If a point is placed below each character KOMO the word is _co-mo_.
Final consonants are suppressed in all forms of expression: accordingly
_cantar_ is written KATA _ca ta_; _barba_, BABA _ba ba_.
By means of these characters they easily make themselves understood
and convey their ideas marvelously, he who reads supplying, with much
skill and facility, the consonants which are lacking. From us they have
adopted the habit of writing from left to right. Formerly they wrote
from the top to the bottom, placing the first line on the left (if I
remember aright), and continuing the rest at the right, contrary to
the custom of the Chinese and Japanese--who, although they write from
top to bottom, begin from the right and continue the page to the left.
They used to write on reeds and palm-leaves, using as a pen an
iron point; now they write their own letters, as well as ours, with
a sharpened quill, and, as we do, on paper. They have learned our
language and its pronunciation, and write it even better than we do,
for they are so clever that they learn anything with the greatest
ease. I have had letters written by themselves in very handsome and
fluent style. In Tigbauan I had in my school a very young boy, who,
using as a model letters written to me in a very good handwriting,
learned in three months to write even better than I; and he copied for
me important documents faithfully, exactly, and without errors. Let
this, however, suffice for the matter of languages and letters,
and let us return to our employment for souls.
Occurrences in Manila in the year fifteen hundred and ninety-six and
fifteen hundred and ninety-seven. Chapter XVIII.
In the college we had begun, as I have said, to study the Latin
grammar and moral theology. Each of these branches was begun
in the usual way, with public academic exercises and learned
discourses. [69] As it was the first event of that kind to take
place in the islands, the exercises were received with great favor,
and were attended and enjoyed by all the dignitaries, and prelates,
and by a great concourse of other people. Divine worship, moreover,
was notably increased upon the completion of the church--which, in
its construction and unusual design, proved to be very beautiful. It
was constructed on the model of the church of Jesus in our house of
the professed at Rome, although considerably inferior to that. This
church was dedicated to the glorious St. Anne, the ceremony taking
place on her feast-day in the year fifteen hundred and ninety-six,
when an image of her was piously set up, and the most holy sacrament
brought from the old church with great solemnity and devotion. The
chapel of our Lady was placed, as in the church at Rome, on the
gospel side; and in it her image was set up with an elegant reredos,
in the devout presence of many Spaniards and Indians. In the other
chapel, on the epistle side which is on the side next the house,
and joined to the sacristy, were placed the holy relics, which at
the instance of the Catholic king our lord, and the urgent request
of Father Alonso Sanchez, were donated by the Apostolic See and had
arrived in the previous year. The tabernacle in which these relics
now repose had already been constructed and finished; it embraces
the whole width of the chapel. It is of an incorruptible wood which
they call in those parts molave. [70] It is adorned by eight columns,
four on a side, grouped in a square, with base and pedestals which
sustain, higher up, its architrave, frieze, and cornice, with finials
and handsome architectural designs. Between the columns there are five
distinctly-marked compartments, two small ones on each side and a large
one in the center--all of them of like design and exquisite proportion,
with finely carved doors and inlaid work, with cavities in which the
holy relics are preserved with great propriety and honor. The color of
the whole work externally is black--partly natural, on account of the
quantities of ebony that it contains, which is very abundant in those
regions, and partly derived from the varnish which is used to imitate
that wood. The mouldings, outlines, piñas, [71] and floriations are
gilded, and there are other ornaments of gold and ivory. The altar is
below, with its two steps at the height of the pedestals which support
the columns. In the spaces between the columns, on both sides of the
altar, were placed two images or statues of the glorious apostles,
St. Peter and St. Paul; these are fastened in place by strong and
curious locks and are covered with two pairs of curtains--one pair
of gauze striped with silk and gold, the other of finest damask with
embroidery and gold lace. Whenever these holy relics are exposed at
their respective feast-days, the ceremony is conducted with great
solemnity; and numbers of white candles are placed not only on the
altar and steps, but all over the tabernacle from top to bottom,
giving it dignity and distinction. On the twelfth of January of the
year one thousand five hundred and ninety-seven, the holy relics
were deposited there, with such rejoicings and festive show as had
never been known before in the islands. In all this was seen how it
was God who solicited hearts, and moved them to honor the glorious
soldiers whom he had brought again for the defense and protection of
the earth. They were borne in procession through the principal streets
of the city, which, although handsome in themselves, were decorated
so elegantly that their very elegance expressed the devotion of the
people. They had erected at intervals arches (a dozen in all)--the
greater number lofty, and with sculptured images; the others of
silk and thin stuffs, so ingeniously knotted together and adorned
with various compositions and characters that they presented a very
pleasing sight. They constructed with great skill several fountains,
some of which gave forth water and others wine; two, in particular,
issuing from a window, gave forth milk and Castilian wine, which were
highly prized at that time in the islands. The relics were borne on
six platforms, no less splendid than costly, since they carried nearly
all the gold, precious stones, and jewelry of the city, which had been
offered with much readiness and good will. Our Lord rewarded them for
this, for there was not one accident, or a single piece lacking, of
which there had previously been some fear, on account of the great
gathering of all classes of people. As for the decoration of the
church, the edifice itself, recently completed, was so beautiful and
pleasing that it sufficed for adornment, although not so elaborate
as the tabernacle. Its beauty was increased by elegant hangings
of tapestry, and by many inscriptions--written by Ours in Hebrew,
Greek, Latin, Castilian, and Tagalo--extending in three rows along
the great nave, besides others, corresponding to these, in various
places. As I have said, the holy relics were borne on six platforms,
resting on the shoulders of men, most of whom were religious, and
in fourteen reliquaries, which were carried by as many religious;
and dignitaries of the cathedral, clothed in their official robes,
accompanied these. Add to this the salutes from the forts, and
the standards of the confraternities carried in the van, and the
effect was highly imposing. The festivities lasted nine days, each
order celebrating its special feast, preaching and saying mass with
the greatest possible solemnity. The Augustinian fathers began the
festivities, considering the occasion especially theirs on account of
their long residence there. They assisted us by their good will and
deeds, thereby showing themselves no less devoted to the holy relics
than friendly to the Society. They conducted many kinds of music and
dances, and besides these were many furnished by our Indians, and
the Chinese and Japanese; all this variety produced most pleasing
effects and greatly adorned and enlivened the festival. In this
fashion the other religious orders celebrated their own days until
the eighth, in succession, with great devotion, joy and edification
on the part of the people. On the afternoon of the last day, as a
conclusion to the fiesta, valuable prizes were distributed on the
occasion of a literary contest, the announcement of which had been
published some days before with much show and solemnity. In this
contest many excellent and ingenious compositions of various kinds
were delivered, to which prizes were awarded, after two exceedingly
pleasing, dignified and impressive declamations had been recited in
praise of the holy relics. Divine worship was also improved in the new
church by the addition of some silver lamps, candlesticks, chalices,
patines, wine-cruets, monstrances, and thuribles; many altar hangings
and chasubles, made not only from the silk and embroideries of that
country, but from damask, velvet, and brocade brought from España and
Italia, with printed borders; hangings heavily embroidered with seed
pearls and thin silver plates; and various draperies, some of velvet
and damask, others of colored taffeta. Besides all these things,
there was the chapel of the singers, who with voices and music of
flutes and clarions, serve in the masses, vespers, and _Salves_,
at least on the principal feast-days.
There was also begun at this time, through the devotion of Canon
Diego de Leon (who was then attending the lectures in our schools),
the practice of assembling in our church many men of all ranks to take
the discipline, [72] three days in the week, especially during Lent--a
practice which lasts to this very day. This same canon stimulated
their piety on these occasions by a half hour's reading from some
devout book. At the conclusion of the reading, the penance began,
during which they repeated devoutly the _Miserere_. This holy exercise
was a source of great edification to the Indians; and, in imitation
of it, a great number of them took the discipline on those nights,
in turn with the Spaniards.
Further proceedings at this time in Manila by the Indians and
Spaniards. Chapter XIX.
At this time the Indians were very numerous, both within the city of
Manila (where there are more than six thousand, scattered through
the houses of the Spanish inhabitants) and in all the outlying
districts. These people repair to our church for confession not only
in Lent but on all other days of the year; consequently, there were
not fathers enough acquainted with their language to care for them
spiritually from morning to evening. I know of some who had waited for
more than ten or even twelve days, without being able, for the press
of people, to reach the feet of the confessor. Others remained a whole
day in the church, waiting for their turn. This gives evidence of the
ardor and perseverance with which they attended to the welfare of their
souls. On Sundays and the afternoons of feast-days, when the sermons
were preached in their own language, the church was crowded--above,
below, in the choir and galleries, all which, although very spacious,
were filled; and, besides, there were many of those people outside
the doors (which are five in number).
In two ways they were equally enthusiastic in celebrating the deposit
of the holy relics: first, in the great devotion that they displayed
during the whole eight days while the festival lasted and the relics
were exposed--men, women, and children attending it in such numbers,
both morning and afternoon, that they could not enter the church. The
Spaniards, astonished at this, said that those holy relics must have
come to Manila for the Indians, judging from the way in which the
latter attended and venerated them. To show appreciation of their
great devotion, and to inspire them with more, a short discourse, in
their own language, was delivered to them every afternoon, preceding
the _Salve_ sung by the choir, and accompanied by the music of the
wind-instruments. The second thing they did in the service of the holy
relics was to institute a confraternity or congregation dedicated
to those relics with the title and vocation of "all saints." Their
object was, each beginning with himself and his own spiritual profit,
to strive with all their might for the welfare of their neighbors,
by performing works of mercy, in both temporal and spiritual affairs,
as their opportunities permit--in which effort they exert themselves,
by the grace of our Lord, with the advantages which we shall see later.
One of the best results is the modesty and virtue of the women,
which we esteem in those regions, because it is but little practiced
or valued among their heathen peoples. In many--I even believe, in
all--of those islands there existed a doctrine, sowed by the devil,
that a woman, whether married or single, could not be saved, who did
not have some lover. They said that this man, in the other world,
hastened to offer the woman his hand at the passage of a very perilous
stream which had no other bridge than a very narrow beam, which must
be traversed to reach the repose that they call _Calualhatian._ [73]
Consequently virginity was not recognized or esteemed among them;
rather they considered it as a misfortune and humiliation. Married
women, moreover, were not constrained by honor to remain faithful
to their husbands, although the latter would resent the adultery,
and hold it as a just cause for repudiating the wife. To illustrate
this: Upon my arrival in the Filipinas, in the latter part of May in
the year fifteen hundred and ninety, I had landed at the island of
Marinduque (which is about twenty-eight or thirty leguas from Manila),
at the time when an ensign with a squad of soldiers was going, through
curiosity, to visit the interior of the island. Night overtaking
him in this place, he was obliged to seek hospitality among the
natives; there, one of the hospitalities which they bestowed on him
and his companions was to offer him two women. These the good ensign
ordered to be sent back, and he pointed out the offense that they
were committing against God, the almighty Creator of heaven and earth,
whom all men should know and serve. He told them that for this purpose
alone the Spaniards had come from so great a distance; and that they
must not offend God by their evil example. It was thus that the good
ensign conducted himself on that occasion. There have been others,
who, recklessly following their own evil inclination, not only do not
resist such solicitations, but, to the great scandal of this nation,
seek and encourage sin. But God, who from evil produces good, has
brought some of those women to fear Him; and they, esteeming purity
as a heavenly thing and vice as a vile and repulsive abomination,
have conquered some most fiery temptations, as will be seen from two
or three incidents that occur to me. There was a Spaniard who held a
mother and daughter so under his control that he was on the way to
seducing the latter (who was a mere girl) by his blandishments and
supplications, combined with harshness and threats. The mother, who
was an infernal old hag, he gained by offerings and bribes. But the
good daughter after seven whole months of such infamous and continuous
attack, would not yield; and finally that wretch, wearied by so long
a siege and vanquished by the constancy of a weak girl, withdrew and
left her in peace. Which is indeed a good deal when we consider the
following: One woman for twelve long years resisted the tempter,
fortified by holy confession and communion. Another, although she
resisted for a shorter time, showed even greater constancy; for the
base and cruel seducer went so far as to aim a dagger against her
breast twice; the third time he went beyond threats, and fear did not
restrain him, but he actually stabbed her. The wounded girl, who had
first been stricken by the arrow of divine love, retained sufficient
strength to leap down out of the house (as I have already said the
dwelling is in the upper part), and thus her soul escaped injury.
