By Father Pedro Chirino, S.J. Roma: printed by Estevan Paulino,
in the year MDCIV.
_Source_: This is translated from the original printed work, for which
purpose have been used the copies belonging to Harvard University
and to Edward E. Ayer, of Chicago.
_Translation_: This is made by Frederic W. Morrison, of Harvard
University, and Emma Helen Blair.
RELATION
OF THE FILIPINAS ISLANDS
AND OF WHAT HAS THERE BEEN ACCOMPLISHED
By the Fathers of the Society of _Jesus_.
_By Father Pedro Chirino_ of the same Society Procurator for those
Islands.
_At Roma_, By Estevan Paulino, in the year MDCIV. _By permission of
the Superiors_.
This relation of the Philippines, composed by Father Pietro Cirino,
having been examined by three theologians of our Society, may be
printed if it shall seem advisable to the most reverend Monsignor
Vicegerent and to the most reverend Father Master of the Sacred Palace.
_Claudio_ [_Aquaviva_], general of the Society.
Let it be printed, at the pleasure of the most reverend Father,
master of the Sacred Palace.
_B. Gypsius_, vicegerent.
This account of the affairs of the Philippine Islands, by the
reverend Administrator Father Petrus Chirinus, of the Society of
Jesus, is published with permission. Nothing in it, in my opinion,
is repugnant to the orthodox faith or the decrees of the Church,
or morality; on the contrary, I praise the diligence, learning,
and piety which I find in no small measure in the author and his book.
_Fray Thomas Malvenda_, of the Order of Preachers.
Let it be printed.
_Fray Joseph Maria_, master of the Sacred Apostolic Palace.
RELATION OF THE FILIPINAS ISLANDS
AND OF WHAT HAS THERE BEEN ACCOMPLISHED BY THE FATHERS OF THE SOCIETY
OF JESUS
_Sent to our very reverend Father Claudio Aquaviva, general of that
Society, by Father Pedro Chirino, procurator for those islands_.
I am about to relate to your Paternity the state and condition of
our insignificant Society in the Filipinas, in accordance with the
obligation of my office as procurator sent here from those regions
in the month of July, six hundred and two, and as one who has spent
there fourteen years of the best of his life. [31] I shall follow the
thread of incidents which have befallen the Society in that region, and
the hardships that it has undergone while preaching our holy faith. I
shall also consider how that Society has grown in connection with its
services toward the holy Church. That I may do so more conveniently,
my narrative will begin at the time when our religion was first
established in those islands, treating of the islands themselves,
their characteristics, and those of the nations and peoples who
inhabit them. I shall touch somewhat upon their history and upon
events that have occurred there, noting only what concerns my purpose,
and that briefly; for a complete and copious history of those islands
has been written, [32] with exceeding care, truth, and eloquence, by
Doctor Antonio de Morga of the Council of his Catholic Majesty, and
his auditor in the royal Chancillería of Manila. Moreover, apart from
the consideration of the above book, it is neither my obligation nor
my profession to write a history; although there certainly are in that
land magnificent, singular, and wonderful things, both profitable and
pleasing to know. I feel confident, however, that the matter contained
in this short narrative will not fail to please your Paternity, in
proportion as you are informed of the fidelity and truth with which
our Lord (may He guard your Paternity) is served in those most distant
parts of the world by your sons who are there.
Of the name of the Filipinas, their discovery, and location. Chapter I.
The Filipinas are a part of the many islands which recent cosmographers
consider adjacent to Asia--as the Canarias and the Terceras [_i.e._,
Azores] are to Africa; and Inglaterra [England], Escócia [Scotland],
Hibernia, Irlanda, Olanda [Holland], Gelanda [Iceland], and the
Oreadas [Orkney] Islands, to Europe. Some of the islands of this
great archipelago cross the equinoctial line, or the torrid zone,
and following the coast-line of Great China and India, terminate on
the north side with the islands of Japon, which extend beyond the
fortieth degree; in the south the archipelago has as yet no known
termination. The Filipinas are between the Malucas and the islands
of Japon; and it is a thing to be wondered at that the exertions and
diligence of the Portuguese, who discovered, explored, and settled
Maluco, China, and Japon, the outermost and peripheral islands,
should not have discovered the middle part, or center, namely, the
Filipinas. It is true, they were informed concerning the island of
Burney, which is the most southern of the archipelago; they did
not, however, stop there, being bound for the islands of Maluco,
in eager quest of spices and drugs, which are to be found there in
such abundance. It was this very desire to secure drugs that caused
the Spaniards, or Castilians, to discover and settle the Filipinas,
as is well known. For when Hernando Magallanes was in quest of
the aforesaid drugs for the crown of Castilla, in the days of the
emperor Charles Fifth, he came upon the island of Sebu, where,
at the expense of his life, [33] he proved that the entire voyage
from Nueva España could be made, avoiding the tedious route through
the Strait and the necessity of sailing thither from Spain. [34]
Villalobos did the same soon after, but our Lord destroyed his fleet,
leaving the captain and his crew shipwrecked on the island of Maluco,
where necessity compelled them to fraternize and remain with the
Portuguese. [35] Father Cosme de Torres, our illustrious apostle
of Japon, took part in this expedition, and was found in Maluco by
the Blessed Father Francisco, who received him as his companion,
and as a member of our Society. [36] The Castilians persisted in
making a third attempt to send a fleet from Nueva España for the same
purpose. With the warning and experience of the two former expeditions,
they well knew the locality of Sebu, and cast their anchors there. God,
who destined them not for Maluco but for the Filipinas, caused them
to abandon the thought of Maluco and to settle the latter islands,
thus bringing them to the bosom of the Church and to the crown of
Castilla; they gave these the name of Filipinas, out of respect to,
and to perpetuate the memory of, King Filipo Second. [37] It was
during his reign that this third expedition took place, as well as the
discovery and conversion of the islands--which was accomplished by only
five hundred Spaniards with six Augustinian religious, holy men and
learned. Among them was the reverend Father Martin de Herrada, [38]
a great cosmographer and mathematician, but still more distinguished
as a holy and truly apostolic man. He was the first who made converts
to Christianity in the Filipinas, preaching to them of Jesus Christ
in their own tongue--of which he made the first vocabulary, which I
have seen and have also studied.
The discovery of an image of the child Jesus, which gave its name to
the city of Sebu; the holy patrons of the same and of Manila. Chapter
II.
The city of the natives in the port of Sebu was at that time
so large and populous that it extended a space of more than a
legua along the beach, on the spot where now stands the city and
fortress of the Spaniards. As the Indians had already in the past
experienced the valor of the latter, and were fearful at thought of
their treachery in killing Magallanes years before, they greatly
feared our men on this occasion. Upon sighting our vessels, they
began to offer all possible resistance with their bows and arrows,
lances and shields--such being their arms--to prevent our men from
landing. When our people saw the islanders disposed to hostility,
they discharged some cannon into the air, frightening them to such
an extent that they abandoned their houses and fled inland. Thereupon
our men leaped ashore unimpeded and began to seek food in the houses
(as is the custom among those who have just disembarked after a
long voyage). At this juncture it happened that a Biscayan who was
rummaging among the movables and ornaments of one of the houses,
found in a basket, among other things, a carved image of the
holy child Jesus, presumably left as a trophy of the devotion of
some good soldier of the first expedition of Magallanes. [39] The
Indians, partly on account of the novelty of the image, which they
understood to be the God of the Christians, and partly on account of
the respect and reverence with which our Lord himself inspired them,
held the object in great veneration, as was afterwards learned, and
had recourse to it in all their necessities--making sacrifices to it
after their custom, and anointing it with their oils, as they were
accustomed to anoint their idols. And our Lord exercising, moreover,
His wonted mercy toward those who honored Him without knowing Him,
did not act otherwise toward those who, in their ignorance of Him,
were at the same time offending Him; He succored them most liberally
in their needs, as a token and pledge of the greater favors which He
had marked out for them when they should come to a knowledge of Him,
and preserved for these times which they are now enjoying. For which
reason they had recourse frequently to this image in their necessities,
calling it "the Divata of the Castilians;" for among them "Divata"
is God, whom the inhabitants of Manila call Bathala or Anito, [40]
as we shall see later. The good Biscayan upon seeing the holy Child,
was filled with a strange joy and happiness, and desiring to share
it with the rest of the expedition, began to cry aloud in his own
absurd language, "Bear witness to God, thou hast found His Son." The
religious at once took possession of the image, regarding it as
a good omen; and out of respect and devotion to it named the city
that they founded Santissimo Nombre de Jesus, and placed the image
in a church of their order erected in the city. There it remains
in highest veneration, and has wrought many miracles, particularly
in childbirths, whence it is both facetiously and piously called El
Partero ["man-midwife"]. Each year it is borne in solemn procession
from the church of St. Augustine to the spot in which it was found,
where a chapel has since been erected. The procession takes place upon
the same day when the discovery was made--namely, on the twenty-ninth
of April, the feast of the glorious martyr St. Vital, who is patron
of the city, and as such that day is kept as a solemn feast in his
honor. One of the regidors, appointed each year for this purpose,
brings out the banner of the city; he is on that day clad in livery,
and invites the public to the festivals. [41] There are bull-fights and
other public festivities and rejoicings, with many novel fireworks,
such as wheels and sky-rockets, which the Sangleys make the night
before; on this occasion they construct things well worth seeing, and
which appear well-nigh supernatural. The city of Manila holds similar
festivities on the feast-day of the glorious apostle St. Andrew,
who was chosen as its patron because, on his feast-day, the city was
delivered from the blockade of the pirate Limahon. At that time the
city had no fortress or walls, or any stone buildings; and in all
the islands there were no more than five hundred Spaniards, as I
learned from one of them. These few men alone compelled the enemy,
who numbered more than a thousand fighting men, to withdraw from the
city; and they even pursued and harried the pirates in such wise, by
blocking the mouth of the river Pangasinan (where they had retired
with their ships), that to escape the fury of our men they were
obliged to construct some light craft within their fort. They are
said to have calked these, for want of pitch, with their own blood;
and to have carried them on their shoulders for several leguas over
land, until they succeeded in launching them into the sea, and fled
under full sail. They left their ships in the river and dismantled
the forts and camps, where our men found some spoils, of which I saw
a part. But satisfaction over the booty was outweighed by chagrin at
losing the enemy whom they had practically in their hands. The enemy,
however, had received such a lesson that they never returned.
Some years afterwards they planned to elect another patron against
hurricanes, which are called in those parts _vagios_, and by the
Portuguese _tufones_. [42] They are furious winds which, springing
up ordinarily in the north, veer toward the west and south, and move
around the compass in the space of twenty hours or more.
