Customs of the Tagalogs

(Juan de Plasencia, O.F.M.)

Lecture Date

About the Author

Fray Juan de Plasencia (real name It vividly describes the political,
is Joan de Portocarrero) is one of social, economic and cultural
the seven children of Pedro practices of the Filipinos before
Portocarrero. they were Christianized.
He grew up in the region of His biggest challenge at that time
Extremadura during the Golden was how to make the articles of
Age (Siglo de Oro) of Spain. faith comprehensible to people who
During this period there was an have never heard of Christ nor the
upsurge of men entering religious Catholic Church.
life with the intention of suiting up In 1593, he published the book
for missionary works in the newly Doctrina Christiana en
discovered territories. Lengua
Plasencia belonged to the Espanola Y Tagala, the first
Franciscan order and came printed book in the Philippines.
together with the first batch of He used it as reading material for
Franciscan missionaries who those Filipinos who wanted to
arrived in the Philippines on July 2, deepen their faith in the newly
1578. accepted religion.
He and Fray Diego de Oropresa After several years of converting
were assigned to do mission works the natives and teaching catechism,
in Southern Tagalog area. the Franciscan Order honored him
Aside from performing sacerdotal with the title "Venerable."
and missionary functions, Plasencia Plasencia died in Liliw, Laguna
also helped in the foundation and in 1590.
organization of numerous towns in
Quezon, Laguna, Rizal and
Bulacan.

Customs of the Tagalogs (Juan de Plasencia, O.F.M.) 1

 His continuous interaction with the
people he converted to Christianity
enabled him to write a book entitled
Relacion de las Costumbres de
Los Tagalos (Customs of
theTagalogs, 1589).

History of Context
This situation forced them to allow
His work is a primary source
Filipinos to hold the position of
gobernadorcillo. because he personally witnessed
the events and observations that
During the first century of Spanish he discussed in his account.
rule,
colonial officials had the hard time There were other friars and colonial
running local politics because of the officials who wrote about
limited number of Spaniards who the Filipinos that could further
wanted to live outside Intramuros. enrich our knowledge of Philippine
history during the early part of the
To ensure that they would remain Spanish period.
loyal to the Crown, they instructed
Miguel de Loarca
the friars
assigned in the parishes to - Arrived in 1576 and became
supervise and monitor the activities anencomendero of Panay.
of the gobernadorcillo. - He wrote Relación de las
Islas Filipinas (1582) and his work
Hence, the friars ended up
described the way of life of Filipinos
performing the administrative duties
living in Western Visayas area.
that colonial officials should have
been doing in the local level. Antonio de Morga

They supervised the election of the - He came to the Philippines in

local executives, helped in the 1595 as Asesor and Teniente
collection of taxes, directly involved General.
in educating the youth and - His Sucesos de las
performed other civic duties. Islas Filipinas gives us a lot
As years went by, the friars ended of
up the most knowledgeable and information about the state of the
influential figure in the pueblo. Philippines at the latter part of
the16th century.
Some duties of friars assigned in mission territories:
 a. Inform periodically their Other Spanish missionaries who
superiors of what was going on continued the historiographical
in their respective assignments. tradition initiated by Loarca and
b. Report the number of natives Plasencia were:
they - Fr. Pedro Chirino
converted, the people’s way of S.J. (Relación de las Islas
life, their socio-economic Filipinas, 1604;
situation and the problems they
- Fr. Juan Delgado S.J.
encountered.
(Historia General, 1751);
c. Some submitted short letters
- Fr. Francisco Colin S.J.
while others who were keen
(Labor Evangelica,
observers and gifted writers
1663);
wrote long dispatches.
- Francisco Ignacio Alcina S.J.
On top of the regular reports they
(Historia natural delsitio, fertilidad y
submit, they also shared their
calidad de las Islas e Indios de
personal
Bisayas, 1668); and
observations and experiences.
- Fr. Joaquin Martinez de
Plasencia’s Relacion de las Zuniga
Costumbres de Los Tagalos O.S.A. (Historia,
(Customs of the Tagalog,1589) is 1803)
an example of this kind of work.
Many of the what we know about
It contains numerous information Philippine history during the first
that historians could use in century of the Spanish period
reconstructing the political and were derived from the accounts
socio-cultural history of the of the Spanish friars.
Tagalog region.

