From what I have seen and heard I can as_The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume 43, 1670-1700 Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and their peoples, their history and records of the Catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the close of the nineteenth century

the Monteses is better than that of all the rest of the races of

Mindanao in point of decorum and modesty, and in affirming this,

I refer, not only to the men but also to the women. The skirts which

the latter wear down to the ankles fasten securely at the waist their

white shirt. Above this they wear another very short and well-fitting

shirt on which they sew little bits of cloth of many different colors

in the manner of fine patchwork. The sleeves are short and full and

are ornamented in the same manner. They take pleasure in choosing

the colors and designs with which to adorn their dress. On the left

side of the girdle they hang rings and bundles of sweet-scented herbs

mixed with glass beads and hawk's-bells. Fine rings of copper, brass

or silver on their legs hanging quite loosely, produce a certain sound

when they walk, which invites the attention of him who is ignorant of

such a custom. Their manner of dressing the hair is also peculiar and

characteristic, for they twist and knot the chief lock of the hair,

without braiding it, in the form of a large high crown. All about the

head hang very short locks of hair of equal length, which take the

form of a small circle on the forehead, and sometimes almost cover

the eyebrows. They allow the forelocks to grow to a great length,

although that gives them an especial grace. A beautiful comb very well

made from metal, more or less precious, according to the wealth of the

one who wears it, crowns the said headdress. Many are the women who are

materially laden with bracelets from the wrists almost to the elbows,

some of metal, others of tortoise-shell, others of taclobo, [156]

etc., etc. As an ornament for their ears they generally wear some wide

eardrops (balaring) formed by a cylinder of wood, generally soft, at

the bases of which are fixed two round and unequal plates of engraved

brass, silver, gold, or copper. In order to insert these eardrops,

they make very large holes in the lobes of the ears until the smaller

sheet of metal can pass through the said orifice, so that the cylinder

may rest on the inner edges of the said orifice. They have necklaces

and rings of several kinds, some of them of great value. They are often

made of strings of beads interwoven in different colors. Not seldom do

they have clusters of hawk's-bells and shells, or bundles of blue or

red silk hanging from the necklaces. They have other necklaces which

they call balucag, which are made from the hairs of the wild boar,

and which they weave in the manner of small hoops and unite in the

manner of a net, which are ornamented bits of shells, glass beads,

and other trifles of the same kind. My attention was peculiarly

struck by a necklace made of silver coins which were quite old,

and which diminished in size successively from the center to the

ends. The center was a duro of Carlos III, somewhat flattened out,

which formed as it were the medallion of the necklace. The latter,

besides being original, was quite valuable, for the thirty odd

pesos which it must have been worth are a capital for a mountaineer

of that small rancheria. Such jewels are seldom parted with however

much necessity presses them, and thus it is explained how they pass

from father to son for many generations. The rings that I saw among

the individuals of that race were all of brass; but I am assured

that those of gold and silver are not scarce. It is to be noted that

not only do they adorn the fingers with them but also their toes. Of

all these vain ornaments of eardrops, necklaces, and rings, they are

despoiled when they receive the health-giving waters of baptism, like

one who renounces the world and its pomp and vanity. Those objects

are taken from them for they are wont to use them as amulets against

this or that sickness, against such or such an injury which they fear,

or, to obtain more easily their desires, etc., etc. In exchange, the

father missionary gives them medals, rosaries, and scapularies, which

they take great pleasure in showing, and wear hanging from the neck.

The dress of the men is simple and usually like that of the

Indians. But they are very valuable when they have on their court

apparel, for then they wear long breeches of European cloth, and

many wear jackets of the same material, and fine beaver hats while

they are not without shoes and shirts of much value. The shirts are

not worn outside as the other Indians wear them, but they hide them

as much as possible except the bosom, especially if they are well

embroidered. Those who dress in the most beautiful gala attire, cut

the hair and take care of it, but most of them who are fugitives

and have but little intercourse with the Christians let the hair

grow without taking any care of it. They twist it in order to make

the crown which they hide under a handkerchief, usually a red one,

which they wear tied about the head in the manner of the swains of

Aragon. Some consider it an important ornament for their person to

dye the teeth black and file them by means of flints, which take the

place of a file with them. Although I have not seen it, I have been

assured that the very rich cover their teeth with sheets of very

thin gold, which they only take out when they eat. It is amusing

to see the Monteses, who have recently come down from the woods,

among the old Christians. In order not to be taken for Buquidnons,

they present themselves so prinked out and walk along the streets

so carefully, that one would think that they do not set their feet

on the ground, and being so unnatural in their movements, they move

the others to laughter in that very thing by which they are trying

to please them. There is no better grace than naturalness.

In the brief examination that we made of what passes among the

individuals of this race, in the deities whom they adorn, their

sacrifices, and their songs and traditions, we shall see that they have

some ideas of God, of heaven, of eternity, and of the first man. But

they are so material, small, and disfigured, that by transverse light

alone can the greatness of the primitive creeds be divined. Like the

polytheists that they are, they have four gods at the four cardinal

points: at the north, Domalongdong; at the south, Ongli; at the

east, Tagolambong; and at the west, Magbabaya. Those gods, with their

wisdom and power rule and govern this great mass of the world which we

inhabit. Who does not see in these four deities a perfect resemblance

to the Vazus, of the worshipers of Brahma? Now then, if those gods,

according to the Buquidnons, govern this great fabric of the world with

so great acumen from the four cardinal points, in the same manner,

according to the Brahmans, Vazu-Pulastia governs the nations of the

north; Vazu-Yama those of the south; those of the east, Vazu-Indra; and

those of the west Vazu-Varuna. And so great is the order and concert of

those regions that therefrom results the harmony of the whole universe,

and, consequently, the so extensive worship which the inhabitants of

India attribute to their Vazus, so that offended by men the order of

this world might not be overturned. The god Magbabaya, that is to say,

"the all-powerful one," has as equals in rank the god Ibabasug, and

Ipamahandi. The former is invoked for the fortunate delivery of women;

the latter takes care of carabaos, horses, and other larger and smaller

cattle, and since a Buquidnon is rarely seen, who does not possess

some of these animals for his ordinary work, hence, they invoke that

divinity with so great frequency and in any disagreeable mischance

that may happen to the said animals. From Tagumbanua, or the god of

the fields, they hope for a good harvest, and dedicate the feast called

caliga to him after the harvesting of the fruits. They invoke the Tao

sa sulup or "men of the woods" (who resemble the Anitos of the Ilocan

heathens) in their wars, diseases, journeys, etc. Those divinities

according to them, are genii, who live within the trunks of the large

trees, or on huge crags. They intervene in the affairs of mortals,

harming them or protecting them, according as they are contrary or

propitious. I noted on a certain occasion that, on passing before a

leafy tree called balite, the mountaineer who accompanied me lowered

his voice and was very much frightened. I asked him the reason for

it, and after many urgings he considered it advisable to give me the

explanation of his fright in these words: "The Buquidnons affirm that

the balite is the habitation of Magtitima, or an invisible being of

the woods, who, if he does not receive a sacrifice of white fowls,

grows angry at mortals and does not allow them to cut the wood, and

sends them sickness. Although I do not believe those things, I have a

certain fear in passing near these trees." I urged him to cast off so

superstitious belief and to trust in God, who is the only one who can

deliver us from all sicknesses and danger of soul and body. The idol

called Tigbas figures among the Buquidnons as a very highly respected

god. They look upon him with great reverence, for they believe that he

descended from the sky. Only the chief datos among them possess that

idol. The said idol is made of stone, as is also the pedestal that

supports it. The people guard it with the greatest care among the most

esteemed objects of their ancestors, and only show it to those whom

they consider as very closely allied to themselves, either by reason

of friendship or kinship. Talian is another little idol represented

by the figure of a monkey seated on its haunches. They make it from

the root of the alder tree. Generally they carry it hanging from the

breast by means of a cord which the unhappy Talian has tied about his

neck. When they go on a journey and fear an ambush, they take that

little idol by the string and let it hang in the air free in the manner

of a plumb-line, and toward the direction where its gaze rests, they

say that the enemies are preparing an ambush for them there. In order

to free themselves from those enemies they leave the road which they

had taken and follow one entirely different. If they suffer from any

sickness, they submerge the idol in a basin of water and then drink

the water immediately, for they believe that by so doing they will

recover their lost health. Sometimes they say that it is sufficient

to touch with the idol the ailing member, or the painful part, in

order to find relief and even a total cure. Finally, they make use

of it in order to divine where the objects or jewels which they have

lost by chance are. They always try to keep the Busao or evil spirit

well dispositioned. For that purpose they offer him food and drink,

singing and dancing, according to their custom. At the same time

they recite certain prayers, asking him to free them from such or

such a calamity which they fear. The old men are generally the ones

who offer the sacrifices, which usually consist only of the offering

of fruits of the soil, and in the sacrifice of some swine and fowls,

in order to court or make amends to one of their deities. One of their

most common altars consists of a column with a dish on the upper part

which contains some offering. The two cross timbers which are seen

in the middle part are for the purpose of holding their little idols.

Leaving aside many other superstitious things in regard to their gods,

which no less than the preceding give an idea of the sad condition

of these poor wretches, I shall pass on to speak briefly of their

marriages, which are agreed upon by the sole authority of the ancients

or Maslicampo. [157] The latter who is also the one who directs all

the chief affairs, determines by his own opinion that the alliance

between such a youth and such a maiden shall take place, whether it

be at the insinuation of the sweethearts or at the entreaty of their

parents. Some promises then being made between the parents of the

bride and the father of the young man, the relatives of each party

having been summoned assemble in the house that has been previously

prepared, where everything must be in abundance, but especially a

liquor called pangasi, which they keep in certain large jars. When the

hour for the marriage has arrived, the bridal couple having exchanged

some words between themselves, receive from their respective parents

a ball of morisqueta. They hold it for some minutes in the palm of

the hand, and then the groom gives the ball of morisqueta to his

wife and with that ceremony the marriage is effected. By that means,

as is obvious, is indicated the duty which they have and recognize

of mutually supporting one another and trying to procure the support

of the family. A fine bichara is prepared among the guests while the

feast lasts. There is abundance of food, sauces, and beverages, which

are arranged with great anticipation. A solemn drunken revel follows

this kind of banquet, the effect of that beverage, which they suck up

through long reeds, placed in the jars which hold it. Unless they are

datos or chief men, there are but few of them who have two or three

wives, which, unhappily, is more common among other heathen races.

Father Eusebio Barrado, a missionary among those people, told me on

a certain occasion that they exhibit great repugnance when they have

to pass through the territory of other datos to whom they are not

subject. In order that the traveler may make such passage without

any danger, the chiefs have a spear called quiap, much larger than

ordinary spears with incrustations of silver along the shaft, and the

lower end of metal. They give it for a trifling recompense as a safe

conduct to the travelers who have to cross through the territories of

other datos, and the latter on recognizing the spear of the chief dato

allow such persons to pass freely without harming them in the least,

but on the contrary showing them consideration and deference. This

takes place as I have been informed by a person worthy of all credit,

even when there is war between the different factions.

