Precolonial barangay facts for kids
In early Philippine history, a barangay was a special kind of community in the Philippines. Scholars use this word to describe the groups of people who lived together before Europeans arrived. These groups were like small towns or villages.
Some barangays were small, with about 30 to 100 families. Others, especially in places like Maynila, Tondo, and Cebu, were much larger and more like busy cities.
The word "barangay" originally meant both a house on land and a boat on water. It described a group of families, friends, and helpers traveling or living together.
Historians call the time when these barangay communities were common (from the 14th to 16th centuries) the "Barangic Phase." During this time, barangays were very mobile. They could be settlements on land or even fleets of boats, changing as needed.
It's important not to confuse these old barangays with the "barangays" we have today. Today, a barangay is the smallest local government unit in the Philippines. The name was chosen in 1991 to honor the historical communities.
Contents
Where did the word "barangay" come from?
- Further information: Balangay
Many stories and theories say that the first barangays were coastal settlements. They were formed by people who traveled to the Philippines by boat from Taiwan. These people, called Austronesians, built a civilization that loved the sea. They used special boats like outrigger boats and catamarans, and lived in stilt houses.
Because these early people loved the sea, their barangays were often near the coast or rivers. This was because they relied on fishing for food. They also traveled mostly by water.
Old records show that the word "barangay" came from balangay. This was the name of a large wooden boat used by Filipinos before the Spanish arrived. So, in a way, a barangay was like a ship or a group of ships, and also a home or a settlement.
What were historical barangays like?
The first barangays were usually small, with about 30 to 100 families. This meant a population of 100 to 500 people. When the Spanish arrived, they found some communities with only 20 to 30 people. But they also found large and important communities.
Coastal villages were good for trading with foreigners. This helped their economies grow. Trading with people from Japan, China, India, and Arabs also brought new cultures and ideas.
Over time, these coastal communities became more advanced. They developed complex social structures and were ruled by important leaders.
Smaller barangay communities
The smallest barangays had about 30 to 100 households. They were led by a Datu or a similar leader. This was common for inland settlements when the Spanish arrived in the late 1500s. Larger, more developed communities were usually found along the coasts, especially near river mouths.
Larger barangay communities
When barangays grew bigger, like in Maynila, Tondo, and Cebu, they became more complex. Several barangays, whose families were loyal to a datu, Rajah, or Sultan, joined together. They formed larger, more powerful communities, sometimes called "city-states." The leaders of these barangays would choose the oldest or most respected among them to be the main leader.
These larger communities sometimes had other names, like bayan in the Tagalog regions. But scholars often just call them "larger barangays."
The word bayan comes from bahayan, meaning "a community" or "a place with many houses." Most of these early bayan were busy communities located where rivers met the ocean. They had a compact layout, different from inland villages.
Early Spanish missionaries wrote down the word "bayan." They described it as a large town where four to ten datus lived with their followers.
After the Spanish united the Philippines, the term bayan changed. It started to mean a general "population center" or "capital." Important bayan communities included those in Maynila, Tondo, Cebu, and Sulu.
Even though some stories show early Filipino rulers as having huge powers, historians say this wasn't always true. Leaders had limited influence. They didn't control the lands of less-senior datus. For example, historian F. Landa Jocano noted that even if barangays formed alliances, each datu ruled his own barangay independently. Alliances were for protection and help, not for permanent loyalty. This was why Lapulapu resisted Ferdinand Magellan's attempt to make him obey Rajah Humabon.
This explains why the Spanish explorer Martin de Goiti was confused in 1571. He thought Tondo and Maynila had a single king. But Lakandula explained that there was "no single king over these lands." The leaders of Tondo and Maynila did not have total control over other communities.
Titles of leaders
Because different Filipino groups spoke different languages, their highest leaders had different titles. In areas with strong Islamic influence, the main leader was called a Sultan. Among the Tagalogs, it was a lakan. In communities that traded a lot with Indonesia and Malaysia, the leader was a rajah. In some parts of Mindanao and the Visayas, the main leader was simply called a datu, but everyone knew who the most important one was.