One of these days of tempest is a very Judgment day; especially
if it overtake one in the night-time, and in a wooden house. It
rends some houses, and turns others over on one side; still others
(and most frequently) it destroys and hurls to the ground. With the
assistance of the bishop of Yucatan, [43] who was at that time dean
of the church, the cathedral of Manila had been temporarily erected,
with pillars of the very strongest trees, so large that two men could
not reach around them; and all the timber above and below was on the
same scale; yet in half an hour one of these typhoons destroyed the
newly-built cathedral, and left only the tabernacle of the most Holy
Sacrament between four pillars. In this accident some people were
killed: for, fleeing from their houses, which were falling to pieces
over their heads, they betook themselves for greater safety to the
church. The vessels in the bay were hurled ashore the distance of a
stone's throw, and those who were caught in the tempest were carried
away like straw. To remedy so great an evil, lots were cast with great
solemnity at a concourse of all classes; from these came forth the
[name of the] most glorious virgin St. Potenciana--not without much
mystery; for, on the day when the event took place (the 19th of May),
one of the earliest settlers, hearing her name called, arose and said:
"Hers is the day when we first entered Manila, by which it is meant
that our Lord chose to inform us of the obligation that we owe to
this glorious Saint." What followed confirmed his statement; for
from that time forward there has been a notable improvement in this
respect, the storms and the fury of the winds recognizing the favor
and protection of this blessed virgin.
How the Spaniards spread over all the Filipinas to Manila. Chapter III.
The people of Sebu did not remain a long time in retirement. Assured
of the good friendship of the Spaniards for them, and that through it
they should have many commodities which they needed, together with
defense and help against their enemies, and peace in the islands
(of which they were so desirous, being weary of the continual and
grievous wars and evils with which they had harassed one another),
they all repaired to the Spaniards to be baptized, and to offer
them their services. They entered, moreover, into such fraternal and
confidential relations with the Spaniards that they soon came to long
for the honor which might be theirs from association with them, and
from serving them with their industry and lands--not only providing
them with what was needful for their sustenance, but acting as guides
in the exploration and conquest of the other islands as far as Manila,
which is the principal and foremost island among them all.
For this reason the Sebuans are privileged and exempt from taxation,
as a reward for their friendly services and loyalty. In the beginning
the pacification of the Islands was strongly resisted, and some
deaths among our men ensued; yet, in spite of this, those few reduced
and subjugated everything and began to establish our holy faith,
gently bringing the villages, with their chiefs, into obedience
to the Church and to the crown of Castilla. The method which they
pursued was consistent with the practice of those nations in forming
a friendship--a method not altogether their own, as it was a custom
among the most ancient heathen peoples, mention of which we find in
serious authors. Those who made peace in the name of the rest, and
established the pacts of perpetual friendship, pricked and wounded
their own arms; the Indian sucking the blood of the Spaniard, and the
Spaniard that of the Indian. In this wise they became as if of the
same blood, and were closer than brothers. These are called _sandugo_,
which means "consanguineous," or "of the same blood."
Of the entry of the fathers of the Society into the Filipinas. Chapter
IV.
These islands offer good inducements to the Spaniards, as well
as for ecclesiastics and religious, to make settlements: to the
former, because the islands are numerous and thickly inhabited by a
people who, though not rich, were accustomed to wear cotton and silk
garments, and gold pieces (not merely of thin plate) and brooches to
fasten them; and rich necklaces, pendants, ear-rings, finger-rings,
ankle-rings, on the neck, ears, hands, and feet--the men, as well as
the women. They even used to, and do yet, insert gold between their
teeth as an ornament. Although among the other ornaments which they
used were to be found articles of considerable interest and curiosity
which could be described, there is one practice which seems more worthy
of attention than the others--namely, that of wearing rings upon the
instep of the foot. This seems to be precisely the same custom that
the ancients wrote about when they mentioned nations who used gold
for fetters and chains, especially among the nobles. Their ornamenting
the teeth is also worth notice, although it is a barbarous practice to
deprive them of their natural whiteness, which God conferred upon the
teeth for the beauty of man. On the other hand, they showed themselves
to be both skilful and prudent in trying to maintain them as necessary
instruments for the preservation of health and life. They are thus
very diligent in rinsing out their mouths and cleansing their teeth
after eating, and upon arising in the morning. For the same purpose
they treat and adorn their teeth in the following way: From early
childhood they file and sharpen them, [44] either leaving them uniform
or fashioning them all to a point, like a saw--although this latter
is not practiced by the more elegant. They all cover their teeth with
a varnish, either lustrous black or bright red--with the result that
the teeth remain as black as jet, or red as vermilion or ruby. From
the edge to the middle of the tooth they neatly bore a hole, which
they afterward fill with gold, so that this drop or point of gold
remains as a shining spot in the middle of the black tooth. This
seems to them most beautiful, and to us does not appear ugly.
These people were and still are very sagacious, and keen in traffic and
bargaining, and in buying and selling; and they applied themselves to
all gainful pursuits--and not least to agriculture and to the breeding
of animals, regularly carried on for the profits thus made. They
have not only great harvests of rice (which is their ordinary bread),
but also crops of cotton, with which they clothe themselves, and from
which they manufacture quantities of cloths, which were, and are yet,
much esteemed in Nueva España. For this reason, the Spaniards regarded
them as a people from whom large profits might be gained, and they
were not mistaken, for, from the gains on cotton fabrics alone (which
there they call _lompotes_), one encomendero left an estate of more
than one hundred and fifty thousand pesos in a few years. The soil
is not only good and favorable with a sunny climate, but fertile
and rich. Besides possessing many gold mines and placers--of which
they make but small account, because of the China silks which bring
them more profit--they raise fowls in great abundance. Besides the
domestic fowls, which are most numerous and very cheap, the fields
are full of wild ones. There is an infinite number of domestic swine,
not to mention numberless mountain-bred hogs, which are very fat,
and as good for lard as the domestic breed. There are also many goats
which breed rapidly, bearing two kids at a time and twice yearly;
there are entire islands abounding with them. As to the buffaloes,
there called carabaos, there are beside the tame and domestic breed,
many mountain buffaloes, which are used [as food] the same as those in
Europe--although somewhat less ugly in appearance, and with singularly
large horns, three times the size of those of our breed. They have
remarkable skill in striking with these horns; lowering the beard to
the breast, with the point of the horn they lift up the most minute
object. In spite of these formidable qualities both Indians and
Spaniards hunt and slay them. Their flesh, whether fresh or dried,
is as good as the most excellent beef. Deer are so abundant that the
Japanese import cargoes of their hides from these islands. The sea
abounds in all kinds of delicate fish; trees, fruits, vegetables,
and garden-stuff are abundant--especially bananas, of which there
are as many different kinds as in Europe there are varieties of
apples and other fruits. There are six or eight species of orange,
the most famous of which is an orange as big as a large-sized melon
or gourd. Some of these are white inside, like limes; others are as
red as our oranges are yellow; and all kinds are as well-flavored as
bunches of delicate grapes. In general, the fruits of those regions,
although different from ours in species and form, have much the same
flavor as the European fruits. The palms, of which there are many
and varied species, are the vineyards and olive-orchards of that
country. For beside the many other uses and advantages of this tree,
it yields wine, vinegar, and oil in sufficient quantities not only
to supply that region abundantly, but likewise to ship and send away
to other neighboring regions--especially furnishing wine to Japon,
Maluco, and Nueva España. The rigging of vessels is also manufactured
from this tree. In fact, there is such an abundance of the materials
necessary for the construction of ships that a vessel which is built
in Nueva España or Peru in several years' time for fifty or sixty
thousand pesos, is constructed in the Filipinas in less than one year,
and at a cost of less than eight thousand pesos. The cane is in itself
another miracle, especially the kind called _cauayan_, the size and
thickness of which are incredible. I shall not say what I have seen
of that species during fourteen years; but one of our Society lately
told me in Lisboa, while discussing this subject, that in the river
of London he had seen a vessel which had one of these canes for a
pump. In addition to Pliny, [45] the most ancient writer who makes
much mention of these canes, there are many moderns who testify to
their size--especially one who, from information received by those of
his nation who have coursed these seas (to our detriment and their
own danger), has written an account of these canes and of other
plants and fruits of that New World. Although this cane is so large,
it is so easily worked that it is employed in whatever is needed for
any of the uses of life; from vessels and houses (which can be made
from it in all their parts), its use extends to the pot and wood for
cooking. It seems to me that its uses could go no farther; and in
these it corresponds, too, with what Pliny [46] writes of the reed
and the papyrus--particularly as within the hollow of the cane, there
are membranes somewhat similar to beaten and glazed paper, on which
I have at times written. In some of the canes there is also found a
juice or liquor which is drunk as a luxury. There is nothing especially
remarkable in the fact that so much abundance should be deposited in
the hollow of these canes; for, just as in other regions trees need
water, in the Filipinas some are found which furnish it--acting as a
perpetual fountain for a whole community, even though it may be on the
apparently dry uplands. In all that locality there are no other springs
than these trees. The method which they employ for obtaining the liquid
from the tree is to make some cuts or incisions in the trunk and the
thicker branches; and out of these is distilled and flows a clear,
sweet water, in ample quantities. But, to return to the subject
of the canes, it should be known that in our church of Manila were
erected two ladders, each of which had only two canes somewhat more
than eight brazas in length: the steps consisted of strips and slips
cut from the said cane. They were used in decorating the church and
each one would sustain at its top two or three men; they were erected
without any prop being needed to sustain them. Each cane was at the
lowest part about three palmos in circumference, which crosswise or
in diameter would be about one palmo. [47] These ladders are well
adapted to such needs, for being, as they are, strong and yet hollow,
they are not very heavy, or hard to move. From these canes they make
in China the whips which with three or four blows kill a man.
To this abundance and fertility was added the proximity of China,
India, Japon, Malaca, and Maluco. From China they not only began to
ship their riches in silks and glazed earthenware, as soon as they
learned of our wealth of four and eight real pieces; but they also
stocked the islands with cattle (which have since multiplied there
exceedingly) and with horses and mares, and great stock-farms have
been established. The Chinese have also supplied provisions, metals,
fruits, preserves and various luxuries, and even ink and paper;
and (what is of much more value) there have come tradesmen of every
calling--all clever, skilful, and cheap, from physicians and barbers
to carriers and porters. The Chinese are the tailors, the shoemakers,
the blacksmiths, the silversmiths, sculptors, locksmiths, painters,
masons and weavers; in short, they represent all the trades of
the community. Their labor is so cheap that a pair of shoes costs
no more than two reals, and so many are made that they have been
shipped even to Nueva España. From India, Malaca, and Maluco come to
Manila male and female slaves, white and black, children and adults;
the men are industrious and obliging, and many are good musicians;
the women excellent seamstresses, cooks, and preparers of conserves,
and are neat and clean in service. The islands also import drugs,
spices, and precious stones; marble, pearls, seed-pearls, carpets,
and other riches. From Japon are imported much wheat, and flour, also
silver, metals, saltpeter, weapons, and many curiosities. All of these
things make life in that region pleasant and an object of desire to
men; and indeed it seems a copy of that Tyre so extolled by Ezekiel.
