nagsiílag dìn, at ang manga náhuli ng nagsidatìng ay nagbalíta ng ang
lahàt nang táo sa báyan ay nangása bundok nà o kayà y nangása ibà
ng báyan nà. Ang báya-ng-San-Migèl ay nawalà`, dátapuwat ang manga
báhay ay sya lámang nàròroòn.
Pagkaraàn nang ila ng bwà ng pagtitirà námin sa Paà-ng-Bundòk ay
lumípat kamì sa isa ng lugàr na líhim. Ang lugàr na iyòn ay isà
ng kaingìn sa kagubátan. Walà ng nakààalam ní sínu man sa ámin ang
pangálan nang lugàr, at ang ibà ng nakààalàm ay inilíhim na lubhà`,
úpang hwag màpagalamàn nang iba ng táo ang ámi ng kinàtàtagúan. Iyòn ay
paraàn nang pangingílag hindí sa kaáway lámang, dátapuwat sa tulisàn at
magnanákaw dìn. Ang báhay na tinirhàn námin doòn ay lubhà ng malakì,
mahába ng mahába` sa ilálim nang isà ng bubungàn. Ang kabahayàn ay
hináti nang magkakasinglakì ng kwàrto. Máy-roo ng walò ang bílang
nitò. Sa báwat kwàrto ay isà ng angkàn ang nátirà. Díto ay máy-roon
dì ng ila ng bwàn ang ámi ng ikinàpagtirà.
Nang màlàlapit nà sa báya-ng-San-Migèl ang manga Amerikáno, nàbalitáan
námin na ang manga táo ng itò y hindí gáya nang manga sabì-sabè, kanyà`
umuntí nang umuntì` ang ámi ng tákot sa kanilà. Dáhil díto y umalìs
kamì sa ámi ng malálim na taguàn, at naparoòn kamì sa Páho`. Itò y isà
ng lugàr sa bundok dìn, dátapuwat malápit nang kauntì` sa báyan. Díto
y lubhà ng marámi kamì ng dinatnàn nang manga kababáyan at tagà iba
t ibà ng lugàr. Karamíhan sa kanilà ay máy manga sakìt, dahilàn sa
pagtitirà sa bundòk. Díto nagkaroòn nang malakì ng kagamitàn ang manga
gamòt na ipinaáhon ni Nánay sa bundòk, at hindí iníwan sa báyan. Ang
manga gamòt na itò y árì ni Tátay at kanya ng iníwan sa pagkapatápun
sa kanyà nang manga kúra sa Holò. Isa ng umága máy-roo ng tumáwag sa
ámi ng báhay úpang bumilì nang gamòt. Hinánap ni Nánay ang kahò ng
kinàlàlagyàn nang gamòt. Nang itò y mabuksan nà ay nàkíta námin ang
isà ng áhas na nakaíkid at natùtúlog sa ibábaw nang ipà na nàtàtábon
sa manga bóte. Malaki ng twà` nang ibà ng táo ng nakàkíta, dátapuwat
si Nánay ay natákot lámang. Hindí nya nàlàláman ang kahulugàn nang
áhas na iyòn. Pagkaraàn nang kàtwáan ay itinanùng ni Nánay kung
anò ang dáhil at silà y nagkàkàtwáan. Isinagòt nilà kay Nánay na
ang kahulugàn nang áhas na iyòn ay ang pagpatúngo sa pagyáman nang
may árì nang gamòt. Si Nánay ay nàpatawà lámang sa kanilà ng sábi,
at hindí sya nanìniwálà sa manga bágay na iyòn.
Nang makaraàn ang ilà ng bwàn ay iníwan námin ang Páho` at umwí kamì sa
báyan. Nang kamì ay dumatìng na doòn, marámi sa ila ng kasangkápan na
naíwan námin ay pinagnakàw nang ila ng táo ng nangaíwan sa báyan. Ang
tablà na sahìg nang báhay nang áli ni Nánay ay walá na, at hindí nila
nàláman kung síno ang kumúha.
Hindí nalaúnan ang ámi ng pagdatìng sa báyan at nàbalíta ng ang
manga sundálo ng Amerikáno ay malápit na sa báya-ng-San-Migèl. Kamì
ay hindí nabagábag sa balíta ng itò, at hinintày námin ang kanila
ng pagdatìng. Isà ng katanghalían ay matahímik ang báyan. Ang manga
sundálu ng nangása báyan ay nangagsialìs at ang ibà ng hindí umalìs
ay ipinagtapòn ang kanila ng manga barìl. Ang dahilàn nang bágay na
iyòn ay ang pagpások nang manga sundálo ng Amerikáno. Sa dulúhan nang
bakúran nang báhay na ámi ng kinàtirhàn ay nàkíta ko ang paglápit nang
manga sundálo. Ang salawàl nilà ay káki at ang kamiséta asùl. Bitbìt
nilà ang manga barìl at nakahiléra sila nang pagtakbò sa bukirìn at
patúngo silà sa daàn.
Nang ang manga Amerikáno y sya nà ng namàmahála` sa báyan, may ila ng
bwà ng ang manga útos ay mahihigpìt. Ang manga ílaw ay ipinapápatay
sa alasès nang gabì, at wala ng táo ng pinahìhintulúta ng maglakàd
pagkaraàn nang óras na itò. Sa manga bundòk na malápit sa San-Migèl
ay marámi ng manga sundálo ng Tagálog at madalàs nila ng sinalakáyan
ang báya-ng-San-Migèl. Dáhil sa manga pagsalákay na itò, ang manga
báhay sa San-Migèl ay pinagsunòg nang manga Amerikáno. Kung gabi-gabì
ang pagsalákay nang manga sundálo, gabi-gabì rìn namàn ang ginawà
ng panunúnog nang manga báhay. Ang ámi ng manga kápit-báhay ay
nagsìsilípat sa ámin gabi-gabì úpang doòn makitúlog, sapagkàt sa ámi
ng báhay ay hindí lubhà ng malakì ang pangánib sa manga bála nang
nagsìsipaglabanàn. Ang manggagamòt nang manga sundálo ng Amerikáno
na násàsa báya-ng-San-Migèl ay nagìng kaybígan nang áki ng tátay,
at dáhil díto y náligtas sa súnog ang ámi ng tìráhan. Mínsan ay
sinábi nang manggagámot na itò kay Tátay na madalàs sya ng sumáma
sa manga patrúlya at sinàsábi nya ríto na hwag sunúgin ang ámi ng
báhay. Sa kalaúnan, nang hindí mapaalìs nang manga sundálo ng Tagálog
ang manga Amerikáno sa báyan, ay hinintuàn na nilà ang pananalákay,
at ang báya y tumahímik nà.
TRANSLATION
1. THE FOOLISH MONKEY AND THE CLEVER TURTLE.
Once upon a time, when the turtle was swimming in the river, he
saw a banana-tree adrift and being carried along by the current. He
dragged it to the beach, but was not able to carry it up to the solid
ground. Therefore he called his friend, the monkey, and offered him
a half of the banana-tree, if he would plant his part for him. The
monkey agreed, and they divided the banana-tree at the middle,
half-way from either end. The monkey took the half which had leaves,
because he thought it would grow better than the half which had none.
When a few days had passed, the monkey's tree died, while that of the
turtle grew until it bore fruit. The bananas grew ripe, but the turtle
could not climb for them. Therefore he called his friend, the monkey,
and offered him some of the fruits of the banana, if he would climb
the tree. The monkey climbed up and ate for all he was worth.
Said the turtle: "Throw me some."
But the monkey answered: "Though sweet the skins, I'd throw you none."
The turtle got angry and scattered spines round the foot of the
tree. When the monkey jumped down, he landed on the spines. He
suspected the turtle and looked for him, in order to punish him. He
found the turtle behind a stump.
Said he to the turtle: "I am going to punish you. Choose between the
two: shall I bray you in a mortar or drown you in the river?"
The clever turtle began to shout and begged the monkey, if it were
possible, to bray him in a mortar.
But the monkey answered: "I shall give you the punishment you don't
want."
And he threw the turtle into the river.
When the turtle arrived in the water, he set up a shout and said to
the monkey: "Thank you, friend! This is my home."
Note. p. 16, l. 2 ang pagòng hábang nalìlígo` is unusual and no
doubt traditional for hábang ang pagòng ay nalìlígo`. Similarly,
p. 16, l. 18 Balat màn at malinamnàm ... is traditional (proverbial)
for modern Káhit na malinamnàm ang manga balàt.
2. THE RACE OF THE DEER AND THE SNAIL.
A deer, grazing in the jungle, came upon a snail that was creeping
over the leaf of a bamboo-plant. The deer ceased from his grazing
and watched the slow creeping of the snail.
When a few moments had passed, he said to the snail: "How slowly you
walk! Why don't you learn to walk faster? Look at me,--I am often
pursued by dogs, but my swift running is what saves my life. But
look at you,--if you should be pursued by any foe, what will ever
save your life? Surely you will get killed."
When the snail had heard these words, he looked at the deer and scanned
his fine physique, his long legs, and his strong muscles. He wished
that he too might be like the deer, so that he could run fast. However,
he thought that if he forced himself to run, he should not remain
far behind the deer.
Accordingly he answered the deer: "You are overweening. You do not
suspect what can be done by one who has a strong will. I challenge
you to race with me from here to the river that lies west of here."
