Customs of the Tagalogs Fray Juan de Plasencia, OFM

About the Author

Juan de Plasencia – real name is Juan de Portocarrero.
● One of the seven children of Don Pedro Portocarrero.
● He grew up in the region of Extremadura during the early 16th century, Golden Age (Siglo de Oro) of
Spain.
● During this period there was an upsurge of men entering religious life with the intention of suiting
up for missionary works in the newly discovered territories.

Fray Plasencia belonged to the Franciscan order and came together with the first batch of Franciscan
missionaries who arrived in the Philippines on July 2, 1578.
• He and Fray Diego de Oropresa were assigned to do mission works in Southern Tagalog area.

His continuous interaction with the people he converted to Christians enabled him to write a book
entitled Relacion de las Costumbres de Los Tagalos (Customs of the Tagalogs) 1589.
• It vividly described the political, social, economic and cultural practices of the Filipinos before
they were Christianized.

His biggest challenge at that time was how to make the articles of faith comprehensible to people who
have never heard of Christ nor the Catholic Church.
• In 1593, he published the book Doctrina Christiana en Lengua Espanola Y Tagala (1592), the
first printed book in the Philippines.
• After several years of converting the natives and teaching catechism, the Franciscan Order
honored him with the title "Venerable."

The work of Fray Plasencia is considered by many historians as an example of a friar account.
● This kind of writing is one of the most common contemporaneous account during the early part of
the Spanish period.

The original document of Customs of the Tagalogs is currently kept in the Archivo General de
Indias (A.G.I) in Seville, Spain.
• A duplicate copy of it is kept in the Archivo Franciscano Ibero-Oriental (A.F.O.I) in Madrid,
Spain.
• An English translation appeared in Volume VII of the Blair and Robertson’s The Philippine
Islands.

Historical Context
During the first century of Spanish rule, colonial officials had the hard time running local politics
because of the limited number of Spaniards who wanted to live outside Intramuros.
• This situation forced them to allow Filipinos to hold the position of gobernadorcillo.
• To ensure that they would remain loyal to the Crown, they instructed the friars assigned in the
parishes to supervise and monitor the activities of the gobernadorcillo.
Some duties of friars assigned in mission territories:
1. inform periodically their superiors of what was going on in their respective assignment.
2. report the number of natives they converted, the people’s way of life, their socio-economic situation
and the problems they encountered.
3. some submitted short letters while others who were keen observers and gifted writers wrote long
dispatches.
On top of the regular reports they submit, they also shared their personal observations and
experiences.
• Fray Plasencia’s Relacion de las Costumbres de Los Tagalogs (Customs of the Tagalog, 1589) is
an example of this kind of work.

It contains numerous information that historians could use in reconstructing the political and socio-
cultural history of the Tagalog region.
• His work is a primary source because he personally witnessed the events and observations that
he discussed in his account.

Other colonial officials who wrote about the customs of the Filipinos:
● Miguel de Loarca
- Arrived in 1576 and became an encomendero of Panay. He wrote Relación de las Islas Filipinas (1582)
and his work described the way of life of Filipinos living in Western Visayas area.
● Antonio de Morga
- He came to the Philippines in 1595 as Asesor and Teniente General.
• His Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas gives us a lot of information about the state of the Philippines at
the latter part of the 16th century.

Other Spanish missionaries who continued the historiographical tradition initiated by Loarca
and Plasencia.
1. Fr. Pedro Chirino S.J. (Relación de las Islas Filipinas, 1604);
2. Fr. Juan Delgado S.J. (Historia General, 1751);
3. Fr. Francisco Colin S.J. (Labor Evangelica, 1663);
4. Francisco Ignacio Alcina S.J. (Historia natural del sitio, fertilidad y calidad de las Islas e Indios de
Bisayas, 1668); and
5. Fr. Joaquin Martinez de Zuniga O.S.A. (Historia, 1803).