In the second place, as concerns the religious, there was from the
very beginning the very tractable disposition displayed by so many
natives of the islands in embracing the faith. But as the many and
excellent ministers whom the holy Order of St. Augustin promptly sent
thither were not sufficient for the task of converting the natives,
nor were those who were sent by the Order of the seraphic father
St. Francis, [48] which in the year 1580 already had in the islands
some establishments, and had made many conversions--the fathers of the
Society of Jesus were also needed. They were introduced, in that year,
by the first bishop of these islands, Don Fray Domingo de Salazar,
[49] a priest of the Order of St. Dominic--who afterward died in
the city of Toledo, as archbishop of Manila. This great prelate had
left his province of Mexico to consult with the Catholic king, Don
Felipe Second, concerning matters of grave importance; and, being by
his Majesty appointed bishop of the Filipinas, he soon sought from
the king permission to take with him to the islands members of the
Society--as appears from the same royal provision made for them
in Nueva España. Accordingly he took with him from that country
the first members of the Society to enter those islands--namely,
Father Antonio Sedeño and Father Alonso Sanchez. These, our fathers,
entered the city of Manila without cloaks, as I have heard Father
Antonio Sedeño himself relate, in commending their poverty; for those
which they brought with them from Mexico had worn out and rotted
in the voyage. They went to rest at [the convent of] San Francisco,
where those blessed fathers received them with much charity until they
found an abode--which they chose in a suburb of Manila, called Laguio,
very wretched and closely packed, and so poorly furnished that the
very chest in which they kept their books was the table upon which
they ate. Their only food for many days was rice boiled in water
without salt, oil, meat, fish, or even an egg, or any other thing;
sometimes as a dainty, they secured some salted sardines.
But the good bishop who had brought them did not leave them long in
such straits; for not only did he offer us his library, and show us
other acts of kindness and charity as a true father, but he tried
to improve the site of our habitation, as soon as he saw that those
first fathers had no wish to change it for another. Thus, with two
ground-plots given them by Andres Cauchela, accountant for the Catholic
king in those regions (who owned some lands in Laguio); with property
of the Catholic king, obtained at the instance of the aforesaid bishop
and at the order of the governor, Don Gonzalo Ronquillo [50]; and with
the addition of private offerings of charity--a fine wooden house was
constructed (which I myself saw), wherein was fitted up their church,
in which our fathers exercised their ministry, with a large attendance,
and to the great advantage of the Spaniards.
Three years later their number was increased. The Catholic king
sent his royal Audiencia to the islands in the year 1583; and as its
president, the governor of the islands and the representative of his
Majesty, Doctor Santiago de Vera, who was a member of his council, and
judge in the royal Chancillería of Mexico. [51] He, at the time of his
departure from Mexico, requested of the Father Doctor Juan de la Plaça,
who was then provincial in Nueva España, permission to take with him
to the islands some of the fathers. Not only did he himself urge this,
but also other personages, even the king's ministers, who all insisted
that he should in no case go without them. Under this influence the
father provincial was constrained to draw from the few members then
in his province four individuals: these were Father Ramon de Prado,
a Catalan; Father Francisco Almerique, an Italian; Padre Hernan Suarez,
a Castilian; and, as coadjutor, the brother Gaspar Gomez--all of whom,
as we shall later see, were of great benefit to those regions. So
great was the satisfaction of this most Christian man, upon receiving
the message of our provincial (who had given him two of Ours, and
those other four on his own responsibility), that he immediately
fell on his knees before them, and gave thanks to our Lord that he
had obtained the ministers whom His Divine Majesty employs for the
conversion of peoples, as he has so said. They reached the Filipinas
in May or June of the year 1584, and afforded great companionship,
comfort, and aid to those who were in the islands. Father Hernan
Suarez was especially useful, for God had endowed him with special
grace in winning hearts and bringing them to His service--and this, in
familiar conversation and ordinary discourse, as well as in the pulpit
and the confessional. In this way the whole community was dependent
on him; he settled all matters that might give rise to discord, and
no one took any step without his opinion and counsel. He ministered
to his flock jointly and severally in public and in private, with much
charity on his part and satisfaction on theirs. But this very thing was
the cause, in a short time, of his death. Exhausted by so much toil,
but especially by the fierce heat of the sun--to which he was exposed
at every hour, in journeying on foot from Laguio to Manila and back
again--and wearied and often perspiring from the sermons which he so
frequently preached, he died a holy death within two or three years,
to the universal sorrow of his entire congregation which celebrated
his obsequies as those of a true father.
For this reason and at the order of Father Antonio de Mendoca,
provincial of Nueva España, who did not wish that our members should
dwell so far from Manila, they were obliged to change their abode
and come within the city. Many devout persons and friends of our
Society helped them greatly to this end with offerings, some giving
them pieces of land, on which was a wooden house of moderate size;
others offerings of money, with which they bought more land. Here
we dwelt until Captain Juan Pacheco Maldonado, a regidor of Manila,
and Doña Faustina de Palacios y Villa Gomez, his wife, our excellent
benefactress, erected for us a beautiful stone edifice. This work
was begun, with great piety and devotion, on the same day when this
Christian captain received the news that the English had robbed a
vessel in which he had a great quantity of goods. The mariscal Gabriel
de Ribera, another notable benefactor of ours, erected temporarily
a very neat wooden church, which was used until the stone church,
which we now have, was finished. The greater part of this was done at
the expense of this captain, Juan Pacheco. The rest was accomplished
with the aid of large gifts contributed by the devout people. In
short, this post at Manila began to assume permanent form; our very
reverend Father-general Claudio Aquaviva, accepted it as a college,
and appointed, as its first rector, in the year one thousand five
hundred and eighty-nine, Father Antonio Sedeño.
Of the employments of the fathers of the Society in the
Filipinas. Chapter V.
In the residence at Manila (which was the only one that our Society
then had in the Filipinas), of the five priests who had gone thither
only three remained. For, as we have said, Father Hernan Suarez urged
himself on to work until he died of sheer exhaustion--but certainly
with most abundant harvest, and having brought great consolation
to that commonwealth, where his loss was deeply felt, and his
memory was held for many years in great tenderness and affection by
all. Father Alonso Sanchez, although inclined by nature to retirement
and solitude, could not hide his light, since he was a man of great
courage and ability. His retirement was perpetually beset by bishop,
governor, royal ministers, prelates of the church, and regidors of
the commonwealth. Both within and without Manila, he was forever
busied in important affairs--whether concerning the welfare of souls,
the peace of men's consciences, the tranquillity and prosperity of
the commonwealth, or the service of his Majesty the Catholic king,
our sovereign. On this account not only did they send him on several
journeys to China and Malaca, but finally despatched him to Europe
upon like undertakings, where he was well known at the court of España
and afterwards at that of Roma. The three who were left behind did
not remain idle. Father Antonio Sedeño, in addition to his ordinary
occupation of preaching--in which he was so effective that he could
move stones by his eloquence--in his capacity as superior attended
to the temporal affairs of the residence and to the construction of
buildings. He was all the more busy in this latter occupation, from
the scarcity, at that time, of architects and builders in Manila;
for there were none at all. First he taught this art to the Indians,
and then to the Chinese; and he inspired the bishop to build the first
stone house ever erected in Manila. Encouraged by this example, they
continued to build others, until finally the city reached its present
greatness. At this time it is one of the most beautiful and delightful
cities in the Indias. Formerly the houses, though large and roomy,
were all constructed of wood or cane. In short the good father was
the architect of the city, and the people caused him no little labor
in inspecting, planning, and arranging its edifices; he aided them
out of pure charity and zeal for the advancement of the holy Church,
which he hoped would be very great in those regions. The first fort
constructed in Manila for the defense of the city was erected under
his direction, and with his plans, supervision, and aid, which cost
him no little effort. This is the fortress that they call Guia,
because it is situated at the principal gate of the city which leads
out to the chapel of Nuestra Señora de Guia that stands in front of our
house. I once accompanied him when he went to furnish the plans for a
stairway in one of the principal houses; and he showed so much patience
and indulgence toward the errors which the Indians had committed in
his absence that he did not lose his temper in either word or look,
but merely had what was wrong taken apart and done over again.
Father Raimundo de Prado also preached with much enthusiasm and
devotion; but his principal employment was in the confessional,
where he exercised his calling to such advantage that there was
scarcely a man or woman who confessed to another priest. He also, at
the instance of the bishop, read in our house for the benefit of the
clergy, the _Materia de sacramentis_, which lasted, several months;
but after that was finished he read no longer, as he could not attend
to so many things.
Father Francisco Almerique began the study of the Chinese language,
in his zeal to aid in the conversion of the many Chinese who came to
Manila and whom we in the Filipinas call Sangleys. He effected several
conversions, in particular, that of a young man of much talent who had
studied their learning, and made more than ordinary progress, and was
about to be graduated in his own country. This young man, abandoning
his studies and ambitions for our holy faith, was solemnly baptized
in our church at Manila by the hand of the bishop, and took the name
of Paul, in devotion to that most glorious apostle, the teacher of
the Gentiles. I met him afterward and came to know him well, and
saw in him a Christian of the primitive church. Since it enters most
opportunely into this matter, let me relate how, having once seen an
honorable Spaniard commit some act by no means Christianlike, he said
to me: "Father, are not these Christians? and, if so, how can they do
this?" I was obliged to satisfy him by making a distinction between the
living and the dead faith, and the appreciation and estimation of the
things of God in contrast to the inclination and affection for earthly
things, which is so common among our Christians of long standing--to
the great scandal of the new converts, as this incident shows.
The Japanese who came to Manila also repaired to our church; and I
once saw them perform a very decorous and devout dance in a feast of
the most holy sacrament. Their mode of dress is decorous, and they
sing, to a slow and solemn music, marking the pauses by strokes with a
small fan grasped in the palm of the left hand; they move in time with
this, only stamping their feet, inclining their bodies somewhat. The
effect is most striking, and invites devotion, especially in those
who understand what they sing, which are all things pertaining to
the divine. In the year one thousand five hundred and eighty-seven,
one of them named Gabriel, a native of Miaco, reared in the Society,
brought with him to Manila as converts four other companions--who,
as soon as they arrived, were baptized with great solemnity in our
church and confirmed by the bishop, who treated us with the same love
and confidence as if he were of our religious order. On the feast of
St. Michael, the twenty-ninth of September of this same year, there
was a jubilee in our church, and the bishop desired to celebrate the
mass; on that occasion, six hundred persons received communion; for a
country and a Christian community so new as that one, this was a very
large number, and gave all the more consolation and edification to all.
