Alipin

Thealipinrefers to the lowestsocial classamong the various cultures of thePhilippinesbefore the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th and 17th centuries. In theVisayan languages,the equivalent social classes were known as theoripun,uripon,orulipon.

Overview

The most common translation of the word is "servant" or "slave", as opposed to the higher classes of thetimawa/maharlikaand thetumao/maginoo.This translation, however, is inaccurate. The concept of thealipinrelied on a complex system of obligation and repayment through labor in ancient Philippine society, rather than on the actual purchase of a person as in Western and Islamicslavery.Indeed, members of thealipinclass who owned their own houses were more accurately equivalent to medieval Europeanserfsand commoners.^[1]^{: 146–147}

Etymology

Alipincomes from the transitive form of the archaic Visayan root wordudip( "to live" ). It derived from the word meaning "to let live" in the senses of letting a war captive live or paying or ransoming someone for a debt that exceeds the value of their life.^[2]

Alipinwere also known askiapangdilihanin theSultanate of Sulu,whereas thenMuslim Manila(Which opossed and supplanted local Hindu Tondo)^[3]prefer the term Alipin when referring to slaves, either Muslim or Non-Muslim.^[4]where they were distinguished from the Arab and European-inspiredchattel slaves(known asbanyaga,bisaya,ipun,orammas).^[5]

Subclasses

As a social class,alipinhad several subclasses based on the nature of their obligations and their dependence on their masters:

Horo-hanorhorohan,a hereditary class oforipununique to the Visayans and first mentioned in theBoxer Codex.Instead of serving obligations through labor, thehoro-haninstead served their masters as warriors (usually as paddlers for warships).^[2]^[6]^[7]Unlike thetimawawarrior class, they were not considered nobility, though higher-statushoro-hanwere virtually indistinguishable from lower-classtimawa.^[8]Like thetimawa,they may also sometimes be obligated to do communal work and paid avassalagefee known asdagupan.^[2]^[7]
Aliping namamahay(translated as "Servant who is housed" ) refers toalipinthat had their own houses, which was usually built on the property of their masters. They were also known astuhay,mamahay,ortumaranpoc(Spanish spelling:tumaranpoque) in Visayan, literally means "house dweller" or "villager." They were not at all slaves, as they were often only obligated to pay a percentage of their earnings or harvests (known ashandogin Tagalog andbuhisin Visayan, 'tribute' and 'tax' respectively) to their masters and no more, thus making them more similar to the medieval Europeanserfsand commoners. They may sometimes be called upon by their masters for harvesting, sowing fields, building new structures, or for aid in emergencies, though these were usually not part of their obligations. They could also freely buy their way out of debt and could marry without the consent of their masters. In the Visayas, sometuhaymight also serve their masters in war, like thehorohan.^[2]^[9]^[10]
Alipin sa gigilid(translated as "Servant in the corners [of the master's house]" ) refers to unmarriedalipinwithout a house and whose existence was completely dependent on the graces of their masters. They were also known astomataban,alalay,hayohay,orayueyin Visayan (meaning "servant", "assistant", or "follower" ). They could only marry with the consent of their master (rarely given for femalealipin sa gigilid). Once married, analipin sa gigilidbecame analiping namamahay,as the master was not obligated to feed and house the family of the latter. Their obligations (i.e. services) could also be transferred or sold to another master.^[9]^[10]Most of the people belonging to this class were the unmarried children ofaliping namamahay,or were unransomedcaptives taken from wars or raids (bihag).^[11]

At lower ranks than the above were thealipinofalipin.Thealipin sa gigilidof analiping namamahaywas calledbulisik( "vile" ), while analipin sa gigilidof analipin sa gigilidwas known by the even more derogatorybulislis(literally meaning "lifted skirt", a term implying that these persons were so vulnerable that it seems like their genitals are exposed). At an even more lower social rank than the latter two werealipinwho were acquired through war or who came from other communities. They were often treated as non-persons until they became fully integrated into the local culture.^[9]

Differences from the western concept of slavery

While thealipindoes, indeed, serve another person, historians note that translating the term as "slave"in the western sense of the word may not be fully justifiable. Documented observations from the 17th century indicate that there may be significant differences between theWesternconcept of "slave"and the Pre-HispanicFilipinoconcept of "alipin".^[2]Some academics prefer to use the more accurate terms "debtors", "serfs", "bondsmen", or "dependents" instead.^[12]

The lowest class ofalipinoriginating from prisoners-of-war were traded like market goods initially. But unlike Western slaves, subsequent transfer of thealipinto a new master was priced at the value of the [remaining] bond. It was the labor obligation of thealipinbeing sold, not the person. Mostalipinusually acquired their status either voluntarily (usually because of material orhonordebt, or as a form of assistance to impoverished relatives), by inheriting the status of their parents, as a form of legal punishment for crime, or by being spared from execution after being captured in wars or raids.Alipinwho acquired their status by debt were known astinubos(literally "redeemed" or "ransomed" ), and their creditors might sell their services for profit at the price of the debt incurred.^[2]

