Precolonial Philippines Flashcards
2 Creation stories of how Filipinos were made
- Bathala and the oven
2. Bamboo story (Malakas at Maganda)
2 Scientific approaches to the peopling process in the Philippines
- Austronesian
2. Development from within
Where did the Autronesians come from?
From Madagascar to Pacific Islanders
2 Theories for migration patterns of Austronesians
- Mainland Origin Hypothesis (South China/Taiwan origin– S to N)
- South east Asia Origin (Madagascar/Indonesian origins– N to S)
What did the Austronesian use to get here?
Balanghai
What is the basic political unit?
Barangay
What does the Development from within approach state?
There is evidence of population before the Austronesians
What was the settlement pattern of early communities?
Coastal
3 Reasons for coastal settlement?
- Food (dependent on sea)
- Transportation
- Trade (coastal communities were emerging commercial centers)
What was one effect of trade?
Development of social classes
What are the 4 precolonial social classes?
- Datu
- Maharlika
- Timawa
- Alipin
Role of datu
Administrator/Chief
Role of maharlika
Adviser/monetary support
Role of Alipin
Dependents
Evidence that Alipins were not slaves
- No monolithic structures
2. No surplus of people
Which class does not pay taxes
Maharlika
Which class was the majority of the community
Timawa
Who were the freemen?
Timawa
Did Alipins have rights?
Yes
Were social classes rigid?
No
How is the datu chosen?
He is the strongest and charming
Is the datu position inheritable?
No
Why was there no king and kingdoms in the PH
GEOGRAPHICAL FRAGMENTATION
What was the style of farming used?
Slash and burn or kaingin farming
What did they farm?
root crops
How did kaingin farming affect the way of life of the Filipinos?
- Influenced mobility of farmers
- Impermanence of settlements and communities
- Population dispersal made the formation of large groupings of tribes not happen
- city-states did not develop
What impermanent structure did they build to live in?
Bahay kubo
Why bahay kubo?
Easily destroyed and left behind
How high off the ground was the bahay kubo?
3-4 meters
Why was the bahay kubo elevated?
- For the animals
2. Protection form raid and animals
What is the purpose of being surrounded by banana plantation?
Prevents fire from spreading
What are the 3 types of weapons the military used?
- For hacking
- Projectiles
- Bararo (for head hunting)
What was the true purpose of headhunting?
Avoid bloodshed
What is the greatest asset of the Filipinos?
People
Fighting tactic
Running and throwing
What happens when a chiefly class gets caught?
Ransomed for gold
What happens when poor gets caught?
sold or enslaved
When do inter-barangay raids occur?
Attack after harvest
What happens if barangays have the same population?
stalemate
Why attack only after harvest?
Soldiers are also the farmers
What was the uniform of the warriors?
Pintados
Use of body art
- War records (need to be approved by barangay
- long and painful process
- deterrent to enemies (Intimidation)
Causes of inter-barangay raids
- unwarranted killing of natives in another town
- Stealing of wives (spiritual leaders)
- Treachery
Judicial system started out with governing using
Rules
Who created Laws
Datu + Council of Elders
2 Types of laws
- Temporary/Oral
2. Permanent/Written
Who announces the laws?
Umalokohan
What does umalokohan mean?
Town crier
How do they judge who’s right in violations?
Number of witnesses
How do they judge violations if witnesses are equal?
Paggsubok (trial by ordeal)
4 Levels of pagsubok
- Rocks in boiling water
- Torch method
- Spit rice
- Jump in water with spear
What happens when you are found guilty?
- Fined and become alpine
2. Tortured
Torture methods
- FIngernail method
2. Ant/caterpillar/leech method
Explain rocks in boiling water level
Innocent is the one who gets the rock and does not hesitate
Explain torch method
one whose torch blows out is guilty
Explain spit rice method
stickier concoction is guilty
Explain jumping in water with spear
One with fish or bigger fish is innocent
What type of belief did they subscribe to?
Animism
Where was their belief based?
Nature
How did they represent these spirits?
Carved idols
Who was the creator of Filipinos and everything?
Bathala
What did they call the environmental spirits?
Anitos
What was the tangible part of their belief?
Creatures
Did they have a concept of hell?
No
Why was it easy to convert them to Catholicism?
Structure is similar
Bathala- God
Anitos- Saints
What were the religious structures that they had?
None, it was rooted in nature
Why were there no religious structures?
only done in large, permanent communities
What do you call the officiating priests?
Babaylan or Catalonan
What gender were their priests
Male or female but usually female
What does a babaylan do?
- combats evil spirits
- Medium for anito
- medical and spiritual wellbeing
What did they call evil spirits?
maligno
3 examples of evil spirits and what they do
- Aswang- deterrent
- Bangungut- jumps on men while they sleep
- Kapre- confuse you
2 types of aswang
tiktik and manananggal
Why are babaylans usually female?
- Gads are usually male and prefer to speak to females
2. Good with medicine and healing
Roles of Babaylans
- Divination
- Food offering/Agimat (protection)
- Rituals/Ceremonies
What are agimats for?
protection
Devination role includes
- Concoctions
- Healing
- Gayuma, anting-anting
Means of establishing inter-barangay alliance system and ensuring economic stability?
Inter-barangay marriage
General form of relationship of Filipinos
Monogamous
What do you call the 1st wife?
Asawa
For those that practiced polygamy, what do you call the succeeding wives?
Kaibigan
How did men court women?
Paid downpayment to court the girl which is returned if the girl refuses
What did they call the Philippine dowry?
bride price
What were the reasons behind the bride price?
- Expenses in growing the daughter
- Compensation for loss of manpower in the family
- Investment (for son’s wedding in the future)
Ways to get married
- Bribe with money
- Use skills/Knowledge
- Become and alpine namamahay
Why was divorce frowned upon?
You have to return the bride price
Why were twins considered an anomaly?
population was getting too big
What did precolonial Filipinos do to preserve their dead?
sponge them with boiled and pounded leaves and wrap them in blankets
How do they announce when someone dies?
Ritual criers went around the village to announce
What is the significance of knowing that the precolonial Filipinos had rituals and religion?
It is a sign of a developed community
What was the significance of rituals?
Shows bathala and anitos how important the person is to the afterlife/Fast track to afterlife
What was done to the dead person’s personal items?
Buried with him or burned
How were warriors buried?
With a slave attached to them as offering
Where were the poor buried?
in ordinary graves dug underneath the house
Which 3 parts of the house were the poor buried in?
- Upper part of the house with jewels
- Lower part of the house
- Ground itself
3 Death rituals of precolonial Filipinos
- Warrior’s death
- Mummification
- Manuggul Jar
Describe the mummification process
- tied to the post of the house and sweated out while concoction was wiped on the dead
- placed in the middle of the house and sweated on top of the fire
- family drinks the fluids
- formed into a metal position
- sealed in capsules and placed on mountains or caves
What was the purpose of the mannugul jar?
Bring you to afterlife
What is the image on the manuggul jar?
Boatman
Describe the burial process through manuggul jar
- Primary burial where body is placed in a box until it becomes bones then the bones are dipped in red paint
- Secondary burial where the bones are sealed in a jar and placed in a cave
Why were beliefs not institutionalised?
- Because of the way the islands are
- There was no strong institution to bind us (no crisis)
- We assimilated other cultures
Was there a possibility of a nation even without colonisation?
Yes
