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Name _____________________ Course _____________ Score _______

Module 5

Lesson/Topics: CONTENT AND CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS OF SELECTED PRIMARY SOURCES:

Objectives: 1. To illustrate the cultural significance of the early Filipinos to the modern – day Filipinos; and
2. To discuss the historical significance of our ancestors’ customs that explains who we are now.
Reference/s: Ligan, Victoria, et.al, (2018). Readings in the Philippine History. Malabon City, Philippines.
Mutya
Publishing House, Inc.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkWJbktUGNg
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/13701/13701-h/13701-h.htm#d0e1500

In this module the second primary source that we are going to study is the Customs of the Tagalogs.
The Customs of the Tagalogs is a narrative on the established culture of Tagalogs in Luzon written
by Juan de Plasecia, a Franciscan missionary in the Tagalog region since 1578 until 1590.
This document was writtend as an answer to the request of the monarchy in Spain which was to
provide piece of information about the government, administration of justice, inheritance, slaves, dowries,
worship, burials, and superstition of the “Indians” in the colony. In addition, the document is to rectify
previous reports about people’s way of life in the region.
Please read the document below and answer the following questions.

Customs of the Tagalogs

After receiving your Lordship's letter, I wished to reply immediately; but I postponed my answer
in order that I might first thoroughly inform myself in regard to your request, and to avoid
discussing the conflicting reports of the Indians, who are wont to tell what suits their purpose.
Therefore, to this end, I collected Indians from different districts—old men, and those of most
capacity, all known to me; and from them I have obtained the simple truth, after weeding out
much foolishness, in regard to their government, administration of justice, inheritances, slaves,
and dowries. It is as follows:

Customs of the Tagalogs

This people always had chiefs, called by them datos, who governed them and were captains in
their wars, and whom they obeyed and reverenced. The subject who committed any offense
against them, or spoke but a word to their wives and children, was severely punished.

These chiefs ruled over but few people; sometimes as many as a hundred houses, sometimes
even less than thirty. This tribal gathering is called in Tagalo a barangay. It was inferred that
the reason for giving themselves this name arose from the fact (as they are classed, by their
language, among the Malay nations) that when they came to this land, the head of the barangay,
which is a boat, thus called—as is discussed at length in the first chapter of the first ten
chapters—became a dato. And so, even at the present day, it is ascertained that this barangay
in its origin was a family of parents and children, relations and slaves. There were many of
these barangays in each town, or, at least, on account of wars, they did not settle far from one
another. They were not, however, subject to one another, except in friendship and relationship.
The chiefs, in their various wars, helped one another with their respective barangays.
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In addition to the chiefs, who corresponded to our knights, there were three castes: nobles,
commoners, and slaves. The nobles were the free-born whom they call maharlica. They did not
pay tax or tribute to the dato, but must accompany him in war, at their own expense. The chief
offered them beforehand a feast, and afterward they divided the spoils. Moreover, when the
dato went upon the water those whom he summoned rowed for him. If he built a house, they
helped him, and had to be fed for it. The same was true when the whole barangay went to clear
up his lands for tillage. The lands which they inhabited were divided among the whole barangay,
especially the irrigated portion, and thus each one knew his own. No one belonging to another
barangay would cultivate them unless after purchase or inheritance. The lands on the tingues,
or mountain-ridges, are not divided, but owned in common by the barangay. Consequently, at
the time of the rice harvest, any individual of any particular barangay, although he may have
come from some other village, if he commences to clear any land may sow it, and no one can
compel him to abandon it. There are some villages (as, for example, Pila de la Laguna) in
which these nobles, or maharlicas, paid annually to the dato a hundred gantas of rice. The
reason of this was that, at the time of their settlement there, another chief occupied the lands,
which the new chief, upon his arrival, bought with his own gold; and therefore the members of
his barangay paid him for the arable land, and he divided it, among those whom he saw fit to
reward. But now, since the advent of the Spaniards, it is not so divided.

The chiefs in some villages had also fisheries, with established limits, and sections of the rivers
for markets. At these no one could fish, or trade in the markets, without paying for the privilege,
unless he belonged to the chief's barangay or village.

The commoners are called aliping namamahay. They are married, and serve their master,
whether he be a dato or not, with half of their cultivated lands, as was agreed upon in the
beginning. They accompanied him whenever he went beyond the island, and rowed for him.
They live in their own houses, and are lords of their property and gold. Their children inherit
it, and enjoy their property and lands. The children, then, enjoy the rank of their fathers, and
they cannot be made slaves (sa guiguilir) nor can either parents or children be sold. If they
should fall by inheritance into the hands of a son of their master who was going to dwell in
another village, they could not be taken from their own village and carried with him; but they
would remain in their native village, doing service there and cultivating the sowed lands.

The slaves are called aliping sa guiguilir. They serve their master in his house and on his
cultivated lands, and may be sold. The master grants them, should he see fit, and providing that
he has profited through their industry, a portion of their harvests, so that they may work
faithfully. For these reasons, servants who are born in the house of their master are rarely, if
ever, sold. That is the lot of captives in war, and of those brought up in the harvest fields.

Those to whom a debt was owed transferred the debt to another, thereby themselves making a
profit, and reducing the wretched debtors to a slavery which was not their natural lot. If any
person among those who were made slaves (sa guiguilir)—through war, by the trade of
goldsmith, or otherwise—happened to possess any gold beyond the sum that he had to give his
master, he ransomed himself, becoming thus a namamahay, or what we call a commoner. The
price of this ransom was never less than five taels, and from that upwards; and if he gave ten
or more taels, as they might agree, he became wholly free. An amusing ceremony accompanied
this custom. After having divided all the trinkets which the slave possessed, if he maintained a
house of his own, they divided even the pots and jars, and if an odd one of these remained, they
broke it; and if a piece of cloth were left, they parted it in the middle.

The difference between the aliping namamahay and the aliping sa guiguilir, should be noted;
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for, by a confusion of the two terms, many have been classed as slaves who really are not. The
Indians seeing that the alcaldes-mayor do not understand this, have adopted the custom of
taking away the children of the aliping namamahay, making use of them as they would of the
aliping sa guiguilir, as servants in their households, which is illegal, and if the aliping
namamahay should appeal to justice, it is proved that he is an aliping as well as his father and
mother before him and no reservation is made as to whether he is aliping namamahay or atiping
sa guiguilir. He is at once considered an alipin, without further declaration. In this way he
becomes a sa guiguilir, and is even sold. Consequently, the alcaldes-mayor should be instructed
to ascertain, when anyone asks for his alipin, to which class he belongs, and to have the answer
put in the document that they give him.

In these three classes, those who are maharlicas on both the father's and mother's side continue
to be so forever; and if it happens that they should become slaves, it is through marriage, as I
shall soon explain. If these maharlicas had children among their slaves, the children and their
mothers became free; if one of them had children by the slave-woman of another, she was
compelled, when pregnant, to give her master half of a gold tael, because of her risk of death,
and for her inability to labor during the pregnancy. In such a case half of the child was free—
namely, the half belonging to the father, who supplied the child with food. If he did not do this,
he showed that he did not recognize him as his child, in which case the latter was wholly a
slave. If a free woman had children by a slave, they were all free, provided he were not her
husband.

If two persons married, of whom one was a maharlica and the other a slave, whether
namamahay or sa guiguilir, the children were divided: the first, whether male or female,
belonged to the father, as did the third and fifth; the second, the fourth, and the sixth fell to the
mother, and so on. In this manner, if the father were free, all those who belonged to him were
free; if he were a slave, all those who belonged to him were slaves; and the same applied to the
mother. If there should not be more than one child he was half free and half slave. The only
question here concerned the division, whether the child were male or female. Those who
became slaves fell under the category of servitude which was their parent's, either namamahay
or sa guiguilir. If there were an odd number of children, the odd one was half free and half
slave. I have not been able to ascertain with any certainty when or at what age the division of
children was made, for each one suited himself in this respect. Of these two kinds of slaves the
sa guiguilir could be sold, but not the namamahay and their children, nor could they be
transferred. However, they could be transferred from the barangay by inheritance, provided
they remained in the same village.

The maharlicas could not, after marriage, move from one village to another, or from one
barangay to another, without paying a certain fine in gold, as arranged among them. This fine
was larger or smaller according to the inclination of the different villages, running from one to
three taels and a banquet to the entire barangay. Failure to pay the fine might result in a war
between the barangay which the person left and the one which he entered. This applied equally
to men and women, except that when one married a woman of another village, the children
were afterwards divided equally between the two barangays. This arrangement kept them
obedient to the dato, or chief, which is no longer the case—because, if the dato is energetic and
commands what the religious fathers enjoin him, they soon leave him and go to other villages
and other datos, who endure and protect them and do not order them about. This is the kind of
dato that they now prefer, not him who has the spirit to command. There is a great need of
reform in this, for the chiefs are spiritless and faint-hearted.

Investigations made and sentences passed by the dato must take place in the presence of those
of his barangay. If any of the litigants felt himself aggrieved, an arbiter was unanimously named
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from another village or barangay, whether he were a dato or not; since they had for this
purpose some persons, known as fair and just men, who were said to give true judgment
according to their customs. If the controversy lay between two chiefs, when they wished to avoid
war, they also convoked judges to act as arbiters; they did the same if the disputants belonged
to two different barangays. In this ceremony they always had to drink, the plaintiff inviting the
others.

They had laws by which they condemned to death a man of low birth who insulted the daughter
or wife of a chief; likewise witches, and others of the same class.

They condemned no one to slavery, unless he merited the death-penalty. As for the witches, they
killed them, and their children and accomplices became slaves of the chief, after he had made
some recompense to the injured person. All other offenses were punished by fines in gold, which,
if not paid with promptness, exposed the culprit to serve, until the payment should be made, the
person aggrieved, to whom the money was to be paid. This was done in the following way: Half
the cultivated lands and all their produce belonged to the master. The master provided the
culprit with food and clothing, thus enslaving the culprit and his children until such time as he
might amass enough money to pay the fine. If the father should by chance pay his debt, the
master then claimed that he had fed and clothed his children, and should be paid therefor. In
this way he kept possession of the children if the payment could not be met. This last was usually
the case, and they remained slaves. If the culprit had some relative or friend who paid for him,
he was obliged to render the latter half his service until he was paid—not, however, service
within the house as aliping sa guiguilir, but living independently, as aliping namamahay. If the
creditor were not served in this wise, the culprit had to pay the double of what was lent him. In
this way slaves were made by debt: either sa guiguilir, if they served the master to whom the
judgment applied; or aliping namamahay, if they served the person who lent them wherewith
to pay.

In what concerns loans, there was formerly, and is today, an excess of usury, which is a great
hindrance to baptism as well as to confession; for it turns out in the same way as I have showed
in the case of the one under judgment, who gives half of his cultivated lands and profits until
he pays the debt. The debtor is condemned to a life of toil; and thus borrowers become slaves,
and after the death of the father the children pay the debt. Not doing so, double the amount
must be paid. This system should and can be reformed.

As for inheritances, the legitimate children of a father and mother inherited equally, except in
the case where the father and mother showed a slight partiality by such gifts as two or three
gold taels, or perhaps a jewel.

When the parents gave a dowry to any son, and, when, in order to marry him to a chief's
daughter, the dowry was greater than the sum given the other sons, the excess was not counted
in the whole property to be divided. But any other thing that should have been given to any son,
though it might be for some necessity, was taken into consideration at the time of the partition
of the property, unless the parents should declare that such a bestowal was made outside of the
inheritance. If one had had children by two or more legitimate wives, each child received the
inheritance and dowry of his mother, with its increase, and that share of his father's estate
which fell to him out of the whole. If a man had a child by one of his slaves, as well as legitimate
children, the former had no share in the inheritance; but the legitimate children were bound to
free the mother, and to give him something—a tael or a slave, if the father were a chief; or if,
finally, anything else were given it was by the unanimous consent of all. If besides his legitimate
children, he had also some son by a free unmarried woman, to whom a dowry was given but
who was not considered as a real wife, all these were classed as natural children, although the
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child by the unmarried woman should have been begotten after his marriage. Such children did
not inherit equally with the legitimate children, but only the third part. For example, if there
were two children, the legitimate one had two parts, and the one of the inaasava one part. When
there were no children by a legitimate wife, but only children by an unmarried woman, or
inaasava, the latter inherited all. If he had a child by a slave woman, that child received his
share as above stated. If there were no legitimate or natural child, or a child by an inaasava,
whether there was a son of a slave woman or not, the inheritance went only to the father or
grandparents, brothers, or nearest relatives of the deceased, who gave to the slave-child as
above stated.

