Wild Tribes and Pagans
The population of the Philippines does not consist of one homogeneous
race; there are Mahometans, Pagans, and Christians, the last being in
the majority. The one tribe is just as much "Filipino" as the other,
and, from the point of view of nationality, they are all equally
fellow-countrymen. [53] So far as tradition serves to elucidate the
problem of their origin, it would appear that the Filipinos are a
mixed people, descendants of Papuan, Arabian, Hindoo, Malay, Japanese,
Chinese, and European forefathers. [54]
According to the last census (1903), the uncivilized population
amounted to 8 1/2 per cent. of the whole.
The chief of these tribes are the _Aetas_, or _Negritos_, the
_Gaddanes_, _Itavis, Igorrotes, Igorrote-Chinese, Tinguianes,
Tagbunuas, Batacs, Manobos_, etc. Also among the southern races of
Mindanao Island, referred to in Chapters x. and xxix., there are
several pagan tribes interspersed between the Mahometan clans.
I have used only the generic denominations, for whilst these tribes
are sub-divided (for instance, the _Buquils_ of Zambales, a section
of the _Negritos_; the _Guinaanes_, a sanguinary people inhabiting
the mountains of the Igorrote district, etc.), the fractions denote
no material physical or moral difference, and the local names adopted
by the different clans of the same race are of no interest to the
general reader. The expression _Bukidnon_, so commonly heard, does
not signify any particular caste, but, in a general sense, the people
of the mountain (_bukid_).
_Aetas_, or _Negritos_, numbering 22,000 to 24,000, inhabit
the mountain regions of Luzon, Panay, Negros, and some smaller
islands. They are dark, some of them being as black as African
negroes. Their general appearance resembles that of the Alfoor Papuan
of New Guinea. They have curly matted hair, like Astrakhan fur. The
men cover only their loins, and the women dress from the waist
to the knees. They are a spiritless and cowardly race. They would
not deliberately face white men in anything like equal numbers with
warlike intentions, although they would perhaps spend a quiverful of
arrows from behind a tree at a retreating foe.
The _Aeta_ carries a bamboo lance, a palm-wood bow, and poisoned
arrows when out on an expedition. He is wonderfully light-footed,
and runs with great speed after the deer, or climbs a tree like
a monkey. Groups of fifty to sixty souls live in community. Their
religion seems to be a kind of cosmolatry and spirit-worship. Anything
which for the time being, in their imagination, has a supernatural
appearance is deified. They have a profound respect for old age and
for their dead. They are of extremely low intellect, and, although
some of them have been brought up by civilized families living
in the vicinity of the _Negrito_ mountainous country, they offer
little encouragement to those who would desire to train them. Even
when more or less domesticated, the _Negrito_ cannot be trusted to
do anything which requires an effort of judgement. At times his mind
seems to wander from all social order, and an apparently overwhelming
eagerness to return to his native haunts disconcerts all one's plans
for his civilization.
For a long time they were the sole masters of Luzon Island, where
they exercised seignorial rights over the Malay immigrants, until
these arrived in such numbers, that the _Negritos_ were forced to
retire to the highlands. The taxes imposed upon primitive Malay
settlers by the _Negritos_ were levied in kind, and when payment was
refused, they swooped down in a posse, and carried off the head of
the defaulter. Since the arrival of the Spaniards, the terror of the
white man has made them take definitely to the mountains, where they
appear to be very gradually decreasing.
The Spanish Government, in vain, made strenuous efforts to implant
civilized habits among this weak-brained race.
In 1881 I visited the Capas Missions in Upper Pampanga. The
authorities had established there what is called a _real_,--a kind
of model village of bamboo and palm-leaf huts,--to each of which a
family was assigned. They were supplied with food, clothing and all
necessaries of life for one year, which would give them an opportunity
of tilling the land and providing for themselves in future. But they
followed their old habits when the year had expired and the subsidy
ceased. On my second visit they had returned to their mountain homes,
and I could see no possible inducement for them to do otherwise. The
only attraction for them during the year was the fostering of their
inbred indolence; and it ought to have been evident that as soon as
they had to depend on their own resources they would adopt their
own way of living--free of taxes, military service, and social
restraint--as being more congenial to their tastes.
