aside from rice, their food consisted of carabao meat, pork, chickens, sea turtles, fish, bananas and other fruits and vegetables. They cooked their food in earthen pots or in bamboo tubes. They ate with their fingers, using banana plants as plates and coconut shells as drinking cups. Made fire to cook their food by rubbing two pieces of dry wood which when heated, produced a tiny flame. They stored their drinking water in big earthen jars or in huge clean bamboo tubes. Tuba - popular wine which was made from coconut. Other wines being manufactured was basi (an Ilocano wine made from sugarcane); pangasi (Bisayan wine made from fermented rice); lambanog (tagalog wine taken from the coconut palm); and the tapuy (an Igorot wine distilled from rice). ii - MODE OF DRESSING Men Wore a collarless, Short-sleeve jacket called kangan and strip cloth, called bahag wrapped around the waist and in between legs. Kangan reached slightly below the waist o It was dyed (tining) either in blue or black, except that of the chief which was red. Men use the putong, a piece of cloth wound around the head. They had jewels, (gold necklaces, gold armlets called kalombigas and the anklets filled with agates, carnelians and other colored glass). Women Wore a wide-sleeved jacket called baro. Their skirt was called patadyong. o it was a piece of cotton cloth which they wrapped about their waists and let fall to their feet. Jewels consisted of gold necklaces, gold bracelets, large gold earrings, and gold rings. Men and Women went barefoot and inserted gold between their teeth as an ornament. iii - TATTOOS Tattoos served 2 purposes: 1. To enhance their bodily beauty 2. To show their war record. The more a man warrior had killed in a battle, the more tattooed he was. Women have less tattooed than men. iv HOUSE Houses were made of wood, bamboo, and palm leaves. Each house had a bamboo ladder that could be drawn up at night or when the family was out. Batalan - this is where jars of water were kept for household purposes. Some of them lived in tree-houses (house built on the top of trees) for better protection from enemies Badjaos - (sea-gypsies) of the Sulu Sea still live in boat-houses, as their forefathers did. v - NATURAL COURTESY and POLITENESS early Filipinos were courteous and polite o when two persons of equal rank met on the road, they removed their putong (turban) as a sign of courtesy o when a person addressed his superior, he took off his putong, put it over his left shoulder like a towel, and bowed low, He addressed his superior with the word 'po', which is equivalent to 'sir'. he spoke in polite language When walking, women walks ahead, and the men followed behind. vi - CLEANLINESS and NEATNESS Filipinos were clean and neat in their personal habits. they bathed daily They washed their hair regularly with gugo and water. They anointed it coconut oil and other lotions They washed mouth and clean their teeth. They chewed buyo which made their teeth colored but strong. They kept their homes clean. Father Francisco Collin said "they keep a vessel full of water at the door of every home, and every person, whether belonging to the house or not, upon entering, takes water from the vessel and washes his feet, especially during the rainy season." vii - AMUSEMENTS they held banquets to celebrate a good harvest, a wedding, a religious sacrifice, and a victory in a war These banquets were celebrated with much eating drinking, singing, and dancing. Other forms of amusements are: games as carabao races, wrestling, fencing, boat races, and stone-throwing contests. viii - MUSIC They had various musical instruments and numerous dances and songs for different occasions. among their musical instruments were : kudyapi - tagalog guitar kalaleng - tinggian nose-flute kulintang - moro xylophone tultogan - bisayan bamboo drum silbay - Ilocano reed flute surcan - subanum cymbal Folk dances of the early Filipinos were charming. kumintang - tagalog love dance mahinhin - tagalog courtship dance dandansoy - bisayan tuba dance paujalay - moro wedding dance tadok - tinggian love dance their songs expressed all aspects of life - love, war, labor, religion, and death tagumpay - tagalog song of victory dallu - Negrito religious song ayog-ku - igorot serenade song bactal - tagbanua death song dallot - ilocano ballad song kuilay-kuilay - tingian wine song tudob - agusan harvest song ix - MARRIAGE CUSTOMS it is customary for them to marry within their rank However, there was no strict prohibition against intermarriages