So a year ago I made a pre-colonial Philippines reference post on Tumblr with links to English translated texts from Spanish written accounts of our ancestors during the early colonization, to Chinese accounts, some books and essays, videos, and posts that were already written on the Pinoy-Culture Tumblr blog.
It’s been over a year and since then I have collected more resource material and have finally gotten around to making a whole new updated reference post for those of you interested in reading the material yourselves and enriching yourself with knowledge of our history and cultures.
I have broken it down to 4 sections.
I. Pre-colonial History & Culture Based on Primary Accounts & Dictionaries
Pretty self explanatory. This section focuses on resource on looking at our precolonial history and cultures. The links are for the most part linked to the English translations of the early Spanish accounts and other primary sources regarding our ancestors and history from nearby countries like China, Brunei, & Japan.
II. Books
Once again, pretty self explanatory. This section focuses on books regarding our history and cultures. Think of it as a list of a Pilipin@ library that you should check out and read.
III. Video Clips
Though not a lot, there are a few useful videos regarding various aspects of our history and cultures and this section will post links to those videos.
Front page of the Boxer Codex
IV. Articles, Essays, & Online Archives
The final category, which again is pretty self explanatory.
This list will be the official reference list and will be periodically updated as I found more resources to add. If you have or find anything to add feel free to drop a comment below so I can add it to the list.
I. Pre-colonial History & Culture Based on Primary Accounts & Dictionaries
A Manila Galleon depicted in the Boxer Codex
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Relation de las Yslas Filipinas in 1582 by Miguel de Loarca (scroll down a bit for the English translation)
- Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas in 1609 by Antonio de Morga
- Customs of the Tagalogs (two relations). Juan de Plasencia, O.S.F.; Manila, October 21 1589
- Relacion de las Islas Filipinas (Part 1) in 1604 by Father Pedro Chirino
- Relacion de las Islas Filipinas (Part 2) in 1604 by Father Pedro Chirino
- The Muñoz text of Francisco Alcina’s History of the Bisayan Islands (1668), translation by Paul S. Lietz (note: The link only brings you to the page of the 4 volumes. However, only volume 3 is available online. I highly suggest reading all 4 volumes of Alcina’s Historia de Las Islas e Indios de Bisayas which you can find the English translation for by the Kobak and Guiterrez editions)
- Relation of the Filipinas Islands 1640 by a religious who lived there for eighteen years (Most agree that the person who wrote this account was Father Diego de Bobadilla)
- Native races and their customs, from Labor Evangélica, 1663 by Francisco Colin
- Diccionario mitologico de Filipinas by Ferdinand Blumentritt
- Looking for the Prehispanic Filipino by William Henry Scott
- Relation of the Filipinas Islands and of the Character and Conditions of their Inhabitants by Miguel López de Legazpi 1569
- Letter to King Felipe II by Andrés de Mirandaola (in regards to the gold mines and describes relations with trade with China and described some settlements), January 8, 1574
- Undated letter to the Viceroy of New Spain by Guido de Lavezaris (Manila, 1575?) that mentions the freeing of the natives that were taken to go back to their villages, the trading between the Spanish with the Tagalogs (Moro’s) was at a standstill during this time because of an incident in which Chinese merchandise and 4 Chinese were seized and taken by a few Spaniards in which they stole the goods and those Chinese and others were sent back to China, in which the Spaniard Official (the one writing the letter) was upset about because it was a wrong doing to those who didn’t offend the Spaniards or betray them in anyway. The Tagalogs (Moro’s) distrusted the Spaniards due to this, taking back their goods because of the ill-treatment of the Spaniards. It talks about the asking of married Spaniards to come to the islands as the natives didn’t trust and feel safe toward the unmarried Spaniards but to those that had wives.
- Letter from Captain Juan Pacheco Maldonado to Felipe II (Manila 1575?) He begins by narrating briefly the conquest of Luzón; then describes the island and its trade, which is carried on with both China and Japan. On account of its wealth and importance, Luzón should be thoroughly subjugated; and Maldonado enumerates the provisions that should be made for that end. Forty or fifty ecclesiastics should be sent; and to aid in their labors a prelate should be appointed, for which post the writer recommends Fray Diego de Herrera. Maldonado urges that five hundred soldiers be sent from Spain and that with these troops conquest should be made of the Liu-Kiu and Japan Islands. He asks also for artisans to build ships, suggesting for this purpose the negro slaves thus employed at Havana.
