Of the Inhabitants the Spaniards found in the Philippines--their
Language, Customs, and Religion.
Our historians, affecting always the marvellous, divide into different
classes, the inhabitants the Spaniards found, on their first arrival
in the Philippines. They denominate them satyrs, men with tails,
sea monsters, and whatever else of the fabulous, is calculated to
raise wonder in the human mind. In reality, however, they found
only two classes, that which we know by the appellation of Negroes,
and that of the Indians. The Negroes are very small in stature,
and more of a copper colour than those of Guinea, with soft hair and
flat noses. They lived in the mountains, almost in a state of nature,
merely covering the forepart of the body, with a piece of the bark of
a tree; and they subsisted upon roots, and such deer, as in hunting,
they could kill with the bow and arrow, at which they were very
dexterous. They slept where night overtook them, and they possessed
no idea of religion or civilized habits, rather, indeed, ranking with
beasts than as human beings. The Spaniards, have at length succeeded,
in domesticating many of them, and converting them to christianity,
to which they give no opposition, so long as they get subsistence,
but if they are obliged to labour, for the maintenance of their family,
they return again to the mountains.
The Negroes, without doubt, were the primitive inhabitants of
these islands, and they retired to the mountains, on the arrival
of the Indians. These latter, settling on the sea shore, continual
hostility prevailed between them, but the Indians were never able,
to establish themselves sufficiently, to be permitted, even to cut
wood in the mountains, without paying a tribute for it. At present,
the influence of the Negroes is very limited, but their antipathy to
their first invaders, continues unabated; for, if a Negro is killed,
or dies suddenly, it is customary for another, to bind himself to
his countrymen by an oath, that he will disappear from among them,
and that he will not return, until he has avenged the death of his
friend, by killing three or four Indians, to accomplish which, he
watches their villages, and the passes in the mountains, and if any
unfortunately stray from their companions, he murders them.
The origin of these Negroes, some believe to be, from Angola [10],
though they are not so black as their ancestors, which it is pretended,
proceeds from the temperature of these islands being milder, and less
scorching than that of Africa. This possibly may be so, for it is
well known, that by changing, from a sultry to a temperate climate,
the blackness of the Negro may be diminished, in the course of a long
series of generations; yet, the flat nose, and using a dialect of the
same language, which the Indians of these isles speak, appears to
prove satisfactorily enough, that the origin of one and the other,
is nearly the same. The reason assigned, for their not being more
numerous, is, the influence of the rain, wind, sun, and all those
inclemencies natural to the climate, to which they are exposed;
the errors of the government, having reduced them to the condition,
almost, of wild beasts, in which we now see them [11]. The Indians
whom the Spaniards found here, were of regular stature, and of an olive
complexion, with flat noses, large eyes, and long hair. They all
possessed some description of government better or worse, and each
nation was distinguished by a different name; but, the similarity
of their dress and manners, proves that the origin of all of them is
the same.
They had chiefs, who held their situations, either on account of
personal valour, or by succession to their fathers, where they
had abilities to retain it. Their dominion extended over one or two
villages, or more, according to the means they possessed, of extending
protection. They were continually at war with the neighbouring
villages, and continually making each other slaves. Out of these
wars, arose three classes of people; the chiefs or masters of the
villages, the slaves, and those whom the chiefs had enfranchised,
with their descendants, and who, to this day, are called Timavas,
properly signifying children of liberty. In some places, were found
Indians whiter than others, descended, without doubt, from Chinese
or Japanese, who had been shipwrecked on these coasts, and whom the
Indians, naturally hospitable, received, and allowed to intermarry with
them; and it is generally believed that the Ygorrotes of Ylocos, whose
eyes resemble the Chinese, must have originated from the companions of
Limahon, who fled to those mountains, when Juan de Salcedo compelled
him to his disgraceful retreat, from the province of Pangasinan.
It is not, however, after all, easy to ascertain the origin of
these people, but their idiom throws some degree of light on the
subject. Although the languages these Indians speak, are many and
different, they have so much intercourse one with another, that it
may clearly be discovered, they are dialects of the same language, as
the Spanish, French, and Italian, are derivatives from the Latin. The
prepositions and pronouns, are nearly the same in all of them; the
numeral characters, differ very little, and they have many words in
common, and of one and the same structure.
