Plasencia and Pigafetta Paper

PLASENCIA AND PIGAFETTA PAPER

Compare and contrast how Pigafetta viewed the Cebuanos and how Plasencia

viewed the Tagalogs. What do they tell you about the lifestyle and culture of our

precolonial ancestors?

Have you ever heard of abinukot(hidden princess) who was turned into an

enslaved person by her enemies? However, she emerges as ababaylanor a priestess

and then fulfills her destiny of being a female warrior to save her people from a ruthless

rajah. Later, she becomes the most powerful woman of her time.

     She was Amaya, the main character in Amaya, a historical fiction based in the

16th-century pre-colonial setting in Visayas, Central Philippines. The series presents

ancient Filipino beliefs, pre-colonial political system and social structure, agriculture,

language, costumes, warfare, marriage, and the system of writing.

     I remember watching this series during the lockdown in the year 2020, and I was

so indulged in it as I was able to learn pre-colonial words such as binukot (hidden

princess), babaylan (priestess), umalagad (ancestral spirits), and more. It showed a lot

about the lifestyle and culture of our pre-colonial ancestors, and its ending gave me

chills as it depicts the arrival of the Spaniards --- and we know what happened next.

Since the series is historical fiction, it made me want to ponder more about the

lifestyle and culture of our pre-colonial ancestors from authors who saw them firsthand.

And this is when Antonio Pigafetta and Juan de Plasencia enter.

According to Crum (2007), Italian scholar and explorer Antonio Pigafetta traveled

with Ferdinand Magellan and King Charles I of Spain on their trip to the Spice Islands.

Pigafetta traveled with Magellan and kept an extensive record of their expedition. Based

on The First Voyage Around the World, Magellan and his crew reached the Philippines

island, or what they named the islands of Ladroni, on March 16, 1521. They first arrived

on the island of Zamal or Samar. On March 18, 1521, some natives showed joy at the

Magellan crew’s presence. As described by Pigafetta, our ancestors exhibited great

pleasure at seeing them. His account narrates how our ancestors gave them fish, wine,

bananas, and coconuts in exchange for Magellan’s trinkets. However, our ancestors are

not only hospitable, but they were also promise-keepers.They gave them word that

they would return and they returned with additional food. Later, Pigafetta would pertain

to the Cebuanos aspeople who live according to justice and love peace, ease, and

quiet.

Meanwhile, Juan de Plasenciawas a Spanish friar of the Franciscan Order.

According to Mapanoo (2015), Plasencia was among the first Franciscan missionaries

who arrived in the Islands on July 2, 1578. According to Plasencia’s Customs of the

Tagalogs, the Tagalogs were a highly advanced and sophisticated society with a rich

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Compare and contrast how Pigafetta viewed the Cebuanos and how Plasencia viewed the Tagalogs. What do they tell you about the lifestyle and culture of our precolonial ancestors? Have you ever heard of a binukot (hidden princess) who was turned into an enslaved person by her enemies? However, she emerges as a babaylan or a priestess and then fulfills her destiny of being a female warrior to save her people from a ruthless rajah. Later, she becomes the most powerful woman of her time. She was Amaya, the main character in Amaya, a historical fiction based in the 16 th-century pre-colonial setting in Visayas, Central Philippines. The series presents ancient Filipino beliefs, pre-colonial political system and social structure, agriculture, language, costumes, warfare, marriage, and the system of writing. I remember watching this series during the lockdown in the year 2020, and I was so indulged in it as I was able to learn pre-colonial words such as binukot (hidden princess), babaylan (priestess), umalagad (ancestral spirits), and more. It showed a lot about the lifestyle and culture of our pre-colonial ancestors, and its ending gave me chills as it depicts the arrival of the Spaniards --- and we know what happened next. Since the series is historical fiction, it made me want to ponder more about the lifestyle and culture of our pre-colonial ancestors from authors who saw them firsthand. And this is when Antonio Pigafetta and Juan de Plasencia enter. According to Crum (2007), Italian scholar and explorer Antonio Pigafetta traveled with Ferdinand Magellan and King Charles I of Spain on their trip to the Spice Islands. Pigafetta traveled with Magellan and kept an extensive record of their expedition. Based on The First Voyage Around the World, Magellan and his crew reached the Philippines island, or what they named the islands of Ladroni, on March 16, 1521. They first arrived on the island of Zamal or Samar. On March 18, 1521, some natives showed joy at the Magellan crew’s presence. As described by Pigafetta, our ancestors exhibited great pleasure at seeing them. His account narrates how our ancestors gave them fish, wine, bananas, and coconuts in exchange for Magellan’s trinkets. However, our ancestors are not only hospitable, but they were also promise-keepers. They gave them word that they would return and they returned with additional food. Later, Pigafetta would pertain to the Cebuanos as people who live according to justice and love peace, ease, and quiet. Meanwhile, Juan de Plasencia was a Spanish friar of the Franciscan Order. According to Mapanoo (2015), Plasencia was among the first Franciscan missionaries who arrived in the Islands on July 2, 1578. According to Plasencia’s Customs of the Tagalogs, the Tagalogs were a highly advanced and sophisticated society with a rich

cultural heritage and a well-developed system of government. He described them as being skilled in agriculture, trade, and other fields and noted their advanced irrigation system and use of various crops and livestock. He also told the Tagalogs as intelligent and resourceful and reported their advanced writing system and use of multiple tools and technologies. He also recorded their religious beliefs and practices, noting the importance of ancestor worship and the role of shamans in their society. The first similarity I observed between Pigafetta and Plasencia is that both men were impressed by the intelligence and resourcefulness of our ancestors, and both described them as being skilled in agriculture, trade, and other fields. Another similarity is that both men remarked on our ancestors’ war and hospitable nature, and they described them as being friendly and welcoming to outsiders. The third similarity is that both men were deeply interested in the spiritual lives of the indigenous peoples, and both recorded detailed accounts of their religions and belief systems. However, despite their similarities, some differences are also to be noted. Pigafetta’s account was about their journey and the difficulties they encountered to conquer the world. He also discusses how Christianity began to influence our ancestors. He described our ancestors’ way of life at the time, including how they dressed, ate, communicated, and lived. Meanwhile, Plasencia’s account is more extensive and informative. It was all detailed, from the form of government and its administration of justice to inheritance, enslaved people, marriage customs, and religious and superstitious beliefs. However, the ritualistic and superstitious beliefs of the Tagalogs were mocked by Plasencia, by coming up with various categories of devilish beliefs. He failed to realize that in traditional cultures, these so-called “evil” practices were part of Filipino folk beliefs, and the early Tagalogs never considered them as acts of the devil. Pigafetta’s The First Voyage Around the World and Plasencia’s Customs of the Tagalogs showed that our pre-colonial ancestors already had a developed society with their social structures before the conquest of Spain. Many Filipinos believe that our ancestors were never great, that when the Spaniards came, they were all-powerful and could easily deceive our docile ancestors. But these two accounts show that our ancestors are rich in lifestyle and culture. However, the richness in lifestyle and culture doesn’t mean perfection. And just like as Pigafetta and Plasencia observed, our ancestors are warriors. And it is in the blood of the Filipinos that even after being enslaved for more than three hundred years, they fulfilled their destiny to save their people from the ruthless colonizers, just like what Amaya did.

Plasencia and Pigafetta Paper, Assignments of History

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PLASENCIA AND PIGAFETTA PAPER