Readings in Philippine History – Lessons 1 & 2

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, concepts, people, events, and artifacts discussed in the lecture notes on Philippine history.

Pantayong Pananaw

A Filipino-centered perspective in which Filipinos narrate Philippine history for fellow Filipinos using shared concepts and language.

Pankaming Pananaw

Narratives about the Philippines addressed to foreign audiences—one nation speaking to another.

Pansilang Pananaw

Using the Filipino language to describe and interpret other (foreign) cultures for a local audience.

Historical Distortion

Political falsification or white-washing of the historical record, especially regarding Martial Law in the Philippines.

Historical Denialism

The false rejection or denial of well-documented historical facts for ideological or political reasons.

Historical Negationism

Intentional distortion or falsification of history to advance political, ideological, or nationalist agendas; deceptive revisionism.

Historical Revisionism

Legitimate scholarly re-examination of historical events in light of new evidence, perspectives, or methodologies.

Competitive Revisionism

Deliberate distortion of history to gain political legitimacy or power (e.g., altering the Marcos Martial Law narrative).

Creative Revisionism

Reinterpretation that enriches history through new evidence or perspectives (e.g., highlighting pre-colonial governance systems).

Revolutionary Revisionism

Radical rewriting that upends dominant narratives for social or political change, such as a leftist 'people’s history'.

Truth Decay

Growing disagreement over facts, blurred lines between fact and opinion, and declining trust in authoritative information sources.

Prehistoric Period (Philippines)

Time before 900 CE when no local written records exist.

Pre-colonial Period

900–1565 CE era of indigenous polities prior to Spanish conquest.

Spanish Colonial Period

1565–1898 years of Spanish rule over the Philippine archipelago.

American Colonial Period

1898–1946 era of U.S. administration in the Philippines.

Japanese Occupation (Philippines)

1941–1946 wartime control of the Philippines by Imperial Japan.

Post-independence Period

1946–1965 early years of the sovereign Philippine Republic.

Marcos Era

1965–1986 presidency of Ferdinand Marcos, including the period of Martial Law.

Legend of Malakas and Maganda

Myth where the first man and woman emerged from a split bamboo after a great flood—origin story of Filipinos.

Brown Man Superiority

Cordilleran tale of Kabunian creating the first humans, asserting the primacy of the brown race.

Biblical Creation (Philippine context)

Belief that Filipinos descend from Adam, Eve, and Noah’s family; faith-based rather than scientific.

Migration Theory by Otley Beyer

Hypothesis that Filipinos arrived in successive waves of migration (Dawn Man, Negrito, Indonesian, Malay, etc.).

Dawn Man

Cave-dwelling hunter of 250,000 years ago who reached the Philippines via land bridges, per Beyer’s theory.

Austronesian Cultural Traces

Shared Austronesian features such as tattooing, canoe outriggers, art styles, and social traits.

Callao Man

Hominin remains in Cagayan dated ~41,000 BC; likely reached Luzon by raft and used tools.

Core Population Theory

Felipe Landa Jocano’s idea that Filipinos arose from continuous local evolution and regional migration among Asians.

Out of Taiwan Theory

Peter Bellwood’s model that Neolithic Austronesian speakers migrated from Taiwan into the Philippines after 3500 BC.

Austronesian Expansion Theory

Hypothesis that Austronesian-speaking peoples spread from Southeast Asia into Oceania and East Africa, populating the Philippines.

Sunda Land Theory

Proposal that a prehistoric Sundaland culture submerged by rising seas gave rise to Austronesian peoples, including Filipinos.

Protohistoric Period (Philippines)

900–1565 CE era partially documented by inscriptions and foreign records before full Spanish colonization.

Laguna Copperplate Inscription

900 AD document in Pallava-derived script absolving Namwaran’s heirs of a gold debt; earliest Philippine written record.

Pinanahang

Agta tripod-based lean-to shelter from Palanan.

Hawong

Pinatubo Aeta shelter with two sloping sides and no raised platform.

Tree House

Elevated dwelling (6–18 m high) built by Gaddang, Kalinga, Manobo, Mandaya, and Maranao peoples.

Bagobo House

Traditional dwelling of the Bagobo characterized by short, slim construction for reddish-brown-complexioned inhabitants.

