READINGS ON PHILIPPINE HISTORY

TOPIC 2: 16TH -18th CENTURY PHILIPPINES

List of Reading Materials:
1. Customs of the Tagalogs
2. Recopilacion de Leyes de losReinos de las Indias
3. Historia de los Padres Dominicosen las Islas Filipinas y en sus Misiones del Japon,
China, Tung-kin y Formosa
4. Historia General de Filipinas: Conquistasespirituales y temporales de
estosespañolesdominios, establecimientosprogresos, y decadencias
5. Relacion de las Islas Filipinas
6. Relacion de las Islas Filipinas
7. Practica del Ministerio
8. Conspiracy Against the Spaniards (1588)
9. Insurrections by Filipinos in the Seventeenth Century
10. La Democracia
INTRODUCTION FOR 16TH -18TH CENTURY PHILIPPINES

The 16th to the 18th centuries under Spain are hereby encapsulated in ten excerpts coming
from various documents written by Spaniards. The theme of the readings focus mainly on the
situation of the Filipinos from the time of the early encounter until their actions towards the
end of the 18th century which gave way to the different developments of the 19th. Although
written by Spanish missionaries, the contents show the daily life and culture of the Filipinos
during the Spanish colonial period.
The first is an excerpt of the Plasencia’sCostumbres de losTagalos which describe the
different facets Tagalog everyday life. This is followed by a summarized translation of the
laws regarding the method of Reducción used in the New World and the Philippines. The
third excerpt is a description made by Dominican missionaries on the Aetas in different parts
of Luzon. This shows a general impression which could be duplicated as to how Filipinos
were perceived by the Spaniards. The fourth excerpt is a brief account/anecdote on the
conversion of Filipinos to Christianity. Readings five and six are from the Jesuit Pedro
Chirino speaking about the daily life of the Tagalogs and their language. These show the
efforts of the Spanish missionaries to understand the Filipinos and the complexity of the
Filipinos’ culture and society.
Reading seven is from the Practica del Ministerio of Tomas Ortiz describing some basic
tenets of the prehispanic Philippine religion. The description shows the dynamics the
conversion to Christianity as well as the everyday life of Filipinos engaging the missionaries.
Readings eight, nine and ten are accounts of three rebellions starting among the datus of
Tondo, to the rebellions of Tamblot and Bankaw in the Visayas until the Agricultural Revolt
of 1745.

Customs of the Tagalogs

Juan de Plasencia is a Franciscan friar who ministered in the Philippines from 1578
until his death in around 1590. Originally from Plasencia in Extremadura Spain, he is
acknowledged as the founder of numerous towns in Luzon using the method of
reducción. He also authored books on language and the famous Doctrina Cristiana
published posthumously in 1593 and is the first book printed in the Philippines. The
following is an excerpt of his long ethnography on the Tagalogs having been assigned in
the Tagalog provinces of Bulacan, Laguna, Morong (Rizal) and Tayabas (Quezon). The
reading discusses the social, political, economic and cultural setup of the Tagalogs at the
period of early contact with the Spaniards. Plasencia documented the different social
classes and their particular functions in the early Philippine society.

Excerpt:

This people always had chiefs, called by them datos, who governed them and were
captains in their wars, and whom they obeyed and reverenced. The subject who committed
any offense against them, or spoke but a word to their wives and children, was severely
punished.
These Chiefs ruled over but few people; sometimes as many as a hundred houses,
sometimes even less than thirty. This tribal gathering is called in Tagalo a barangay. It was
inferred that the reason for giving themselves this name arose from the fact (as they are
classed, by their language, among the Malay nations) that when they came to this land, the
head of the barangay, which is a boat, thus called became a dato. And so, even at the present
day, it is ascertained that this barangay in its origin was a family of parents and children,
relations and slaves. There are many of these barangays in each town, or, at least, on account
of war, they did not settle far from one another. They were not, however, subject to one
another, except in friendship and relationship. The chiefs, in their various wars, helped one
another with their respective barangays.
In addition to chiefs, who corresponded to our knights, there were three castes:
nobles, commoners and slaves. The nobles were the free-born whom they call maharlica.
They did not pay tax or tribute to the dato, but must accompany him in war, at their own
expense. The chief offered them beforehand a feast, and afterward they divided the spoils.
Moreover, when the dato went upon the water those whom he summoned rowed for him. If
he built a house, they helped him, and had to be fed for it. The same was true when the whole
barangay went to clear up his lands for tillage. The lands which they inhabited were divided
among the whole barangay, especially the irrigated portion, and thus each one knew his own.
No one belonging to another barangay would cultivate them unless after purchase or
inheritance. The lands of the tingues, or mountain ridges, are not divided, but owned in
common by the barangay. Consequently, at the time of the rice harvest, any individual of
any particular barangay, although he may have come from some other village, if he
commences to clear any land may sow it, and no one can compel him to abandon it. There are
some villages, as for example, Pila de la Laguna, which these nobles, or maharlicas, paid
annually to the dato a hundred gantas of rice. The reason of this was that, at the time of their
settlement there, another chief occupied the lands, which the new chief, upon his arrival,
bought with his own gold; and therefore, the members of his barangay paid him for the land,
and he divided it, among those whom he saw fit to reward. But now, since the advent of the
Spaniards, it is not so divided.
The commoners are called aliping namamahay. They are married, and serve their
master, whether he be a dato or not, with half of their cultivated lands, as was agreed upon in
the beginning. They accompanied him whenever he went beyond the island, and rowed for
him. They live in their own houses, and are lords of their property and gold. Their children
inherit it, and enjoy their property and lands. The children, then, enjoy the rank of their father,
and they cannot be made slave (saguiguilir) nor can either parents or children be sold. If they
should fall by inheritance into the hands of a son of their master who was going to dwell in
another village, they could not be taken from their own village and carried with him; but they
would remain in their native village, doing service there and cultivating the sowed lands.
The slaves are called alipingsaguiguilir. They serve their master in his house and on
his cultivated lands, and may be sold. The master grants them, should he see fit, and
providing that he has profited through their industry, a portion of their harvests, so that they
may work faithfully. For these reasons, servants who are born in the house of their master are
rarely, if ever, sold. That is the lot of captives in war, and of those brought up in the harvest
fields.

Recopilación de Leyes de losReinos de las Indias

The following is an English translation of the original Spanish legislations found in the
Recopilacion de Leyes de losReinos de las Indias or the Laws of the Indies concerning the
establishment of the Reducciones. The Reducción is the process of transferring the
natives to a particular settlement. It was also used to designate the place where the
settlement was established. The Recopilacion is a compilation of the different laws
promulgated by the Queen or the King of Spain and were legislated to guide the
Spaniards in the colonies as to their behavior towards the natives. It was first released
as a compilation in 1680 under King Carlos II. The legislation below can be found in
Book VI, Title III and provided guidelines for the establishment of towns or pueblos.
The copies of the laws were said to have been provided and translated by Zelia Nuttall
(1857-1933), an American anthropologist specializing in Aztec-Mexican cultures. The
legislations are of importance to the Philippines since these are the same legislations
used in the establishment of the towns until the 19 th century, immediately before the
Revolution of 1896. It thus created a new landscape besides the social and economic
changes throughout the period of Spanish colonization.

Excerpt:

On arriving at the locality where the new settlement is to be founded, the plan of the
place, with its squares, streets and building lots is to be outlined by means of measuring by
cord and ruler, beginning with the main square from which streets are to run to the gates and
principal roads and leaving sufficient open space so that even if the town grows it can always
spread in a symmetrical manner. Having thus laid out the chosen site the settlement is to be
founded the following form.
The chosen site shall be on an elevation; healthful; with means of fortification; fertile
and with plenty of land for farming and pasturage; fuel and timber; fresh water, a native
population, commodiousness; resources of convenient access and egress. It shall be open to
the north wind. If on the coast, care is to be taken that the sea does not lie to the south or west
of the harbor. If possible, the port is not to be near lagoons or marshes in which poisonous
animals and corruption of air and water breed.
In the case of a sea coast town, the main plaza is to be the starting point for the building of
the town, is to be situated near the landing place of the port. In inland towns the main plaza
should be in the center of the town and of an oblong shape, its length being equal to at least
one and half times its width, as this proportion is best for festivals in which horses are used
and any other celebrations which have to be held.
The size of the plaza shall be in proportion to the number of residents, heed being
given to the fact that towns of Indians, being new are bound to grow and it is intended that
they shall do so. Therefore, the plaza is to be planned with reference to the possible growth of
the town. It shall not be smaller than two hundred feet wide and three hundred feet long nor
larger than eight hundred feet long and three hundred feet wide. A well proportionated
medium size plaza is not six hundred feet long and four hundred feet wide.
From the plaza, the four principal streets are to diverge, one from the middle of each
of its sides and two streets are to meet at each of its corners. The four corners of the plaza are
to face the four points of the compass, because thus the streets diverging from the plaza will
not be directly exposed to the four principal winds, which could cause much inconvenience.
The whole plaza and the four main streets diverging from it shall have arcades, for
these are a great convenience for those who resort thither for trade. The eight streets which
run into the plaza at its four corners are to dos o freely without being obstructed by the
arcades of the plaza. These arcades are to end at the corners in such a way that the sidewalks
of the streets can evenly join those of the plaza.
In cold climates, the streets shall be wide; in hot climates narrow, however, for
purposes of defense and where horses are kept the streets had better be wide.
The other streets laid out consecutively around the plaza are to be so planned that
even if the town should increase considerably in size it would meet with no obstruction which
might disfigure what had already been built or be a detriment to the defense or convenience
of the town.
At certain distances in the town smaller, well proportion plazas are to be laid out on
which the main church, the parish church or monastery shall be built so that the teaching of
religious doctrine may be evenly distributed.
If the town lies on the coast, its main church shall be so situated that it may be visible
from the landing place and so built that its structure may serve as means of defense for the
port itself.
 After the plaza and streets have been laid out building lots are to be designated, in the
first place, for the erection of the main church, the parish church or monastery and these are
to occupy respectively and entire block so that no other structure can be built next to them
excepting such as contribute to their commodiousness or beauty.
Immediately afterwards the place and site are to be assigned for the Royal and Town
Council House, the Custom House and Arsenal which is to be close to the church and port so
that in case of necessity one can protect the other. The hospital for the poor and sick of
noncontagious diseases shall be built next to the church forming its cloister.

Historia de los Padres Dominicosen las Islas Filipinas y en sus Misiones del Japon, China,
Tung-kin y Formosa

The following excerpt is from the NoticiasPreliminares (Preliminary Notes) of the six
volume work by the Dominicans Juan Ferrando and Joaquin Fonseca titled Historia de
los Padres Dominicosen las Islas Filipinas y en sus Misiones del Japon, China, Tung-kin y
Formosa published from 1870-1872. The section contains ethnographic descriptions of
the Spaniards in the Philippines, the Chinese migrants, the Mestizos, the lowland
natives as well as the different northern peoples like the Tinguians, Igorots and Ilongots.
Also included are the Negritos from the different parts of Luzon. The main author,
Juan Ferrando, O.P. arrived in the Philippines around 1842 and was assigned to Vigan
as companion to the Bishop Rafael Masoliver. He is described as more clear, concise
and methodic of the Dominican historians of the Philippines. Utilized in this excerpt
were the writings of historians like Diego Aduarte, O.P. and Francisco Antolin, O.P. He
was able to finish the Historia to include the events until the year 1840. His unpublished
work was later edited by Joaquin Fonseca, O.P. who added an appendix bringing the
work down to the year 1871. Below is a part of the English translation by Jose Rhommel
B. Hernandez and published in 1994 containing the description of the “Negros” and as
later on labeled in the text itself, the Aetas.

Excerpt:

Not only in Luzon, but also in the Visayas can be found the true oceanic blacks which form
an entirely different race from the rest known in the discovered world. In the Philippines, they
are known by the Spaniards as the “Negritos,” and by the natives, as Aetas, Itas, Etas,
Balugas, etc., according to the provinces in whose surroundings they live. They are very
likely the first inhabitants of the country. In nothing are they similar to those of the Malay
race in the divisions, color, hair, customs and mode living. Even their dialect is distinct from
that which the nations coming from their caste speak. Many of the like those who go down to
the towns speak the idiom of the Indios. Many doubt if they have a proper idiom. In their
dances, however, they sing in an unintelligible manner and many seem to howl rather than
sing. In their hair, not all are equals. Some tribes have it somewhat straight, but they are
generally curly, like those who come from Africa, although not so dark. The color of the body
is so dark, much more than that of the natives of the Malay race. They have their mouths
broader than the ordinary, and more distant from the nose, which is small and grounded in
some. Almost all have side burns and some have beard. Their clothing is made of a miserable
girdle which covers their shame. The women, when going to the Christian towns cover their
breasts with another piece of cloth made of cotton or valete bark. They are of very limited
intelligence, although in some can be discovered signs indicating more than the regular talent,
if they will be cultivated. Their race can be called as the ultimate of the human species. Their
physique has all the characters of a savage and degraded race. They themselves have an idea
so low of themselves that they say that they are not men nor people, but Aetas. They live
within the forests in the ranges of the west of Manila Bay, from Mariveles until Pangasinan;
in the slopes of one and another side, from that which crosses the island from the east to west
from San Fabian until Valer; to the west of some towns of Cagayan, and in the other ranges
from the Cape of Engaño until Tayabas; in the mountains of San Mateo and Camachin; in
some parts of the provinces of the South; in a word, they are in almost all the mountains of
Luzon, grouped in small tribes with relations between themselves, particularly the neighbors
of a same range. They do not have any dwelling other than bad huts under the trees and at
time some entangled branches to avoid in some way the effect of bad weather. Most of them
sleep where the night seizes them, and when they are cold, or the humidity is very great, they
burn bonfires and they turn themselves over on hot ashes. They are not dedicated to
agriculture and are maintained from wild roots, leaves of trees and cattles that by chance
opens itself to an arrow shot. They suffer much on rainy days, and days passed without them
taking anything other than herb. For the hunting of the wild boar, or wild hogs, they have
some arrows whose iron points are held with a cane by means of some strong small cords.
The arrows are released to enter into the body of the wild beast, which afterwards remains in
the thickets and the hunter is easily freed from its fangs, which is known to cause terrible
wounds. Their government consists in leaving each one in a more complete liberty, and in the
observance of some practices inherited from their old one. One of them is the eating in
common large cattle gathered by some of them. There is no sign of religion found among
them, as they may not be some practices indicating their belief in the immortality of the soul.
Their matrimonies are solemnized with some brute feasts that do not merit the hardship of
being narrated. The essential ceremony consists in making an old woman nod at those
engaged, saying sometimes the following expressions: “Produce the man, produce the
woman”, very proper to designate the primary end of the marriage, in which they differ
hardly from the beasts. In some points they themselves go around burning notably, as
happens in the mountains of Bataan, an effect of the miserable life they live. They lack
women, since the Tagalog Indias hire many of them to their service. These women are mixed
at times with the Indios, and the Mestizos who are born from them do not have curly hair.
There is someone saying that their feature is better than that of the Tagalog.
Those who live in the surroundings of the Christian towns are voluntary slaves. For a little
rice or other trifle, they cross from great distance wax, wood, canes and reeds. All have their
patrons, who give them lodging when they go down to the towns. This benefit is not little
favor considering the disgust that is in their uncovered bodies, covered regularly from the
hips and groins. From the conversion of the natives of the islands which the missionaries
began, they also thought of converting the people of this degraded caste. But nobody until
now has been able to boast of have subjected and united a tribe for a long time to show them
the civil and Christian life.
 Historia General de Filipinas: Conquistasespirituales y temporales de
estosespañolesdominios, establecimientosprogresos, y decadencias

Juan de la Concepcion is a Recollect missionary known for his monumental 14 volume

work Historia General de Filipinas: Conquistasespirituales y temporales de
estosespañolesdominios, establecimientosprogresos, y decadencias . The work was published
from 1788 until 1792. The following excerpt narrates a certain Fray Rodrigo’s
experience in working with the Filipinos near Bagumbayan which was then a highly
forested area. The brief anecdote is a rich source of the possible transitions happening
in the minds of the Filipinos in their reception of Christianity.

Excerpt:

Father Fray Rodrigo was one day passing through a thicket. That thicket was,
according to their customs, one of the reserved ones, and it was considered sacrilegious to cut
anything from it, and that such act would be punished with immediate death. So infatuated
were they with that blindness that no one, even though in great need, dared to take anything
from that place, being restrained by fear. The Father saw a beautiful tree, which they call
pajo, laden with ripe fruit. He ordered his followers to gather some by climbing the tree. They
strenuously resisted, but Father Fray Rodrigo insisted on it. They declared that they would
not do it under any circumstances, and that it meant sure death if they offended the respect
whose fatal sentence comprehended all the trees of that place. The Father severely chided
them for their error, and to show them that it was so, he determined to gather fruit himself. He
began to break branches and to clear the trunk, in order to facilitate the ascent. The Indians
were grieved, and urgently begged him to desist from that undertaking which they considered
as so rash. But the religious, arming himself with the sign of the cross, and reciting the
antiphon, Ecce lignum crucis, managed to gather some of the ripe fruit, which the tree
offered. He ate it in front of them and liked the fruit very much, for indeed it is savory. They
looked as his face amazed, expecting his instant death. When that did not happen, they
recognized their delusion and detested their cheats. They also ate without experiencing any
harm. The Father charged them to say nothing upon their arrival at the village. He took with
him a goodly quantity of that fruit and divided the great portion of it among the chiefs.
Esteeming the gift, they, in their ignorance, ate it without fear. In a sermon on the following
day, the Father disclosed the secret and checked their vain fears; so that, undeceived by
experience, they followed him with their axes, and in short order felled that thicket, which
was a confused center of perverse iniquities. Thereupon, many of those infidels submitted to
the true knowledge.

