Narciso, Lovely Jessa Reina F.

10940928 CULTHIS

The Pre-Colonial Filipina

A woman has many different labels, depending on what part of the world shes from, what culture she grew up in, and what she herself was raised to believe. Not so shocking since majority of the worlds societies operate on a patriarchal system, including our very own country, the Philippines. Nowadays, because of Christianity being the major and official religion of the country, it becomes a given that the men would hold much higher positions than the women. However, centuries ago, long before the colonizers came upon our beaches, both men and women stood on equal footing, sometimes with the woman having more power than the men.

Unlike the way it is now, the Philippines during the pre-colonial period was not a whole entity. It was made up of loosely related principalities with their own separate social, political and economic systems under their own tribal rulers. The many different communities that populated the islands lived together based on their economic interests, similar beliefs, and kinship. Babaylan also served as a healer, mediator, and counselor within the tribe. Different tribes had different names for their religious

practioners, but these offices were mainly filled by the women. In fact if a man were to be the Babaylan, he had to dress like a woman.

As was common in other cultures in Asia, as well as in the Western part of the globe, arranged marriages was custom amongst the Filipinos. However, there are certain noteworthy differences. For example, rather than the family of the bride providing the dowry, it is the groom's duty to produce an amount previously agreed upon. Also, among the Tagalogs, if a woman was especially distinguished, it is the husband who took her name. It would then be not unusual to hear people refer to the husband as the husband of Ninay or the husband of Isyang.

Unlike how the Filipina wives were treated after the coming of the Spanish, the pre-colonial Filipinas were treated as a companion. Decision making wasn't based solely on the husband, and her power was not confined to simple affairs such as having a baby or household chores. The wives were allowed to practice abortion if they felt as if they had reached the desired number of children.

Virginity wasn't an issue either. They did not find it valuable and unwed mothers were not looked down upon. Unlike other cultures, these mothers did not lose the chance to marry well, instead, their prospects are still quite good since they were able to

prove that they have the capacity for motherhood. However, promiscuity and prostitution was a taboo that was punishable, as is their law of custom.

In the pre-colonial Philippines, the women even had the right to decide how the children would be brought up. Also, they did not give preferece to the boys. Both male and female offsprings inherited equally and education was an opportunity both sexes could enjoy.

The mothers had the right to name their children as well. In fact, it was their prerogative. She enjoyed an important role in the economic stability of the family as well. Since the women were considered more trustworthy than the men most of the time, formal contracts were made in their presence. Most of the time, the husbands wouldn't even dare enter into a contract without the presence and approval of their wives.

The children, both male and female, were treated equally. Girls weren't overly protected and leniency was not extended to the boys. They are both raised in the same way and work training was something both went through together.

Also, pre-colonial families were just as eager for the birth of a daughter as they were for sons. A daughter was considered just as important because it was the groom

who provided the dowry as means of compensation for her loss from her family. Sometimes, he would even be required to serve the bride's family for a probationary period until the bride and groom were married.

It was seldom that a woman did not know how to manage the family landholdings. She had the task of agricultural production once the ground had been prepared by the man. She engaged herself in weaving and pottery-making and usually managed the trading of products and wares.

The role of women in the political field, especially leadership role is a disputable subject for those who say, this was based merely on legends. Remember the legend of Queen Maniwantiwan, the wife of Datu Marikudo whose consent had to be secured before he could sell his lands to the Bornean immigrants led by Datu Puti. Another queen who is reported to have ruled Cotabato in the seventh century was Queen Sima. The practice of primogeniture with regard to inheritance regardless of sex allowed women to succeed their fathers as rulers of tribes. The most famous of the women leaders of pre-Spanish society was Princess Urduja of Pangasinan. She was supposed to be a beautiful Amazon, courageous and intelligent, possessing knowledge of languages and culture of Old Asia.

In Teresita Infantes documented study, The Woman in Early Philippines and Among Tribal Minorities, there is a description of the role of women among the Kalingas: "Kalinga women are not barred from belonging to the highest rank of society, which entitles them to the privileges equal to those of men in similar rank. Some are recognized as pact holders and as she is the one who owns the pact, only her children or relatives have the right to inherit it." Pact holders were those who held agreement with a prominent citizen of another tribe or community in which each party agreed to give protection and aid to all members of each others community while they were in his/her territory. Punishment was imposed if any harm had been done to them by his/her tribe member. This important position of being a pact holder was recognized among women in the pre-Spanish society.

In the event of divorce caused by childlessness, infidelity, failure to fulfill obligations towards family, etc. the dowry had to be returned by the brides family if she was at fault. However, if the husband was at fault, he lost any right of its return. The children were divided equally between the two regardless of sex. The conjugallyacquired property was also divided equally. This way, she possessed equal rights with regard to divorce according to law and custom.

Clearly, the women here were not simply the passive little mouse that most societies from the West expect their own women to be. Here, women were equal to men, if not greater. Here, women had no reason to fear for their bodies since virtue

wasnt an issue, nor was their lack of clothing. They were respected as being able to stand on their own without help unless they themselves ask for it. So, what happened?

When the Spanish intruders came to the Philippines in the 16th century, they demanded the Filipinos to produce surplus by forced labor and paying tribute to the government or dues to the churches to institutionalize the socio-economic structure of the country. The women, then, had naturally become part of such painful struggle and disturbance that relations of dependence and exploitation were created.

If the Filipinos easily came to accepting the Spanish rule, it was only because the religious saw them as a sort of defender against injustice. But even if Spanish colonization contributed much to our being the only Christian country in Asia, it will always remain the primordial culprit for the distorted image and undervalued role of Filipino women today because it was during the Spanish conquest that the transformation of women from highly-respected equals of men to objects of subjugation began.

When the Spanish masters brought in their institutions and transplanted them on native soil, the social being of women was invested with new meanings, new dimensions; or rather, these were imposed on them, and their social consciousness that is to say, their perception of themselves and of the world changed accordingly. The

image of the Filipino woman then became tied to the house whose only duty was to take care of the husband and the children. It also became a fathers good girl, a husbands subject, and a long-suffering woman with sealed lips and silent sobs and has no right to participate political undertakings. The rest, as we say, is history.

In the working society, Filipino women are given equal opportunities with men. As men delegated household tasks to Filipina women, Filipino women who are employed are overwhelmed.

Although male chauvinism is prevalent in the Filipino society, there are many Filipino women in political postions. However due to Filipino women's submissive attitudes in general, there is always a double standard towards sexual conduct.

Since Filipino wife control the access to the family's finances, she has the ability to help her own maternal family when the needs arise. Generally, the Filipino husband is particularly concern about how his wife spend the money. The responsibilty of the huband is to bring money in for the family and it is the duty of the filipino wife to budget. Though this task is quite similar to the one fulfilled by the pre-colonial women, the Filipinas are still far from obtaining the privileges and respect they once held.