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Code of Kalantiaw

The Code of Rajah Kalantiaw is a legal code said to have been written in 1433 on the island of Negros in the Philippines. However, most historians now believe it was a hoax written in 1913 by Jose E. Marco as historical fiction. In 1965, historian William Henry Scott examined prehispanic sources and demonstrated that the code was a forgery by Marco. Scott published his findings, and Filipino historians removed the code from literature on Philippine history. While some texts still presented it as historical, most historians now agree it is not an authentic legal code from the 15th century.

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316 views

Code of Kalantiaw

The Code of Rajah Kalantiaw is a legal code said to have been written in 1433 on the island of Negros in the Philippines. However, most historians now believe it was a hoax written in 1913 by Jose E. Marco as historical fiction. In 1965, historian William Henry Scott examined prehispanic sources and demonstrated that the code was a forgery by Marco. Scott published his findings, and Filipino historians removed the code from literature on Philippine history. While some texts still presented it as historical, most historians now agree it is not an authentic legal code from the 15th century.

Uploaded by

Rose de Dios
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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CABLAYAN, CHARMAINE ROSE D.

HUMAN RIGHTS LAW


LL.B 2-B RESEARCH PAPER NO. 3

Code of Kalantiaw

The Code of Rajah Kalantiaw was a supposed legal


code in the epic history Maragtas that is said to have
been written in 1433 by Datu Kalantiaw, a chief on the
island of Negros in the Philippines. The code is now
believed by many historians to have been a hoax and
that it had actually been written in 1913 by Jose E.
Marco as a part of his historical fiction Las antiguas
leyendas de la Isla de Negros (English: The Ancient
Legends of the Island of Negros), which he attributed
to a priest named Jose Maria Pavon.
Philippine historian Teodoro Agoncillo describes the
code as "a disputed document." Despite doubts on its
authenticity, some history texts continue to present
it as historical fact.
History and doubts of authenticity

In 1917, the historian Josué Soncuya wrote about the


Code of Kalantiaw in his book Historia Prehispana de
Filipinas("Prehispanic History of the Philippines")
where he moved the location of the Code's origin from
Negros to the Panayprovince of Aklan because he
suspected that it may be related to the Ati-atihan
festival. Other authors throughout the 20th century
gave credence to the story and the code.
In 1965, then University of Santo Tomas doctoral
candidate William Henry Scott began an examination of
prehispanic sources for the study of Philippine
history. Scott eventually demonstrated that the code
was a forgery committed by Marco. When Scott presented
these conclusions in his doctoral dissertation,
defended on 16 June 1968 before a panel of eminent
Filipino historians which included Teodoro
Agoncillo, Horacio de la Costa, Marcelino
Foronda, Mercedes Grau Santamaria, Nicolas
Zafra and Gregorio Zaide, not a single question was
raised about the chapter which he had called The
Contributions of Jose E. Marco to Philippine
historiography.

Scott later published his findings debunking the code


in his book Prehispanic Source Materials for the Study
of Philippine History. Filipino historians later
removed the code from future literature regarding
Philippine history. When Antonio W. Molina published
a Spanish version of his The Philippines Through the
Centuries as Centuries as historia de
Filipinas(Madrid, 1984), he replaced the Code with one
sentence: "La tésis doctoral del historador Scott
desbarate la existencia misma de dicho Código" (The
doctoral dissertation of the historian Scott demolishes
the very existence of the Code).[5]
Laws of the Kalantiaw Code

In his book, Struggle for Freedom (2008), Cecilio Duka


provides a full reproduction of the code for the
reader's "critical examination... to decide on its
veracity and accuracy".
Article I
You shall not kill, neither shall ye steal nor shall
you hurt the aged, lest ye incur the danger of death.
All those who this order shall infringe shall be tied
to a stone and drowned in a river or in boiling water.
Article II
Ye shall punctually meet your debt with your headman.
He who fulfills not, for the first time shall be lashed
a hundredfold, and If the obligation is great, his hand
shall be dipped threefold in boiling water. On
conviction, he shall be flogged to death.
Article III
Obey ye: no one shall have wives that are too young,
nor shall they be more than what he can take care of,
nor spend much luxury. He who fulfils not, obeys not,
shall be condemned to swim three hours and, for the
second time, shall be scourged with spines to death.
Article IV
Observe and obey ye: Let not the peace of the graves
be disturbed; due respect must be accorded them on
passing by caves and trees where they are. He who
observes not shall die by bites of ants or shall be
flogged with spines till death.
Article V
Obey ye: Exchange in food must be carried out
faithfully. He who complies not shall be lashed for an
hour. He who repeats the act shall, for a day be exposed
to the ants.
Article VI
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Ye shall revere respectable places, trees of known
value, and other sites. He shall pay a month's work,
in gold or money, whoever fails to do this; and if
twice committed, he shall be declared a slave.
Article VII
They shall die who kill trees of venerable aspect; who
at night shoot with arrows the aged men and the women;
he who enters the house of the headman without
permission; he who kills a fish or shark or striped
crocodile.
Article VIII
They shall be slaves for a given time who steal away
the women of the headmen; he who possesses dogs that
bite the headmen; he who burns another man's sown
field.
Article IX
They shall be slaves for a given time, who sing in
their night errands, kill manual birds, tear documents
belonging to the headmen; who are evil-minded liars;
who play with the dead.
Article X
It shall be the obligation of every mother to show her
daughter secretly the things that are lacivious, and
prepare them for womanhood; men shall not be cruel to
their wives, nor should they punish them when they
catch them in the act of adultery. He who disobeys
shall be torn to pieces and thrown to the caymans.
Article XI
They shall be burned, who by force or cunning have
mocked at and eluded punishment, or who have killed two
young boys, or shall try to steal the women of the old
men (agurangs).
Article XII
They shall be drowned, all slaves who assault their
superiors or their lords and masters; all those who
abuse their luxury; those who kill their anitos by
breaking them or throwing them away.
Article XIII
They shall be exposed to the ants for half a day, who
kill a black cat during the new moon or steal things
belonging to the headmen.
Article XIV

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They shall be slaves for life, who having beautiful
daughters shall deny them to the sons of the headman,
or shall hide them in bad faith.
Article XV
Concerning their beliefs and superstitions: they shall
be scourged, who eat bad meat of respected insects or
herbs that are supposed to be good; who hurt or kill
the young manual bird and the white monkey.
Article XVI
Their fingers shall be cut off, who break wooden or
clay idols in their olangangs and places of oblation;
he who breaks Tagalan's daggers for hog killing, or
breaks drinking vases.
Article XVII
They shall be killed, who profane places where sacred
objects of their diwatas or headmen are buried. He who
gives way to the call of nature at such places shall
be burned.
Article XVIII
Those who do not cause these rules to be observed, if
they are headmen, shall be stoned and crushed to death,
and if they are old men, shall be placed in rivers to
be eaten by sharks and crocodiles.

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