Alliances among leaders
Often, these main datus, rajahs, and sultans formed alliances with leaders of nearby communities. These alliances helped them spread their influence over a larger area. For example, the leaders of Maynila and Tondo were said to have influence over communities in Bulacan and Pampanga before the Spanish arrived.
Social groups in barangays
In some coastal barangays like those in Panay, Manila, Cebu, and Butuan, societies were well-organized. They had trade with other Asian countries. These communities had a recognized noble class. This class had a birthright to loyalty from their followers.
This noble group was called the Datu Class. Its members were often descendants of the first settlers or important leaders. Some of these noble groups still exist today in parts of Mindanao that were not heavily influenced by the Spanish.
| Group | Title | What they did |
|---|---|---|
 Maginoo (Ruling Class) |
 Raja, Lakan |
The main leader of a group of barangays. These leaders would choose the most skilled or respected among them to be the main chief. |
 Datu |
Datus were nobles who had their own followers. They governed their people, led them in war, protected them, and settled disagreements. They received food and services from their people and shared land with them. | |
 Maginoo |
This was the noble class among the Tagalogs. "Ginoo" was a respectful title for both men and women. They were members of the datu's family or had noble family lines. | |
|
A powerful leader in Islamic regions. Their position was passed down through their royal family. Sultans handled relations with other states and could declare war. They had a court with advisers and other important officials. | |
| Timawa and Maharlika (Middle Class and Freemen |  Timawa |
Free people who could choose which Datu to follow. They could use and pass down a part of the barangay's land. In Luzon, they mainly helped with farm work. In Visayas, they were seafaring warriors who served a datu. |
 Maharlika |
A warrior class in the barangay. They provided military service to the Datu and paid for their own weapons. They also received a share of war spoils. | |
 Alipin/Uripon (Commoners and Slaves) |
Alipin Namamahay | These were commoners or people who worked to pay off a debt. They lived in their own homes and served their master by giving them rice or wine, or by helping with tasks like harvesting or building. |
| Alipin Saguiguilid | These were servants or slaves who lived in their master's house. They depended entirely on their master for food and shelter. |
Babaylan were highly respected members of the community, just as important as the nobles. If the datu was away, the Babaylan could lead the community. Babaylans were spiritual leaders believed to have power over the weather and spirits. They were respected because they could block dark magic, heal the sick, and ensure safe pregnancies.
Babaylans also led rituals and made offerings to gods. They were experts in plants, chants, and making medicines. Because of this, datus sometimes worked with babaylans to defeat enemies.
Historians like William Henry Scott noted that a Katalonan (another term for a spiritual leader) could be male or female, but were usually wealthy women from important families. They received offerings of food, wine, clothes, and gold for their services. This made their role very important and profitable.
Differences in social groups
It's hard to fully understand the social structures of early Filipino communities because there are not many complete studies. Most studies focus on one specific group or place. However, historians like F. Landa Jocano and William Henry Scott have tried to compare these different societies.
In the mid-1600s, a Jesuit missionary named Francisco Colin compared the social groups of the Tagalogs and Visayans. Among the Visayans, a Datu could keep others from moving up the social ladder.
The term Timawa started to be used in Tagalog society after the Spanish arrived. It was used for former Alipin (commoners or slaves) who had become free. However, the Tagalog Timawas were not as important in war as the Visayan Timawa. The warrior class in Tagalog society was mainly in Laguna and was called the Maharlika Class.
Unlike Visayan Datus, the Lakans and Apos of Luzon could ask all non-noble people to work in their fields or do other personal labor. In the Visayas, only the Oripuns (commoners/slaves) had to do this and pay tribute. Tagalogs who worked in the Datu's field did not pay tribute and could choose to follow another Datu.
The Visayan Timawa did not pay tribute or do farm work. They were truly like nobles. The Tagalog Maharlika worked in their Datu's field and might even have to pay rent. So, in Luzon, all non-nobles were somewhat in the same economic group.