About the Text

The work of Plasencia is
There is also a duplicate copy of it
considered by many historians as
in the Archivo Franciscano Ibero-
an example of a friar account.
Oriental
(A.F.I.O.), in Madrid, Spain.
This kind of writing is one of the The original text of Plasencia’s
most common contemporaneous Customs of the Tagalogs is
account currently kept in
during the early part of the Archivo General de Indias (A.G.I.) in
Spanish period. Seville, Spain.
 In the Philippines, an English was published as part of the volume
version of it appeared in for preHispanic Philippines of the
volume VII of the Blair and Filipiniana Book Guild series and
Robertson collections. what will be presented below is
from this version.
Another English translation of it

Content Presentation and Analysis of the

Important Historical Information Found in
the Document
1. Community (Barangay, Dato, Three Castes)

2. Property

3. Marriage Customs

4. Worship (Religion)

12 Priests of the Devil

5. Superstition

6. Burying the Dead

Community
Barangay
tribal gathering ruled by chiefs.

is called a “barangay” because they associate themselves with the “Malay” who
are one of the first people to arrive in the Philippines through a boat in which
they call “barangay”.

Some consisted of around 30 - 100 houses

 Barangays also have some sort of diplomacy

All barangays were equal in terms of status

Balangay

Datu
the chiefs of the village; they governed the people as captains even in wars,
were obeyed, and revered; any subject who committed any offense against
them, or spoke to their wives and children, were severely punished.

Social Hierarchy
There are three status/castes within a barangay: Maharlica, Aliping Namamahay,
Aliping sa Guiguilir.

Maharlica are those who are born free. He would keep their status for a
lifetime however, this can be taken if he/she marries a slave.
-In this case, the kids would be divided and they would inherit the status of
their mother or father.

Aliping Namamahay are those who serve their masters however, they can
have their own properties

Aliping sa Guiguilir are those considered to be slaves who serve their masters
or can be sold off

MAHARLICA ALIPING NAMAMAHAY ALIPING SA

(nobles) (commoners) GUIGUILIR (slaves)

People who are They have their own They serve their
born free properties but has to master in their
Do not need to serve their own houses and lands
pay taxes masters
Can be sold off
Must accompany Children belonging to
The master can
the datos in war this caste inherit the
reward his/her slaves
status of their parents
by giving them a
Cannot be treated as a portion of the harvest
slave nor can be sold so that the slaves
off. would be faithful to
him/he.
Property
The land area was divided among the whole barangay, especially the irrigated
portions.

No one from a different barangay could cultivate land unless they inherit or buy
the land

The lands on the tingues, or mountain ridges, are not divided but owned by the
barangay as a whole

At the time of rice harvest, any individual (regardless of their barangay) that
starts to clear any land area may sow in it.

Fisheries of chiefs had established limits, and sections of the rivers for markets

-Unless you were a member of the chief’s barangay, you had to pay for the
privilege of fishing or selling in the chiefs’ fisheries.

Marriage Customs
In the case of a divorce, if the wife would leave her husband for the sake of
marrying another man, all her belongings plus a certain amount would be given
to her former husband however, if she chooses to leave and do not have any
plans to marry, then all of her dowry will be returned to her.

In the case of an adoption, the children would receive double the value of how
much they were bought to be adopted;

Investigations and sentences for the accused shall be presented and read in
front of the tribe.

Worship and Belief (Religion)

There were no temples or sacred places in which Filipinos would worship

The word simbahan means a place to worship which is constructed at a large

house of the chief where people of the tribe go to celebrate festivals (aka pandot
or worship)

They beat large and small drums successively during the feast which usually
lasted four days
 nagaanitos - worship; (anito - soul or spirit of ancestors)

sibi - a temporary shed, made on each side of the chief’s house, for the
assembled people.

Bathala - one of their many idols, whom they specially worshipped.

They worshipped the sun, the moon, and some, even the stars or a particular
dead man with special capability that fought bravely or protected them in their
time of need.
-sun - almost universally respected and honored because of its beauty

-moon - they would rejoice, especially when new

-stars - they did not name them except for the morning star, which they
called Tala

“Seven little goats” - the Pleiades; a star cluster

Balatic - the Greater Bear constellation

Mapolon - the change of seasons

lic-ha - idols; images with different shapes;

Dian masalanta - an idol; patron of lovers and generation

Lacapati and Idianale - idols; patrons of the cultivated lands and husbandry;

buaya - crocodiles; were respected by the Tagalogs due to their fear of being
harmed by them; they offered a portion of what they carried in their boats to
them

12 Priests of the Devil

1. Catotolan - Priest from a people of rank
-Officiates the offering sacrifice for a feast and the food to be eaten
being offered to the devil.