In this same year occurred a miraculous conversion of an infidel. This
latter was crossing the river of Manila in one of those small boats
so numerous in the islands, which do not extend more than two dedos
[52] out of the water. As there are many caimans in this river
(which in that respect is another Nile), one of them happened to
cross his course, and, seizing him, dragged him to the bottom with
a rapidity which is their mode, by a natural instinct, of killing
and securing their prey. The infidel, like another Jonas, beneath
the water called with all his heart upon the God of the Christians;
and instantly beheld two persons clad in white, who snatched him from
the claws of the caiman, and drew him to the bank, safe and sound;
and as a result of this miracle he was baptized, with his two sons,
and became a Christian. The very opposite befell another Christian,
who, forgetful of God, passed every night to the other side of that
river to commit evil deeds. God, wearied of waiting for him, sent his
"alguazil of the water"--which is the name that we give there to
the cayman--who, seizing him, executed upon his person the divine
chastisement for his wickedness. All this took place in Manila,
in which place Ours were not long confined; they went forth, and
dispersed through the islands, the number and variety of which we
shall now describe in greater detail.
Of the number and size of the Filipinas Islands. Chapter VI.
The islands properly called the Filipinas begin at the large island
of Burnei, not far from Malaca, which serves as a roadstead for the
Portuguese who sail for Maluco. This island extends from the first
or second degree on the south of the equinoctial line to about
the eighth degree on the north side. The Mahometan king of this
island, although he retained his own religion, rendered obedience
as a vassal of the crown of Castilla when Doctor Francisco de Sande
[53] was governor of the Filipinas. The island of Siao [54] is east
of Burnei and about six or eight degrees latitude toward the north;
its king and his subjects are Christians, converted by the fathers
of our Society who live in Maluco. To render homage to the crown of
Castilla, he came to the court of Manila at the time when Gomez Perez
de las Marinas, knight of the habit of Santiago, was governor of the
islands. On this journey he was accompanied by Father Antonio Marta,
an Italian, the superior of the Society in the islands of Maluco,
and by his companion, Father Antonio Pereira, [55] a Portuguese. I
had them all as guests in a house at Tigbauan, in the island of Panai,
where for two years I was instructing those peoples, to their profit
and my own satisfaction, as I shall later relate. I do not mean Cian,
but Siao, for that is the name of the island. Cian is not an island,
but the mainland between Malaca and Camboxa, contiguous with Great
China and Cochin China. By journeying northward from the two islands
of Siao and Burnei, one may traverse in his course from island to
island the whole extent of the Filipinas; and, by going east and west,
their entire width. Passing through Sarrangan, Iolo, and Taguima, which
are three distinct islands, one reaches the great island of Mindanao,
whence one comes to the island of Manila, the metropolitan see; as well
as to Babuyanes, Hermosa Island, and the greater and lesser Lequios,
which include many islands. Of the more northern islands, besides those
already named, those which are known and are most populous are: Manila,
Mindoro, Luban, Marinduque, Cabras, Tablas, Masbate, Capul, Ibabao,
Leite, Bohol, Fuegos, Negros, Imares, Panai, Cagayan, Cuyo, Calamianes,
Paravan--besides many others which are less known, although populated,
all of which will reach forty or more in number. This is excluding
other small uninhabited islands and some of fair size. Among those
islands that I have mentioned there are some much larger than España,
as, for example, Manila and Burnei; and others which are certainly
no smaller, as Mindanao and Calamianes. Some are somewhat smaller,
as Mindoro, Ibabao, and that of Negros; others very much smaller,
as Leite, Sebu, and Panai, but all of them are well peopled, fertile,
and rich, and not far distant from one another, and not one so small
that it is not in reality large.
The island of Sebu, one of the smallest, would have, if we were to
credit the statement of a certain author, a circumference of twelve
leguas; but I myself have sailed along the coast of two-thirds of the
island (it is triangular in shape), and assert that its circumference
is more than fifty Spanish leguas.
Of the division and distribution of bishoprics and provinces in the
Filipinas. Chapter VII.
At the instance of the first bishop, Don Fray Domingo de Salazar,
and with the information which he gave to the Catholic king Don
Felipe Second, of glorious memory, his Majesty divided those islands
into four dioceses, beseeching the Holiness of our most Holy Father,
Clement Eighth, to establish the aforesaid bishop as the metropolitan
archbishop of the city of Manila, with three suffragan bishops. [56]
Two of these were in that same island, one in the eastern part,
and one in the western; one, the bishop of Nueva Segovia (which by
sea is but sixty leguas distant from Great China); his bishopric
extends as far as the Ilocos, more than a hundred leguas distant,
being conterminous with the archbishopric of Manila. The other is the
bishop of Camarines whose bishopric is but little smaller, reaching
from the lagoon of Manila to the channel-mouth through which we enter
the islands on the way thither from España. The third bishopric is
even larger, for it embraces almost all the islands of the Pintados
(the proper name for which is Bisayas)--beginning with the islands
of Panay, Bantayan, Leite, Ibabao, and Capul, and extending to the
great island of Mindanao and the more southern islands. Its cathedral
and see are in the city of Santissimo Nombre de Jesus, so named from
the discovery of [an image of] the Child Jesus which was found there,
as we have related.
The people of the Bisayas are called the Pintados, because they are
actually adorned with pictures [Span. _pintados--i.e._, painted, or
tattooed]--not because this is natural to them, although they are
well built, of pleasing countenance, and white; but because they
adorn their bodies with figures from head to foot, when they are
young and have sufficient strength and energy to suffer the torment
of the tattooing; and formerly they tattooed themselves when they had
performed some act of valor. They tattoo themselves by pricking the
skin until the blood comes, with sharp, delicate points, according
to designs and lines which are first drawn by those who practice this
art; and upon this freshly-bleeding surface they apply a black powder,
which is never effaced. They do not tattoo the body all at the same
time, but by degrees, so that the process often lasts a long time;
in ancient times, for each part which was to be tattooed the person
must perform some new act of bravery or valiant deed. The tattooed
designs are very ingenious, and are well adapted to those members
or parts whereon they are placed. During my stay in the Filipinas,
I was wont to say, in my satisfaction and admiration for the fine
appearance of those natives, that if one of them were brought to Europe
much money could be made by exhibiting him. Children are not tattooed,
and the women tattoo all of one hand and part of the other. They do
not, however, on this account go naked; they wear well-made collarless
robes, which reach the ankle and are of cotton bordered with colors:
when they are in mourning, these robes are white. They take off these
robes in their houses, and in places where garments are unnecessary;
but everywhere and always they are very attentive and watchful to
cover their persons, with great care and modesty, wherein they are
superior to other nations, especially to the Chinese.
The Catholic king also decreed, for the sake of peace, and to
facilitate the preaching of the gospel, that the provinces of the
religious orders should remain distinct, and that there should be no
interference or confusion between the religious and the clergy. He
left the orders of St. Francis and St. Augustine from that time in
those districts of Indians which they previously occupied, which are
numerous and very good. He bestowed upon the Order of St. Dominic,
which had gone thither five or six years later than our Society,
the remaining territory in the bishopric of Nueva Segovia. To us he
granted the islands of Ibabao, Capul, Leite, Samar, Bohol, and others
in that vicinity, as well as authority to found a college in the city
of Santissimo Nombre de Jesus.
How the Society extended its labors to the villages of the Indians
outside of Manila. Chapter VIII.
At this time we had again brought our number in Manila to five. In
the place of Father Alonso Sanchez, who was absent in España,
and of the late Father Hernán Suarez, two others of us had gone to
the islands and had learned the language; and one of us, in holy
obedience to orders given him, and at the instance of a prebendary
of Manila, began to use it in his benefice, fourteen leguas from the
city. The principal village of this district is called Balayan; in
it and in numerous other villages of the same region there are many
good Christians, converted by the discalced friars of the Order of
the seraphic Father St. Francis--especially in Balayan, among whose
inhabitants there are many persons of note, who are very intelligent
and well disposed. During several years an apostolic man of that
order preached there, named Father Juan de Oliver, whose holy teaching
shone forth in the piety and devotion of that people. I dwelt in that
district for more than two months, and during my stay they kept me well
occupied in the baptism of children and adults, and in confessions and
communions, which were so numerous that all that time seemed to me a
Holy Week. All these peoples hold our holy law in the highest esteem,
and therefore have the deepest respect for its priests. I shall relate
in this connection an incident that befell me at this time with some of
the chiefs of Balayan. There was an epidemic of small-pox (called by
them Bolotong), which was killing off children and old men, although
more fatal to adults than to the young. I was in the habit of walking
through the principal streets twice a day, morning and night, when I
would send boys on both sides of the street to discover and indicate
to me those who desired confession and baptism. Whenever they sent for
me (which was not seldom), I entered the house; all the living-rooms
are in the upper part, the lower floor being used only for household
duties. And it was no small labor to ascend and descend so often,
especially by ladders of cane; which are used everywhere. One day, when
busied in this my occupation, I passed by a group of their chiefs, who,
upon perceiving me, formed a row on one side of the street and saluted
me all together, uncovering their heads, and making a low bow. I,
inclining my head, removed my cap and passed on. They appreciated my
politeness, and considered themselves so favored and honored by it
that, upon my return, they displayed the same courtesy, standing in
line, and then they all fell upon their knees, as if they desired to
excel me in politeness; for that which I had shown them when I first
approached seemed to them all too much. My greatest aid to them was
at Lian, three leguas from Balayan, in which place--as well as in
another near by, called Manisua--I converted many to Christianity
and heard many confessions. I was here on Ash Wednesday; not only did
the adults receive the ashes with incredible reverence and devotion,
but all the mothers brought all their children to receive the emblem,
and were not willing to depart until they and all the others had
received. For this journey I thank and am deeply grateful to the
bishop who was most earnestly desirous that Ours should aid in so
important a ministry. As it was clearly evident that the villages
of Taitai, Antipolo, and others of that encomienda--which was six
leguas from Manila, up the river, and in which there were already
some Christians--contained many infidels who should be converted,
he entrusted it to the Society. Through the grace of Jesus Christ our
Lord, such fruitful results were accomplished as shall be seen in the
course of this narrative. I shall simply state for the present that,
at the end of ten years, I was in the habit of saying (in imitation of
St. Gregory Thaumaturgus) that I was most thankful to our Lord, for,
when I entered the place, I found hardly forty Christians, and at the
end of that time there were not four infidels. If I am not mistaken,
we baptized with our own hands more than seven thousand souls; and
today it is one of the most flourishing of Christian communities that
Holy Church possesses, and none in those regions is superior to it.