Barangays in the Visayas
In more developed barangays in Visayas (like Cebu, Bohol, and Panay), the datu was the highest leader. These communities were never fully conquered by Spain but became allies through agreements.
Society here had three main groups. The tumao class, which included the datu, were the pure nobles. They were compared to Spanish lords. Below them were the timawa, who were warrior vassals. A Jesuit priest described them as "the third rank of nobility," and a Spanish explorer called them "free men, neither chiefs nor slaves." They served the datu in hunting, land wars, or sea raids.
The timawa also paid taxes and sometimes helped with farm work for the datu. However, the datu's personal followers might not have these duties. Below the timawa were the oripun class (commoners and slaves). They served the tumao and timawa because of debts or favors.
To keep their noble bloodline pure, tumao usually married other tumao. They often sought high-ranking brides from other barangays. Datus kept their marriageable daughters hidden for protection and prestige. These protected noblewomen were called binokot. Datus with pure noble descent for at least four generations were called potli nga datu or lubus nga datu.
Barangays in the Tagalog Region
The Tagalog barangays in Manila, Pampanga, and Laguna had a more complex social structure. They had more trade, were influenced by Bornean politics, and grew wet rice. A Spanish friar described Tagalogs as more traders than warriors.
The noble class, to which the datu or lakan belonged, was called the maginoo class. Any male maginoo could become a datu through personal achievements.
The term timawa for freemen started to be used by Tagalogs after the Spanish arrived. But it was often incorrectly used for former alipin (commoners and slaves) who had become free. The Tagalog timawa were not as important in war as the Visayan timawa. The warrior class in Tagalog society was mainly in Laguna and was known as the maharlika class.
At the bottom were the alipin class. There were two main types: the aliping namamahay who owned their own homes and served their masters by paying tribute or working on their fields. The aliping sa gigilid lived in their masters' houses and were completely dependent on them.
How the Spanish changed barangays
When the Spanish arrived, they combined smaller old barangays to form towns. This process was called Reducción. The Spanish forced people from scattered barangays to move into a central town where a new church was built. This helped the Spanish control the local people, make them Christians, count the population, and collect taxes.
Each barangay within a town was led by the cabeza de barangay (barangay chief). These chiefs were part of the Principalía, the elite ruling class in Spanish Philippines. This position was passed down from the original datu. The Spanish king ruled each barangay through the cabeza, who also collected taxes for the Spanish Crown.
How are old and new barangays different?
Today, the word barangay refers to the smallest local government unit in the Philippines. It was also known as a barrio before. This modern use of "barangay" was adopted by President Ferdinand Marcos.
There are many differences between the modern barangay and the old communities the Spanish found. The biggest difference is that today's barangay is a geographical area. The old barangays represented loyalty to a specific leader (datu).
Even in early Spanish times, people living next to each other might belong to different barangays because they were loyal to different Datus. Also, while the modern barangay is just the smallest government unit, the old barangay was either independent or part of a loose group of several barangays. In these groups, the leaders chose one among themselves to be the main leader, sometimes called the Pangulo or Rajah. His job was to make decisions that affected multiple barangays, like settling disputes. But each datu still controlled his own barangay.
Related ideas
Feudalism
Some people have compared the way early Filipino communities were organized to feudalism. This is a system where land is exchanged for loyalty and service. Political scientists note that even today, the political patterns in the Philippines, which is supposed to be a democracy, can be described using the term "Cacique Democracy".
Cacique democracy
"Cacique democracy" describes a political system where local leaders are very powerful, almost like warlords. This term was created by Benedict Anderson. It comes from a word meaning a political boss or leader who has a lot of power. This idea suggests that the old social ways of loyalty and service are still present today, even with modern democratic systems.
See also
- Kedatuan, another term for independent city-states in Southeast Asia
- Mueang, a similar idea in mainland Southeast Asia
- Christianization
- Indian cultural influences in early Philippine polities
- Paramount rulers in early Philippine history
- Lakan
- Thimuay
- Datu
- Maynila
- Tondo
- Balangay
