Filipino Cultural Practices in Colonial Contexts , as Described by Franciscan Juan de Jesús (1703)1

Abstract

The text examined here is attributed to Juan de Jesús OFM (d. 1706). It is the first of six chapters from a document that has no original title but is described as “Instrucciones a nuestros misioneros acerca de la predicación y confesión de los indios [Instructions to our missionaries regarding preaching to and taking confession of the Filipinos].” The chapter contains the author’s assessment of a broad range of Filipino cultural practices, including musical performance, the making of musical instruments (specifically pipe organs), mechanical arts, shipbuilding, liberal arts, accounting, theology, and navigation. The text praises these accomplishments and gives examples of Filipinos who excelled in several of these fields. However, it also includes a disparaging remark about enslaved African people, and occasionally uses pejorative language that demonstrates colonialist attitudes of the time.