Philippinehistory pre-colonial-period-2 (1)

PHILIPPINE HISTORY
Pre-Colonial PeriodPre-Colonial Period
Arts & LettersArts & Letters
University of Santo TomasUniversity of Santo Tomas
ManilaManila
Prepared by:Prepared by:
Mr. Ernie Ronel T. MabahagueMr. Ernie Ronel T. Mabahague

https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-importance-of-the-Philippine-history
What is the importance of the Philippine
history?
People say that history has a great impact
on what is happening in the present time.

history?
“One useful analogy is to think of a country as a person, and its history
as the person's memories and experiences. A person learns, grows,
and matures based on his experiences. Good experiences serve as his
source of pride and confidence, while bad experiences serve as his
source of learning. The important thing is the person should process
these experiences and apply the lessons to what he plans for in the
future, History works the same way for a country. By understanding,
learning, and processing our experiences as a nation, we obtain
"national pride" from our good experiences and, hopefully, learn from
our bad ones.”

history?
History, obviously, has a great impact on the present. It
explains why are we in certain situation and what events
led to that situation.
If History is taken with just dates and events then it is
limited and may not truly answer the "why".
If History, taken with a multidisciplinary approach then it
can explain a lot as you are looking under different lenses
such as Psychology, Political Science, Sociology,
Economics, among others.

history?
•If we know and understand the reasons behind the smalls events that led to
our "current" situation then we may know how to solve our that situation.
For example, the "current" situation of OFWs working for other countries,
What caused them to become an OFW?
Here is just a list of possible reasons for being an OFW
Low Wage, e. i. not enough to support family
•No work available
•No educational attainment (e.g. only finished High School)
We can trace those reasons to other situations that led to that event,

history?
We can trace those reasons to other situations that led to that event,
Economics: From micro events such as no money for college to macro
events such as the economy crashed or it is bad to begin with.
Sociology: We can also say that many are attracted to become OFWs
because others are doing it.
Psychology: Being an OFW may only be the last resort in order to
satisfy the needs of the family.
Political Science: In terms of the concept of power, a higher authority
such as a parent may then coerced that person to become an OFW.
(This stretches PoliSci far but this is only used as an example).

history?
Note that History is just a lens to understand
society. The others "lens" include disciplines such
as the ones mentioned above.
A multidisciplinary approach is the best way to
understand the reasons behind our current
situation, history is just one of those approaches.

https://www.historians.org/about-aha-and-membership/aha-history-and-archives/archives/why-study-history-(1998)
• History Helps Us Understand People
and Societies
• history offers a storehouse of information about
how people and societies behave
• The past causes the present, and so the future.
Any time we try to know why something
happened—whether a shift in political party
dominance in the American Congress, a major
change in the teenage suicide rate, or a war in
the Balkans or the Middle East—we have to look
for factors that took shape earlier.

• History Helps Us Understand People
and Societies
• Only through studying history can we
grasp how things change; only through
history can we begin to comprehend the
factors that cause change; and only
through history can we understand what
elements of an institution or a society
persist despite change.

• The Importance of History in Our Own
Lives
• History well told is beautiful.
• Stories well done are stories that reveal how people and
societies have actually functioned, and they prompt
thoughts about the human experience in other times and
places. The same aesthetic and humanistic goals inspire
people to immerse themselves in efforts to reconstruct
quite remote pasts, far removed from immediate,
present-day utility.

• The Importance of History in Our Own
Lives
• Exploring what historians sometimes call
the "pastness of the past"—the ways
people in distant ages constructed their
lives—involves a sense of beauty and
excitement, and ultimately another
perspective on human life and society.

• History Contributes to Moral
Understanding
• History also provides a terrain for moral
contemplation. Studying the stories of
individuals and situations in the past
allows a student of history to test his or
her own moral sense, to hone it against
some of the real complexities individuals
have faced in difficult settings.

• History Contributes to Moral
Understanding
• People who have weathered adversity not
just in some work of fiction, but in real,
historical circumstances can provide
inspiration.

• History Provides Identity
• History also helps provide identity, and
this is unquestionably one of the reasons
all modern nations encourage its teaching
in some form.

• studying the history of one's own family is
the most obvious use of history, for it
provides facts about genealogy and (at a
slightly more complex level) a basis for
understanding how the family has
interacted with larger historical change.
Family identity is established and
confirmed.