The deer laughed loudly and answered the snail: "How can you think
you will defeat me? I suppose you are going to cheat."
The snail answered that he was not going to cheat, and, so that
there might be someone to watch them and be judge over their race,
he suggested that they call one of their friends to be judge.
The deer agreed, and they called an owl to be judge.
When they began to run, the snail was soon left far behind. On his
course the deer came upon a flourishing grass-field. He stopped to
graze, since his start over the snail was so great. He planned that
when he saw the snail coming, he would start running again. However,
when he had done feeding, he was attacked by laziness. He went to
sleep, with the thought that he would wake up before the snail arrived.
However, while he was asleep, the snail passed by. When he awoke,
it was already late in the afternoon. He ran with all his might to
the river, and there he was met by the snail and their judge, the owl.
"You are defeated," said their judge at once.
3. A GOOD FRIDAY.
Juan and his friend Pedro were canoeing on the river toward the town
Baliwag. In their canoe they had an image of Christ which they were
conveying to a priest to be used in the celebration of a Good Friday
Mass. Juan was filled with terror.
Said he to Pedro: "This man of ours in the canoe is all chopped up
with wounds and no longer breathing. I think this man is a corpse. I
am afraid we shall be suspected by the priest to whom we are delivering
him."
Pedro answered: "We shall tell him that when this man was loaded into
our canoe, he was already in this condition. We have many witnesses,
so don't be afraid."
When they reached the priest they gave him the image. The priest
told them to come to church the next day in the afternoon to hear
the sermon.
Juan was again filled with terror, for he could not make out why the
priest wanted them to go to the church. He had often heard of men being
summoned to the church and there seized by the gendarmes. However, he
did not say anything to Pedro, for he saw that the latter had no fear.
On the next day in the afternoon they went to church, and there they
saw a Christ nailed to the cross.
Said Juan: "That man, if you remember, is the one we delivered to
the priest. We had better go to some place out of sight of the priest."
So the two of them went under the pulpit, to hear the sermon from
there. The Good Friday Mass began, and the priest was already getting
to the last part of his sermon.
In his sermon the priest said: "Repent ye of your sins, cruel
people! Behold the wounds which you struck in the body of our Savior!"
When Juan heard this, he was again filled with terror, for he thought
that he had fallen under suspicion.
Therefore, what he did was to come out from under the pulpit, face
the priest, and say: "Father, we are not the ones who wounded this
man! When he was loaded into our canoe he was already wounded."
When he had said this, he went back under the pulpit. The priest paid
no attention to the speech he had heard, and went on with his sermon.
"The day has come now, when ye sinners must repent. The portals
of Heaven are open now through the death of our Savior, and every
sinner can enter Heaven, if he repent. But if ye do not repent, ye
shall come to be punished with sufferings without end in the flames of
Hell for the sufferings which ye caused our Savior to undergo. Behold
His body sweating blood, His hands and feet nailed to the cross, and
His wounds from head to feet. No one other caused Him to suffer and
wounded His dear body, than you, ye sinners, and if ye do not repent,
ye shall fall into Hell."
Juan could not remain in his place, for he thought that the priest
was overflowing with anger against him.
So he again faced the priest and said, as loudly as he could: "Father,
only a moment ago I told you that I had no part in wounding this man,
so do not send me, sir, to Hell."
The priest was filled with great anger and said to the congregation:
"What sort of people are you, foolish folk? Is there not one among
you who can take hold of this fellow and choke him?"
When Juan heard this, he ran with all his might, trampling without
regard the people who were kneeling and weeping in repentance of
their sins. He was followed by Pedro, and the two ran together,
without stopping, until they reached their home town. And there they
told the story of their narrow escape.
4. THE HUNCHBACK AND THE BLINDMAN.
A hunchback and a blindman were close friends. When they walked, the
hunchback led the blindman; the blindman, on the other hand, carried
the hunchback on his shoulders, when they had a hard road to travel,
for the hunchback was weak of body.
Once they came upon a cocoanut-tree. They wanted to pick some of the
fruits, but they did not know which of the two of them should be the
one to climb the tree. The blindman said that he should not be able
to climb, because he should not be able to see which fruits to pick,
since there were many unripe fruits. The hunchback also did not want
to climb, on account of his weakness. However, he was very eager to
eat of the cocoanuts, so, finally, he said to the blindman that he
would do the climbing.
"To prevent your being robbed of the fruits which I shall throw down,
do you count out loud the thud on the ground of the fruits as I drop
them, so that I may keep track of the number."
The hunchback began to climb, but when he was half-way up, he fell
down.
"One!" said the blindman.
The hunchback told him that it was he who had made the thud and not
a cocoanut.
He climbed again. After a few moments he took another fall.
"Two!" shouted the blindman.
The hunchback got angry and told the blindman that he was stubborn.
He said: "That first thing that made a thud was I, and the second
one was I again; I haven't yet picked any cocoanuts."
But the blindman planned to make fun of the hunchback's falls. So he
decided that, when he again heard a thud, he would cry "Three!"
The hunchback climbed again, but again fell. The blindman cried
"Three!" and laughed.
The hunchback grew hot with anger. He went up to the blindman and
slapped him in the face. The slap hit the blindman's eyes, and through
it his eyes came open. To take revenge he kicked the hunchback. He
struck him on the back, and through this his hump was straightened out.
They both rejoiced at what had happened, and their friendship grew
all the closer, instead of their becoming enemies.
5. THE KING WHO HAD HORNS AND JUAN.
On a group of islands there ruled a man who had two short horns hidden
in his thick hair. This was not known to his subjects, but the secret
began to spread among the people by way of the barbers who had cut
his hair.
On account of this he conceived a great anger against barbers and
planned to exterminate the barbers in his kingdom. He ordered four
deep wells dug in front of his residence, and in the center between
the four pits he had a seat placed. One day he sat down on the chair
between the four pits, and asked everyone who passed whether he knew
how to cut hair. Whenever anyone said "Yes," he stopped him, gave
him a pair of shears, and had him cut his hair. After a little while
he asked each hair-cutter what he saw on his, the king's, head. The
hair-cutters all told the truth, and each one of them answered that
he saw horns. Every one who answered thus was pushed by the king into
one of the pits that were round him.
A few days passed and two of the pits were already filled with barbers
and were ordered by the king to be filled up with earth. The passers-by
who knew how to cut hair grew scarce, and the king thought he had
already killed all the barbers in his kingdom.
One day he waited on his seat until mid-day, before a man came by
who said he knew how to cut hair.
The king asked him: "What is your name?"
The man answered: "My name, sir, is Juan."
"Cut my hair, Juan," commanded the king.
Juan approached the king and began to cut his hair.
After a short time the king asked: "What do you see on my head, Juan?"
His reply was thus: "Your Majesty, I see on your head the crown."
This made the king glad. Therefore he got up from his seat and led
Juan into his palace and made Juan barber royal. He gave Juan large
wages and had the remaining pits filled up.
6. THREE STUDENTS.
Juan, Pedro, and Andrés were three students from the same town who were
friends. When the opening of the schools came, they knew that they
would part: each one of them was to go to a different town. Before
they parted, they appointed a place where they would meet at the
beginning of the vacation.
A year passed, the closing of the schools arrived, the students
returned to their home towns, and the three friends, Pedro, Juan,
and Andrés met in the town where Pedro had been brought up, to spend
the vacation there.
When they came together, after discussing various matters, they
inquired how much each of them had learned in his study of the Spanish
language. Pedro said that he knew a great many Spanish words, but
that which he remembered best was the word "Vamos."
Juan in turn answered: "I too know a great deal, but what I recall
just now is the word 'Matar.'"
Andrés said that he had learned nothing except the word "Si."
After their conversation Pedro suggested that they go boating on the
river and take a bath.
When they were boating on the river, they saw on the bank a Spaniard
who wanted to bathe. Pedro said it would be a good idea to speak to
the Spaniard, so that each one of them might show his knowledge.
Pedro began and said "Vamos!"
Juan answered "Matar!"
And last came Andrés with his "Si!"
When the Spaniard heard this, he was filled with terror, for he thought
that the three canoers were going to kill him. Therefore, even though
he did not know how to swim, he jumped into the river and was drowned.
7. A SOLDIER WHO KNEW LATIN.
Three friends, a priest, a physician, and a soldier, went together to
shoot wild game in a deep jungle. As the jungle was far from the town,
they carried plenty of provisions, so as not to be in want of food. A
few days passed without their bagging anything. Their provisions grew
less and less, until there was nothing left except one raw egg. There
came to them the day of great hunger, but the three had no food except
the egg that was left.
The priest said that, if they divided the one egg, it would do them
no good, for it would not slacken their hunger. Therefore the priest
suggested that only one of them should eat the remaining egg, and
in his selfishness he suggested that whichever of them was best at
speaking Latin should eat the egg all by himself. He thought that the
soldier did not know Latin, and the doctor alone would be his opponent,
and his knowledge he held in contempt.
The doctor agreed to the advice of the priest, but the soldier did
not want to consent, for he had not studied like the priest and the
doctor, but there was nothing for him to do.
The priest took the egg and tapped it against a stone. When the egg
was broken, he said: "Coronatum est," and looked at his two companions.
The doctor took the broken egg, removed the broken part of the shell,
put on some salt, and said: "Saltum est."
The physician handed the egg to the soldier, and the priest and he
waited for what the soldier would say.
