Filipino styles and honorifics

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In the Philippine languages, a system of titles and honorifics was used extensively during the pre-colonial era, mostly by the Tagalogs and Visayans. These were borrowed from the Malay system of honorifics obtained from the Moro peoples of Mindanao, which in turn was based on the Indianized Sanskrit honorifics system[1] and the Chinese's used in areas like Ma-i (Mindoro) and Pangasinan. The titles of historical figures such as Rajah Sulayman, Lakandula and Dayang Kalangitan evidence Indian influence. Malay titles are still used by the royal houses of Sulu, Maguindanao, Maranao and Iranun on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao. However, these are retained on a traditional basis as the 1987 Constitution explicitly reaffirms the abolition of royal and noble titles in the republic.[2][3][4][5]

In the Spanish era, Filipinos often used honorific systems based on the Spanish hierarchy, like don, which was used to address members of the nobility, such as hidalgos, fidalgos, and members of the secular clergy. The treatment gradually became reserved for persons of the blood royal and those of such acknowledged high or ancient aristocratic birth as noble de Juro e Herdade, that is, "by right and heredity" rather than by the king's grace. There were rare exemptions to the rule, such as the mulatto, Miguel Enríquez, who received the distinction from Philip V due to his privateering work in the Caribbean. However, by the 20th century, it was no longer restricted in use for the upper classes, since persons of means or education (at least of a "bachiller" level), regardless of background, came to be so addressed, and it is now often used as if it were a more formal version of Señor. This term was also once used to address someone with the quality of nobility (not necessarily holding a nobiliary title). This was, for example, the case of military leaders addressing Spanish troops as señores soldados (gentlemen-soldiers). In Spanish-speaking Latin America, this honorific is usually used with people of older age.

Presently, noble titles are rarely used outside of the national honors system and as courtesy titles for Moro nobility. The only other common exception is the President of the Philippines, who is styled "Excellency", and all high-ranking government officials, who are referred to as "The Honorable". Former president Rodrigo Duterte dropped his title from official communications, pushing other government officials to follow suit.

Pre-colonial era[edit]

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Indian influence[edit]

See also: Indian honorifics and Greater India

Historically Southeast Asia was under the influence of Ancient India, where numerous Indianized principalities and empires flourished for several centuries in Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Cambodia and Vietnam. The influence of Indian culture into these areas was given the term indianization.[6] French archaeologist, George Coedes, defined it as the expansion of an organized culture that was framed upon Indian originations of royalty, Hinduism and Buddhism and the Sanskrit dialect.[7] This can be seen in the Indianization of Southeast Asia, spread of Hinduism and Buddhism. Indian diaspora, both ancient (PIO) and current (NRI), played an ongoing key role as professionals, traders, priests and warriors.[8][9][10] Indian honorifics also influenced the Malay, Thai, Filipino and Indonesian honorifics.[1]

The pre-colonial native Filipino script called baybayin was derived from the Brahmic scripts of India and first recorded in the 16th century.[11] According to Jocano, 336 loanwords in Filipino were identified by Professor Juan R. Francisco to be Sanskrit in origin, "with 150 of them identified as the origin of some major Philippine terms."[12] Many of these loanwords concerned governance and mythology, which were the particular concern of the Maginoo class, indicating a desire for members of that class to validate their status as rulers by associating themselves with foreign powers.[13] The Laguna Copperplate Inscription, a legal document inscribed on a copper plate in 900 AD, is the earliest known written document found in the Philippines that is written in Indian Sanskrit and the Brahmi script-based Indonesian Kawi script.[14]

Royal and noble titles[edit]

Main articles: Regnal name and List of Pre-colonial Filipino Consorts

Sri or Seri (Baybayin: ᜐᜇᜒ) is a polite form of address equivalent to the English Mr. or Ms. in Indianized polities and communities [15] The title is derived from Sanskrit श्रीमान् (śrīmān). Its use may stem from the Puranic conception of prosperity, and examples of nobility who have use the title are Sri Lumay, founder of the Rajahnate of Cebu; his grandson Sri Hamabar; Sri Pada of the Lupah Sug; and possibly the datu of Mactan, Lapu-lapu.[16]