between the nobility and the commoner and between the rich and the poor. Before marriage: The groom gave a dowry (bigaykaya) to the family of the bride. it consisted of gold, land, slaves, or anything else of value. the groom had to work in the house of the girl for a certain period of time They already practiced divorced. The grounds for divorce were: adultery on the part of the wife desertion on the part of the husband loss of affection cruelty insanity childlessness x - The WEDDING CEREMONY On the day of the wedding: wedding ceremony would take place at the groom's house The friends of the groom went to bride's house to bring her to the home of the groom. The priestess, joined the hands of the couple over a bowl of uncooked rice and pronounced them man and wife. xi - GOVERNMENT Barangay - a Hispanized form of the Malayan word balangay, which means "sailboat". they applied the name barangay to their settlement in honor of the sailboat that brought them to Philippine shores Each barangay consisted of about 100 families. Ruler of barangay was called datu. he was also known a hari or raja in time of peace, he was the chief executive, legislator, and judge in war, he was the commander of the barangay warriors He usually obtained his position by inheritance. His son will inherit the datuship, if the datu dies. If the datu died childless, the barangay chose a man to be the datu on the basis of his wisdom, physical strength, or wealth. xii - LAWS ORAL laws: customs (ugali) of the race which were handed down orally from generation to generation Lubluban - a woman, legendry law-giver the great granddaughter of the first man and woman of the world WRITTEN laws: were promulgated by the datus with the help of the elders, and were put into writing Written laws were announced to the people by a barangay crier known as umalahokan. These laws were put on the barks of trees, wood, leaves or cloth. Code of Kalantiaw - a well-known code of laws supposedly given by Datu Kalantiaw of Aklan in 1433 is a clever hoax. The hoax was done by Jose E. Marco, an antique collector from Negros Occidental who gave the document to James E. Robertson of the National Library in 1914. It could not be authentic because of its suspicious origin, the strange writing and modern words in the text, and the un-Filipino harshness of its laws (e.g. flogging, exposure to ants, swimming for hours). xiii - RELIGION
Ancient Filipinos were pagans. Their supreme God was Bathala, creator of heaven, earth, and men. early Filipinos worshipped ancestral spirits called anitos (Tagalog) or diwatas (Bisayan) Sacrifices called maganito were offered. Sacrifices were performed by a priest or priestess called katalona or baylana. They believed in life after death xiv -BURIAL and MOURNING CUSTOMS In burying their dead, the corpse was embalmed and was buried amidst deep sorrow ner his home, in cave, or on a headland overlooking the sea. During the period of mourning, relatives wore rattan bands around their necks, arms, and legs. They abstained from eating meat and drinking wine. larao - mourning custom for deceased datu no colored clothes were worn by the grieving people all wars and quarrels were suspended singing in boats returning from the sea was prohibited All warriors carried their spears with their tips pointed downward and their daggers with hilts reversed. xv - SUPERSTITIONS They believed in witches, such has the asuang who assumed the form of a dog, a bird, or any other animal mangkukulam - who caused people to die or to be sick by pricking a toy with his magic pin tianak - who sucked the baby's entrails by means of his elongated proboscis tikbalang - who appeared in the form of a dog, a horse, or an old man to deceive his victims They believed in the magical power of amulets or charms, such as the: anting-anting - which was believed to make its possessor invulnerable to iron weapons gayuma - a love potion which can arouse an adamant woman's affection odom - a Bicol magic herb which makes its possessor invisible to the human eye ouija- Bisayan charm which enables any man to cross a river without getting wet xvi LANGUAGES Early Filipinos had different languages and dialects. All of them originated from a common linguistic source - the Malayo-Polynesian language, the mother tongue of the Pacific races. xvii - WRITING Early Filipinos used sharp pointed iron instrument called sipol as pen. they wrote on banana leaves, tree-barks, and bamboo tubes the direction of their writing was from left to right ancient