Being in the Bataan Province some years ago, I rode across the
mountain range to the opposite coast with a military friend. On our
way we approached a Negrito _real_, and hearing strange noises and
extraordinary calls, we stopped to consult as to the prudence of riding
up to the settlement. We decided to go there, and were fortunate enough
to be present at a wedding. The young bride, who might have been about
thirteen years of age, was being pursued by her future spouse as she
pretended to run away, and it need hardly be said that he succeeded in
bringing her in by feigned force. She struggled, and again got away,
and a second time she was caught. Then an old man with grey hair came
forward and dragged the young man up a bamboo ladder. An old woman
grasped the bride, and both followed the bridegroom. The aged sire
then gave them a douche with a cocoa-nut shell full of water, and
they all descended. The happy pair knelt down, and the elder having
placed their heads together, they were man and wife. We endeavoured
to find out which hut was allotted to the newly-married couple,
but we were given to understand that until the sun had reappeared
five times they would spend their honeymoon in the mountains. After
the ceremony was concluded, several present began to make their usual
mountain-call. In the lowlands, the same peculiar cry serves to bring
home straggling domestic animals to their nocturnal resting-place.
There is something picturesque about a well-formed, healthy Negrita
damsel, with jet-black piercing eyes, and her hair in one perfect
ball of close curls. The men are not of a handsome type; some of them
have a hale, swarthy appearance, but many of them present a sickly,
emaciated aspect. A Negrita matron past thirty is perhaps one of the
least attractive objects in humanity.
They live principally on fish, roots, and mountain rice, but they
occasionally make a raid on the neighbouring valleys and carry off
the herds. So great was their cattle-stealing propensity in Spanish
times, that several semi-official expeditions were sent to punish
the marauders, particularly on the Cordillera de Zambales, on the
west side of Luzon Island.
The husbandry of the Negritos is the most primitive imaginable. It
consists of scraping the surface of the earth--without clearance of
forest--and throwing the seed. They never "take up" a piece of land,
but sow in the manner described wherever they may happen temporarily
to settle.
The _Gaddanes_ occupy the extreme N.W. corner of Luzon Island, and
are entirely out of the pale of civilization. I have never heard that
any attempt has been made to subdue them. They have a fine physical
bearing; wear the hair down to the shoulders; are of a very dark
colour, and feed chiefly on roots, mountain rice, game, fruits, and
fish. They are considered the only really warlike and aggressively
savage tribe of the north, and it is the custom of the young men about
to marry to vie with each other in presenting to the sires of their
future brides all the scalps they are able to take from their enemies,
as proof of their manly courage. This practice prevails at the season
of the year when the tree, commonly called by the Spaniards "the
fire-tree," is in bloom. The flowers of this tree are of a fire-red
hue, and their appearance is the signal for this race to collect their
trophies of war and celebrate certain religious rites. When I was in
the extreme north, in the country of the _Ibanacs_, [55] preparing
my expedition to the _Gaddanes_ tribe, I was cautioned not to remain
in the Gaddanes country until the fire-tree blossomed. The arms used
by the _Gaddanes_ are frightful weapons--long lances with tridented
tips, and arrows pointed with two rows of teeth, made out of flint
or sea-shells. These weapons are used to kill both fish and foe.
The _Itavis_ inhabit the district to the south of that territory
occupied by the _Gaddanes_, and their mode of living and food are
very similar. They are, however, not so fierce as the _Gaddanes_,
and if assaults are occasionally made on other tribes, it may
be rather attributed to a desire to retaliate than to a love of
bloodshed. Their skin is not so dark as that of their northern
neighbours--the _Gaddanes_ or the partially civilized _Ibanacs_--and
their hair is shorter.
The _Igorrotes_ are spread over a considerable portion of Luzon,
principally from N. lat. 16 deg. 30' to 18 deg.. They are, in general, a fine
race of people, physically considered, but semi-barbarous and living
in squalor. They wear their hair long. At the back it hangs down to
the shoulders, whilst in front it is cut shorter and allowed to cover
the forehead half-way like a long fringe. Some of them, settled in the
districts of Lepanto and El Abra, have a little hair on the chin and
upper lip. Their skin is of a dark copper tinge. They have flat noses,
thick lips, high cheek-bones, and their broad shoulders and limbs
seem to denote great strength, but their form is not at all graceful.