The latter did not know what to say, for he really did not know a
single iota of Latin. In his cogitation he remembered that once,
when he went to church to hear the Good Friday Mass, he heard from
the priest that the meaning of the words "Consummatum est" was "It
is all over now." So he poured the egg into his mouth and, when he
had swallowed it, he said: "Consummatum est."
His two companions were greatly astonished at the learning of the
soldier, which they had by no means suspected.
8. THE SEVEN DWARVES.
A certain married couple had seven children who were dwarves. The
father was out of work and could not find any. The mother also was
not earning any money, for her body was weak and often sick.
One noon they were sitting on a bench and discussing the life they
were leading. The man asked what they had better do with their many
children. The woman suggested that they should look for work for their
children, so that they might earn money. But the man answered that,
in his opinion, they would not be able to find any work, since he
himself had not been able to find any. Therefore he suggested that
they had better abandon their children.
This made the woman grieve and weep. She would not consent to abandon
the children. But her husband made it clear to her that, if they did
not do this, they would all die of hunger. Finally the woman consented
and they agreed that they would take their children for a walk and
leave them on the way.
While they were discussing this, the seventh child was in a crack
of the bench on which they were sitting and heard what their parents
were going to do to them. After they had finished talking, the child
at once looked for his brothers and sisters and told them what he
had heard. They all wept, because their parents had not told them
that they were a burden to their life. They thought that, if they had
known this, they would have done anything whatever to help them gain
a living. However, they agreed that they would go along, if they were
asked to go walking, and would allow themselves to be led astray.
On the next day their father came to them, told them to get dressed,
gave them some cakes, and told them that they should all go for a
walk. When they started out, the seventh child did not eat his bread,
but, starting at their gate, he crumbled it and scattered it along
the road which they were walking. When they had gone some distance,
he ran out of bread and asked his brothers and sisters for some. But
they did not give him any. He did not tell them why he had run out
of bread so soon. When he could get no bread, he picked up stones
and these he dropped one by one on their path.
When they came to a jungle, their parents left them, telling them
to wait for them there and that they would soon come back. Their
parents left them, but they knew that their parents would not come
back to them.
When a short time had passed, they heard a noise. They went toward the
place from which the noise came. There they saw a great giant bathing
by the side of a well. They looked round about the place, and by the
side of a tree they saw the clothes of the giant. The seventh child
sent his brothers and sisters away and told them to hide, and he would
steal the giant's shoes. They did this and the child stole the shoes.
When the giant had finished bathing and was getting dressed, he
could not find his shoes. He got angry and cursed. He called for
help. When the one who had stolen the shoes heard this, he quickly
approached. When the giant saw him, he did not suspect him, for,
on account of his smallness, the giant thought that he would not be
able to carry the shoes.
Therefore the giant said to him: "If you will carry this bag of money
of mine to my wife and tell her to buy some shoes and to bring them
to me, I shall pay you much money."
He said further that he could not walk without shoes, and therefore
he should hurry. Taking the bag of money, the child promised to
return at once. However, when he had gone some distance, he called
his hidden brothers and sisters, and when they were assembled, he
suggested that they go home. But his brothers and sisters answered
that they did not know the way home. He however answered that they
should follow the stones and bread he had dropped on the way.
One of his brothers said that, if he had known what he had done with
the bread, he would have given him some when he asked for it. They
were sorry for the stinginess they had shown toward their brother.
It was not long before they came upon the trail of stones along their
way. This they followed and arrived at their house, bringing with
them the bag of money, which they at once gave to their parents. The
latter rejoiced and were sorry for their bad conduct toward their
children,--they rejoiced because they had now the means of living
for a long time to come.
9. A POLICEMAN WHO PLAYED VAMPIRE.
In the summer of the year 1902, when the ripe fruits of the fruit-trees
were hanging from the branches, there circulated all through the town
of San Antonio the rumor that a vampire was going about the town.
The people of San Antonio in those years believed in ghosts, vampires,
dwarves, and other objects of terror. Most of them had not been
fortunate enough to get an education, but, in spite of this, they
were kindly, quiet, and industrious people.
The houses in this town were built of nipa-fibre and bamboo. There
were also some frame houses. Most of them stood in large enclosures,
and the rear part of these yards was planted with trees that have
tasty fruits, such as the custard-apple, grape-fruit, santol, mabolo,
mango, and the like.
These fruits were just getting ripe, when the rumor spread that,
for several nights back, some women had caught sight of the vampire
in various back yards. The women and children were filled with great
terror; accordingly, as soon as darkness came down, they staid still in
their houses. Most of the men also were afraid, but there were some who
said that they were not afraid, because they had not yet come across a
vampire and therefore did not know whether it was really to be feared.
A vampire is a being of great power. It changes its body into
various forms. At some times it has a body like a human being,
but black, at others it is a large dog or pig. It eats people,
especially children. But its favorite food, by far, and that which
it most commonly eats, is the child yet unborn and still in its
mother's womb. Therefore the pregnant women in the town had great
fear. They did not allow their husbands to sleep, for watching at
their side. A vampire is hard to kill with knife or gun, because it
has but one place which one must hit or wound in order to kill it,
and this place is secret. The only thing it flees from is garlic,
which therefore is much used in driving off vampires.
A surprising thing, however, about this vampire was its habit of
keeping itself in back yards. Strange was also the fact that it was
mostly young girls who said that they had caught sight of this vampire
in back yards, up in grape-fruit trees and other trees. A few bold men
said that they suspected that this spook was a thief and no vampire.
It was a certain policeman of more than usual courage who spied upon
this vampire in a back yard in which it had recently been seen. When
darkness came, he went to his hiding-place. It was not long before
the vampire came and climbed on a grape-fruit tree, and he heard it
picking many fruits. It came down and went away, but was followed by
the policeman to a house which it entered.
Great was the surprise of the policeman, when he saw here his fellow
policeman wrapped up in a black sheet and just putting down on the
floor a black bag full of grape-fruit.
He summoned his fellow policeman to the town hall and there on the
next day accused him before the judge. The policeman who had played
vampire was put in jail for the crime of theft.
10. A VAMPIRE THAT GOT KILLED.
One evening in a students' boarding-house in the town of Malolos I
heard an old man, ninety years of age, tell a company the following
story:
When he was still a young unmarried man, he lived in the country. There
were only a very few neighbors. One day there was a death in the
house of a neighbor. Following an ancient custom, he went to the
house of mourning.
When he arrived there it was not long before he was told that there
was a vampire in the place. He had a great and inherited hatred of
vampires and therefore decided to watch that night.
Late in the evening he left the house and in a wagon not far from
the house, there he lay down. There was a full moon that night, so
that he had a clear view of things round about. As he saw nothing
that could be suspected of being a vampire, he went to sleep.
At midnight he woke up, and the first thing that struck his eyes
was a black object on the roof of the house where there had been a
death. This black thing had not been there before he went to sleep, so
he suspected that this was the vampire he had been told about. Vampires
eat dead people, so he concluded that the dead person was the thing
for which the vampire had come there.
Carrying a bolo-knife, he went up to the house. The people were
asleep. Up above he saw something hanging down from the roof of
the house. It was like the intestine of a chicken. It got longer
and longer, until the end of it went into the mouth of the dead
person. The corpse stood up from the place where it lay, when this
thing went into its mouth.
What the young man did was to walk up to the upright corpse and, with
the bolo he was carrying, cut the thing that was like the intestine
of a chicken. When he had cut this, something came down with a thud at
the side of the house. He went down, and there he saw the dead vampire.
11. SORCERERS.
In some places in the Philippines the people have a firm belief in
sorcerers. According to their belief a sorcerer is a person of great
power, and this power comes from a demon or else is inherited from
one's parents. Before one may gain this power one must first become
friends with a demon and serve it. However, there are some also who
believe that one may find or snatch up this power in a jungle or some
uncanny place that is hard to reach and usually full of terror.
The kulam is that seized, inherited, or given by the demon, and it is
the source of the possessor's power. The appearance of the kulam is
not always the same. Sometimes it is a stone or a small doll of ugly
appearance. In the dark this kulam glows like a firefly, but this
glow disappears when the kulam desires it. The kulam and the person,
man or woman, who possesses it, do not separate even for a moment,
and even when bathing the sorcerer carries his kulam. Therefore,
curious people, when they wish to find out whether a person whom they
suspect is really a sorcerer or not, watch him at his bath. If the
sorcerer is not careful and has no suspicion that he is being watched,
the watcher sometimes succeeds in seeing the kulam.
The sorcerer has also the power of concealing the kulam inside his
body, and the people are not rare who have seen a sorcerer at his
death. At the last moment, before breathing ceases, he spits out
the kulam.
This happens only when the sorcerer does not wish to bequeath his
kulam. If, however, he wishes to bequeath it, then, long before the
sorcerer dies, he calls the person to whom he wishes to bequeath it
and in all secrecy gives him the kulam.
The great power of the sorcerer is used by him against his enemies,
against people who have incurred his anger; or against their live
stock, in case he wishes to make this latter the object of his
vengeance. He also uses his power in playing jokes on a person or
animal that has gained his liking.
His victim usually acts like crazy. Sometimes the person he has
bewitched complains that his whole body is sore, keeps shouting, and
cannot keep quiet even for a moment. In the case of animals,--usually
the pig most valued by the owner,--the punishment he gives is like
the disease of cholera, but more severe than this. The bowel-movement
of the animal does not stop, and after a few hours, no matter how
fat the animal, it becomes skin and bone. The bewitched person eats
mightily, like two men, and keeps asking for tasty food. Therefore
people believe that the sorcerer who is punishing him shares in the
eating of the sick person.
The sorcerer has the power of entering the body of the person
bewitched. This is the belief, but in what way the sorcerer effects
his entrance or at what point he enters the body of the person he
is bewitching, there is no one who knows. However the place where he
comes out is the forefinger. This fact is of great importance for the
cure of people who have been bewitched and also for the punishment
of sorcerers.
Although the power of the sorcerer is great, yet there are some
things which he fears, usually strong people who are bold and have no
faith in the powers of sorcerers and other things that terrify other
people. Therefore it is not rare that, after the first or second time
he cures a person of this disease, some man receives the title of
"witch-doctor."
I once heard someone who had seen the cure of a bewitched person tell
the story. The narrator had a neighbor who had a young daughter. This
young lady had many suitors, and one of them was suspected of being
a sorcerer. He had the bad fortune to be one of those who were not
accepted. In his great anger he bewitched, one after the other,
the betrothed man and woman.
He began with the woman, and her parents at once called in a
witch-doctor for her. When the doctor arrived and saw the patient,
he said that the woman was really bewitched.
He told the people who were there not to let the bewitched person know
that he was in the house. If the patient knew this, the sorcerer who
was inside her body would have a chance to go away at once. The doctor
went up to the woman without her being aware of it and suddenly seized
her two forefingers in a tight grip. She shouted all the louder and
trembled like one in terror.
The sorcerer, according to people's belief, feels any pain that is
given to the body of the person he is bewitching while he is within
the latter's body. Likewise, when one speaks with the patient, it is
he who answers.
Therefore the doctor suddenly asked: "What are you doing here,
you brute?"
The patient did not utter a word, but tried to get free. The strength
she displayed was not the usual strength of a woman.
But the doctor did not let her go, and asked her again: "What are
you doing here? Why have you come here? If you do not answer, I shall
torture you."
The woman answered in a pitiful tone: "No, sir, I shan't do it again;
let me go, sir; you are torturing me already."
"Shall I let you go?" asked the doctor at once. "Promise me first
that you won't come back."
"No, I shan't come back, sir," answered the woman.
"If I catch you here again, I shall kill you. Don't be
troublesome. Stay still in your house."
"Yes, sir; yes, sir; I shan't come back, sir. Please, let me go!"
While this dialogue was taking place, the woman was struggling to get
loose and trying to make the doctor let go of her forefingers. When
the woman had made her promise, the doctor let go of her two
forefingers. The face of the woman, which just before had been
expressing great suffering, now became quiet, and she was like a
madwoman who has got back her reason. She became quiet, stopped
shouting, and was able to converse intelligently.
The man lived in a near-by town. When he was bewitched his brother
called a physician for him. In his extreme anger, this brother called
a physician who was fierce and cruel in his treatment of sorcerers.
The physician came secretly to the sick man's house. From his
hiding-place he first determined at what time the sorcerer was in the
body of the sick man. This showed itself in the shouting, movements,
and senseless talking of the patient. The physician sharpened a
bolo-knife and, when he had done this, quickly ran to the side of the
patient. He then seized the latter's two forefingers, leaned over his
body, and cut several deep gashes in his face. The patient screamed
and tried to get away, but when he did get away there were wounds in
his face and the blood was flowing in a stream. The physician left
him without a word. He sought out the brother of the wounded man and
told him not to heed his brother's wounds, for tomorrow they would
go away and be transferred to the sorcerer, for it was the latter
whom he had reached in the body of his brother. On the next day the
doctor went to the man whom he had cured with the knife and was much
pleased when he found him well and without the marks of wounds in his
face. A few days later they heard that a sorcerer in the neighboring
town was in a serious condition, owing to the unceasing flow of blood
from some wounds in his face.
There are also, however, some sorcerers who are quick and have not
been caught by physicians. The physician, too, must be skilful and
quick. Anyone at all can cure a person who has been bewitched, since
there is no other method of cure than that of inflicting pain on the
body of the bewitched person. The danger, however, is great, since,
if the one who is attempting the cure is not quick, owing to lack of
practice, the sorcerer will be able to get away. In this event it is
the bewitched person himself who will suffer from the punishment. It
is related that there once happened something like this which follows.
One of two brothers was bewitched by his rival in courtship. There
was no witch-doctor within call. In his great pity for him, the older
brother decided to cure him, even though he had had no practice. He
was not practised, to be sure, but he had often heard from physicians
the manner of cure. One evening, when he thought that the sorcerer was
inside his brother's body, he quickly seized a bolo, and, stepping up
to his brother, cut him without care. On the next day, instead of his
finding his brother well and unwounded, the latter was a corpse. The
sorcerer had got away.
12. THE GAME OF FOOTBALL IN THE PHILIPPINES.
The games of football in the United States and in the Philippines are
very different. Instead of the players belonging to two contending
sides, as in American football, in "sipa" the players form but one
party. In sipa the aim of the players is not to defeat an opponent,
but to prevent the ball or sipa from falling to the ground. The ball
used is also very different. It is made of split rattan woven into the
shape of a sphere. The inside is hollow and the eyes of the weave are
large. Therefore the sipa, unlike the ball used in baseball, is light.
The number of players is from two to twenty. When they are many,
they stand in a circle. To begin the game, one of the party throws
the sipa ball up into the air and toward one of the players, usually
toward one opposite him. The one to whom the ball is tossed returns it
to the one who threw it to him, not with his hand, but with his foot.
When the players are skilful, they direct the ball to each one
of the party, so that each one of them is alert and ready for the
coming of the ball. Each one is careful not to let the ball fall to
the ground. Often the players display various manners of sending
the ball. The graceful bendings of the legs forward and backward,
the quick and light leaps, the gentle and light kicking of the ball,
and the sending of the ball in every possible direction, are features
which give beauty to the game of sipa. Sometimes the shoulder, the
elbow, the knee, or the hand is used in returning the ball.
How is there any contest in this game? This can consist only in the
test of endurance in keeping the ball from falling to the ground.
When, for instance, one team of football-players or siperos wants
to contend with another team, the former challenges whatever team
it has picked out. If the challenge is accepted, the day, hour,
and place of the game are at once announced in the newspapers.
At the time of the game thousands of people look on. The challenging
party usually hires a band of musicians, and each team is played for
during its innings. Usually there are two bands, for, if the challenged
party has any pride, it wants to show it and so brings its own band.
After the game the judge announces to the spectators which team has
won. When the announcement of the judge has been heard, there begins at
once the yelling and the honoring of the victorious team. The winning
team and their friends and followers, accompanied by the music of their
band, at once begin to parade through the places near to the field
of the game. On the next day the whole story appears in the newspapers.
Such games of sipa as these are not common in the little towns in
the provinces, but only in the large cities, such as Manila.
13. THE PRIEST PATUPAT.
In the last years of the Spanish time there dwelt in the town of
San Miguel a certain man. This man was educated and was intelligent
enough to understand the evil ways of the priests, who were really
little kings in their towns.
In San Miguel the priest who had the parish was a violent and
hot-headed man. The people called him "Patupat."
One Sunday the man above mentioned went to church to hear the sermon
of the priest. As this priest thought that the people to whom he was
preaching were uneducated people, he took no pains to speak Tagalog
correctly. His speech had neither beginning nor end and was mixed up
like rice-pudding. Moreover, what he preached about was never other
than Hell, Purgatory, what brutes the people of the town were, and
the End of the World.
When the sermon began, our friend Francisco entered the church.
As usual, the priest began his sermon with this utterance: "Brezren
and faylow-Christiannes!" Although he had been for almost forty years
now in the Tagalog country, he had not yet learned to say correctly
"Brethren and fellow-Christians."
Francisco stood in a place near the pulpit and listened carefully
to the sermon, which on that day contained nothing except what had
already been a thousand times repeated by the priest, namely about
the sufferings in Hell and Purgatory, the offering of candles and the
giving of money to the church in order to escape from these sufferings.
Francisco was filled with great anger, for he saw that the priest
was fooling his people and had no other aim than to frighten the
townspeople so that they should enrich the church and priests.
After the sermon Kiko did not go home as usual, but waited until mass
was over. After mass he staid in the church until he was alone. He
took some pieces of paper and wrote to the priest as follows:
"Father, I heard your sermon this morning. It is apparent to me that
you believe that there is a Hell and that there is a Purgatory. I do
not believe in these things. Next Sunday, if you wish, you may prove to
the people in your sermon that there is a Hell and a Purgatory. When
you are done, I shall try to prove to them that there is no Hell and
no Purgatory. If the people believe you, I do not mind if you have
me hanged for my defeat and my unbelief, but, if I am the victor,
all I ask of you is to allow me to say to the people at large that
there is neither a Hell nor a Purgatory."
Several copies of this letter he pasted to the walls of the church,
and one he sent to the priest.
When Patupat read it, his blood boiled and his anger knew no bounds. He
had the gendarmes called, and on the evening of that very Sunday he
had all the houses in the town entered and searched, so as to catch
Kiko. But they did not catch Kiko. That same afternoon Kiko told
some of his intimate friends what he had done, and they were all
astonished. They asked him why he had done this thing and whether he
could not see what would happen to him.
