CUSTOMS OF

THE TAGALOGS
By: Group 2
Wrote the Custom's of the Tagalogs that
highlights the importance of conducting
context and content analysis.
Was born in the early 16th century as Juan
Portocarrero in Plasencia, in the region of
Extremadura, Spain.
Franciscan missionary who lived and
observed the Tagalog region from 1578-
1590.
He died in Liliw, Laguna in 1590.
Introduction:

1. How Tagalog people lived before the Spanish came.

2. Who were their leaders and how they ruled their communities.
3. The different kinds of people in their society — like chiefs,
workers, and slaves.
4. The laws and rules they followed to solve problems.
5. Their beliefs about gods, spirits, and nature.
6. How they got married and built families.
7. What kind of work they did, and how they traded or exchanged goods.
8. Their special traditions like songs, stories, and funerals.
It’s a report written in 1589 by a Spanish priest named Juan de
Plasencia. He described how the Tagalog people (in Luzon,
Philippines) lived before the Spanish came. It tells us about their way
of life, beliefs, and rules.The Customs of the Tagalogs (original Spanish
title: "Costumbres de los tagalos") is a significant historical document
written in 1589 by Juan de Plasencia, a Spanish friar and missionary. It
provides one of the earliest and most detailed accounts of the pre-
colonial culture, society, and governance of the Tagalog people in the
Philippines.
1. Social Structure
2. Law and Justice
3. Religion and belief
4. Marriage and Family
5. Work and trade
6. Culture and tradition
 CHIEF SOCIAL STRUCTURE
(DATU)

NOBLES
(MAHARLICA)

COMMONERS
(ALIPING NAMAMAHAY

SLAVES
(SA GUIGUILIR)
Leader of the community, town or
barangay. They were captains in the
wars. The subject who committed
any offense against them was
severely punished.
Free born, they do not pay taxes or
tribute to the dato, but must
accompany him in war.
They are the warrior class.
They would provide protection to
the barangay.
They are married, and serve their
master, whether he be a dato or not.
They accompanied him whenever
he went beyond the island. The
children then enjoy the rank of their
fathers.
 They serve their master in his house
and on his cultivated lands, and
may be sold.
A person becomes slave by:
- captivity in war, reason of debts , by
inheritanc, by purchase, by commiting a
crime
Slaves can be emancipated through:
-by forgiveness, by paying debt, by
condonation and by marriage .
 The Maharlikas were considered a noble class. Individuals who were
Maharlikas on both their father's and mother's side would remain
Maharlikas forever, unless they became slaves through marriage. If a
Maharlika had children with one of their own slaves, both the child and
the mother would be set free. However, if a Maharlika had children
with a slave belonging to someone else, the slave woman would be
required to give her master half a tael of gold due to:
- The risk of death associated with childbirth
- Her inability to work during pregnancy
Punishment for Offenses
Death penalty: Imposed on those who merited it, including
witches.
Slavery: Imposed on accomplices of witches, who became
slaves of the chief after compensation was made to the injured
person.
No slavery for lesser offenses: Only those who deserved the
death penalty could be condemned to slavery, but in the case of
witches, their accomplices could become slaves.
Punishment by Fines:
Most offenses were punished
by fines in gold.
 Marriage Customs
In the case of a divorce, if the would leave her
husband for the sake of marrying another man, all
her belongings plus a certain amount would be
given to her former husband however, if she chooses
to leave and do not have any plans to marry, then all
of her dowry will be returned to her.
In the case of an adoption, the children would receive double the value
of much they were bought to be adopted;
Investigation and sentences for the accused shall be presented and
read in front of the tribe.
If the latter are living, they enjoy the 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.
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.
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
aservant, to be which would be the greatest satisfaction and favor that I could
receive. (Nagcarlan, October 21, 1589)
1. 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.
2. 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.
3.The third they 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.
4.The fourth was called MANCOCOLAM, whose duty it was to emit fire
from himself at night, once or oftener each month.
5.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.
6.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.
7.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 - remaining, as before, alive.
8.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.
9.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.
10.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.
11.The eleventh, PANGATAHOJAN, was a soothsayer, and predicted the future. This
office was general in all the islands.
12. The twelfth, BAYOGUIN, signified a" cotquean," a man whose nature
inclined toward that of a woman.
• These 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.
Aetas" and "Negritos" are essentially the same, referring to a group of
indigenous peoples in the Philippines, specifically those with hunter-
gatherer backgrounds, known for their dark skin, curly hair, and small
stature.
MACA - Paradise (with moral virtus)

CASANAAN - place of anguish where standwett

BATHALA - the maker of all things

CATOLONAN - sort of shop who ordained priestesses

VIBIT- a ghost
- women died in childbirth

TIGBALAANG - Phantoms

PATIANAC - She and the child suffered punishment