The role of women before European occupation of the Philippines

Philippine society, prior to the arrival of the Spaniards, was (and I would like to believe even now) is egalitarian. Both men and women play important roles in society and enjoy the same rights. Until now, traces of the “malayang babae” of pre-colonial Philippines is silently felt in Philippine society.

Women of pre-colonial Philippines can take leadership roles, be priestess, healers, and even warriors. In fact daughters of the Datu (king)are part of the line of succession, thus they can inherit the throne. The Babaylan (priestess or healer) is a woman. Should a man take this role he needs to dress up like a woman in order to perform the task of a babaylan. And like any other culture before occupation or colonization by European countries such as Spain, France, and Britain, women are taught skills that possess economic, social, religious, and academic value.

Even before the fad of “working from home” or “home business”, women in pre-colonial Philippines have been doing just that. They do pottery, weaving, jewelry making and others that are sold or used for trading.

The pre-colonial Filipina was likewise viewed as enterprising/entrepreneurial since they also traded with other tribes or traders going to the Philippines like the Chinese. In fact, husbands cannot make any business dealings without the knowledge and approval of the wife.

In some cultures, like the Ifugaos, women can divorce their husbands. Divorce is acceptable among them during the pre-colonial period. Both parties can seek for divorce based on the following reasons: failure to meet family obligations, infidelity and infertility.

Disrespect for women is taboo in pre-colonial Philippines. A man who does not show respect to women is regarded negatively by other men and society in general. This is something that everyone learns at an early age.

However, the position of women in Philippine society took a drastic transformation upon the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors. The Spaniards brought with them their religion and their version of a woman’s place in society. The Spanish generals together with the friars banished centuries old of tradition. Indoctrinated the people and created the idealized and romanticized “Maria Clara”.

“Maria Clara” is not a real woman of the turn of the century Philippines. She is the Spaniards’ depiction of a submissive, obedient and overly religious woman. A woman whose role in society is limited to looking good and making sure her reputation is untarnished. Maria Clara did not have the freedom that a pre-colonial woman enjoyed. She did not take pleasure in walking and running around barefeet in the fields, or climbing up trees in her youth. Neither did she get to experience how it is to bathe in the cold and refreshing waters of the rivers without being looked at maliciously. She was a woman who is emotionally, politically and socially dependent to her faithon the whims of the then controlling Catholic church (friars).

The Spaniards saw the important role that women play in Philippine society, which for someone coming from a totally patriarchal society, they found threatening. Thus, the “malayang babae” of pre-colonial Philippines slowly became enslaved by the new norms and practices the colonizers introduced. The “malayang babae” lost her voice, much like the land they called their home. Instead, what reverberated for centuries was the thunderous and blasphemous voice of the conquistadors.