One of them spoke thus: "Pack up some clothes and go away right now, if
you don't want to be caught by Patupat's soldiers and shot tomorrow."
Kiko refused to follow his advice, because he thought that Patupat
would accept his challenge about showing the people that there was
neither a Hell nor a Purgatory and that these things were merely a
device of the priests for getting money. Therefore he allowed himself
to be overtaken by night in the house of a friend of his.
Not until it was dark and the town was upset with the searchings
of the gendarmes did he recognize the great danger which he was
incurring. Since he had heard of this at once, he had time to hide
in a secret corner of his friend's house.
When the house-searchings were over, he went out from his hiding place,
went home, wrapped up some clothes, had a wagon hitched up, and,
taking some rifle-bullets, shouldered his gun, got into the wagon,
and had himself driven out of town. After a few days he went to the
mountains together with several townsmen who could not stay in the
town because they had incurred the anger of the priest or of some
other Spanish official of the town.
There, in his stay in the mountains, he was overtaken by the revolution
against the Spaniards in the year 1886.
14. MARIANO AND THE PRIEST PATUPAT.
Mariano was one of the very few apothecaries in the town of San
Miguel. He was one of the people who fell into misfortune through
disobeying the orders of the priest Patupat. He had a family; beside
his wife he had two children, one two years old and one new-born.
One day his servant fell sick. He had a brother-in-law who was a
doctor, so he had him treat the servant without charge, and he gave
the servant medicine without charge. After some days the servant got
well and decided to rest for a while in the country. Accordingly
he paid his debt and took his leave of Mariano for a stay in the
country. His stay in the country did not last long, before he fell
sick anew, and the end was his death.
In the Philippines in those days it was not allowable to bury a dead
person without first having him blessed by a priest. The priests did
not allow this, but they did not much mind the living together of a man
and woman not married, for the reason that they did this themselves.
The deceased servant of Mariano was very poor and his relatives
also were poor and had not the means to pay the price demanded by
Patupat. Thus there was no one to see to the burial of the servant's
body.
When Patupat learned this, he had Mariano called and said that
it was his place to have the dead man buried and to pay the
costs. In Mariano's opinion Patupat's insolence was getting beyond
bounds. Therefore he said that he would not pay him for the burying
of the dead man, no matter what happened.
Patupat boiled with rage. He had the dead man buried and on the
same day went to court and sued Mariano for the cost of blessing the
dead man.
When the session of the court came, Mariano was present, and when the
judge asked what he had to say to this accusation, he spoke as follows:
"Your Honor, this man who died was no longer in my care, for he was
no longer my servant when he died. When he was still sick, I had him
treated without charge and gave him medicine without charge. I have
done my duty to my fellow-man and the duty placed upon me by the
Lord. One of the duties of the priests is to provide burial for the
dead. Now this man is dead, why cannot this priest do his duty without
receiving pay, since even this would not happen, if the relatives of
the deceased had means?"
After asking some further questions of the priest and of Mariano,
the judge closed the hearing and announced that Mariano was in the
right and that the priest would have to put up with having blessed
the dead man without payment.
When this had happened Patupat's wrath against Mariano greatly
increased, and after a few days he again entered a charge against
Mariano. This time he made a different accusation. He complained to
the court that Mariano was a Mason, because he did not come to church,
did not confess, and did not kiss the priest's hand. The Masons are
enemies of the Catholic Church and, in consequence, were enemies also
of the government in the Philippines in those days; and therefore he
suggested that Mariano be deported.
When Mariano heard of this accusation of Patupat, he decided that
his only hope was to hide or to escape from those who were to arrest
him. Accordingly what he did was to go down to Manila, and there
he hid.
But even there he was caught by the gendarmes. Together with seven
or eight men from various towns he was put into a steamboat and they
were taken to the southern part of the Philippine Islands. And when
they arrived there some of their number were shot by the soldiers
who accompanied them, for this was ordered by the officials who sent
these men into banishment.
However, Mariano was not one of those who were shot. He staid there
until, after the victory of the Americans, he was given the liberty
of returning to his family. When he came back to the latter, his one
child was seven years old and the second, five.
15. THE STORY OF THE CHINESE CARPENTER.
Juan was a carpenter who had for neighbor a Chinaman who also was a
carpenter. This Chinaman was a skilled carpenter and his cleverness
showed itself in his skilful use of the plane. One day he bought a
piece of wood forty feet in length. This he proceeded to smoothe. He
tried to see if he could obtain shavings without a break for the
whole length of the wood. What with the excellence of his tools and
his skill at carpentry, this feat went off as if there was nothing
to it. Every time he pushed his plane he obtained a shaving without
a break, forty feet in length. In order to show this his skill to
his neighbor, the Tagalog carpenter, he sent him one shaving every day.
The Tagalog carpenter, Juan, marvelled at the skill of the Chinaman. In
order to make return for the shavings he had received, he too tried
to use the plane and to send the shavings to the Chinaman. However,
the longest shavings he succeeded in getting were only fifteen
feet. These it would have been humiliating to send to the Chinaman.
Juan was skilled in the use of the daras, and he was able to smoothe
boards by the use of the daras alone. Any piece of wood which he had
chopped smooth with the daras did not require the use of the plane;
but the pieces he chopped off were only short splinters, not suited
to show his skill, and he could not send them to the Chinaman.
While Juan did not know what to do, the Chinaman did not stop sending
long shavings. Juan was filled with anger. He took his daras and went
over to the Chinaman's. The latter was surprised and frightened when
he saw Juan.
The latter said: "What do you mean to say by sending me those
shavings? You are offensive to me and you shall pay for it. I am
going to cut your hair with this daras."
The Chinaman was frightened, for he knew that if that daras struck
his head, he would surely not survive. He tried to escape, but Juan
seized him, tied him to a bench, and began to use the daras on the
Chinaman's head.
The daras is a large tool, the size of a pick, and heavy, but in Juan's
skilful hand it was like a mere pair of scissors. The descent of the
daras on the Chinaman's head was very gentle, and only the hair was
cut by the edge.
The Chinaman in his fright shouted and said: "Wapelo! Come helpee me,
Juan bad man, not Chlistian!"
This was heard by the neighbors and passers-by.
Accordingly they came into the Chinaman's workshop, but there Juan
said to them: "Don't you mix in here! I am not hurting this Chinaman. I
am just cutting his hair."
And he kept on with his chopping.
When the Chinaman's hair was completely cut, the onlookers were greatly
astonished, for the Chinaman's hair was as if cut by the shears of a
skilful barber. The Chinaman too, when he saw in the looking-glass
that his head was unhurt, was greatly astonished and did not stop
praising Juan's skill in the use of the daras.
16. A MAN WHO HAD THE POWER OF A DEER.
In a certain town in the Philippine Islands there once became
celebrated the name of a certain man, both among his fellow-townsmen
and the people of the neighboring towns, on account of his unusual
strength in running and jumping.
He was not a proud man, but he had some astuteness in money matters
and also some courage. He did not let his rare good fortune make him
proud, nor did he lie about the source of his unusual strength. He
told those who were curious that the source of his strength was the
power of the deer which he had made his own.
He did not tell how this power had come into his possession, but he
was not stingy about doing favors by helping with his strength both
friends and strangers.
Like most people, he wanted to get rich, and it was toward this end
that he used his strength. He often entered into races, and these
races were always means of winning much money. He always made large
bets. He refused no one that wanted to race with him. Sometimes he
ran races with people, sometimes with horses, with dogs, and with
other animals that are fast at running.
After a few days the money he had won in bets made up a large sum. His
friends also, who had bet on him, got much money. When people came
to know that he had the power of a deer, they did not want to run
against him. Therefore, so as not to stop winning and making money,
he gave large handicaps to his opponents. The handicaps which he gave
were so great that many people contended with him. Still he always
came out the winner. In jumping-matches also he was always victorious.
However, though the advantages which he gained through this power
were great, yet there were also some disadvantages which he obtained
through it. On account of these disadvantages he did not manage to
keep this power as his own through all his life. Through this power
he had become very nervous. The sounds of falling bodies, noises,
and the barking of dogs at night, did not allow him to sleep. These
noises often made him start up with a jump from his sleep. Especially
when the barking of a dog, for instance, woke him up, he jumped high
up from his bed, and before he recovered his wits he was running at
full speed. He could exercise no care about his involuntary jumping
up and usually went way up to the ceiling, and, since this was low,
his body got full of bruises and his head full of bumps from striking
against the ceiling. Likewise in his unintentional running whenever
he woke up with a start, his whole body got knocked again and again
against the walls of his house.
This was hard to bear, and he thought that he should not live long,
what with not sleeping of nights. Therefore he decided to get rid of
this power in a few days. When the seventh day of his possession of the
power came, he was very sore and thought he should die of soreness. His
head was covered with bumps. His face was full of black and blue marks,
and though he had broken no bones, his muscles were badly bruised.
Therefore, without saying a word, he went to a forest and there
abandoned the power which he had got hold of, seeing that he had
already won much money.
17. THE PET MONKEY.
Andrés had a pet monkey which he prized very highly, because this
monkey gave him much service. At night the monkey spread out his
sleeping-mat for him; in the morning it handed him his water for
washing, and whatever order he gave was obeyed by the monkey.
