Podkas: Conversations on Philippine History, Politics, and Society

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Timawa ka ba? Juan de Plasencia’s Customs of the Tagalogs

Upon arriving in the islands that would become Filipinas, the Spaniards had to find ways to subjugate the native population, so they studied the early Filipinos, resulting in a fascinating peek into the island peoples' customs and traditions. In this episode, we talk about the Franciscan friar Juan de Plasencia’s Relación de las Costumbres de los Tagalos, more popularly known as Customs of the Tagalogs to explain how they saw the indigenous political and social organization of the Tagalogs, including some choice descriptions of indigenous spirituality (and oh boy, were they shookedt!).