Binuron

Traditional Isneg house of northern Luzon.

Lepa

Badjao boat-house; djenging type has outriggers and roof, dapang/vinta is open and used for fishing.

Luma

Badjao landhouse featuring a harun stair area where women wash clothes and utensils.

Bahay Kubo

Classic lowland stilt house made of bamboo and nipa, designed for passive cooling and surrounded by gardens.

Fay-u / Afung

Large Bontoc house for affluent families; poorer residents live in the smaller katyufong.

Bale / Fale

Permanent Ifugao house for the affluent; includes halipan (rat guard) and symbolizes 'house as womb'.

Rakuh

Ivatan stone-and-thatch house with thick lime-mortared walls for typhoon resistance.

Sinadumparan

Common Ivatan two-sloped-roof house serving as either rakuh (main house) or kusina (kitchen).

Torogan

Maranao royal house with ornate panolong beam ends and a lamin (ladies’ dormitory) tower.

Baybayin

Pre-colonial Philippine syllabary derived from Brahmic Pallava script; means 'to write' or 'spell'.

Pintados

Tattooed Visayans noted by Spanish chroniclers; literally 'painted ones'.

Timawa

Free commoner or warrior class in Visayan society.

Babaylan

Pre-colonial priestess or shaman serving religious and healing roles.

Alipin

Servant or slave class in ancient Philippine societies.

Sandig

Guard or warrior class (sometimes spelled 'Sanding') in early Filipino hierarchy.

Kawal

Knight or elite warrior in pre-colonial Philippines.

Malong

Maranao tubular garment/blanket; prestigious clothing for both men and women.

Lihin-lihin

Maranao formal blouse or tunic worn on special occasions.

Bahag

Traditional loincloth; front flap (wayaway-ampis), back flap (pakawar), tied with binkisi cord; watid worn in mourning.

Baro

Generic Tagalog blouse or shirt.

Alampay

Tagalog shoulder or head wrap worn like a cape.

Lambong / Saya

Visayan wrap-around garment fastened under the arms, over the shoulder, or around the head.

Karaoka

Large pre-colonial Philippine warship used for naval expeditions and trade.

Rice Cultivation (4000 BCE)

Earliest evidence of rice farming found at Andarayan site, Cagayan, in jars containing rice hulls.

Angono Petroglyphs

Prehistoric rock engravings in Rizal province dated to about 3000 BCE.

Igorot Stone Forts

Circa 2000 BCE stone-walled defensive structures built by Cordillera highlanders.

Leta-Leta Jarlet

Late Neolithic yawning-mouth jar (1000 BCE) excavated in Palawan; now a Philippine national treasure.

Sa Huynh Cultural Influence

890–710 BCE interaction evidenced by the Manunggul Jar linking Borneo-Palawan peoples to Vietnam.

Lingling-o

Omega-shaped gold ear ornament (~600 BCE) discovered in Batanes; proof of ancient goldsmithing.

Carabao Domestication

300–200 BCE evidence of water-buffalo husbandry at Nagsabaran shell middens in Cagayan Valley.

Maitum Jars

Anthropomorphic burial jars from Sarangani dated to about 200 AD.

Kawi Script

8th-century Southeast Asian script; 'kawi' means poetry in Sanskrit.

Ma-i

Pre-colonial trading polity first recorded in Chinese sources in 982 AD; possibly Mindoro or Luzon.

Buddhism & Hinduism (Philippines)

Indic religions that coexisted with animism across the archipelago by 1000 AD.

Idjang

Ivatan mountain fortress or hilltop citadel constructed around 1000 AD.

Rajahnate of Butuan

Mindanao maritime polity that sent tribute to China in 1001 AD.

Kabayan Fire Mummies

Ibaloi practice (c. 1200 AD) of preserving corpses through smoking inside Benguet caves.

Sheikh Karim ul-Makhdum

Arab missionary who introduced Islam to Jolo and built the first Philippine mosque in 1380.

Rajah Salalila / Sulaiman

Early 16th-century ruler of Maynila who married a Brunei princess and fathered Rajah Matanda.

Panolong

Elaborately carved beam ends of a Maranao torogan featuring pako-rabong and naga motifs.