Every night this monkey slept underneath the bedstead on which
its master slept. This was not pleasing to the latter, for owing
to its great value, Andrés wanted to give it a good place to sleep
in. However, no matter what efforts Andrés made to force it, his pet
monkey could not be brought to sleep in any other place.
Andrés was a man who feared and loved God. Therefore, every night,
before he went to sleep, he made the Sign of the Cross and called
upon God. At his bed-time every night he found that his monkey was
already under his bedstead. Not once did he get ahead of the monkey
in going to bed.
One day the priest of the town visited Andrés in his house. After some
time had elapsed in conversation, Andrés told the priest that he had
a pet monkey which was very useful, because it served him well and
obeyed his every command, and he also said that this monkey was more
diligent than his other servants.
The priest was much surprised and asked that the monkey be shown to
him. So Andrés called the monkey. Usually the monkey came at once at
a single call by Andrés, but on this occasion it did not appear even
when he had called ten times. Andrés got angry, arose, and looked
for the monkey in the nooks and corners of the house.
He found it in a corner, clinging tightly to a post. He called it and
tried to get it out of the corner, but the monkey would not come away,
no matter what Andrés did to it. Therefore he called the priest to
look at his pet monkey there in the corner.
At the approach of the priest the monkey trembled with fear. The priest
conceived the suspicion that this monkey was an evil spirit. So he
made the Sign of the Cross, and blessing a little water, sprinkled
it over the monkey.
When the water struck the latter's body, there was a report like that
of a gun, and in the place of the monkey they saw only some smoke,
which soon disappeared.
Thereupon the priest questioned Andrés concerning his faith in
God. Andrés said that his firm faith had not changed and that he
prayed every night before going to sleep. The priest then asked where
the monkey used to sleep. Andrés answered that it slept every night
under his bedstead.
Thereupon the priest informed him that this monkey was an evil spirit
which had been lying in wait for him, and that if he had ever failed
to call upon God before he went to sleep, on that very night the evil
spirit would have thrown him into Hell.
18. THE OLD MAN OF THE ANT-HILL BY LIGHT OF DAY.
Pedro was a brave man. He had often heard stories about vampires,
dwarves, sorcerers, and old men of the ant-hill, but what made Pedro
wonder was why he had never chanced to meet even a single one of
these creatures. He wanted to get a sight of at least one of them,
so that he might know whether it was true that they had powers not
common to most persons.
One night he walked about in a dark and haunted place, because he
had heard that many people had there seen an old man of the ant-hill.
The cigar of such an old man is of terrifying size, and when he draws
at it, the light given forth is like the light of a bonfire.
On this night he had gone some distance on his ramble, when he saw a
flare of light. His hair stood on end and he thought of going back,
but he overcame his fear and continued on his walk.
He was met by the smoker. When he approached, Pedro examined the old
man's figure, but as he did not succeed in gratifying his curiosity,
he was taken with the desire of seeing the old man by daylight. To
bring this about, he would have to hold the old man fast, for these
spirits return to their abode in Hell or some other place of the kind
as soon as morning comes.
Therefore what he did was suddenly to seize hold of the old man. The
latter began to wrestle with him. Sometimes Pedro was below, sometimes
he was on top, but he did not let go of the old man. He held him as
tightly as possible and made up his mind that he would follow no matter
where the old man bore him, should the latter prove stronger than he.
They wrestled till three o'clock. By this time Pedro was as tired
as can be and ready to sink to the ground, but he did not let go of
his fellow-wrestler. When four o'clock came his opponent ceased to
move. When another half hour had passed, the rays of the sun began
to fall upon them, but it was not yet light enough for Pedro to make
out what sort of thing it was he had hold of. When five o'clock came,
he was greatly surprised to see that he was embracing a post which
was not much higher than he. It was, however, firmly fixed in the
ground and completely charred.
19. JUAN'S GOBLIN.
One night Juan while rambling about, crossed a river. While he
was still on the bank and just walking on the sandy beach, he felt
some sand being showered on his back. He thought he would watch for
the person who was throwing sand on him and catch him, so, while
walking, he kept turning suddenly right about at short intervals,
but he saw nothing.
This frightened him a little, and he began to wonder if he was
not perhaps dealing with some old man of the ant-hill or some
goblin. Therefore he hastened his running, but the faster he went,
the more frequent grew the striking of sand on his back. His fear
increased and he returned home running with all his might.
When he got there he was out of breath and unable to speak. It was
only when he had rested a while that he was able to answer the many
questions of his father and the other members of the household. He
told his father that he had been pursued by dwarves on his walk and
showered with sand.
His father asked him where the scene of this was, and he said on the
bank of the river. His father burst into peals of laughter and said
that these were no dwarves, but only his own feet, which sent the
sand up on his back at every stride he made.
But Juan refused to believe this, and for several days he did not
leave the house. His father therefore wanted to show him the truth
of what he had said, so one night he told Juan to go for a walk to
that same place, and he would accompany him.
Juan consented and they both went to the river-bank. When they got
there, Juan's father dropped behind. When Juan walked on the sandy
beach and felt the sprinkling of sand on his back, he was again filled
with terror and shouted to his father that they were already starting
to throw sand on his back.
He made Juan come back and walk on again. This time he followed at his
back. Accordingly Juan's father saw that every time Juan took a step,
the sandals he was wearing carried along some sand, and when he raised
his foot the sand thus carried along was sprinkled on his back.
His father now had him take off the sandals he was wearing and made
him walk on again. This time, no matter how much ground Juan walked
over, he felt no scattering of sand on his back.
From this time on he had no more fear of old men, dwarves, vampires,
and other spooks.
20. JUAN THE SUITOR.
Young Maria was famed for beauty in her district. She had no suitors,
however, except only Juan. But Maria's father had a great dislike
for Juan. Juan could converse with the girl he was courting only in
secret, for when Maria's father knew of it, he would punish them both
with his stick.
Sometimes, when the father's anger was great, he used a club on Juan,
so that he was in danger of getting his bones broken whenever they
were caught talking together.
One dark night Maria's father had gone out. When Juan found this out,
he went to Maria's to talk with her. They forgot themselves in their
conversation, and so were surprised by Maria's father on his return.
He was at once filled with anger and in a loud voice addressed Juan:
"What do you want, you brute? I've told you not to set foot in my
house here. What do you mean by coming here?"
And when he had said this he seized a bamboo cane and made ready to
give Juan a caning. In his terror the latter jumped out of the window,
but he was followed by the father. So he took to running with all
his might.
The night was dark as coal and he could not make out which way to go,
but he kept running nevertheless. He fell on his face again and again
as he ran, but he got up quickly and kept on running.
It was not long before he came upon a large black object. He recognized
it as a carabao, so he leaped quickly on its back and made it run.
Riding on a carabao is not very difficult, owing to the breadth of
its back and the slowness of its pace. Therefore, even though he had
no reins, Juan was not afraid to ride. Owing to the darkness of the
night it happened that in his mounting he faced the tail-end of the
carabao and not the head.
He urged on the carabao. Now it happened that this carabao was owned
by Maria's father. It was not long before Juan saw a lighted house
in the direction toward which the carabao was going. He confidently
expected that this house was his neighbor's. Therefore he got down
from the carabao and went up into the house on the run.
Great was his surprise and terror when, upon entering, he was met by
Maria's father and beaten all over his body and addressed: "What have
you come back for? Haven't I got rid of you yet, you shameless rascal?"
When Juan came to himself he jumped from the porch and ran toward home,
but this time he did not ride on anything.
21. MARIA THE MISER.
When Maria was still alive, she lived in her pleasant house in the
middle of wide grounds with beautiful gardens and trees. As she was
very rich, her life was one constant pleasure.
She had not reached the age of forty years, when she died. All
her wealth she divided between her sister and the church. She did
not remember the poor acquaintances and those of her neighbors who
were poor.
The sister who was left had a series of masses said during the seven
days after death, so that Maria's soul might be admitted by Saint
Peter at the gates of heaven.
When her sister Maria was still alive, she was known far and wide for
her avarice. She herself rarely had masses said or made offerings of
candles. When beggars asking for alms called on her, she had them
driven away and gave them no alms. Often also she had them chased
with dogs. She forced her peons to work without pay, and when she
gave them rations it was without meat or vegetables,--only boiled
rice with salt. To propitiate her, her peons, whenever they went home,
brought chickens, eggs, young pigs, and vegetables or fruits to give
to Maria. They did not make these presents for love of Maria, but as
a kind of bribe, so that they might not be too harshly treated during
their stay in her house. But when Maria went to the country to her
workmen, she appropriated without saying a word and without paying
for it, everything she saw in their house that took her fancy. When,
for instance, she saw at her workmen's a new basket, tray, sieve,
sack, mat, pot, cup, dipper, brazier, or other household utensil,
she took it and carried it off to her house. When she could not make
use of the things she had taken, she sold them. She acted in the same
way about animals that belonged to her servants. In this way she had
quickly grown rich.
When she had been dead about three days, her sister was at her house,
spending the period of mourning. One evening, when she was walking in
the garden she came to the side of a well that was in the yard. She was
surprised, for from the depth of the well she heard someone calling
her name. She turned her head toward the well and there she again
clearly heard the calling, although she could see nobody whatever.
The voice said: "My sister, I am Maria. I am paying now for my life
of avarice, selfishness and cruelty. I am here in the Lord's place of
punishment for all sinners. If it may be, do not follow my example,
but seek some means to save me from the boiling oil here which is
now my place of dwelling."