Content Presentation and Analysis of the Important Historical Information Found in the Document
What’s inside the document?
1. Community ● (Barangay, Leader, Social Stratification)
2. Property
3. Marriage Customs
4. Worship and Religion ● (12 Priests of the Devil)
5. Superstitions
6. Practices in burying the dead
1. Community
Barangay – tribal gathering ruled by chiefs.
It is called a “barangay” because they associate themselves with the “Malay” who are one of the first
people to arrive in the Philippines through a boat in which they call “balangay”.
- Some consisted of around 30 - 100 houses.
- All barangays were equal in terms of status.
Dato
• the chiefs of the village.
• they governed the people as captains even in war
• they were obeyed, and revered; any subject who committed any offense against them, or spoke to
their wives and children, were severely punished.
Social Stratification in the Barangay
Maharlica (nobles)
- • They do not pay tax or tribute to the dato, but must accompany him in war, at their own
expense.
- • He would keep their status for a lifetime.
- Marriages from other social class •
- There are instances that the kids will be divided and they would inherit the status of their
mother or father.
- Condition 1 - Father (Maharlica) – Mother (Commoner) 1 st child, 3rd child, 5th child if there’s
any (odd numbers) – takes the status of the Father
- 2 nd child, 4th child, 6th child if there’s any (even numbers) – takes the status of the Mother
Condition 2 - Mother (Maharlica) – Father (Commoner) 2 nd child, 4th child, 6th child if there’s
any (even numbers) – takes the status of the Mother
- 1 st child, 3rd child, 5th child if there’s any (odd numbers) – takes the status of the Father
Aliping Namamahay (commoners)
- 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 live in their own houses and are lords of their property and gold.

Aliping Sa Guiguilir (slaves)

- 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.

2. Property
- The land area was divided among the whole barangay, especially the irrigated portions.
- No one from a different barangay could cultivate land unless they inherit or buy the land.
- The lands on the tingues, or mountain ridges, are not divided but owned by the barangay as a
whole.
- At the time of rice harvest, any individual (regardless of their barangay) that starts to clear any
land area may sow in it.
3. Marriage Customs
Dowries are given by the men to the women’s parents.
- “bigay kaya” (what one is capable of giving) – land, gold, slaves
- “bigay suso” – is given by the man to the wet nurse for helping the pregnant woman during her
pregnancy.
Dowries are given not to purchase the bride but a material expression to preserve their marriage.
- The man has to serve the bride’s parents for months or for a certain period of time.
The wedding is officiated by the catolonan.
- As part of the wedding ritual, the newly wed would eat rice.
Early Filipinos practice divorce.
In case of a divorce before the birth of the children:
a) if the wife left the husband for the purpose of marrying another, all her dowry and an equal
additional amount fell to the husband.
b) But when she left him and did not marry another, the dowry will still be returned to the husband.
c) 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.
Grounds for divorce
1. Adultery
2. Cruelty
3. Abandonment of the husband
4. Childlessness
5. Insanity
In the case of an adoption, the children would receive double the value of how much they were bought
to be adopted.

RELATION OF THE WORSHIP OF THE TAGALOGS, THEIR GODS, AND THEIR BURIALS AND SUPERSTITIONS
4. Worship and Religion
There were no temples or sacred places in which Filipinos would worship.
The word simbahan means a place to worship which is constructed at a large house of the chief where
people of the tribe go to celebrate festivals (aka pandot or worship)
- Nagaanitos – worship; (anito - soul or spirit of ancestors)
- Sibi – a temporary shed, made on each side of the chief ’s house, for the assembled people.
- Bathala – one of their many idols, whom they specially worshipped
. • They worshipped the sun, the moon, and some, even the stars or a particular dead man with
special capability that fought bravely or protected them in their time of need.
- Lic-ha – idols, which were images with different shapes
• They have different patrons for a specific aspect of their lives.
• They paid reverence to water-lizards called by them buaya or crocodiles for fear of being
harmed by them.
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.
• Their manner of offering sacrifice was to proclaim a feast, and offer to the devil what they had to
eat.
• The objects of sacrifice were goats, fowls, and swine, which were flayed, decapitated, and laid
before the idol.

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 natives also 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.

Sun – almost universally respected and honored because of its beauty;

Moon – they would rejoice, especially when new
Stars – they did not name them except for the morning star, which they called Tala
“Seven little goats” – the Pleiades; a star cluster
Balatic - the Greater Bear constellation
Mapolon - the change of seasons
5. Superstitions
They are 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, of if they chance 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.

