Excerpts from Customs of the Tagalog

By : Juan de Plascencia
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 a few people; sometimes as many as a hundred houses, sometimes even
less than thirty. This tribal gathering is called in Tagalog a barangay. It was inferred that the
reason for giving themselves this name rose 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 the dato. And so, even at present day, it is ascertained that the barangay
in its origin was a family of parents, 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.
In addition to these chiefs, who corresponded to our knights, there were three castes:
nobles, commoners, and slaves. The nobles were the freeborn 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 up 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 barvest, 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 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, upon his arrival, bought with his own gold; and therefore the members of his
barangay paid him for 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 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 wherever 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 they 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....
The difference between the aliping namamahay and the aliping sa guiguilir, should be
noted; 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 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 alipin as well as his father and
mother before him and no reservation is made as to whether he is aliping namamahay or
aliping 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 document that they give him.
In these three classes, those who are maharlicas on both 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 a slave-woman of
another, she was compelled, when pregnant, to give her master half of the gold tael, because of
her risk of death, and for her inability to laborbetween the barangay where the person left and
the one which be 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 if
those in his barangay. If any of the litigants felt himself aggrieved, an arbiter was unanimously
selected from another village or barangay, whether he were a dato or not; since they had for
this purpose some reasons, 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 chief; likewise witches 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 was aggrieved, to whom the money was paid. This was done in the
following way: Half the cultivated lands and all their produce belonged to their 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 has 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 alipin
namamahay. If the creditor were not served in this wise, the culprit had to pay 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.
Dowries are given by the men to the women's parents. If the latter are living, they enjoy 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 the case the father should care to bestow
something additional upon their 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 the 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 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.
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
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.
II
Worship of the Tagalogs
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 simbahan, which means a temple or place of adoration; but it is
because, formerly, when they wished to celebrate a festival, which they called pandot or
"worship," they celebrated it in a 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 people from the wet when it rained. They so constructed the house that it
may contain peopledividing 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 called nagaanitos. The house, for the above-mentioned period
of time, was called a temple.
Among their many idols there was one called Bathala, whom they especially worshipped. The
title, seems to signify "all powerful," or "maker of all things." They also worshipped the sun,
which, on account of its beauty, is almost universally respected and honored by the heathens.
They worshipped too, the moon, especially when it was new, at which time they had 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 exception of the morning star 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, which
were images with different shapes; and at times they worshipped 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 patrons of the cultivated lands and of busbandry They
paid reverence to water-lizards called by them buaya or crocodiles, for fear of being harmed by
them. They were even in the bait 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 abovementioned bird sang. This song has two
different forms: in the one case it was considered 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 dagger or knife, were 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 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 a 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.
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 an 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 become intoxicated. In some
of the 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 worshipping 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 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 bare 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 these
above-mentioned articles were eaten by guests at the feast; the heads [of animals], after being
"offered," as they expressed it, were cooked and eaten also.
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.
The distinctions made among the priests of the devil were as follows: The first, called catolonan,
as above stated, was either a man or 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 was 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 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 was called manyisalat, which is the same as mangagauay. 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 witch, of greater efficacy than the
mangagauay. Without 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 madde ill by their charms, they
did so by using other charms. Moreover, if they wished to destroy the house of the same Indian
hostile to them, they were able to do so without instruments. This was in Catanduanes, an
island off the upper part of Luzon. of
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. His, 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 Merida.
The seventh was called magtatangal, his purpose was to show himself at night to many
persons, without his head or entrails. In such wise the devil walked about, carried, or pretended
to carry, his head to different places; and, in the morning, returned it to his body-remaining as
before, alive. This seems to be a fable, although the natives affirm that they have seen it,
because the devil probably caused them to believe. This occurred in Catanduanes.
The eighth they called osuang, which is equivalent to a "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 Tagalogs 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
The tenth was known as sonat, which is equivalent to "preacher." It was his office to help one
die, at which time be predicted the salvation or condemnation of the soul. It was not Lawful for
the function of this office to be fulfilled by others than people of high standing, on account of
the esteem in which it was beld. This office was general throughout the islands.
The eleventh, pangatahojan, was a soothsayer, and predicted the future. This office was
general in 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, be 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
boat which served as a coffin or bier, placing him beneath the porch, where guard 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 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 they wearied of it. This grief
was accompanied by eating and drinking. This was a custom of the Tagalogs....
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 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 only dwelt 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.
There were also ghosts, which they called vibit; and phantoms, which they called tigbalaang.
They had another deception-namely, if any woman died in childbirth, she and the child suffered
punishment; and that, at night, she could be heard lamenting. This is called patianac. May
honor and glory be to God our Lord, that among the Tagalogs 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.