The Boxer Codex (1595) : unique manuscript about Philippinnes

Two very important works on the history of Philippines appeared during the last two decades as an aftermath of the last World War: the Doctrina Christiana of 1593, the first book printed in this country; and the Boxer Codex circa 1595, a manuscript containing the first illustrations of Filipinos at the time of the Spanish contact in the 16th century.

The previous owner of the manuscript was Lord Ilchester, whose Holland House in London had a direct hit during the Nazis bombing in the 40’s. What remained of his collection was up for auction in 1947, and Prof. Charles Boxer, who was a distinguished colonial historian, bought it for a modest price of 70 pounds. He acquired the book with a wrong description, which indicated the book was written in the 18th century. Prof. Boxer discovered it was 2 centuries older; he was in front of a very rare and unique book. Since then the book was known as The Boxer Codex.

The question is: How are this important Philippine document ended in the hands of the English? Until today the answer is a mystery. But it seems that we are in front of another case of lost patrimony in wars and this could be due on English occupation of Manila at the end of the 18th century.

After few years, Prof. Boxer donated the book to Lilly Library of the University of Indiana, where it is possible to read for free and download the PDF.

The importance of this unique manuscript lies not only in the description and historical allusions to various countries and regions covered, but in the faithful reproductions of the people and their costumes. It is a social anthropology encyclopedia where we can read different data on the social structure, way of life, the laws, the beliefs, the origin of the world, how to cook, the funeral rites, weddings, etc. It is also an important document for the study of pictorial techniques on rare books.

It has 75 colored drawings of inhabitants of the Philippines, Moluccas, New Guinea, Annam, Formosa, Brunei, Achin (Sumatra), Siam, China and Japan and descriptions of this places in the 370 page manuscript. Fifteen pages deal with Filipinos. Hitherto, and for a century thereafter, pictures of Filipinos were made abroad by European artists from descriptions or sketches made by travelers and chroniclers.

However, the Tagalog, Bisayan, Zambal, Cagayano and Negrito are depicted in vivid colors with remarkable fidelity. The descriptions of the neighboring countries as Prof. Boxer had pointed out, are not original. The artist did not actually visit the places mentioned in the text, but drew from imagination or based in other works because during the 16th century it was very difficult to travel along South East Asia due to numerous political conflicts and dangerous pirates.

Prof. Boxer believed that the drawings were the work of a Chinese artist. The use of Chinese paper, the ink and paints of the Ming period, also suggest a Chinese artist. The influence however is tempered by the use of several Westerns forms. And also, the specialists of the manuscript allege that the author of the illustrations had to be a Chinese artist to judge by the technique used, and a recent article by John Crossley, published in the second number in this year of Philippiniana Sacra, indicates that the decoration of the edges is inspired by a manuscript Libro de Horas (Book of Hours) which can be found in the archive of the University of Santo Tomas (our class had the opportunity to see the reproduction in June, 2013 during a guided visit of Jose Trota, the current archivist).

The owner of the original Boxer Codex was most probably Luis Pérez Dasmariñas, son of the Governor General, Gómez Pérez Dasmariñas, who was killed by the Sangley rowers in 1593. Luis succeed his father to the governorship, and since Spanish colonial governors were required to prepare a written record of the territories they governed for the information of the King and other high officials in Madrid, it is likely that he ordered it written.

Boxer proposed the Governor as the author of the manuscript while Carlos Quirino and Mauro García, who transcribed and translated the Filipino part, are convinced that the author was Juan de Cuéllar, Dasmariñas’ Secretary. It is more likely that Dasmariñas send to his secretary to compile all the information, and that's in fact what he did: copy and paste from different existents works written by Miguel de Loarca, Fr.Juan de Plasencia, O.F.M, etc., and add not just of their own harvest.

We must emphasize that the author not only describes, he judge with an European and Catholic perspective and with an unmistakable air of moral superiority - though, the apostolic zeal is absent on his comments. It could not be otherwise, that was the way documents were written in that historical moment. Anyway we should recognize the meticulous observations.

This precious manuscript, a small encyclopedia about the people of Southeast Asia is simply the best tool to know the way of life and customs of the Filipinos before the Spaniards.

It is very difficult to choose a favorite part because throughout the book there is interesting information:

“If somebody sneezes, or they hear a lizard´s clucking, or they snake crosses their path, they turn back saying that those are signs that God had sent and that it is not His will for them to continue, and that if they process some evil would befall them.”

“They use herbs to attract those whom they like and correspondingly use others on those whom they dislike”

“When a girl first menstruates, it is their custom to enclose her with mantles and cover the windows, such that where she is becomes very dark: they cover her eyes and she is not allowed to talk to anybody during all that time except the woman who performs the ceremonies. Thus she stays for four days, if a free woman, or a month and 20 days if of a principal, and eats nothing for four days except two eggs or four mouthfuls of rice in the morning and night …”

“They are, in general, enemies of the work. They spend the most time of the year on getting drunk...” While the women, on contrary, “the women are more friends of the work, they because they sew, work, weave...”