Like all the wild races of the Philippines, the _Igorrotes_ are
indolent to the greatest degree. Their huts are built bee-hive fashion,
and they creep into them like quadrupeds. Fields of sweet potatoes
and sugar-cane are under cultivation by them. They cannot be forced or
persuaded to embrace the Western system of civilization. Adultery is
little known, but if it occurs, the dowry is returned and the divorce
settled. Polygamy seems to be permitted, but little practised. Murders
are common, and if a member of one hut or family group is killed,
that family avenges itself on one of the murderer's kinsmen, hence
those who might have to "pay the piper" are interested in maintaining
order. In the Province of La Isabela, the Negrito and Igorrote tribes
keep a regular _Dr._ and _Cr._ account of heads. In 1896 there were
about 100,000 head-hunting _Igorrotes_ in the Benguet district. This
tribe paid to the Spaniards a recognition of vassalage of one-quarter
of a peso _per capita_ in Benguet, Abra, Bontoc, and Lepanto.
Their aggressions on the coast settlers have been frequent for
centuries past. From time to time they came down from their mountain
retreat to steal cattle and effects belonging to the domesticated
population. The first regular attempt to chastise them for these
inroads, and afterwards gain their submission, was in the time of
Governor Pedro de Arandia (1754-59), when a plan was concerted to
attack them simultaneously from all sides with 1,080 men. Their ranches
and crops were laid waste, and many _Igorrotes_ were taken prisoners,
but the ultimate idea of securing their allegiance was abandoned as
an impossibility.
In 1881 General Primo de Rivera, at the head of a large armed force,
invaded their district with the view of reducing them to obedience,
but the apparent result of the expedition was more detrimental than
advantageous to the project of bringing this tribe under Spanish
dominion and of opening up their country to trade and enlightened
intercourse. Whilst the expeditionary forces were not sufficiently
large or in a condition to carry on a war _a outrance_ successfully,
to be immediately followed up by a military system of government, on
the other hand, the feeble efforts displayed to conquer them served
only to demonstrate the impotence of the Europeans. This gave the
tribes courage to defend their liberty, whilst the licence indulged
in by the white men at the expense of the mountaineers--and boasted
of to me personally by many Spanish officers--had merely the effect
of raising the veil from their protestations of goodwill towards
the race they sought to subdue. The enterprise ignominiously failed;
the costly undertaking was an inglorious and fruitless one, except
to the General, who--being under royal favour since, at Sagunta,
in 1875, he "pronounced" for King Alfonso--secured for himself the
title of Count of La Union.
The _Igorrotes_ have, since then, been less approachable by Europeans,
whom they naturally regard with every feeling of distrust. Rightly
or wrongly (if it can be a matter of opinion), they fail to see any
manifestation of ultimate advantage to themselves in the arrival of a
troop of armed strangers who demand from them food (even though it be
on payment) and perturbate their most intimate family ties. They do not
appreciate being "civilized" to exchange their usages, independence,
and comfort for even the highest post obtainable by a native in the
provinces, which then was practically that of local head servant
to the district authority, under the name of Municipal Captain. To
roam at large in their mountain home is far more enjoyable to them
than having to wear clothes; to present themselves often, if not to
habitually reside, in villages; to pay taxes, for which they would
get little return--not even the boon of good highroads--and to act
as unsalaried tax-collectors with the chance of fine, punishment, and
ruin if they did not succeed in bringing funds to the Public Treasury.
As to Christianity, it would be as hard a task to convince them of what
Roman Catholicism deems indispensable for the salvation of the soul, as
it would be to convert all England to the teachings of Buddha--although
Buddhism is as logical a religion as Christianity. Just a few of
them, inhabiting the lowlands in the neighbourhood of Vigan and other
christian towns, received baptism and paid an annual tribute of half
a peso from the year 1893 to 1896.
Being in Tuguegarao, the capital of Cagayan Province, about 60
miles up the Rio Grande, I went to visit the prisons, where I saw
many of the worst types of _Igorrotes_. I was told that a priest
who had endeavoured to teach them the precepts of Christianity,
and had explained to them the marvellous life of Saint Augustine,
was dismayed to hear an _Igorrote_ exclaim that no coloured man
ever became a white man's saint. Nothing could convince him that
an exception to the rule might be possible. Could experience have
revealed to him the established fact--the remarkable anomaly--that
the grossest forms of immorality were only to be found in the trail
of the highest order of white man's civilization?