How the village of Taitai improved its site. Chapter IX.
At that time the village of Taitai lay along the water, on the
banks of a marsh or stream formed by waterfalls from the mountains
of Antipolo, which emptied into the river near the same mouth by
which it flows out of the lagoon. It was situated in a most beautiful
and extensive valley, formed between the lagoon and the mountains;
and so low that each year, when the waters of the lagoon rise on
account of the floods from the many rivers which enter it, the valley
is flooded and submerged as is Egypt by the Nile, and remains thus
inundated from August until October or November. At this period the
valley itself becomes a lagoon of more than an estado in depth, and
can be traversed only by means of boats. This inundation abundantly
fertilizes the rice fields and seeded lands with which the valley is
covered, and, as a result, rich and abundant harvests are gathered. The
water enters at the proper season when the rice stalks are hardening
and are beginning to ear; consequently the copious irrigation helps
it to form seed without hindering the grain from hardening, or the
harvest from being gathered. On the contrary it is a convenience,
as I myself have often seen, to go in boats for the reaping, and in
those boats to bring the bundles of grain to the houses, where they
are exposed to the sun to dry. When it is thoroughly dry they thresh
and clean it, and store it in their granaries. This inundation not
only flooded the village--to such an extent that the streets could
be traversed only in boats, in which I went often enough--but also,
although the floor of the church had been raised and repairs made
to guard against the water, it flowed in over the steps, even to
the main altar. On account of this inundation they had selected,
not far from the church and farther back from the water, a hill,
where those who died during this season were interred. For mass they
repaired to Antipolo, which lies a scant three miles inland among
the mountains. The first time when I saw my church flooded, and
realized that I could not say mass in it, I was obliged to believe
what I had never been able to credit, although I had been often told
of it. It is customary for these villages, for greater convenience
of government, to be divided into districts on the plan of parishes,
which they call _barangais_. Each one of these is under the command
of a chief, who governs it and appoints those who are to provide for
all contingencies; the latter are called _datos_. At that time this
village had four hundred families and was divided into four barangais;
consequently there were four datos, each one of whom had charge of
a hundred inhabitants who are called collectively _catongohan_. I
summoned my four datos and from the choir I showed them the altar;
they saw (and they had known it beforehand) that mass could not be
celebrated. "Without celebrating mass each day," I said to them,
"although I may be unworthy of it, I cannot live, for that is my
sustenance which gives me strength to serve you for Christ's sake. Now
I must go where I can say it--that is, to Antipolo. If you wish to
see me again, you will build for me, on the hill where the dead are
now buried, a little church in which I can say mass, with some little
room to which I can retire; until this be done, I remain with God;"
and I went away. Desiring my return, they soon began the work and
finished it in such wise that I could stay and celebrate mass, and,
too, serve as an attraction to any one who might pass that way. At
first they did very little, and that slowly; but as it was necessary
to dismantle the church and carry to the hill its materials, and with
these the cross belonging to the cemetery, they soon began to show
such haste in migrating to the new village that ten or twelve of them
crowded into one house, until each one could build his own. Surprised
at such haste, I inquired its cause, and they told me that at night
they suffered from fear of the demons in the old village, because it
had now no church or cross; and so no one dared to sleep there. With
this change the village greatly improved its site. That they might not
lack water near by for bathing (to which all those nations are much
addicted), they carefully opened a ditch at the base of the hill,
along the edge of the village, by which water could come in from
the stream which they formerly had. Along the streets and around
the village they planted their groves and palm-trees, which enrich
and beautify it. They afterward constructed on the new site a very
beautiful temple with the help of the king our lord, who paid a third
of its cost, as his Majesty does for all the churches. Since I have
mentioned the baths it is fitting to relate what I can tell about them.
Of baths in the Philippines. Chapter X.
From the time when they are born, these islanders are brought up in
the water. Consequently both men and women swim like fishes, even from
childhood, and have no need of bridges to pass over rivers. They bathe
themselves at all hours, for cleanliness and recreation; and even the
women after childbirth do not refrain from the bath, and children just
born are bathed in the rivers and springs of cold water. When leaving
the bath, they anoint the head with ajonjoli [_i.e._, oil of sesame]
mixed with civet--of which, as we shall later show, there is great
abundance in those regions. Even when not bathing, they are accustomed
to anoint their heads for comfort and adornment, especially the women
and children. Through modesty, they bathe with their bodies drawn up
and almost in a sitting posture, with the water to the neck, taking
the greatest care not to be seen, although no one may be near to see
them. The most general hour for bathing is at the setting of the sun,
because at that time they have finished their labors, and bathe in the
river to rest and refresh themselves; on the way, they usually carry
some vessel for bearing water to use in their domestic duties. In the
island of Panay I saw all the people, at the conclusion of a burial,
hasten to the river upon leaving the church and bathe there, as was
the custom among the Jews--although these Indias have no knowledge
of that dead law. They keep a vessel full of water before the door
of every house; every person, whether belonging to the house or not,
who enters it takes water from the jar with which to wash his feet
before entering, especially during the season of much mud. They wash
their feet with great facility, rubbing one foot with the other:
the water flows down through the floor of the house, which is all of
cane and fashioned like a window-grating: with bars close together.
They also employ the baths as a medicine, and God our Lord has given
them for this purpose springs of hot water. In the last few years the
hot springs of Bai, on the banks of the lagoon of Bai, have been most
healthful and famous, and many Spaniards of both sexes as well as
ecclesiastics and religious, have had recourse to them in various
maladies and recovered their health. And, indeed, the ease and
delightfulness of the trip almost compel one to undertake it, even
though he may not need it. The [Pasig] River extends inland as much
as six leguas; and from its source in the lagoon until it reaches the
bay of Manila, it is dotted with houses, gardens, and stock-farms, in
most delightful variety. As the trees in that climate bear leaves the
whole year through, their verdure and coolness increase the charm. I
noticed but two trees which shed their leaves; both of them are wild,
and do not bear fruit, but both are highly useful and valued for that
reason. One is the balete, [57] which grows very tall, has a round,
cup-shaped head, like a moderately large walnut tree, and is of a
most delightful green. Its leaves are somewhat narrow, like those
of the almond tree; and are hard, compact, and glossy to the touch,
like those of the orange tree. The Filipinos prize them for their use
in cooking, as we do the laurel and the rosemary. This tree is very
hardy, and most often flourishes in rocky places; it has a natural
tendency to produce roots over almost the whole surface of its trunk
so that it appears to be covered with a beard. The Chinese, who are
really ingenious, are wont to plant one of these trees on a stone
(so small that both the tree and stone can be held in the hand),
just as if it were in a flower-pot, and then it can be carried from
one place to another; and the tree, like a dwarfed orange tree,
grows in proportion to its roots, hardly reaching five palmos in
height. As this method of planting these trees on a stone may seem
as difficult as it is curious, I shall describe how I have seen it
done. They take a sprout of the tree when it is already covered with
roots, and a stone which must not be too hard, or smooth, but not
very solid, and somewhat porous or hollow. These stones are found
there in abundance among the reefs and shoals of the sea. They tie
the little tree or sprout to this stone, covering the latter so far as
possible on all sides with the fibres and roots; and to make it grow,
they cover the stone with water. With the water the tree clings much
more readily to the stone, entwines about it, and becomes grafted
into all its pores and cavities, embracing it with remarkable amity
and union. A large balete stands in the patio [_i.e._, inner court]
of our house in Manila, near the regular entrance. In the year 1602,
in the month of April or May, I saw it all withered, with its leaves
falling. Thinking that it was dying I was greatly grieved, for I did
not wish to lose so fine a tree. My sorrow was increased when I saw
it next day almost without a leaf; and I showed it to our procurator,
who chanced to be with me while I was inspecting the tree. But on the
third day I beheld it covered with new leaves, tender and beautiful,
at which I was as rejoiced as I had previously been saddened; for
it is in truth a beautiful tree. In this I saw represented, as in a
picture, the truth of the resurrection.
There is another tree which they call _dabdab_. [58] Its leaves also
have an agreeable taste and serve as a lining for the inside of the
kettle in which they cook their rice, preventing the latter from
adhering to the sides. This tree is very similar to the almond-tree,
although its trunk and leaves are much larger. These leaves are nearly
as large as the palm of the hand and shaped like a heart. It apparently
dies in September and revives in January, when the flower appears,
before the leaf; it is different from the balete, being larger and
of a different shape, and red like a ruby.
Among other plants brought from Nueva España to the Filipinas is the
anona, [59] which has grown larger and is more successfully raised
in these islands; it yields a most delicious and delicate fruit. It
also loses its leaves, but soon renews them, almost as quickly as
does the balete.
But, to return to the river of Manila--over which the passage to
the baths is made in boats, large or small according to the number
of passengers--by going up the stream the lagoon is reached; this,
with its forty leagues of circumference, is one of the most remarkable
objects in the world. All that region is full of rivers, villages,
and groves. The lagoon itself is of fresh water, and has many islets
which render it beautiful. It abounds in fish, and in herons, ducks,
and other water-fowl. Above all, it contains many crocodiles or caimans
(which there are called _buaya_), which cause great havoc among the
poor fishermen and traders who navigate the river--especially in
stormy weather, when the waters become tumultuous, as often happens,
and swamp their vessels.
Of the mission at Tigbauan, and what the fathers of the Society
accomplished there. Chapter XI.