The principal datos show their greatness by the use of enormous vases,

where they keep rare and curious articles. Those vases are used at the

same time for the storing of food. The agunes are not less esteemed by

them, but the things held in highest estimation both by rulers and by

subjects are certain quadrangular prismatic boxes like small coffers,

which are ornamented on the outer part and on all their sides with

two cuarto coins, in the form of very symmetrical and harmonious

designs. In those boxes they keep their clothes and weapons. The

weapons which they use most are balaraos of greater or less value,

which they acquire from the Manobos of Agusan, in exchange for cloth,

maize, camotes, salt, etc., etc.; the bangcao, or spear that they use

both for hunting and for fighting with their enemies and for their

exploits, one of which is the capturing and enslaving of children,

after they have assassinated their parents. The said spears are

generally of an excellent temper, as are also their bolos, and a

certain other weapon called kris, which has been seen at times in

the possession of the Buquidnons and is without doubt acquired from

the Moros. For besides it being well-known that the Buquidnons have

communication with the Moros by means of the river Pulangui, the said

krises have Moro inscriptions and seals. I had a bolo in my hands

whose handle or hilt surpassed many krises in value, for since it was

of a dark, very hard and heavy wood, which I thought to be mancono

[158] it had many large incrustations of silver, and from some of the

silver which had been lost I discovered that they were not merely thin

plates but pieces of quite a large size. The corresponding scabbard

was of baticulin [159] and was worked with great skill.

Father Barrado of whom I have made mention a while ago assured me that

he had seen among these heathens one who had a coat-of-mail made of

brass plates, of very thick wire of the same metal and ornaments of

silver, which was made to cover all the breast and the back. It would

be difficult to say from whom and in what manner they obtained them,

but according to the method in which they are constructed and by

what I have been able to ascertain they appear to be very ancient,

and, consequently, worthy of being exhibited in any museum of arms

or antiquities. They have other more common ones which they make

themselves, and which consist of certain bolsters about three fingers

thick, well quilted, which cover their breast and back, not only from

the darts but also from the spears of their enemies. The petty rulers

of this race bind their temples with the pinditon which is a crown

of cloth with three points, that of the center being the largest,

and all of them ornamented in the style of the mountain. I shall tell

on what occasions they make use of this crown.

Various are the said objects in my possession, as well as a curious

sacafuegos [firemaker] of which I am going to say a few words, which

are due to the kindness and generosity of Don Procopio de Alcantara,

judge of the village of Tagoloan. The sacafuegos consists of two

cylinders of wood of great resisting power, and not very porous. One

of them is hollow and the other solid. The latter, which is fitted

very perfectly to the interior part of the former, has at one end a

little tinder with very fine powdered sulphur. Having been prepared

in this manner it is inserted a trifle at the said end into the hollow

cylinder, and a smart blow is struck on it in order to send it all at

once [into the hollow cylinder], and then by drawing it out quickly,

the tinder is found to be alight and is immediately applied to the

tobacco. That is no other than a small pneumatic flint and steel,

such as is usually represented by the authors of books on physics.

They smoke the tobacco which they grow themselves, which is

considered to be of the most excellent quality. They sell it in not

small quantities in Cagayan in exchange for clothes or other objects

that they need. Since the people of this race have been somewhat more

civilized than those of others, they smoke the tobacco in small clay,

wood, or horn pipes, which they make themselves, adding a small bamboo

joint for a mouthpiece. They chew tobacco without swallowing it, as

well as buyo. Instead of keeping the lime [for the buyo] in bamboo

tubes beautifully worked, as do the Manobos and Mandayas, they keep

it in small brass boxes, which are beautified with cunningly-made

adornments, each one of which has its fitting ladle of the same metal,

fashioned by means of a small chain.

In order to be more unembarrassed in their voyages, they use what

they call salapa, which is a brass box in the form of a crescent which

they fasten to the front of their girdle by cords. The lotoan or pouch

which is adorned with rich and vari-colored embroidery, is also used

by them in their excursions. In it they keep their money, tobacco,

buyo, rice, etc., etc. Although they can undertake long voyages afoot,

without giving out, and can well endure the discomforts of the road

through mountains and woods, they are such good horsemen that however

steep may be the ascents they never alight from their horses. The horse

is generally caparisoned with one or two strings of hawk's-bells, in

the manner of the mule teams conducted by the muleteers of Cataluna,

and they make as do the latter such a racket that they advise the

traveler of their passing from a long distance.

They engage in the cultivation of the soil, and make extensive

plantations of maize, which supply them not only with their ordinary

food but also with goodly profits by selling it to the beach villages,

thus obtaining in exchange many articles which they do not possess in

the woods, salt being the chief. Since they do not count by months

or by years, but by harvests, in order to know the time for their

sowing they pay attention to the aspect of the sky. Accordingly,

when they see certain constellations in the firmament which they

designate by very curious and completely arbitrary names, since

they know that they are, for example, those which precede the rainy

season, they hasten to burn their trees and prepare the ground for

sowing. I have seen the plow used for the cultivation of the soil,

one somewhat different from those of Espana. He who guides it is never

without his adze with which to cut the roots which he finds as the

plow passes. For the finer labor, they use a small hoe with a short

curved handle. Scarcely will one find a house of Buquidnons where there

are not one or at times more small mills for grinding maize. They are

made of two very hard stone cylinders. The inner is fixed on a wooden

upright, while the upper is movable, and has an orifice in its center

through which the maize is poured. The circular movement by which

the grain is crushed is produced by a handle securely fastened to one

side of the movable cylinder. An apparatus which I saw in Jasaan for

removing cotton seed appeared very ingenious to me. It consists in

the special gearing of the screws [engrenaje particular de las roscas]

of two cylinders. Those cylinders being very close together allow the

filaments of cotton to pass but not the seeds, which are as large as

small peas. The motion is produced by means of a crank which is the

continuation of the upper cylinder. The whole apparatus is wooden, but

is operated with sufficient regularity although with some discomfort

to the one operating it. Not a little time is given by the Monteses to

the harvesting of abaca for they are not ignorant of the high price of

that filament, in commerce. But to many of them their dream proves very

contrary, for they often meet with Chinese traders, cunning as are no

others, who exploit them by deceiving them in the price and weight,

and what is worse, fill them with alcohol, by enticing them to drink

deeply. In fact after the unfortunate fellows have used all the week

in transacting the business they again return to their woods with the

after effects of their intoxication, without abaca, without money,

with some miserable gewgaws perhaps and a mind irritated by the deceit

of which they were the victims. It would be advisable to impose an

efficacious corrective on those exploiters of an evil class, and worse

tricks, in favor of the poor Monteses. When the palay is harvested,

on rising and before undertaking the ordinary labors, until daybreak,

they generally sing popular songs, men and women alternating, either

the history of their ancestors, or the prowess of one of their heroes,

or some events of our first parents, Adam and Eve, corrupted and

mixed as is supposed by their false beliefs. The airs of those songs

are in general gloomy and monotonous. Their musical instruments are

few and rudimentary, among them being the pulala, or bamboo clarinet,

which has a very shrill sound, but which is the most appreciated; and

instruments of bamboo resembling a flute; an imitation of a guitar

(tiape) with only three strings; and the dayuray, or a very small

drum whose box is made of the shell of the cocoanut or a bamboo tube.

Although they are so sunk in the darkness of heathenism they have

some glimmerings of civilization among themselves, without doubt

the vestige of the past Spanish domination, for they have their laws

and courts for the punishment of theft and other crimes, laws which,

transmitted from father to son, are reformed according to the greater

or less discretion of the superior dato, to whom those who have been

offended in a serious matter have recourse to demand justice. The

dato, seated, and with his temples bound with his flaming pinditon

and grasping in his right hand the famous quiap, has two subordinate

datos sit near him, and then the criminal is immediately brought to

his presence. Those who conduct him leave their spears thrust into the

ground near the steps of that tribunal, so that no one in view of the

crime of which the criminal is convicted dares to take the justice of

the criminal into his own hands. The arguments for each side having

been heard, after deliberation, the superior dato administers justice,

together with the subordinate datos present at the act. The penalty

decreed is executed without delay for the satisfaction of the aggrieved

parties, the punishment of the offender, and the public warning of

all. When the crime is not very serious, the offender is condemned to

pay a certain number of large and small plates, to which a China jar

is sometimes added, if the crime is somewhat greater. After the fine

has been paid the one offended and the offender have to cleave with one

single blow of the bolo, and at the same time a rattan which is held by

the judges. If by accident the rattan should not be cut at one time,

it is an evident sign that the opposing parties are still enemies,

and, consequently, they yet look upon one another with care and dread.

It is a well-established fact among these heathens that he who kills

a dato has committed so great a crime that it can never be erased,

and the author and all his descendants are considered as slaves,

and all have the right to reduce them to slavery whenever they wish.

I will mention here certain peculiar apprehensions and some of the

superstitions of this race.

Whenever they offer any food or drink to guests, they first taste

it in order to remove all suspicion of deceit or poison from their

guests. Among the Monteses it is a lack of education and good breeding

to mention their names in conversation. If any of them is asked

"What is your name?" the one interrogated does not answer, but some

other person of the group will say "His name is Colas." In regard to

the rest which man ought to take they say that it is better for him

to imitate the birds, which go to bed at the setting of the sun and

wake up at the reddening of the dawn. They say that the rainbow is

the red girdle of two famous men, Banlac and Aguio, who mounted up to

heaven by a great leap from the hill called Balabag, without any more

being known of them. These heathens reckon by nights and not by days,

so that their method of expression is as follows: "That voyage will

last about six nights;" "After four nights we shall begin to build

the house." I mind me that the ancient Germans did the same thing,

and I believe that some peoples of Oceanica had the same custom in

remote times. When they are outside of their houses and away from

their village or rancheria, when they see that the moon has a halo,

they are persuaded that somebody is being judged in their village,

and for fear that it may be one of their partisans they immediately

return home, to see whether they can save the defendant. They are

convinced that if it rains and the rays of the sun illumine, at the

same time, such or such a distant wood, it is because the Buquidnons

are at war in the said point, and the sun does not wish to hide its

light so that they may fight with greater valor. If they hear the

song of the bird limocon under certain circumstances, they do not

leave their houses, for as they say some danger or ambush awaits them

on the way. If the song surprises them on the road itself, in this

or that position which they ascertain, they immediately return to

their houses and refuse to continue for certain reasons. When they

find the worm called labud in the middle of the road they go back,

for they assert that some sickness or misfortune would overtake them,

if they did not do so. If they enter any house to visit those who live

there, and during the conversation any cock or hen flies and passes

in front of the stranger, the owners of the house immediately kill the

bold bird, and it is eaten in friendly intercourse with the guest, in

order to remove his fright and bring his soul back, which they believe

has been separated from the body through fright and returns again to

the same body joyfully. I could mention other interesting things of

the same kind, but I leave them in order not to tire your Reverence.

