Analyzing Primary Sources

Analyzing Primary Sources

• A primary source includes documents or artifacts created by witnesses or participants in an event.
• Primary sources provide direct evidence of human activity and are actual records that have survived from the past.
• Analyzing a primary source involves examining journals, newspapers, letters, court case records, novels, artworks, music, or autobiographies from the period.
• Interpretation of primary documents differs based on individual experiences and skills.
• Analysis requires information about the document itself and the era from which it originates.

Analyzing Primary Sources - Questions to Ask

• Examine the physical nature of the source to understand its form and context.
• Determine the author's purpose, message, or argument, whether explicit or implicit.
• Identify the methods the author uses to convey the message.
• Research the author's background (race, sex, class, occupation, religion, age, region, political beliefs) and consider its relevance.
• Identify the intended audience and how it affects the source.
• Scrutinize the text or object for language, metaphors, symbols, and word choices.

The 6 C’s of Analyzing Primary Sources

• Content: Identify the main idea and list important points, phrases, words, and sentences for documents, or describe what you see in images.
• Citation: Identify the creator of the document and the time it was created.
• Communication: Identify the author's biases and examine their point of view. A bias is a prejudice or a tendency to see something in a particular way
• Context: Understand the world, country, region, or locality when the document was created.
• Connections: Recognize the connection of the primary source to what you already know.
• Conclusions: Determine the contributions of the primary source to our understanding of history and examine primary sources with a critical eye since they represent unfiltered records of the past.

Juan de Plasencia - Background

• Real name: Joan de Puerto Carrera, Del Convento De Villanueva De La Serena.
• Spanish Friar of the Franciscan order.
• Born in the early 16th century in Plasencia, Extremadura, Spain.
• He was born to the Puerto Carrero family
• Credited with fostering the spread of primary education.
• He converted natives, taught catechisms, and organized towns and barangays in the Philippines.
• Promoted understanding of Spanish among natives and local languages among missionaries.
• Initiated the Reduction Policy to resettle natives in central locations.
• Aimed to end injustices against natives by government officials.

Juan de Plasencia - Arrival in the Philippines

• Credited with founding towns in Bulacan, Laguna and Rizal provinces, such as Tayabas, Caliraya, Lucban, Mahjayjay, Nagcarlan, Lillio(Liliw), Pila, Santa Cruz, Lumban, Pangil, Siniloan, Morong, Antipolo, Taytay, and Meycauayan.
• Elected custos of the friars on May 23, 1584, and held the position until 1588.
• He passed away in Laguna in 1590.

Society

• Tribal gatherings were called Barangays. These consisted of family of parents and children relations and slaves.
• Barangays sometimes consisted of a hundred houses, sometimes even less than thirty.

The Three Castes

• Nobles (Maharlica): The "free-born" who do not pay taxes.
• Commoners (Aliping Namamahay): Live in their own houses, lords of their property and gold.
• Slaves (Aliping Saguiguilid): Serve their master in his house and cultivated land and can be sold.

Mode of Dressing

• Male: Headgear called Putong (symbolizes the number of persons the wearer had killed), jacket with short sleeves called kanggan, and lower garment called bahag.
• Female: Upper garments Baro and Camisa, and lower garment Saya

Ornaments

• Decorative objects add quality or distinction to a person, place, or thing.

Government

• The unit of government is the Barangay ruled by a chieftain, consisting of 30 to 100 families with relatives and slaves.
• The chieftain implements laws, ensures order, and gives protection.
• Disputes were settled by a court of the chieftain and council of elders.

Inheritance

• The 1st son of the barangay chieftain inherits his father’s position
• If the 1st son dies, the 2nd son succeeds
• In the absence of male heirs, the eldest daughter becomes the chieftain

Slaves

• A person becomes a slave by captivity in war, debt, inheritance, purchase, or committing a crime.
• Slaves can be emancipated through forgiveness, paying debt, condonation, bravery, or marriage.

Marriage Customs

• Men were generally monogamous, and their wives were called Asawa.
• Courtship begins with Paninilbihan.
• The man requires to give a dowry: Bigay-kaya (a piece of land or gold), panghihimuyat (a gift for the bride’s parents), Bigay-suso (for bride’s wet nurse).
• Marriage between couples belonging to different social classes were not common.

Religious Belief

• They worship many Gods and Goddesses, including: Bathala (supreme being), Idayanale (God of agriculture), Sidarapa (God of death), Agni (God of fire), Balangaw (God of rainbow), Mandarangan (God of war), Lalahon (God of harvest), and Siginarungan (God of hell).
• Belief in sacred animals and trees also existed.

Superstitious Beliefs

• Belief in Aswang, Duwende, Kapre, Tikbalang, and Tiyanak.
• Belief in magical power of amulet and charms such as anting-anting, kulam and gayuma or love potion.

Language and System of Writing

• Major languages: Tagalog, Ilocano, Pangasinan, Pangpangan, Sugbuhanon Hilighaynon, Maguindanao,and Samarnon. This language originated from the Malayo-Polynesian language.
• System of writing: the alphabets consisted of 3 vowels and 14 consonants called Baybayin.
• They used tap of tress as ink and pointed stick as pencil.
• They wrote on enlarged plant leaves, bark of a tree or bamboo tubes.