2. Mangagauay - They pretend to heal the sick in order to deceive others.

3. Manyisalat - They can cast remedies to couples for them to abandon one
another.

4. Mancocolam - Can emit fire from himself which cannot be extinguished.

5. Hocloban - Much more powerful than a mangagauay in which they can kill
anyone without the use of any medicine. They can also heal those who are ill.
 6. Silagan - They would tear out and eat the liver of those they saw were wearing
white.

7. Magtatangal - They would go out at night without their heads and put it back into
their bodies before the sun rise.

8. Osuang - Tribesmen reported that they saw the “osuang” who can fly and
murdered a man and ate his flesh.

9. Mangagayoma - They would seduce their partners with charms and other
accessories so they can deceive them.

10. Sonat - This devil helped people to die. They can also know if the soul they
helped to die can either be saved or not.

11. Pangatahojan - They can predict the future.

12. Bayaguin - These are men who are in the nature of a woman.

Placencia’s referred to certain ‘devil-ish belief’s e.g. the mangagauay and

mangagayoma.

He regarded them both as “witches” who performed deceitful healing

procedures, a judgment made by an outsider who knew nothing about the
complexity of indigenous psyche.

What he failed to realize is that in traditional cultures, these so-called “evil”

practices were an integral part of Filipino folk beliefs.

Superstition
They find omens in events they witness (i.e. when someone sneezed, met on
their way a rat or serpent, or the Tigmamanuguin bird sang they would go home
in fear that evil would befall them if they continued their journey)

The Tigmamanuguin bird’s (a blue bird as large as a turtle-dove) song had two
forms: a good omen, and a bad omen.

Burying the Dead

In burying the dead, the corpse would be placed beside its house and
be mourned at for 4 days.

It will then be laid on a boat which serves as a coffin which is guarded by a

slave.
 The grief of the relatives of the deceased is followed by eating and drinking.

CONTRIBUTION AND RELEVANCE OF

THE DOCUMENT IN UNDERSTANDING OF
THE GRAND NARRATIVE OF PHILIPPINE
HISTORY
Plasencia’s Customs of the Tagalogs is a very popular primary source
because it vividly described the situation of the Philippines before it was
tainted with Spanish and Christian influences.

Scholars like it because it covered numerous topics that are relevant in many
disciplines.

Political scientists for instance find it useful because it contains a lot of

information about the social classes, political stratifications and legal
system of the Tagalog region.

Many of what we know about the duties and responsibilities of the datus,
maharlikas and alipins came from Plasencia’s account.

Moreover, it also talks about property rights, marriage rituals, burial

practices and the manner in which justice is dispensed

Plasencia also preserved and popularized the unwritten customs,

traditions, religious and superstitious beliefs of the Filipinos.

One can also say that our historical knowledge about the manananggal,
aswang, hukluban, gayuma, etc. came
from Plasencia’s works.

Priests and missionaries also read Plasencia’s Customs of the Tagalogs and
Doctrina Christiana because they get a lot of insights that help and inspire them
to become effective evangelizers.

One insight they got from Plasencia is the the realization that one needs to
master the local language and study the culture of the people if you want
to be a successful missionary.

They also learned from him that preaching should be accompanied with reading
materials that contain the basic elements of faith.

Customs of the Tagalogs (Juan de Plasencia, O.F.M.) 9

 These readings serve as their guide and reference when the missionaries are no
longer around.

All these insights from Plasencia are applicable not only to missionaries but to
other professions as well.

Plasencia’s historical writings also disprove the claim of some Spaniards

that when they arrived in the Philippines, Filipinos were still uncivilized
and lacking in culture.

It is clear in the excerpts quoted above that at the time Plasencia was assigned
in the Tagalog region Filipinos were already politically and economically
organized.

They have a functioning government, tax system, set of laws, criminal

justice system, indigenous calendar and longstanding customs and
traditions.

Moreover, they have already a concept of supreme being (Bathala),

practiced burial customs and believed in life after death.

Lastly, Plasencia also mentioned that the people he met were wearing garments,
gold ornaments and their houses were decorated with idols.

All of these lead to the conclusion that prior to the coming of the Spaniards,
Filipinos were already civilized and maintained a lifestyle that was at par or even
better than other countries in Southeast Asia.

Customs of the Tagalogs (Juan de Plasencia, O.F.M.) 10