When speaking of the dwellings of these heathens, one must distinguish

between those who live in settlements and those who live in the

woods. The former build their houses well spread out and comfortably,

it being indispensable for them to have a projecting wing joined to

the house itself in the manner of a gallery, open to the air on all

sides except that by which it communicates with the interior. To this

gallery is fitted the stairway, generally of wood, very simple in form

and generally without balustrades. The materials employed are not

always bamboo and nipa. I have seen the houses of Buquidnons which

have board walls excellently constructed, very strong, but needing

no nails, hammers, or saws. How is that? I will tell something about

it. Here is the crucial point, as one generally says; for some boards

are simply sewn to others. And I must tell another marvel so that

with one surprise we are relieved of another. All the boards have six

holes along their length three on one side and three on the other,

and joining the boards by the edges they pass a bit of very fine and

tough rattan through the said holes, and they are so tightly bound

together that nails are not missed at all. Those who live scattered

in the interior of the woods build their houses low, but raised very

far above the ground through their fear of the spears of their enemies.

Very great is the respect that all these heathens show for their

deceased. Accordingly, they generally bury them in their fields

and with them the spear, bolo, and other precious things which they

especially used during their lifetime. Along the place that the corpse

occupies they heap up the earth, and form a small mound, and at short

intervals in the ground they fasten certain tree trunks in the form

of an X, on top of which they place the bark of a tree, which serves

as a roof for the earth mound, which they consider as sacred. Never

do they forget to suspend from the upper end of a large pole, a small

sack of rice, on which the deceased supports himself until his soul

takes according to them the long road to Mount Bolotucan. Bolotucan

is the highest peak which dominates all the region comprehended

between Jasaan and Lagonlong. When the deceased reaches the summit

of the same he gets into heaven by jumping up, reaching a higher or

lesser point according to the probity of his life, and there he will

remain forever. All the relatives of the deceased, both men and women,

make great demonstrations of grief when death occurs. They let their

hair hang loose as a sign of mourning, and do not bind it up again

until after a greater or less period, according to the love which

they professed for the deceased.

I have recounted all these things so minutely in order that the

obscurity and darkness in which all those of this race were before

they were visited by the father ministers, may be understood. Reverend

Father, the consolation which I have had, on seeing the zeal and

activity with which these fathers procure the spiritual and material

welfare of so many poor creatures, is unspeakable. In honor of truth

I must tell your Reverence that their hopes and labors have not been

in vain, for in less than four years, more than 6,600 heathens who

dwelt in the region of the shadow of death, have been illumined

by the torch of the faith, have denied their false beliefs and

ridiculous superstitions, and have been regenerated in the waters of

baptism. Fortunate missionaries who are occupied in such ministries,

and happy converts who have passed from so great vileness to so great

dignity by the labors of those missionaries!

The objects described in the present letter which are not in my

possession, I have sketched from the natural. When I shall return

there I shall be glad to hand them to your Reverence.

I beg that you will not forget me in your holy sacrifices and prayers.

Your servant in Christ Jesus,

Jose Maria Clotet, S. J.

PRESENT BELIEFS AND SUPERSTITIONS IN LUZON

[The following we translate from the supplement to the Manila newspaper

El Renacimiento, of the date of December 9, 1905, which was called

to our attention by James A. LeRoy. It is deserving of a place in

this series, as showing what is actually believed at the present time

among some of the ignorant Filipinos.]

THE MANGKUKULAM

Here, as in Europe, and in almost all parts, the people believe

in witches.

The mangkukulam [160] is the male or female witch of Filipinas. To

that one is attributed a certain power of witchcraft by the common

people which makes him full of terror to many. He has the custom of

not looking straight at his interlocutors, I do not know whether it

is because he fears the open or searching glance of them or not. He

always keeps his eyes lowered, and whenever it is necessary to direct

his gaze toward the person with whom he is talking, he does it on

all occasions by glancing up sideways, and he has never dared to meet

directly the gaze of the others.

It is a general belief that the mangkukulam is almost omnipotent in

matters pertaining to doing evil to his neighbor. By the mere wish

alone, he can produce sickness in any person who has secured his

ill-will. In general, the sicknesses that he usually deals out are

most intense headaches, or aches in other parts of the body, boils

or internal tumors, swellings on the head or in any other place,

such ailments being all inexplicable to the immense majority of the

crowd, of the ignorant masses, who do not give credit, understand,

or have faith in the power, capacity, or secrets of science.

He who gains the ill-will or enmity of these witches of Filipinas,

can rest assured that if he goes out for a walk in the street, when

he is about to re-enter his house he will perceive himself to be

stricken with some sort of ailment, through the means and influence

of the angered mangkukulam, who has already taken it upon himself to

make him a present of the illness which suits him best--pains in the

stomach, swellings in any part of the body, swellings on the head,

deformity in the genital parts, etc., etc.

It happens as a rule that when any person is attacked by any of the

above ailments, he begins to talk of certain deeds as if he had done

them in company with some person there present, at the very moment when

he feels himself stricken by the ailment. At the same time he cites

names that are unknown, and localities more or less distant. That

is an assurance that during such moments, the patient is completely

bewitched by the mangkukulam, who has penetrated into his body, and

that the latter is the one who causes the patient to talk. It cannot

be said that the patient is delirious during those moments, for rarely

is he accustomed to have a fever, and in general has none. Besides,

every day, and whenever the ailment attacks him, he repeats the words,

deeds, and citations that he mentioned the first time--all of this

preceded by the exclamation "Oh! oh! now you are here again!" This

exclamation forces the members of the family of the one attacked to

believe more and more strongly that the sick man has been effectively

bewitched by the mangkukulam, that the latter had entered the body of

the one attacked at that time, and that physicians and medicines are

powerless to cure those evils which are produced by those witches of

Filipinas, for the simple reason that the physicians do not believe

in the existence of the mangkukulam or in their witchcraft.

In these cases, the herbalists themselves, who are frequently called

in to aid all kinds of sickness are useless.

Nothing remains except to mention here certain details which complete

the picture of the mangkukulam or give an exact idea of what they are,

according to the popular belief.

Every mangkukulam has his abubut. [161] The abubut consists of a small

tampipi which does not contain more than a small rag doll similar to

those that, are sold in front of the doors of our churches in order

to amuse our children with them, and a small cushion stuck full of

innumerable pins.

In the abubut lies, according to popular belief, all the power of

the mangkukulam. Without it, the mangkukulam is powerless, and even

inoffensive, if one wishes.

When the mangkukulam plans to do any harm to any person whomever, he

goes to the quarter of his house where he always keeps his abubut,

and takes out the doll and a pin. Then he sticks the latter in

whatever part of the body of the doll that he wishes. By that means,

accompanied by the desire of producing or causing evil to the person

at whom he has been angered, that person will be found to be stricken

with some sort of sickness in the part of the body where the doll has

been pricked. And since in general, no success is had in applying

the appropriate remedy for the sickness suffered by those who are

made ill by the means and influence of the mangkukulam, the family

decide to call a physician.

But the physician in those cases, is not the real physician who has

been for a long time singeing his eyebrows and devouring countless

text books in the universities, and who has not few years of experience

in the hospitals. Neither is he the mediquillo, [162] who is, in many

cases, a simple practitioner with some notions of medical science in

his head. Neither is he the poor herbalist, who knows and is acquainted

with the curative virtues of some plants, aided by the famous book

of Father Santa Maria. [163] No, not one of these serves for the

case. The physician whose services are needed, is he who expressly

devotes himself to the cure of those bewitched by the mangkukulam.

These physicians of the kulam, after looking at the patient

attentively, who equally with the mangkukulam cannot resist the glance

of any other person in the moments when he is attacked by the sickness;

and after hearing what things the sick one says, approaches any member

of the family to tell him that the sick one is really possessed by

the mangkukulam; and at the same time to ask whether the family cares

to have him cured.

If the reply is in the affirmative, preparations are made and the

sick man is submitted to the following practices.

All the toes of his feet, and the fingers of his hands are tied up

in anona bark. If the sick one continues to cry out and to utter all

the things that he has been accustomed to say, adding thereto the

petition for pardon with the promise of not doing it again, it is

a sign that the mangkukulam has not had time to escape or leave the

body of the patient. Then the physician takes a well-dried ray's tail,

such as is often used as a cane, and prescribes for the sick person a

good stiff caning [paliza de padre y senor mio] from his head to his

feet. This operation is repeated for three or four consecutive days,

longer, if contrary to what the mangkukulam promises by word of mouth,

he again takes up his lodging in the body of the sick person. Lastly,

it is decided whether or not to go on with the operation completely

to the end. That consists in bathing the sick person in boiling water,

and in the result thereof the patient finds a true remedy for his ills,

for when the bath is finished, he ceases to suffer forever.

These practices obey their long-established conviction that it is

not the sick person who suffers from the great acts of nonsense

committed on him. Many affirm that they have found the mangkukulam

who had bewitched the sick person dead on different occasions after

such practices had been finished.

Since I have been in the province of Nueva Ecija, I have had the

opportunity to prove one thing; namely, that the mangkukulam fears

or flees from anonas. The fact by which I have been able to prove it

is as follows.

A poor woman was found some weeks ago suffering from severe pains

in the stomach, accompanied by nausea and vomiting. The family which

was composed of several brothers, was thoroughly convinced that their

sister had been bewitched by a mangkukulam. As they did not know any

physicians for the kulam, they summoned me to please visit and treat

the sick woman. I held off as much as possible, by saying that inasmuch

as I did not believe in any of those superstitions, it was impossible

to cure her; aside from the fact that I was not even a physician. My

excuses availed nothing. They begged and entreated me so hard that

there was no other remedy than to comply with their wishes. When

I reached the house of the sick person, she was, as the saying is,

throwing up her guts, so great was the violence of the vomiting. As

soon as she had fallen sick she had lost her sight so completely that

she could see absolutely nothing, as long as she was attacked by the

sickness, and very little (indeed, very little), when the attack left

her. Consequently, she was told nothing of my arrival until she heard

me speak. She asked her brothers who was there, and they told her,

adding that they had summoned me to cure her.

As soon as it was understood that I was there for that purpose, the

vomiting ceased for a moment, and the woman was quite calm. After a

quarter of an hour, and feeling vexed because of the false light in

which they were trying to make me appear, I took my leave, saying

that since the ailment of the sick woman had passed, I had nothing

to do there. But scarcely had I crossed the threshold of the street

door when the vomiting was repeated and one of the brothers called me

again in a low voice, asking me to please have the kindness to return

since the sick woman was once more attacked by the mangkukulam. I armed

myself with patience, and went back until I again found myself face to

face with the sick woman. At a certain moment in which the patient was

making great efforts to expel what she had in her stomach, I asked

one of those present in a loud voice to please get me some anonas

branches. The vomiting of the sick woman ceased suddenly as soon as she

heard such a request, and did not return to rack her all that day and

until the following day. At that time the same scenes were reproduced

as on the preceding day. For three days they continued to call me to

the said house, and I perceived that the attack disappeared as soon

as I spoke of, or mentioned, the anonas. For the rest, I declare

that in spite of these observations, I have not come to believe in,

or to be convinced of, the existence of witches in Filipinas. However,

such beliefs continue to exist in the popular mind.

There are two kinds of physicians of the kulam. Those belonging to

the first class are the ones of whom I have just spoken. Those of

the second class are inoffensive and very worthy, therefore, of

being mentioned.

