Marc Huang

Kaspil 2
Performance Task #1

Statement 1: The Filipinos respected the dead.

The statement is true. According to Morga, The Filipinos already had rituals on how they buried their
dead. The Filipinos already respected the dead even before the Spanish came.
Sources: Morga, Antonio. Sucesos De Las Islas Filipinas, 1609
Wang Ta-Yuan, Tao-I-chih-lio (1349)
"When a woman buries her husband, she shaves her hair and fasts for seven days, lying beside her dead
husband."
"At the burial of a dead chief, two or three thousand male or female slaves are put to death for burying
with him."
"They buried their dead in their own houses and kept their bodies and bones for a long time in chests.
They venerated the skulls of the dead as if they were living and present. Their funeral rites did not consist
of pomp and assemblages, beyond those of their own house where, after bewailing the dead, all was
changed into feasting and drunken revelry among all relatives and friends"
According to this document, the early Filipinos already had burial rites. Also, the Filipinos held feasts
called "tibao" because they believed that the one who died was going to be happy when they celebrate.

Statement 2: The early Filipinos are literate, they can read and write.
The Statement is true. According to Chirino, there was hardly a man who could not read or write before
therefore the Filipinos already had a system of communication even before the Spaniard came.
Source: Father Pedro Chirino, Account of the Pre-Spanish Filipinos and Their Civilization (1604)
"All these islanders are much given to reading and writing, and there is hardly a man, and much less a
woman, who does not read and write in the letters used in the island of manila"
According to the document, the early Filipinos already had a system of writing. There were also able to
read what they wrote which made conveying of information much easier.

Statement 3: The Negritos are not the first settlers of the Philippines.
The statement is true. The first man in the Philippines lived in Palawan about 25, 000 years ago. The first
Filipino lived in caves at Tabon, Palawan.
Source: http://en.wikipilipinas.org/index.php?title=Image:Tabon_man_skull.jpg

Statement 4: Early Filipinos have different social classes.

The statement is true. According to the two documents, the Filipinos already had social classes even
before the Spanish came.
Sources: Father Francisco Colin, Account of the Filipinos and their Pre-Spanish Civilization (1663)
Morgas Account of the Filipinos and Their Pre-Spanish Civilization (1609):

"There are 3 kinds and classes of people; the chiefs, whom the Visayans call dato and the Tagalogs
maginoo; the timauas, who are the ordinary common people, called maharlica among the Tagalogs and
the slaves, called oripuon by the Visayans and alipin by the Tagalogs"
"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
plebeians; and the slaves, those of both chiefs and timaguas."
According to the document, the Filipinos alreadt had social classes. The chiefs were the nobles while the
timauas are the working class of the society. The alipins are the servants who serve the nobles.

Statement 5: The precolonial Filipinos had no kingdoms or kings.

The Statement is false. Both writers believe that the Filipinos did not have kingdoms or kings because of
their Eurocentric view. According to the footnotes, the barangays are like cities in Egypt or Greece. In the
Philippines, our kings are called Datus.
Sources: Father Francisco Colin, Account of the Filipinos and their Pre-Spanish Civilization (1663)

Morga, Antonio. Sucesos De Las Islas Filipinas, 1609

There were no kings or rulers worthy of mention, throughout this archipelago; but there were many chiefs
who dominated others less powerful. As there were many without much power, there was no security
from the continual wars that were waged between them.
There were no kings or lords throughout these islands who ruled over them in the manner of our kingdom
and provinces; but in every island, and in each province of it, many chiefs were recognized by the natives
themselves. Some were more powerful than others, and each had his followers and subjects, by the
districts and families; and these obeyed and respected the chief. Some chiefs had friendship and
communication with others, and at times war and quarrel.
Chiefs were like the rulers of the society. but what father colin wrote is false. Most foreign writers make
this mistake because of their Eurocentric viewpoint. The barangays in the Philippines can be compared to
the cities in egypt and greece where there were rulers. In the Philippines, the kings were called datus.

Statement 6: The early Filipinos are lazy.

The statement is false. The Filipinos at that time already had their own livelihood. Some were miners
while others were either fishermen, traders, farmers or weavers.
Sources: Wang Ta-Yuan, Tao-I-chih-lio (1349)
Morga, Antonio. Sucesos De Las Islas Filipinas, 1609
Father Francisco Colin, Account of the Filipinos and their Pre-Spanish Civilization (1663)

"There earn a living by weaving jwu-buh"

"In some of these islands pearl oysters are found, especially in the Calamianes, where some have been
obtained that are large and exceedingly clear and lustrous. Neither is this means of profit utilized. In all
parts, seed pearls are found in the ordinary oysters, and there are oysters as large as a buckler. From the
shells of the latter the natives manufacture beautiful articles. There are also very large sea turtles in all the
islands. Their shells are utilized by the natives, and sold as an article of commerce to the Chinese and
Portuguese."
"Their manner of life and ordinary conduct from the day of old is trade, in all sorts of things by
wholesale, and more by retails in the products of the earth, in accordance with what is produced in earth
district. The maritime peoples are great fishers with net, line, and corral. The people who live inland are
excellent farmers and hunters. There are always cultivating rice, besides other vegetables and garden
products, quite different from tose of Europa. The woman also shrewd in trading, especially of their
weaving, needlework, and embroideries, which the make very neatly; and there is scarcely one who
cannot read or write"
"Early Filipinos who live near the seas were very good fishermen. They have different types of methods
in catching a fish. The early Filipinos who live inland were excellent farmers and hunters. Early Filipinos
were very diligent when it comes to industry."