In the case of a child by a free married woman, born while she was married, if the husband
punished the adulterer this was considered a dowry; and the child entered with the others into
partition in the inheritance. His share equaled the part left by the father, nothing more. If there
were no other sons than he, the children and the nearest relatives inherited equally with him.
But if the adulterer were not punished by the husband of the woman who had the child, the
latter was not considered as his child, nor did he inherit anything. It should be noticed that the
offender was not considered dishonored by the punishment inflicted, nor did the husband leave
the woman. By the punishment of the father the child was fittingly made legitimate.

Adopted children, of whom there are many among them, inherit the double of what was paid
for their adoption. For example, if one gold tael was given that he might be adopted when the
first father died, the child was given [in inheritance] two taels. But if this child should die first,
his children do not inherit from the second father, for the arrangement stops at that point.

This is the danger to which his money is exposed, as well as his being protected as a child. On
this account this manner of adoption common among them is considered lawful.

Dowries are given by the men to the women's parents. If the latter are living, they enjoy the use
of it. At their death, provided the dowry has not been consumed, it is divided like the rest of the
estate, equally among the children, except in case the father should care to bestow something
additional upon the daughter. If the wife, at the time of her marriage, has neither father, mother,
nor grandparents, she enjoys her dowry—which, in such a case, belongs to no other relative or
child. It should be noticed that unmarried women can own no property, in land or dowry, for
the result of all their labors accrues to their parents.

In the case of a divorce before the birth of children, if the wife left the husband for the purpose
of marrying another, all her dowry and an equal additional amount fell to the husband; but if
she left him, and did not marry another, the dowry was returned. When the husband left his
wife, he lost the half of the dowry, and the other half was returned to him. If he possessed
children at the time of his divorce, the whole dowry and the fine went to the children, and was
held for them by their grandparents or other responsible relatives.

I have also seen another practice in two villages. In one case, upon the death of the wife who
in a year's time had borne no children, the parents returned one-half the dowry to the husband
whose wife had died. In the other case, upon the death of the husband, one-half the dowry was
returned to the relatives of the husband. I have ascertained that this is not a general practice;
for upon inquiry I learned that when this is done it is done through piety, and that all do not do
it.

In the matter of marriage dowries which fathers bestow upon their sons when they are about to
be married, and half of which is given immediately, even when they are only children, there is
a great deal more complexity. There is a fine stipulated in the contract, that he who violates it
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shall pay a certain sum which varies according to the practice of the village and the affluence
of the individual. The fine was heaviest if, upon the death of the parents, the son or daughter
should be unwilling to marry because it had been arranged by his or her parents. In this case
the dowry which the parents had received was returned and nothing more. But if the parents
were living, they paid the fine, because it was assumed that it had been their design to separate
the children.

The above is what I have been able to ascertain clearly concerning customs observed among
these natives in all this Laguna and the tingues, and among the entire Tagalo race. The old men
say that a dato who did anything contrary to this would not be esteemed; and, in relating
tyrannies which they had committed, some condemned them and adjudged them wicked.

Others, perchance, may offer a more extended narrative, but leaving aside irrelevant matters
concerning government and justice among them, a summary of the whole truth is contained in
the above. I am sending the account in this clear and concise form because I had received no
orders to pursue the work further. Whatever may be decided upon, it is certainly important that
it should be given to the alcal-des-mayor, accompanied by an explanation; for the absurdities
which are to be found in their opinions are indeed pitiable.

May our Lord bestow upon your Lordship His grace and spirit, so that in every step good
fortune may be yours; and upon every occasion may your Lordship deign to consider me your
humble servant, to be which would be the greatest satisfaction and favor that I could receive.
Nagcarlán, October 21, 1589.

