Lesson 1: Culture of the Early Filipinos

At the end of the lesson, the learners are able to:

• Explain the early customs and tradition and their influences to the daily lives of the early Filipinos

• Compare the early beliefs with present beliefs to explain what were changed and what were retained

Our ancestors believed in one god whom they called Bathala. For them, he is the creator of the earth; thus, he is superior from other gods. They worshipped him by offering gifts and prayers to ask for grace and answers to their petitions. They also have minor gods such as Idiyanale, the god of agriculture; Magwayen, the goddess of the sea and the underworld; Agni, the god of fire; and many other deities.

The ancient Filipinos adored idols called anito in Tagalog and diwata in Visayan. These anitos could either be good or bad. Our ancestors offered sacrifices and prayers to gain the goodwill or appease the anger of these spirits. These offerings and sacrifices were performed by priests and priestesses called babaylan or katalona which consisted of food, wine, pigs, and gold.

The early Filipinos believed that all objects had spirits. Even inanimate objects such as rocks, mountains, trees, lakes, and natural phenomena such as wind, thunder, and fire were believed to have spirits and became objects of worship.

Our ancestors also believed in the immortality of the soul and life after death. They kept the memory of their dead relatives alive by carving idols made of stone, gold, or ivory which they called likha or larawan.

Traditionally, the early Filipinos married within their social class. However, there was no rigid prohibition against intermarriages between a noble and a freeman or a freeman and a slave.

As a condition to a marriage, the man gave the following to the family of the bride:

1. The bigay-kaya, which literally means “what one is capable of giving,” consisted of land, gold, or slaves. The bigay-kaya was a material expression to preserve marriage. In cases of separation, when the husband causes it, he loses the bigay-kaya. If the wife is at fault, then her parents return it.

2. Panghimuyat, a certain amount given to the bride-to-be’s parents as payment for the mother’s rearing of the woman.

3. Bigay-suso, a form of payment given to the woman’s wet nurse for feeding her during infancy.

4. Himaraw, a sum of money given to the woman’s parents as reimbursement for the amount they spent in feeding her during infancy. The groom also serves the bride’s parents for months or for a certain period of time. He fetches water, chops woods, or feeds the animals of the woman’s family. He also helps the woman’s father with farming.cultivating their lands and planting crops were better solutions for their basic needs.  They used their vast lands to raise major crops, such as rice, corn, coconut, sugarcane, banana, and root crops.  They also used  the mountain ranges for farming.  A good piece of evidence is the Banaue Rice Terraces.  Then they began staying in one place to wait for their crops to grow, they built permanent houses that eventually led to the establishment of communities.

Our ancestors were very respectful to their dead because they believed in life after death and the immortality of the soul. They usually dressed their dead relatives in fine garments with gold, precious stones, and gems. They placed their dead in wooden coffins and buried them under or near their houses, or near the sea or seashore. In secondary burials, the bones were placed in big jars complete with precious jewels and gold.

The relatives of the dead wore rattan bands around their necks, arms, and legs during mourning. The people of Luzon wore white garments and abstained from eating meat and drinking wine.

Mourning for a datu was called laraw; for a dead man, maglahe; and for a dead woman, morotal. When a datu died, his/her death was immediately relayed to the whole barangay. Wars and quarrels stopped, spears were carried with tips pointing downward, knives with hilts were reversed, and singing in boats coming from the sea and wearing of colored and bold clothes were not allowed.

Language

There are hundreds of languages and dialects in the Philippines, but only eight of these are considered major languages. These are Tagalog, Ilocano, Pangasinan, Kapampangan, Bikol, Cebuano, Hiligaynon (Ilonggo), and Waray. Almost all these languages originated from the Malayo-Polynesian language, the mother tongue of the Malay and Pacific races.

System of Writing

Even before the Spaniards came, the early Filipinos already had a syllabary. This syllabary called was believed to be of Arabic or Sanskrit origin. It consists of 17 symbols wherein three are considered vowels, and the remaining 14 are consonants.

Our ancestors wrote on barks of trees, leaves, and bamboo tubes. They used daggers, knives, iron, or pointed sticks as pens and sap of trees as ink. Unfortunately, very few of these writings still exist today because of acts of nature and the Spaniards who destroyed them to propagate Christianity.