The _Igorrotes_ have worked the copper mines of their region for
generations past, in their own primitive way, with astonishing
results. They not only annually barter several tons of copper
ingots, but they possess the art of manufacturing pots, cauldrons,
tobacco-pipes, and other utensils made of that metal. They also
understand the extraction of gold, which they obtain in very small
quantities by crushing the quartz between heavy stones.
Specimens of the different tribes and races of these Islands were on
view at the Philippine Exhibition held in Madrid in 1887. Some of
them consented to receive Christian baptism before returning home,
but it was publicly stated that the _Igorrotes_ were among those who
positively refused to abandon their own belief.
A selection of this tribe was included in the Filipinos on show at
the San Louis Exhibition (U.S.A.) in 1904, and attracted particular
attention. Some of them liked the United States so much that they
tried hard to break away from their keepers in order to remain there.
The _Calingas_ are a branch of the _Igorrotes_, found along the Cagayan
River around Ilagan. They are not only head-hunters, but cannibals. A
friend of mine, an American colonel, was up there some time during
the war, and explained to me the difficulty he had in convincing a
Calinga chief that a man's head is his personal property, and that
to steal it is a crime.
The _Igorrote-Chinese_ are supposed to be the descendants of the
Chinese who fled to the hills on the departure of the corsair
Li-ma-hong from Pangasinan Province in 1754 (_vide_ p. 50). Their
intermarriage with the _Igorrote_ tribe has generated a caste of
people quite unique in their character. Their habits are much the
same as those of the pure _Igorrotes_, but with their fierce nature is
blended the cunning and astuteness of the Mongol; and although their
intelligence may be often misapplied, yet it is superior to that of
the pure _Igorrote_. In the Province of Pangasinan there are numbers
of natives of Chinese descent included in the domesticated population,
and their origin is evidently due to the circumstances mentioned.
The _Tingulanes_ inhabit principally the district of El Abra
(N.W. coast, Luzon Is.). They were nominally under the control
of the Spanish Government, who appointed their headmen petty
governors of villages or ranches on the system adopted in the subdued
districts. According to Father Ferrando (63 years ago), the form of
oath taken in his presence by the newly-elected headman on receiving
the staff of office was the following, viz.:--"May a pernicious wind
touch me; may a flash of lightning kill me, and may the alligator
catch me asleep if I fail to fulfil my duty." The headman presented
himself almost when he chose to the nearest Spanish Governor, who gave
him his orders, which were only fulfilled according to the traditional
custom of the tribe. Thus, the headman, on his return to the ranche,
delegated his powers to the council of elders, and according to their
decision he acted as the executive only. Whenever it was possible,
they applied their own _lex non scripta_ in preference to acting upon
the Spanish Code.
According to their law, the crime of adultery is punished by a fine
of 30 pesos value and divorce, but if the adultery has been mutual,
the divorce is pronounced absolute, without the payment of a fine.
When a man is brought to justice on an accusation which he denies,
a handful of straw is burnt in his presence. He is made to hold up an
earthenware pot and say as follows:--"May my belly be converted into
a pot like this, if I have committed the deed attributed to me." If
the transformation does not take place at once, he is declared to
be innocent.
The _Tinguianes_ are pagans, but have no temples. Their gods are
hidden in the mountain cavities. Like many other religionists, they
believe in the efficacy of prayer for the supply of their material
wants. Hence if there be too great an abundance of rain, or too little
of it, or an epidemic disease raging, or any calamity affecting the
community in general, the _Anitos_ (images representing the gods or
saints) are carried round and exhorted, whilst Nature continues her
uninterrupted course. The minister of _Anito_ is also appealed to
when a child is to be named. The infant is carried into the woods, and
the pagan priest pronounces the name, whilst he raises a bowie-knife
over the newborn creature's head. On lowering the knife, he strikes
at a tree. If the tree emits sap, the first name uttered stands good;
if not, the ceremony is repeated, and each time the name is changed
until the oozing sap denotes the will of the deity.