For this very reason is the seminary for girls held in so high
esteem which was founded in the islands by Governor Gomez Perez de
las Mariñas, at the order of the Catholic king, at the instance of
the first bishop, and through the zeal of Father Alonso Sanchez. It
was established in the year fifteen hundred and ninety, when Captain
Luis de Bivanco, factor of the royal exchequer, gave for this his
houses. Later the seminary was transferred to the site which it
now occupies, and a church was erected in honor of the virgin Saint
Potenciana, patroness of Manila and of this holy seminary.
The good which has resulted to that colony from this institution is
beyond exaggeration. Nearly a hundred young girls have retired to
the protection of its walls, the greater part of them daughters of
Spaniards--who, if they should go outside the seminary, would risk,
and even achieve, setting the world on fire. The fathers of our
college sometimes go to preach to them; and for my own part I can
say that, whenever this duty fell to me, I did not fail to render
praise to God at seeing there so many young women retired from the
world, occupied in divine service and knowledge, and removed from
the dangers and temptations without. Those among them who become
established in matrimony give manifest token in their manners of
the excellent education that they have received there, and the holy
instruction upon which their superior has taught and reared them. This
seminary for girls owes a great deal to the archdeacon of Manila,
Don Francisco Gomez de Arellano--who, not content with expending his
wealth in other works of great service to God, occupies himself and
spends a large share of his means in the protection and maintenance of
this institution. At his own expense he constructed some of the inner
apartments in the seminary's house, which were greatly needed, and in
the church a large and beautiful reredos, of elaborate architecture;
but, even more important, he has with his ministrations and instruction
carefully cultivated those souls.
But to return to the Indians: two of them were rescued at that
time, for which they had reason to be thankful; for, as they were
Christians, the greater would be their loss and peril. One of them,
who was twenty years old, had learned with great thoroughness a
certain device of witchcraft; and yet during all this time, through
some special providence of our Lord, had practiced it to no profit. It
is certain, too, that if he had been successful he would have ruined
himself and harmed many others. But I say no more of this, to avoid
prolixity. Another Indian had a book containing certain verses of
poetry, which they call _Golo_ [74]--most pernicious, because they
included an express compact with the devil; this its owner freely gave
up, that it might be burned, which was done. Most of the prisoners
in the jail are Indians, placed there for various crimes which they
committed; and they also have their own separate hospital in the city
(as also the Spaniards have one), where their sick are healed. Both
hospitals are royal foundations, established by order and at the
expense of his Majesty the Catholic king of blessed memory. To both
Spaniards and natives Ours have ministered, in both these hospitals
and in the prison, in order to aid all with the offices which, in such
places, the Society is wont to exercise, for both bodies and souls.
At that time we began the religious exercises which those of our
Society are wont to conduct in the plazas for the benefit of those,
who through hindrances, carelessness, or impiety, fail to attend the
sermons. The discourses were delivered in the Castilian language, in
the principal plaza of Manila, beneath some of the principal buildings,
which were then occupied (while the royal edifices were being finished)
by the governor, Don Francisco Tello, his Majesty's representative. So
much did he enjoy hearing the discourses, and the clever answers of
some Spanish boys who before the preaching were catechized, as usual,
in the Christian doctrine, that he threw down, from the balcony where
he stood listening, to the boys a number of stamped images to reward
them. This encouraged the boys to learn thoroughly, and become adept
in these exercises, and inspired Ours to continue this holy practice,
thus favored with such sincerity and benevolence; and those who
beheld it were edified, and held us in greater esteem. Through these
discourses and exercises the children, and even some adults, obtained
a knowledge and understanding of the Christian doctrine; moreover,
some were induced to lead better lives, flee from temptation, and
examine their own souls, and even some to enter the religious life.
What was accomplished in the villages of the encomienda of Taitai up
to the year fifteen hundred and ninety-seven. Chapter XX.
We have already seen how the village called Taitai, the chief one of
that encomienda, improved its location by removing from the marshes and
overflow of the lagoon shore. This village had formerly dedicated its
church to the glorious St. John the Baptist, and, upon its removal to
the new site, in devotion to him the name San Juan del Monte ["St. John
of the Mountain"] was given to it. It is a general custom, in all the
mission villages in the Filipinas, for all the people to repair on
Sundays and days of obligation to the church for the mass and sermon,
before which the doctrine and catechism are recited. As a result of
this, they not only have a thorough knowledge of the prayers, but even
excel many peoples of Europe in their comprehension of the mysteries of
our holy faith. To lighten the burdens of these people, that they might
not weary of their constant attendance at church, for the doctrine,
catechism, mass, and sermon--not to mention the frequent publication
of the marriage banns, and the fact that mass is solemnly celebrated
with music and the accompaniment of the organ, in which they spend many
hours--we thought it best to reserve the doctrine and the catechism
for Sundays in the afternoon, and even then not all the people were
obliged to be present--part of them attending on one Sunday, part on
another, and thus in rotation until the turn of the first ones came
again. By such an arrangement this exercise is rendered easier, and
is even more profitable to the people, serving them upon such days as
legitimate diversion, to which they all repair with greater inclination
and pleasure. To this end a bell is rung at the hour of vespers, and
the children go forth through the streets of the place, bearing the
cross, and singing the doctrine, and then, followed by their elders,
they return to the church. The adults, in the presence of the father,
recite the prayers and catechism with great devotion and satisfaction,
spending in all about half an hour. This done, they return to their
homes. Mondays and Saturdays are likewise solemnized with masses,
respectively for the deceased and in honor of our Lady, and are always
attended by a certain number of people. The young men are especially
directed to attend these services that they may continue to practice
Christian habits; upon these occasions some short sermon is preached
them in their own language. The children and old men are those who
are under the strictest obligation to come to the church each day,
at a certain hour, to learn the Christian doctrine--the children,
always; the old men, until they have learned the doctrine. To each
old man is assigned a boy, who instructs him and is careful to
report how much the old man is learning; then, if the old man gives
a good account of himself, he is privileged to cease his attendance,
except with the rest of the people on Sundays. The bell tolls the "Ave
Maria" at dawn, at noon, and at night; and, besides this, some one is
careful to go through the streets at night, sounding a little bell,
and in a loud voice admonishing the people to offer prayers for the
souls in purgatory and for those who are in a state of sin. These,
as well as other pious and devout customs, had been introduced into
