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Pre-Spanish Philippines
a small excerpt from the PROLOGUE "A hundred years ago famous historians whole images of records about our ancient history and civilization. However, they did not successfully explain our pre-SPanish periods. What was the Philippines like before Ferdinand Magellan's arrival? What kind of culture did the Filipinos have before Hispanization? What pre-disposed them to easily assimilate western civilization in their ethnic fabric? This book provides cludes to these fascinating questions." "Few nations have a history so confused like the pre-Spanis civilization of the Philippines," said Isabel de los Reyes. This is due to the scarcity of available materials and records. Chronicles of the Spanish and others were hardly considered a history in its technical terms. In a land where earthquakes and storms of apocalyptic proportions continuously transfored the landscape, hardly any record was preserved. During the more than 300 years of colonial rule records were vandalized and destroyed." It is a fact that civilization does not occur in a day, a month, a year or from a sudden event, but rather through gradual providential developments over a period of time. Almost two thousand years have passed and yet our ancient civilization remains a paradox. Unfortunately there are no masses of artifacts nor volumes of documents available to guide us. We hope that some day a manuscript will satisfactorily chronicle whence and where the intricate fibers of courtesy, faith, morality and compassion were woven into the Philippine canvas. Such admirable traits remain embedded in the Filipino tradition today."
171 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 14, 2020
Some background: When I first saw this book, I instantly wanted to buy it because I don’t ever remember learning about pre-colonization history when I went to school in the Philippines. Our colonizers and the endless corrupt politicians that follow continue to try to erase parts of history that don’t vibe with the propaganda they try to push. As a Filipino American, I constantly crave to know my home country’s true history. Seeing this book on instagram gave me hope and guess what, it was very disappointing.
I was hoping to learn about our Indigenous tribes’ customs, religion, language, and so much more. But instead, I find out that Dr. Juana Jimenez Pelmoka’s research all stems out of the National Library of Madrid. That she graduated from the Institute of Spanish of Letran College. That she received her doctorate in Roman Philology from the Central Universidad de Madrid in Spain. And this is instantly evident as she consistently holds Roman, Greek, and Septentrional (“of the north”) civilization as the most “grandeur.”
Consider this quote in the prologue: “If the ancient civilizations of the world, the Romans, Greeks, and Septentrionals who taught us their grandeur, did not have their history until Gregorio de Tours, it is therefore not strange that the Philippines, nestled in the vast and multi-racial Asiatic Archipelago, would not have theirs.”
Who ever said that these civilizations “taught us their grandeur?” We have our own. We do not need to compare our own history’s development to these civilizations. These civilizations are not the standard.
Though Filipino, Dr. Pelmoka defends that there’s a lot to learn through the eyes of our colonizers.
“Although our pre-Spanish history was chronicled by our colonizers, and thus inevitably depicted through their lenses those writings, nevertheless gave us insight into the Filipino archetype, the rhythm of his life, beliefs, customs and practices, his transition from nomadic life to urbanity… Whence and how did the early Filipino become inherently civilized? For centuries the answers to these questions had been conjectures and contentions.”
From nomadic life to URBANITY? How did the early Filipino become INHERENTLY CIVILIZED? Dr. Pelmoka is implying that Filipinos were unrefined and uncivilized before colonization. Colonizers have called Filipinos savages before. It is absolutely horrific to hear this from a kababayan. From someone who’s writing a history book with the intention of “rendering a better service to her country.” This is internalized oppression. Dr. Pelmoka has accepted that Western civilizations rank higher than our own.
Dr. Pelmoka studied Roman philology, not Philippine history. She did not research libraries in the Philippines or interview Filipinos, specifically the Indigenous populations, to develop this book. Majority of referenced texts are titled in Spanish, works by Spanish authors, which include magazines. She does not have the credibility to be writing this history book.
I was hoping to learn about our Indigenous tribes’ customs, religion, language, and so much more. But instead, I find out that Dr. Juana Jimenez Pelmoka’s research all stems out of the National Library of Madrid. That she graduated from the Institute of Spanish of Letran College. That she received her doctorate in Roman Philology from the Central Universidad de Madrid in Spain. And this is instantly evident as she consistently holds Roman, Greek, and Septentrional (“of the north”) civilization as the most “grandeur.”
Consider this quote in the prologue: “If the ancient civilizations of the world, the Romans, Greeks, and Septentrionals who taught us their grandeur, did not have their history until Gregorio de Tours, it is therefore not strange that the Philippines, nestled in the vast and multi-racial Asiatic Archipelago, would not have theirs.”
Who ever said that these civilizations “taught us their grandeur?” We have our own. We do not need to compare our own history’s development to these civilizations. These civilizations are not the standard.