Her sister was much grieved then and went at once to the priest
to ask to what means she could resort to rescue her sister from
Hell. The priest advised her to go to a certain town where there was a
wonder-working image of Saint Peter. This image of Saint Peter talked
with people and advised various means of getting into Heaven. This
was its miracle.
Maria's sister went immediately to the town where stood the miraculous
Saint Peter. When she got there and talked with Saint Peter, she
told him the whole story. She said that her sister had told her that
her avarice, selfishness, and cruelty had caused her to be thrown
into Hell.
"In that case," said Saint Peter, "find you but one single person,
animal, or plant that was the object of an act of kindness on the part
of your sister. When you have managed to find it, come back to me,
and I shall give you a means to rescue your sister from damnation."
Maria's sister went home to their town at once and there she inquired
of all the townspeople which of them owed any debt of gratitude to
her sister, or which of them had been well treated or kindly spoken
to by her. But not one of them was able to answer. The animals also
of the neighbors and on Maria's own grounds were interrogated by her,
but here she found none that had been done a kindness by her sister.
One dog, a creature of skin and bones, said to her: "One afternoon
I was very hungry. I found a bone in her yard. I seized it and was
carrying it off, when she saw me. She had me chased at once, and when
I dropped the bone she had it buried in the ground. Was that an act
of kindness?"
The grief of Maria's sister became much greater, and her hope of
rescuing her sister from damnation was gradually failing. She began to
question the plants in her sister's yard. She took one by one all the
gourds, pumpkins, cucumbers, chile peppers, melons, sincamas, peanuts,
egg-plants, cow-peas, and onions and garlic, and other vegetables. She
did not find among them that which she sought. She also went through
the trees. She made inquiry, one after the other, of the chico, anona,
custard-apple, mabolo, grape-fruit, orange, lime, and casoy trees. But
here too her labor gave no result; only the group of the garden-plants
she had not yet questioned, and if here she did not find what she
sought, there would be nothing for her to do about the punishment
her sister was undergoing. She went to them all, but there were not
any who could say that they had received any kindness from Maria.
At the very last the sister went to the side of the well, and there
she questioned all the blades of grass. When night came there was only
one head of grass which she had not yet questioned. Full of fear and
hope she approached it.
She asked the head of grass which grew by the side of the well:
"When my sister was alive, did she ever do you an act of kindness?"
"Oh, your sister?" answered the grass, "Yes, it was she who gave me new
life. Last summer my blades were all withered and I was near to dying,
but your sister bathed one evening by the side of this well. As she
bathed, some water was sprinkled on me, so that I grew again and my
withered blades became fresh once more."
Maria's sister could not contain the joy which arose in her, and
that very night she returned to Saint Peter. Saint Peter gave her
a rosary and told her to go home and to hang this rosary down into
the well. She was to call Maria and let her take hold of the rosary;
by this means her sister could be rescued from damnation.
She went home at once, and hardly was the sun shining, when she came
to the yard of the deceased Maria. She approached the well, let down
the rosary, and called her sister. Maria emerged from under the water
and took hold of the rosary. Her sister began to pull at the rosary
and she was slowly lifted up.
As she was thus being rescued, some other souls too wanted to escape
from Hell. So they all took hold of Maria's feet, when they saw that
she was being rescued from damnation. But when only Maria's feet were
still under water, she shook her two feet, so that the souls who had
hold of her should have to let go.
When she did this the rosary broke and she at once fell into the well,
and from that time on her sister was never again able to communicate
with her.
The sister went back to Saint Peter and told him what had happened,
but Saint Peter said that there was no longer anything that they
could do to save her sister from Hell.
22. THREE SOULS WHO CALLED UPON SAINT PETER.
Juan was a gay bachelor. But when he reached the age of twenty-two
he fell very sick and it was not long before he died. His soul went
to Heaven and knocked at its gate.
Saint Peter answered his knock and asked: "Who are you? What brings
you here?"
Juan's soul answered: "I am Juan's soul. Open the door, for I want
to come in."
The door-keeper opened the gate, but before he allowed Juan's soul to
enter, he questioned him as follows: "Why have you come here? What
acts of piety have you performed on earth that you think you are
entitled to the joys of Heaven? Have you left a wife behind you?"
Juan's soul said: "When I was still on earth I often went to church,
prayed, and gave alms, but I did not have the good fortune to get
married."
The door-keeper answered: "You are not fit to partake of the joys
of Heaven."
And when he had said this he closed the door. Juan's soul was not
able to enter Heaven.
When Juan had gone away, another soul arrived.
"Who are you? And why do you wish to come into Heaven? Did you get
married when you were still on earth?" asked the door-keeper.
The soul answered: "I am the soul of Andrés. I took a wife when I
was yet on earth. Open the gate for I want to come in."
At once Saint Peter opened the gate of Heaven, and when he saw the
soul of Andrés he said: "Oh, pitiable soul! For such as you the joys
of Heaven are reserved and fitting. Enter!"
The soul of Andrés was overjoyed and entered the abode of bliss.
When the door was closed there was another knock.
"Who are you?" the keeper asked again.
"I am the soul of Mariano," answered the one who had knocked.
"Why have you come here? Why do you think that you deserve to partake
of Heaven? Did you get married when you were still on earth?"
To these questions the soul of Mariano answered: "When I was still
on earth I often had masses said. Half of my wealth I gave to the
Church for the saying of masses and the ringing of bells. The candles
I offered up could not be drawn by three carabao, and as to getting
married," continued the soul, "I was married twice. I became a widower
and married again."
"I am very sorry that I am not able to let you in. There is no place
for madmen like you in the Kingdom of Heaven."
And he closed the door.
23. JUAN THE CANOER.
One day a Spaniard was having Juan ferry him across the river
in his canoe. The Spaniard, Juan's fare, was able to speak
Tagalog. Accordingly, while they were still far from shore, he began
a conversation with Juan.
This Spaniard was a learned man, no doubt a famous scholar in Spain,
and this showed itself in his discourse to Juan regarding geography,
arithmetic, and various languages of Europe.
When his discourse was ended, he asked Juan: "Have you studied
geography?"
"No, sir," answered Juan,--and in truth, Juan had no education,
for he had grown up in poverty, so that his life at all times was
nothing but ceaseless work.
The Spaniard was astonished at Juan's answer and said at once: "I
am sorry, friend, that you do not know geography, for in consequence
half your life, as it were, is lost."
Juan did not utter a word, and kept on paddling.
It was not long before the Spaniard again asked: "Have you studied
arithmetic?"
"No, sir," answered Juan.
"If that is the case, friend, a fourth of your life is lost to you,
as it were."
Juan became a little frightened, for he could not make out what the
Spaniard was trying to say.
He said to himself: "You poor fellow, Juan, only a fourth of your
life is left now."
When their canoe had got to a deep part of the river, and while
the Spaniard was reflecting upon the great ignorance of the working
people in the Philippines, Juan asked his passenger this question:
"Do you know how to swim, sir?"
"No," answered the Spaniard at once.
"In that case," answered Juan, "you have lost your whole life, not
only as it were, but you have lost it in all truth."
And while he spoke these words he tipped over the canoe they were
riding in. Juan swam to the shore, but the Spaniard was carried away
by the stream.
24. KINDNESS TO ANIMALS.
One dark night Juan was walking in some forests far from any towns. He
was on his way to his home town. Before he could arrive there, he had
to pass through some uncanny places. One night, when he was walking
in such a place, he was suddenly startled by the arrival of a black
cat which purred and scratched at his leg. What he did was to kick
the cat with all his might, and it was tossed a good distance. He
kept on walking, but it was not long before the cat came back to
him. His anger greatly increased, and he kicked the cat again. He
thought that this cat was the plaything of some goblin or vampire. He
kept on walking. It was not long before the black cat again came back
to him. This time, instead of kicking the cat, he took hold of it,
lifted it up on his arm, stroked it and patted it, and said to it:
"Good little cat, what do you want? Are you going to come along with
me on my journey?" and he continued walking.
After a while he was attacked by sleepiness. He saw a house by
the way, but the people in his town believed that this house was
enchanted. However, Juan had no other place to sleep, so he entered
the house to sleep there.
He fell sound asleep, but at midnight he was awakened by the pattering
of rats. He set about kicking and striking at the rats to kill them
or drive them away. But the rats became more and more numerous until
the room became full and they bit him and gnawed at him.
It was then that Juan took his black cat and told it to kill the
rats. The cat miewed and began to chase the rats. Great fear seized
the rats, and those that were not killed by the cat ran to their
holes. When Juan saw that there were no rats left except only a single
pair, he stopped the cat. He caught the two rats and petted them and
decided to take them along on his journey, just like the cat.
On the next day he continued his journey. He was overtaken by night
in a place where there were no houses, so he walked on toward a house
owned by a certain old man. Now it happened that this old man was an
enchanter. He took Juan in and gave him an alcove to sleep in. Juan
went to sleep without suspecting anything.
However, when he woke up on the next day, he was surprised and
frightened when he saw that he was locked up in a box without any
opening. He kicked at the walls of the box, but was not able to do
anything: he could not open it. Great was his despair, and he did not
know what to do, when he remembered that he had a cat and two rats with
him in his prison. He took the two rats, petted them, and told them to
make a hole in the box in which they were confined. The rats began to
gnaw at the boards, and gradually they succeeded in making a hole in
the thick board, until it was pierced through. When they had pierced
it, they returned to Juan, and Juan had them again pierce the wall
of the prison. When they had made holes again and again, they finally
succeeded in making a large opening, and Juan was able to escape.