those villages. Three handsome churches were erected, and adorned with
images, tapestry, and beautiful ornaments. We gained the good-will of
those Indians to such a degree that, their opinion of us extending to
their neighbors, even the savages who were hidden among the mountains
came to us; and consequently those villages received much increase,
as we shall soon see. There was one of these newcomers in particular,
very appropriately named Sayor, which means "robber" (and truly he
was such in his deeds), who was a savage in his mode of life; without
house or dwelling, he lived among the mountains and in caves--even
using as food, when he found no other game, the serpents that he
killed. Although somewhat advanced in years, he possessed incredible
agility in running and leaping, the natural disposition and propensity
of savage wild beasts. The neighboring villages held this man in so
great fear that, whenever he entered one of them, all the people fled
from him as from a wild beast, believing him to be a violent madman;
and by such compulsion he took, without any resistance, all that
he desired from the houses. I saw this man, who unexpectedly came
toward me of his own accord; he was naked, his only covering being a
wretched breech-cloth; he wore in his girdle a dagger, and carried in
his hands his bow and arrows. I caressed him, and tried to soften him
with presents and gentle treatment, and this intercourse we continued
for five or six years, with increasing confidence and satisfaction on
his part. Consequently he maintained with us very intimate relations
until, finally, Father Diego Garcia, who as we shall later see went to
those regions as visitor in the year fifteen hundred and ninety-seven,
decided that it was time to grant him holy baptism. The father visitor
himself bestowed this grace upon him, baptizing him with his own hands
with great solemnity, and with demonstration of the grace and efficacy
of this most divine sacrament. The name of Pablo was given to him,
which from that time on he so highly prized that if at any time he
was inadvertently called by his former nickname, he showed (although
with a gracious and Christian spirit) regret and disdain equal to
his pleasure and pride in the name of Christian. Accordingly he would
answer to those who called him Sayor: "Not Sayor, but Pablo." After
his baptism we married him; and he now dwells in his own home as the
father of a family, with great discretion and tranquillity. He has
become so tamed that we can say that he is one of the gentlest and most
useful of all our Indians, and aids in our affairs with much fidelity
and love. I spoke to him occasionally, with no small satisfaction,
of his former savage life. He told me of the places in which he took
refuge and spent the night, and of his hunting serpents--which,
according to his statement (which was verified there), are of so
great a size that they swallow men, deer, and other animals. [75]
Before his baptism, when our acquaintance was but recent, he more than
once offered to accompany me upon my journeys, carrying his dagger,
bow, and arrows. We two journeyed alone through the mountains, he
with great satisfaction in serving me, I with equal security and
confidence in his good fellowship.
In this way, at the time when Father Francisco Almerique was here,
not one man, as this one, but entire villages came in--the good father
choosing their location, and helping them to erect the houses. In
the village of Antipolo, in one year alone (either ninety-four or
ninety-five), nearly a thousand souls arrived at the mission, more than
five hundred of whom were baptized in that same year. They had come
down from some very rugged mountains, far from there, where they had
their houses and cultivated fields; but they neglected all these, out
of love and esteem for our holy faith. No one remained in the mountains
but a few catolones, for thus the priests of their idols are styled. As
soon as this was ascertained, efforts were made that a person able to
do so should remove them from that place, to suppress this cause of
offense to those who were weak. This was done with much gentleness,
and they were brought to us. Thereupon the good father, with his holy
prudence and with the example of his righteous life, subdued their
leader, whom the rest obeyed, and baptized them all. This leader said
that the father's anito (thus they style their deities) was greater
than those of other men, and for that reason they recognized him as
superior. This pagan priest, while offering his infamous sacrifices,
was possessed by the Devil who caused him to make most ugly grimaces;
and he braided his hair, which for his particular calling he wore
long, like that of a woman. But he, beginning (like the Magdalen) with
his hair, cut it off publicly, and with it the power of the Devil,
who held him captive; and receiving baptism, constrained the others
by his example to do the same, consigning his idols to the fire where
they were consumed.
In this baptism of five hundred people, there were two old women
whose conversion showed the special and admirable providence of our
Lord. One of them, at least, showed an age of more than one hundred
years; and both came down with the rest from the mountains, desiring
holy baptism. Hardly had they received it when, leaving this mortal
life (for they could no longer sustain the burden of so many years),
they were renewed and bettered by the eternal life for which our Lord
in his infinite mercy had preserved them during so many years.
The Tagalos, which is the name of the whitest and most civilized race
of Manila, were not the only ones who descended from the mountains and
from afar to range themselves alongside the sons of the new Jerusalem,
that is, the holy church [76]--which multiplying in numbers, augmenting
the joy at the sight of the vineyard of the Lord, and producing new
plants, extends its shoots until it penetrates the sea and embraces
and incorporates all its islands. After the men came the beasts of
burden (namely, the Negrillos, who are more fierce, and dwell in the
mountains) who came with outstretched hands to place themselves in
those of their swift Angels, sent to succor this abject and ruined
people. By this I mean that the Negrillos, of whom I have already
spoken--who are the ancient inhabitants of some of these islands,
including Manila, in which there are many of that race who live,
as I said, in the mountains, merely like wild beasts--impressed
by the example of the others, began to be peaceable and tame, and
to prepare themselves for holy baptism. This, for those who are
acquainted with their savageness and brutality, is wonderful beyond
exaggeration. But this very brutal and barbarous nature renders them
(a marvelous thing!) less incapable of our holy faith, and less averse
to it--because in their state of pure savagery they have not, as I know
from observation, any idolatries or superstitions, neither are they
greatly averse to the gospel and baptism. The others--who to their own
detriment and misfortune, are more civilized--abandon more regretfully
their idols, ceremonies, priests, sacrifices, and superstitions;
and, although they renounce them in holy baptism and are converted
(vanquished by the light of Catholic truth), the vestiges of the evil
which they have sucked from their mothers' breasts are not so easily
forgotten as to unburden us, their teachers, of many cares. This was
clearly seen that year in that very village of San Juan del Monte,
where, although all the inhabitants had been baptized and included
many good Christians, those same good Christians informed us of a fire
of idolatry which in its great fury was burning up our harvests. In
order that this may be better understood, it will be well first to
give some account of their idolatries and superstitions in a separate
chapter; and then we will relate what happened in Taitai and how it
was remedied.
Concerning the false heathen religion, idolatries, and superstitions
of the Filipinos. Chapter XXI.