Several persons have informed me of the following fact of which they

were eyewitnesses. On a certain occasion a physician of the kulam was

summoned to treat a swelling. That physician after having examined the

sick person carefully, and proved that there really was a swelling,

asked for a bit of wax, of which he made a small figure of human

shape. While he was moulding the small figure, he ordered hot water

prepared in a carahay, and when it began to boil, he put the figure

upright on it. When all the people expected to see it dissolved in

the boiling water (tremble, my readers!) they saw the figure begin to

jump about on the water without being submerged or being melted. Ten

or fifteen minutes after the small figure had been hopping about

on the surface of the water, a person came to the door of the house,

calling out with vehemence. He was beating his feet quite openly with a

handkerchief which he carried in his hand. He could not remain quiet or

keep any position for five seconds, so restless was he. He was making

so many contortions and grimaces with his face that one could not at

all doubt that he was suffering terribly. He appeared to be walking

on thorns. When that man reached the inside of the house, he began to

beg pardon over and over again, promising never again to do "what he

had done. The physician of the kulam took the small wax figure from

the water and approached the new arrival, whom he ordered to undo

the charm with which he had troubled the patient. The new arrival

replied immediately that it was undone. Thereupon the physician told

him never again to repeat what he had just done, and threatened him

that it be relapsed, he would have to cut off his ears, so that all

people might recognize him as such magkukulam. The magkukulam, who

was the same man who had just arrived, promised never again to do what

he had done, for fear of being exposed to the wrath of the populace.

When this was finished, the physician sent him away, and from that

moment, the sick person was completely well.

Besides these, it is said that there is another kind of magkukulam

who are known under the name of kusim or palipad hagin. But I believe

that it is the same dog with a different collar; for I consider that

the kusim or the palipad hagin is nothing else than a variety of the

power of witchcraft possessed by these beings.

In the mind of the masses, it is held that the ailment or sickness

which these latter beings bring about are sent through the air,

whence they have taken their name. Those ailments are, moreover,

incurable, for they say (walang pasauli) that they do not return to

the place whence they have come.

Both these and the first, that is the simple magkukulam dash themselves

face downward every Friday in their respective quarters, well wrapped

up and uttering doleful exclamations. When this occurs, it is said that

they suffer terribly the consequences of their power. That condition

of depression is called nagbabata by the masses. On the following

day these beings are found all sound and well, and hurrying to the

witches' sabbath, or unlawful assembly which is held at a determined

spot, where on midnight of Saturday meet the asuang, mananangal, and

mangkukulam, in order that they may all together enjoy the delicious

feast of human flesh.

Jose Nunez

Manila, December 6, 1905.

NOTES

[1] The translation of the title-page of the above book is as follows:

"History of the province of Santissimo Rosario de Philipinas [i. e.,

most holy rosary of the Philipinas], China, and Tunking, of the holy

order of the Preachers. Third part. In which are treated the events

of said province from 1669 to 1700. Composed by the Reverend Father

Fray Vicente de Salazar, rector of the college of Santo Thomas of the

city of Manila, and chancellor of its university. Dedicated to the

sovereign queen of the angels, the most holy Mary, in her miraculous

image of the rosary, which is venerated with the universal devotion

of the people in the church of Santo Domingo of the said city of

Manila. Printed by the press of the said college and university of

Santo Tomas of the said city, in the year 1742." The first two parts

of this history (those by Aduarte and Santa Cruz) have been given in

translation and synopsis in preceding volumes in this series.

Fray Vicente Salazar was born in Ocana and professed at Valladolid. He

became a professor in Spain. Arriving in Manila in 1727, he became

a professor in the college of Santo Tomas and in 1742 was its

rector. Later he became prior of the Manila convent. The last years of

his life were spent in the Ituy missions, his death occurring between

the years of 1755-1759. See Retana's edition of Zuniga's Estadismo,

ii, p. 615.

[2] For sketches of the members of this mission, see Resena biografica,

ii, pp. 101-194.

[3] See Resena biografica, ii, pp. 194-230, for sketches of these

missionaries.

[4] See the Recollect account of these transactions in VOL. XLI.

[5] Fray Alarcon was a native of Archidona, and professed in

the convent at Madrid June 30, 1661. On arriving at the islands

(1666), he was assigned to the province of Pangasinan. In 1669 he

was appointed master of novitiates in Manila, but resigned the post

that same year. In 1673 he went to Formosa intending to enter the

Chinese missions, but finding that impossible he returned to Manila

in 1674. From 1675-1678 he labored in the missions of the province

of Bataan, being sent the latter year to the Chinese missions; but

finding it necessary to return to Manila shortly after, his subsequent

efforts to return again to China were unavailing. He died in Manila

September 15, 1685, after a lingering illness. See Resena biografica,

ii, pp. 59-61.

[6] The Zambals were not Negritos, although they may have been a

mixture of Negrito blood. They were probably somewhat the same as

the Igorots, and hence a race of Malay extraction.

[7] i.e., in Aduarte's Historia; see VOL. XXXII, p. 55.

[8] Fray Jeronimo de Ulloa was a Galician, who professed at Coruna

March 13, 1665, at the age of twenty-one. He was a zealous missionary

in various Cagayan missions and in the Babuyanes. His death occurred

in 1700 or 1701. See Resena biografica, ii, pp. 175-179.

[9] Fray Pedro Jimenez took the Dominican habit in 1658, and arrived

in the Philippines in 1666. He labored principally in the province

of Cagayan where he was at different times assigned to different

missions. He died December 20 without being able to receive the last

sacraments. See Resena biografica, ii, pp. 61-77.

[10] W. A. Reed says (Negritos of Zambales, pp. 40, 41): "He is

repulsively dirty in his home, person, and everything he does. Nothing

is ever washed except his hands and face, and those only rarely. He

never takes a bath, because he thinks that if he bathes often he is

more susceptible to cold, that a covering of dirt serves as clothing,

although he frequently gets wet either in the rain or when fishing

or crossing streams. This is probably one reason why skin diseases

are so common."

[11] See sketches of these missionaries in Resena biografica, ii,

pp. 230-256.

[12] This is an error, as the Mandayas are a Mindanao tribe. Probably

the Apayaos, who live in the district of Ayangan in the comandancia

of Quiangan are meant. In Bontoc and other northern provinces of Luzon

the word I-fu-gao means "the people;" it is the name which the Bontoc

Igorots apply to themselves. The name Apayao, in northern Luzon, is

another form of the same word. See Census of Philippines, i, p. 469;

Blumentritt's List of Tribes in Philippines (Mason's translation);

and Jenks's Bontoc Igorot, p. 33.

[13] Fray Juan Iniguez was a native of Antequera, and made his

profession at Sevilla, September 21, 1671. Reaching the Philippines

(1671) at the age of twenty-four, he was immediately assigned to

the province of Cagayan where he labored until 1720, the year of his

death. See Resena biografica, ii, pp. 211-215.

[14] These are not a separate tribe as one would be led to suppose

by Blumentritt, but a branch of the Igorot people. See Census of

Philippines, i, pp. 456-459.

[15] The natives of Malaoeg and Tuao revolted at the end of 1718 under

their leaders Magtangaga and Tomas Sinaguingan. They were put down

by Captain Don Juan Pablo de Orduna, and the rebels were punished. See

Montero y Vidal, i, p. 414.

[16] Fray Mateo Gonzalez made his profession September 5, 1667, and

arrived at the Philippines in 1671 at the age of twenty-seven. He was

assigned to Cagayan, where he labored extensively. He also worked

in the Babuyanes and introduced the mission work into the Batanes,

his death occurring in the latter islands July 25, 1688. See Resena

biografica, ii, pp. 155-157.

[17] A correspondent, William Edmonds, principal of schools in the

Batanes Islands, says in a letter of April 9, 1906: "I have an idea

that either the formation of the land [of the Batanes] is entirely

changed (two islands then being one now) or that there is some serious

error in Dampier's topography [see VOL. XXXIX, pp. 96-115]. The names

of many of the islands now are not those given by Dampier." Of the

later history of the Batanes Islands Mr. Edmonds says: "In 1791,

Governor-general Don Jose Basco sent an expedition with an alcalde,

two Dominican missionaries, mechanics, and artificers to establish

civil government. In a short time the people were instructed in

material arts, constructing tribunals, churches, convents, schools, and

houses, all of stone walls, one vara thick, to resist typhoons. Five

municipalities were established, the islands forming a district of the

province of Cagayan. In September, 1897, these pacific islands fell an

easy prey to the Revolutionary expedition which sacked the churches and

convents, and carried away the priests as prisoners to Cagayan. The

Katipunan government ruled until December, 1899, when the American

government took possession. In October, 1903, the various towns were

united into one municipality of the province of Cagayan." As references

concerning these islands, Mr. Edmonds gives El Correo Sino Anamita

(Manila, 1866-1892), xxix, p. 483; and Marin's Ensayo (Manila, 1901),

ii, pp. 690, 801: both publications of the Dominicans.

[18] Fray Diego Pinero was assigned upon his arrival at the islands in

1684 to the convent of Malaueg in Cagayan. His stay in the Babuyanes

was short as is related in the text. His remaining missionary labors

were in the province of Cagayan. His death occurred at Lallo-c at

the beginning of 1712 or a trifle before. See Resena biografica, ii,

pp. 236, 237.

[19] The island of Calayan was taken formal possession of for

the United States by the government ship "Princeton," January 10,

1900. It is one of the islands of the Babuyanes group, and is lofty

and uneven. See Gazetteer of Philippine Islands, p. 418.

[20] Fray Jose Galfarroso (or Halfarroso de la Trinidad, as his name

is given in Resena biografica) made his profession September 10,

1664. Upon his arrival at the Philippines in 1671, he was assigned

to the Cagayan field, where he held various posts, and where most if

not all of his missionary labors were passed. He died, probably in

Cagayan, early in 1700. See ut supra, ii, pp. 160, 161.

[21] Fray Juan de Santo Domingo was born in 1640 near Calatayud,

and professed in the convent of Ocana October 22, 1661. He went

to the Philippines in 1666, his first two years being occupied in

duties in Manila. Assigned to the province of Pangasinan, he labored

there for eighteen years, and exercised various duties. In 1682 he

was chosen definitor, and in 1686 he was transferred to the Manila

convent. He was the real founder of the Beaterio of Santa Catalina de

Sena, and ordained its rules July 26, 1696, while provincial. During

his term as provincial he also organized the tertiary branch of his

order. After his term as provincial he was appointed vicar of the

beatas and president of the college of San Juan de Letran. In 1702 he

was again elected prior of Manila convent, and because of the death

of the provincial exercised the duties of that office, to which he

was regularly elected again in 1706. At the end of his second term he

again took up his duties as head of the beaterio and college. Besides

the above posts and offices he was also commissary of the Holy Office

and definitor in the chapters of 1682 and 1716. His death occurred

at Manila, January 15, 1726. See Resena biografica, ii, pp. 26-34.

[22] See sketches of these missionaries in Resena biografica, ii,

pp. 363-457.

[23] Sketches of these missionaries will be found in Resena biografica,

ii, pp. 457-497.