Though Filipino, Dr. Pelmoka defends that there’s a lot to learn through the eyes of our colonizers.
“Although our pre-Spanish history was chronicled by our colonizers, and thus inevitably depicted through their lenses those writings, nevertheless gave us insight into the Filipino archetype, the rhythm of his life, beliefs, customs and practices, his transition from nomadic life to urbanity… Whence and how did the early Filipino become inherently civilized? For centuries the answers to these questions had been conjectures and contentions.”
From nomadic life to URBANITY? How did the early Filipino become INHERENTLY CIVILIZED? Dr. Pelmoka is implying that Filipinos were unrefined and uncivilized before colonization. Colonizers have called Filipinos savages before. It is absolutely horrific to hear this from a kababayan. From someone who’s writing a history book with the intention of “rendering a better service to her country.” This is internalized oppression. Dr. Pelmoka has accepted that Western civilizations rank higher than our own.
Dr. Pelmoka studied Roman philology, not Philippine history. She did not research libraries in the Philippines or interview Filipinos, specifically the Indigenous populations, to develop this book. Majority of referenced texts are titled in Spanish, works by Spanish authors, which include magazines. She does not have the credibility to be writing this history book.
December 15, 2022
“We interpret this as a divine event, heralding the Philippines’ destiny to be a cradle of Christian belief in Asia, a significant providential plan to save men.”
Among other terrible gems of information presented in a way that upholds Europe and their colonization, destruction, and ongoing exploitation of the Philippines. This book is pure trash. If I could give 0 stars, I would. There were multiple sentences describing Magellan as heroic and that finding the Philippines was his reward. Kys….
Also the parts describing groups like the Aeta calling them barbaric savages??? Nah.
“Exposure to Hellenistic civilization created a positive impact on the lives of our ancient people. Hellenistic culture, exposed the Filipino to art, crude as they were, but representative of their era. It hastened the Filipinos’ transition from barbarianism to culture. It also instilled a deep sense of right and wrong, also known as morals, in them”
Like… WHAT
Among other terrible gems of information presented in a way that upholds Europe and their colonization, destruction, and ongoing exploitation of the Philippines. This book is pure trash. If I could give 0 stars, I would. There were multiple sentences describing Magellan as heroic and that finding the Philippines was his reward. Kys….
Also the parts describing groups like the Aeta calling them barbaric savages??? Nah.
“Exposure to Hellenistic civilization created a positive impact on the lives of our ancient people. Hellenistic culture, exposed the Filipino to art, crude as they were, but representative of their era. It hastened the Filipinos’ transition from barbarianism to culture. It also instilled a deep sense of right and wrong, also known as morals, in them”
Like… WHAT
July 15, 2020
I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone. Aside from the countless grammatical misses and structural flaws in its arguments, this book's main claim is that the pre-Spanish inhabitants of the islands were mild-mannered, civilized, and Christian-like, because they were influenced with Greek and Roman sensibilities. It's as if the ancient Filipinos were unable to develop these positive traits on their own. This, while being totally unable to provide any solid evidence to the claim other than "Divine Providence." SMH.
September 6, 2022
Colonial apologia at its finest.
Pelmonka examines pre-Spanish Philippine society through the exclusive use of colonist references, without a single critical thought as to why this information may be biased and/or inaccurate.
She goes to great lengths to demonstrate how the colonisation of the Philippines was destiny. Specifically because of the Filipino peoples' supposed natural predisposition to Christianity. Her mental acrobatics here is disappointingly impressive.
Similarly her praise for the Filipino peoples ability to assimilate to Spanish rule only shows her own internalised colonisation.
At best her descriptions of pre-Spanish Filipino society are wonky and inaccurate. At worst they are derivative and just plain wrong.
Pelmonka examines pre-Spanish Philippine society through the exclusive use of colonist references, without a single critical thought as to why this information may be biased and/or inaccurate.
She goes to great lengths to demonstrate how the colonisation of the Philippines was destiny. Specifically because of the Filipino peoples' supposed natural predisposition to Christianity. Her mental acrobatics here is disappointingly impressive.
Similarly her praise for the Filipino peoples ability to assimilate to Spanish rule only shows her own internalised colonisation.
At best her descriptions of pre-Spanish Filipino society are wonky and inaccurate. At worst they are derivative and just plain wrong.
July 12, 2023
Most people who have reviewed this book have not liked it. It is a published doctoral thesis of the author. The reviewers seem to be caught up on the argument of Greco or Hellenistic influences. I also found this argument poorly supported by the author. Despite this, I found the book to be one of the very few recent books written on the subject by a native of the Philippines. I think it is worthwhile reading if one ignores the poorly supported Hellenistic references.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews