LOARCA

Captain Loarca's Account of the Filipinos and Their Pre-Spanish Civilization (1582)

Captain Loarca's Account of the Filipinos and Their Pre-Spanish Civilization (1582)

The original manuscript of the Relacion is preserved at the Archivo General de las Indias and handwritten copies were made by Juan Bautista de Muñoz one of which is in the Lenox Collection of the New York Public Library and the other is in the Academia Real de la Historia in Madrid, Spain. Loarca's Relacion was one of the early writings about the inhabitants of the Philippines aside from those written by members of the Magellan and Legazpi expeditions.

Miguel de Loarca was one of the Spanish officials to arrive in the Philippines. He was a member of a Spanish expedition to China. Loarca's contribution to Philippine historiography was his two works.

Miguel de Loarca was one of the first Spanish conquistadores to arrive in the Philippines. The author of Relacion de las Yslas Filipinas and Verdadera relacion de la grandeça del Reyno de China. Loarca's work on the Philippines was published in 1582.

RELACION DE LAS YSLAS FILIPINAS By Miguel de Loarca

It cannot be denied that the men who have come to this country have lacked the desire for investigation, since neither ecclesiastics nor laymen have undertaken to relate what occurred in this land at the time of the conquest, and, although it is said that Fray Alonso de Buyza has written a large volume in Mexico on this subject, I doubt the assertion, because I have seen his letters asking for exact information about events in this region of sixteen years ago, because he mistrusted the accounts which have been sent to him from here; he also requested anyone of the settlers of this land, who could write, to give a faithful account of all things for times to come. At present, it will be difficult to arrange such information, and much time will be needed therefor. In view of this and the short time before me, I shall not treat of that particular subject; but I shall fulfill what his Majesty has ordered from your Lordship by his royal decree; and I shall also add a description of some customs of the natives, in order that, since they are his Majesty's vassals, he may know of the barbarous life, and of the civilized manner in which they know life under his gracious sway.

It cannot be denied that the men who have come to this country have lacked the desire for investigation, since neither ecclesiastics nor laymen have undertaken to relate what occurred in this land at the time of the conquest, and, although it is said that Fray Alonso de Buyza has written a large volume in Mexico on this subject, I doubt the assertion, because I have seen his letters asking for exact information about events in this region of sixteen years ago, because he mistrusted the accounts which have been sent to him from here; he also requested anyone of the settlers of this land, who could write, to give a faithful account of all things for times to come. At present, it will be difficult to arrange such information, and much time will be needed therefor. In view of this and the short time before me, I shall not treat of that particular subject; but I shall fulfill what his Majesty has ordered from your Lordship by his royal decree; and I shall also add a description of some customs of the natives, in order that, since they are his Majesty's vassals, he may know of the barbarous life, and of the civilized manner in which they know life under his gracious sway.

A treatise on the Philippine Islands, in which, an account is given of all the islands and peoples reduced to the obedience of his royal Majesty, King Don Phelippe, our sovereign, and of the settlements that the Spaniards had made there; together with an account of the form of government among both the Spaniards and the natives, and of some customs of the Indians and Moros of these islands. Although the chief settlement of the Spaniards in these islands is the city of Manila, and the island of Luzon, wherein it is situated, it is the finest and richest of all the islands discovered (on which account we should discuss and begin to write about it first), yet, since the island of Cubu [sic Cebu) was the first to be settled, and served as the starting point for the conquest of all the others; and, too, because your Lordship has allowed me too short a time in which to write this relation; and because I know them better, I shall commence with the island of Cubu and those adjacent to it, the Pintados. [the Visayan islands)

The island of Cebu produces a small quantity of rice, borona and millet and little or no cotton; for the cloth which the natives use for their garments is made from a kind of banana. From this, they make a sort of cloth which the natives call medriñaque. All are provided with fowls, swine, a few goats, beans and a kind of root called by the natives camotes. After rice, fish is the main article of maintenance in this and other islands, for it abounds in all of them and is of excellent quality in this island of Cebu.

Banton Island was one of the earliest baranggays mentioned by Miguel Loarca in his Relacion de las Islas Filipinas in 1582.

[Islands of Cagaian) These islands have about four hundred inhabitants, all of whom are very skillful ship-builders. These Indians of Cagayan have made his Majesty’s ships in these islands, as well as the galleys, galliot and fragatas. They also helped in repairing and righting the ships. [Island of Cubu (Cebu)]. The town has the best part of these islands and it was for this reason that Miguel Lopez de Legazpi founded a settlement there.

Larao of the Dead

On the Practices of Natives

Kinds of people on this land- people who live along the coast - people who live in the mountains Different Beliefs - preserve their ancient love through songs in a pleasing manner. -playing their oars and eat rice to adom themselves with gold.

That is mourning. One of the observances which is carried out with most rigor is that called larao. This rule requires that when a chief dies, all must mourn him and must observe the following restrictions.

Just wars

Wars

According to them, panas was the first man who waged war, the son of that aronanor, who was grandson of the first human beings. He declared war against mangaran, they say that panas was the first man to use weapons in fighting.

There are 3 cases in which these natives regard war are just: The first is when an Indian goes to another village and is there put to death without cause; the second, when their wives are stolen from them and the third; is when they go in friendly manner to trade at any village.

Laws of Slavery

Laws

There is no law that when you commit any kind of crime, you'll be sentence to death. Instead, you just have to pay jewels or gold. And if you don't have those, you have to borrow the money from anyone. As a payment for the money, you'll be a slave. Three classes of slaves: > Bondman > Tumaranpoc > Tumatabans

They say that the laws by which they have thus far been governed were left to them by Lubluban, the woman whom we have already mentioned. Of these laws only the chiefs are defenders and executors. There are no judge

Value of the slaves

IN TIME OF FAMINE

Labin sian, the equivalent of twelve pesos. The tumaranpoques are worth the same sum. The tomatabans are worth one tael, or six pesos. The avuey women. like their husbands, work in the houses of chiefs. The tumaranpoque women, if they have children, serve half of the month in spinning and weaving cotton, which their masters supply; and during the other half of the month they work for themselves. The torriataban women spin only one hank of cotton each month for their masters, who furnish them the cotton in the ball. Only the ayueys receive food and clothing from their masters; to the others the masters give nothing.

who have not the means of sustenance, in order not to perish, go to the rich — and almost always they seek their relatives and surrender themselves to them as slaves — in order to be fed.

Real Timaguas

ANOTHER KIND OF SLAVERY

The freemen of these islands, who are called timaguas, are neither chiefs nor slaves. If a timagus desires to live in a certain village, he joins himself to one of the chiefs. Timaguas live in security, and are free to pass from the service of one chief to that of another.

There is another kind of lordship [slavery: crossed out in MS.(Mississippi) ]. which was first introduced by a man whom they call Sidumaguer which, they say, occurred more than 2000 years ago. Because, some men broke a barangay belonging to him - in Lariguiguey, his native village, situated in the island of Bantayan - he obliged the descendants of those who had broken his barangay to hand on to him at their deaths two slaves out of every ten, and the same portion of all their property. This kind of slavery gradually made its way among all the Indians living on the coast, but not among the Tinguianes.

Marriage among the Slaves

Marriage among the Timaguas

Marry each other without drinking and without anny go-between.If a chief has a slave,one of his ayoiys who serve in the house,and wishes to marry him to a female slave of the same class belonging to another chief.

they do not follow these usages, because they have no property of their own. Timaguas marriage is accomplished when the pair unite in drinking pitarrilla from the same cup.

thankyou for listening!

1.

7.

2.

8.

3.

9.

4.

10.

5.

11.

6.

12.