Seventeenth-Century Events at Liliw

Book excerpt: This book is the translation and the analysis of the Paglayonan manuscript of ten folios from the collections of the Newberry Library. The document is a compilation of official deeds from the Laguna town of Lilíw, Philippines. They report two events that took place in the Seventeenth Century: the one concerns the genteel Paglayúnan family, the other the making of an altarpiece for the church of San Juan-Bautista de Lilio by Chinese craftsmen from Sinilúan, another Laguna town. Both give insights into provincial life during the Early Spanish Period. The most striking feature is that the Tagalogs who wrote these texts used the term hárì, generally translated as 'king', to refer to their parish priest.