Seventeenth-Century Events at Liliw

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 Liliw, Philippines. They report two events that took place in the Seventeenth Century: the one concerns the genteel Paglayunan family, the other the making of an altarpiece for the church of San Juan-Bautista de Lilio by Chinese craftsmen from Siniluan, 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 hari, generally translated as 'king', to refer to their parish priest.