Document B

A Filipino legal contract written in the baybayin script. Dated December 4, 1625.

Transcribed and translated by Dr. Ignacio Villamor. See his notes below.

 

 

 

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Dr. Villamor's Notes

The original of this document is stored in the Archive of the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines. This is from a photographic reproduction in "The Ancient Filipino Writing" (1922) by Dr. Ignacio Villamor. The numerals were added by Villamor to aid his transcription and translation. He also added the following footnotes. The numbers refer to the tiny numbers within parentheses, not the line numbers.

  1. (Line 1) The first character, sa, is the same letter used in the Lopez Doctrina, with a slight difference in the end of the right arm of the letter.
  2. (Line 1) The various forms of the letter a here are slightly different to the form shown in the Lopez Doctrina.
  3. (Line 1) Villamor writes, "May ikatlong lima" means "third five" or "three times five", or fifteen. However, this actually means 25 in the old counting system. (1st 5 = 5, 2nd 5 = 15, 3rd 5 = 25)
  4. (Line 5) "Salapi" has the meaning here of "currency".
  5. (Line 5) Di is an error. It should be me.
  6. (Line 7) It seems that the writer made some unnecessary repetition here.
  7. (Line 9) "Salapi" is meant in the monetary sense of four reales (now a half peso).
  8. (Line 13) There are two kudlits below the letter t. This is a form of reduplication that takes the place of two characters, to tu.
  9. (Line 14) As in number 8, two kudlits under the letter t take the place of two characters, to to.
  10. (Line 15) "Kolas" means single, not a pair.
  11. (Line 17) These names are not mentioned in the document.
  12. (Line 18) These names are not mentioned in the document.

Source: La Antigua Escritura Filipina, Dr. Ignacio Villamor, 1922. pp. 96, 97.

 


Paul Morrow

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Last updated: 4 March, 2018