In January of the year fifteen hundred and ninety-two, one of us two
who were employed at Taitai had to depart for the island of Panai to
give instruction and continue the work of conversion in the encomienda
of Tigbauan. The island of Panai, as I have already said, is in the
province of the Pintados, in the diocese of Sebu. It is a little
more than a hundred leguas in circumference, and, in all its extent,
most temperate and fertile. Its inhabitants are the Bissayas, a white
people, who have among them some blacks--the ancient inhabitants of the
island, who occupied it before the Bissayas did. They are not so dark
or ugly as are the natives of Guinea, but are very diminutive and weak;
but in their hair and beard they closely resemble the Guineans. They
are much more barbarous and untamed than are the Bissayas and most of
the Filipinos, for they have not, like those peoples, houses or fixed
sites for their villages. They do not sow seed, or gather harvests;
but with their women and children wander, half naked, over the
mountains like beasts. They capture on foot the deer and the javali,
[60] and on the spot where they capture an animal they stop, and feed
upon it as long as it lasts. Their only natural property is the bow
and arrow. The Bissayas through natural compassion have not destroyed
these blacks, who are not hostile to them, although they have little
dealing with the Bissayas. While I was in Tigbauan, however, a petty
war occurred between them which is worth relating for what it shows
of such wars among these nations, and their triumphs and trophies. A
Bissayan chief, who lived in his solitary house among the mountains,
distant from the villages, had a friendship--or, for all I know,
a relationship--with a leading Negrillo, who was also headman among
his people. Under the cover of this friendship, the Negrillo took his
opportunity, as I shall relate, to do a treacherous act. He came one
day, as he had often done before, to pay a visit to his friend, who
received him as such and gave him food and drink--an act which should
soften the most bloodthirsty heart, even if he had been offended. But
the Negrillo, without heeding the obligation imposed by kind deeds
or by the good-will with which they had been conferred upon him,
seized his host unawares, and took his life, also slaying all the
other members of his family--men, women, and children. His crime,
however, did not go unpunished. A spirited young man, son of the
dead man--not daring alone to avenge himself upon the black, who had
been reënforced by others of his own color--assembled his kinsmen and
friends; besides these [so many joined him that] all the villages of
the island were depopulated, in order to fall upon the Negrillos--all
eager to enslave the women and children, this being a great source of
wealth among those people; they accomplished their purpose, killing
many men. This lasted until the matter became known to the royal
officials in that region, who pacified them. At the entrance of some
of the villages, I saw the trophies of this victory and some of the
slaves. The trophies were thus made: one of the large canes, already
described, very tall, was driven into the ground. At its point were
two, or three, or more pendent bannerets like streamers or pennants,
and on them the hair of the dead foes. These blacks have had very
little to do with the Spaniards, not so much through hate as from
fear and mistrust of them. It has already happened that Spaniards,
unaccompanied and straying from the road, have fallen into their
hands; but with a few presents and fair words they have been allowed
to go free. They also fear the priests as being Spaniards, making
no distinction between them. For this reason we could not undertake
their conversion, although they were near to the villages of Tigbauan;
on this account all our energy was directed towards the Bissayas alone.
They call the reed-grass _tigbao_, and, by derivation, the lands
which bear this grass are called Tigbauan; and because the site of
this village is close to a great expanse of reedy land on the bank
of a beautiful stream, it bears the above name. The village itself
was on the same shore, at the mouth of the river--which, as well as
the sea, yields various kinds of fish, excellent and plentiful, which
I myself have enjoyed in abundance. As they were continually fishing
on the beach, usually with three or four nets, they never made a haul
without devoutly regaling us with a part of it. Tigbauan has a very
beautiful district, with many villages extending more than six leguas
along the coast of the sea; the entire district is well supplied with
game, fruits, and vegetables, and fish from the sea. The people are
very industrious; consequently I always saw them occupied--the men,
with their fisheries and farming; the women, with their spinning
and weaving. What we accomplished in the two years spent among a
people so good and well-disposed towards the Gospel could be told in
less time than what we left undone; for, since we of the Society of
Jesus were then so few, and had little hope of increasing our number,
we did not dare to undertake more than we thought could probably be
maintained; and in this we were not mistaken, for at the present day,
when at least a dozen ministers are needed, there is actually but
one secular priest. For that reason we did not dare to baptize adults
or children, except in cases of extreme danger, outside of the chief
village (which is Tigbauan) and two or three other outlying hamlets,
distant two miles or less.
Nevertheless we preached the faith throughout that vicinity in the
Haraya language, and even translated into the same tongue and taught
the Christian doctrine and the catechism, which formerly they knew only
in the Bissaya, a language different from the one they speak. [61] Many
churches were erected, and some who had been baptized were confirmed
in the faith. Some improper relations were dissolved and converted into
Christian matrimony. In Tigbauan and its villages, besides the baptism
of many children and adults, there were introduced the holy sacraments
of confession, communion, and extreme unction, the last of which they
neither knew nor had ever heard of. Church-feasts were celebrated with
vespers and solemn masses, particularly at Easter and in Holy Week. A
large school was formed, containing the children of all that region,
where they learned to read, write, play musical instruments, and sing;
two children from this school were sent every week to each one of
the churches in the district, to take care of it and to assemble each
afternoon the people of the village to repeat the doctrine in front of
the church, as was done in Tigbauan. Here occurred an event regarding
a boy, which gave me great satisfaction. An infidel chief living in
a village called Taroc, a legua from Tigbauan, had a little son who
was a Christian, a child of five or six years--of whom I knew nothing,
as they had concealed him and others from me, being reluctant, through
their natural barbarity and wildness, to hold intercourse with us and
deliver up the objects of their affection. This child fell ill, and,
realizing his condition, urged his infidel parents to summon me. They
made me repair to him in great haste, for as I was told that the sick
boy had called for me, I was convinced that he was not so young that
he could not at least confess. In short, I went; I merely read the
gospel to him, and in a few days he was cured of his sickness. As
a result of the visit, which was greatly appreciated by the people,
that village was won--especially his own parents, who were afterward
pleased to have their son go to Tigbauan to join the school with the
rest. The town of Arevalo is three leagues distant from Tigbauan;
we also assisted there in the pulpit and the confessional, at the
instance of the Spaniards who resided there, and of the bishop's
vicar, in whose charge they were. This vicar was then the licentiate
Don Francisco Gomez Arellano, archdeacon of Manila, through whose
earnestness and devotion divine worship was greatly augmented in
that church, and its service increased. This vicar embellished it
with new ornaments, very rich and curious, such as lamps and silver
candlesticks, thereby augmenting the reputation and esteem of our
holy religion among those new nations.
Of our departure from Tigbauan and our entrance into Sebu, Leite,
and other islands. Chapter XII.
At this time died Father Martin Henriquez, who had remained in
Taitai; he gave way under the laborious task of ministering alone
to so many souls, which he did with such perfection and fervor that
it was impossible to maintain strength for so much. This father was
so fervent and energetic that in three months he had learned the
language; and, in six, composed in it a catechism and a treatise
on confession. He also prepared a collection of sermons for all the
Sundays and feasts, and on the four last things, [62] as well as other
matters profitable to those peoples, who greatly respected his purity
of life and the vigor of his preaching. I have seen him leave his food,
to go to administer baptism or extreme unction to a sick man. He
was most devoted to our Lady, and, whenever he sat down to study,
he took out a little image of her which he always carried with him,
and placed it on the table that he might have it before him. Every
day I saw him, among other holy exercises, recite his rosary, and
devote one half-hour to prayer in the afternoons (besides the entire
hour in the morning); and every night he would scourge himself. He
was an indefatigable worker, and consequently slept little, which
was more than he could endure. He died a holy death, the same year
when he came to the Filipinas, before twelve months had elapsed;
and, when his work is considered, we wonder that he lived so long. On
account of his death, Father Francisco Almerique was obliged to leave
Manila--where his duties were by no means light among the Indians of
that city and district, who all sought his aid. As he had abandoned
these heavy labors only to undertake others as great, he soon fell
ill. To lighten his burden, the two who had remained in Manila took
up the double task; these two were the father rector, Antonio Sedeño,
and Father Raymundo de Prado. They took turns in doing this work, one
remaining a week in Manila while the other went to Taitai. This sort
of life could not last long; and so our Lord, who aids the greatest
necessities, inspired the good father to inform me of the difficulties
in which they were, and order me to return to Manila. There we could
plan our course of life in accordance with the advices which might
come to us in the ships, which were expected soon--either uniting
the four of us who remained, to do what we could in the city; or, if
a reënforcement should come to us, extending our labors in securing
conversions, according to the number of our men.
I reached Manila in May of the year fifteen hundred and ninety-five,
leaving in Tigbauan and its vicinity, and in the town of Arevalo,
not a few persons sorrowing at my departure. The general, Doctor
Antonio de Morga, arrived in the following June, having come to
serve as lieutenant of the governor and captain-general of the
islands. He brought with him two fine vessels, and eight priests
[63] of our Society. The joy of the communities of Manila and Sebu,
and of Ours, was beyond belief upon learning that these fathers had
arrived. From both places, requests came in to us for priests: from
Manila, for instruction and schools, of which its sons were in great
want; from Sebu, for a college which they desired in their city. On
the other hand, the lieutenant governor of his Catholic Majesty urged
that the Society should take charge of a province of Indians as did
the other religious orders; and the Indians themselves, with several
encomenderos, supported this request. Finally an effort was made to
satisfy everyone, in the way which I shall relate. Four of us priests
went to the island of Leite which we reached on the day of the Triumph
of the Holy Cross, the sixteenth of July of the same year. Two of us
remained at Carigara in the house of Christoval de Trujillo, the owner
of that encomienda, a man of eminent piety, and our benefactor. He
straightway built for us there the first house that we possessed in
that island. The other two of us went along the coast of that island
and those of Ibabao and Samar, observing what peoples and posts were
best adapted at that time for our settlement. We returned to Carigara
at the end of July, where, thanks to the incredible haste and large
number of the Indians, we found our house finished and the two fathers
established in it. Early in August, I had information from the father
vice-provincial, Antonio Sedeño, that he had arrived at Sebu with
two other priests, and summoned me thither. Father Juan del Campo and
Father Cosme de Flores remained in Carigara, and undertook the study of
the Bissaya language with great fervor. Father Antonio Pereira and I,
with another brother, went on to Sebu in conformity with the order
of the father vice-provincial. Father Antonio Pereira had remained
with Ours in these islands from the time of his arrival, as I said,
with the king of Siao, waiting for the conclusion of business which the
king and. Father Antonio Marta could not wait for--the latter, because
he could not longer absent himself from his province and subordinates:
the former, because he could not remain longer away from his kingdom
and his vassals. This good father was so eager and zealous for the
welfare of souls that, although a guest, he did not permit himself
one moment of idleness, but always busied himself in the pulpit and
confessional and in other ministries for the welfare of souls. We
reached Sebu in the middle of August, where we found our good father
and superior sick, in the house of a regidor of the city; and with
him were Father Alonso Humanes, who had gone as superior during the
journey from Nueva España, and Father Mateo Sanchez. He presently sent
these two fathers to Leite, with orders to divide it into two stations,
two fathers in each--one pair taking Carigara (where the two fathers
had remained whom I have already mentioned); the other, Dulac, which
is about sixty miles further on. These are both maritime villages with
a situation and territory well adapted for undertaking the conversion
of that new people, until then untaught. The aforementioned Father
Alonso Humanes was appointed superior of both stations. In Sebu Ours
had already fixed upon the site which we now possess, partly purchased
with offerings from the citizens, and partly bestowed by the city and
private persons. Accompanying the land was a goodly house of wood,
which with little work could be made to accommodate the church and
our dwelling. Father Ramon de Prado had remained in Manila as rector,
with the other four fathers, two of whom were sent to Taitai to
aid Father Francisco Almerique: of the two who remained in Manila,
Father Tomas de Montoya [64] began to teach Latin, and Father Juan
de Ribera attended to matters of conscience.