The _Tinguianes_ are monogamists, and generally are forced by the
parents to marry before the age of puberty, but the bridegroom, or
his father or elder, has to purchase the bride at a price mutually
agreed upon by the relations. These people live in cabins on posts
or trees 60 to 70 feet from the ground, and defend themselves from
the attacks of their traditional enemies, the _Guinaanes_, by heaving
stones upon them. Nevertheless, in the more secure vicinities of the
christian villages, these people build their huts similar to those of
the domesticated natives. From the doors and window-openings skulls
of buffaloes and horses are hung as talismans.
Physically they are of fine form, and the nose is aquiline. They wear
the hair in a tuft on the crown, like the Japanese, but their features
are similar to the ordinary lowland native. They are fond of music and
personal ornaments. They tattoo themselves and black their teeth; and
for these, and many other reasons, it is conjectured that they descend
from the Japanese shipwrecked crews who, being without means at hand
with which to return to their country, took to the mountains inland
from the west coast of Luzon. I spent several months with this tribe,
but I have never seen a _Tinguian_ with a bow and arrow; they carry
the lance as the common weapon, and for hunting and spearing fish.
Their conversion to Christianity has proved to be an impossible
task. A Royal Decree of Ferdinand VI.. dated in Aranjuez, June 18,
1758, sets forth that the infidels called _Tinguianes, Igorrotes_,
and by other names who should accept Christian baptism, should
be exempt all their lives from the payment of tribute and forced
labour. Their offspring, however, born to them after receiving baptism,
would lose these privileges as well as the independence enjoyed by
their forefathers. This penalty to future generations for becoming
Christians was afterwards extended to all the undomesticated races.
Many of these tribes did a little barter traffic with the Chinese,
but--with the hope that necessity would bring them down to
the christian villages to procure commodities, and thus become
socialized--the Government prohibited this trade in 1886.
The _Tinguianes_ appear to be as intelligent as the ordinary subdued
natives. They are by no means savages, and they are not entirely
strangers to domestic life. A great many Christian families of El Abra
and Ilocos Sur are of _Tinguian_ origin, and I may mention here that
the Ilocano dominated natives have the just reputation of being the
most industrious Philippine people. For this reason, Ilocano servants
and workmen are sought for in preference to most others.
The _Basanes_ are a very timid people who inhabit the mountains of
Mindoro Island. They have long, lank hair and whitish faces, and do
not appear to be of one of the original races. They are occasionally
met with (when they do not hide themselves) in the cordillera which
runs north-west to south-east and then ends off in two spurs, between
which, after passing Mount Halcon, there is a large valley leading
to the southern shore. The _Manguianes_, another Mindoro wild tribe,
come to the coast villages sometimes to barter, and bring pieces of
gold for the purpose. They also wear gold jewellery made of the metal
extracted by themselves.
There is another race of people whose source is not distinctly
known, but, according to tradition, they descend from the Sepoys who
formed part of the troops under British command during the military
occupation of Manila in 1763 (_vide_ p. 88). The legend is, that these
_Hindoos_, having deserted from the British army, migrated up the
Pasig River. However that may be, the sharp-featured, black-skinned
settlers in the Barrio de Dayap, of Cainta Town (Morong district),
are decidedly of a different stock to the ordinary native. The notable
physical differences are the fine aquiline nose, bright expression,
and regular features. They are Christians--far more laborious than the
Philippine natives, and are a law-abiding people. I have known many of
them personally for years. They were the only class who voluntarily
presented themselves to pay the taxes to the Spaniards, and yet,
on the ground that generations ago they were intruders on the soil,
they were more heavily laden with imposts than their fellow-neighbours
until the abolition of tribute in 1884.
There are also to be seen in these Islands a few types of that class
of tropical inhabitant, preternaturally possessed of a white skin
and extremely fair hair--sometimes red--known as _Albinos_. I leave
it to physiologists to elucidate the peculiarity of vital phenomena
in these unfortunate abnormities of Nature. Amongst others, I once
saw in Negros Island a hapless young Albino girl, with marble-white
skin and very light pink-white hair, who was totally blind in the
sunny hours of the day.
The _Mahometan_ and other tribes, inhabiting the Sulu Sultanate,
Mindanao, Palauan (Paragua) and the adjacent islands of the South
constituting "Moroland," are described in Chapters x. and xxix.