[24] Fray Francisco de la Vega was assigned to Cagayan in 1686,

where he labored in various missions there and in the Babuyanes. He

died at Fotol in the beginning of 1710. See Resena biografica, ii,

pp. 249, 250.

[25] Fray Vicente del Riesgo was a native of San Felix de Valdesoto. On

arriving at the Philippines at the age of twenty-six, he was assigned

to the Cagayan field where he spent the rest of his life (with the

exception of a brief period spent in Manila as prior of that convent,

and master of novitiates), and where he occupied various posts. He

died in Cabagan, June 24, 1724. See Resena biografica, ii, pp. 440-446.

[26] Fray Tomas Ortiz took the Augustinian habit at the age of

nineteen, at the Valladolid convent in 1687. Within a short time after

his arrival in Manila he became lecturer there (1695), and acted as

secretary of the province. Soon however he went to China to engage

in the mission work of that empire, and upon the expulsion of the

missionaries in 1713, he was appointed prior of Manila, and in 1716

provincial. He filled other important posts in the mission work of the

islands, and died at Manila in 1742. He composed numerous works in

Spanish, Tagalog, and Chinese. See Perez's Catalogo, pp. 167-173. A

fuller account of his life is also given in vol. xxix of Revista

Agustiniana.

[27] The calumpang tree (Sterculia foetida--Linn.) grows to a great

size; its roots branch out half way up the trunk, and are so large

that a roof could be laid over them so that they could be used as

a dwelling. The fruit of this tree resembles a pomegranate, which

divides when ripe into four quarters having certain kernels, from

which an oil is extracted which is used for medicine, and which the

natives use to anoint the hair. The wood is easy to work but is not

very durable. See Delgado's Historia, p. 457; Blanco's Flora, p. 524;

and Official Handbook of the Philippines, p. 346.

[28] Many instances of ancestor worship by the peoples of the

Philippines are recorded in this series. There is no evidence that

suggests that the custom was borrowed from the Chinese. It had become

the general rule almost in the Philippines to refer many things,

the origin of which was unknown, to the Chinese.

[29] This is the anting-anting. See Retana's Aniterias, which gives

examples of formulas, most of which are a meaningless conglomeration

of words.

[30] A Tagalog word for a sort of earthen vessel. See Noceda and

Sanlucar's Vocabulario de la lengua tagala.

[31] The translation of the title-page of the Historia is as follows:

"History of the Philipinas Islands, composed by the reverend father

lector, Fray Joaquin Martinez de Zuniga of the Order of St. Augustine,

ex-definitor of his province, calificador of the Holy Office,

and regular parish priest of the village of Paranaque. With the

necessary licenses. Printed in Sampaloc, by Fray Pedro Argueelles de

la Concepcion, Franciscan religious, in the year 1803."

Joaquin Martinez de Zuniga was one of the most illustrious men

of the Augustinian order who ever labored in the Philippines. He

was born in Aguilar in Navarra, February 19, 1760, and deciding to

embrace the religious life professed in the Augustinian college at

Valladolid January 26, 1779. Setting out for the Philippines in 1785,

he remained one year in Mexico, before going to them, arriving in

Manila, August 3, 1786. In the islands he learned the Tagalog language,

and acted as minister-associate in Batangas and Tambobon for four

years. In 1790 he was appointed lector [i. e., reader or lecturer],

but was soon appointed parish priest of Hagonoy (1791). In 1792 he

acted as secretary of the province, and in 1794 and 1797 administered

the villages of Calumpit and Pasig respectively. Being invited by

General Alava to accompany him on his tour of inspection among the

islands, he did so, and the Estadismo (published in Madrid in 1893 by

W. E. Retana) is the fruit of that journey. After returning to Manila,

he took charge of the parish of Paranaque (1801-1806). In 1806 he was

elected provincial of the order. He had also filled the office of

definitor in 1794, and was a calificador of the Holy Office. After

his provincialate he resumed charge of the ministry of Paranaque

which he held until his death (March 7, 1818). The Historia has been

translated into English by John Maver and printed in two editions. He

is said also to have translated, annotated, and printed the work of Le

Gentil, but which Retana (Estadismo, i, pp. xviii, xxix) says cannot

now be found. Apropos of this, Dr. T. H. Pardo de Tavera sends a copy

of the title-page of a MS. of this Spanish work which is as follows:

"Voyage of M. Le Gentil, to the Philipinas Islands, translated from

the French into the Spanish, by the very reverend father lector, Fray

Joaquin Martinez de Zuniga.... The translator adds some notes in which

he reveals and refutes many errors of the author." Pardo de Tavera says

that this MS. is unpublished and that its existence is unsuspected and

not known even by the Augustinians. See Perez's Cataloga, pp. 346-348,

and Pardo de Tavera's Biblioteca Filipina (Washington, 1903), p. 252.

[32] Louis Lapicque, chief of the laboratory of the faculty of Medicine

in Paris, was commissioned by the Minister of Public Instruction

in 1892 to study the question of the distribution of the Negrito

and to collect data concerning that race. He spent the months of

March-December 1893 in this study, working in the Andaman Islands,

the Mergui Islands in the Bay of Bengal, and the Malay Peninsula,

and considering also in his report the inhabitants of other places,

especially the Philippines. He brings out the interesting conclusion

that the inhabitants of the Andaman Islands are perhaps the purest race

in existence, and that they are closely allied to the Negritos of the

Philippines. Both being brachycephalic, they are thus differentiated

from the African negro, who is dolichocephalic. See Annales de

Geographie, v, pp. 407-424. Wm. A. Reed (Negritos of Zambales, p. 34)

gives the average of the cephalic index of the nineteen individuals

whom he was able to measure as 82 for the males and 86 for the females.

[33] Angola, formerly called Dongo or Ambonde, is located on the west

coast of Africa. Its coast was discovered in 1486 by the Spaniards

who still own it.

[34] Of the Bontoc Igorot, Albert Ernest Jenks, chief of the

Ethnological Survey of the Philippines, says (The Bontoc Igorot,

Manila, 1905, p. 14): "He belongs to that extensive stock of primitive

people of which the Malay is the most commonly named. I do not believe

he has received any of his characteristics, as a group, from either the

Chinese or Japanese, though this theory has frequently been presented."

[35] That the theory of the origin of the Filipino peoples here

expressed is false needs no demonstration. The peoples of the

Philippines show two stocks--the Malayan and the Negrito. The

inhabitants of the Polynesian Islands (using the term in its restricted

sense) probably migrated from the East Indies and hence are allied

to the modern Malayan peoples, and the same is true of the Huvas of

Madagascar, having migrated from the parent stock from which the latter

peoples originated. Sec Cust's Modern Languages of East India (London,

1878); and New International Encyclopaedia; Lesson's Les Polynesiens

(Paris, 1880-84); and Ratzel's History of Mankind (English translation,

London, 1898).

[36] The San Duisk Islands are the Sandwich or Hawaiian Islands;

and the Otayti Islands are the Society Islands, so called from their

largest island O-Taiti, Taiti, or Tahiti. The group of the Society

Islands, of which Tahiti is chief, is called Windward Islands.

[37] Easter Island, so called because discovered by Roggeveen

on Easter of 1772; called also Waihu, Teapi, and by the natives

Rapanui. The inhabitants of this island are the last outpost of the

Malayo-Polynesian race. It has belonged to Chile since 1888.

[38] The Tagalog word for "house" is bahay, not balay.

[39] A reference to La Araucana, a Spanish epic poem written by

Alonso de Ercilla y Zuniga, the first part of which (15 cantos) was

published at Madrid, 1569. This is the first work of literary merit

known to have been composed upon either American continent. Ercilla

y Zuniga accompanied Felipe II to England on the occasion of his

marriage to Mary Tudor. Thence he went to Chile with the army to

fight the rebellious Araucanians. He was accused of having plotted an

insurrection, and was condemned to death but the sentence was commuted

to exile to Callao. He returned to Spain in 1562 and being coldly

received wandered through various European countries until 1580 when

he died in Madrid poor and forgotten. The continuations of his poem

consisting of 37 cantos in all, were published in 1578 and 1590. The

complete poem is published in vol. 17 of Autores espanoles (Madrid,

1851). See New International Encyclopaedia, and Grande Encyclopedie.

[40] In May, 1874, three canoes containing sixteen savages were driven

by gales from the Pelew Islands, and after drifting on the ocean sixty

days reached Formosa, distant 1,600 miles; and all but one survived

these hardships--a striking example of endurance in both themselves

and their craft (Davidson, Formosa, p. 215).

[41] Charles Wilkes was born in New York City, in 1798. He entered

the U. S. navy as midshipman in 1818, and sailed in the Mediterranean

and Pacific. He became lieutenant in 1826, and was placed in charge

of the department of charts and instruments in 1830. In 1838, he was

placed in charge of the expedition authorized by Congress in 1836

for the purpose of exploring and surveying the southern ocean. This

was the first scientific expedition fitted out by the United States

government, and much valuable information resulted from it. Of the

record of the expedition (which lasted during the years 1838-1842)

consisting of nineteen volumes, Wilkes wrote the six containing the

narrative and the volumes on meteorology and hydrography. In 1843 he

was made a commander, and a captain in 1855. He served through most

of the Civil war on the northern side and was the one who removed

the Confederate commissioners Slidell and Mason from the English mail

boat "Trent," November 8, 1861. He was made a commodore in July 1862,

retired in June 1864, and created a rear admiral on the retired list,

in 1866. His death occurred in 1877. The names of the vessels in

his fleet were the sloops of war "Vincennes" and "Peacock," the brig

"Porpoise," the store-ship "Relief," and the two tenders, "Sea-Gull,"

and "Flying-Fish." See Introduction to Vol. i. of Wilkes's narrative,

and New International Encyclopaedia.

[42] i.e., The island of Busuanga, the largest of the Calamianes group,

which has an area of 390 square miles. See Census of Philippines, i,

p. 274.

[43] i.e., The island of Ambolon, south of Mindoro, of four square

miles. See ut supra, i, p. 267.

[44] The island of Simara, near Romblon.

[45] "Although Spain had jurisdiction over these islands for more than

three centuries, little topographic information had been acquired

regarding them, except such as was of a very general character. The

coasts were badly mapped, and in many places are now known to have been

miles out of position. The coast charts, made from Spanish surveys, are

so inaccurate as to be, on the whole, worse than useless to mariners,

while of the interior of the larger islands, little was known except

what could be seen from the sea." Census of the Philippines, i, p. 51.

[46] The population is given by the Census for 1903 (ii, p. 30)

as 743,646.

[47] On my arrival at Singapore, this circumstance was investigated by

a court of inquiry. The result showed that Mr. Knox had no knowledge

of the Vincennes having been seen; for the officer of the watch had

not reported to him the fact.--Wilkes.

[48] The full name of this village is San Jose de Buenavista. It is

the capital of Antique.

[49] The crest of the mountains in Panay is a few miles inland from

the west coast. Among the peaks of that range, are the following:

Usigan, 4,300 ft.; Agotay, 3,764 ft.; Madiaas, 7,466 ft.; Nangtud,

6,834 ft.; Maymagui, 5,667 ft.; Llorente, 4,466 ft.; Tiguran, 4,900

ft.; and Igbanig, 4,343 ft. See Census of Philippines, i, p. 69.