• Histories that tell the national story,
emphasizing distinctive features of the
national experience, are meant to drive
home an understanding of national values
and a commitment to national loyalty.

• Studying History Is Essential for Good
Citizenship
• Sometimes advocates of citizenship
history hope merely to promote national
identity and loyalty through a history
spiced by vivid stories and lessons in
individual success and morality.

Citizenship
• History provides data about the emergence of
national institutions, problems, and values—it's
the only significant storehouse of such data
available. It offers evidence also about how
nations have interacted with other societies,
providing international and comparative
perspectives essential for responsible
citizenship.

Citizenship
Further, studying history helps us
understand how recent, current, and
prospective changes that affect the lives of
citizens are emerging or may emerge and
what causes are involved.

Citizenship
studying history encourages habits of mind
that are vital for responsible public
behavior, whether as a national or
community leader, an informed voter, a
petitioner, or a simple observer.

• What Skills Does a Student of History
Develop?
• The Ability to Assess Evidence. The study of
history builds experience in dealing with and assessing various
kinds of evidence—the sorts of evidence historians use in shaping
the most accurate pictures of the past that they can. Learning how
to interpret the statements of past political leaders—one kind of
evidence—helps form the capacity to distinguish between the
objective and the self-serving among statements made by present-
day political leaders.

Develop?
• Learning how to combine different kinds of
evidence—public statements, private
records, numerical data, visual materials—
develops the ability to make coherent
arguments based on a variety of data.
This skill can also be applied to
information encountered in everyday life.

Develop?
• The Ability to Assess Conflicting
Interpretations. Learning history means gaining
some skill in sorting through diverse, often conflicting
interpretations. Understanding how societies work—the
central goal of historical study—is inherently imprecise,
and the same certainly holds true for understanding what
is going on in the present day.

Develop?
Learning how to identify and evaluate conflicting
interpretations is an essential citizenship skill for which
history, as an often-contested laboratory of human
experience, provides training. This is one area in which
the full benefits of historical study sometimes clash with
the narrower uses of the past to construct identity.
Experience in examining past situations provides a
constructively critical sense that can be applied to
partisan claims about the glories of national or group
identity.

Develop?
xperience in Assessing Past Examples of
Change. Experience in assessing past examples of
change is vital to understanding change in society today
—it's an essential skill in what we are regularly told is our
"ever-changing world." Analysis of change means
developing some capacity for determining the magnitude
and significance of change, for some changes are more
fundamental than others.

Develop?
Comparing particular changes to relevant examples from
the past helps students of history develop this capacity.
The ability to identify the continuities that always
accompany even the most dramatic changes also comes
from studying history, as does the skill to determine
probable causes of change.

History Is Useful in the World of Work
most people who study history use their
training for broader professional purposes
develop research skills, the ability to find
and evaluate sources of information, and the
means to identify and evaluate diverse
interpretations

Pre-Colonial Philippines
A. Society
1. Mode of Dressing
2. Ornaments
3. Houses
4. Social Classes
5. Status of Women
6. Marriage customs
7. Mixed Marriages, Inheritance and
Succession

B. Politics
1. Government
2. Laws
3. Legislation
4. Judicial Process
5. Trial by Ordeal
C. Religion
1. Religious Beliefs
2. Burial
3. Divination and Ma

D. Economic Life
1. Agriculture
2. Livestock
3. Fishing
4. Mining
5. Lumbering and Shipbuilding
6. Weaving
7. Trade
E. Culture
1. Languages
2. System of Writing
3. Literature
4. Music and Dance
5. Art

Long before the Spaniards came to the
Philippines, Filipinos had a civilization of
their own. This civilization partly came
from the Malay settlers and partly from
their response to the new environment.
Many of these customs and traditions,
government and way of life, have come
down to the present day, despite the
changes brought about by westernization
and modernization. This is why it is
possible to know about our distant past by
simply observing some customs and
practices that have resisted change and
modernization.

Society
Philippine pre-colonial society is both
different and the same as in the present.
Some aspects of the pre-colonial period
have survived into our time. The following
is a description of the way of life of pre-
colonial Filipinos.