No doubt can be entertained, that the radical language, from which all
those dialects spring, prevails from Madagascar to the Philippines,
with local shades of difference. It is spoken too in New Guinea,
and in all the islands to the southward, in the Marianas, in the
islands of San Duisk, in those of Otaheite, and in almost all the
islands in the South Sea. In one collection of voyages, there are
given various vocabularies, with such corresponding terminations,
as the respective travellers, were able to distinguish among these
islands. It is remarkable, that in these almost all the pronouns, are
the same with those of the nation Tagala; the numerals, are common
to all the dialects, used in these islands, and most of the words
are the same, and with the same signification, as in the language
Tagala. But, I am the more inclined to believe the identity of
the dialects, from a conversation which I had with Don Juan Hovel,
an Englishman, who spoke that of San Duisk, and who had a slave,
a native of one of those islands. The structure, appeared to be the
same, as that of the languages spoken in the Philippines; and on the
whole, I feel confident in the opinion, that they are all dialects of
the same language, so widely diffused over so large a portion of the
earth. It is ascertained, that this language, is in common use for
many thousand leagues, extending from Madagascar to the isles of San
Duisk, Otaheite, and the isle of Pasquas, which latter, is not more
than six hundred leagues distant, from the coast of South America. Yet,
the Indians of the Philippines, do not understand the people of these
last mentioned islands, when they have occasional intercourse with
them; nor, even in these islands, do the inhabitants of one province,
understand those of another. So neither does the Spaniard understand
the Frenchman, nor the Frenchman the Italian.
In the same collection of voyages, already referred to, we find
a vocabulary of only five terminations, which the Spaniards have
distinguished on the coast of Patagonia, and which they have been
able to assimilate to the language of these islands, and one of
those is the word balay, which in that country signifies a house;
and by this same word they designate a house among the Pampangos, and
the inhabitants of the Bisayas in general. This may be more matter of
accident than of proof, that the languages of one and the other is the
same; but on observing, besides this, that the proper names of places
about the middle of the continent of South America are very similar
to those of the Philippines, I endeavoured to procure a vocabulary
of this country, and did not fail to examine, with great diligence
and attention, the few words of the language of Chili which Ercilla
mentions in his Araucana, and which I found perfectly conformable to
the language Tagala. The name Chili is a derivation from this language:
the Cormorant is called Cachile, and this is a name which the Malays
give to the sons of their kings. Chilian, which is a town of Chili,
is a compound from the language of Tagala, in which language the
termination an gives the signification town. Thus from Cachile we
draw Cachilian, meaning a town, where there are cormorants. Mapocho,
which is the situation where the city of Santiago stands, is another
word of Tagalic composition, signifying a town, and pocquiot being a
kind of herb, we form the name Mapocquiot, a town in which there is
abundance of this herb.