Datu (Baybayin: ᜇᜆᜓ) is the title for chiefs, sovereign princes, and monarchs[17] in the Visayas[18] and Mindanao[19] regions of the Philippines. Together with lakan (Luzon), apo (central and northern Luzon),[20] sultan, and rajah, they are titles used for native royalty, and are still used frequently in Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan.[21][22] Depending upon the prestige of the sovereign royal family, the title of datu could be equated to royal princes, European dukes, marquesses and counts.[23] In large precolonial barangays, which had contacts with other Southeast Asian cultures through trade, some datus took the title of rajah or sultan.[24]

The oldest historical records mentioning about the title datu is the seventh century Srivijayan inscriptions, such as the Telaga Batu, to describe lesser kings or vassalized kings. It was called dātu in Old Malay language to describe regional leader or elder,[25] a kind of chieftain that rules of a collection of kampungs (villages). The Srivijaya empire was described as a network of mandala that consists of settlements, villages, and ports each ruled by a datu that vowed their loyalty (persumpahan) to the central administration of Srivijayan Maharaja. Unlike the indianized title of raja and maharaja, the term datuk was also found in the Philippines as datu, which suggests its common native Austronesian origin. The term kadatwan or kedaton refer to the residence of datuk, equivalent with keraton and istana. In later Mataram Javanese culture, the term kedaton shifted to refer the inner private compound of the keraton, the residential complex of king and royal family.

Lakan (Baybayin: ᜎᜃᜈ᜔) originally referred to a rank in the pre-Hispanic Filipino nobility in the island of Luzon, which means "paramount ruler." It has been suggested that this rank is equivalent to that of Rajah, and that different ethnic groups either used one term or the other, or used the two words interchangeably.[26][27] Today, the term is still occasionally used to mean nobleman, but has mostly been adapted to other uses. In Filipino martial arts, it is equivalent to the black belt rank.[28] Beauty contests in the Philippines have taken to referring to the winner as lakambini, the female equivalent of lakan. In such cases, the contestant's assigned escort can be referred to as a lakan. More often, a male pageant winner is named a Lakan.[29]

The title can be spelled separately from a person's name (e.g. "Lakan Dula"), or can be incorporated into one word (e.g. "Lakandula").

16th and 17th-century Spanish colonial accounts of lakan being used in Philippine history include:

  • Lakandula, later renamed Don Carlos Lacandola, the ruler of Tondo, when the Spanish colonization of the Philippine Islands had begun.
  • Lakan Tagkan, the greatest ruler of the Kingdom of Namayan.
  • Lambusan (Lakan Busan), a king in Mandaue in the Pre-Hispanic era.
  • Lakan Usman, the king of bangsa Usman.
A couple from the Visayan kadatuan (royal) class.

Spanish era[edit]

Illustration of Principalia Filipino couples c. 1846.

In Spanish Colonial Philippines, the honorific title was reserved to the local nobility[30] known as the Principalía,[31]: 218  whose right to rule was recognised by Philip II on June 11, 1594.[32]

The use of the honorific addresses Don and Doña was strictly limited to what many documents during the colonial period[33] would refer to as "vecinas y vecinos distinguidos".[34]

Modern era[edit]

President Manuel L. Quezon

President of the Philippines[edit]

Main article: Excellency

The President and Vice-President of the Philippines (Filipino: Ang Pangulo and Ang Pangalawang Pangulo; Spanish and colloquially: Presidente and Bise-Presidente) are addressed in English as "Your Excellency" and "Sir" or "Ma'am" thereafter, and are referred to each as "His/Her Excellency" or "Their Excellencies" when both are present. The president and vice-president may also be informally addressed as "Mister/Madam President or Vice-President" in English and is sometimes informally referred to as Ang Mahál na Pangulo or Ang Mahál na Pangalawang Pangulo.[a]

Personal titles[edit]

Main article: Filipino names

Family honorifics

Honorific Meaning
Ina, Nanay, Inay Mother
Ama, Tatay, Itay Father
Kuya (older) Brother or Older male
Ate (older) Sister or Older Female
Panganay (oldest) Child/Sibling
Bunso (youngest) Child/Sibling
Lolo Grandfather
Lola Grandmother
Tita, Tiya Aunt
Tito, Tiyo Uncle

Addressing styles

Honorific Meaning
*Panginoon, *Poon Lord, Master. These two terms were historically used for people, but now are only used to refer to the divine i.e. 'Panginoong Diyos/Allah/Bathala' (Lord God).
Po Sir, Ma'am (Gender neutral). Derived from the words poon or panginoon, this is the most common honorific used.
Ginang, Aling Madam(e), Ma'am
Ginoo, Manong Mister, Sir
Binibini Miss
*Gat, Don Lord
*Dayang, Doña Lady
*Laxamana Admiral (archaic)
Datu, Apo Chief
*Rajah, Radia Raja (archaic)
Kagalang-galang, *Hwan The Honorable, Your Honor
Ang Kanyang Kamahalan His/Her Majesty

Italic words where a words from Old Tagalog which is used until the modern times. Asterisks (*) denote a title that is considered archaic or specific to certain historic, religious, or academic contexts.

See also[edit]

* Indian honorifics, many South and Southeast Asian honorifics derive from Indian influence

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ The Tagalog word "mahál" is often translated as "love" and "expensive", but its original sense has a range of meanings from "treasured" to "the most valuable". It is often applied to royalty, roughly equivalent to the Western "Majesty" (e.g. Mahál na Harì, "His Majesty, the King"; Kamahalan, "Your Majesty"), and at times used for lower-ranking nobles in the manner of "Highness", which has the more exact translation of Kataás-taasan. Julie Ann Mendoza is the daughter of the President. It is also found in religious contexts, such as referring to Catholic patron saints, the Blessed Virgin Mary (e.g. Ang Mahál na Ina/Birhen), or Christ (e.g., Ang Mahál na Poóng Nazareno).