Fray Juan de Plasencia2

Relation of the Worship of the Tagalogs, Their Gods, and Their Burials and Superstitions

In all the villages, or in other parts of the Filipinas Islands, there are no temples consecrated
to the performing of sacrifices, the adoration of their idols, or the general practice of idolatry.
It is true that they have the name simbahan, which means a temple or place of adoration; but
this is because, formerly, when they wished to celebrate a festival, which they called pandot, or
“worship,” they celebrated it in the large house of a chief. There they constructed, for the
purpose of sheltering the assembled people, a temporary shed on each side of the house, with
a roof, called sibi, to protect the people from the wet when it rained. They so constructed the
house that it might contain many people—dividing it, after the fashion of ships, into three
compartments. On the posts of the house they set small lamps, called sorihile; in the center of
the house they placed one large lamp, adorned with leaves of the white palm, wrought into
many designs. They also brought together many drums, large and small, which they beat
successively while the feast lasted, which was usually four days. During this time the whole
barangay, or family, united and joined in the worship which they call nagaanitos. The house,
for the above-mentioned period of time, was called a temple.

Among their many idols there was one called. Badhala, whom they especially worshiped. The
title seems to signify “all powerful,” or “maker of all things.” They also worshiped the sun,
which, on account of its beauty, is almost universally respected and honored by heathens. They
worshiped, too, the moon, especially when it was new, at which time they held great rejoicings,
adoring it and bidding it welcome. Some of them also adored the stars, although they did not
know them by their names, as the Spaniards and other nations know the planets—with the one
exception of the morning star, which they called Tala. They knew, too, the “seven little goats”
[the Pleiades]—as we call them—and, consequently, the change of seasons, which they call
Mapolon; and Balatic, which is our Greater Bear. They possessed many idols called lic-ha,
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which were images with different shapes; and at times they worshiped any little trifle, in which
they adored, as did the Romans, some particular dead man who was brave in war and endowed
with special faculties, to whom they commended themselves for protection in their tribulations.
They had another idol called Dian masalanta, who was the patron of lovers and of generation.
The idols called Lacapati and Idianale were the patrons of the cultivated lands and of
husbandry. They paid reverence to water-lizards called by them buaya, or crocodiles, from fear
of being harmed by them. They were even in the habit of offering these animals a portion of
what they carried in their boats, by throwing it into the water, or placing it upon the bank.

They were, moreover, very liable to find auguries in things they witnessed. For example, if they
left their house and met on the way a serpent or rat, or a bird called Tigmamanuguin which
was singing in the tree, or if they chanced upon anyone who sneezed, they returned at once to
their house, considering the incident as an augury that some evil might befall them if they should
continue their journey—especially when the above-mentioned bird sang. This song had two
different forms: in the one case it was considered as an evil omen; in the other, as a good omen,
and then they continued their journey. They also practiced divination, to see whether weapons,
such as a dagger or knife, were to be useful and lucky for their possessor whenever occasion
should offer.

These natives had no established division of years, months, and days; these are determined by
the cultivation of the soil, counted by moons, and the different effect produced upon the trees
when yielding flowers, fruits, and leaves: all this helps them in making up the year. The winter
and summer are distinguished as sun-time and water-time—the latter term designating winter
in those regions, where there is no cold, snow, or ice.

It seems, however, that now since they have become Christians, the seasons are not quite the
same, for at Christmas it gets somewhat cooler. The years, since the advent of the Spaniards,
have been determined by the latter, and the seasons have been given their proper names, and
they have been divided into weeks.

