BRIDGING THE GAP
The system of writing of the early Bisayans
The Spanish colonizers alleged that , when they arrived in the Philippines, they found the Filipinos, including the Bisayans, not to have any knowledge in writing and in reading. This allegation implies that the natives did not possess an alphabet and did not have a system of writing; therefore, they were said to be uncivilized.
Nevertheless, it can be said that what the colonizers said is not true. In reality, the Bisayans and other groups of Filipinos had a widely-used system of writing that started long before the coming of the foreign invaders. In fact, there were early Spanish writers who contradicted the observations of their compatriots and who pointed out that, indeed, the local people were literate. They were Pedro Chirino, Antonio de Morga, Lope Povedano and Sinibaldo de Mas who wrote that "almost every native in the Visayas and the rest of the country, both men and women, know how to read and write".
In early times, the Bisayans used a system of writing called "Abakada" (or "Alibata" to some writers), almost similar to the one used in many parts of Luzon. The symbols used in writing consisted of seventeen letters, three of these were used as vowels and the rest were consonants.
The materials used by the Bisayans for writing were green bambooscut into lengths of two dangaw (finger-lengths), fresh banana leaves, tree barks, and the white inside part of the betel nut frond. What the natives used as writing instrument was the tip of a small knife or any pointed material. Their manner of writing may have been from top to bottom and moving from left to right but may have changed through time due to the influence of the Chinese and other people they came into contact with (Alcina 1668).
What were the functions of writing among the eartly Bisayans? They wrote not to record important events of their time but to send messages to their relatives and friends regarding significant occasions that required the attendance of the latter. They also expressed their feelings or sentiments through letters, like when a young man is courting a young lady and he needs to express his love for her. Love songs are oftentimes composed and readily written on bamboosand are used in serenading ladies. Moreover, they used to record loans or debts of their fellow beings to avoid misunderstanding later.
It is significant to note that the ancient system of writing in the Philippines is still practised by the Mangyans of Mindoro, the Tagbanuas of Palawan, and a few other groups of people in the mountainous sections of the archipelago. Even among the Sulod-Bukidnons in the central part of Panay, there are still those who can recall that, as late as the 1970s, there were still individuals in the area that wrote in the old script.
Today, samples of the early writings of the Bisayans are no longer extant. The reason for this is that the writing materials that were used were easily damaged or got readily decayed. In addition, such materials were intentionally burned or destroyed by the Spanish missionaries in order to re-orient the minds of the natives. The Spaniards said that the Bisayans and the other Filipino groups did those writings at a time that they were not Christians yet and, therefore, they had to be set aside because they were associated with their animistic beliefs and practices. Thus, they had to learn how to read and write in the Western alphabet to enable them to read materials related to Christianity that would make them obedient Catholics.
If it was true that the Bisayans and the rest of the Filipinos had their own alphabet and almost everybody knew how to read and write in it, how come that many of the Spanish missionaries and officials pointed out the opposite? The answer is simple. Considering that the Spanish aim was to colonize the Philippines, they had to justify it by arguing that the natives were not yet civilized inasmuch as they did not have a system of writing. It was imperative that they had to convince their countrymen back in Spain and the rest of the civilized world that the natives needed to be governed so that they can be led to a civilized existence. In addition, it can also be argued that, despite the natives' ability to read and write using their own script, but because they did not know the Spanish alphabet, they were, therefore,judged as illiterate.