THE EARLY FILIPINO

PEOPLE
By: Hazel B. Ancajas
•Who were the first people to live in
the Philippines?
• Where did they come from?

These questions on the past cannot fully be

answered even by the best scientist who
studied about our early ancestors.
The best explanations we have about
our distant past come from three (3)
main sources:
(1)The story of God’s creation in the
Bible
(2) The story of evolution made by
human scientist
(3) Legends and fairytales made up by
imaginative people
 “TABON MAN”
Palawan Man
• First man in the Philippines lived in
caves at Tabon, Palawan about
25,000 years ago
• use stone tools and weapons (Stone
Age culture)
• They were short with bushy
eyebrows and a low forehead
TABON CAVE, PALAWAN
1. Waves of Migration
They believed that the early Filipinos came from
“waves of migration” – Negritos
Indonesians
Malays

– they were the first people in these islands

thousands of years ago.
 A. THE NEGRITOS
- the first people came to the
Philippines
- they were also called Aetas
- they came across landbridges from
mainland asia about 25,000 years
ago.
- they were very small people
and less than five feet tall.

- they have black skin, short

kinky hair, thick lips and
black noses.

- they wandered in the forest

and lived by hunting, fishing, and
gathering wild plants and
fruits.

- they used bow and arrow for

hunting.
 B. THE INDONESIANS
 they were the first immigrants to come by the sea to the
Philippines
 they came about 5,000 years ago and sailed in boats from
south asia
 they were drove into the mountains and lived in the lowlands
 indonesians were more advanced than the negritos - they lived
in permanent homes and used fire to cook their food
they lived by hunting,
fishing, and small
farming

they painted their

bodies with colorful
figures.
 Today the Indonesian minority tribes are
found in some interior parts of our country.
They are the: Apayaos, Kalingas, Manobos,
Tirurays, Gadda ngs, Tagbanuas, Mandyas,
Sabanuns, Ibanags, Bagobos, Bukidnon.
 C. THE MALAYS
 they came after the indonesians about 2,000 years
ago
 they also arrived in boats from southeast asia
they drove Indonesians to the forest and lived in the
lowlands
 they are more civilized than the Indonesians
they lived in larger villages, had government,
writing, music, arts, and sciences
they lived by agriculture, fishing, mining, and trading
-they were medium in height, brown-skinned with dark eyes,
flat nose and straight black hair

-brought the iron age culture and were the real colonizers
and dominant cultural group in the pre-hispanic philippines
GOVERNMENT SYSTEM
 MARRIAGE CUSTOMS
Custom 1: Man belongs to one class marries a woman of the same class.
Ex. A man from the nobles class will marry the woman from the nobles class. A
man from the dependents class will marry a dependent woman.
Custom 2: It is possible to marry anyone from the other class.
Ex. A noble man can marry a dependent woman. Datu can marry a woman
from the workers class (Timawa).
The legitimate wife is called the “asawa”. • The other women are called
“friends”.
Children of the wife considered legitimate and can be the heir.
Children of the other women are called illegitimate and cannot inherit
property from their father.
Men are required to serve the girl’s parents for months and even years. •
He was not supposed to talk with the lady.
For parents consent, several conditions must be met by the man:
a. Dowry – land, gold or dependents
b. Panghimuyat – sum of money for parents
c. Bigay-suso – given to the nanny or helper
d. Himaraw – payment for feeding the girl during infancy Payments
are arranged directly by the parents of both party. This is called
“pamumulungan” or “pamamalae”
 MODE OF DRESSING
• Clothes are made from cotton, silk and plant fibers.
Men’s Clothing
a. Cangan – short sleeved jacket
b. Bahag – strip of cloth that is wrapped around the legs and hips 6/5/2013
Women’s clothing
a. Baro – blouse with big sleeves
b. Saya – loose skirt
c. Tapis – piece of cloth wrapped around the waist
As part of the customs, tattooing is popular among them.
a. It is a symbol of beauty and bravery.
b. For men, more persons killed in battle is signified by having more tattoos in
the body.
 RELIGIOUS BELIEFS
Ancient Filipinos believed in the immortality of souls and life after death.
There were sacred animals, which they venerate like white monkey (manaul)
and crocodiles.
There were also sacred place and sacred trees, which nobody was allowed
to cut down.
They also worshipped the sun and the moon.
Veneration of the soul-spirits was universal and termed as the “Cult of the
Dead”.
They adored idols called “anitos”.
They are offered prayers and food for good harvest and good fortune.
 Before Chistianism and Islam were introduced,
natives worshipped many gods and goddesses.

1. Bathala – supreme 5. Balangaw – god of

being rainbow
2. Idiyanale – god of 6. Mandarangan – god
agriculture of war
3. Sidapa – god of 7. Lalahon – god of
death harvest
4. Agni – god of fire 8. Siginarugan – god of
hell
BELIEFS AFTER LIFE
BURIAL PRACTICES
 HISTORICAL VALUES:
Lessons from the past that we can learn
• (1) The early Filipinos had a culture of their own.
• They built the magnificent rice terraces in Northern Luzon.
• They charted the seas and sailed thousands of miles to other islands in the
Pacific. They had a society of law and order.
• They appreciated beautiful things like jewelry and pottery.
• They buried the dead with respect.
~Thus, the early Filipinos had their own inventions and spread
cultures to other places. They did not just borrow or receive
the culture of other peoples.
(2) We must respect and protect our tribal minorities
in the Philippines because they are part of our
ancestry.
There are about 100 tribal groups in the Philippines.
Each has its own customs, beliefs, arts, and crafts.
They are very much a part of our colorful past.