Their manner of offering sacrifice was to proclaim a feast, and offer to the devil what they had
to eat. This was done in front of the idol, which they anoint with fragrant perfumes, such as
musk and civet, or gum of the storax-tree and other odoriferous woods, and praise it in poetic
songs sung by the officiating priest, male or female, who is called catolonan. The participants
made responses to the song, beseeching the idol to favor them with those things of which they
were in need, and generally, by offering repeated healths, they all became intoxicated. In some
of their idolatries they were accustomed to place a good piece of cloth, doubled, over the idol,
and over the cloth a chain or large, gold ring, thus worshiping the devil without having sight
of him. The devil was sometimes liable to enter into the body of the catolonan, and, assuming
her shape and appearance, filled her with so great arrogance—he being the cause of it—that
she seemed to shoot flames from her eyes; her hair stood on end, a fearful sight to those
beholding, and she uttered words of arrogance and superiority. In some districts, especially in
the mountains, when in those idolatries the devil incarnated himself and took on the form of his
minister, the latter had to be tied to a tree by his companions, to prevent the devil in his infernal
fury from destroying him. This, however, happened but rarely. The objects of sacrifice were
goats, fowls, and swine, which were flayed, decapitated, and laid before the idol. They
performed another ceremony by cooking a jar of rice until the water was evaporated, after
which they broke the jar, and the rice was left as an intact mass which was set before the idol;
and all about it, at intervals, were placed a few buyos—which is a small fruit wrapped in a leaf
with some lime, a food generally eaten in these regions—as well as fried food and fruits. All the
above-mentioned articles were eaten by the guests at the feast; the heads [of the animals], after
being “offered,” as they expressed it, were cooked and eaten also.
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The reasons for offering this sacrifice and adoration were, in addition to whatever personal
matters there might be, the recovery of a sick person, the prosperous voyage of those embarking
on the sea, a good harvest in the sowed lands, a propitious result in wars, a successful delivery
in childbirth, and a happy outcome in married life. If this took place among people of rank, the
festivities lasted thirty days.

In the case of young girls who first had their monthly courses, their eyes were blindfolded four
days and four nights; and, in the meantime, the friends and relatives were all invited to partake
of food and drink. At the end of this period, the catolonan took the young girl to the water,
bathed her and washed her head, and removed the bandage from her eyes. The old men said
that they did this in order that the girls might bear children, and have fortune in finding
husbands to their taste, who would not leave them widows in their youth.

The distinctions made among the priests of the devil were as follows: The first, called catolonan,
as above stated, was either a man or a woman. This office was an honorable one among the
natives, and was held ordinarily by people of rank, this rule being general in all the islands.

The second they called mangagauay, or witches, who deceived by pretending to heal the sick.
These priests even induced maladies by their charms, which in proportion to the strength and
efficacy of the witchcraft, are capable of causing death. In this way, if they wished to kill at
once they did so; or they could prolong life for a year by binding to the waist a live serpent,
which was believed to be the devil, or at least his substance. This office was general throughout
the land. The third they called manyisalat, which is the same as magagauay. These priests had
the power of applying such remedies to lovers that they would abandon and despise their own
wives, and in fact could prevent them from having intercourse with the latter. If the woman,
constrained by these means, were abandoned, it would bring sickness upon her; and on account
of the desertion she would discharge blood and matter. This office was also general throughout
the land.

The fourth was called mancocolam, whose duty it was to emit fire from himself at night, once
or oftener each month. This fire could not be extinguished; nor could it be thus emitted except
as the priest wallowed in the ordure and filth which falls from the houses; and he who lived in
the house where the priest was wallowing in order to emit this fire from himself, fell ill and
died. This office was general.

The fifth was called hocloban, which is another kind of witch, of greater efficacy than the
mangagauay. Without the use of medicine, and by simply saluting or raising the hand, they
killed whom they chose. But if they desired to heal those whom they had made ill by their charms,
they did so by using other charms. Moreover, if they wished to destroy the house of some Indian
hostile to them, they were able to do so without instruments. This was in Catanduanes, an island
off the upper part of Luzon.

The sixth was called silagan, whose office it was, if they saw anyone clothed in white, to tear
out his liver and eat it, thus causing his death. This, like the preceding, was in the island of
Catanduanes. Let no one, moreover, consider this a fable; because, in Calavan, they tore out
in this way through the anus all the intestines of a Spanish notary, who was buried in Calilaya
by father Fray Juan de Mérida.