Mode of Dressing
• male attire was composed of the
kanggan (sleeveless jacket) and
bahag (loincloth)
• the color of the kanggan indicates
rank – red for the chief, black or
blue for the commoners
• men also wear a turban called
putong, which also tell the social
status/achievement of the
individual wearing it
• female attire consisted of baro or
camisa (jacket with sleeves) and
saya or patadyong (a long skirt);
some women wore a piece of red
or white cloth on top of their skirt
called tapis
Bogobo man & woman
Kalinga & subuanon women

Ornaments
• men and women wore ornaments to
look attractive
• both wear kalumbiga, pendants,
bracelets, and leglets
• these ornaments were made of gold
• some wore gold fillings between the
teeth
• tattoos were also fashionable for some
pre-colonial Filipinos; they also exhibit
a man’s war record
• Islas del Pintados – term coined by the
Spaniards for the Visayans

Houses
• built to suit the tropical
climate
• called bahay kubo, made of
wood, bamboo, and nipa
palm; it was built on stilts and
can be entered through
ladders that can be drawn up
• some Filipinos, such as the
Kalingas, Mandayas and
Bagobos built their houses
on treetops
• others, such as the Badjaos,
built their houses on boats

Social Classes
• the society was made up of
three classes: nobles
(made up of the datu and
their families), mahadlika
or maharlika (freemen) and
the alipin (dependents)
• members of the nobility
were addressed with the
title Gat or Lakan among
the Tagalogs

• alipin or dependents acquired their status by
inheritance, captivity, purchase, failure to settle
debts, or by committing a crime
• there were two kinds of dependents: aliping
namamahay and aliping sagigilid
• in the Visayas,
dependents
were of three
kinds : tumataban,
tumarampok, and
the ayuey
Maguindanao Sultan, nobles &
Alipins

Status of Women
• women in pre-colonial Philippine society
had the right to inherit property, engage in
trade and industry, and succeed to the
chieftainship of the barangay in the
absence of a male heir
• had the exclusive right to name their
children
• men walked behind them as a sign of
respect

Marriage customs
• men were in general, monogamous; while their wives are
called asawa, while concubines are called “friends”
• in order to win the hand of his lady, the man has to show
his patience and dedication to both the lady and her
parents
• courtship usually begins with paninilbihan
• if the man wins the trust of the parents, he does not
immediately marry the woman, but he has to satisfy
several conditions:
- give a dowry or bigay-kaya
- pay the panghihimuyat
- pay the wet nurse bigay-suso
- pay the parents himaraw
- bribe for the relatives called sambon (among the
Zambals)

• once he had settled all of the above
requirements, he brings his parents to meet with
the bride-to-be’s parents to haggle and make
the final arrangements; this is called
pamamalae or pamamanhikan or
pamumulungan
• the wedding ceremonies vary depending on the
status of the couple; but normally, those from
the upper class, a go-between was employed
• weddings are officiated by the priestess or
babaylan
• uncooked rice is thrown on the couple after the
wedding ceremony

Go to Religious Beliefs
babaylan

Marriage ceremony - eating rice
Tausog wedding
ceremony

• Muslim Filipinos have similar marriage customs; the
first stage was called pananalanguni or bethrothal; it
was followed by the consultation with the girl’s parents,
who relays their decision to the village chief, who in turn
informed the suitor’s parents of the decision
• dowry was also settled by the chief (pedsungud). This
was of seven kinds: 1. kawasateg, money given to the
bride’s close relatives; 2. siwaka, brassware given to
those who helped arrange the wedding; 3. enduatuan,
brassware or animals for the village chief; 4.
pangatulian, jewelry given to the bride’s mother and
aunts; 5. tatas, blade given to the girl’s uncle; 6.
langkad, money given to the girl’s parents as fine for
having bypassed the girl’s elder sister if she had any;
and 7. lekat, amount of money given to the girl’s
attendant.

• once everything is settled, the pegkawing, or the
wedding ceremony follows
• the wedding ceremony is officiated by the hadji
• six days of festivities followed, and only on the
seventh day could the couple sleep together
Muslim
wedding

Mixed Marriages, Inheritance and Succession
• mixed marriages were allowed in pre-colonial
society
• the status of children were dependent upon the
status of the parents
• often, the status of children in mixed marriages
is divided evenly between the parents
• single children of mixed marriage were half-free
and half-dependent
• legitimate children inherited their parents’
property even without any written will and was
divided equally among the children

• natural children inherited only a third of the
inheritance of legitimate children
• children of dependent mothers are given
freedom and a few things
• nearest relatives inherit the property of
childless couples
• in succession, the first son of the
barangay chieftain inherits his father’s
position; if the first son dies, the second
son succeeds their father; in the absence
of male heirs, it is the eldest daughter that
becomes the chieftain