Relacion de las Islas Filipinas

The author of the following excerpts is the Jesuit Fr. Pedro Chirino. He first arrived in
the Philippines as a young priest in 1590 and was assigned to Balayan and later on to
Taytay in the following year 1591. He studied the Tagalog language and was one of the
first missionaries to deliver sermons in that language. His masterpiece is his Relacion de
las Islas Filipinas which was published in Rome in 1604. The two excerpts shows the
status of the Tagalogs in the early years of the Spanish contact particularly their
everyday life and language.
Excerpt:

The Filipinos are not so ceremonious in their actions as are the Chinese and Japanese; yet
they have their politeness and good breeding, especially the Tagalogs, who are very civil and
courteous in word and action. Upon meeting one another, they practice our custom of
uncovering the head--not that they used hats, caps, or bonnets; but they wore a piece of cloth
like a towel, some three or four palmos long, which they wound around the head in becoming
fashion, like the ancient crowns or diadems. This they removed, as they now do the hat
[sombrero]--which they have adopted, in imitation of us, abandoning the potong, as they
called the towel or diadem which they formerly wore. As among them it is not courtesy to
remain standing before a person whom they respect, they seat themselves upon the ground, or
rather on their heel-bones. Seated in this way, with head uncovered and the potong thrown
like a towel over the left shoulder, they talk with their superiors. The mode of salutation upon
entering or meeting anyone is as follows: They draw the body together and make a low
reverence, raising one or both hands to the face, and placing them upon the cheeks; they next
sit down waiting for the question that may be put to them, for it is considered bad manners to
speak before one is spoken to. Their greatest courtesy is in their form of address; for they
never speak to one as "thou," or in the second person, whether singular or plural, but always
use the third person, saying for example--"Does the lord, or the chief, wish for this or that?"
There are many examples of this to be found in Holy Scripture or sacred language, and
particularly in the Psalms. In the relations of man with woman, woman with man, or woman
with woman, they are very careful--even when they are quite equals, and, too, among the
middle class--to use, after every important word, nothing but "my Lord," or "my Lady;" as,
"My Lord, as I was coming up the river, I saw, my Lord," etc. This term and pronoun are
used as agreeable and even affectionate, even in the languages of much greater importance, as
Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, which are the three most venerable tongues. In polite and
affectionate intercourse, they are very extravagant, addressing letters to each other in terms of
elaborate and delicate expressions of affection, and neat turns of thought. As a result of this,
they are much given to musical practice; and although the guitar that they use, called cutyapi,
is not very ingenious or rich in tone, it is by no means disagreeable, and to them is most
pleasing. They play it with such vivacity and skill that they seem to make human voices issue
from its four metallic cords. We also have it on good authority that by merely playing these
instruments they can, without opening their lips, communicate with one another, and make
themselves perfectly understood--a thing unknown of any other nation. The Bisayans are
more rustic and less civil in manners, just as their language is harsher and less polished. They
have not so many terms of courtesy, as formerly they had no letters until, a very few years
ago, they borrowed theirs from the Tagalogs. As we have already treated of their languages, it
would be advisable to make some mention of their letters.

Relacion de las Islas Filipinas

This is a continuation of Chirino’s discourse on the Filipinos. Specifically, he discussed
the alphabet and writing system the Filipinos of his time. Significantly, the description is
still one of the basis of today’s studies on the baybayin.
All these islanders are much given to reading and writing, and there is hardly a man, and
much less a woman, who does not read and write in the letters used in the island of Manila--
which are entirely different from those of China, Japon, and India. This will be seen from its
alphabet, which is as follows:
The three vowels serve as five, and are:

A I
O a ei
ou

The consonants are only twelve, and in writing are used with the vowels in the following
form.

The letter alone with no point above or below it, is pronounced with the vowel-sound A:

BA KA DA GA HA LA MA NA PA SA TA YA
Ba ca da ga ha la ma na pa sa ta ya

By placing the point above, each is pronounced with the vowel-sound E or I:

BI KI DI GI HI LI MI NI PI SI TI YI
Bi qui di gui hi li mi ni pi sitiyi
Be que de gue he le me ne pe se te ye

By placing the point below, they are pronounced with the vowel-sound O or U.

BO KO DO GO HO LO MO NO PO SO TO YO

Bo co do go ho lo mo no po so to yo
Bu cu du gu hu lu mu nu pusutuyu

Consequently, to pronounce _cama_, two letters without points are sufficient: KAMA _ca
ma_. If a point is placed above the KA we have KIMA or _que-ma. If a point is placed below
each character KOMO the word is _co-mo_.
Final consonants are suppressed in all forms of expression: accordingly
_cantar_ is written KATA _ca ta_; _barba_, BABA _baba_.
By means of these characters they easily make themselves understood and convey their ideas
marvelously, he who reads supplying, with much skill and facility, the consonants which are
lacking. From us they have adopted the habit of writing from left to right. Formerly they
wrote from the top to the bottom, placing the first line on the left (if I remember right), and
continuing the rest at the right, contrary to the custom of the Chinese and Japanese--who,
although they write from top to bottom, begin from the right and continue the page to the left.
They used to write on reeds and palm-leaves, using as a pen an iron point; now they write
their own letters, as well as ours, with a sharpened quill, and, as we do, on paper. They have
learned our language and its pronunciation, and write it even better than we do, for they are
so clever that they learn anything with the greatest ease. I have had letters written by
themselves in very handsome and fluent style. In Tigbauan I had in my school a very young
boy, who, using as a model letters written to me in a very good handwriting, learned in three
months to write even better than I; and he copied for me important documents faithfully,
exactly, and without errors. Let this, however, suffice for the matter of languages and letters,
and let us return to our employment for souls.

Práctica del Ministerio

The following is an excerpt of the Augustinian Tomas Ortiz’s Practica del Ministerio.
Originally published in 1731, this particular excerpt is from the 1893 edition published
by Wenceslao E. Retana in his edition of Joaquin Martinez de Zuñiga’sEstadismo de las
Islas Filipinas. The ethnographic pattern used by Ortiz in this segment is useful in
understanding the dynamics of the conversion of the Filipinos to Christianity. The
prehispanic religious setup could be seen from his description of the “ugales” which he
equates with the “abusos” or abuses against the Catholic faith.

Excerpt:

Inasmuch as many natives, especially those of the provinces distant from Manila are
much inclined to nonos or genii, to idolatries, maganitos, superstitions, enchantments,
charms, and witchcraft, which have as great a diversity as have the witches, and therefore
they call them by different names, according to the various duties which they attribute to
them; it is necessary for the father ministers, not only to preach to them continually, and to
argue against, censure, and decry so pestilent abuses, but they must also be very skillful,
solicitous, and careful in discovering persons infected with that mortal poison, and to apply to
it the necessary remedy. In the confessions, for the same reason that but seldom will they
accuse themselves all possible efforts ought to be made (without overstepping the boundaries
of prudence) in order to see whether anything may be obtained; and he who has the good
fortune to have any witch confess to him, will bear himself toward her as the authors teach.
They ought also to charge the natives with their obligation to denounce to the ordinary, etc.
There are many abuses (or as they say ugales) which the natives practice against our
holy faith and good customs, among others of which are the following. First, the above-
mentioned idolatry of the nonos. In regard to this it must be noted that the word nono does
not alone signify “grandfather,” but that it also is used as a term of respect to the old men and
genii. The Indians comprise these under the word nono, just as the Chinese do under the word
Espiritus [i. e., “spirits”], and the Romans under the word “Gods,” which other called Lares,
Penates, etc. With the above-mentioned genii or nonos the Indians perform many acts of
idolatry frequently, such as for example, asking permission, relief, and aid from them, and
that they do the people no harm, and that they do not prove hostile to them, etc. They make
such requests on many occasions, and among others are the following. When they wish to
pluck any flower or fruit from the tree, they ask permission from the nono or genius to pluck
it. When they pass certain fields, rivers, creeks, or streamlets, large trees, sugar-cane
plantations and other places, they ask permission and good passage from the genii or nonos.
When they are obliged to cut any tree, or not to observe the things or ceremonies which they
imagine to be pleasing to the genii or nonos, they ask pardon of them, and excuse themselves
to those beings by saying, among many other things, that the father commanded them to do it,
and that they are not willingly lacking in respect to the genii, or that they do not willingly
oppose their will, etc. When they are taken with the sickness that they call pamave, which
they attribute to the genii or nonos (although they try to conceal this by saying that the
country [has not?] agreed with them) they ask them for health and offer them food. They do
that both on this, and many other occasions, in the fields, sugar-cane plantations, streamlets,
at the foot of any large tree, more generally some calunpan,2and in various other places. This
sort of idolatry is very deeply rooted and of long standing among the Indians. Consequently,
it is very necessary for the father ministers to be very careful and make great efforts to
extirpate it, and not avoid any labor or work until it is annihilated.
Secondly, the Indians very generally believe that the souls of the dead return to their
houses the third day after their death, in order to visit the people of it, or to be present at the
banquet, and consequently, to be present at the ceremony of the tibao. They conceal and hide
that by saying that they are assembling in the house of the deceased in order to recite the
rosary for him. If they are told to do their praying in the church, they refuse to comply
because that is not what they wish to do. Consequently, the minister will prevent the
gathering at the house of the deceased after the burial, and will not allow the people to ascend
into the house under any considerations, least of all on the third day. On the fourth day, in
consequence of the said ceremony of the tibao, or because of their evil inclination, they light
candles in order to wait for the soul of the deceased. They spread a mat, on which they scatter
ashes, so that the tracks or footsteps of the soul may be impressed thereon; and by that means
they are able to ascertain whether the soul came or not. They also set a dish of water at the
door, so that when the soul comes it may wash its feet there. It does not appear that it would
be much to say that those matters of the nonos or genii and the deceased were taken by the
Indians from the Sangleys who are reared with various things [of belief]. It needs a strong
remedy nevertheless.
The tigbalāg which some call a ghost and others a goblin, appears to be the genius or
devil, who appears to them in the shape of a black man, or in the shape of an old man (or as
they express it in the shape of a very small old man), or in the shape of a horse, or of a
monster, etc. That being inspires them with so great fear that they come to make friendship
with him, and surrender their rosaries to him, and receive from him superstitious things, such
as hairs, herbs, stones, and other things, in order that they may obtain marvelous things, and
that they may be aided by him in certain of their affairs.
The patianac whom some also call a goblin (but it is only their invention, dream, or
imagination) must be the genius or devil who generally plays with them as also with many
others, when losing the faith, they espouse his cause, become familiar with him, or become
subject to him. They attribute to this being the ill success of births, and say that in order to
harm them and cause their destruction, he enters or hides in some tree or in any other place
near the house of the woman who is about to give birth, and there they sing like those who
wander about, etc. In order to prevent any harm from the patianac, the men take their position
naked and with their privies exposed to the air; and arm themselves with shield, catan, lance,
and other arms. In this condition they stand on the ridgepole of the roof, and also under the
house, and in all places, they slash and cut right and left with the catan and make various
gestures and set movements for the same purpose. Others, in order to prevent said harm,
generally move the woman who is about to give birth to another house, for they say that her
house contains a patianac.
Among other things they also attribute to the patianac the death of children, as well as
to the usang. They refer to them in the following manner. They assert that the bird called
tictic is the pander of the sorcerer called usang. Flying ahead of that being, the bird shows it
the houses where infants are to be born. That being takes its position on the roof of the
neighboring house and thence extends its tongue in the form of a thread, which it inserts
through the anus of the child and by that means sucks out its entrails and kills it. Sometimes
they say that it appears in the form of a dog, sometimes of a cat, sometimes of the cockroach
which crawls under the mat, and there accomplishes the abovesaid. In order to avoid that
harm, they do certain of the above things. To the patianac travelers also attribute their
straying from or losing their road. In order to keep the right path, they undress and expose
their privies to the air, and by that observance they say that they make sure of the right road;
for then the patianac is afraid of them and cannot lead them astray.
The bongsol they sometimes assert to be various durojones which are caused by the
sorcerer ganay, and which run all through the body of the bewitched, who generally remains
some moments as if dead or in a faint, and at other times as though mad or raving from the
sight of the ganay who appears to them in various shapes. In order to cure this sickness or
enchantment, they summon another sorcerer, and he after the incantations or efforts, which
will be told later, generally leaves the patient as he was before. Sometimes they say that that
sickness appears to be natural or a stomach ache caused by the obstructions or durojones
which grow in the stomach or in the patient’s side or by shivers which move from one place
to another, and from which the women of this country generally suffer. But when they are
unable to cure the pain with the promptness that they desire, they generally say, especially the
physicians, that the said sickness is bongsol, that is enchantment, and that it can be cured only
by the one who is of the faculty, that is by one who is a sorcerer. They then bring a sorcerer,
who performs the things that pertain to his faculty, and summons the first sorcerer who they
say caused that sorcery. If the sickness is not lessened, the sorcerer finishes his duty by
saying that the said first witch is very far away, and could not hear him; and consequently, it
has happened that he has not been able to cure the said sickness. In such wise do they leave
the sick person with his pains.
 The ceremony or superstition of bilao is ordered for the discovery thereby of any
thief. It is reduced to placing in a bilao, sieve, or screen, some scissors fastened at the point in
the shape of the cross of St. Andrew, and in them they hang their rosary. Then they repeat the
name of each one of those who are present and who are assembled for this. If, for example,
when the name Pedro is mentioned, the bilao shakes, they say that Pedro is the thief. They
also are accustomed to light candles to St. Anthony of Padua for the purpose of discovering
the thief of anything [that is stolen]. For this they kneel down to pray (and perhaps to utter
and perform indecent things) and wait until the flame leans toward any of those about, for
instance, toward Juan, and then they declare that Juan is the thief. It is very usual for the
Indians to carry about them various things in order that they might obtain marvelous effects:
for example, written formulas, prayers, vitiated or interspersed with words arranged for their
evil intent, herbs, roots, bark, hairs, skin, bones, stones, etc., so that they may not be killed, or
apprehended by justice, or to obtain wealth, women, or other things. 4 They are also very
much inclined to believe in omens and in unlucky days, in regard to which they are wont to
keep various books of manuscripts which must be burned for them.
The natives are accustomed to circumcise the boys; and although they perform the
circumcision by slitting the skin of the penis lengthwise, instead of around, still it appears that
that may be accounted for by the fact that it is inferred that that ceremony was introduced into
Philipinas, by the Moros from Borneo, Mindanao, or Holo, as was also the word biñag, which
is used for “baptize,” and to mean “Christian,” and the word simba, which appears to mean
“adoration” among them. From this use they transfer it to their temples and mosques, and the
Tagálogs took it not to mean “adoration,” but “church,” and afterward used it to mean
“mass,” which it never could mean. Not only do they circumcise the males but also the
women, girls, or dalagas, [an operation] which they call sonad. It is reduced to cutting the
organ or opening it up somewhat. However, some of them, and very reasonably, affirm that
that ceremony in them in itself in both males and females is rather the offspring of lust than
that of Judaism. They are also accustomed to measure or compare the weapons that they
make, for ]example, measuring the catan by spans and praying at the same time the “Our
Father.” If the conclusion of the measuring is reached at the same time or when they come to
the word “forgive us” they say that they cannot be punished, but that they may kill people,
etc. It appears that the custom has been introduced among women who have recently brought
forth of not going to church until the fortieth or sixtieth day as they say of the purification of
their bodies. In that not only do they fail in the precept to hear mass but they also perform a
Mosaic ceremony.
The Indians are generally corrupted by many errors, and it would take a long time to
mention them. Consequently, the ministers will be very careful to uproot them, for although it
does not cause any great harm in some because of their ignorance and lack of intelligence, in
others they do cause great harm; for example, Angel catutubo, which literally signifies “that
my guardian angel was born with me or at the same time as I.” In order to avoid danger, one
should say, Angel tagatanor, and the same thing in other languages.
Finally, so many are the superstitions, omens, and errors, that are found among the
Indians that it would be very difficult or impossible to mention them all. The above have been
mentioned so that the father ministers may examine others by them. It is to be noted that there
are sectarians and preachers of various false sects among the Indians, especially in the distant
provinces, either because they had false sects formerly and have continued them, or because
they took them (and this is more likely) from the Joloans, Mindanaos, Sangleys, and other
heathen nations with whom they are accustomed to have intercourse.
When the moon is eclipsed, the Indians of various districts generally go out into the
street or into the open fields, with bells, panastanes, etc. They strike them with great force
and violence in order that they might thereby protect the moon which they say is being eaten
or swallowed by the dragon, tiger, or crocodile. And the worst thing is that if they wish to say
“the eclipse of the moon” it is very common in Philipinas to use this locution, saying “the
dragon, tiger, or crocodile is swallowing the moon.” The Tagálogs also make use of it and
say, Linamonlahobovan. It appears that the Indians learned all this from the Sangleys of
China, where all the abovesaid is performed and executed to the letter. It is not right to allow
them to retain these deceits of the Chinese, and not to teach them our customs and truths. All
the above contents of this section is not universal in all parts. Consequently, although all
ministers ought to be careful to ascertain whether they are or are not contained in their
ministries, they ought not to go ahead to censure what they are not sure of, for that very thing
would perhaps teach them what we are endeavoring to extirpate.