In Chili they frequently double the syllables in forming a word,
as ytayta, biobio, lemolemo, colocolo, &c. and this occurs in the
Tagala language; for instance, we say ataata, bilobilo, lebomlebom,
colocolo. A great many other words are either actually of Tagalic
derivation, or assimilate closely to that language. In examining the
structure of these two languages we are compelled to conclude that
they flow from one and the same source, and I dare affirm that the
Indians of the Philippines are descended from the aborigines of Chili
and Peru, and that the language of these islands derives immediately
from the parent source, those of the neighbouring islands being
dialects of this. Many will urge the absurdity of this supposition,
on the plea that the more immediate vicinity of the Philippines to
Malacca must have occasioned them to be colonized by the Malays, as
our historians generally assert. I do not deny that these islands
could easily have been peopled by the Malays, but how could they
colonize the Isles de Palaos and Marianas, which are distant more
than three hundred leagues? and it is still more improbable that
they colonized the islands of San Duisk and Otaheite, which are
distant two thousand leagues from the Philippines. All these people,
however, have the same language, the same manners and customs, and
consequently the same origin as our Indians. There is, in my opinion,
this other reason for supposing these latter islands could not be
peopled from the westward, viz. that in all the torrid zone the east
wind generally prevails, which being in direct opposition to the course
from Malacca and the adjacent islands, it is fair to conclude that the
inhabitants of all the islands of the South Sea came from the east,
sailing before the wind; for we have seen it often happen, that the
Indians from the Palaos have arrived at the Philippines, precisely
under those circumstances. On the contrary, we have no instance on
record, of any of the Philippine Indians having been, even by accident,
carried by the winds to the islands to the eastward. Indeed we know
the reverse of this to be true, since at times the most experienced
pilots, in attempting this navigation, have been compelled to return,
without falling in with the islands they went in search of, from the
necessity there is in the voyage of being provided with proper nautical
instruments. Here, therefore, we appear to have found the most probable
solution of our difficulties, that is, that the first settlers came
out of the east, we may presume from the coast of South America,
and proceeding gradually to the westward through the Pacific Ocean,
studded as we find it with islands, and clusters of islands, at no very
great distance from each other, and of course of easy access before
the wind, it follows that to whatever point, in an eastern direction,
we can trace the Tagalic language, we may conclude that at that point
emigration must have commenced. Some however dissent from this, on the
ground, that the mode of writing in use among the Malays, is similar
to that practised by the inhabitants of the Philippines. This consists
in forming the lines from the right to the left, like the Arabians,
Persians, &c. and not like the Chinese, Tartars, and Japanese, from
top to bottom. Their characters are totally different from ours; they
have only three vowels, a, e, u, and by placing a point, either above
or below the consonant, or leaving it without one, the corresponding
vowel is readily known, and equal facility given as if the vowels
were specifically inserted. Although they can write, they have no
written laws; decisions are made on traditionary law generally, but
too often by the right of the strongest. The Rajah, or chief, with
the assistance of some of the elders, decides in all civil cases;
but in criminal cases, the kinsmen are accustomed to compound with
the aggressor, for a sum in gold, unless in cases of murder, when the
only atonement admitted, is retaliation; and if the murderer is of a
different tribe or village, all the community of which the deceased was
a member, make a common cause, against the tribe or community of the
murderer, and numbers are generally made slaves on both sides. When
it is suspected that one man has robbed another, he is obliged to
draw a stone, from the bottom of a cauldron full of boiling water,
and if he does not accomplish this, which is the vulgar test, he is
fined in a certain quantity of gold, the greater part of which goes
to the Rajah or chief. Adultery is likewise punished with a pecuniary
fine [12], as is the crime of disrespect to the elders, but for fraud,
and cheating in their dealings, there is no punishment, and usury
is very general among them. Their matrimonial customs are peculiar;
they are allowed to marry only one woman, and although the principal
people have several concubines, yet they commonly are slaves. They
are accustomed to marry a relation (not a sister), with whom if they
find themselves unable to live, or if they become tired of her, they
return her to her parents, without their being required to assign a
cause for the divorce. The dowry given on the day of marriage is merely
restored: this dowry is of two kinds, and which the bridegroom always
pays. The one is called bigay suso, and is paid to the mother, as a
compensation for the milk, with which she nourished her daughter. The
other is called bigay caya, or green dowry, which is set apart for the
maintenance of the newly married couple, although very often, by the
expenses of the wedding and apparel, there remains little or nothing
for this desirable end. Besides these dowries paid by the bridegroom,
he is obliged, for some years, to serve the parents of the bride [13],
and assist them on certain days, particularly at the sowing of the
rice, and getting in the harvest. It is incumbent likewise, on all
the relations of the bridegroom, to behave with courtesy and respect
to the bride, and her parents and family, during these years of
service, and if they are guilty of any lapse in this respect, the
marriage is declared to be annulled, which is always very agreeable
to the parents of the woman, as a new suitor presents himself, and
they reap the benefit of a new service. The bridegroom, to console
himself for his sufferings, as soon as the term closes, and his
service is at an end, treats his wife as a slave; she is obliged
to work for the maintenance of the family, whilst the husband is
quite idle, and thinks herself happy, if, after having done this,
she is not beaten. The interest which the parents of the girl,
thus have in her disposal, is highly pernicious to morals; and we
have not succeeded to this hour, in the abolition of it, either by
the influence of royal edicts, or the regulations of the bishops,
by both of which, it is discouraged and prohibited. The ceremony of
marriage is performed, by sacrificing a hog, which a priestess slays
with a thousand grimaces; after which, she bestows many benedictions
on the parties, and an old woman presenting them with some food,
the ceremony is closed by many obscenities. Dancing, according to
their fashion, succeeds, and drinking the rest of the day ends the
feast, which is always proportionate to the circumstances of the
newly married pair. The principal contributions to this feast, arise
from presents made to the bride and bridegroom by their friends,
of which particular notice is taken, in order that similar presents
may be returned to the parties on a like occasion.
