Religion, alphabet, and books All this is inconsistent with the fanciful theory of the head-hunter and the wild man of the woods, but is nevertheless the incontestable record. Heathen they were called, but they had a religion, and a code of morals, not at all contemptible. They were natural musicians, possessed a variety of musical instruments, and had native orchestras. They were fond of poetry and and honored their poets. They had also a written alphabet and they wrote books. Every settled town had a temple and most temples had collections of books. They were written in the native characters on palm leaves and bamboo, and stored with the native priests. The subjects were historical and legendary, folk-lore tales, statutes, deeds of heroism and poems. The Spanish enthusiasts burned these books as anti-Christian and thereby destroyed documents priceless to succeeding ages, the few that escaped the flames testifying poignantly to the great loss. A small collection of them was recently discovered in a cave in the Island of Negros and ethnologists have hopes of others that may have escaped the sharp eyes of the destructors. Professor Beyer, whose investigations of early Filipino life and history have been so extensive, has come upon other evidence of early Filipino letters, including an epic poem of considerable length; but this exists now only in the memories of the reciters. The four-thousand-odd lines of it that Professor Beyer has translated show a rare gift of versification and imagery.
Of the written alphabets in use before the coming of the Spaniards, fourteen were of Malay origin, one was Arabic, and one Hebrew. Of the Malayan alphabets many were structurally alike, so that a learned Visayan must have been able to make out Tagalog words and a Pampangan to spell Ilocano. We are not to imagine that every Filipino could read the written speech; there were in the Islands at that time, as in India, Spain, England, and elsewhere, the educated and the uneducated. But it seems likely that the percentage of literacy in the Philippines, about the year 1500, let us say, was as large as in Spain, larger than in India and compared favorably with the percentage in other places.
Traders and artisans The inhabitants were able traders as well as skilful artisans. Manila was one of the great commercial centers of the East and long had been so; it was not a mere collection of fishermen’s huts. When the inhabitants of England were wearing skins, painting their bodies, and gashing their flesh in religious frenzies, the Filipinos were already conducting commercial marts in which were offered silks, brocades, cotton and other cloths, household furniture, precious stones, gold and gold dust, jewelry, wheat from Japan, weapons, works of art and of utility in many metals, cultivated fruits, domesticated animals, earthenware, and a variety of agricultural products from their rich volcanic soil.
Able Agriculturists The people understood how to make agricultural implements which, if crude by present standards, were nevertheless serviceable. They knew how to make machines, to hull and separate rice, to express oil from coconuts, and to weave their cloths. They worked out their own problems of irrigation and in their own way. The huge rice terraces in some parts of Luzon were and still are the wonder of all beholders. “I know of no more impressive examples of primitive engineering,” says Dean C. Worcester, “than the terraced mountain-sides of Nueva Vizcaya beside which the terraced hills of Japan sink into insignificance.”
WRITTEN AND UNWRITTEN LAWS.—The people had both written and unwritten laws. They were made and promulgated by the chiefs after consultation with the elders, and were “observed with so great exactness that it was not considered possible to break them in any circumstance.”
The laws covered many of the subjects which are common in modern times. A few of the most striking points were: Respect of parents and elders, carried to so great a degree that not even the name of one’s father could pass the lips, in the same way as the Hebrews regarded the name of God. Even after reaching manhood and even after marriage, the son was under a strict obligation to obey his father and mother. Marriage had reached the stage of mutual consent. Marriage ceremonies approaching the religious were elaborate, according to rank. Husband and wife were equal socially and in the control of their property. Property was acquired principally by occupation, but also by gift, purchase, and succession. Wills were sometimes made. Contracts were strictly fulfilled. The Chinese writer, Wang Ta-yuan; in a book of 1349 says: “The natives and the traders having agreed on prices, they let the former carry off the goods and later on they bring the amount of native products agreed upon. The traders trust them, for they never fail to keep their bargains.” In fact, non-performance of a contract was severely punished. Partnerships were formed and the respective obligations of the partners enforced.
The Code of Calantiao.—The penal law was the most extensive. Penalties were severe, altho compared with present laws, they appear cruel and illogical. However, they compared favorably with Greek and Roman laws as well as with the contemporary Spanish and English criminal laws.
Calantiao, the third chief of Panay, had, in 1433, promulgated a penal code. It ran as follows:
“Ye shall not kill; neither shall ye steal; neither shall ye do harm to the aged; lest ye incur the danger of death. All those who infringe this order shall be condemned to death by being drowned with stones in the river, or in boiling water.
“Ye shall obey. Let all your debts with the headmen (principales) be met punctually. He who does not obey shall receive for the first offense one hundred lashes. If the debt is large, he shall be condemned to thrust his hand thrice into boiling water. For the second offense, he shall be condemned to be beaten to death.
“Observe and obey ye: let no one disturb the quiet of graves. When passing by the caves and trees where they are, give respect to them.
“Ye shall obey: he who makes exchange for food, let it be always done in accordance with his word. He who does not comply, shall be beaten for one hour, he who repeats the offense shall be exposed for one day among ants.
“They shall be burned: Those who by their strength or cunning have mocked at and escaped punishment; or who have killed young boys; or try to steal away the women of agorangs (rich men).
“Those shall be killed who profane sites where idols are kept, and sites where are buried the sacred things of their diuatas (spirits) and headmen.”
Testimonies of Occidental Writers All which bespeak a culture of no mean order, and occidental writers themselves have given it the credit that it deserves, as shown by the following testimonies: