{"id":5580,"date":"2017-08-28T03:54:12","date_gmt":"2017-08-28T03:54:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/topten.ph\/?p=5580"},"modified":"2017-09-08T03:27:12","modified_gmt":"2017-09-08T03:27:12","slug":"top-10-samples-old-writings-philippines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/topten.ph\/2017\/08\/28\/top-10-samples-old-writings-philippines\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 10 Samples of old writings in the Philippines"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"447d89fd8ebe85d3aa2bf2e394af15c6\" data-index=\"1\" style=\"float: left; margin: 10px 10px 10px 0;\">\n<script data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3958015878128031\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/praktis-august-2014.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5596\" src=\"https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/praktis-august-2014.png\" alt=\"Baybayin samples\" width=\"744\" height=\"1052\" srcset=\"https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/praktis-august-2014.png 744w, https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/praktis-august-2014-212x300.png 212w, https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/praktis-august-2014-724x1024.png 724w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 744px) 100vw, 744px\" \/><\/a><\/p><div class=\"447d89fd8ebe85d3aa2bf2e394af15c6\" data-index=\"1\" style=\"float: left; margin: 10px 10px 10px 0;\">\n<script data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3958015878128031\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>Long before these islands, now known as the Philippines, were conquered by Spaniards, Americans, and Japanese, the people have been experimenting with writing systems. The development of writing here was slow \u2013 maybe\u00a0because writing was of much concern mostly for royal courts and traders (the oldest deciphered writing in the Philippines is a receipt).<\/p>\n<p>The earliest fully developed old writing system recorded in the Philippines dates from about the 10<sup>th<\/sup> century. The latest discovered dates back to the period of insurrection against the Spaniards in the 19<sup>th<\/sup>.<\/p>\n<p>Of these, the most famous is the <em>Baybayin,<\/em> commonly (and erroneously) known as <em>\u201calibata\u201d<\/em>. Baybayin was still undergoing local development (we were using it for writing poetry, love letters, short messages) when we were rudely interrupted by invaders. Since we were busy becoming Indios (subjugated inferiors of the Spaniards), we had no time to fully develop Baybayin, and we dropped it altogether by the 1700s. Baybayin is easy to write, and harder to read because any word, ending in a consonant with no vowel sound, had to drop the consonant, giving rise to possible confusion (and funny) readings.<\/p>\n<p>There are many competing theories as to where we got Baybayin. Some say we got it from watching giant clam <em>(Tridacna)<\/em> shells. Some say we got it from ancient petroglyphs. The most obvious thing is it is derived from Indian-derived scripts. From the way ending consonants are dropped, someone theorizes it probably came from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.academia.edu\/4404171\/Linguistic_insights_into_the_history_of_Philippine_script\">Bugis or Makassar traders of Sulawesi<\/a> (Celebes), east of Borneo.<\/p>\n<p>Here are the top 10 samples of old writing found in the Philippines:<\/p>\n<h2>Laguna Copperplate Inscription (LCI)<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5581\" src=\"https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"750\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image1.jpg 750w, https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image1-300x160.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"http:\/\/opinion.inquirer.net\/12971\/isulat-mo-sa-tubig-itaga-mo-sa-bato\">Laguna Copperplate Inscription (LCI)<\/a> is one of the oldest of the deciphered ancient scripts in the Philippines. Written on it is a date that corresponds to April 21, 900 AD. It is a notice of receipt of debt payment, freeing the debtor\u2019s descendants from falling into slavery (numbers correspond to lines):<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>(1) Hail! In the Saka-year 822; the month of March-April; according\u00a0 to the astronomer; the fourth day of the dark half of the moon; on (2)\u00a0 Monday. At that time Lady Angkatan together with her relative, Bukah\u00a0 by name, (3) the child of His Honor Namwaran, was given as a special favor, a document of full acquittal, by the Chief and Commander of\u00a0 Tundun (4) represented by the leader of Pailah, Jayadewa. This means\u00a0 that His Honor Namwaran, through the Honorable Scribe (5) is totally cleared of a salary-related debt of one kati and eight suwarna, in the presence of His Honor the leader of Puliran, (6) Kasumuran: His Honor\u00a0 the Leader of Pailah, represented by Ganasakti; His Honor the Leader of (7) Binwagan, represented by Bisruta. And, with his whole family,\u00a0 on orders of the chief of Dewata (8) represented by the chief of Mdang, because of his loyalty as a subject of the Chief, therefore all the descendants (9) of His Honor Namwaran are cleared of the whole debt that His Honor owed the Chief of Dewata. This in case (10) there is\u00a0 someone, whosoever, sometime in the future, who will state that the\u00a0 debt is not yet acquitted of His Honor.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The LCI was a dark, rolled up piece of copper sheet <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wikiwand.com\/en\/Laguna_Copperplate_Inscription\">dredged up in 1989<\/a> by a laborer in Lumbang River, Barangay Wawa, Lumban, Laguna. The place-names are could be Tondo, and some parts of Bulacan (Paila, Puliran, and Binwangan).<\/p>\n<p>Deciphered in 1992 by Dutch anthropologist and Hanun\u00f3&#8217;o script (another old writing in the Philippines) scholar Antoon Postma, the language of the LCI is in Sanskrit, with a lot of old Malay (related to old Tagalog) and some old Javanese thrown in. The script itself is in Javanese <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wikiwand.com\/en\/Old_Kawi\">Kawi<\/a>. It wasn\u2019t a script meant for the masses and its use was lost, later to be replaced by a relatively unrefined script, the Baybayin, in the 14<sup>th<\/sup> century.<\/p>\n<h2>Butuan Silver Paleograph<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_5582\" style=\"width: 1610px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5582\" class=\"wp-image-5582 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"766\" srcset=\"https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image2.jpg 1440w, https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image2-300x144.jpg 300w, https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image2-768x368.jpg 768w, https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image2-1024x490.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-5582\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image: National Museum<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Dating back to the 14<sup>th<\/sup>-15<sup>th<\/sup> centuries, the <a href=\"http:\/\/mandirigma.org\/?p=269\">Butuan Silver Strip<\/a> is not yet deciphered. Found in the 1970s, in Butuan, by archeologists from the National Museum, most Internet sources say it was taken possession of by Proceso Gonzales, the city engineer of Butuan back then <em>(more than 40 years have already passed since the 1970s \u2013 he can\u2019t be city engineer forever).<\/em> An Indonesian expert thinks the writing in the strip is related to Kawi, although the writing is blocky \u2013 probably because it was carved with a knife.<\/p>\n<h2>Butuan Ivory Seal<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image3.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5583\" src=\"https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"312\" srcset=\"https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image3.jpg 450w, https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image3-300x208.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Another Butuan find, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wikiwand.com\/en\/Butuan_Ivory_Seal\">Butuan Ivory Seal<\/a> is dated back to 1002 CE. It was discovered in a shell midden site in the 1970s. Written in Kawi, it is translated to say <em>\u201cButban\u201d<\/em> \u2013 probably the old spelling of Butuan \u2013 pronounced today as \u201cbutwan\u201d (not \u201cbut\u00fa-an\u201d, as an ABS-CBN voice talent once said it, or else it will mean, in Bisaya, as \u201csomeone with a remarkable butu\u201d \u2013 which, incidentally, ties up nicely with the joke meaning of <em>\u201cmaharlika\u201d,<\/em> \u201cmaha linga\u201d, \u201cgreat p__s\u201d). It is a testament to the former importance of Butuan as a center of trade.<\/p>\n<h2>Doctrina Christiana<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image4.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5584\" src=\"https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"385\" height=\"542\" srcset=\"https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image4.jpg 385w, https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image4-213x300.jpg 213w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 385px) 100vw, 385px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Published in 1593 by Fray Juan de Plasencia, the <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wikiwand.com\/en\/Doctrina_Christiana\">Doctrina Christiana<\/a><\/em> is probably the most famous document with Baybayin writing in this list. It is a cathechism, containing prayers and doctrine that are also written in Baybayin. In fairness, the Spaniards wanted to be understood better by the natives in their own writing, hence the inclusion of Baybayin. The use of Baybayin, however, gave way to the Latin alphabet by the mid 1600s since Latin writing was easier to read and was used in Spanish, the language of the elite and of trade.<\/p>\n<p>The Doctrina Christiana appears to be the source of the curly \u201cclassic\u201d Baybayin we now think of as \u201cdefinitive\u201d. However, this appearance is probably due to the attempts of early local printers (could be the friars themselves) to \u201cRomanize\u201d the look of Baybayin \u2013 Baybayin was first mostly written on leaves, bark, or bamboo strips with a small dagger. It is impractical to write curly script using a dagger. Relatives of the Baybayin still used today include the Mangyan Hanun\u00f3&#8217;o and B\u00fahid scripts, the Palawan Tagbanua, and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/Kulitkulitan\/?sw_fnr_id=3316115764&amp;fnr_t=0\">Kapampangan Kulitan<\/a>. They have evolved into their own distinctive styles.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image5.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5585\" src=\"https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image5.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"739\" height=\"1013\" srcset=\"https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image5.jpg 739w, https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image5-219x300.jpg 219w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 739px) 100vw, 739px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h2>UST Archives on Baybayin<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image6.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5586\" src=\"https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image6.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"904\" height=\"1125\" srcset=\"https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image6.jpg 904w, https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image6-241x300.jpg 241w, https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image6-768x956.jpg 768w, https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image6-823x1024.jpg 823w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 904px) 100vw, 904px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The University of Santo Tomas (UST) holds the <a href=\"http:\/\/lifestyle.inquirer.net\/31257\/ust-collection-of-ancient-scripts-in-%E2%80%98baybayin%E2%80%99-syllabary-shown-to-public\/\">biggest extant collection of Baybayin documents in the world.<\/a> The collection is declared a national treasure. Above is a water-damaged page of a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/UST1611official\/photos\/a.125784660766660.21017.121328281212298\/897455500266235\/?type=1&amp;theater\">land deed<\/a> in the 17<sup>th<\/sup> century (dated 1613 and 1625), when people started using feather quills (no longer daggers) as writing instruments.<\/p>\n<h2>Mayubok Document<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image7.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5587\" src=\"https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image7.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1095\" height=\"498\" srcset=\"https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image7.jpg 1095w, https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image7-300x136.jpg 300w, https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image7-768x349.jpg 768w, https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image7-1024x466.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1095px) 100vw, 1095px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>This is easily the least known in this list. This was posted by linguist and old Southeast Asian scripts expert <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/186323918073185\/permalink\/858624217509815\/?sw_fnr_id=3316115555&amp;fnr_t=0\">Christopher Ray Miller on Facebook<\/a>. This is a certification that the signatories (town dignitaries) acknowledge their obligations (with some protests) to their local priest (priests were the top of the pyramid then). By this time, 1681, the Baybayin was already relegated to signatures (by the 1700s, people stopped using Baybayin in general). It reads:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>Ang pagkatutu\u00f3 nit\u00f3, n\u00e1ming pinirmah\u00e1n nang \u00e1ming mang\u00e1 ng\u00e1lan nang s\u00falat Tag\u00e1log<\/em> <em>sa harap\u00e1n ni Don Domingo, p\u00fan\u00f2 Hern\u00e1ndez Mibaras [?] d\u00edni sa b\u00e1gong b\u00e1yan ni San Pablo, Mayubok, bis\u00edta nang Gumaka, Kah\u00fak\u00faman nang Kalilayan, nang ikasiy\u00e1m na \u00e1raw nang buw\u00e1nnang M\u00e1yo, nang lab\u00ed sa lib\u00f3ng \u00e1nim na da\u00e1ng wal\u00f3ng puw\u00f4 [walump\u00fb] at is\u00e1ng ta\u00f3n.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Don Diego Santiago, Don Ignacio Alvarez<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Don Luis Catindig, Don Ventura Caguio<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Don Mateo Disumala, Don Ventura Dimarasigan<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Don Sebastian Capindan, Don Julian de la Cruz<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Roughly: \u201cIn proof of this, we signed our names, in the Tagalog script, at the presence of Don Domingo, chief Hernandez Mibaras [mayor, the one who holds the baton], here in the new town of San Pablo, Mayubok, Visita of Gumaka, Judgment Hall of Kalilayan, on this day the 9<sup>th<\/sup> of May, 1681.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This document is with the Archivo Franciscano Ibero-Oriental in Madrid. The place is now Brgy. Mayubok, Pitogo, Quezon.<\/p>\n<h2>Calatagan Pot Inscription (CPI)<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image8.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5588\" src=\"https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image8.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"371\" srcset=\"https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image8.png 450w, https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image8-300x247.