In their religious ceremonies, they use neither idols nor temples;
their sacrifices are offered in arbours, which they raise for that
purpose. They have priestesses, whom they call babailanas or catalonas,
to whose function it belongs, to perform the sacrifices. The priestess,
taking a lance in her hand, with extravagant and ridiculous gestures,
works herself up to apparent frenzy, accompanied by foaming at
the mouth, when uttering something, which is received as prophecy,
she pierces the hog with the lance, and immediately distributes the
carcase among those present: the ceremony, as usual, is closed by
dancing and drinking.
These sacrifices are offered to the infernal deities, as well as to the
souls of their ancestors, who they are taught to believe inhabit very
large trees, rocks of uncommon appearance, or any natural object which,
in point of magnitude or form, varies from the usual course. They are
so fully persuaded of this, that they never pass any object of this
description, without first asking the permission of its visionary
inhabitant, and to this hour the custom prevails. When any person was
dangerously ill, his friends offered up to their deities rice, wine,
and flesh, which was then given to the sick person, and which they were
of opinion would effect his cure, a custom even yet followed by some
people. They have many other superstitions, as that of the patianac,
a spirit or ideal being, whose employment or amusement consists in
preventing, by certain means peculiar to itself, the delivery of
a woman in labour. To counteract the malignity of this spirit, the
husband, fastening the door, reduces himself to a state of complete
nudity, lights a fire, and arming himself with his sword, continues to
flourish it furiously, until the woman is delivered. The tigbalang is
another object of which they stand in great awe. It is described as
a phantom, which assumes a variety of uncouth and monstrous shapes,
and interposes its authority, to prevent their performing the duties,
prescribed by our religion.
These and other superstitions, formerly had extensive influence,
and are still resorted to by impostors, who find their account in
persuading those, who are silly enough to listen to them, that they
are able to cure them of dangerous illness, or to recover any thing
they may have lost, by having recourse to such absurdities; and so
much do the love of life, and our own individual interests prevail,
that although they believe these customs sinful, and although they
do not entirely give credit to their efficacy, yet they put them in
practice, because, they say, chance may be in their favour: this is
a proof that as yet they are very superficial christians [14]. Indeed,
all their religious impressions, seem rather the result of a slavish
dread, than the effect of rational piety.
They practise no external adoration, and have no other form of address
to their gods, than what has been mentioned. They do not believe,
that the good will be rewarded, or the wicked punished, but they
acknowledge the immortality of the souls of the deceased, and that
they are capable of doing them mischief. They persuade themselves,
that these retain all the natural wants incident to the mortal state,
and accordingly, place on their tombs, clothes, arms, and food, and
on the fourth day, when the funeral ceremony is performed, a vacant
seat is left at the table for the deceased, whom they believe to be
actually present, though not obvious to sight. To prove this, sand is
strewed on the floor, on which the prints of the feet of the deceased
are often found. This may be presumed, to be the pious trick of some of
the friends, but it answers the purpose, of inducing a belief in the
actual presence of the party; and in order to deprecate the injury he
may do, offerings of eatables are made to him, and which ceremony,
is perfectly conformable, to the cowardly and timorous nature of
the Indians.