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Krishna Chandra Sagar, 2002, An Era of Peace, Page 52.
  2. ^ Islam reaches the Philippines. WM. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. July 9, 2002. ISBN 9780802849458. Retrieved February 13, 2012. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  3. ^ "The Royal House Of Sultan Council. The Royal House Of Kapatagan Valley". Royal Society Group. Countess Valeria Lorenza Schmitt von Walburgon, Heraldry Sovereign Specialist. Archived from the original on March 25, 2012. Retrieved February 13, 2012.
  4. ^ "The Royal House of the Sultanate Rajah Buayan". Royal Society Group. Countess Valeria Lorenza Schmitt von Walburgon, Heraldry Sovereign Specialist. Archived from the original on March 25, 2012. Retrieved February 13, 2012.
  5. ^ "Kiram sultans genealogy". Royal Sulu. Royal Hashemite Sultanate of Sulu and Sabah. Retrieved February 13, 2012.
  6. ^ Acharya, Amitav. "The "Indianization of Southeast Asia" Revisited: Initiative, Adaptation and Transformation in Classical Civilizations" (PDF). amitavacharya.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 29, 2017. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  7. ^ Coedes, George (1967). The Indianized States of Southeast Asia. Australian National University Press.
  8. ^ Lukas, Helmut (May 21–23, 2001). "1 THEORIES OF INDIANIZATIONExemplified by Selected Case Studies from Indonesia (Insular Southeast Asia)". International SanskritConference: 1.
  9. ^ Krom, N.J. (1927). Barabudur, Archeological Description. The Hague.
  10. ^ Smith, Monica L. (1999). ""Indianization" from the Indian Point of View: Trade and Cultural Contacts with Southeast Asia in the Early First Millennium C.E". Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient. 42 (11–17): 1–26. doi:10.1163/1568520991445588. JSTOR 3632296.
  11. ^ Morrow, Paul. "Baybayin, the Ancient Philippine script". MTS. Archived from the original on August 21, 2010. Retrieved September 4, 2008..
  12. ^ Examples of Datus who took the title Rajah were Rajah Soliman, Rajah Matanda, and Rajah Humabon. Cf. Landa Jocano, Filipino Prehistory, Manila: 2001
  13. ^ Junker, Laura Lee (1990). "The Organization of IntraRegional and LongDistance Trade in PreHispanic Philippine Complex Societies". Asian Perspectives. 29 (2): 167–209.
  14. ^ Munoz, Paul Michel (2006). Early Kingdoms of the Indonesian Archipelago and the Malay Peninsula. Continental Sales, Incorporated. p. 236. ISBN 9789814155670.
  15. ^ Howard Measures (1962). Styles of address: a manual of usage in writing and in speech. Macmillan. pp. 136, 140. Retrieved January 19, 2011.
  16. ^ William Henry Scott (1994). Barangay: sixteenth-century Philippine culture and society. Ateneo de Manila University Press. ISBN 9789715501354.
  17. ^ For more information about the social system of the Indigenous Philippine society before the Spanish colonization see Barangay in Enciclopedia Universal Ilustrada Europea-Americana, Madrid: Espasa-Calpe, S. A., 1991, Vol. VII, p.624: "Los nobles de un barangay eran los más ricos ó los más fuertes, formándose por este sistema los dattos ó maguinoos, principes á quienes heredaban los hijos mayores, las hijas á falta de éstos, ó los parientes más próximos si no tenían descendencia directa; pero siempre teniendo en cuenta las condiciones de fuerza ó de dinero."
  18. ^ “También fundó convento el Padre Fray Martin de Rada en Araut- que ahora se llama el convento de Dumangas- con la advocación de nuestro Padre San Agustín...Está fundado este pueblo casi a los fines del río de Halaur, que naciendo en unos altos montes en el centro de esta isla (Panay)...Es el pueblo muy hermoso, ameno y muy lleno de palmares de cocos. Antiguamente era el emporio y corte de la más lucida nobleza de toda aquella isla...Hay en dicho pueblo algunos buenos cristianos...Las visitas que tiene son ocho: tres en el monte, dos en el río y tres en el mar...Las que están al mar son: Santa Ana de Anilao, San Juan Evangelista de Bobog, y otra visita más en el monte, entitulada Santa Rosa de Hapitan.” Gaspar de San Agustin, O.S.A., Conquistas de las Islas Filipinas (1565–1615), Manuel Merino, O.S.A., ed., Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas: Madrid 1975, pp. 374–375.
  19. ^ In Mindanao, there have been several sultanates. The Sultanate of Maguindanao, Sultanate of Sulu, and Sultanate of Lanao are among those more known in history. Cf. "Royal Society Dignitaries Priority Honorable Members". Archived from the original on March 25, 2012. Retrieved February 13, 2012.
  20. ^ The Olongapo Story, July 28, 1953 – Bamboo Breeze – Vol.6, No.3