Government
• unit of government was the barangay,
which consisted of from 30 to 100 families.
The term came from the Malay word
balangay, meaning boat
• barangays were headed by chieftains
called datu
• the subjects served their chieftain during
wars, voyages, planting and harvest, and
when his house needs to be built or
repaired; they also paid tributes called
buwis

• the chief or datu was the chief executive, the
legislator, and the judge; he was also the
supreme commander in times of war
• alliances among barangays were common and
these were formalized in a ritual called
sangduguan
• conflicts between or
among barangays
were settled by
violence; those who
win by force is
always right

Laws
• were either customary (handed down from
generation to generation orally) or written
(promulgated from time to time as necessity
arose)
• dealt with various subjects such as inheritance,
property rights, divorce, usury, family relations,
divorce, adoption, loans, etc.
• those found guilty of crimes were punished either
by fine or by death; some punishments can be
considered as torture by modern standards
• however, it must be noted that ancients did not
believe in endangering society by letting loose a
gang of thieves of recidivists who are incapable
of reform

Legislation
• before laws are made, the chief consults
with a council of elders who approved of
his plan
• they are not immediately enforced until the
new legislation is announced to the village
by the umalohokan, who also explains the
law to everyone

Judicial Process
• disputes between individuals were settled by a
court made up of the village chief and the
council of elders; between barangays, a board
made up of elders from neutral barangays acted
as arbiter
• the accused and the accuser faced each other in
front of the “court” with their respective
witnesses
• both took an oath to tell the truth; most of the
time, the one who presents the most witnesses
wins the case
• if the losing party contests the decision, he is
bound to lose in the end because the chief
always take the side of the winner

Trial by Ordeal
• to determine the innocence of an accused,
he is made to go through a number of
ordeals which he must pass
• examples include dipping one’s hand in
boiling water, holding a lighted candle that
must not be extinguished, plunging into a
river and staying underwater for as long as
possible, chewing uncooked rice and
spitting, etc.
• among the Ifugaos, ordeal by combat was
common, i.e. bultong (wrestling), alaw (duel)

Religious Beliefs
• pre-colonial Filipinos believed in the immortality
of the soul and in life after death
• they also believed in the existence of a number
of gods whom they worship and made offerings
to according to rank
• i.e. Bathalang Maykapal (Creator), Idinayale
(god of agriculture), Sidapa (god of death),
Balangaw (rainbow god), Mandarangan (war
god), Agni (fire god) Lalahon (goddess of
harvest), Siginarugan (god of hell), Diyan
Masalanta (goddess of love), etc.

• also showed respect for animals and
plants like the crocodile, crow,
tigmamanukin; some trees were not also
cut because they were thought to be
divine
• diseases were thought to be caused by
the temper of the environmental spirits
• Filipinos also venerated the dead by
keeping alive their memory by carving
idols of stone, gold or ivory called likha or
larawan; food, wine and other things were
also shared with the dead

• adored idols called anitos or diwatas to
whom they made offerings
• some anitos were considered bad;
however, they made offerings to them too
in order to appease them or placate their
anger
• priestesses such as the babaylan/ baylana
or katalona acted as mediums to
communicate with these spirits

Burial
• the dead was placed in a wooden coffin
and buried under the house complete with
cloth, gold and other valuable things
• upon the death of the person, fires were
made under the house and armed men
acted as sentinels to guard the corpse
from sorcerers
• professional mourners were hired to
accentuate the depth of mourning

• sometimes, the relatives of the dead wore
rattan bands around their arms, legs and
necks and they abstained from eating
meat and drinking wine
• the ancients distinguished mourning for a
woman from that of a man – morotal (for
women) and maglahi (for men)
• mourning for a dead chief is called laraw,
and this was accompanied by certain
prohibitions like engaging in petty
quarrels, wars, carrying daggers with hilts
in the normal position, singing in boats
coming from the sea or river, and wearing
loud clothes

• some ancients fasted and limited their
nutrition to vegetables; among the
Tagalogs, this is called sipa
• relatives of the dead who was murdered
would not end their mourning until they
have exacted vengeance or balata
• the celebration held on the ninth night
after the death of the person is called
pasiyam, in which a play called tibaw is
staged to honor the dead