Although upon entering into the dark abyss of such blind idolatry I
find a disorderly confusion of the vilest and most abominable things
[77] worthy of its inventor, although in examining the walls within
this infernal cave, I discover an infinitude of loathsome creatures,
foul, obscene, truly damnable, it is my task, aided by the light of
truth, to reduce them to order--so that we who upon opening our eyes
find ourselves within the light of truth may offer praise to Almighty
God, and have compassion for those who, blinded by their ignorance,
love and prize these things of darkness, and cannot open their eyes
to any light beyond. I shall speak first concerning the false belief
that they hold concerning the divinity of their idols; second, of
their priests and priestesses; third, and last, of their sacrifices
and superstitions. Their art of writing was of no service to them
in any one of these three things, or in matters of government and
civilization (of which I shall perhaps later tell the little that I
know); for they never used their writing except to exchange letters,
as we have said. All their government and religion is founded on
tradition, and on custom introduced by the Devil himself, who spoke
to them through their idols and the ministers of these. They preserve
it in songs, which they know by heart and learn when children, by
hearing these sung when they are sailing or tilling their fields,
when they are rejoicing and holding feasts, and especially, when they
are mourning their dead. In these barbarous songs they relate the
fabulous genealogies and vain deeds of their gods--among whom they set
up one as the chief and superior of them all. This deity the Tagalos
call _Bathala Mei capal_, which means "God the creator or maker;" the
Bissayans call him _Laon_, which denotes antiquity. These songs relate
the creation of the world, the origin of the human race, the deluge,
paradise, punishment, and other invisible things, relating a thousand
absurdities, and varying much the form, some telling it in one way,
others in another. To show better what lies and fables these all are,
there is one story that the first man and the first woman came from
the knot of a cane which burst off from its plant. After that, certain
disputes resulted concerning the marriage of these two, on account of
the difficulties arising from the first degree of blood-relationship,
which among them is inviolable, and thought to be allowed only that
first time from the necessity of propagating mankind. [78] In short
they recognized invisible spirits, and another life; also demons, the
enemies of men, of whom they were in abject fear from the evils and
dread which these caused them. Accordingly one of Ours converted many
of them by means of a well-painted picture of hell. Their idolatry is,
in a word (as with many other nations), an adoration and deification
of their ancestors--especially of those who distinguished themselves
through valiant deeds, or cruelties, or obscene and lewd acts. It
was a general practice for anyone who could successfully do so to
attribute divinity to his old father when the latter died. The old men
themselves died with this illusion and deception, imputing to their
illness and death and to all their actions a seriousness and import,
in their estimation, divine. Consequently they chose as a sepulchre
some celebrated spot, like one which I saw on the shore of the sea
between Dulac and Abuyo, in the island of Leite. This man directed
that he should be placed there in his coffin (which was done), in a
solitary house remote from any village, in order to be recognized as
the god of sailors, who would offer worship and commend themselves
to him. There was another, who had caused himself to be buried in a
certain place among the mountains of Antipolo; and out of reverence
to him no one dared to cultivate them, fearing that he who should
go thither might meet his death. This lasted until Father Almerique
relieved them of their fear, and now those lands are cultivated
without harm or dread. In memory of these departed ones, they keep
their little idols--some of stone, wood, bone, ivory, or a cayman's
teeth; others of gold. They call these _Larauan_, which signifies,
"idol," "image," or "statue;" and in their necessities they have
recourse to these, offering to them barbarous sacrifices.
They also worshiped, like the Egyptians, animals and birds; and,
like the Assyrians, the sun and moon; they attributed moreover,
a sort of divinity to the rainbow. The Tagalos adored a blue bird,
as large as a thrush, and called it _Bathala_, which was among them a
term of divinity. [79] They also worshiped the crow (as the ancients
worshiped the god Pan and the goddess Ceres). It bore the name _Mei
lupa_, which signifies "master of the soil." They held the cayman in
the utmost veneration; and, whenever they made any statement about it,
when they descried it in the water, they called it _Nono_, which means
"grandfather." They softly and tenderly besought it not to harm them;
and to this end offered it a part of what they carried in their boats,
casting the offering into the water. There was no old tree to which
they did not attribute divinity; and it was a sacrilege to cut such
a tree for any purpose. What more did they adore? the very stones,
cliffs, and reefs, and the headlands of the shores of the sea or the
rivers; and they made some offering when they passed by these, going to
the stone or rock, and placing the offering upon it. I saw many times
in the river of Manila a rock which for many years was an idol of that
wretched people. This scandal, which occasioned great evils, lasted
until the fathers of St. Augustine (who dwell near by) with holy zeal
broke it to pieces, and erected in its place a cross. While sailing
along the island of Panai I beheld on the promontory called Nasso,
near Potol, plates and other pieces of earthenware, laid upon a rock,
the offering of voyagers. [80] In the island of Mindanao between La
Canela and the river [_i.e._, Rio Grande], a great promontory projects
from a rugged and steep coast; [81] always at these points there is a
heavy sea, making it both difficult and dangerous to double them. When
passing by this headland, the natives, as it was so steep, offered
their arrows, discharging them with such force that they penetrated
the rock itself. This they did as a sacrifice, that a safe passage
might be accorded them. I saw with my own eyes that although the
Spaniards, in hatred of so accursed a superstition, had set a great
many of these arrows on fire and burned them, those still remaining
and those recently planted in the rock numbered, in less than a year,
more than four thousand arrows; they certainly seemed as many as that,
to all of us who passed that point. [82]
Besides these, they had a thousand other superstitions. If they
beheld a serpent or lizard, or heard anyone sneeze, they would always
retrace their steps, and on no account go further at that time,
for such an occurrence would be an evil omen. The ministers of the
Devil also cast lots for them; this was another fraud and deceit
which I must not describe for fear of being too prolix. Nor can one
express the blindness in which they were, ignorant of their Creator:
let what has already been said suffice. In regard to the first point,
they had no places set aside for worship, or public days for general
festivities. Not until we went to Taitai did I learn that in many
of the houses there was another one, but smaller, made of cane, as
it were a little tower, fashioned somewhat curiously, to which they
passed from the main house by a short bridge, also made of cane. In
these were kept their needlework and other sorts of handicraft, by
means of which they concealed the mystery of the little house. From
information that I received from some of the faithful, it was in
reality dedicated to the anito, although they offered no sacrifice
in it, nor did it serve for other use than as it was dedicated to
him--perhaps that he might rest there when on a journey, as Elias
said to the other priests. [83] I had all these houses demolished,
so that not one remained. I also found in some little hamlets of the
Pintados a small house at the entrance of the village with only the
roof and ground floor, which served as a place where sacrifices are
performed. But, after all, it was not the general practice to have
any common place of worship, as did the ancient Pagans, or to come
together to any one place for solemn rites, or to have public and
general sacrifices offered in the name of the community. Individuals,
however, made offerings, each one for his own intention or need, and
in his own house or other private place; but they chose jointly their
own priest, male or female (of whom there were many), according to
their own devotion and taste. In Mindanao I saw many houses furnished
on the outside with small platforms made not unskilfully, of cane,
and on these stood some little wooden idols very poorly carved; and