In the case of young girls who first had their monthly courses,
• their eyes were blindfolded four days and four nights;
• 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.
12 priests of the Devil
1. Catolonan
- either a man or woman, priest from a people of rank, this office was an honorable one among
the natives, officiates the offering sacrifice for a feast and the food to be eaten being offered to
the devil.
2. Mangagauay
- witches who deceived by pretending to heal the sick, they induced maladies by their charms
which in proportion to the strength and efficacy of withcraft, are capable of causing death.
3. Manyisalat
- same as mangagauay, 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.
4. Mancocolam
- their duty 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.
5. Silagan
- if they saw anyone wearing white, they would tear out his liver and eat it thus, causing his
death. This is also in the island of Catanduanes.
6. Hocloban
- more powerful than mangagauay, they can kill whoever they want by simply saluting or raising
their hand, without using medicine. Also if they wished to destroy the house of someone who
wronged them, they can do so without using instruments. They can heal whom they desired
using their charms. This was in Catanduanes.
7. Magtatanggal
- shows himself at night to many persons, without his head or entrails. In the morning, returned
it to his body, remaining as before alive.
- The natives affirm that they have seen it, because the devil probably caused them to believe.
This happened in Catanduanes.
8. Osuang
- equivalent to a sorcerer, natives have seen him fly and that he murdered men and ate their
flesh. This was among the Visayas region, but in Tagalogs, these did not exist.
9. Mangagayoma
- they made charms for lovers out of herbs, stones and wood which would infuse the heart with
love. They deceive the people, although sometimes, through the intervention of the devil, they
gained their ends.
 10. Sonat
- equivalent to a preacher. They helped people to die. They can also know if the soul they helped
to die can either be saved or not.
11. Pangatahojan
- was a soothsayer and predicted the future.
12. Bayoguin
- signified a “cotquean”, a man whose nature inclined toward that of a woman

Other beliefs
1. Vibit – ghosts
2. Tigbalaang – phantoms
3. Patianac – any woman died in childbirth, she and the child suffered punishment, and that at night,
she could be heard lamenting

Due to Plasencia’s Catholic mindset and the Spanish vengeance to cleanse the lands of “heathens”,
early Filipino’s were trained, forced, and convinced to associate some of these beings with the devil.

The Spaniards were successful in eliminating the belief in deities and de-powering the spiritual
leaders, but they were no match for superstitions.

6. Burying the Dead

In burying the dead, the corpse would be placed beside its house and be mourned at for 4 days.
• It will then be laid on a boat which serves as a coffin which is guarded by a slave.
• The grief of the relatives of the deceased is followed by eating and drinking.

If the deceased had been a warrior, a living slave was tied beneath his body until in this way he died.

The prize of his loyalty was often to die in the same manner as his master.
• So, if the datu died of drowning, the slave would also be killed by drowning. This is because of
onong or the belief that those who belonged to the departed must suffer the same fate.

Natives knew that there was another life of rest which they called maca.
• They say that those who go to this place are the just, the valiant, and those who lived without
doing harm or who possessed moral virtues.
Natives also said that in the other life and mortality, there was a place of punishment, grief and
affliction called casanaan “which was a place of anguish” or hell.

No one would ever go to heaven, where there only dwelt Bathala.

End statement in Fray Plasencia’s Account

“May honor and glory be to God our Lord, that among the Tagalog 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.”

Contribution and Relevance of the Document in Understanding the Grand Narrative of Philippine History
Relevance
- Plasencia’s Customs of the Tagalogs is a very popular primary source because it vividly
described the situation of the Philippines before it was tainted with Spanish and Christian
influences.
- Scholars like it because it covered numerous topics that are relevant in many disciplines.
- Political scientists for instance find it useful because it contains a lot of information about
the social classes, political stratifications and legal system of the Tagalog region.
Moreover, it also talks about property rights, marriage rituals, burial practices and the manner in
which justice is dispensed.

Plasencia also preserved and popularized the unwritten customs, traditions, religious and
superstitious beliefs of the Filipinos.
- One can also say that our historical knowledge about the manananggal, aswang, hukluban,
gayuma, etc. came from Plasencia’s works.

Priests and missionaries also read Plasencia’s Customs of the Tagalogs and Doctrina Christiana
because they get a lot of insights that help and inspire them to become effective evangelizers.
- One insight they got from Plasencia is the realization that one needs to master the local
language and study the culture of the people if you want to be a successful missionary.

Plasencia’s historical writings also disprove the claim of some Spaniards that when they arrived in the
Philippines, the Filipinos were still uncivilized and lacking in culture.
- It is clear in the excerpts from Plasencia’s account at the time he was assigned in the Tagalog
region, Filipinos were already politically and economically organized.

Lastly, Plasencia also mentioned that the people he met were wearing garments, gold ornaments and
their houses were decorated with idols.
- All of these lead to the conclusion that prior to the coming of the Spaniards, Filipinos were
already civilized and maintained a lifestyle that was at par or even better than other countries
in Southeast Asia.