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"http:\/\/mandirigma.org\/?p=260\">Calatagan Pot<\/a> (named after its place of discovery, Calatagan, Batangas) was offered by treasure hunters to National Museum staff in the early 1960s. It is said to date from the 14th-16th centuries. Its 1960s discovery\u00a0predates the discovery of the Butuan Ivory seal, the Butuan Silver Strip, and the Laguna Copperplate Inscription (1970s and late 80s). Since then, there have been a lot of attempts at translating\u00a0the CPI:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image9.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5589\" src=\"https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image9.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"628\" height=\"852\" srcset=\"https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image9.png 628w, https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image9-221x300.png 221w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 628px) 100vw, 628px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/publication\/231910961_Barang_king_banga_A_Visayan_language_reading_of_the_Calatagan_pot_inscription_CPI\">Ramon Guillermo<\/a> (2009) thinks the inscription is in Visayan and translates it as an incantation to harm (ala-Harry Potter\u2019s the Dark Arts):<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>Gana Bisa Kata<br \/>\nDuna kita\u2019y halabas<br \/>\nYawa, sala, kakaga<br \/>\nYamyama la ni (mga) Manugdait:<br \/>\nKita sana magbasa<br \/>\nBarang king banga<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Gana Bisa Kata [Powerful is Gana\u2019s Word]<br \/>\nWe have a sword<br \/>\nEvil, faults, falsehood<br \/>\nJust chant this, Shaman(s)<br \/>\nLet us read the signs<br \/>\nSpell\/power of this pot!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/heritage.elizaga.net\/explorations\/borrinaga\/calatagan-pot.pdf\">Rolando Borrinaga<\/a> (2010) translates this also in Bisaya, as an incantation to bring back a disappeared person \u2013 a victim of <em>bugkut<\/em> (abduction by supernatural creatures who live in <em>dakit<\/em> [banyan] trees):<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>Nabuk\u00eek\u00ee na ba?<br \/>\nLab\u00e2 m\u00e2 na l\u00e2, d\u00e3kit,<br \/>\nNin\u00fb m\u00e2 niya mangga,<br \/>\nGakatkat \u2018ya l\u00e2 ngay-an,<br \/>\nBay\u00e2 ha d\u00e3kit na, nu?<br \/>\nD\u00e3 kal\u00e1g binagat. ~ <\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Is it open already? [the gateway to the spirit underworld]<br \/>\nTake it as a gain now, nevertheless, <em>d\u00e3kit<\/em> tree,<br \/>\nThat he\/she [strayed soul] mistook you for a mango tree,<br \/>\n[He\/She] just crossed [to your domain] out of fear alone, is that so?<br \/>\nLeave the <em>d\u00e3kit<\/em> tree now, will you?<br \/>\nShame\/Intimidate\/Bring [back] the soul that you [were told to] encounter. ~<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>No doubt other transcriptions will still surface.<\/p>\n<h2>Aginid Bayok Sa Atong Tawarik<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image10.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5590\" src=\"https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image10.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"501\" height=\"637\" srcset=\"https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image10.jpg 501w, https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image10-236x300.jpg 236w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 501px) 100vw, 501px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.philstar.com\/cebu-lifestyle\/706409\/finding-aginid\">Aginid Bayok Sa Atong Tawarik<\/a>,<\/em> or Glide On Ode To Our History, is a transcription of Jovito S. Abellana\u2019s oral epic family history in Cebu published in 1952 (available for purchase at Cebu Normal University). Two famous 16<sup>th <\/sup>century Cebu characters, <a href=\"https:\/\/thebulwaganfoundation.wordpress.com\/2010\/09\/01\/the-rajahnate-of-cebu\/\">Rajah Humabon and Lapu-lapu<\/a> are mentioned in the Aginid. The Aginid is written partly in \u2018Badlit\u2019 \u2013 a Cebuano version of Baybayin \u2013 in a style described by Old Tagalog expert, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Jean-Paul-G.-POTET\/e\/B00ASLEOBW\">Jean-Paul Potet<\/a>, as \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wikiwand.com\/en\/Calque\">calque<\/a> of Spanish spelling by someone who <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.baybayin.com\/2011\/10\/04\/aginid-bayok-sa-atong-tawarik\/\">didn\u2019t know<\/a> the spelling rules of Bayb\u00e1yin.\u201d In fairness, the Aginid story could be authentic, but the Badlit could be Abellana\u2019s own embellishment. When Antonio Pigafetta recorded the meeting between Ferdinand Magellan and Rajah Humabon in 1521, the Baybayin script was still unknown in Cebu. No authentic old Baybayin writing was recorded in Cebu prior to Abellana\u2019s Aginid (even though the Spaniards started the conquest in Cebu). The Hiligaynon of Panay and the Waray of Leyte and Samar were recorded by priests to be already using Baybayin in the 17<sup>th<\/sup> century \u2013 it was also called \u201cSurat Moro\u201d, since it came from the Islamized trading centers of of Luzon (Manila and Tondo).<\/p>\n<h2>Ticao Stones<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image11.