Conspiracy Against the Spaniards (1588)

The following is an excerpt of the document signed by the notary public for King Philip
II stationed in the Royal Audiencia summarizing the events commonly designated as the
“Tondo Conspiracy.” The document accounts the events wherein the Datus of Tondo
led by Agustin de Legazpi, Martin Panga, Magat Salamat and several others conspired
to fight off the Spaniards occupying their territories. The conspiracy would be the first
major rebellion of the Tagalog area against the colonizers. The conspiracy was thwarted
when Antonio Surabao revealed the plans to the Spaniards. This led to the execution of
the leaders and the exile of many others who were involved. The Spaniards in response
to the event would ease down their policies when it comes to the Principales who would
then receive benefits and privileges from the administration.

Excerpt:
In fulfilment of the command and decree of Doctor Santiago de Vera, governor and
captain-general of these islands, and president of the royal Audiencia, I, Estevan de
Marquina, notary-public for the king our sovereign, of the number [authorized] in the city of
Manila, testify that a trial and criminal process has been conducted and is still pending before
the said governor and captain-general. The parties are the royal department of justice of the
one part, and certain Indian chiefs, natives of the villages of Tondo, Misilo, Bulacan, and
other villages in the neighborhood of Manila, of the other part. The cause of this contention
seems to be that on the twenty-sixth of October of last year, one thousand five hundred and
eighty-eight, Doctor Santiago de Vera, governor and captain-general of these islands, and
president of the royal Audiencia, learned that the following persons: Don Agustin de Legaspi,
one of the chiefs of this land; Martin Panga, governor of the village of Tondo, and his first
cousin; Magat Salamat, the son of the old lord of this land; and other chiefs, had not long ago
sent a present of weapons and other articles to the king of Burney, and that they were quite
intent upon holding meetings and their usual drunken feasts, swearing to keep secret
whatever they discussed. He also learned that they had sold and were selling their landed
property. In order to ascertain what the condition of affairs is, the governor made an inquiry
and many witnesses were summoned. From this inquiry and other investigations and inquests
made in the course of the trials, it appears that the said Don Agustin de Legaspi and Magat
Salamat had sent a quantity of shields, arquebuses, and other weapons to Xapon and to the
petty king of Burney, who has thus been enabled to put himself on a war-footing. They
warned these powers to fortify themselves in their strongholds, because the Spaniards
intended to go there. They added that the said Don Agustin would notify them in person of
what was taking place; and that, for this purpose, he would ask permission to set out on his
commercial enterprises. Likewise, we learned that the people of the kingdom of Burney were
thinking of manning a fleet for the purpose of attacking the Spaniards; and that they had
killed a Franciscan friar and other Spaniards while on their way to Malaca from Manila with
messages and despatches for the king, our sovereign. It appears that on the fourth of
November of the said year, when the inquiry had not gone further than this, Captain Pedro
Sarmiento arrived in this city from the Calamianes, which are islands near Burney; and
brought the news and information that he had left behind in the said Calamianes three Indian
chiefs of Tondo, namely, Magat Salamat, Don Agustin Manuguit, son of Don PhelipeSalalila,
and Don Joan Banal, brother-inlaw of the said Magat. Through Don Antonio Surabao, his
servant and chief of his encomienda, he had learned that these men were going as
ambassadors to the petty king of Burney, in order to induce him to send a fleet to attack the
Spaniards, and to join the chiefs of Jolo, and Sumaelob, chief of Cuyo, who had already come
to terms and offered to help them with two thousand men. They had persuaded the said Don
Antonio Surabao to accompany them and carry out their plans; but the latter while on the one
hand he promised to help them, in order not to arouse their suspicion, on the other hand
unfolded the plan to Captain Sarmiento. He added, moreover, that Amarlangagui, chief of
Baibai, who was within the jurisdiction of Manila and held the office of master-of-artillery,
had told him, while in this city, that all the chiefs of this neighborhood had plotted and
conspired with the Borneans to rebel against the service of the king our sovereign, and to kill
the Spaniards of this city, while they were off their guard. The plan was that when the fleet of
Burney reached the port of Cavite, and the Spaniards trustfully called these chiefs to their aid,
they would all immediately enter the houses of the Spaniards with their men, fortify
themselves in them and thus take possession of them one by one. If the Spaniards took refuge
in the fortress, Indian soldiers would follow them; and, being two to one, they would surely
kill the Spaniards. Maluco offered an example of this; for with but few people they had taken
so large a fortress from the Portuguese. To this end the people of Burney were building seven
galleys and other warships, and were getting ready ammunition and war-material. Thus, it is
affirmed by the said Don Antonio Surabao himself, who says that, under the pledge of
friendship and secrecy, he was made acquainted with all this, and was persuaded to join the
said conspiracy. Upon this, with the governor's approval, soldiers and attendants were
immediately despatched with his orders to arrest the said chiefs, and to bring them to this city
as quickly as possible. From the inquiry and secret investigations which were taken up anew,
it appears that last year, five hundred and eighty-seven, when Captain Don Joan Gayo and
many Japanese with merchandise arrived at this city in a ship from Xapon, Don Agustin de
Legaspi became very friendly to him, inviting him many times to eat and drink at his house
which is on the other side of the river of this city. The agreement and stipulation which he
made with Don Joan Gayo through the Japanese interpreter, Dionisio Fernandez, and in the
presence of the said Magat Salamat, Don Agustin Manuguit, Don PhelipeSalalila, his father,
and Don Geronimo Bassi, Don Agustin de Legaspi's brother, was, that the said captain should
come to this city with soldiers from Xapon, and enter it under pretext of peace and
commerce, bringing in his ship flags for the use of the Spaniards, so that the latter should
think his intentions peaceful. It was also agreed that the chiefs of the neighborhood would
help them to kill the Spaniards, and would supply the provisions and everything necessary.
The said Don Agustin de Legaspi was to set out to meet them; and, in order that they might
recognize one another, he would carry some of the weapons which the said captain had given
him. After they had conquered the Spaniards, they would make him [Don Agustin] king of
the land, and collect the tribute from the natives, which would be divided between Don
Agustin and the Japanese. They swore this after their fashion, by anointing their necks with a
broken egg. Don Agustin de Legaspi discussed and arranged the whole plan with Amaghicon,
an Indian chief of Navotas, warned him to keep the secret, and gave him some of the weapons
which the Japanese had given him, in order that they might recognize oneanother. According
to the declarations of Dionisio Fernandez, the Japanese interpreter, Don PhelipeSalalila, Don
Geronimo Basi, Magat Salamat, and other witnesses who were present at the said meetings
and compacts, and as it appears also from the trial and investigations, it seems that when Don
Martin Panga, under the charge of adultery, Don Agustin de Legaspi, for accounts demanded
of him at the time when he was governor of Tondo, Don Gabriel Tuambaçan, Don Francisco
Acta, his son, and Pitongatan were taken to the prison of this court, each and every one of
them swore, after their fashion, to help one another with their persons and property in all
matters--be it concerning the liberty of their slaves, or in any other difficulty. Likewise, it
appears that after they left the said prison, the said Don Martin Panga was exiled from the
village of Tondo for a certain period, and went to live in the village of Tambobo, not far from
this city. There he and Don Agustin de Legaspi invited the other leaders to come together for
a secret meeting. Under pretext of visiting said Don Martin Panga, a meeting was held in the
