Pre-Colonial Philippines/Life

and Culture of the Early

Filipinos before coming of
the Spaniards
Pre-Colonial Filipino
Civilization
During the early period thousand years ago, the
early Filipinos were composed of different
groups that came from different part of Asia.
With different groups they form their own
community, system of education and religious
belief.
Political / Government
Political / Government
Before the Spaniards came into the Philippines there
were existing culture of the Filipinos which were not
distinguished by most of the Filipinos citizens. The
Filipinos lived in settlements called barangays before
the colonization of the Philippines by the Spaniards. As
the unit of government, a barangay consisted from 30 to
100 families. It was headed by a Datu and was
independent from the other group.
Political / Government
Usually, several barangays settled near each other to
help one another in case of war or any emergency. The
position of datu was passed on by the holder of the
position to the eldest son or, if none, the eldest daughter.
However, later any member of the barangay could be
chieftain, based on his talent and ability. He had the
usual responsibilities of leading and protecting the
members of his barangay.
Political / Government
In turn, they had to pay tribute to the datu, help
him till the land, and help him fight for the
barangay in case of war. In the old days, a datu
had a council of elders to advise him, especially
whenever he wanted a law to be enacted. The law
was written and announced to the whole barangay
by a town crier, called the umalohokan.
Political / Government
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 sanduguan. Conflicts
between or among barangays were settled by
violence; those who win by force is always right.
Society / Culture
Society / Culture
During the pre-colonial time there was an indigenous
spiritual traditions practiced by the people in the
Philippines. Generally, for lack of better terminology
prehistoric people are described to be animistic.
Their practice was a collection of beliefs and cultural
mores anchored in the idea that the world is inhabited by
spirits and supernatural entities, both good and bad, and
that respect to be accorded to them through nature
worship thus; they believed that their daily lives has a
connection of such beliefs.
Society / Culture
These spirits are said to be the anito or diwata that they
believed to be good and bad. The good spirits were
considered as there relatives and the bad were believed to
be their enemies. Some worship specific deities like
Bathala a supreme god for the Tagalog, Laon or Abba for
the Visayan, Ikasi of Zambal, Gugurang for the people of
Bicol and Kabunian of Ilocano and Ifugao. Aside from
those supreme deities they also worship other gods like
Idialao as god of farming, Lalaon of harvest, Balangay
god of rainbow and Sidapa god of death.
Society / Culture
Others also worship the moon, stars, caves,
mountains, rivers, plants and trees. Some creatures
are being worship too like the bird, crow, tortoise,
crocodile and other things they believed has value
and connected to their lives. The variation of
animistic practices occurs in different ethnic groups.
Magic, chants and prayers are often key features.
Society / Culture
Its practitioners were highly respected (and some
feared) in the community, as they were healers,
midwife (hilot), shamans, witches and warlocks
(mangkukulam), babaylans, tribal historians and
wizened elders that provided the spiritual and
traditional life of the community. In the Visayas
region there is a belief of witchcraft (kulam) and
mythical creatures like aswang and Nuno sa Punso.
Society / Culture
During this pre-colonial era historians have found
out that the “Barong Tagalog” (dress of the Tagalog)
already existed. The earliest Baro or Baro ng
Tagalog was worn by the natives of Ma-I (the
Philippines name before) just before they were
colonized by the Spaniards. The men wore a sleeve-
doublet made of Canga (rough cotton) that reached
slightlybelow the waist. It is collarless with a front
opening.
Society / Culture
Their loins were covered with apane that hung
between the legs and mid-thigh. The women also
wore a sleeve dress but shorter than the men. They
also wear apane attached to the waist and reaching
to the feet accented by a colourful belt. The
materials used for their dress is of fine line or Indian
Muslin.
Society / Culture
The Visayan men wore a jacket with a Moorish
style rob, that reach down their feet and was
embroidered in beautiful colours. Tagalog and
Visayan men bound their temples and forehead with
a “putong” (a narrow strips of clothe).They also
wore gold jewellery and other accessories to
beautify their bodies.
Society / Culture
During the early period almost everyone in the society-
male or female knows how to read and write. They have
their own method of writing which they use sharp-pointed
tools, leaves, bamboo and trunk’s skin. They write from
top to bottom and read it from left to right. Accordingly
they have their Alibata which script is different from
China, Japan and India. This account was told by one of
the first Spanish missionaries who came in the
Philippines, Fr. Pedro Chirino.
Society / Culture
Another account proved after the discovery of a jar in
Calatagan, Batangas. This system of writing came from
the alphabet of Sumatra. The first Visayan, Tagalog,
Ilocano and some ethic groups have their own dialect and
form of writing too. They have an alphabet composed of
17 letters; 3 of which are vowels and 14 are consonants.
The Muslims have also their own system basing on there
dialect. This is called kirim of Maranao and jiwi of the
Tausug, which they are still using.
Society / Culture
Social Classes Before the coming of Spanish colonizers,
the people of the Philippine archipelago had already
attained a semicommunal and semislave social system in
many parts and also a feudal system in certain parts,
especially in Mindanao and Sulu, where such a feudal
faith as Islam had already taken roots. The Aetas had the
lowest form of social organization, which was primitive
communal.
Society / Culture
The society was made up of three classes:
• Nobles (made up of the datu and their families)
• Mahadlika or Maharlika (freemen)
• Alipin or Dependents

Members of the nobility were addressed with the title Gat

or Lakan among Tagalogs.
Society / Culture
Alipin or Dependents acquired their status by
inheritance, captivity, purchase, failure to settle
debts, or by committing crime.

There were two kinds of Alipin:

• Aliping namamahay
• Aliping sagigilid
Economic Life
Economic Life
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.
Economic Life
Agricultural productivity was enhanced by use of
irrigation ditches like those found in the Ifugao, the
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.
Economic Life
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
Economic Life
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.
Economic Life
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.
Economic Life
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.
Economic Life
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.
Economic Life
Trading
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.
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