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5591\" src=\"https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image11.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"440\" height=\"330\" srcset=\"https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image11.jpeg 440w, https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image11-300x225.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 440px) 100vw, 440px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Also known as the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.pilipino-express.com\/news\/1307-rizal-stones-of-ticao-masbate.html\">Rizal Stones<\/a>, or Monreal Stones (from the municipality where they were found), they became famous in 2011. Eleven years before, they were used as a <a href=\"http:\/\/newsinfo.inquirer.net\/616407\/muddied-stones-reveal-ancient-scripts\">stepping and mud-scraping stone<\/a> in Rizal Elementary School in Ticao Island, Masbate (hence the \u2018Rizal\u2019 in the name). It is not yet certain if these stones are authentic. Some say the writing resembles the Romanized-style Baybayin in Fr. Francisco Lopez\u2019 1620 Ilokano Doctrina \u2013 which, if true, would indicate the writing to have been done by someone only familiar with the Doctrina Christiana Baybayin writing style. The writings appear to have been carved after the stones have broken up, as indicated by the way the lines in the bigger stone fan out, following its trapezoidal shape:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image12.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5592\" src=\"https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image12.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"595\" height=\"442\" srcset=\"https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image12.png 595w, https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image12-300x223.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 595px) 100vw, 595px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>If so, the stone couldn\u2019t have been a free-standing marker when it was carved<\/p>\n<h2>Angono Petroglyphs<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image13.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5593\" src=\"https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image13.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"751\" height=\"499\" srcset=\"https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image13.jpeg 751w, https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image13-300x199.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 751px) 100vw, 751px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>While not really a system of writing per se, the <a href=\"https:\/\/golflifeatbp.wordpress.com\/2014\/04\/23\/angono-petroglyphs\/\">Angono Petroglyphs<\/a> (in the place where the borders of the municipalities of Angono, Binangonan, and Antipolo, Rizal province meet) are probably the oldest in this list \u2013 being dated around 3,000 BCE \u2013 the late Neolithic. Some say they are the ancestors of Baybayin, although this is improbable. There are 127 characters etched on the side of a rock shelter at the end of a tunnel in the property owned by East Ridge Golf Club. The writings are now endangered. Prominent among the carvings is the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thunderbolts.info\/tpod\/2004\/arch\/041231predictions-rock-art.htm\">Squatter Man configuration<\/a>, a motif also found in other petroglyphs around the world, which is theorized as a long-term plasma phenomenon in the ancient skies.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image14.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5594\" src=\"https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image14.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"648\" height=\"495\" srcset=\"https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image14.jpg 648w, https:\/\/topten.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/baybayin-image14-300x229.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 648px) 100vw, 648px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Know other old writings we forgot? Please let us know in the comments.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"font-size: 0px; height: 0px; line-height: 0px; margin: 0; padding: 0; clear: both;\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Long before these islands, now known as the Philippines, were conquered by Spaniards, Americans, and Japanese, the people have been experimenting with writing systems. The development of writing here was slow \u2013 maybe\u00a0because writing&#46;&#46;&#46;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5582,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1133,1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Top 10 Samples of old writings in the Philippines - Pinoy Top Tens<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/topten.ph\/2017\/08\/28\/top-10-samples-old-writings-philippines\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Top 10 Samples of old writings in the Philippines - Pinoy Top Tens\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Long before these islands, now known as the Philippines, were conquered by Spaniards, Americans, and Japanese, the people have been experimenting with writing systems. 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