"Some placers and mines were worked at Paracali in the province of Camarines, where there is good gold
mixed with copper. This commodity is also traded in the Ylocos, for at the rear of this province, which
borders the seacoast, are certain hefty and rugged mountains which extend as far as Cagayan."
"Its shores are lined with many native villages. the natives navigate the lake, and commonly cross it in
skiffs. At times it is quite stormy and dangerous to navigate, when the north winds blow, for these winds
make it boisterous, although it is very deep. Twenty leguas from Manila, in the province of Bonbon, is
another lake of the same name, not so extensive as the former, but with a great abundance of fish. The
natives method of catching them is by making corrals of bejucos, which are certain slender canes or
rushes, solid and very pliant and strong; these are employed for making cables for the natives boats, as
well as other kinds of ropes. They catch the fish inside these corrals, having made the enclosures fast by
means of stakes. They also catch the fish in wickder baskets made from bejucos, but most generally with
atarrayas, esparaveles, other barrederas, and with hand lines and hooks. The most usual food of the
natives is a fish as small as pejerreyes. They dry and cure these fish in the sun and air, and cook them in
many styles. They like them better that large fish. It is called laulau among them."
The early filipinos worked to be able to survive. They had different livelihoods such as trading, fishing,
weaving and mining.

Statement 7: Early Filipinos traded extensively with the Chinese.

The statement is true. Before the spanish came, the Filipinos were already trading with the Chinese. This
was one of the livelihoods of the Filipinos before the Spanish came.
Sources: Wang Ta-Yuan, Tao-I-chih-lio (1349)
Chu-Fan-Chi, Chau-Ju-Kua (1225)
Morga, Antonio. Sucesos De Las Islas Filipinas, 1609.
"In some of these islands pearl oysters are found, especially in the Calamianes, where some have been
obtained that are large and exceedingly clear and lustrous. Neither is this means of profit utilized. In all
parts, seed pearls are found in the ordinary oysters, and there are oysters as large as a buckler. From the
shells of the latter the natives manufacture beautiful articles. There are also very large sea turtles in all the
islands. Their shells are utilized by the natives, and sold as an article of commerce to the Chinese and
Portuguese."
"He took a trip on board a Chinese Junk which traded with many countries of the South Seas"
"The Chinese goods used in trading are caldrons, pieces of iron, red cloth or taffetas of various color
stripes, ivory, "tint" or the like. After agreeing on prices, the barbarian traders carry off the goods for
bartering the native products and bring these products back to the Chinese in the amount agreed on. The
Chinese vessels' traders are trustworthy. The never fail to keep the agreements of their bargains"
The custom of the trade is for the savage traders to assemble in crowds and carry the goods away with
them in baskets; and, even if one cannot at first know them, and can but slowly distinguish the men who
remove the goods, there will yet be no loss. The savage traders will after this carry these goods on the
other islands for barter, and as a rule, it takes them as much as eight or nine months till they return, when

they repay the traders on shipboards with what they have obtained. Some, however, do not return within
the proper term, for which reason vessel trading with Ma-I are the latest in reaching home.

The Filipinos were able to trade with the Chinese. Since the Philippines is part of the south seas, The
Chinese have surely traded with them. Also, the document shows different barter the countries had during
that time.

Statement 8: Early Filipinos believed in animism and they worship nature.

The Statement is true. According to several documents, the Filipinos believed in different entitites like
nature and animals.
Sources: Morga, Antonio. Sucesos De Las Islas Filipinas, 1609.
Father Francisco Colin, Account of the Filipinos and their Pre-Spanish Civilization (1663)
Father Pedro Chirino, Account of the Pre-Spanish Filipinos and Their Civilization (1604)

