, neither were the parents

obliged to leave them anything. Even if they were the sons of chiefs, they did not succeed to the

nobility or chieftainship of the parents, nor to their privileges, but they remained and were reckoned

as plebeians and in the number and rank of the other timaguas.

The contract and negotiations of these natives were generally illegal, each one paying

attention to how he might better his own business and interest.

Loans which interest were very common and much practiced, and the interest incurred was

excessive. The debt doubled and increased all the time while payment was delayed, until it stripped

the debtor of all his possessions, and he and his children, when all their property was gone, became

slaves. [323]

Their customary method of trading was by bartering one thing for another, such as food,

cloth, cattle, fowls, lands, houses, fields, slaves, fishing-grounds, and palm-trees (both nipa and

wild). At Sometimes a price intervened, which was paid in gold, as agreed upon, or in metal bells

brought from China. These bells they regard as precious jewels, resemble large pans and are very

sonorous. [324] They play upon these at their feasts, and carry them to the war in their boat instead

of drums and others instruments. There are often delays and terms for certain payments, and

bondsmen who intervene and bind themselves, but always with very usurious and excessive profits

and interests.

Crimes were punished by request of the aggrieved parties. Especially were thefts punished

with greater severity, the robbers being enslaved or sometimes put to death. [325] The same was

true of insulting words, especially when spoken to chiefs. They had among themselves many

expressions and words which they regarded as the highest insult, when said to men and women.

These were pardoned less willingly and with greater difficulty that was personal violence, such as

wounding and assaulting. [326]

Concubinage, rape, and incest, were not regarded at all, unless committed by a timagua on

the person of a woman chief. It was a quite ordinary practice for a married man to have lived a

long time in concubinage with the sister of his wife. Even before having communication which his

wife he could have had access for a long time to his mother-in-law, especially if the bride were

very young until she were of sufficient age. This was done in sight of all the relatives.

Single men are called bagontaos, [327] and girls of marriageable age, dalagas. Both classes

are people of little restraint, and from early childhood they have communication with one another,

and mingle with facility and little secrecy, and without this being regarded among the natives as a

cause for anger. Neither do the parents, brothers, or relatives, show any anger, especially if there

is any material interest in it, and but little is sufficient with each and all.

As long as these natives lived in their paganism, it was not known that they had fallen into

the abominate sin against nature. But after the Spaniards had entered their country, through

communication with them—and still more, through that with the Sangleys, who have come from

China, and are much given to that vice—it has been communicated to them somewhat, both to

men and to women. In this matter it has been necessary to take action.

The native of the islands of Pintados, especially the women, are very vicious and sensual.

Their perverseness has discovered lascivious methods of communication between men and

women; and there is one to which they are accustomed from their youth. The men skillfully make

a hole in their virile member near its head, and insert therein a serpent’s head, either of metal or

ivory, and fasten it with a peg of the same material passed through the hole, so that it cannot

become unfastened. With this device, they have communication with their wives, and are unable

to withdraw until a long time after copulation. They are very fond of this and receive much pleasure

from it, so that, although devices are called sagras, and there are very few of them, because since

they have become Christians, strenuous efforts are being made to do away with these, and not

consent to their use; and consequently the practice has been checked in great part. [328]

Herbalist and witches are common among these natives, but are not punished or prohibited

among them, so long as they do not cause any special harm, But seldom could that be ascertained

or known.

There were also when whose business was to ravish and take away virginity from young

girls. These girls were taken to such men, and the latter were paid for ravishing them, for the

natives considered it a hindrance and acquaintance if the girls were virgins when they married.

In matters of religion, the natives proceeded more barbarously and with greater blindness

than in all the rest. For besides being pagans, without any knowledge of the true God, they neither

strove to discover Him by way of reason, nor had any fixed belief. The devil usually deceived them

with a thousand errors and blindness. He appeared to them in various horrible and frightful forms,

and as fierce animals, so that they feared Him and trembled before Him. They generally worshiped

him, and made images of him in the said forms. These they kept in caves and private houses, where

they offered them perfumes them perfumes and odors, and food and fruit, calling them anitos.

[329]

Others worshiped the sun and the moon, and made feasts and drunken revels at the

conjunction of those bodies. Some worshipped a yellow-colored bird that dwells in their woods,

called batala. They generally worship and adore the crocodiles when they see them, by kneeling

down and clasping their hanads, because of the harm that they receive from those reptiles; they

believe that by so doing the crocodile will become appeased and leave them. Their oaths,

execrations, and promises are all as above mentioned, namely, “May buhayan eat thee, if thou dost

not speak truth, or fulfil what thou hast promised,’’ and similar things.

There were no temples throughout those islands, nor houses generally used for the worship

of idols; but each person possessed and made his house own anitos, [330] without any fixed rite or

ceremony. They had no priests or religious to attend to religious affairs, except certain old men and

women called catalonas. These were experienced witches and sorcerers, who kept the other people

deceived. The latter communicated to these sorcerers their desires and needs, and the catalonas

told them innumerable extravagancies and lies. The catalonas uttered prayers and performed other

ceremonies to the idols for the sick; and they believed in omens and superstitions,

with witch the devil inspired them, whereby they declared whether the patient would recover or

die. Such were their cures and methods, and they used various kinds of divinations for all things.