The death of Father Antonio Sedeño, first rector of the college of
Manila, and first vice-provincial of the Society of Jesus in the
Filipinas. Chapter XIII.
The first thing which the father vice-provincial, Antonio Sedeño,
enjoined upon me on his arrival at Sebu was that I should at all
events hasten the completion of the house, and carry him to it,
for it was his wish to die in the house of the Society. This I did,
having him conveyed on men's shoulders in a covered bed, for he was
so ill that he could not go in any other way. I was greatly rejoiced
at this, and he was extremely relieved at finding himself in his new
home. His illness was increased by the hardships of the toilsome
journey from Manila, one hundred and fifty leagues away, in the
season of the vendavals and the rains, which in the bay of Manila,
and as far as the entrance into the province of Pintados, is the most
difficult and dangerous of the whole year. In this case, the burden
of these hardships and torments fell upon a person so feeble, infirm,
old, and exhausted that, although he arrived at Sebu in fair health,
their effect was greatly aggravated by his immediately commencing work
with two sermons, which were highly regarded in that community. But
his efforts so prostrated him that he took to his bed with a fever,
which so exhausted him that his holy life came to an end on the first
of September of the same year, fifteen hundred and ninety-five. In
life, and no less in his death, this holy man was a rare example
of virtue; and so, in both, he was highly esteemed by all classes
and ranks of people--especially by ecclesiastics and religious,
who recognized in him an admirable virtue. When but a youth he left
España in the service of the Duke of Feria. He was received into the
Society at Loreto, studied in Padua, and had charge of the Germanic
College in Rome. From this place blessed Father Francisco de Borja
[65] sent him to Japon. Upon reaching Sevilla, however, he learned
that the ships bound for the Indias had already left Lisboa. Waiting
at this latter place for further instructions he was given the choice
of embarking, at his pleasure, for either Piru or Florida. He chose
Florida as a place which, in its poverty, offered greater opportunities
of suffering there many hardships for the sake of Christ. In this he
was not deceived; for in Florida, and later in Habana, he suffered
greatly on sea and land, from hunger, cold, exhaustion, storms,
hardships, exposure, and mortal perils. It often happened that he
fell to the ground, while walking on the shore--sick, powerless to
move, and among Indians most cruel in war, who had killed others of
the Society; and yet he escaped, how, he knew not. Many a time did
he eat no more than a handful of maize, planted and gathered by his
own hands; for whatever else he might have must be given to poor
soldiers. During a pestilence which had spread among those savages
he became a physician, for he could baptize them if they should die;
in this way he sent many of them to heaven. From Florida he was sent
to Nueva España, and was the first of the Society to enter the City
of Mexico, where by his virtuous life and teachings, he inspired the
viceroy, the auditors of the Audiencia, and the citizens with such
affection that they sought to bring over from España members of the
Society, in order to found a college in Mexico. This was done and
Father Antonio Sedeño was made rector: he laid the foundations and
erected a building, which stands to this day. He went over to the
Filipinas, as we have said, where his occupations were such as we
have already related. While on the sea, he and his companions lived
in their cabin in such modest retirement, and were so dignified in
their bearing, that they spread tranquillity throughout the vessel,
and accordingly their teaching was highly valued. He lived forty years
in the Society, to its great edification, and preached for fifteen
years in the Filipinas with admirable results. He suffered greatly
from asthma, and consequently slept almost always in a chair. But he
did not, on this account, allow himself any recreation, or cease to
eat fish alone during Lent and fast days. It might be more accurately
said that he but seldom ate at all, so great was his abstinence--which
he, moreover, sought to conceal, feigning, with much dissimulation,
that he ate of everything, when in reality it was a mere pretense of
eating. He was very contrite; severe toward himself, but gentle to
others; most exact in obedience, but very reserved and cautious in
command; courteous and honorable in his dealings; liberal, generous,
and devout. He gave or obtained aid for many needy persons, and all
esteemed him for his labors. He was most zealous for the welfare
of souls, and for the prosperity and preservation of the Filipinas,
and for their settlement and aggrandizement. We have already related
what he accomplished in building. He was the first to discover lime
there, and made the first roof-tile, and erected the first building. He
sought out Chinese artists, whom he kept in his house to paint images,
not only for our churches but for others, both within and without
Manila. He encouraged the encomenderos and the parish priests to
provide their churches with these images, and made it most easy to
procure them. Thus almost all the churches in the islands were adorned
with images, nearly all of which were of the Mother of God. He took
great interest in planting groves and in laying out gardens, and was
anxious that silk should be produced in the islands, hoping thus to
retain there for their benefit the money which was going to China,
and thus to secure their prosperity. To this end he planted mulberry
trees, and was active in other ways, even constructing a loom,
and teaching the Indians to weave in the European fashion. He was
accustomed to say that the highest form of prayer was that which most
inclines one to self-mortification; and he so practiced this that his
own life was a perpetual mortification. He taught this in the house
and elsewhere; and in his own exercises he could not use any other
method than mortification. His sermons were all on fear, judgment,
and condemnation. He said that this was what the world needed; and he
was not mistaken, for in truth he accomplished great results through
this teaching. One of his hearers, who was once praising to me his
instruction, repeated an expression which the father often used,
and which had deeply impressed him: "There [_i.e.,_ "in the other
world?"] you will understand it," he would say with wonderful truth and
force. In our household intercourse with him, he would assert that he
who aspires to perfection must be convinced that the pleasures of food,
drink, the couch, idleness, and the like, are not for him. All this,
however, he did not urge by force, but rather taught it in a kindly
manner, and gently guiding each one according to the strength which
God had given him--although he said that God gave strength to all in
proportion to their courage in working and suffering for His love. He
also said that one should die rather than commit the slightest venial
sin; and in his own case he was so rigid in this respect that at
times it seemed excess of scruple. His life was certainly most pure,
and his death like unto his life. During his illness we all admired
his great patience and resignation in the hands of God.
Father Antonio Pereira used to say that he often visited him in order
that he might profit and be edified by so admirable an example. The
day when he died, we had already noticed in the morning that extreme
unction should not be any longer withheld from him; and so I prepared
him to receive it, telling him that it seemed to be time. He raised
his eyes and hands toward heaven with great devotion, exclaiming:
"To pass to eternity!" With this he became lost in thought, spoke not
another word, and, receiving with much devotion that holy sacrament,
died in peace. He did not become rigid or discolored in death, but
preserved his bright color, and his limbs remained soft and flexible,
until he was buried. All the ecclesiastics and religious of the city
of Santissimo Nombre de Jesus, all the regidors, and the honorable and
prominent people, attended his funeral rites, which were celebrated
with great solemnity, devotion and tenderness. [66] In Manila also, on
account of the devotion of all classes for him, solemn funeral honors
were held, and were attended not only with the tears and sorrow of all
classes, but by the authority and concourse of all ranks and religious
orders. This holy man was lost to us at a time when we were in great
straits over the founding of that vice-province of the Society, which
we had hoped would be successfully established through his energy and
prudence. But there remained with us a great confidence that he would
aid us no less in death than in life; and thus his influence was seen
in the prosperous increase after his holy death of our ministries and
other affairs, especially in the college of Sebu, which is indebted
to his holy body as the foundation-stone of all its growth.
Of other and new members of the Society who went to the islands in
the year fifteen hundred and ninety-six. Chapter XIV.
In the fleet of this year fifteen hundred and ninety-five, our very
reverend father-general, Claudio Aquaviva, sent to the Filipinas
Father Francisco de Vera, with twenty-four of the Society, at the
request and expense of his Majesty the Catholic king, Don Felipe
Second. With all these, he reached Nueva España in the same year;
and, in the following, he embarked at the port of Acapulco for the
Filipinas with fourteen members of the Society, with the governor,
Don Francisco Tello. [67] In order that this voyage from Nueva España
to the Filipinas may be successfully made, it should be undertaken
by the middle of March, at the latest, so as to reach the Filipinas
before the vendavals or southwest winds of June set in, which are
very tempestuous--like the north winds in Nueva España which begin
in September. As these vessels left the port of Acapulco so late,
upon reaching the Filipinas they encountered vendavals which exposed
them to great peril and hardship. It has happened that vessels, leaving
late as did these, upon striking these vendavals in the Filipinas, have
been obliged to turn back with these winds to the Ladrones Islands, and
to return thence with the brisas from those islands to the Filipinas;
then, reaching the latter, to encounter the vendavals, and again be
driven by their force to the Ladrones. The hindrance and privation thus
experienced can be imagined; nor can the ship land at either islands
until the months of October and November when the vendavals cease.
Almost the same thing befell Ours that year. The vendavals and
currents long drove them back, and, in consequence, their voyage was
lengthened, and provisions ran short; the ship's stores gave out, and,
that they might not lack water, they were allotted small rations, each
being given but half a quartillo a day--a privation which at sea is
keenly felt. Finally, relieved from all these hardships and torments,
through the mercy of God they arrived safely at the college in Manila
on the first day of August of the same year. This voyage is usually
made in seventy days, but they, to their own greater merit, did not
reach the islands before one hundred and thirty days; and afterward
they journeyed more than one hundred leguas besides, by both sea and
land, coasting the shore in large boats. They crossed by land the
province of Camarines, all of which is occupied by the convents of
the glorious father St. Francis, where they were received and cared
for according to their dire necessities; even the father commissary
of those provinces, heedless of entreaties or excuses, washed with
his own hands the feet of six of Ours, who chanced to pass by his
abode. The first words with which one of those servants of the Lord
received them were the following, which he uttered with loving tears:
"Would they were a thousand fathers, for they would all have a harvest
in the Filipinas." The Indians, too, who had never seen Ours in this
province, were greatly rejoiced at their arrival--not only those
already baptized, but even the infidels; and they gave proof of their
good will in the hospitality which they showed towards our fathers,
in imitation of their own fathers and ministers.