in front of the idols was an earthen pot containing some hot coals
and a little of some disagreeable aromatic, which must have been a
sacrifice to the idols. But although those people had no temples, they
had, in the second place, priests and priestesses, whom the Tagalos
call _Catolonan_, and the Bissayans _Babailan_. They vied with each
who could best contrive with the Devil (who deceived them) to take
advantage of the blindness of the people, to deceive them by a thousand
frauds and artifices. Father Antonio Sedeño related how, at the time
when he was living in Florida, he undeceived the Indians concerning
one of these impostors of their own nation. This man pretended to
heal diseases by applying a tube to that part where the sick man
felt most pain, and then with his mouth at the other end sucking the
air from within: after this operation, he spat from his mouth three
small pebbles, which he claimed to have extracted from the body of
the patient. [84] The father, by a very efficient means, once made
him spit the pebbles out of his mouth before applying the tube, and
thus his deception was revealed. In like manner these priests practice
many deceptions upon those blinded infidels--especially in cases of
sickness with which the latter are afflicted, which so oppress them
that they seek at once a remedy, and whomsoever gives or promises it
to them they revere and worship, and give him their all. Indeed there
are some of these priests who have a special compact with the Devil,
who lends them signal aid and assistance, Almighty God permitting this
for his own hidden purposes. The Devil communicates with them through
their idols or anitos, playing the rôle of the dead man whom they are
adoring; and often he enters into the person of the priest himself,
for the short space of the sacrifice, and makes him say and do things
which overwhelm and terrify the onlookers. This divine fervor is also
attained (the duties of the office being taught) through special
friendship, or kinship, or as a legacy. This inheritance is highly
esteemed by them, in their blindness--and through cupidity, for,
besides the renown and honor with which all look up to them, those
infernal ministers obtain rich offerings (that is, the third part),
all of which are for them. For no one will be present at the sacrifice
who does not make an offering--gold, cotton, a fowl, or other things.
These things, added to the principal offering, that made by the
person for whom the sacrifice was offered, which was a rich one--and,
moreover, additional to the sacrifice itself, which most often was a
fine fat hog--amounted to a large quantity of goods, of much value and
profit. Consequently, those ministers usually went about in handsome
garments, and adorned with jewels and valuable ornaments. The house is
the usual place for the sacrifice, and the victim is, as I have said,
a fine hog, or a cock. The mode of sacrifice is to slay the victim
with certain ceremonies, and with dance movements which are performed
by the priest to the accompaniment of a bell or kettle-drum. It is at
this time that the devil takes possession of them, or they pretend
that he does. They now make their strange grimaces, and fall into
a state of ecstasy; after that has passed, they announce what they
have seen and heard. On this day a grand feast is prepared; they eat,
drink, and become intoxicated, the priest or priestess more than the
rest. [85] Consequently, among them all is drunkenness, excess, and
blindness--a pitiful sight for those who see it and can appreciate
it in the light of truth.
Of the idolatries which were secretly practiced in San Juan del Monte
and how they were abolished Chapter XXII.
The devil was gradually introducing into the village of San Juan del
Monte [_i.e._, Taytay] a great plague of idolatry (nourished by some
ancient remains of heathenism which had clung to certain persons in
that village), in the form which I shall relate.
In the town there was a band of worthless women, of the Catolonas
[_i.e._, priestesses] as we have said. These in secret maintained a
tyrannical hold upon the village by various means and plots compelling
many to repair to them upon every occasion, as they formerly did before
they became Christians. Among these women, one who was a leader claimed
that her anito was a very close friend of the anito of the Christians
and had descended to the earth from heaven. This woman most stirred
up the fire on account of the power that she wielded, not only on
account of the sagacity which she certainly possessed, but by her
influence and reputation in the village. Not only was she herself of
high family, but she was very well connected; and had several sons
who were married, and thus related to the most prominent families
of the village. By these means she was, on the one hand, powerful
enough to draw to her the weak, and on the other, to compel the more
influential to dissemble with her, and to refrain from betraying her
for fear of exposing themselves to risk. Nevertheless, this woman and
her following proceeded with great caution and secrecy and rigorously
enjoined those who had relations with them to do the same. If any
of those women died, she appointed an heir, and successor--to whom,
after she had been accepted and received, her idol was brought in
great silence by some chiefs, from the house of the dead person, in
the middle of the night. Then they celebrated a feast during three
continuous days, with banqueting and abundance of wine, which is their
greatest solemnity. The idol of the chief priestess was made of gold,
and she kept it in concealment, through the contrivance of the Devil
(who through it held close communication with her), in a part of her
house where it was most difficult to find it. It is estimated that
for two years this secret pestilence had been going on, tyrannizing
over the inhabitants to such a degree that there was hardly a sick
person whom they did not attend with all diligence--persuading
each one to demand urgently that they should cast lots to ascertain
whether the sick man were to live or die, and, consequently, whether
sacrifice should be offered to the anito for his health. We have
already explained the manner of sacrifices and offerings they made,
and the profit and gain which these infernal furies derived from
them. There was one woman among them who cleared, in the short time
that I have mentioned, almost three hundred escudos; but she did not
enjoy them long, for God would not allow the conflagration to spread
further. His Divine Majesty influenced some of his faithful ones, who,
all aflame with the greater conflagration of His honor and service,
hastened to give account of what they heard and saw and knew of this
matter. With the help of this information, beginning among the weaker
members of the band, in a short time they succeeded in discovering
those of secondary rank--and thus, step by step, they reached the chief
priestess herself. Their second care (which they put into execution)
was to take away from these people the idols, a great number of which
were seized. Some of these were of clay, others of wood; and two,
in particular, were made from two great teeth of the cayman, set in
gold, in which metal the head of the anito was shaped at the point of
the tooth. In neither the residence nor the country house of the head
priestess, however, could her idol be found; nor could it be discovered
by means of her, or by rummaging through her furniture and utensils,
and searching often and most diligently; nor would she reveal it. This
idol had promised her, so she said, that they should never find it,
even if they should tear down and destroy the house; consequently, it
enjoined her not to fear the father who was conducting this search,
or any of his agents or helpers; for it was more powerful than any
of them. But, as God is indeed more powerful, He influenced the
faithful and zealous heart of Father Diego de Santiago--who was then
instructing that village, and made these investigations at the instance
and orders of the vicar-general and provisor of Manila--to decide
that he would not relax or give up the search for this demon until he
should find it. Being quite certain that it was in the house (although
he had already searched there for it several times), he returned for
the last time with the determination to demolish the house, and to
examine every part of it, piece by piece, to see if by chance he might
find the idol hidden in some hole. Before setting about this task,
his glance fell upon a cane prop--old, weather-beaten, and stained
by smoke--which from a joist of the house, supported the ridge-pole
of the roof: this is the mode of construction used for strengthening
the houses. I do not know what he saw in that prop, but he immediately
ordered it to be cut down and its contents to be examined. This time,
"he who was more powerful than all others" was overcome; for, being
found like all the rest, and the gold being removed for the service
of the church, this idol went, with the others, into the fire.