All this was with so little aid, apparatus, or foundation—which God permitted, so that the

preaching of the holy gospel should find those of that region better prepared for it, and so that

those natives would confess the truth more easily, and it, and would be less difficult to withdraw

them from their darkness, and the errors in which the devil kept them for so many years. They

never sacrificed human beings as is done in other kingdoms. They believed that there was a future

life where those who had been brave and performed valiant feats would be rewarded; while those

who had done evil would be punished. But they did not know how or where this would be. [331]

Source:

De Morga, Antonio. History of the Philippine islands: From their discovery by Magellan in 1521

to the beginning of the XVII Century; with description of Japan, China and adjacent countries.

Translated by Blair and Robertson. Ohio: The Arthur and Clark Company. 1907.

Learning Activity: Reaction Paper

Requirements:

1. Based on your critical analysis of the above description of Antonio de Morga about the

early inhabitants of the then called Philippine islands, draw some points which you do

not agree about the Filipino people before the Spanish colonization. Provide evidence of

your argument.

2. Do you think some of the observed characteristics of culture and practices of the early

Filipinos still exist now a days? Give examples, if there is. Justify if there is none.

Lesson 4: Week 4

Learning Objectives

The Manunggul Jar

By the end of this lesson, the student will be able to:

Identify the parts of the Manunggul jar

Interpret the significance and symbolisms of the design of the jar

Relate the design of the jar with the cultural practices of the early civilization

Illustrate the significance of the discovery of the jar to the history of the Philippines

The Manunggul Jar is a secondary burial jar excavated from a Neolithic burial site in

Manunggul cave of Tabon Caves at Lipuun Point at Palawan dating from 890–710 B.C. The two

prominent figures at the top handle of its cover represent the journey of the soul to the afterlife.

The Manunggul Jar is widely acknowledged to be one of the finest Philippine pre-colonial artworks

ever produced and is a considered a masterpiece. It is denoted a national treasure and it is

designated as item 64-MO-74 by the National Museum of the Philippines. It is now housed at the

Museum of the Filipino People and is one of the most popular exhibits there. It is made from clay

with some sand soil.

The cultural treasure found in the early 1960’s in

Manunggul Cave, Lipuun Point, Palawan is a secondary burial

jar. The upper portion of the jar, as well as the cover is incised

with curvilinear scroll designs and painted with natural iron or

hematite. On top of the jar cover or lid is a boat with two human

figures representing two souls on a voyage to the afterlife. The

boatman is seated behind a figure whose hands are crossed on

the chest. The position of the hands is a traditional Filipino

practice observed when arranging the corpse.

The burial jar which is unrivaled in Southeast Asia and

considered as the work of a master potter, signifies the belief

of early Filipinos in life after death. It is dated to the late

Neolithic Period, about 890-710 B.C.

Discovery of the Jar

The Manunggul Jar was found by Dr. Robert B. Fox

and Miguel Antonio in 1962. It was found alongside the discovery of the remains of Tabon Man.

It was recovered by Dr. Fox in Chamber A of Manunggul Cave in Southwestern Palawan.

Manunggul Cave is one of the Tabon Caves in Lipuun Point. In the expansion, the Tabon

practice in the Philippines when arranging the corpse. The cover of Manunggul Jar provides a clear

example of a cultural link between the archeological past and the ethnographic present. It also

signifies the belief of ancient Filipinos in life after death.

The Manunggul Jar tells us of our connections with our Southeast Asian neighbors. The design is a proof of our common heritage from our Austronesian-speaking ancestors despite the diversity of the cultures of the Philippine peoples.5 Traces of their culture and beliefs can still be seen in different parts of the country and from different Philippine ethno-linguistic groups, reminding us that there can be a basis for the so-called “imagined community” called the Filipino nation.

The Manunggul Jar tells us of how important the waters were to our ancestors. Before the internet, the telephone, the telegram, and the plane, the seas and the rivers were their conduit of trade, information and communication.6 In the Philippine archipelago, that, according to Peter Bellwood, the Southeast Asians first developed a sophisticated maritime culture which made possible the spread of the Austronesian-speaking peoples to the Pacific Islands as far Madagascar in Africa and Easter Island near South America.Our ships—the balanghay, the paraw, the caracoa, and the like—were considered marvelous technological advances by our neighbors that they respected us and made us partners in trade, these neighbors including the imperial Chinese.

The Manunggul Jar shows that our maritime culture is so paramount to us that it reflected our ancestor’s religious beliefs. Many epics around the Philippines would tell us of how souls go to the next life aboard boats, passing through the rivers and seas. The belief is very much connected with the Austronesia belief in the anito. Our ancestors believed that man is composed of the body, the life force called the ginhawa, and the kaluluwa. The kaluluwa, after death, can return to earth to exist in nature to guide their descendants. This explains why the design of the cover of the

Manunggul Jar features three faces, those of the soul, of the boat driver, and of the boat itself. For them, even things from nature have souls, have lives of their own. That’s why our ancestors respected nature more than those who thought that it can be used for the ends of man.

Source: https://www.nationalmuseum.gov.ph/nationalmuseumbeta/Collections/Archaeo/Manunggul.htm

Learning Activity: Map Analysis

Requirements:

1. Given the map below, extracted from Google Earth, the Tabon Caves in the Lipuun Point of

Palawan where the Manunggul Jar was discovered are facing the South China Sea and the

Spratly Islands. Below the Palawan peninsula is the island of Borneo. Do you find any

relationship between the symbolism of the design of the jar and the surrounding environment?

What do you think is the source of inspiration in such design given its environment?

2. Using your own analysis of the map, formulate your own theory of the possible role of the

Palawan peninsula in the history of civilization in the early Philippines.

Map generated from Google Earth

Palawan Peninsula

Manunggul, Tabon Caves

Lipuun Point,