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Philippine History Notes, Study notes of History

Focuses on what is history and the history of the Philippines itself.

Typology: Study notes

2021/2022

Available from 11/04/2022

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Pre-colonial Philippines: Games and Leisure Activities
The 15th century Filipinos must have principally engaged in shifting farming,
hunting, and fishing, based on what can be gleaned from relatively later records. The
only exception was sedentary farming. The only place where livelihood and social
organization were tied to a definite territory was in the Northern Luzon mountain range,
where intricate rice terraces were constructed some 2,000 years ago. The lowland
peoples were organized into barangays, or extended kinship groups, each headed by a
datu, or chieftain. The largest stable economic and political unit was typically the
barangay, which typically consisted of fewer than a few hundred people.
Any discussion of physical activity in the Philippines must begin with dancing.
Pre-Spanish dances can be categorized into the following categories: religious, festival,
courtship and marriage, mimetic, and battle. Sacred dances played a significant role in
many rituals connected to healing from disease, funerals, and life beyond death.
Festival dances, which sometimes lasted for days, were oriented around labor-intensive
activities, including harvesting, planting, and hunting. They were distinguished by
intricate hand and foot gestures, accompanied by chants, gongs, drums, flutes, and jew
harp music. Courtship dances traditionally entailed the exchange of items as well as
flirtation. Before the Spanish arrived, men and women were treated equally; thus,
neither of the dancers portrayed a meek or oppressive character.
There were many different children's games that combined chance, athletic
talent, and strategy. These frequently involved gambling or betting. Shells, seeds,
pebbles, and marbles were commonly used in individual skill games. Tag games like
tubig-tubig, avoiding games like bulan-bulan, jumping games like luksong tinik, spinning
of tops, and kite flying are examples of skill games that include strategy.
Additionally, the well-known Tinikling and mimetic dances highlight the suffering
antics of someone who has stepped into an ant hill or been stung by bees, as in the
Pinuhag or the Irik-itik, where the dancer imitates ducks are examples of mimetic
dances, which are frequently hilarious in tone. These had a very different temperament
from the battle dances, which featured rapid twists, distinct heights, and body quivers
accompanied by a quick beat. Bolos or long swords were frequently used to simulate
duelling. In the upland areas of Mountain Province and Mindanao, many of these
dances are still performed today in an unaltered state.
Sports in the time before Spain weren't always very advanced. The Igorots of
Mountain Province played the "stone battle" game Bagbagto. They gathered in a dry-up
riverbed when they drew a line down the middle during the dry season. Stones were
thrown as opposing teams faced off across the river. Of course, the goal was to cross
the line while being pelted with rocks. Both losers and winners suffered injuries and lost
teeth, but it was believed that a bloody war would produce a good crop of camote
(sweet potato). Strangely, despite losing all of their teeth, no victim became upset. The
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Pre-colonial Philippines: Games and Leisure Activities The 15th century Filipinos must have principally engaged in shifting farming, hunting, and fishing, based on what can be gleaned from relatively later records. The only exception was sedentary farming. The only place where livelihood and social organization were tied to a definite territory was in the Northern Luzon mountain range, where intricate rice terraces were constructed some 2,000 years ago. The lowland peoples were organized into barangays, or extended kinship groups, each headed by a datu, or chieftain. The largest stable economic and political unit was typically the barangay, which typically consisted of fewer than a few hundred people. Any discussion of physical activity in the Philippines must begin with dancing. Pre-Spanish dances can be categorized into the following categories: religious, festival, courtship and marriage, mimetic, and battle. Sacred dances played a significant role in many rituals connected to healing from disease, funerals, and life beyond death. Festival dances, which sometimes lasted for days, were oriented around labor-intensive activities, including harvesting, planting, and hunting. They were distinguished by intricate hand and foot gestures, accompanied by chants, gongs, drums, flutes, and jew harp music. Courtship dances traditionally entailed the exchange of items as well as flirtation. Before the Spanish arrived, men and women were treated equally; thus, neither of the dancers portrayed a meek or oppressive character. There were many different children's games that combined chance, athletic talent, and strategy. These frequently involved gambling or betting. Shells, seeds, pebbles, and marbles were commonly used in individual skill games. Tag games like tubig-tubig, avoiding games like bulan-bulan, jumping games like luksong tinik, spinning of tops, and kite flying are examples of skill games that include strategy. Additionally, the well-known Tinikling and mimetic dances highlight the suffering antics of someone who has stepped into an ant hill or been stung by bees, as in the Pinuhag or the Irik-itik, where the dancer imitates ducks are examples of mimetic dances, which are frequently hilarious in tone. These had a very different temperament from the battle dances, which featured rapid twists, distinct heights, and body quivers accompanied by a quick beat. Bolos or long swords were frequently used to simulate duelling. In the upland areas of Mountain Province and Mindanao, many of these dances are still performed today in an unaltered state. Sports in the time before Spain weren't always very advanced. The Igorots of Mountain Province played the "stone battle" game Bagbagto. They gathered in a dry-up riverbed when they drew a line down the middle during the dry season. Stones were thrown as opposing teams faced off across the river. Of course, the goal was to cross the line while being pelted with rocks. Both losers and winners suffered injuries and lost teeth, but it was believed that a bloody war would produce a good crop of camote (sweet potato). Strangely, despite losing all of their teeth, no victim became upset. The

victorious helped the injured stand up and seek aid from the neighborhood herbal healers to stop the bleeding. No retaliation was carried out. A hollow rattan ball was used to play the game of sipa, a relative of Malaysian and Thai sepak rakraw. To maintain the ball in the air, players had to strike it with their feet. Boys were taught self-defense through the ancient combat sport known as arnis. A long wooden bolo, sometimes known as a sabre, was used for various skills, parries, and strikes. It required memorizing certain motions following an intricate numbering scheme. The numerous forms of wrestling, including arm, little finger, and leg, were another recreational activity intended to teach self-defense. One significant activity of the early Filipinos was cockfighting or sabong. According to a Spanish historian, the indigenous raised cocks for combat, and bets were frequently made on the outcome. The sharp slasher blades affixed to the legs featured swift and exciting action that often resulted in bloodshed. Sports, games, and dance have been an essential part of Filipino culture throughout recorded history since they are fun-loving, happy people. Long before Magellan of Spain discovered the islands in 1521, the Filipinos were a fusion of several periods of their history, which included encounters with Indonesians, Malays, Japanese, Chinese, and Arabs, as well as the Islam faith. The present activities are constantly being colored by this colorful past, just as they did in the past. When the Spaniards arrived in 1521, these Filipino pastimes underwent a significant limitation because the only physical activities allowed were to be done in the name of religious festivity. References Beran, J. A. (n.d.). Physical Activities in the Philippines During the Pre-Spanish Period. LA Digital Library. Retrieved September 6, 2022, from https://digital.la84.org/digital/api/collection/p17103coll10/id/10238/download Philippines - Sports and recreation | Britannica. (2016, January 20). Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved September 6, 2022, from https://www.britannica.com/place/Philippines/Sports- and-recreation