said village by Don PhelipeSalalila, Don Agustin Manuguit; Magat Salamat, chief of Tondo;
Don Pedro Bolingui, chief of Pandaca; Don Geronimo Basi and Don GrabielTuamBasar, Don
Agustin's brothers; Don Luis Amanicalao and Calao his son; the brothers Don Dionisio
Capolo and Don PhelipeSalonga; Don PhelipeAmarlangagui, chief of Catangalan; Don
Francisco Acta and Amaghicon; with other Indian timaguas, servants, and allies of his. For
three days they met, and drank after their fashion. During this time, they resolved to act in
harmony and with one mind in everything. If their slaves demanded liberty, they were to help
one another against them; for already they were not regarded or obeyed as before. They
possessed neither slaves nor gold, and found themselves poor and cast down, ready to go to
prison any day. Their sorrow was very keen because their wives were being taken away from
them, and given to others to whom, they claimed, they had been first married. For all these
reasons they were very sad, and they discussed and plotted, and took oath, according to their
custom, that if an enemy came to Manila to attack the Spaniards, they would unanimously
and with one mind aid the enemy against the Spaniards. Thus, they would once more become
masters, as they had been before, and exercise the old tyranny over the common people--who
now were much favored by the Spaniards, being promoted to superior places by them. The
said Don Agustin de Legaspi proposed to them the plan and compact which he had made with
the said Japanese Don Joan Payo [Gayo]; and the other chiefs declared that they were ready
to help him and to accede to his wishes. After this, it appears that in the month of February,
one thousand five hundred and eighty-eight, when we heard of the English pirate who passed
through these islands and plundered the ship "Santana," the said chiefs made preparations,
thinking he would come to this city, to carry out their plan.
A few days afterward, Don Estevan Taes, chief of Bulacan, came to the village of
Tondo where they were. He conferred with Don Martin Panga; and they decided that since
the Englishman had not come, and the compact made at the meeting of Tambobo had not
been carried out, they should call another meeting to discuss what had been planned at the
former one. To this end, he offered to notify and call together all the chiefs from his village as
far as Tondo, while Don Martin Panga was to summon the other chiefs as far as Cavite. To
this end, the said Don Martin Panga said that he would carry a letter to the governors of
Malolos and Guiguinto, and tell them to hasten to the meeting; and that, when they were
assembled, he could communicate to them the bad or the good which he kept within his
breast. After Don Esteban Tael had told him to leave the matter in his hands, Don Martin
Panga declared, in the presence of Pitongatan, that he and Don Agustin had planned to call
together the men of La Laguna and Comitan; and that, when the people were all gathered,
they would discuss the means of regaining the freedom and lordship which their fathers had
enjoyed before them; and, with all the people collected at Tondo, would attack Manila, as
arranged with Balaya, chief of Vangos, and with the natives of Batan. It seems that the said
meeting did not take place, on account of various occupations which detained the said chiefs.
Moreover, it appears that about the same time, when certain Indian chiefs of Panpanga came
to Manila on business connected with their province, on passing through the village of
Tondo, Don Agustin Panga summoned them; and he, together with Don Agustin de Legaspi,
SagatMalagat, and Amanicalao, talked with them, and inquired after the business that took
them to Manila. The chiefs answered that they came to entreat the governor to command the
cessation of the lawsuits concerning slaves in Panpanga, until they could gather in the
harvest. Don Martin said that this was very good, and that they also wished to make the same
entreaty and to bring their slaves to court; but that to attain this it would be best to assemble
and choose a leader from among them, whom they should swear to obey in everything as a
king, in order that none should act alone. The chiefs of Panpanga said that they had [no] war
with the Spaniards, to cause them to plot against the latter, and that they had a good king.
Thus, they did not consent to what was asked from them by the aforesaid chiefs, and
proceeded to Manila in order to transact their business. In Manila they were again invited to
go to Tondo, to take food with the plotters; but the Panpanga chiefs refused. On the same day
a meeting was held in Tondo by Don Agustin de Legaspi and Don Martin Panga; Don Luis
Balaya, chief of Bangos; Agustin Lea and Alonso Digma, his nephews; Don PhelipeSalalila
and Don Agustin Manuguit, his son; Don Luis Amanicalao, and Calao, his son; Don
GrabielTuambacar, Don Francisco Acta, Don PhelipeSalonga, and other natives who
rendered service. While they were thus assembled, they all resolved and agreed, amid the
usual drinking, that the above-mentioned Magat should go to the Calamianes and from that
place notify the Borneans to come to Manila to attack the Spaniards; and the chiefs would
wait for them here, and would take care to receive and help them. In fulfilment of this, the
said chief Magat Salamat went to the Calamianes, which are near the kingdom of Burney,
taking with him the chiefs Don Agustin Manuguit and Don Joan Banal. Thence he went to the
island of Cuyo, where it seems that he discussed the matter with Sumaelob, chief of the said
island, and persuaded him to come with the Borneans to plunder Manila. At that time, he was
arrested for this trial, was brought to this city, and openly confessed that what has been said
actually occurred. The said inquiries and investigations made in reference to the trial of the
aforesaid persons were examined by the governor and captain-general; and he gave orders to
arrest those who appeared guilty, in the various regions and provinces in which they were to
be found, and on different days, letting no one of the guilty ones escape. The men were
arrested and their confessions were taken down separately. At the proper time and place they
were each charged with the crime which resulted against each of them; and a copy of the
charge was given to them and to their attorneys on their behalf. Their cases were received on
trial in a certain order and for a certain period, so as to give them, during that period, an
opportunity of clearing themselves from the charge. The time expired, and the trial was
definitely closed. The governor and captain-general reviewed the trial, and on different days
pronounced a final sentence against each one of them, according to their guilt. The sentence
is in substance as follows: Don Agustin de Legaspi and Don Martin Panga, as leaders and
chiefs, and being convicted by witnesses, were condemned to be dragged and hanged; their
heads were to be cut off and exposed on the gibbet in iron cages, as an example and warning
against the said crime. All their goods were to be confiscated and set apart, half for the royal
treasury and half for judicial expenses. The above-mentioned appealed from the aforesaid
sentence to the royal Audiencia of these islands; but after having examined the trial, the
Audiencia confirmed the aforesaid sentence, and returned the case to the governor and
captain-general in order that justice might be done. The death-punishment was to cut their
heads off and to expose them on the gibbet in iron cages. The sites of their houses were to be
plowed and sown with salt. All their property, after the judicial expenses had been defrayed,
should be set aside for the royal treasury. This sentence was executed upon the
abovementioned persons as here stated.
 Insurrections by Filipinos in the Seventeenth Century
This is an excerpt of an account by various 17 th century chroniclers and collected by
Blair and Robertson in Volume 38 of The Philippine Islands, Pp. 87-240. The reading
discusses two rebellions led by the Babaylan Tamblot and the old chief of
LimasawaBankaw. The account shows the struggles of our ancestors to preserve their
beliefs and traditions against the onslaught of Spanish Christianization. Naturally, the
Spaniards would portray their efforts as the efforts of the devil to lead the people to
apostasy and rebellion. Also included is the account of Pedro Ladia’s rebellion centered
in Malolos, Bulacan. Being much of a religious rebellion, Ladia would also attempt to
establish a kingdom based on the Tagalog area in which Malolos is a part.