Divination and Magic Charms
• ancient Filipinos are quite superstitious
and put much stock into auguries, and
magic charms
• they interpreted signs in nature like the
flight of birds, the barking of dogs, the
singing of lizards, and the like, as good or
bad omens depending on the
circumstances
• they also consulted with the pangatauhan,
or soothsayers, to tell their fortunes

• there was also a belief in the existence of
the aswang, mangkukulam,
manggagaway, tiyanak, and the tikbalang
• amulets and charms were also used by
the ancients like the anting-anting,
gayuma, odom or tagabulag, wiga or
sagabe, and tagahupa
• these beliefs were not eradicated with the
coming of Western civilization and most of
them were practiced behind the backs of
the Christian missionaries
• the result was a blending of pagan and
Christian beliefs that made Filipino
Catholicism unique

Agriculture
• main source of livelihood
• rice, coconuts, sugar cane, cotton, hemp,
bananas, oranges, and many species of
fruits and vegetables were grown
• done in two ways : kaingin system (slash
and burn) and tillage
• when the Spaniards came to the
Philippines, they noted that Cebu and
Palawan were abundant in many
agricultural foodstuffs

• agricultural productivity was enhanced
by use of irrigation ditches like those
found in the Ifugao Rice Terraces
• landholding was either public (less
arable land that could be tilled freely by
anyone) and private (rich and
cultivated lands belonging to nobles
and datus)
• some rented land and paid in gold or in
kind

• the daily fare consisted of rice and boiled
fish, or sometimes pork or venison,
carabao or wild buffalo meat
• fermented the sap of palm trees and drank
it as liquor called tuba
Livestock
• Pre-colonial Filipinos raised chickens,
pigs, goats, carabaos, and small native
ponies

Fishing
• was a thriving industry for those who live
in the coast or near rivers and lakes
• various tools for fishing such as nets,
bow and arrow, spear, wicker basket,
hooks and lines, corrals and fish poisons
were used
• pearls fisheries also abound in Sulu

Mining
• comparatively developed before the coming of the
Spaniards
• the ancients mined gold in many parts of the archipelago
and were traded throughout the country and with other
countries
Fishing
with bow
& arrow

Lumbering and Shipbuilding
• were flourishing
industries
• Filipinos were said to be
proficient in building
ocean-going vessels
• all kinds of boats or
ships were built, which
the Spaniards later call
banca, balangay, lapis,
caracoa, virey, vinta and
prau

Weaving
• home industry
that was
dominated
by women
• using crude
wooden looms,
textiles such as
sinamay from hemp, medrinaque from
banana, cotton, linen, and silk, were woven

Trade
• was conducted between or among barangays, or
even among the islands
• there was trade too with other countries such as
China, Siam, Japan, Cambodia, Borneo,
Sumatra, Java, and other islands of old Malaysia
• did not use any currency but conducted trade
through barter
• sometimes, goods were priced in terms of gold
or metal gongs
• Chinese traders noted that Filipinos were very
honest in their commercial transactions

Philippine pre-colonial culture was basically
Malayan in structure and form. They had
written language which was used not just
for communication but also for literary
expression. They also had music and
dances for almost all occasions and a wide
variety of musical instruments that shows
their ingenuity.
Culture

Languages
• there are more than one hundred
languages in the Philippines, eight of
which are considered major languages.
They are: Tagalog, Iloko, Pangasinan,
Pampangan, Sugbuhanon, Hiligaynon,
Samarnon or Samar-Leyte, and
Magindanao

• these languages are descended from
Austronesian or Malayo-Polynesian
language
• the differences might be accounted for the
need to forming new words and phrases to
fit the new environment
• many of the words or terms in Filipino
languages were derived from Malayan

System of Writing
• before the arrival of the Spaniards,
Filipinos used a syllabary which was
probably of Sanskrit or Arabic provenance
• the syllabary consisted of seventeen
symbols, of which three were vowels and
fourteen consonants
• no one is certain about the direction of
writing
• Fr. Pedro Chirino’s theory is that the
ancients wrote from top to bottom and
from left to right

• pre-colonial Filipinos wrote on bark of
trees, on leaves and bamboo tubes, using
their knives and daggers, pointed sticks or
iron as pens and the colored saps of trees
as ink
• only a few of this writings survive into the
present because early Spanish
missionaries destroyed many manuscripts
on the ground that they are the work of the
Devil himself
• some pieces of literature, however, have
been handed down to us orally

