Pre Spanish Period in the

Philippines
 Long before the arrival of the
Spaniards, ancient Filipinos were
living in scattered barangays and
ruled by different chieftains.
Although, they were living separately,
they were similar in many ways, their
religion, mode of dressing, houses,
system of government and marriage
practices and economic activities, in
short, they wee refined and civilized;
they possessed a distinct culture that
distinguish them from other race.
 Houses were made of light
materials like wood, bamboo and nipa
palm. A ladder was placed to prevent
strangers from intruding when the
owner was not around. Strong post at
the lower part of the house was
enclosed. A jar of heart was placed in
a gallery called “batalan”. Some of
them built tree houses to protect
themselves against their enemies or
from being attacked by wild animals.
Dress
• Male clothing- consisted of the upper and
lower parts. The upper part was a jacket with
short sleeves called “kangan” while the lower
part was a strip of cloth wrapped around the
waist and in between the legs called “bahag”.
Males used a piece of cloth or a headgear
called “putong”.- Putong symbolized the
number of persons the wearer had killed.
• Female clothing- they wore “baro or camisa”,
a jacket with sleeves. The lower part was
called “saya”.
Social Classes
• Nobles – who were composed of rulers and their
families, occupied the highest class. They were
usually addressed as Gat, Lakan, Raja or Datu.
• Freemen – were the working class
• Slaves – were classified into two;
*Aliping namamahay – were not full pledge slave. They
had their own respective families and their own
houses. They were required to serve their masters
only during planting and harvesting period.
* Aliping sagigilid – were the real slaves, they were
homeless, forbidden to form their own families,
required to stay in their masters dwelling and they
could be used as a payment for debt.
Government
• The government was called “barangay”.
There was no national government.
There were many independent barangays
and datus. But there was no datu strong
enough to unite the archipelago into one
nation. Some barangays, however, united
to form a confederation. It was headed
by a ruler called datu or raja
Power and Functions of Datu
• Implementing laws.
• Maintaining peace and order.
• Giving protection to his subjects.
• He also made the law, with the assistance
of group of elders who gave advice.(a
newly enacted law was made known to the
public through town crier called
“umalohokan”)
• He acted also as a judge during trial.(it was
easy for the datu to run for the barangay
since the population was verys mall.
Taxation
Ancient Filipinos started the practice
of paying taxes. The purpose of
paying taxes was simple, it was for the
protection they received from the
datu. The collected tax was called
buwis. The chieftain’s family members
were enjoying exemption from paying
taxes. Non-payment of taxes was
already punishable during this period.
Alliances
Like community of nations, alliances
among barangay were formed. The
purpose of forming alliances was for
trade, peace and mutual protection.
An alliance was sealed through blood
compact(sanduguan), to ensure
conformity, sincerity and
commitment of the chieftains.
Trial and Determination of Guilt
Judicial process was influenced by religion. The manner
of determining guilt of the accused showed the
religiosity of the natives. They waited for the
intervention of the deities. Their judicial process was
called trial by ordeal, example;- Holding lighted candles
by the suspected offenders. The man whose candle
died out first would be declared as the culprit.
- Another form of this trial was ordering the suspects to
plunge into deep river with their lances. The first come
to the surface would be adjudged as the guilty party.
- Datu served as chief judge who was assisted by group
of elders in the barangay that acted as members of the
jury.
Courtship and Marriage
The man was required to give a dowry. “Bigay-kaya” –
was the type of dowry consisted of a piece of land or
gold. The groom’s parent gave a gift called
“panghimuyat”.
“himaraw” – was another payment for raising the future
bride during her infancy period, to be paid by the
groom’s parent also. Including the bride’s wet nurse
received a share of dowry; it was called “bigay-suso”.
Mixed marriage, that was marriage between couples
belonging to different social classes were not
common. Early Filipinos practiced divorce. Several
grounds of divorce were:1. Adultery 2.Abandonment
on the part of the husband3. Cruelty4. And insanity.
Religious Beliefs
Before Roman Catholism and Islam were introduced,
natives worshipped many gods and goddesses.
Bathala – supreme being Idiyanale – god of agriculture
Sidapa – god of death Agni – god of fire
Balangaw – god of rainbow Mandarangan – god of war
Lalahon – god of harvest Siginarugan – god of hell

