Their Practices...

PRECOLONIAL WOMEN

    Precolonial Philippine society was already highly organized. This could be seen not only through the customs and traditions of the early Filipinos but also through the role definitions between precolonial men and women.

    Contrary to popular belief, Philippine society was not always patriarchal. There was a time when women were treated as equally as men. Precolonial "Filipinas," unlike their modern day counterparts, enjoyed the same privileges, rights and opportunites as did men. They played key roles both in and outside. Before the coming of the Spaniards, women were already active in business, politics and even religion.

    According to Sister Mary John Mananzan,O.S.B., in volume 2 of the Kasaysayan series, precolonial families were as eager for the birth of a daughter as for the birth of a son. The daughter was considered an important member of the family since the groom would have to give a dowry to her family as compensation for her loss. The dowry could be in the form of gifts to parents and relatives. Aside from these, the groom was also required to render "bride service," working for the family for a probationary period. After marriage, the Filipina did not lose her name. Among the Tagalogs, the husband usually took the bride's name if the she was especially distinguished due to family connections or personal merits.

    Precolonial Philippine society did not consider virginity a value. Unwed mothers were not condemned. They did not also lose the chance for a good marriage since they were considered to have proven their capacity for motherhood. While premarital sex was not a taboo, the law of custom, however, punished promiscuity and prostitution.

    Children were treated equally. Precolonial families were neither overprotective with girls nor lenient with boys. Daughters were brought up in the same way as the sons. No one was exempted from work training. Legitimate male children got the same inheritance as their female siblings.

    In the family, husbands and wives were also equal. Husbands treated their wives as companions and not as slaves or whores. The wife was also financially independent since she retained the property she owned before marriage. Both the husband and the wife had the right to file for divorce since this was practiced. The grounds for divorce were childlessness, infidelity, or failure to fulfill obligations to the family. In theory, husbands and wives had equal rights, although in practice, wives had limited causes for divorce.

    Divorce entailed the return of the bride's price by her family if she was at fault; if the husband was at fault, he lost rights to its return. Child custody was not a problem since the children were divided between the two regardless of sex. Property acquired after marriage was also split equally. In some cases, the guilty party had to pay fines.

    The married woman juggled between managing the home, taking care of the children, at the same time helping her husband in earning the family's livelihood. She often played a key role in the family's economic stability and in improving the family's finances by engaging in agriculture and trade with the Chinese merchants. Precolonial Filipinas were often considered as reliable trade partners, thus, women's signatures were often required to validate contracts.

    

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