This was indeed a valuable reënforcement; for, combined with that of
the year before, they made a sufficient force to begin the extension
of the Society throughout the islands which were assigned to it as
a province, and to care for the humble souls who begged for bread
and had no one to give it to them. Father Ramon de Prado, who had
succeeded to the office of vice-provincial, thus obtained people to
employ in this work, conformably to his great zeal for the salvation of
souls. How he did this we shall see later, each subject in its proper
place. First, I will say that the facility with which many ministers
of the Lord in the four religious orders learned the languages used in
their respective missions, even so as to preach and hear confessions
in them, seems a gift from heaven. The most tardy student of them,
if he apply himself moderately, spends no more than six months;
and one of Ours, Father Cosme de Flores, learned and mastered this
language, so that he could preach and hear confessions, in seventy-four
days--to the astonishment of our people, as well as of the Indians
themselves. The latter, seeing this facility, say that God, without
doubt, bestows it upon us, recognizing their needs. In truth these
languages are not very difficult, either to learn or to pronounce--and
more especially now, since there is a grammar, a vocabulary, and many
writings therein. The most difficult is the language of Manila (which
they call Tagal)--which, I have already said, Father Martin Henriquez
learned in three months; and in three more, he used it fluently. This
was the first of the native languages that I learned, to which and
to the others I shall profitably devote another chapter. [68]
Of the Languages of the Filipinas. Chapter XV.
There is no single or general language of the Filipinas extending
throughout the islands; but all of them, though there are many and
different tongues, are so much alike that they may be learned and
spoken in a short time. Consequently if one is learned, all are
almost known. They are to each other like the Tuscan, Lombard,
and Sicilian dialects of Italia, or the Castilian, Portuguese,
and Galician in España. Only the language of the Negrillos is very
different from the rest, as, in España, is the Vizcayan [_i.e._,
Basque]. There is not a different language for each of the islands,
because some of them--as, for example, Manila, and even Panai, which
is more than four hundred leguas smaller--contain several languages;
and there are languages each of which prevails in several islands. In
the island of Manila alone, there are six different tongues; in Panai,
two; in some others, but one. The languages most used, and most widely
spread, are the Tagal and the Bisayan; and in some regions of the
Pintados another tongue is also prevalent, called Harayan. The Tagal
embraces the greater part of the coast and interior of the islands
of Manila, Mindoro, Luban, and some others. Bisaya is in use through
all the islands of the Pintados, although in some of the villages
therein the Harayan is spoken. Of all these languages, it was the
Tagal which most pleased me and which I most admired. As I told the
first bishop, and, afterwards, other persons of dignity in the islands
and in Europe, I found in this language four qualities of the four
greatest languages of the world, Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and Spanish:
it has the abstruseness and obscurity of the Hebrew; the articles
and distinctions in proper as well as in common nouns, of the Greek;
the fulness and elegance of the Latin; and the refinement, polish,
and courtesy of the Spanish. Examples of all these characteristics may
be seen in the "Ave Maria" done into Tagal; and, as that is a short
prayer, and more easily understood than the others, I will place it
here with its explanation in our vernacular, and with word-for-word
equivalents. In this way may be seen the idioms and characteristic
expressions of this language which will please some readers, and
furnish information, both useful and curious.
_The "Ave-Maria" in the Tagal language_
Aba Guinoo Maria matoa ca na.
Hail Lady Mary, joyful thou now,
Napono ca nan gracia,
full thou of grace;
An Panguinoon Dios na saio.
the Lord God is with thee
Bucor can pinagpala sa babain lahat.
especially, thou blessed among women all.
Pinagpàlà namàn ang iong anac si Jesus.
Blessed also be thy son Jesus.
Santa Maria ina nang Dios
Holy Mary, mother of God,
Ipana languin mo cami macasalanan
Let us be interceded for by thee, us sinners
ñgayon at cum mamatai cami. Amen, Jesus.
now and when shall die we.
The first word of this prayer _Aba_, is obscure, but apparently has the
force of "salute," like the Latin _Ave. Bucor_ expresses diversity,
distinction, and singularity. The article is _Si_ (Jesus), as _Ton_
in Greek. The richness of the language lies in its many synonyms
and phrases; consequently this prayer, which, as it stands, is very
elegant, could be formed with equal elegance in various other ways,
without losing its original sense and meaning. The polish and courtesy
consist in not saying, as in Latin, _Ave Maria_ (which would seem in
this language abrupt and barbaric), without adding that polite word,
_Guinoo_.
There is none or very little of this courtesy in the other two
languages of the Bissayas, which are more rude and unpolished. I
thought it good to present the same prayer in these languages, not
only as a curiosity, but to give an idea of their similarity and
differences--giving notice, however, that it is not my intention
to offer an interpretation (which is unnecessary, since we all
know the "Ave Maria"), but, as I said, to show the idioms of these
languages. These idioms, moreover, ought not to displease or appear
ignoble, for every tongue has its own beauty and elegance for those
who are born in it, which the eyes of foreigners cannot discern. This
point has been discussed by Jesus Sidrac in the prologue to his
_Ecclesiasticus_, a holy and Catholic work; and it was proved
at length, and with great erudition, by the most glorious doctor
St. Jerome, in the hundred and first Epistle to Pamaquio.
_The "Ave Maria" in the Harayan tongue_
Maliag cao Maria nabota cao can gracia
Rejoice thou Mary, full thou of grace.
An atun guinoon Dios dian canimo.
He our Lord God is with thee,
Capin icao sa mañga babai ñga tanan,
fortunate thou among women all;
ig capin naman ang imon bata ñga si Jesus
_and fortunate also he thy son Jesus_.
Santa Maria inang can Dios
[Holy Mary], mother of God,
igampo mo cami ñga macasasala
let us be favored by thee, us the sinners,
caraon, ig cum mamatai cami.
now and when shall die we.
Amen, Jesus.
_The "Ave Maria" in the Bissayan tongue_
Maghimaya ca Maria napono ca sa gracia
Rejoice, thou Mary, full thou of grace;
An guinoon Dios anaa canimo.
the Lord God is with thee.
Guirayeg ca uyamot sa babaihun tanan
Exalted thou much among women all,
ug guirayeg man an imon anac Jesus.
and exalted also he thy son Jesus.
Santa Maria inahan sa Dios,
Holy Mary, mother of God,
iguiampo mo cami macasasala oñia
let us be interceded for by thee, us sinners, now
ug sa amun camatai. Amen, Jesus.
and in our death.
It has been my object in giving this slight illustration of the
difference between these three languages--aside from its singularity
and novelty, which may furnish some pleasure--to make evident the ease
and clearness of the languages and their words and pronunciations,
which render them very easy, or at least not difficult to learn. Some
of their idioms and transpositions, which are different from our
own, must be accepted as they stand, as Father Joseph de Acosta says
very well when writing on this matter, (_De procur. sal_. lib. 4,
cap. 9.); but if they are once acquired, and one is accustomed to the
sound of them, they do not render the language difficult, but rather
make it easy and graceful. But since I have mentioned the courtesy
and politeness of the Tagalos, and of their tongue, it will be well,
before proceeding further, to speak more at length concerning it,
for it is so noble and pleasing a moral virtue.
Of the civilities, terms of courtesy, and good breeding among the
Filipinos. Chapter XVI.
The Filipinos are not so ceremonious in their actions as are
the Chinese and Japonese; yet they have their politeness and good
breeding, especially the Tagalos, who are very civil and courteous in
word and action. Upon meeting one another, they practice our custom
of uncovering the head--not that they used hats, caps, or bonnets;
but they wore a piece of cloth like a towel, some three or four
palmos long, which they wound around the head in becoming fashion,
like the ancient crowns or diadems. This they removed, as they now
do the hat [_sombrero_]--which they have adopted, in imitation of us,
abandoning the _potong_, as they called the towel or diadem which they
formerly wore. As among them it is not courtesy to remain standing
before a person whom they respect, they seat themselves upon the
ground, or rather on their heel-bones. Seated in this way, with head
uncovered and the potong thrown like a towel over the left shoulder,
they talk with their superiors. The mode of salutation upon entering
or meeting anyone is as follows: They draw the body together and make
a low reverence, raising one or both hands to the face, and placing
them upon the cheeks; they next sit down waiting for the question
that may be put to them, for it is considered bad manners to speak
before one is spoken to. Their greatest courtesy is in their form
of address; for they never speak to one as "thou," or in the second
person, whether singular or plural, but always use the third person,
saying for example--"Does the lord, or the chief, wish for this or
that?" There are many examples of this to be found in Holy Scripture
or sacred language, and particularly in the Psalms. In the relations
of man with woman, woman with man, or woman with woman, they are very
careful--even when they are quite equals, and, too, among the middle
class--to use, after every important word, nothing but "my Lord," or
"my Lady;" as, "My Lord, as I was coming up the river, I saw, my Lord,"
etc. This term and pronoun are used as agreeable and even affectionate,
even in the languages of much greater importance, as Hebrew, Greek,
and Latin, which are the three most venerable tongues. In polite
and affectionate intercourse they are very extravagant, addressing
letters to each other in terms of elaborate and delicate expressions
of affection, and neat turns of thought. As a result of this, they are
much given to musical practice; and although the guitar that they use,
called _cutyapi_, is not very ingenious or rich in tone, it is by no
means disagreeable, and to them is most pleasing. They play it with
such vivacity and skill that they seem to make human voices issue
from its four metallic cords. We also have it on good authority that
by merely playing these instruments they can, without opening their
lips, communicate with one another, and make themselves perfectly
understood--a thing unknown of any other nation. The Bissayans are
more rustic and less civil in manners, just as their language is
harsher and less polished. They have not so many terms of courtesy,
as formerly they had no letters until, a very few years ago, they
borrowed theirs from the Tagalos. As we have already treated of their
languages, it would be advisable to make some mention of their letters.
Of the Letters of the Filipinos. Chapter XVII.
All these islanders are much given to reading and writing, and there
is hardly a man, and much less a woman, who does not read and write
in the letters used in the island of Manila--which are entirely
different from those of China, Japon, and India. This will be seen
from its alphabet, which is as follows:
The three vowels serve as five, and are:
A I O
a e i o u
The consonants are only twelve, and in writing are used with the
vowels in the following form.
The letter alone with no point above or below it, is pronounced with
the vowel-sound A:
BA KA DA GA HA LA MA NA PA SA TA YA
Ba ca da ga ha la ma na pa sa ta ya
By placing the point above, each is pronounced with the vowel-sound
E or I:
BI KI DI GI HI LI MI NI PI SI TI YI
Bi qui di gui hi li mi ni pi si ti yi
Be que de gue he le me ne pe se te ye
By placing the point below, they are pronounced with the vowel-sound
O or U:
BO KO DO GO HO LO MO NO PO SO TO YO
Bo co do go ho lo mo no po so to yo
Bu cu du gu hu lu mu nu pu su tu yu
Consequently, to pronounce _cama_, two letters without points are
sufficient: KAMA _ca ma_.