Dogmatic Principles
The earliest form of government of the Filipinos was in a form of a barangay. It consists
of up to a hundred families usually setting
along a riverbank of mouth of a river. The
ruler of the government is the datu whose
role is to govern and promote the well-being
of his people. He also intervenes whenever
there is a conflict between the people in the
state. The title is usually obtained by inheritance or earned if there is a display of
prowess and valor in battle or proof of effective leadership. However, he was not an
absolute ruler; he could be replaced if he
was found incapable of leading the community. Nevertheless, datus are only powerful
over their barangays and the political development during the precolonial period had
no central government, no one was around
to unite the different barangays together.
Pecuniary Experiences
Within the abundance of a country, there is
always its economy. The country’s development mostly relies on its economic growth in
order to keep its status in a good order. In
terms of agriculture, the Ifugaos did a lot of
efforts in building dams and irrigations in
order to make the job more organized. Besides that, it was also because of them why
the Banaue Rice Terraces is known around
the world. A lot of generations passed before it was finally completed and it became
known to a lot of people today. Besides for
making its beauty prominent, the builders
decided to make it in a form of a staircase
because it is a way of assisting in growing
crops. There was an abundance of rice,
wine, carabaos, goats, and deer. There
were also vast quantities of cotton, wax,
honey, and date palms produced by the
natives of Luzon. Besides agriculture, aquaculture is also given the same importance
by the Filipinos. An example of this is the
salambao which is used in catching fish. It
is a type of raft that uses a
For an Easy Trade
The natives made use of the ocean as natural highways with Japan as the north and
Maldives at the west. Miguel Lopez de Legazpi also wrote on how merchants from
Luzon and Mindoro go to Cebu for trade
which has similarities with Chinese merchants. The Visayan Islands also had trade
with Arabs, Indians, Vietnamese, Cambodians, Malays, Indonesians, and Thais.
Unearthing Underground
The early Filipinos worked as miners as
they scour through caves and mountains.
They hunt for gold, silver, copper, and
iron. According to Antonio Pigafetta, the
citizens of Mindoro possesses great skill
in mining precious stones and other metals. It is so great that it can even deceive
the best of silversmiths.
The Social Order
Currently, the humanity ladder is up to
three steps because there are three social
classes in the classes, the rich, middle
class, and poor. Before the colonialization of the Spaniards, the three types of
society existed but it was done in a different manner. The first on the staircase are
the nobles, they are composed of the
chief and their families. Besides the
riches, they also have tremendous influence in their barangay. The second one
are the freemen and they are also known
as the maharlika. They are composed of
freemen and dependents who earned
their freedom. In addition, they also work
to earn for themselves and their families.
Lastly, the third on the social staircase are
the dependents or alipin. The alipin status
is divided into two: aliping namamahay,
the dependent who works and has his
own place and property while the aliping
saguiguilid who has none. They acquired
their status by inheritance, captivity in
war, failure to pay debts, or by committing a crime. They are the lowest social
class.
Culture and Arts
The natives have several talents in different areas but what stood out is their ability to do everything using their hands. An
example of their magic hands are their
abilities in terms of fixing the style of their
tools and weapons. In addition, they also
have the skill to make different pieces of
jewelry like beads, amulets, bracelets,
and earrings in several ways. In bigger
tasks, they also have skills in weaving,
ship building, and mining.