"They also worshipped, like the Egyptians animals and birds; and, like the Assyrians, the sun and the
moon; they attributed moreover, a sort of divinity to the rainbow. The Tagalogs adored a blue bird, as
large as a thrush, and called it Bathala, which was among them a form of divinity. They also worshipped
the crow. It bore the name Mei lupa, which signifies master of the soil. They held the cayman in the
utmost veneration; and, whenever they made any statement about it, when they described it in the water,
they called it Nono, which means grandfather. They softly and tenderly besought not to hard them; and
to this end offered it a part of what they carried in their boats, casting the offerings into the water. There
was no old tree to which they did not attribute divinity and it was a sacrilege to cut such a tree for any
purpose"
"They also adored private idols, which each one inherited from his ancestors. The Visayans called them
divatas and the Tagalogs anito. Of those idols some had jurisdiction over the mountains and open country,
and permission was asked from them to go thither. Others had jurisdiction over the sowed fields and the
fields were commended to them so that they might prove fruitful; and besides the sacrifices they placed
articles of food in the fields for the anitos to eat, in order to place them under greater obligations."
"Other worshipped 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 bathala. They generally
worship and adore crocodiles when they see them, kneeling down and clasping their hands, because of the
harm that they receive from those reptiles; they believe that by so doing the crocodiles will become
appeased and leave them."
The early filipinos believed that animals or other non entities possesses a spiritual power. For example,
when they see a crocodile, the Filipinos kneel to appease the crocodiles because they think that the
crocodiles will harm them.

Statement 9: Early Filipinos built different types of boats.

The statement is true. Morga was able to document the different types of boats the Filipinos made and
what were their purpose.
Source: Morga, Antonio. Sucesos De Las Islas Filipinas, 1609
Their ships and boats are of many kinds; for on the rivers and creeks inland they use certain very large
canoes, each made from one log, and others fitted with benches and made from planks, and built up on
keels. They have vireys and barangas, which are certain quick and light vessels that lie low in the water,
put together with little wooden nails. These are as slender at the stern as at the bow, and they can hold a
number of rowers on both sides, who propel their vessesl with bucceyes or paddles, and with gaones on
the outside of the vessel; and they time their rowing to the accompaniment of some who sing in their
language refrains by which they understand whether to haster or retard their rowing. Above the rowers is
a platform or gangway, built of bamboo, upon which the fighting men stand, in order not to interfere with
the rowing of the oarsmen. In accordance with the capacity of the vessels, is the number of men on these
gangways. From that place they manage the sail, which is square and made of linen, and hoisted on a
support or yard made of two thick bamboos, which serves as a mast. When the vessel is large, it also has a
foresail of the same form. Both yards, with their tackle, can be lowered upon the gangway when the
weather is rough. The helmsmen are stationed in the stern to steer. It carries another bamboo framework
on the gangway itself; and upon this when the sun shines hot, or it rains, they stretch an awning made
from some mats, woven from palm-leaves. These are very bulky and close, and are called cayanes. Thus
all the ship and its crew are covered and protected. There are also other bamboo frameworks for each side
of the vessel, which are as long as the vessel, and securely fastened on. They skim the water, without
hindering the rowing, and serve as a counterpoise, so that the ship cannot overturn nor upset, however
heavy the sea, or strong the wind against the sail. It may happen that the entire hull of these vessels,
which have no decks, may fill with water and remain between wind and water, even until it is destroyed
and broken up, without sinking, because of these counterpoises. These vessels have been used commonly
through the islands since olden times. They have other larger vessels called lapis, and tapaques, which
are used to carry their merchandise, and which are very suitable, as they are roomy and draw but little
water. They generally drag them ashore every night, at the mouths of rivers and creeks, among which they
always navigate without going into the open sea or leaving the shore. All the natives can row and manage
these boats. Some are so long that they can carry one hundred rowers on a side and thirty soldiers above
to fight.

The Filipinos had different boats. Some used for fishing while some were used for travelling. The boats
came in different sizes.

Statement 10: Early Filipinos did not have any other clothes except bahags.
The statement is false. According to the documents, the Filipinos' clothing were not limited to only
bahags.
Source: Morga, Antonio. Sucesos De Las Islas Filipinas, 1609

Father Francisco Colin, Account of the Filipinos and their Pre-Spanish Civilization (1663)
Wang Ta-Yuan, Tao-I-chih-lio (1349)

"On the legs, instead of garters, they wear some strings of the same stones and certain cords of many
strands, dyed black. The fingers of the hand are covered with many rings of gold and precious stones. The
final complement of the gala attire was like our sash, a fine bit of colored cloth crossed over the shoulder,
the ends joined under the arm, with they affected greatly. Instead of that the Visayans wore a robe
( Marlota ) or jacket (baquero) made without a collar and reaching quite down to the feet and embroided
in colors. The entire dress, in fine, was in the Moorish style, and was truly rich and gay; and even today
they affect it."
"The apparel and clothing of these natives of Luzon before the entrance of the Spaniards into the country
were generally, for 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."
"They wear a blue cotton shirt"
"They wear short black skirt and blue petticoat."
Not all Filipinos wore only bahags. There were some others wearing clothes, not loincloths like the
visayas who wore jackets and robes and the natives of luzon who wear chinanas. But there were some
Filipinos back then that only wore loincloths or bahags like the negritos.