They also believed in the immortality of souls and life after

death. There were sacred animals, which they venerate like
white monkey, manaul (bird) and crocodiles. There were
also sacred place and sacred trees, which nobody was
allowed to cut down. They also worshipped the sun and the
moon. Regular sacrifices and prayers were offered to
placate deities and spirits. Reward and punishment after
death was dependent upon behavior in this life.
Liadlaw- the Sun God Libulan- Goddess of the Moon
Magwayen- Goddess
of Death

Lalahon-Goddess of
harvest, guardian
of volcanoes
Burigadang Pada
Sinaklang Bulawan-
Goddess of Greediness
and Vengeance

Lidagat- Goddess of the

Sea.
Lihangin- Goddess of
the Wind

Ribung Linti- God of

Thunder and
Lightning
Barangaw- God of
Rainbow

Ynaguiguinid-
Goddess of War
Superstitious Beliefs
Natives believed in;
aswang (witch),
dwende (tiny creatures like humans)
kapre (tall and apelike creatures smoking cigarettes,
usually found on trees,
mangkukulam (an old lady capable of harming others
using a doll and a pin)
tikbalang (half-man and half-horse creature)
tiyanak (a baby that sucks blood on human.
They also believed in magical power of amulets and
charms such as anting-anting, kulam and the use of
gayuma or lovepotion.
Ornaments
The natives wore ornament made of
gold and precious stones. Women
including men wore armlet, leg lets,
bracelets, gold rings and earring.
Putting tattoos in their body was
practiced. Males having many tattoos
were admired because it signified
bravery in war. They also inserted gold
between their teeth as an ornament.
Education
To transmit knowledge, it was acquired
through observation, imitation and practice.
There was no formal education during pre-
Spanish period. Children were taught to read
and write by their parents. It was fair to say
that they were literate. The purpose of
education during their time was for survival.
Their father on hunting animals taught males,
fishing, agriculture and other economic
activities while their mothers in managing the
household taught females.
Economic life
Domestic trade of different barangays
from different regions and islands were
made possible using boats. Foreign
trade was carried on with countries
like Borneo, China, Japan, Cambodia,
Java and Siam(Thailand).Other means
of livelihood were ship
building,weaving, poultry raising,
mining, weaving and lumbering.
Music
Natives were without a doubt, music lovers.
Each community had their own sets of
musical instrument. In the account of
Pigafetta, the official historian of Magellan
expedition, women from Cebu were
harmoniously playing- cymbals (plantiles)-
nose flutes, bamboo mouth organs (aphiw)-
brass gong (gansa)- flute (bansic)- long drum
(colibao)- bamboo harp (subing)- water
whistle (paiyak)- guitar (bugtot)- xylophone
(agong)- drum (tugo).
Dances
The most ancient dances could be traced
to the wardance in order to incite the
“warlike” enthusiasm of the natives. They
danced primarily to please their gods,
anitos and the spirit who it was believed,
were always jealous of the action of the
natives. Their dance could be described as
the pantomimes today. They also danced
during festivals and other merry-making
occasions.
Language and System of Writing
Eight are considered major languages,
namely: Tagalog,Ilocos, Pangasinan,
Pampangan, Sugbuhanon, Hiligaynon,
Magindanaw, Samarnon, They also had
their system of writing. The ancient
Filipinos alphabet consisted of three
vowels and fourteen consonants. Natives
wrote on many different materials; leaves,
palm fronds, tree bark and fruit rinds, but
the most common material was bamboo.
Literature
The early form of literature during pre-
Spanish period was classified into
written or oral. Examples of oral
literature consisted of;-maxims (sabi)-
Bugtong (riddles)-Boat song (talindaw)-
Victory songs (tagumpay)-Lullaby
(uyayi)-Wedding song (ihiman)-War
song (kumintang) etc. Examples of
written literature are;-Biag ni Lam-Ang
(Ilocano epic)-Indarapatra at Sulayman
and Bidasari (Muslim Epics)-Handiong
(Bicolanos).
THANK YOU!