Excerpt:

The majority of the ministers in the island of Bohol had gone to Zebu, to celebrate the feasts
of the beatification of St. Xavier; in their absence Lucifer attempted to possess himself again
of those souls. The divata, or demon, appeared to some Indians in the woods—its face
covered, like that of one taking the discipline—and commanded them to quit the gospel
ministers and the Spanish vassalage, and take refuge in the hills; and to build him a chapel,
where he would aid them and give them whatever they needed to pass their lives in happiness
and abundance, without the encumbrance of paying tribute to the Spaniards or dues to the
churches. Two or three Indians, who on account of their evil deeds were wandering as
fugitives, became priests of this divata, in order to persuade the people to apostasy and
rebellion; and, to take away the fear which they naturally feel toward the Spaniards, these
priests told them that, if they would attack the Spaniards, the divata would cause the
mountains to rise against their foe; that the muskets of the latter would not go off, or else the
bullets would rebound on those who fired them; that if any Indian should die, the demon
would resuscitate him; that the leaves of the trees would be converted into saranga (which is
a large fish); that when they cut bejucos, these would distill wine instead of water; that from
the banana-leaves they would make fine linen; and, in short, that all would be pleasure,
enjoyment, and delight. With these magnificent promises, so attractive to men—and
especially to the Indians, who are so inclined to idleness and sloth—four villages revolted;
only Loboc (which is the chief village) and Baclayon remained firm in the faith, and in
loyalty to the king.
Information of this reached Zebu, and immediately Don Juan de Alcarazo, alcalde-mayor of
Zebu, went to quiet the island; he invited them to make peace, for which the rebels did not
care. Their boldness increasing, they burned the four villages and their churches; they flung
on the ground the rosaries and crosses, and pierced an image of the blessed Virgin eighteen
times with javelins—although afterward in Zebu some tried to make amends to her with the
most affectionate demonstrations of reverence, and she was placed in our church. Thereupon
the chief ordered troops from Zebu, fifty Spaniards and a thousand friendly Indians,
accompanied by a father; and on New Year’s Day, 1622, he began the march to the
mountains, where the insurgents were. For five days they traveled through rugged hills and
deep ravines, crossing marshes where the mud came to their knees, or even to their waists,
and shedding their blood on the thorns and briars. On the fifth day, the insurgents killed a
friendly Indian; this they celebrated with loud shouts, and it greatly increased their arrogance.
On the following day, more than 1,500 rebel Indians attacked our vanguard, which consisted
of sixteen Spaniards and three hundred Indians; but when our muskets were fired so many fell
dead that the rebels began to retreat to a bamboo thicket. When we followed them, a heavy
rain fell, which encouraged the rebels, for they said that our muskets were then useless. But
Heaven favored our cause with a marvel, since, although the pans of the musket-locks were
full of water, the soldiers declared that the powder never failed to catch fire, nor did the
matches go out. At this the rebels fled into the mountains; and our men arrived at a village of
more than a thousand houses, in the midst of which was the temple of their divata. Our troops
found there much food, various jewels of silver and gold, and many bells of the sort those
people use—all which was given to our Indians. The rebels were in a fortification of stone, in
which they had placed many stones and clods of earth to throw at our men; but the latter,
covering themselves with their shields, seized the redoubt, with the death of many of the
enemy, and in a fortnight returned to Loboc. Captain Alcarazo, who was foremost in all these
engagements, commanded that some of the rebels be hanged, and published a pardon to the
rest; and he returned to Zebu, where the victory was celebrated. This success had very
important results, for it checked the revolt of other islands and other villages—who were
expecting the favorable result which the demon had promised them, so that they could shake
off the mild yoke of Christ, and with it their vassalage to the Spaniards. Many of them, now
undeceived, accepted the pardon; but others, who were stubborn, fortified themselves at the
summit of a rugged and lofty hill, difficult of access, and closed the road [to it] with brambles
and thorns. They also filled the paths with very sharp stakes driven into the soil, and placed
among the branches of the trees many crossbows, in order that these, being discharged as our
men passed them, might wound the soldiers; and above they provided many stones to throw
at the Spaniards, hurling them from the top of the hill. Six months later the same Don Juan
Alcarazo returned, to dislodge those rebels with forty Spaniards and many Indians. After
suffering great hardships in making the paths accessible, nearly all his men were hurt, by the
time they reached the fort, by the many stones which the enemy hurled down from the
summit; but our soldiers courageously climbed the ascent, firing their muskets, and killed
many of the rebels, putting the rest to flight. Thus, was dispersed that sedition, which was one
of the most dangerous that had occurred in the islands— not only because the Boholanos
were the most warlike and valiant of the Indians, but on account of the conspiracy spreading
to many other tribes. Noble examples of fidelity in this great disturbance are not lacking.
The natives of Carigara in the island of Leyte became impatient, and revolted without waiting
for the result in Bohol, incited thereto by Bancao, the ruling chief of Limasava—who in the
year 1565 received with friendly welcome Miguel Lopez de Legazpi and the Spaniards who
came to his island, supplying them with what they needed, for which Phelipe II sent him a
royal decree, thanking him for the kind hospitality which he showed to those first Spaniards.
He was baptised and, although a young man, showed that he was loyal to the Christians; but,
conquered by the enemy [of souls], he changed sides in his old age. This man lived in the
island of Leyte, and with a son of his and another man, Pagali (whom he chose as priest of his
idolatry), erected a sacred place to the divata, or devil; and they induced six villages in the
island to rebel. In order to remove from them their fear of the Spaniards, these men told their
followers that they could change the Spaniards into stones as soon as they saw them, by
repeating the word bato, which signifies “stone;” and that a woman or a child could change
them into clay by flinging earth upon them. Father Melchor de Vera went to Zebu to give
warning of this sedition and obtain aid to check it. Captain Alcarazo equipped an armada of
forty vessels, in which were embarked some Spaniards and many friendly Indians, also the
father rector of Zebu and Father Vera; these united with the forces (both Spanish and Indian)
that the alcalde of Leyte had. They offered peace to the rebels, but the latter spurned it with
contempt. Our men, divided into three bodies, attacked them; and, when that which Don Juan
de Alcarazo commanded came in sight of the rebels, they fled to the hills. Our soldiers
followed them, and on the way put to the sword or shot those whom they encountered; and,
although the compassion of the Spaniards spared the children and women, these could not
escape the fury of the Indians. Many of the rebels died, the enchantment not availing them by
which they had thought to turn the Spaniards into stone or clay; the rest saved themselves by
flight. The Spaniards came to a large building which the rebels had erected for their divata;
they encamped in it ten days, and then burned it. Someone pierced with a lance Bancao, the
chief instigator of the rebellion, not knowing who he was, whom two of his slaves were
carrying on their shoulders and immediately his head was placed on a stake as a public
warning. He and his children came to a wretched end, as a punishment for their infidelity and
apostasy; for his second son was beheaded as a traitor, and a daughter of his was taken
captive. To inspire greater terror, the captain gave orders to shoot three or four rebels, and to
burn one of their priests—in order that, by the light of that fire, the blindness in which the
divata had kept them deluded might be removed. The Spaniards also cut off the head of an
Indian who had robbed Father Vinancio [i.e., Vilancio] and broken to pieces an image of the
Virgin, and kicked a crucifix; and his head was set up in the same place where he had
committed those horrible sacrileges. There were many who, in the midst of so furious a
tempest, remained constant in their religious belief.
This fearful earthquake was general in all these Filipinas, although it was more severe
in some regions than in others—for in the province of Cagayán, in [the land of] one people
called Maynanes, a great mountain was cleft open; and the havoc made by it extended as far
as Maluco. In the heights of Gapang, in the province of Pampanga, it was very severe, and
lasted several days. Even greater damage might have been done by an uprising that was
plotted by an Indian of evil disposition in the villages of Gapang, Santor, Caranglán, and
Patabangán, exhorting the natives there to rebel and restore themselves to their former liberty,
by slaying the Spaniards and the religious. He assured them that in Manila there were no
Spaniards left, because the earth had swallowed them, with the entire city, on the night of the
earthquake that occurred on St. Andrew’s day; and that the demon, with whom he had
compact and intercourse, had promised him that he would aid the natives so that they might
maintain themselves without paying tribute, and might enjoy much prosperity, and provided
that they would slay the fathers and burn the churches. The delusion of the Indians of Gapang
went so far that they seized arms, and summoned to their aid many heathen Zambals, and
burned the churches of Santor and Pantabangán. When this was known in Manila, the
encomendero of those villages, Admiral Rodrigo de Mesa, offered his services to pacify
them, and went to Gapang with AlférezCallejas, their collectors of tribute, and some friendly
Indians; but the insurgents, who now were numerous, badly wounded the encomendero, who
fled on horseback, and a year later died from that wound at Manila. They slew
AlférezCallejas and many of the loyal Indians who went in his company, and fortified
themselves in the mountains. The prior and minister, Fray Juan Cabello, escaped by the aid of
some other Indians who were not of the hostile party, came to Manila, and gave information
of the progress of the rebellion. Opinions differed as to the methods which should be
employed in pacifying the insurgents; and our father provincial, Fray Alonso Carbajal,
decided to send the father lecturer Fray Juan de Abarca, a religious for whom the natives of
that district had much affection and respect, since he had been their minister for many years.
With this commission this religious set out for Pampanga, taking with him a companion,
Master-ofcamp Don Agustin Songsong, a valiant Pampango, with as many soldiers of that
people as seemed necessary. They arrived at Gapang, and by means of father Fray Juan de
Abarca’s preaching and his earnest efforts—which would take too long to relate, as would the
many perils of death to which he exposed himself—that sedition was finally quelled, and the
insurgents returned to their former quiet. But the Indian sorcerer, the cause of this
disturbance, did not make his appearance, notwithstanding all the efforts that were made to
find him.
Another rebellion, which threatened a great outbreak, was checked (in the year 1643) by
father Fray Cristobal Enriquez. In the district of Malolos in the province of Bulacán, an
Indian named Don Pedro Ladía, a native of Borney, went about promoting sedition; he
proclaimed that to him belonged the right of being king over the provinces of Tagalos,
alleging that he was a descendant of Raja Matanda, the petty king whom the Spaniards found
at Manila in the year 1571. With these and other impostures, aided by wine—the chief
counselor in matters of policy and war, among those natives—and with the consultations with
the demon which always figure on these occasions, he kept many villages of that district
disquieted. But the sagacious procedure of father Fray Cristobal Enriquez intercepted all
these misfortunes which were threatening us, by furnishing a plan for the arrest of Don Pedro
Ladía—who already was styling himself “king of the Tagálogs;” he was sent to Manila,
where, he paid with his life for his vain presumption. And thus, this revolt, lacking even that
weak foundation, was entirely quieted.
La Democracia

The following document is a decree published in the Manila newspaper La Democracia

which is the organ of the Partido Federal, on November 25, 1901. The account shows the
roots of the agricultural problems of the Philippines which stretched out well into the
20th century until the present. This paper was provided by a certain Hugo Salazar, a
member of the Partido Federal, with his own comments. It reiterates that the friars
usurped not only the lands of individuals, but those of the State.