alphabet consisted of three vowels and 14 consonants xiii - LITERATURE ORAL literature - 1. myths and legends which recounted of the world and the origin of man, woman, and other creatures 2. songs and poems which chanted the deeds of their gods and heroes 3. fables, proverbs (sawikain) and riddles (bugtong) Darangan of the Maranaws and the Ilim and the Hud-hud of the Ifugaos are examples of the existing specimens of ancient oral poetry WRITTEN literature - tarsilas - surviving pre-Spanish specimen. It is a Muslim genealogy of Mindanao and Sulu. xix - EDUCATION They had I NFORMAL SYSTEM OF EDUCATI ON The children studied in their own homes with their parents or with some old men in the barangay as tutors. they were taught how to read, write, perform simple arithmetic operation, the use of weapons, lubus (art of acquiring amulets and talismans) and tribal customs Boys - were trained to be warriors, hunters, fisherman, farmers, mariners and craftsmen. girls - were taught household chores xx - ARTS Arts were part of their cultural heritage Architecture bahay-kubo- style of home their houses of bamboo, wood , nipa, and palm-leaves which were cool, cozy, and suitable shelters Painting - was shown in their ancient tattoo art. o the used of dagger or knife as brush, black soot and jungle spas as colors, and human body as canvas Sculptors carved statues in wood, clay, gold, and ivory. o Statues were called likha (in Tagalog) or landang (Bicol), were made in memory of their anitos or ancestors. o they also made fine carvings on the handles of daggers, krises, bolos, and knives xxi - SCIENCES They possessed some knowledge of science. they knew curative value of medicinal plants and herbs medical men - had herbs as antidotes for all kinds of poison medical lore - was associated with religion and magic they knew astronomy also engineering - construct forts(kuta) irrigation ditches and rice terraces could perform arithmetic operation Native name for numerals: o isa (one) o puo (ten) o daan (hundred) o libo (thousand) o angao (one million) o kati (ten million) o gahala (one hundred million) xxii - WEIGHTS and MEASURES Early Filipinos had their own weights and measures. Weighting things: o talaro - a kind of balance scale. Measures of capacity: o kaban - (25 gantas) o salop - (one ganta) o kaguitna - (one-half ganta) o gatang - (one chupa) Measures of length: o dipa - the length between the tip of the thumb and that of the middle finger when extended. o tumuro - the length between the tip of the thumb and that of forefinger when extended o sandamak - the width of the hand with the five fingers pressed together o sandali - the width of one finger xxiii - CALENDARS Early calendars of the Bisayans contained seven days in a week and twelve months a year. each of the 12 months contained 30 days, except the last month which had 26 days or total of 365 days a year. Ifugao calendars contains 13 months a year, each having 28 days The Ifugao have a tribal keeper called tumunoh, 13 strings representing the 13 months of the year. xxiv COINAGE Early Filipinos knew the art of coinage. Several specimens of their ancient coins were found in jars (GUI's) which had been excavated in Bataan and Manila. coins were: o Cone-shaped gold pieces, usually bearing the imprint of the Malayan letter M on their flat bases. o They are called piloncitos by local numismatists, or collectors of coins. xxv - DOMESTIC and FOREIGN TRADE Domestic trade was carried on by means of BARTER. Captain Miguel de Loarca said: "Filipinos of the inland region exchanged their rice and cotton for fish, salt, and other products raised by the dwellers of coastal district" The usual method of trading with foreign merchants was by barter in which they offered their own products in exchange for the products of other countries. Chao Ju-kua (1225) and Wng Tayuan (1349), Chinese writers observed that they were honest in their commercial transaction xxvi - AGRICULTURE and INDUSTRIES Farming was the main industry of ancient Filipinos. Two methods of cultivation were used: 1. Kaingin method - in which the land was cleared by setting fire to the shrub s and bushes, after which holes were bored in the ground with pointed sticks and seeds were then planted there. 2. Regular means of tillage using wooden plows and harrows drawn by carabaos. Other industries of early Filipinos were fishing, mining, lumbering, weaving, mea work, making tools and weapons, and manufacturing of wines, rising of poultry and stock, tanning and shipbuilding.