[50] Wilkes accompanies (p. 349) this description of Caldera fort

with a sketch.

[51] There are two islands called Sangboy, one called the north island

and the other the south island. They both belong to the Pilas group of

the Sulu Archipelago, and are less than one square mile in area. See

Census of Philippines, i, p. 283.

[52] Wilkes presents figures of both the whole canoe and a cross

section, on p. 353.

[53] For the methods of fishing in the Philippines, see Official

Handbook, p. 151. Wilkes also mentions (v, pp. 321, 322) various

methods, namely, by weirs, hooks, and seine. The former are made

of bamboo stakes in the shallow waters of the lake of Bay where it

empties into the Pasig. The nets used in the bay are suspended by the

four corners from hoops attached to a crane by which they are lowered

into the water. The fishing-boats are little better than rafts and

are called saraboas.

[54] Evidently at the village of Jolo.

[55] On p. 354, Wilkes presents a sketch of houses at Soung--the

typical Moro house.

[56] A full-page engraving of the "Mosque in the town of Sooloo"

faces page 354 of Wilkes's narrative.

[57] Chewing the betel-nut and pepper-leaf also produce this effect,

and is carried on to a great extent among these islanders.--Wilkes.

[58] Cf. the description of the betel caskets given by Morga, VOL. XVI,

p. 99.

[59] The Sultan, on the visit of one of our merchant-vessels, had

informed the supercargo that he wished to encourage our trade, and

to see the vessels of the United States coming to his port.--Wilkes.

[60] An engraving made from this sketch is given by Wilkes facing

p. 358.

[61] Opium is known by its Arabic name "afyun" throughout the Eastern

Archipelago. Crawfurd asserts that its moderate use produces no worse

results than does the moderate use of wine, spirits, and perhaps

smoking. Shortly after American occupation of the Philippines,

the necessity for taking some action in regard to the traffic was

seen. The Philippine Commission were convinced that the smoking of

opium was increasing among the Filipinos. Accordingly a committee

was appointed to study the conditions, and restrictions of other

Oriental countries in regard to opium. There were then practically no

restrictions in regard to the smoking of the drug. On August 1, 1903,

there were 190 opium dens in Manila, and no license was required, as

they had no authority in law. The vice was mainly restricted to the

Chinese. In 1904 a considerable amount of opium was smuggled into the

district of Lanao in Mindanao. "Nothing has had a more demoralizing

effect upon the Moros and savage peoples than opium, and it will

absolutely destroy them if its importation and use is authorized.... It

is believed that a license to smoke opium, sufficiently low to escape

fraud, should be issued for those hopelessly addicted to the habit,

and that exceedingly severe penalties should attach to those who

furnish opium to youth or those who are nonsmokers.... It is a poor

policy in developing a people to count on the income of legalized

vice for a large portion of the revenue, as is done in most eastern

colonies." The importation of opium has shown considerable increase

during American occupation. See Crawfurd's Dictionary, pp. 312-314; and

the following reports of the Philippine Commission--for 1903, pt. i,

p. 63, pt. 2, p. 96; for 1904, pt. 2, pp. 590, 591, pt. 3, p. 545.

[62] Since our return, inquiries have been made by him, which resulted

in proving that such was in truth their origin, and that the vessel

in which they were shipped was for a long time missing. The identical

stones which he saw were a part of a monument that was on its way

to Canton.--Wilkes.

[63] Marongas belongs to the Jolo group of the Sulu Archipelago, and

has an area of .4 square miles. See Census of Philippines, i, p. 284.

[64] The Sulug or Sulus were the dominant people of Jolo before their

conversion to Mahometanism, and still maintain that position. The bulk

of the Moro Sulus is on the island of Jolo and the islands immediately

south as far as Siassi and Pandami. See Census of Philippines, i,

pp. 463, 464.

[65] Orang is the Malay term for man or human being. As used here it

would mean "the men," i. e., "nobles."

[66] The tripang or sea-slug (Holothuria edulis), which is esteemed

as a great delicacy by the Chinese.

[67] Evidently the people called Guimbajanos by the historians of the

eighteenth century. From Wilkes's description, they would appear to

be at least partially Negrito.

[68] Banjarmasin is a principality and river on the southern side of

Borneo, the word meaning in Javanese "salt or saline garden." The

sovereignty of Banjarmasin is said in olden times to have extended

over all of southeastern Borneo. See Crawfurd's Dictionary (pp. 36,

37), where an historical sketch of the principality is given.

[69] The Chinese emperor at this time was Choo Yuen Chang, the

founder of the Ming dynasty, who defeated Chunti, the last of the

Mongol dynasty, in 1367, and ruled from then until the year 1398. He

adopted as emperor the name of Hongwon. The statements in the text may

be only common report. See Boulger's Short History of China, pp. 79-87.

[70] See Montero y Vidal's account of Joloan affairs during this

period, in his Historia, i, pp. 475-548, 561-581, ii, pp. 6-77,

575, 576.

[71] Manila was captured by the English October 6 (or, October 5,

according to Spanish reckoning), 1762 (not 1763). See A plain Narrative

(London, 1565?), p. 4.

[72] This name is derived from the large bay that makes in on the south

side of the island of Mindanao, and on which a set of free-booters

reside.--Wilkes.

This is the bay of Illana. Illano or Illanum means "people of the

lake." At present they inhabit the south coast of Mindanao from Punta

[de] Flechas to Polloc. They are but few in number, but in the past

have been bold pirates. They are probably closely connected with the

Malanao or Moros dwelling in the valley of Lake Lanao. See Census of

Philippines, i, pp. 466, 472.

[73] Pulo Toolyan is Tulaian of the Jolo group of the Sulu Archipelago,

with an area of .5 sq. mi.; Tonho may be Tango or Tangu of the Tawi

Tawi group; Pilas is the chief island of its group, with an area of

8.2 sq. mi.; Tawi Tawi is the chief island of its group, with an area

of 232 sq. mi.; Sumlout is perhaps Simaluc, of the Tawi Tawi group,

with an area of 1.3 sq. mi.; Pantutaran is perhaps Pantocunan, of the

Jolo group, with an area of .6 sq. mi.; Parodasan is perhaps Parangaan

of the Tawi Tawi group, or Parangan of the Tapul group; Basilan is

the chief island of its group, with an area of 478 sq. mi. See Census

of Philippines, i.

[74] In 1861 a number of light steam gunboats with steel hulls

and of twenty or thirty horsepower were constructed in England for

the Spaniards for use against the Moro pirates; and they were very

effective in reducing piracy, both in the Lake Lanao district and that

of Mindanao and the adjacent islands. See Montero y Vidal's Historia,

iii, pp. 327, 328, and elsewhere; and Historia de la pirateria, ii.

[75] The sea-gypsies. See VOL. XXXVI, p. 199, note 38.

[76] This treaty is as follows:

[Preceding the text of the treaty are some Arabic characters.]

I, Mohamed, Sultan of Sooloo, for the purpose of encouraging trade

with the people of the United States of America, do promise hereby

and bind myself that I will afford full protection to all vessels of

the United States, and their commanders and crews visiting any of

the islands of my dominions, and they shall be allowed to trade on

the terms of the most favoured nation, and receive such provisions

and necessaries as they may be in want of.

2dly. In case of shipwreck or accident to any vessel, I will afford

them all the assistance in my power, and protect the persons and

property of those wrecked, and afford them all the assistance in my

power for its preservation and safe-keeping, and for the return of

the officers and crews of said vessels to the Spanish settlements,

or wherever they may wish to proceed.

3dly. That any one of my subjects who shall do any injury or harm to

the commanders or crews belonging to American vessels, shall receive

such punishment as his crime merits.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal, in presence

of the datus and chiefs at Soung, island of Sooloo.

February 5th, 1842.

[Here follows a signature in Arabic characters.]

Witnesses:

Charles Wilkes,

Commanding Exploring Expedition.

William L. Hudson,

Late Commanding U. S. Ship Peacock.

R. R. Waldron, Purser,

U. S. Exploring Expedition.

[77] Pangutarang is the largest island of the numerous group of the

same name belonging to the Sulu Archipelago, and has an area of 42

square miles. See Census of Philippines, i, p. 284.

[78] Cagayan Sulu has an area of 27 square miles. It is located in

a group of 31 islands. See Census of Philippines, i, p. 286.

[79] According to Census of Philippines (i, p. 28, ii, p. 123),

the area of the Davao district is 9,707 square miles, and the total

population 65,496, of whom 45,272 are uncivilized.

[80] Jose Oyanguren was a native of Guipuzcoa who went to the

Philippines in 1825, leaving Spain for political reasons. He passed

several years in the province of Caraga (now Surigao), engaged in

business, and in the Calamianes. For a number of years also he occupied

the judicial post in Tondo. In 1846 he was deprived of that post

because such officials were thereafter appointed in Madrid. On hearing

of the cession of the gulf of Davao by the sultan to the Spaniards,

he visited that region. On his return he proposed to Governor Claveria

to conquer and subdue the entire gulf district, expel or pacify the

Moros there, and establish the Christian religion, if he were given

supplies and equipment, the command of the district, and exclusive

rights of trade therein. A decree issued by Claveria February 27,

1847, gave him the command for ten years and exclusive rights of

trade for the first six years. He was also given artillery, muskets,

and ammunition, and permission to raise a company. By the beginning

of 1849 he was in peaceful possession of the entire coast-line of the

gulf and then turned his attention into the interior. The government,

however, did not live up to its promises, and Oyanguren after the

death of Claveria was removed from his command. The last years of

his life (1852-1859) were spent in the fruitless endeavor to obtain

what had been promised him. See Montero y Vidal's Hist. pirateria,

i, pp. 382-403.

[81] A vessel for the coasting trade in the Philippines. See New

Velazquez Dictionary.

[82] The island of Samal is located in the Gulf of Davao, and has an

area of 147 square miles. See Census of Philippines, i, p. 282.

[83] This is the Tagalog word for the upper part of a village. It

seems here to mean the eastern mountainous district of Surigao.

[84] Of the tribes of Mindanao, Census of Philippines, i, p. 462,

says: "Going eastward in Mindanao and passing by the central lake

region, which is inhabited entirely by Lanao Moros, we come to other

tribes, which, so far as I have seen, differ in no essential from

the Subanon.... Around the headwaters of the Rio Grande de Mindanao

they are called Manobo. South of the Rio Grande they are called

Tiruray, Bilan, Manobo, and other names. The reason for the use

of these different terms is not satisfactorily explained. There are

doubtless changes of dialect between them comparable to the changes we

find among the Igorots in northern Luzon, but I believe it is hardly

justifiable to break up into separate tribes or divisions a population

so thoroughly homogeneous as these pagans of Mindanao appear to be."

[85] Sangil is a local term apparently derived from the volcano of

the same name. It is sometimes applied as a collective title for pagan

tribes of that region and sometimes to the Maguindanao Moros, who have

settled between Craan and Makar. See Census of Philippines, i, p. 476.

