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The Boxer Codex is an old Spanish book from the late 1500s. It was made in the Philippines. This special book has 75 colorful pictures of people from different places. These places include China, the Philippines, Java, the Moluccas, the Ladrones, and Siam. It also has about 270 pages of Spanish writing. This writing tells us about these places, the people who lived there, and their customs. The codex also has 88 smaller drawings. These show mythical gods, demons, and both real and imaginary animals. These drawings were copied from popular Chinese books of that time.

An English historian named Charles Ralph Boxer bought this old book in 1947. He found it in London. Boxer knew how important this book was. He called it the "Manila Manuscript." In 1950, he wrote about the codex in detail. He let other researchers study the book freely. Because of this, it became known as the Boxer Codex. Later, Boxer sold it to Indiana University. Today, it is kept safe at the Lilly Library.

What is the Boxer Codex?

The Boxer Codex was written around the year 1590. It has many pictures of different ethnic groups in the Philippines. It also shows people from other parts of Southeast Asia, East Asia, and Micronesia. These pictures show how people looked when the Spanish first arrived. The book also contains drawings of Taoist mythical gods and demons. There are also drawings of real and imaginary birds and animals. These were copied from popular Chinese books of that time.

The codex describes the Philippines and other Far Eastern countries. It has 97 hand-drawn color paintings. These pictures show people, birds, and animals. They are from the Philippines, the Indonesian Archipelago, Japan, Taiwan, China, and mainland Southeast Asia. The first picture is a large fold-out drawing. There are 74 full-page color pictures. The rest are smaller drawings, with four on each page. Many of the drawings seem to be copied from Chinese materials. These materials were brought to the Philippines by Martín de Rada. Some of these were from the Shānhǎi Jīng (a Chinese book about myths). Others were from books about gods and demons.

The other drawings show people from places that paid tribute to China. These include people from China and Taiwan. They are shown in their special clothes. Some are even shown as warriors. The pictures of these people might have been copied from other books. They could also have been drawn from memory. Or they might have been drawn based on what Rada or other Europeans saw in China. At least 15 pictures show people from the Philippine Islands.

Who Made the Boxer Codex?

The Boxer Codex does not say who wrote it. It also does not say when it was made. There is no message saying who the book was for. But its contents tell us it was written in Manila in the early 1590s. It was likely put together for Gómez Pérez Dasmariñas. He was the Spanish Governor-General of the Philippines. Or it might have been for his son, Luis Pérez Dasmariñas.

The Boxer Codex shows the Tagalogs, Visayans, Zambals, Cagayanes (or Ibanags), and Negritos of the Philippines. These pictures are very colorful. The way the paintings were made, and the use of Chinese paper, ink, and paints, suggests the artist might have been Chinese.

It is thought that the first owner of the book was Luis Pérez Dasmariñas. He was the son of Governor General Gómez Pérez Dasmariñas. Luis took over his father's job as governor-general. Spanish governors kept many written reports about the lands they ruled. So, it is likely that this book was made because the governor ordered it.

The earliest known modern owner of the book was Lord Ilchester. The codex was still in his collection when his home, Holland House in London, was bombed. This happened on September 27, 1940, during the Blitz (World War II bombings). The book was sold in 1947. Then, Charles Ralph Boxer bought it. He was an expert on the Far East. The book is named after him. Today, it is owned by the Lilly Library at Indiana University.

Picture Gallery of the Boxer Codex

Natives of the Philippines

  • Cagayan Woman

    A Lady from the Cagayan Valley (Possibly Ibanag)

  • Cagayan Warrior

    Warrior from Cagayan Valley (Possibly Ibanag)

  • 玳瑁 Taipue - Unknown couple - Boxer Codex (1590)

    Couple with tied long hair and Kampilan hilt from Taimei Anchorage, Lingayen Gulf, Luzon, Philippines (Possibly Pangasinense)

  • Zambals 1

    Zambal hunters from Zambales

  • Zambals 2

    Zambal hunters hunting

  • Zambals 3

    A couple belonging to the Zambal warrior-hunter class. The image shows a culture of falconry

  • Negritos

    Aeta or Negrito hunters

  • Naturales 4

    Tagalog royalty in red (the distinctive color of his class) with his wife.

  • Naturales 3

    Tagalog royal couple in red, the distinctive color of their class.

  • Naturales 5

    Tagalog maginoo (noble class) wearing blue (the distinctive color of his class) with his wife.

  • Naturales 2

    Native common women wearing simple clothes and headscarves (likely Muslims from Maynila in the 1500s)

  • Native of Visayan origin

    A Native Binukot Lady (Possibly Visayan)

  • Visayans 4

    Visayan kadatuan (royal) couple

  • Visayans 3

    Visayan kadatuan (royal) with his wife wearing red, the distinctive color of their class.

  • Visayans 2

    A Pintado (Possibly Cebuano or Waray) couple of the timawa or tumao (martial-feudal class; later demoted to freedman status)

  • Visayans 1

    Pintados (Possibly Cebuano or Waray) from Bohol, showing their patok or tattoos

  • Naturales 1

    Native Visayan uripon (slaves) adorned with gold.

Foreigners Present in the Philippines

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Códice Boxer para niños

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