The demon was so insulted and hurt at this trick that, not being able
to wreak any other vengeance, he began (accompanied by many others)
the following night to torment the poor Catolona with visions and
cruel threats. Already undeceived as to the weakness of her idol, she
sought for conversion, and, hating the demon, begged for mercy. With
the help of a cross which was given her as a defense, although the
terror continued, the threats were not put in execution; and finally
the demon abandoned her as she had him. On one of the feast-days, all
their errors were publicly refuted in the church, and the priestesses
remained convinced, repentant and reconciled--by the authority of
the ordinary, as I have stated. They all betook themselves to a
place where, removed from temptations, they could not relapse into
their evil ways [_bolver al bomito_]. They were placed in charge of
devout and Christian persons, in whose company they lead Christian and
exemplary lives. The people were so thoroughly undeceived by this event
that for several days they not only brought in their idols, garments,
vessels, and other belongings of their ancestors, so that not a trace
of that lineage remained; but there was the utmost religious fervor,
and a great number of general confessions, by means of which their
consciences were purified. Into many good souls there entered such
fear and awe, and such distrust and scrupulosity regarding this evil,
that the, hearing of these general and oft-repeated confessions
(made even by those who had no share in it) lasted months, and even
years. I can affirm, as one who has seen it all and touched it with my
very hands, that of this wound which the devil tried to inflict upon
that tender part, the entire body of that mission and encomienda not
only remained sound, through the great mercy of God, but much stronger
than ever before, as will be seen in the rest of this narrative. But
as a conclusion to this incident I must not neglect what befell Don
Francisco Amandao, chief of that village--an aged man, of excellent
judgment, and a devoted friend of ours. Upon the occasion of a certain
illness, he allowed himself to be persuaded to make a similar sacrifice
to the devil, induced by the suggestion that he should at least give
half of his body to the anito to see if he could heal it. That half
of his body at once became paralyzed, so that he could not move it
at all, and thus he lived several years, giving public testimony
of his infidelity. In great repentance for his sin he came to die a
Christian death, at the time when the above events took place.
What the Society accomplished in Sebu until the year 1597. Chapter
XXIII.
As soon as Father Antonio Sedeño passed away in Sebu (as we have
said), Father Antonio Pereira returned to Maluco, his own province,
whence he had come. I was therefore compelled to remain alone in that
college with one brother, not a little disconsolate at the loss of so
valued a companion and brother, with whom I had passed a very pleasant
year in Tigbauan, Leite, and Sebu; and whose help was so efficacious
in our duties that through the gracious and thorough manner in which
he performed them, we were all greatly esteemed and sought for in the
province of Pintados, and especially in the city of Santissimo Nombre
de Jesus. Here this father had previously remained alone during almost
another year, in the convent of San Agustin, where those most godly
fathers received him into their house as if he were one of their
own order. He, in turn, served them and the whole city with such
edifying results as contributed not a little to win their affection;
and greatly influenced them to demand our fathers, and receive us in
their city--which was done, as we have said. Don Rodrigo Ronquillo de
Peñalosa, alcalde-mayor of the city--a son of Don Gonçalo Ronquillo,
who died while governor and lieutenant in these islands for the
Catholic king, Don Felipe Second--aided us much with his authority,
as also did his cousin Don Gonçalo Ronquillo de Vallesteros, who was
leaving the same office. All of those gentlemen have ever professed
great devotion to our humble Society.