- Conquest of the island of Luzon. Manila, April 20, 1572
- Relation of the Philipinas Islands. Domingo de Salazar, and others; Manila, 1586–88
- Boxer Codex (Pictures of the pages of the whole manuscript with no English Translation)
- Antonio Pifagetta – Primo viaggrio intorno al mondo 1524
- Antonio Pifagetta – Primo viaggrio intorno al mondo 1524(continued)
- Relation of the Filipinas Islands. Francisco de Sande; June 7,1576.
- Relation and Description of the Filipinas Islands; June 7 1576
- Affairs in the Filipinas Islands. Domingo de Salazar; [Manila, 1583]
History of the Bisayan People in the Philippine Islands by Francisco Ignacio Alcina, English Translation
II. Books
- by William Henry Scott
- The Philippine Islands by Blair and Robertson
- The Philippine Islands by Blair and Robertson (Digital Ebook with pictures, etc.)
- by José Rizal translation by Harold Augenbraum
- by Rick Bonus
- by E.J.R. David
- by Abe Ignacio, Enrique de la Cruz, Jorge Emmanuel
- by Virgil Mayor Apostol
- by Lane Wilcken
- by Lane Wilcken
- by Leny Mendoza Strobel & Perla Daly
- by Lily Mendoza & Leny Mendoza Strobel
- Coming Full Circle: The Process of Decolonization Among Post-1965 Filipino Americans by Leny Mendoza Strobel
- by J. Neil C. Garcia.
- by Stuart Creighton Miller
- by Kristian Kabuay
Filipino Tattoos: Ancient to Modern by Lane Wilcken
- by Vina A. Lanzona
- History of the Philippines: From Indios Bravos to Filipinos by Luis Francia
- Philippine Society and Revolution by Amado Guerrero
- by Sarita Echavez See
- by E. San Juan Jr.
- by Dylan Rodríguez
- by Denise Cruz
- Pin@y Educational Partnerships Volume I and Volume II by Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales
- by Kevin Nadal
- Pinay Power: Peminist Critical Theory by Melinda de Jesus
- Vestiges of War: The Philippine-American War and the Aftermath of An Imperial Dream 1899-1999 by Angel Velasco Shaw and Luis H. Francia
- Philippine Ancestral Gold by Florina H. Capistrano-Baker
- Kapwa: The Self and the Other – Worldviews and Lifestyles of Filipino Culture-Bearers by Katrin de Guia
- Song of the Babaylan: Living Voices, Medicines, Spiritualities of Philippine Ritualist-Oralist Healers by Grace Nono
III. Video Clips
- Forgotten Philippines: Gold of Ancestors (With English translations) (Parts: 1, 2, 3)
- Philippine Treasures Video by GMA-7 (No English Translations) (Parts: 1, 2, 3, 4)
- Ayala Museum Gold Book
Philippines Treasures Documentary by GMA-7 Network
IV. Articles, Essays, & Online Archives
- Philippines Epics and Ballads Archive by Ateneo (this has some of the actual recordings of the epic chanters but some don’t have the translations in English yet, they are only translated into Tagalog, and even some aren’t translated at all, however there are brief notes on the epics in pdf format. Also you will need to register an account but its free and you don’t need to attend a school in the Philippines to access the archive, just put in your school name in the field that asks)
- Any book and essay by F. Landa Jocano.
- Notes on Philippine Divinities
- Notes on the Sulod Concept of Death, the Soul, and the Region of the Dead
- Any book and essay by E. Arsenio Manuel.
Anything by Francisco Demetrio, S.J.
- by Wang Zhenping
Anything by Dante L. Ambrosio
- Bakunawa and Laho
- Balátik and Moropóro Stars of Philippine skies
- ‘Mamahi:’ Stars of Tawi-tawi
- Balatik: Katutubong Bituin ng mga Pilipino
- The Art of Puso: Palm Leaf Art in the Visayas in Vocabularios of the 16th to the 19th Centuries by Elmer I. Nocheseda
- by J. Patrick Gray
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