Excerpt:

To the president and auditors of my royal Audiencia of the Filipinas Islands, resident in the
city of Manila: Don Pedro Enriquez, an auditor of that same Audiencia, made a report, with
sworn statements of his proceedings; of what he had done under the commission which was
conferred on him by the government there for the pacification of the villages of Taguig,
Hagonoy, Parañaque, Bacoor, Cavite el Viejo, and other places attached to them which lie
near that capital, all which had revolted. [He reported that] they were pacified by merely the
proclamation of a general pardon (except to the chief instigators of the revolt) which he
published, and by the promise that their complaints should be heard and justice done to them;
but the village of San Mateo also revolted, and he proceeded to its punishment and left it in
ruins, because the people had not surrendered their arms; it was, however, already
[re]peopled, with inhabitants who were more numerous and of more peaceable disposition. A
similar insurrection or revolt occurred in most of the villages of the province of Bulacan, and
these, like the former, by an agreement which they had formed by a public writing with the
village of Silang protested, as they afterward made evident in their petitions, against the
injuries which the Indians received from the managers of the estates which are owned by the
religious of St. Dominic and those of St. Augustine, both calced and discalced—usurping the
lands of the Indians, without leaving them the freedom of the rivers for their fishing, or
allowing them to cut wood for their necessary use, or even to collect the wild fruits; nor did
they allow the natives to pasture on the hills near their villages the carabaos which they used
for agriculture. Accordingly [the said auditor] determined to free them from these
oppressions, and decided that they should not pay various unjust taxes which the managers
exacted from them. Having proved to be capable in the other task assigned him, he received a
commission as subdelegate judge of the adjustment of land-titles, in consequence of which he
demanded from the aforesaid religious orders the titles of ownership for the lands which they
possessed; and, notwithstanding the resistance that they made to him, repeatedly refusing [to
obey], he distributed to the villages the lands which the orders had usurped, and all which
they held without legitimate cause he declared to be crown lands [realengas]—as occurred
with the convent of San Pablo, belonging to the calced religious of St. Augustine, assigning
to it [i.e., the crown] a farm for horned cattle and two caballerías of land which were
supposed to belong to it, according to the testimony of the village of San Mateo. He also took
other measures which seemed to him proper for the investigation of the fraudulent
proceedings in the measurement of the lands in the estate of Biñan, which is owned by the
religious of St. Dominic —fraud which was committed in the year 1743 by the court clerk of
that Audiencia [of Manila] with notable fraud and trickery, in which participated the two
surveyors (appointed through ignorance or evil intent), to the grave injury of the village of
Silang. This had caused the disturbances, revolts, and losses which had been experienced in
the above-mentioned villages. The aforesaid proceedings [by the auditor] were considered
and examined with the closest attention in my Council of the Indias, with the decrees that
were also sent by the Audiencia there in the course of the proceedings in a second appeal
interposed by the village of Silang—decrees obtained in that suit by the natives of that village
against the college of Santo Tomas de Aquino, in regard to lands usurped [from them] and
annexed to the estate of Biñan, which the religious own. On the subject of the disturbance
among the aforesaid Indians, Governor Don Gaspar de la Torre, his successor the bishop of
Nueva Segovia, and the provincials of the aforesaid religious orders set forth the allegations
made in the name of the orders by father Fray Miguel Vivas as their procurator-general at this
court, and by Father Pedro Altamirano, who acts in that capacity for the Society of Jesus for
its provinces of the Indias (on the point that the province of San Ignacio in those islands had
no share in the commotions in those villages, as was shown by various testimonies), and the
explanations made by my fiscal, who was cognizant of the whole matter. It has therefore
appeared expedient to me to advise you of the receipt of your letters of July 30, 1745, and
July 17, 1746, and of the acts which accompany them; and to notify you that by a despatch of
this date I approve, and regard as just and proper, all that was performed by the aforesaid Don
Pedro Calderon Enriquez in virtue of the commission and appointment which was conferred
upon him by Governor Don Gaspar de la Torre by the advice of the Audiencia there, in order
that he might proceed to the pacification of the insurgent villages in the jurisdictions of
Silang, Imus and San Nicolas, Cavite el Viejo, and the other districts which united on account
of the controversy over the ownership of the lands which the religious—Dominicans, and
both calced and discalced Augustinians—are endeavoring to keep. I also give him thanks for
the judicious conduct and measures which he employed for the aforesaid pacification; and I
likewise approve what he accomplished as subdelegate judge of the settlement of land-titles,
in regard to the survey and boundaries of the estates which, in accordance with their
legitimate titles, belong to each of those orders, in view of the more accurate and reliable
information [obtained] from the interpretations of the four surveyors whom he appointed—
the latter bearing in mind, to this end, the measures put into execution by the auditor Ozaeta
in the year 1699, in accordance with the chart printed by the pilot Bueno, in his book entitled
Navegaciónespeculativa y practica [i.e., “Navigation, theoretical and practical”] (which chart
serves in those islands as the standard for the surveys)—assigning to the aforesaid religious
that which belongs to them by their [legal] titles, which is the same that was ordained in the
executory decree dispatched by the Audiencia there. I also approve what he did in adjudging
to my royal crown the lands which the aforesaid religious orders had usurped, and in allotting
lands to the Indians for the sum of two thousand pesos, at times and terms stipulated with
them.
From the aforesaid investigations charges resulted against Don Juan Monroy, court clerk of
that Audiencia, who was engaged in the survey and adjustment of boundaries made in those
same lands of Biñan in the year 1743—in which, by the declaration of the two surveyors who
took part in it, is evident their ignorance of such work, and of the rules and measures [to be
used]. Although [sc., after?] the lands had been measured and a chart of the estates had been
drawn, the computations were made by the said Monroy, and the surveyors signed it,
supposing that it was correct; but it was acknowledged that in that same year, later, another
survey and adjustment of boundaries was made by the aforesaid court clerk and one of the
said surveyors on some lands over which there were lawsuits—some, in particular, with the
religious of St. Augustine—in which survey there was assigned to each cattle-farm 3,024,574
square brazas of land, this being different from the previous survey, which was computed at
8,695,652 brazas. In this was proved the fraud with which the said Monroy acted, in giving to
the said religious more than half of the land which belonged to Silang. Accordingly, it has
appeared to me proper to condemn him to two years’ suspension from his office, and to lay
upon him a fine of two thousand pesos, applied to the fund of fines paid into the royal
treasury; and for this exaction there is issued, on this same date, the proper despatch to the
Marqués de Regalía, a minister of the said my Council and tribunal of the Indias, and
exclusive judge of rents, settlement of land-titles, and collection of fines and condemnations.
By another despatch of the same date, the government of those islands is commanded to
exercise hereafter the utmost vigilance in order that the Indians of the said villages may not
be molested by the religious, and that the latter shall be kept in check in the unjust acts which
they may in future attempt against not only those Indians but other natives of those islands. In
this, the government must always bear in mind the reiterated commands given in the laws [of
the empire], and the frequent royal decrees that have been issued, to the end that the Indians
shall be well treated and shall not suffer oppression or extortion; and shall direct that my
fiscal there shall appear as their representative and in their defense on every occasion which
shall present itself in this regard. Considering how important it is that the Indians shall know
of the recourse which they can have when they are oppressed or ill-treated, and in their
controversies, it would be very expedient that the government give them information of this,
so that they may not be ignorant thereof, and that they may use these [peaceable] means
without going to the extreme, as they did on this occasion, by employing armed force. For
this time, my royal charity and clemency overlooks their proceedings, considering their
heedless disposition; but when they shall have been advised of what they ought to do in such
cases, and in others of a different nature, if they fail to use those means they shall be
chastised with the utmost severity. I have resolved to notify you of this, in order that you may
be acquainted with this my royal decision, and in order that, so far as you are concerned, you
may make known my decree; and I command the most prompt and effective measures, to the
end that it may be fully and duly carried into effect; for such is my will. Dated at San
Lorenzo, on November 7, 1751.
I the King