Philippine Cultures Before Foreign Occupations   

Even before the encounter with the West, the ancient Filipinos already possessed own cultures distinguishable from the neighboring countries. Unfortunately, the young people in the present generation do not realize the existence of their ancient cultures before the current established mixed cultures. The lack of awareness of the history of the pre-war period has produced Filipinos who feel inferior with their own cultures to the others and the tendency of dependence on the influence of the mainstream cultures from the West. 

   

There are evidences of the existence of the original Philippine cultures. They are seen in literatures, language, artistic creations, and belief system, not necessarily religion. It was also evident that what the Spanish invaders argued about the Filipinos’ incapability to govern themselves was not true because the Filipinos already had their own political system before they came. As what the Filipino historians always argue that the Filipinos already knew politics, not literally the term but its essence. Aside from it, there were also economic activities the Filipinos operated among themselves.    

Early contacts with the neighbors such as the Chinese in the purpose of dealing with trades took place already, proving to the world that the Spaniards were no good to them. Speaking of the social life, the ancient Filipinos already established social hierarchy or classes and some moral standards. Moreover, they were all responsible for the living mechanisms of the early settlers.  The ancient Filipinos were not also left behind in technology as they had their own development of technology that helped them build their houses, kill wild animals, cut trees, craft stones, sew clothes and many more.      

Stone Tools 

Archaeologists found some stone implements which proved about the primitive culture of the natives. They were used to hunt wild animals such as elephants and rhinoceros for food. Although not properly shaped like swords or daggers, these stones could kill huge wild animals.      

Clothing of Ancient Filipinos 

According to the historians, during their first arrival in the Philippines, the Spaniards found the ancient Filipinos with the clothing that was different from theirs. For male natives, the clothing consisted of both the upper and lower parts of the body. A jacket with short sleeves covered the upper part of the male’s body while the “bahag,” a cloth wound about the waist, passing down between the thighs; was for the lower part (Markham, 1911). For women, they had no upper clothing. In their lower body was a “saya” or skirt. However, in the other place of the country, Visayas, the native women wore “tapis,” a piece of red or white cloth, to cover the breast.    

They had no shoes. They walked about barefooted (Markham, 1911). The native Filipino men wore a headgear locally called “putong,” a piece of cloth wrapped around the head. The “putong” was highly symbolic by color. A red “putong” was worn by a native Filipino who had already killed at least one person in the past while the embroidered version of the “putong” belonged to a Filipino man who had already killed at least seven men (Beyer, 1921).     

Filipinos’ Ornaments 

The Philippines is known for its richness in minerals and precious gems. No doubts about the wearing of ornaments by the ancient Filipinos. The ornaments were mainly made of gold. Armlets called “kalumbiga” were worn by both native men and women. Pendants, bracelets, earrings, leglets, and rings were also made of gold and other precious gems. Among the precious stones, as what is mentioned earlier, gold was the most common. Therefore, this precious gold was not only used as the aforementioned products, but also for making gold teeth to fill in between the teeth. These fillings were primarily made to adorn the teeth (Beyer, 1953).   

Another thing was the Filipinos back then were also fun of tattooing including the face. The women Filipinos tattooed their arms and faces to portray themselves to the society the ideal beauty a single woman must have. For the men, tattooing was more than just a design around the body. It was used as a man’s war record (Zaide, 1997), that is, the more a man was tattooed was the more he was admired and at the same time feared by the people around his community for his bravery in winning battles.    

According also to the first Spanish missionaries who authored books about the ancient Filipinos, the Visayan part of the Philippines had the most tattooed people in the country – the place where Lapu-Lapu, a local cheftain who killed Magellan, a very strong Spanish soldier who circumnavigated the world and reached the country after several victories from wars in Africa and some part of the world. These Visayan people were called “pintados” which meant the painted people.      

The Native Huts 

The ancient houses of the early Filipino settlers were made of bamboo, wood, and nipa palm. The type of house and its materials fit in to the climate of the country. The houses were held above the ground. The lower part of the houses was supported with stakes. Fowls were placed in the enclosure (Worcester, 1914). In order to go up the house, one must pass the ladder.    

Some natives in parts of Mindanao, Philippines resided on the sea. The Bajaus, the Filipino sea dwellers, built houses founded with the boats. They made houseboats because they are a sea-loving people according to the historians.      

The Early Educational System 

Despite the absence of formal schools, the children were taught in their own homes by their parents who happened to be the first teachers. The Spanish Jesuit missionary named Father Pedro Chirino made a testimony that there was hardly a man or a woman who did not know how to read and write. This proved that, again, the Spaniards were wrong in undermining the development capacity of the Filipinos. In fact, there were more educated Filipinos during the pre-Spanish era than during the Spanish colonization.    

The natives already established a writing system called “alibata,” where every letter was pronounced as a syllable. The syllabary consisted of seventeen symbols, three of which are vowels and fourteen are consonants, added by the missionary.  

  

Honestly, there is still about the ancient cultures of the Filipinos needed to be discussed. The early literature of the country has a long history and has a lot of sayings, proverbs, and riddles. Speaking of music and dance, it can cover a whole book only for its discussion. Religious beliefs, on the other hand, were included in the richness of the Philippine cultures.   

Talking of development, other nations do not realize that the Filipinos have already proven their potentials independently in the world of technology and any advancement of Science, but because of the hegemonic cultures of the West, these were vanished and forgotten by most of the young generation in the country. It is not true that without the entry of the Spaniards and the Americans, the Filipinos would be nothing.    

Indeed, they managed to create their own ways of living, which were all like the other development from the other countries. To be short, the minds of the Filipinos can compete to others, including the powerful ones as well as the ancient cultures of the country. 

Reference:

Agoncillo, T. A., History of the Filipino People. 4th ed. Quezon City, 1973. 

Alzona, Encarnacion. A History of Education in the Philippines. Manila: University of the Philippines, 1932. 

Beyer, Henry Otley. “The Philippines before Magellan.” Asia Magazine 21 (November 1921): 924-928 

Chirino. Pedro. Relacion de las Islas Filipinos. Translated by Ramon Echevarria. Manila: Historical Conservation Society, 1969. 

Worcester, Dean C. The Philippines: Past and Present. London: Mills and Boon, Ltd., 1914. Zaide, Gregorio. Philippine History. 1997. 

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