Laguna Copperplate Inscription
By Hector Santos
http://isanghamahal.blogspot.com/2006_03_01_archive.html
Antoon Postma, a Dutch national who has lived most of his life among the Mangyans
in the Philippines and the director of the Mangyan Assistance & Research Center in
Panaytayan, Mansalay, Oriental Mindoro, was able to translate the writing. His effort
is all the more remarkable when you consider that the text was in a language similar
to four languages (Sanskrit, Old Tagalog, Old Javanese, and Old Malay) mixed
together…
The text was written in Kavi, a mysterious script which does not look like the ancient
Tagalog script known as baybayin or alibata. Neither does it look similar to other
Philippine scripts still used today by isolated ethnic minorities like the Hanunóos and
the Buhids of Mindoro, and the Tagbanwas of Palawan. It is the first artifact of pre-
Hispanic origin found in the Philippines that had writing on copper material…
Postma's translation provides a lot of exciting surprises. Like most other copperplate
documents, it gives a very precise date from the Sanskrit calendar which
corresponds to 900 A.D. in our system. It contains placenames that still exist around
the Manila area today. It also lists the names of the chiefs of the places mentioned.
The placenames mentioned prove the Philippine connection of the LCI. The names
are still recognizable today although almost eleven centuries have passed since the
document was issued. The placenames are Pailah (Paila), Tundun (Tundo), Puliran
(Pulilan), Binwangan (Binwangan), Dewata (Diwata), and Medang (Medang)…

Laguna copperplate inscription

• Translation of LCI1 (1) Hail! In the Saka-year 822; the
month of March-April; according to the astronomer: the
fourth day of the dark half of the moon; on (2) Monday.
At that time, Lady Angkatan together with her relative,
Bukah by name, (3) the child of His Honor Namwran,
was given, as a special favor, a document of full
acquittal, by the Chief and Commander2 of Tundun (4)
representing the Leader of Pailah, Jayade~a.~ This
means that His Honor Namwran, through the Honorable
Scribe4 (5) was totally cleared of a salary-related5 debt
of 1 kati and 8 suwarna (weight of gold): in the presence
of His Honor the Leader of Puliran

• (6) Kasumuran; His Honor the Leader of Pailah,
representing Ganasakti; (and) His Honor the Leader (7)
of Binwangan, representing Bisruta. And, with his whole
family, on orders of the Chief of Dewata (a), representing
the Chief of Mdang, because of his loyalty as a subject
(slave?)' of the Chief, therefore all the descendants (9) of
his Honor Namwran have been cleared of the whole debt
that His Honor owed the Chief of Dewata. This
(document) is (issued) in case (10) there is someone,
whosoever, some time in the future, who will state that
the debt is not yet acquitted of His Honor. . .

• It seems that,the Laguna Copper-Plate Inscription (LCI) can be
• considered the oldest calendardated Philippine "document" existing
• at present in the Philippines, predating the Pigafetta account by some
• 620 years. It also seems that the Philippines, or part of it, under
• whatever name, can now take its rightful place on the tenth Century
• map of Southeast Asia, in the presence of the Kingdoms of Sriwijaya
• (Sumatera), Mataram (Java), Angkor (Kampuchea), and the
• Cham Dynasty (Vietnam).
• De Casparis called the LCI: "One of the most important discoveries
• of late," because the Philippines has now been freed from its pre
• Spanish isolation, a well-organized form of government based on
• customary law has been shown to exist for more than a thousand
• years, and an important link in the history of the Malay (and the
• Tagalog) languages has been established.

Literature
• pre-colonial literature may be classified into :
floating or oral and written literature
• Tagalogs have the bugtong (riddle), suliranin
and indulanin (street songs), sabi (maxim),
sawikain (saying), talindaw (boat songs), diyuna
(song of revelry), kumintang (war song which
evolved into a love song), dalit and umbay
(dirge), tagumpay, balikungkong, dupayinin and
hiliraw (war songs), uyayi and hele (lullabies),
ihiman (bridal song), tagulaylay (mournful song),
tigpasin (rowing song), tingad (household song),
and kutang-kutang (couplets usually chanted by
the blind)

• songs, dance and the drama probably
developed simultaneously
• most of the pre-colonial drama was held in
the sambahan or places of worship
• these dealt with various subjects including
love, war, legends, the memory of the
deceased, and war heroes