[86] The Tagacaolos are closely related to the Bagobos. The word

is probably derived from "olo," meaning "head," and thus "source"

(of a river), the particle ka, "toward," and the prefix taga. The

entire word thus means "people who go up toward the source of the

river," to distinguish them from the "Tagabawa," people who live in

the lowlands, bawa meaning "down," the "region low down." See Census

of Philippines, i, pp. 462, 476.

[87] This promise was fulfilled June 21 of the same year, and the

letter is given in the Cartas, pp. 93-111.

[88] i. e., The district ruled over by a dato.

[89] The pagatpat (Sonneratia), called also palapad and palatpat,

is frequently found along the beaches. It grows to the height

of twenty feet or so. Its wood is strong and is used in ordinary

construction. The fruit is very sour and a vinegar is made from

it. See Blanco, pp. 296, 297.

[90] Pedro Rosell, S. J., was born at Lerida September 4, 1849,

and entered his novitiate in the Society of Jesus, October 2, 1878,

being already a priest. He went to the Philippines in 1880, and died

in Caraga, January 4, 1888. See Sommervogel's Bibliotheque.

[91] This mission belongs to the district of Misamis.

[92] i.e., From my inmost heart.

[93] i.e., We have labored in vain.

[94] The bayog (Pterospermum hastatum) is often found along the

Batangas beach and in other places. Oars are made of the wood which

is soft and light. See Blanco, pp. 367, 368.

[95] See citation of these verses and brief description of the

sacrifice by Pablo Pastells, in VOL. XII, p. 270, note 83.

[96] It is difficult to believe that this eloquent passage was written

so recently as 1885. It furnishes a striking proof of the medievalism

of thought that persevered even among the Jesuits--a medievalism that

is not yet, unfortunately, entirely eliminated from the Christian

sects, both Catholic and Protestant. This same thought prevails

throughout the document.

[97] The coffee of the Philippines has a fine aroma and excellent

flavor, and will compare favorably with either Java or Mocha coffee. It

is said to have been brought to the islands by Spanish missionaries

during the latter part of the eighteenth century and its systematic

cultivation to have commenced early in the nineteenth century,

although it was neglected considerably and did not in consequence

attain the advanced state to which it should have attained. It was

first cultivated in the province of Laguna, and subsequently in other

provinces, notably Batangas and Cavite, coffee becoming quite an

extensive industry. Most of the coffee was produced in the provinces

named and in Tayabas, in Luzon and in Misamis and the district of

Cottabatto, in Mindanao, though appreciable quantities were grown

in other provinces. The highest grades of the berry were grown in

Batangas Province and the most inferior in Mindanao. In 1890 and

for several preceding years coffee ranked fourth in exports, falling

not far short of tobacco. See Census of Philippines, iv, pp. 76-78;

and Official Handbook, pp. 106, 107.

[98] i.e., The end of the earth.

[99] Beleno: Birth, in the sense of representing that of our Lord

Jesus Christ (Echegaray's Diccionario etimologico). Hence it was the

representation of a manger.

[100] Literally the "mass of the cock;" the mass that is said at

midnight on Christmas Eve, and hence equivalent to midnight mass.

[101] This mass is also called media. It is a mass sung, but without

deacon and sub-deacon and the ceremonies proper to High Mass. In some

American dioceses the use of incense is permitted at such masses. See

Addis and Arnold's Catholic Dictionary, p. 565.

[102] Or Missa solemnis, the high mass. See Addis and Arnold's Catholic

Dictionary, p. 565.

[103] Possibly a "house with festal decorations."

[104] i.e., And beyond.

[105] The Carolinas were discovered first by the Portuguese navigator,

Diogo da Rocha, in 1525, and different groups of them were seen by

early Spanish navigators. In 1686, one of them was discovered by the

Spanish admiral, Francisco Lezcano, who named it Carolina, in honor

of Carlos II, and the whole archipelago finally took its name from

it. They number about 525 islands counting reefs and uninhabited rocks,

and contain about 525 square miles. In the beginning of the eighteenth

century they were entirely abandoned by Spain, and were only brought

back to public notice in the beginning of the nineteenth century

through several scientific expeditions. Gradually German commercial

interests became paramount, and in 1885 the German flag was hoisted

in the island of Yap in the presence of two Spanish gunboats. The pope

arbitrating on the matter declared that the islands belonged to Spain,

but gave special privileges to Germany. In 1899, the Carolinas, Palaos,

and all of the Ladrones except Guam were ceded to Germany in payment

of 16,750,000 marks. See Montero y Vidal's Archipielago, pp. 483-505

(who gives the propositions submitted by the pope); Gregorio Miguel's

Estudio sobre las islas Carolinas; and New International Encyclopaedia.

[106] The volcano of Apo is located on the highest summit of the

Philippines, which is 10,311 ft. high. The first to attempt its ascent

was Jose Oyanguren in 1859, but he failed. It was first ascended in

1880 by Montano, Joaquin Rajal, and Mateo Gisbert, S. J. See Census

of Philippines, i, pp. 202-204.

[107] The Bilans are an exceedingly timid and wild people, fleeing,

it is said, even from Moros with whom they are unacquainted. They

inhabit the mountains south and west of Lake Buluan, in South Mindanao,

their range being southeast of that of the Tirurayes. Their religion

is a sort of demon worship and they are very superstitious. They

do not live in communities but each family by itself in a house

at least one-half mile from any other house. The brief examination

of those houses by Lieutenant H. Rodgers of the Philippine scouts,

leads to the belief that the Bilans are a race superior to the Moro,

being more cleanly, industrious, and more wealthy. The Moros do not

allow them to trade direct with the Chinese merchants. See Census of

Philippines, i, pp. 560, 561.

[108] Dr. Barrows says (Census of Philippines, i, p. 461): "Manobo

is a native word which, in the Bagobo language on the Gulf of Davao,

means 'man.' It is so given in Padre Gisbert's vocabulary and also in

a special vocabulary taken for the ethnological survey. Blumentritt,

however, suggests--and I believe with merit--that Manobo here in

Northern Mindanao is a derivation of Manubo, which is itself derived

from Masuba, meaning 'people of the river.' This term Manobo should

be retained for all of this great group living along the affluents

and tributary streams of the river Agusan, and the term might, with

propriety, I believe, be extended to the Montes farther west and

back of Misamis. If there are objections to applying the term Manobo

to these pagans of Misamis, I would suggest the application of our

general term Bukidnon."

[109] This letter is addressed directly to the superior of the mission.

[110] On the prevailing custom of making slaves among the peoples

in Mindanao, Father Gisbert says in a letter written May 20, 1886

(Cartas, Manila, 1887): "The slavehunt is not always easy. By availing

themselves of tricks and surprises, they can generally capture the

old people, women, and the children easily. They first kill those

who can make any resistance."

[111] Literally "shields." That is, the rice was measured into

the shield.

[112] i.e., So so, or, just as it was.

[113] On the Moros, see Census of Philippines, i, pp. 465-467, 561-585.

[114] The Yakan are a primitive Malayan tribe of the same type and

general culture as the Subanon of the Mindanao mainland, who live in

Basilan, and who, some generations ago, accepted the Mahometan faith

and are fanatical adherents thereof. They live scattered over the

island cultivating a little maize, rice, and tapioca, bringing out some

jungle product, but living as a whole miserably and in poverty. Some

of them have migrated to the peninsula of Zamboanga and the islands

adjacent to this coast. See Census of Philippines, i, pp. 465, 466.

[115] According to Census of Philippines, the population of the

comandancia of Basilan is 30,179, of whom 28,848 are uncivilized.

[116] Among the Samal Laut boys are trained for the priesthood by

making their homes with priests, where they remain for several years in

the capacity of servant and pupil. Occasionally, when grown they are

sent to Singapore for continuous study, but such cases are rare. If

a man goes to Mekka he is given the honorable title of pilgrim and

is held in high consideration. See Census of Philippines, i, p. 571.

[117] i.e., A distance of two palm-lengths.

[118] A dish made in the Philippines from the inner and harder shell

of the cocoanut.--See Echegaray's Diccionario etimologico, and Noceda

and Sanlucar's Vocabulario de la lengua tagala.

[119] See beliefs and superstitions of the North American Indians

in regard to eclipses in Jesuit Relations (Cleveland reissue), vi,

p. 223, xii, pp. 31, 73, xxii, p. 295.

[120] The principal articles of food are rice, for which corn is

sometimes substituted, fish, chickens, vegetables, wild fruits,

and cocoanut oil. The natives are fond of chickens and eggs, and most

families raise poultry for the table. Pork is forbidden by their faith,

and the use of venison, or the flesh of the carabao, ox, sheep, or

goat, is limited, the Moros being apparently not fond of meat. See

Census of Philippines, i, p. 564.

[121] Cogon (Imperata koenigii) is a species of grass of general

natural growth, the young shoots of which afford excellent food for

cattle. The grass is used in some localities as a substitute for

nipa, where the latter does not grow, in thatching roofs. The name

"cogon" is applied to many coarse, rank-growing grasses. See Census

of Philippines, iv, p. 118.

[122] We give the verses in the original language with the Spanish

translation of Father Pablo Cavalleria, and add the English translation

of the latter, which is necessarily crude.

[123] An authority among the Moros, after the panglima, and as well a

name denoting nobility of race and blood. See Cartas de ... la mision

de Filipinas (Manila, 1887), p. 34, note.

[124] The letter occupies pp. 326-349, and is accompanied by an

ethnographical map (which we do not reproduce) made by the fathers

of the Society of Jesuits. Our extract relates to the ethnology of

Mindanao, and occupies pp. 336-349.

[125] Dr. Barrows (Census of Philippines, i, pp. 462, 463), says

in speaking of the tribes of Mindanao that the term Indonesian has

been applied to some of them to explain their higher stature and

finer physique, which means that they are connected with people of

mixed Caucasian blood, who were in primitive times distributed across

the Malay Archipelago, and who find their purest living type in the

Polynesians. He does not accept the evidence, as the perceptible gain

in height among such peoples is not apparently accompanied by the other

distinguishing marks of the Caucasian or Polynesian, and consequently

regards them as Malayan. See also Le Roy's Philippine Life (New York,

1905), p. 20.

[126] See laws of the Samal Laut in regard to family and social life

in Census of Philippines, i, p. 569.

[127] The root of the plant gabe (Colocasia antiquorum variety)

is highly prized and extensively cultivated, the leaves also being

used as food. Of the resins and oils mentioned, piayo, also called

conferal and galagala (Agathis orantifolia--Salisb.) is used for

burning and lighting, and the manufacture of varnish; and balao or

malapaho (Dipterocarpus velulinno--Bl.) is used for calking. See Census

of Philippines, iv, pp. 121, 202, 221; and Philippine Gazetteer, p. 78.

[128] Cabo Negro (Caryota urens) is a palm from which a kind of starch

or sago is extracted. The camagon (Diospyros discolor) is a native

persimmon tree 30 to 45 ft. high growing in Luzon and some of the

other islands. See Census of Philippines, iv, pp. 139, 143.