Considering that we were alone, our ministrations in our church to
both Spaniards and Indians were sufficiently frequent, and I often
preached in the cathedral. Moreover, ascertaining that in the Chinese
quarter of the city there were more than two hundred souls, and only
one of them a Christian, and that they had no one to minister to them,
although they were well disposed to receive our holy faith if there
were any one to teach it to them, I applied myself to studying and
learning their language--at which they were much rejoiced, and many
came to me every day at an appointed hour to give me instruction. In
this way I acquired sufficient knowledge to begin instructing them--in
which undertaking I received much help from Governor Don Luis de
las Mariñas, who sent me from Manila a very bright young Christian
lad of that nation, who helped me to instruct those who were to be
baptized. It was thus that I spent Advent in the year fifteen hundred
and ninety-five. We celebrated Christmas Eve and the feast of the
Nativity with solemnity and joy, preparing in the meantime to celebrate
our first feast of the Circumcision, for which we had decorated the
church and invited father Fray Bartolomeo Garcia--at that time the
preacher in the Sebu convent of the glorious doctor St. Augustine;
and now associate of the right reverend bishop of Sebu, and commissary
of the Holy Office of the Inquisition in that bishopric--to preach for
me. At this time I fell ill, exhausted by my labors, which, although
not excessive, were too much for me, as having little strength. It
was upon this occasion that the fathers of that holy order gave proof
of their great charity and the great affection and fraternal feeling
which they profess toward Ours; for all of them on that day, leaving
their own church (which also is named Santissimo Nombre de Jesus,
out of respect for the holy Child, which is deposited therein), came
with their singers to our church, where they celebrated on the day
before most solemn vespers, and on the day of the feast officiated
and sang solemn high mass and preached a sermon--all of which I could
not attend, on account of being, as I have said, ill. To grant me a
further favor and charity, they chose to be my guests and partake of
our poverty. It pleased God, in His mercy, to give me health, so that
I might acquit myself in part of this obligation and the many others
which we owe to them. Thirteen days later, which was the day on which
they celebrate their feast of the most holy name of Jesus, I visited
them and preached for them, and ate with them. Some days afterward,
there arrived from Manila two discalced religious of the holy Order
of St. Francis, who had come to embark in a vessel which was fitting
out in that port for Nueva España. They disembarked near our house,
which stands at the edge of the water; and, in acknowledgment of the
debt that we also owe to that holy order and its blessed fathers--who,
in so great self-abnegation and aversion to worldly things, in all seek
only the things of Jesus Christ--I begged them to accept the use of
our house. During their stay with me they displayed toward me the most
signal charity; and I, on my part, was equally consoled and edified,
until last Pentecost of the year fifteen hundred and ninety-six. At
this festival they assisted me, before their departure, in the solemn
baptism of two prominent Chinese, and of I know not how many others; we
baptized them, with their Bissayan wives, celebrating their marriages
and conferring the nuptial veils, with great solemnity and rejoicing,
the whole city assembling to witness the ceremonies. The two chief men
were Don Lorenço Ungac and Don Salvador Tuigam. The Chinese are not
accustomed to cut their hair, which they comb and make ready every
morning, and wear it fastened on the head in pleasing and graceful
fashion; but when we baptize them we are in the habit of cutting it
off, so that in this way we may have more certainty of their faith and
perseverance. These two, before baptism, had entreated and supplicated
me not to cut off their hair; and in this they were not without reason,
for, as one of the suppliants himself explained to me, to wear their
hair was honorable among them, and a custom of their nation, as with
us the wearing of mustaches or beard. But as I did not dare to act
in opposition to what the prelates and other judicious ministers and
religious are accustomed to do in this matter, I announced to them
my decision that, unless their hair was cut, I would not baptize
them. With this they submitted and obeyed, and in token of greater
submission to my intentions, Tuigam came to me on the morning of the
baptism, accompanied by others of his nation, and placing in my hands
some scissors, asked me to cut the first handful of his hair. This
I did, and another finished the task. From that time on none of them
made any objection to the rule; in fact, without our speaking of it,
they came to baptism with their hair cut like ours.
Father Diego de Aragon, of the holy Order of Preachers, had also come
to embark in the vessel. This truly spiritual, virtuous, and exemplary
man had been waiting during an entire year for the departure of the
vessel; and, on account of its inability to leave at that time, was
glad to live and remain with me in our house, for his own order has
none in that city. I received him very gladly, and with gratitude
to God our Lord, for the opportunity thus afforded me of serving
a person and order whom I so highly esteemed, and to which our own
Society is so much indebted, and which it recognizes here, there,
and in every region. He was a source of great edification to me--and
to many others of our Society who had come to me from Manila and who
were afterward my guests--by his great piety, austerity, eloquence,
penitence, and blameless and exemplary life. In this way time passed
until September of the year fifteen hundred and ninety-six, when,
the division and allotment of the fourteen fathers who had arrived
in the previous August having been made, I began to have guests
and companions--with whom I could not only maintain our ministries
in better condition, but also go to ascertain the condition of our
affairs in Mindanao, which upon the death of Father Juan del Campo,
were left, as we shall see, without a master. This college was finally
occupied by six of the Society, who were soon busied in ministering to
the Spaniards, Portuguese, Chinese, Bissayans, Tagalos, and many other
nations who resort to that city for trading and other affairs. Two of
us exercised the Chinese language, besides the Bissayan and Tagalo
tongues, which are usually employed for preaching, confessions, and
the other Sacraments. One of the brethren, who was a skilful scribe,
continued the children's school gathered by Father Antonio Pereira,
where reading, writing, and numbers were taught, together with
Christian doctrine and customs.
Of the island of Leite, and those who were baptized there. Chapter
XXIV.
The circuit of the island of Leite is about a hundred leguas--its
length stretching from east to west for forty leguas, and its extent
from north to south being narrow. It is divided almost in the middle by
a large mountain ridge called Carigara, which occasions a remarkable
inequality and variety in its temperature and seasons. For example,
when in its northern part there is winter (which is the period of the
winter months in España), in the south there is summer; and in the
other half of the year the contrary occurs. Consequently, when half
of the island's inhabitants are sowing, the other half are gathering
in their harvests; in this way they have two harvests in one year,
both very abundant. This island is surrounded by very many adjacent
islands, inhabited and uninhabited. It abounds in fish from the sea
and its many rivers, in cows from China, in fowl, deer, wild and
domestic hogs, fruits, vegetables, and roots of many species. It is
inhabited by a very numerous people, whose villages therefore are
not far apart; and there is not one of them which does not possess
a large grove of palm-trees and a fine, full-flowing river. Those
palms, as well as other trees which the whole island produces in
abundance, shade the roads to a great extent--providing a comfort
and refreshing coolness indispensable for those of us who must travel
on foot for lack of any other convenience; throughout the island the
roads traverse groves and forests, with foliage so cool and abundant
that even at high noon the sun caused us no annoyance. Many of the
trees have trunks more than twelve brazas in circumference, which are
sawed into excellent planks. The temperature is not so hot as that
of Manila, although the island is two degrees nearer the equinoctial
line--a common condition in that entire province of the Pintados. The
inhabitants are honest, simple, and intelligent, and possess among
other good and laudable customs two in particular, which are common
to all the neighboring islands. The first is, that they have no need,
in journeys upon land or sea, of stores or wallets; to whatever place
they come, they are sure of being welcomed, sheltered, and offered
food. The second is that, whether their harvests be good or bad,
they never raise or lower the price of rice among themselves, which
they always sell to one another at a fixed rate. They practice these
two customs through the friendly relation that exists among them,
such as the apostle sought from his Corinthians. [86] To the two
residences that were in that island (one in Dulac, and the other in
Carigara) there were added, with the new reënforcement of laborers,
three others--in Paloc, Alangalan, and Ogmuc. As each one of these
is still new, we shall not have as much to say about them at present
as later on; for as the number of Christians increased so did the
number of notable facts and events worthy of record. Nevertheless, I
shall not omit to mention here each one of those stations separately;
in general, however, I may say that during the first two years a great
number of Christians were made throughout the island, considering that
Ours were preparing them very gradually, as being so new a people,
for the faith, and for acquaintance and intercourse with us.
What was accomplished in Dulac and its territory. Chapter XXV.