• dramas developed into different forms
such as the pagbati, karagatan, tagayan,
pananapatan, sabalan, and tibaw
• the karagatan was a debate in verse in
which a problem is resolved; it developed
into the duplo during the Spanish period
and then into the balagtasan in 1924
during the American period
• tibaw on the other hand is perform during
the pasiyam

• Maranaw literature, inspired by Islam,
consisted of tutul (folk tale), tubad-tubad
(short love poems), pananaro-on (sayings
and proverbs), sowa-sowa-i (drama),
antoka (riddle or puzzle), and darangan
(epic poetry)
• Ilocano literature, for its part, has many
kinds of songs sung on different
occasions; this include dal-ot (song during
baptismal party, wedding, or a feast),
badeng (love song sung in a serenade),
and dung-aw (dirge)

• Filipinos were fond of composing epic
poetry, which is why the country is unique
for having more than twenty epic poems.
Examples of this are Hudhud and Alim
(Ifugao), Biag ni Lam-Ang (The Life of
Lam-Ang / Ilocano), Bantugan, Indarapatra
at Sulayman, and
Bidasari
(Moslems)
Igorots
reciting
Hudhud

Princess Bidasari story is like Snow White’s
Princess
Lanawen
to be won
by Prince
Bantugan
Indarapata &
Sulayman

Music and Dance
• Filipinos are naturally fond of both music
and dance, and usually, whenever
music is played, it is accompanied by
dance

• some examples of pre-colonial musical
instruments include kudyapi (Tagalog), bansic
or a cane with four holes and gangsa or a small
guitar (Negritos of Luzon), abafii a Malay music
instrument (Igorots), gongs, Jews harp, bamboo
flute, kutibeng or a guitar
with five strings (Ilocano),
kalaleng or a nose flute
and diwdiw-as or pan
pipe made of seven
bamboos reeds
(Tinguians)

• examples of the native dances, which
depict different events include Potato
Dance, Torture Dance, Duel Dance,
Lovers Dance (Negritos); macasla dance
(Tagbanua), kinnotan or ant’s dance and
the kinnallogong or hat dance (Ilocano);
balitaw and dandansoy (Visayan);
balatong, dalit, hiliraw, kutang-kutang,
lulay, indulanin, kumintang, salampati,
tagulaylay, subli, barimbaw, and tagayan
(Tagalog)

• this shows that Filipinos
have songs and dances for
almost all occasions and
because of their frequent
association, their social
organization was more well-
knit than it is today

Art
• first glimpse can be seen in primitive tools
and weapons that were polished along
the lines of leaves and petals of flowers
• can also be seen in beads, amulets,
bracelets, and other ornaments made of
jade, red cornelian, and other stones
• dyed and ornamented their barkcloth with
designs of attractive colors

• in the Iron Age, aside from armlets,
bracelets, rings, and headbands, tattoos
also became fashionable; metals and
glass also came into use; weaving
became a preoccupation for women;
weapons were manufactured with designs
on their handles; pottery with incised
designs were made; and carvings made of
wood, bone, ivory or horn were also done
not only for the use of the living but also of
the dead

• the zigszag designs on ancient lime tubes
and the ornamental carvings on combs
reflect Negrito influence
• Indonesian influence can be seen in the
apparel of the Kalingas, Maranaos,
Manobos and Bagobos
• Malay influence can be traced to the wood
carvings found in utensils, boats, and
wooden shields of the people of Sulu,
Mindanao and Mountain Province

• Islamic influence can be gleaned from the
ornamental and decorative art of the
Lanao Muslims; most represent geometric
and plant designs because Islam is
iconoclastic
• Ifugao art deals with human and animal
representations but not fish and plant
forms; Ifugao art is functional

Sources
• wikipedia.org
• tribo.org
• apat-na-alon-tribe.com
• aenet.org
• elaput.org
• filipiniana.net
• veimages.gsfc.nasa.gov
• phivolcs.dost.gov.ph
• kheper.net
• msuiit.edu.ph
• seasite.niu.edu
• philippines.hvu.nl
• kabayancentral.com
• filipinoheritage.com
• malignosrealm.netfirms.com
• sinemamalaysia.com.my
• sacred-texts.com/hin/iml/iml07.htm
• reflectionsofasia.com/anting_anting.htm
• gutenberg.org/files/12849/12849-h/12849-h.htm
• isanghamahal.blogspot.com/2006_03_01_archive.html
• geocities.com/sanduguan/maharlika/maharlika.htm
• skyinet.net/~taomusic/gracenono/taofoundation.html

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