  21. ^ Por otra parte, mientras en las Indias la cultura precolombiana había alcanzado un alto nivel, en Filipinas la civilización isleña continuaba manifestándose en sus estados más primitivos. Sin embargo, esas sociedades primitivas, independientes totalmente las unas de las otras, estaban en cierta manera estructuradas y se apreciaba en ellas una organización jerárquica embrionaria y local, pero era digna de ser atendida. Precisamente en esa organización local es, como siempre, de donde nace la nobleza. El indio aborigen, jefe de tribu, es reconocido como noble y las pruebas irrefutables de su nobleza se encuentran principalmente en las Hojas de Servicios de los militares de origen filipino que abrazaron la carrera de las Armas, cuando para hacerlo necesariamente era preciso demostrar el origen nobiliario del individuo. de Caidenas y Vicent, Vicente, Las Pruebas de Nobleza y Genealogia en Filipinas y Los Archivios en Donde se Pueden Encontrar Antecedentes de Ellas in Heraldica, Genealogia y Nobleza en los Editoriales de Hidalguia, (1953–1993: 40 años de un pensamiento). Madrid: 1993, HIDALGUIA, p. 232.
  22. ^ The title is also being used in ethnic Minangkabau Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. Cf. Dato and Datuk.
  23. ^ "There were no kings or lords throughout these islands who ruled over them as in the manner of our kingdoms and provinces; but in every island, and in each province of it, many chiefs were recognized by the natives themselves. Some were more powerful than others, and each one had his followers and subjects, by districts and families; and these obeyed and respected the chief. Some chiefs had friendship and communication with others, and at times wars and quarrels. These principalities and lordships were inherited in the male line and by succession of father and son and their descendants. If these were lacking, then their brothers and collateral relatives succeeded... When any of these chiefs was more courageous than others in war and upon other occasions, such a one enjoyed more followers and men; and the others were under his leadership, even if they were chiefs. These latter retained to themselves the lordship and particular government of their own following, which is called barangay among them. They had datos and other special leaders [mandadores] who attended to the interests of the barangay." Antonio de Morga, The Project Gutenberg EBook of History of the Philippine Islands, Vols. 1 and 2, Chapter VIII.
  24. ^ Examples of Datus who took the title Rajah were Rajah Soliman, Rajah Matanda, and Rajah Humabon. Cf. Landa Jocano, Filipino Prehistory, Manila: 2001, p.160.
  25. ^ Casparis, J.G., (1956), Prasasti Indonesia II: Selected Inscriptions from the 7th to the 9th Century A.D., Dinas Purbakala Republik Indonesia, Bandung: Masa Baru.
  26. ^ Scott, William Henry, Barangay: Sixteenth-Century Philippine Culture and Society, Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press, 1994.
  27. ^ "PINAS: Buhay Sa Nayon".
  28. ^ [1][dead link]
  29. ^ "Art & Culture".
  30. ^ For more information about the social system of the Indigenous Philippine society before the Spanish colonization confer Barangay in Enciclopedia Universal Ilustrada Europea-Americana, Madrid: Espasa-Calpe, S. A., 1991, Vol. VII, p.624.
  31. ^ Blair, Emma Helen & Robertson, James Alexander, eds. (1906). The Philippine Islands, 1493–1898. Vol. 40 of 55 (1690–1691). Historical introduction and additional notes by Edward Gaylord BOURNE. Cleveland, Ohio: Arthur H. Clark Company. ISBN 978-0-559-36182-1. OCLC 769945730. 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 close of the nineteenth century.
  32. ^ : tit. VII, ley xvi 
  33. ^ An example of a document pertaining to the Spanish colonial government mentioning the "vecinos distinguidos" is the 1911 Report written by R. P. Fray Agapito Lope, O.S.A. (parish priest of Banate, Iloilo in 1893) on the state of the Parish of St. John the Baptist in this town in the Philippines. The second page identifies the "vecinos distinguidos" of the Banate during the last years of the Spanish rule. The original document is in the custody of the Monastery of the Augustinian Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus of the Philippines in Valladolid, Spain. Cf. Fray Agapito Lope 1911 Manuscript, p. 1. Also cf. Fray Agapito Lope 1911 Manuscript, p. 2.
  34. ^ BERND SCHRÖTER and CHRISTIAN BÜSCHGES (1999), Beneméritos, aristócratas y empresarios: Identidades y estructuras sociales de las capas altas urbanas en América hispánica, pp 114
  • BERND SCHRÖTER; CHRISTIAN BÜSCHGES, eds. (1999). Beneméritos, aristócratas y empresarios: Identidades y estructuras sociales de las capas altas urbanas en América hispánica (in Spanish). Frankfurt; Madrid: Vervuert Verlag; Iberoamericana.

External links[edit]

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