The actual degree of obligations of thealipincould vary considerably. It was dependent on the monetary equivalent of the obligation owed and was usually limited in duration. Analipincould earn their freedom or gain higher status by marriage, being set free by their masters (known asmatitimawaortinimawaamong Visayans), buying it with their earnings,fulfillment of the obligations,or by extraordinary accomplishments and bravery in battle.^[2]^[9]

The inheritance of thealipinstatus was subject to a complex system of rules dependent on the offspring's condition known as thesaya.For example, the first child of a male freeman and a femalealipinwould be free, but their second child would be analipinlike the mother; and so on with the rest of the children. If the number of children was not even, the last child would be a partialalipin.The master of analiping namamahaymight also sometimes take one child of the latter as analipin sa gigilidin the case of the latter's death. They might becomesibinorginogatan( "favorites" ) of their masters and be set free upon the master's death.^[2]

Analipinwho inherits the debts of their parents was known as agintubo(literally "grown up with" ).^[11]Children of parents who are bothalipinwere known asginlubos,while the children ofginluboswere known aslubos nga oripun.^[2]

Partialalipinretain theiralipinancestors' obligations according to their degree of relation. The partialalipinchild of atimawaand analipin,for example, will inherit half of theiralipinparent's obligations, while the grandchild of analipinwill only owe a quarter. Halfalipinwhose services were scheduled alternately by months are referred to asbulan( "moon" or "month" ) orpikas( "half" ). Quarteralipinwere referred to astilororsagipat( "quarter" ). They could also freely buy their way out of service if they can afford it. Part or all of thealipinduties of the parents are often taken over by their children.^[2]^[11]

References

^Scott, William Henry(1980)."Filipino Class Structure in the Sixteenth Century".Philippine Studies.28(2): 142–175.
^^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^jWilliam Henry Scott (1994).Baranggay: Sixteenth Century Philippine Culture and Society(PDF).Ateneo De Manila University Press.ISBN 9715501354.
^Scott, William Henry(1994).Barangay: Sixteenth Century Philippine Culture and Society.Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press.ISBN 978-971-550-135-4.
^"Pre-colonial Manila".Malacañang Presidential Museum and Library.Malacañang Presidential Museum and Library Araw ng Maynila Briefers. Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office. June 23, 2015. Archived fromthe originalon March 9, 2016.RetrievedApril 27,2017.
^James Francis Warren (2002).Iranun and Balangingi: Globalization, Maritime Raiding and the Birth of Ethnicity.NUS Press. pp. 53–56.ISBN 9789971692421.
^Cristina Blanc-Szanton (1990). "Collision of Cultures: Historical Reformulations of Gender in the Lowland Visayas, Philippines". In Jane Monnig Atkinson & Shelly Errington (ed.).Power and Difference: Gender in Island Southeast Asia.Stanford University Press. p.356.ISBN 9780804717816.tumao nobility.
^^a ^bSouza, George Bryan; Turley, Jeffrey S., eds. (2016).The Boxer Codex: Transcription and translation of an illustrated late sixteenth-century Spanish manuscript concerning the geography, ethnography and history of the Pacific, South-East Asia and East Asia.Translated by Turley, Jeffrey S. Leiden: Brill. pp. 346–347.ISBN 978-90-04-30154-2.
^Jose Amiel Angeles (2007). "The Battle of Mactan and the Indigenous Discourse on War".Philippine Studies: Historical and Ethnographic Viewpoints.55(1). Ateneo de Manila University: 3–52.ISSN 2244-1093.
^^a ^b ^c ^dPaul Morrow (January 16, 2009)."Maharlika and the ancient class system".Pilipino Express.RetrievedJuly 18,2012.
^^a ^bEmma Helen Blair & James Alexander Robertson, ed. (1903). "Relacion de las Yslas Filipinas (1582) by Miguel de Loarca".The Philippine Islands, 1493-1803, Volume V., 1582-1583: Explorations By Early Navigators, Descriptions Of The Islands And Their Peoples, Their History And Records Of The Catholic Missions, As Related In Contemporaneous Books And Manuscripts, Showing The Political, Economic, Commercial And Religious Conditions Of Those Islands From Their Earliest Relations With European Nations To The Beginning Of The Nineteenth Century.The A.H. Clark Company (republished online byProject Gutenberg).
^^a ^b ^cM.C. Halili (2004).Philippine History.Rex Bookstore, Inc. p. 57.ISBN 9789712339349.
^Carolyn Brewer (2004).Shamanism, Catholicism, and Gender Relations in Colonial Philippines, 1521-1685.Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. p. 197.ISBN 9780754634379.