[129] Salt is produced by evaporation, from a method taught prior to

the coming of the Spaniards by the Chinese. Sea-water, enclosed in

a depression surrounded by dykes, is evaporated by the sun's rays;

when the water has disappeared, the salt deposited on the floor of

the basin is gathered up and cleaned by filtration. See Census of

Philippines, iv, p. 469.

[130] This is the Musa sapientum, which is a variety of banana. This

fiber is inferior to abaca. See Census of Philippines, iv, p. 167.

[131] See Census of Philippines, i, pp. 566, 567, for the industrial

life of the Moros. The occupation of smith is especially honorable.

[132] The Coripha minor. Its trunk is black and very straight, and

the wood is very hard. It is also used for making stockades and for

conducting water. See Blanco, p. 161.

[133] Blanco describes a shrub called tubli, the fruit of which is

very small, and which he does not believe to belong to the species

Galactia under which he describes it. The lagtan or lactang (Anamirta

cocculus) is a coarse woody plant whose stems are used for tying and

binding. The wood is of a yellow color. It like the preceding plant

makes the fish that eat mixtures containing it exhibit the appearance

of intoxication so that they can be caught by the hand. The fruit is

called bayati by the natives. See Census of Philippines, iv, p. 155;

Blanco, pp. 411, 557, 558.

[134] The claims often put forward by many writers that some of

the peoples of the Philippines arise from a mixture of Chinese and

Japanese blood with the Malay have no foundation. The Chinese have,

it is true, mingled with almost every tribe in the archipelago,

but they have not given rise to a new tribe or race.

[135] i.e., They are a Negrito tribe.

[136] This is the Calamus maximus, a very large species of rattan. See

Blanco, pp. 185, 186; and Census of Philippines, iv, p. 159.

[137] See ante, p. 241, note 106.

[138] Throughout the friar chronicles and accounts the words "reduce"

and "reduction" are frequently employed. As used the words have a

rather wide application. The primary meaning is of course "conversion"

to the Christian faith, but along with this idea must be understood

the settlement of the converts in villages in a civilized manner,

where they could be under the immediate eye of their spiritual

directors. Hence the words bear in a sense a two-fold meaning--the

one religious, and the other civil.

[139] An allusion to Joseph Montano's Rapport a M. le ministre

de l'instruction publique sur une Mission aux Iles Philippines et

en Malaise (Paris, 1885). Of him Pardo de Tavera says (Biblioteca

filipino, p. 270): "Doctor Montano is a French anthropologist and

physician.... This book is very important and the author divides

it into five parts, namely, geology, meteorology, anthropology,

pathology, and dialects and political geography, with a few notices

regarding agriculture and commerce. The most important chapters are

those relating to anthropology and linguistics."

[140] Census of Philippines, i, p. 473, calls these people a branch

of the Mandayas.

[141] Dr. Barrows (Census of Philippines, i, p. 460) restricts the

term "Buquidnon" to mountain-dwellers in Luzon and the Visayas, who

escaped reduction when those islands were christianized. The term

"Buquidnon" means "people of the mountain forest."

[142] These are the Negritos. Aetas is the oldest known name for that

people. It is probably derived from the Tagalog word itim, "black." In

many places the Negrito seems to have disappeared by absorption into

the conquering Malay race. There are about 23,000 of them still in

the islands. See Census of Philippines, i, pp. 468, 478, 532, 533.

[143] Dr. Barrows (Census, i, p. 471) calls this people a division

of the Bagobos.

[144] The Bagobos, together with the Moros and Mandayas, are migratory

in habit, though they do not leave the province. They are said to be

fire worshipers. The blood feud prevails. The Ocacola Bagobos have

discontinued their annual sacrifice which they would eat. See Census

of Philippines, i, pp. 462, 463, 531.

[145] Called by Barrows (Census, i, p. 470) a Bagobo tribe.

[146] See ante, p. 199, note 84.

[147] A more complete title of this book by Jose Gumilla, S. J.,

is, El Orinoco ilustrado, historia natural, civil, y geographica,

de este gran rio ... govierno, usos y costumbres de los Indios sus

habitadores (Madrid, 1741).

[148] See ante, p. 197, note 82. Pardo de Tavera derives Tiruray from

atew rooter, "people living above," that is, "up the river." This

branch of the Manobos are described by First Lieut. G. S. Turner, Tenth

U. S. Infantry, who collected information for the Census among them,

"as ignorant, shiftless savages ruled by superstitions and fear, with

little moral or legal restraint upon their desires or passions. They

were formerly much preyed upon by Moros and Manobos, but they are

troubled no longer in this respect." See Census of Philippines, i,

pp. 462, 549-552.

[149] The Samal are an exceedingly important element in the Sulu

Archipelago. Their former locus, where the pure Samal dialect was

spoken, is in the islands between Basilan and Jolo, especially

Tonguil and Balanguingui. These were the very latest pirate haunts

to be broken up by the Spaniards. The Samal are now scattered along

the coast of Zamboanga and nearly everywhere in the archipelago of

Sulu. See Census of Philippines, i, p. 475.

[150] It is the custom among the heathen to change, suppress, and

add vowels. For example: binag for bunag, "baptism;" bidi for budi,

"girl;" isug for usug, "man;" buhay for bahay, "woman;" guianga for

guanga, "forest;" inay for ina, "mother;" budiay for budi; di for dili,

"no;" etc.--Pablo Pastells, S. J.

[151] An important pagan tribe whose habitat is about the bay of

Sibuguey and the bay of Dumanquilas. See Census of Philippines, i,

pp. 461, 462, 476.

[152] "The campaign of General Terrero in 1887 against the Sultanates

of Buhayen, Bacat, and Kuduranga in the 'cuenca' of the Pulangui

resulted in the occupation of Liong, Bacat, and Kuduranga, taking

possession likewise at this time of the cove of Pujaga (east coast)

of the bay of Sarangani, the port of Lebak, and that of Santa Maria,

commencing work on the trocha of Tukuran." Memoria de Mindanao by

Julian Gonzales Parrado.

In 1902 two military roads were planned by General George W. Davis

through Mindanao, one passing from the south and one from the north

coast of Mindanao into the very heart of the Moro country, and meeting

on the waters of Lake Lanao. See the story of the building of the roads

by Major R. L. Bullard of the 28th U.S. Infantry, who is stationed

at Iligan, Mindanao, in the Atlantic Monthly for December, 1903.

[153] Governor Narciso Claveria personally conducted an expedition

against the Moros in 1848. The three vessels were under command of Jose

Ruiz de Apodaca, of the royal navy. He administered heavy defeats on

the Moros at several points. The expedition of Antonio de Urbistondo

against Jolo was made in 1850-1851. The expedition of Jose Malcampo

y Monje was made in 1875. By these three expeditions the Moro power

was badly crippled. See Montero y Vidal, Historia de la pirateria,

and Historia general, iii.

[154] Speaking of the efforts of the Jesuits in Mindanao in his Memoria

de Mindanao, Julian Gonzales Parrado says: "This proper zeal causes

them, nevertheless, not to see this question clearly and leads them

to an excusable optimism, but which gives them credit for the success

obtained in so many years of preaching and teaching as to what relates

to the Moros. In spite of their efforts, sacrifices, and infinite

constancy, neither in Jolo nor in Mindanao have they succeeded during

the three centuries in causing to be admitted into the labarum of the

Evangelist more than an insignificant number of Mahometans, and even

of this small contingent of converts and baptized, nearly all have

been observed to have abjured their new religion and returned to their

former practices as soon as possible; or the interest or the danger

that impelled them at receiving the baptism more than anything else,

has ceased." He concludes by saying that this is not to the discredit

of the Jesuits, but due to the peculiarities of the Moros, and to their

fanatic religion. It is advised that no forcible attempt be made to

convert them, but that they adopt Christianity only if they so desire.

[155] This volume of the Cartas is accompanied by a large map of

Mindanao.

[156] Taclobo is the Tagalog name of a large snail; here used for

the shell.

[157] Masalicampo, or Maestre de campo is a title which was formerly

given to the Monteses, who had distinguished themselves in any

service for Spain or its government, by the superior authorities;

for instance, by fighting against the Moros in favor of our banner,

as is seen by the title despatched at the petition of Father Ducos,

S. J. (note to this letter, p. 176).

[158] The Xanthostemon verdugonianus--Naves, of the family of Myrtaceae,

allied to the Iron wood of Java. It is found in Luzon and Mindanao,

and is a hard, heavy wood, exceedingly difficult to work. See Important

Philippine Woods (Manila, 1901), pp. 65, 66.

[159] There is a species of tree called baticulin, which is the Litsea

obtusata of Villar, and the Olax baticulin of Blanco, belonging

to the family Laurineae. It is extensively used for cabinet making

and carving, and is not readily attacked by the white ant. Blanco

(pp. 351, 352) describes a wood Millingtonia quadripinnata, which he

also calls baticulin, and which is easily worked and extensively used

for carving. It is called Ansohan in the Visayas Islands. The latter

is probably the wood meant in the text. See Blanco, and Important

Philippine Woods, pp. 31-33.

[160] Vicente Fragante, one of the Philippine government students in

the University of Wisconsin (1906), an Ilocano, says that the term

mangkukulam is used in Ilocos to signify an invisible being. Whenever

anything is lost or disappears, it is supposed that the mangkukulam

has stolen it. The term pogot is used to signify a big black man. It is

the bugaboo of the Filipino mothers with which they threaten refractory

children. In some families an image to represent the pogot is shown to

the children to cause them to be good. The pogot is said to inhabit

unfinished or deserted houses, and to sit on the window-sill at

night where he smokes a large pipe. In sparsely-settled districts

the pogot also inhabits santol, tamarind, and lomboy trees. It is

the custom of the small Ilocano boys, who partly live the belief,

and who also wish to frighten their more timid playmates of the other

sex, to make a great racket about the supposed abodes of the pogot,

with tin cans and other instruments in order to scare him away. At

night when the pogot is frightened or angered, he throws stones at the

houses. These stones have the power of passing completely through the

walls of the house, and strike against the dishes in the place where

they are kept. The dishes are, however, unharmed, as neither are the

people who may be struck by those stones. Ansisit is an Ilocan term

for a sort of scarecrow, which is used to scare the children into

goodness. It consists of an old coat through the arms of which is

thrust a stick, while another stick is placed at right angles to it,

thus enabling the coat to be set up or moved.

The Manila newspaper La Democracia, of August 29, 1903, contains an

item in regard to some men who were hanged for killing a "witch."

[161] Noceda and Sanlucar's Vocabulario de la lengua tagala defines

abobot, the same word as abubut, as a basket woven from rattan,

which has a lid.

[162] Native of the Philippines, with medical experience, but no

title. See Appleton's New Velazquez Dictionary. Mediquillo is literally

"little, or petty physician."

[163] Probably the Dissertation sur les maladies convulso-clenico-toniques

en general ([Montpellier], 1806), by Joseph Boy y Santa Maria.

End of Project Gutenberg's The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, by Various

The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume 43, 1670-1700 Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and their peoples, their history and records of the Catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the close of the nineteenth century · 第 10 / 10 章

From what I have seen and heard I can assert that the dress of