Customs-of-the-Tagalogs.pptx - Customs of the Tagalogs(Las...

Customs of the
Tagalogs
( Las custumbres de los indios
Tagalos de Filipinas )
By
Juan de Plasencia

Author’s Background
Juan de Plasencia
•
Born in the 16
th
century to the illustrious family of
the Portocarreros in Plasencia in the region of
Extremadura, Spain.
•
His real name is Joan de Puerto Carrrero, del
convento de Villanueva de la Serena
•
He was a Spanish Friaar of the Franciscan order.
•
Said to have been inspired to be a Franciscan because of his
upbringing spent during a spiritual and religious resurgence
affected by Spain’s siglo de oro.

•
Well reputed as the one who took the leading role in
fostering the spread of primary education.
•
Converted natives, taught catechisms, and organized
towns and barangays in the Philippines.
•
Promoted the understanding of both the Spanish
language among the natives, and the local languages
among the missionaries, to facilitate the task of
spreading Christianity.
•
Initiated the Reduccion Policy – Policy to reduce or
resettle native in central locations
•
Some of his works aimed to put an end to some
injustices being committed against the natives by certain
government officials.

Arrival in the Philippines
•
Came with the first batch of Franciscan missionaries
in the Philippines in 1577.
Life in the Philippines
•
Started preaching in Laguna de Bay and Quezon
areas as early as two months upon arrival in manila.
•
Also preached in provinces in Bulacan and Rizal.
•
Elected as the custos of the friars in May 23, 1584
and held it until 1588.
•
Passed away in Liliw, Laguna in the year 1590.

Literary Works
•
Arte de la Lengua (Art of Language)
•
Vocabulario
•
Coleccion de frances tagala (Collection of Tagalog
Phrases)
•
Catecismo de la Doctrina Cristiana (1581)
-Translated the Christian Doctrines in Tagalog
•
Diccionario tagalog (1580)
•
La Santina (1585) – Opus on prayer nd meditation
•
Relacion de las Costumbres de Los tagalos (1589) – First
Civil Code of the Philippines
•
Customs of the Tagalogs (Juan de Plasencia)

Historical Background of the Documents
Customs of the tagalogs is a part (either chapters or
subsections) of longer monographs written by the
chroniclers of the Spanish expeditions to the Philippines
during the early 16
th
and 17
th
centuries. They appeared
initially in Blair and Robertson’s 55 volumes, The
Philippine Islands (1903) and in the Philippine Journal of
Sciences (1958).