The seventh was called magtatangal, and his purpose was to show himself at night to many
persons, without his head or entrails. In such wise the devil walked about and carried, or
pretended to carry, his head to different places; and, in the morning, returned it to his body—
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remaining, as before, alive. This seems to me to be a fable, although the natives affirm that they
have seen it, because the devil probably caused them so to believe. This occurred in
Catanduanes.

The eighth they called osuang, which is equivalent to “sorcerer;” they say that they have seen
him fly, and that he murdered men and ate their flesh. This was among the Visayas Islands;
among the Tagalos these did not exist.

The ninth was another class of witches called mangagayoma. They made charms for lovers out
of herbs, stones, and wood, which would infuse the heart with love. Thus did they deceive the
people, although sometimes, through the intervention of the devil, they gained their ends.

The tenth was known as sonat, which is equivalent to “preacher.” It was his office to help one
to die, at which time he predicted the salvation or condemnation of the soul. It was not lawful
for the functions of this office to be fulfilled by others than people of high standing, on account
of the esteem in which it was held. This office was general throughout the islands.

The eleventh, pangatahojan, was a soothsayer, and predicted the future. This office was
general in all the islands.

The twelfth, bayoguin, signified a “cotquean,” a man whose nature inclined toward that of a
woman.

Their manner of burying the dead was as follows: The deceased was buried beside his house;
and, if he were a chief, he was placed beneath a little house or porch which they constructed
for this purpose. Before interring him, they mourned him for four days; and afterward laid him
on a boat which served as a coffin or bier, placing him beneath the porch, where guard was
kept over him by a slave. In place of rowers, various animals were placed within the boat, each
one being assigned a place at the oar by twos—male and female of each species being
together—as for example two goats, two deer, or two fowls. It was the slave's care to see that
they were fed. If the deceased had been a warrior, a living slave was tied beneath his body until
in this wretched way he died. In course of time, all suffered decay; and for many days the
relatives of the dead man bewailed him, singing dirges, and praises of his good qualities, until
finally they wearied of it. This grief was also accompanied by eating and drinking. This was a
custom of the Tagalos.

The Aetas, or Negrillos [Negritos] inhabitants of this island, had also a form of burial, but
different. They dug a deep, perpendicular hole, and placed the deceased within it, leaving him
upright with head or crown unburied, on top of which they put half a cocoa-nut which was to
serve him as a shield. Then they went in pursuit of some Indian, whom they killed in retribution
for the Negrillo who had died. To this end they conspired together, hanging a certain token on
their necks until some one of them procured the death of the innocent one.

These infidels said that they knew that there was another life of rest which they called maca,
just as if we should say “paradise,” or, in other words, “village of rest.” They say that those
who go to this place are the just, and the valiant, and those who lived without doing harm, or
who possessed other moral virtues. They said also that in the other life and mortality, there was
a place of punishment, grief, and affliction, called casanaan, which was “a place of anguish;”
they also maintained that no one would go to heaven, where there dwelt only Bathala, “the
maker of all things,” who governed from above. There were also other pagans who confessed
more clearly to a hell, which they called, as I have said, casanaan; they said that all the wicked
went to that place, and there dwelt the demons, whom they called sitan.
 25

All the various kinds of infernal ministers were, therefore, as has been stated: catolonan; sonat
(who was a sort of bishop who ordained priestesses and received their reverence, for they knelt
before him as before one who could pardon sins, and expected salvation through him);
mangagauay, manyisalat, mancocolam, hocloban, silagan, magtatangal, osuan,
mangagayoma, pangatahoan.

There were also ghosts, which they called vibit; and phantoms, which they called Tigbalaang.
They had another deception—namely, that if any woman died in childbirth, she and the child
suffered punishment; and that, at night, she could be heard lamenting. This was called patianac.
May the honor and glory be God our Lord's, that among all the Tagalos not a trace of this is
left; and that those who are now marrying do not even know what it is, thanks to the preaching
of the holy gospel, which has banished it.

Evaluation: Give a concise explanation on the following items. (3-5 sentences, 10pts. each items)
1. What is the important connection of the document to your recognition and appreciation of the
Tagalog customs?

2. What was the author is trying to say about the customs of the Tagalog?

3. Do have any idea about the background of the author like nationality, occupation and/or
position? Why do we need to know these matter?

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