Juan looked for the old man, but did not find him anywhere. So he
continued on his way home, and when he arrived there, he told of
the great service which had been done him by his three friends,
a cat and two rats.
25. JUAN THE SCULPTOR.
I once read, in a Spanish novel entitled La tumba de hierro, the
following story:
Juan was a child of five years, the son of a workman of the wealthy
Andrés. Juan was dumb from birth, but not deaf. Moreover, his dumbness
was not complete, for often he was able to cry out, though his voice
was not like that of a normal child.
One evening Andrés visited the house of his workman, Juan's father,
and on this visit he brought along his daughter, who also was five
years old. In spite of his dumbness, Juan made friends with his
master's child, and the two played together while their fathers were
discussing matters of farming. He showed Maria (this was the name of
his playmate) his toys, which he had made by his own hand and skill.
His toys were all kinds of faces of people which he had made, and
they were made of clay. There were also many whole figures of people
in all kinds of positions. Some were planting, some were dancing,
some were lying down, and there were also some wrestling, running,
and in many other positions. He also had animals; some were made of
clay and others were made of wood.
The two children became good friends and were engrossed in play. When
their fathers had finished their conversation, Andrés called Maria
to go home, but Maria first asked her father to come to where Juan's
toys were, so that he might see them. When Andrés beheld the toys, he
was astonished at the great ability shown by the one who had shaped
these manikins. Andrés told Juan's father that Juan was gifted and
ought to be sent to school. But Juan's father answered that he had
no money with which to let Juan study.
"In that case," said Andrés, "I will pay the teacher. Tomorrow Maria's
teacher is coming to our house. I shall have him go on here to you,
to begin the teaching of Juan and the opening up of his mind."
Juan's father thanked him profusely, and they parted. Juan was very
sorry when his playmate left.
From that day on Maria's father often sent for Juan that he might
play with Maria there in his house.
One afternoon when the two were playing in the garden in the wide
grounds of Andrés, a butterfly came flying past the two children. They
ran after it. Maria ran ahead and Juan followed. As they were running,
Maria fell into a shallow pool which Andrés used as a fishpond. Juan
gave a loud cry, and, as he cried out, a muscle in his throat broke
and his mouth bled. He paid no attention to this and jumped into the
pool to save Maria from drowning. As the pool was shallow, the two
children did not drown, only Maria was filled with great fear, which
caused her to faint while still in the water. So what Juan did was to
take hold of Maria by her back and lift her up, so that she should
not swallow any water,--he himself meanwhile being immersed. They
were in this position when a servant of Andrés came upon them and
rescued them from the pool.
Great was the surprise of Andrés and great was the joy which came
to Juan's father, when they heard Juan talk and tell them what had
happened. What with Juan's talking, his progress in his studies became
much greater and his friendship with Maria grew much stronger.
There came the day when his teacher said that he ought to go to another
town to continue his studies, for he could teach him nothing more. He
told this also to Andrés. Andrés sent Juan to a school for sculptors,
and there he studied for about six years.
Juan and Maria grew up and their friendship turned into love. Every
vacation Juan went home to their house on Andrés' estate, and there
he passed the days at Maria's side.
There came a day for the exhibition of the sculptures of the artists,
and Juan had planned a design which he was going to carry out for that
day. The victor among the contestants was to be given a prize that
was to be accompanied by much money, in addition to a celebration in
honor of the winner. For about a year Juan worked at his composition.
The day for presenting the statues arrived. Juan, his father, Andrés,
and Maria went to the building where the statues were. Many people
were there, but they were all crowding round Juan's statue. Andrés
did not know what to say in his admiration. The hour came when the
judges announced who was the winner, and Juan's statue was that named
as having won the prize.
It was a group with a standing woman. Her left hand held a torch and
her right a crown of leaves. At the right of the woman and under the
crown of olive a youth was kneeling on his right foot. In his left
hand he was holding a book, and in his right a hammer. At their feet
lay scattered various implements of a student.
On the way home the two lovers revealed their secret to their
parents. Juan's father was merely grieved, for he knew that the
marriage of the two was not possible, for their position was like
that of a slave or thrall and a lord or king. When Andrés learned of
the matter, he was filled with great anger. He had Juan called to him
and scolded him. He told him he was shameless and did not know how to
appreciate favors,--did not know how to repay the man who had given him
his education, and told him that he could not marry Maria. Accordingly
Juan at once went away without anyone's knowing his destination.
Five or six years passed, and Juan at his sculpture did not forget
Maria.
Maria passed these six years in her house. She was sunk at all times
in a deep grief, and it was always Juan of whom she was thinking. Maria
fell seriously ill and was near to death.
Her physician advised Andrés that, if he wanted to save his daughter,
he would have to follow her desire regarding marriage to Juan. But
when Andrés consented, it was already too late. Maria's sickness went
from bad to worse, and he did not even know where Juan was. He sent
many messengers to the large towns to look for Juan, but even when
many days had passed, not one of them had succeeded in finding Juan.
At last one of them came upon him in the town of Kamalig in his
workshop. When he was told that he was being sent for by Andrés that
he and Maria might be married, his joy was very great. But he was also
much afraid that he might not find his loved one alive. He went home
with all possible speed, and when he arrived at the house of Andrés,
he found there the body of Maria, mere bone and skin, stretched out
on her couch. That very moment Andrés sent for a priest, and Juan and
Maria were married. While the marriage-ceremony was being performed
by the priest, Maria's breath ceased. When they were married, Juan
had but time to kiss his wife before her breath left her, her face
glad and her mouth smiling.
26. MARQUITA.
Marquita was a good and beautiful young woman, but poor. She was
betrothed to a man who also was poor, but had a position with the
Government in Manila and received good pay.
Marquita had a rich neighbor. His house was of wood, with an iron
roof, and his estate was large. This neighbor had a great liking for
Marquita, but we cannot say whether his love was true, for he had a
screw loose. He paid every attention to Marquita, but Marquita was
not a girl of fickle heart and paid no heed to all his attentions.
So great was the desire of this suitor to win Marquita that he
decided to employ force. One afternoon he went into the yard of
Marquita's family and hid in a banana-tree. It happened that on this
afternoon Marquita's yard was dirty. Accordingly she went and swept the
yard. When she came near the banana-tree in which the man was hiding,
he suddenly dropped down, seized her by the hand and kissed her.
As you know, among reputable people in our country a single kiss is
a great stain on a girl's honor. Therefore, when Marquita came into
the house weeping and her parents found out that she had been roughly
handled or kissed by this man, they decided that there was no other way
of covering up this disgrace than marrying their daughter Marquita to
this man. No matter how much Marquita objected, and although they knew
that she had a sweetheart, they nevertheless prepared for the marriage.
Marquita was a daughter very obedient to her parents, so she could
not actually disobey them now. All she did was to write her betrothed
what had happened and what was going to happen and to tell him that
her coming marriage was only an act of obedience to her parents, and
that she loved only him. To her parents Marquita said that they would
get no joy from her, for her marriage to the man whom she abhorred
would soon be the death of her.
They were married. It was not long before Marquita was stricken with
fever. From the day of her marriage she was not able to eat anything,
and she shed tears day and night. The skilful physicians of the town,
all the wealth of her husband, and all the prayers of her parents,
failed to save her from death. Seven days after her wedding she
died. This caused much grief to her former betrothed and contributed
to his misfortune in his later life.
27. THE IGNORANT PRIEST.
To the town of Baliwag there was once assigned a priest who had no
education whatever. The people surmised that he was only a grass-cutter
in Spain, who had been cast hither by chance and assigned as priest
to their town so that he might have some income and so be saved from
dying of hunger. Every Sunday he said mass, but those who heard the
mass could hear nothing from him, except only the word "Mass, mass,
mass," and so on. He would walk round in front of the altar; at times
he faced the people, brought his hands together, and, while making
all these movements, he would keep saying his "Mass, mass, mass,"
and so on.
The people got angry and reported him to the archbishop. The answer
of the archbishop was that he would come some Sunday and hear the
mass to see if their accusation was really true.
The archbishop arrived. The priest told him that he was not able to
perform mass, because the silly people all left the church as soon
as he began mass.
"Tomorrow," he added, "you will see how they all run away as soon as
I give the blessing."
The next day was Sunday and at his mass the archbishop was to be
present. He planned a way of saving himself. Accordingly, before
beginning the mass, he caused some oil to boil. While he was putting
on his vestments the people and the archbishop were seated in the
church. The archbishop was near the altar, and, while the priest
was putting on his vestments, the oil was boiling. When he had put
on his vestments, he poured the boiling oil into the vessel for holy
water. It was his custom to give the blessing before saying mass, so,
when he entered the church, he sprinkled the boiling oil on the people
instead of holy-water. The people, struck by the drops of hot oil,
all jumped up and ran with all their might out of the church. When the
archbishop saw this, he did not have the mass gone on with on that day,
for there was not a single one of the people left in the church.
The archbishop said to the priest that he would not have to leave
the town and that hereafter he would not heed any accusation that
the people made.
28. THE CONFESSIONAL.
Father Mundo was the priest assigned for some years to the town of
Mariquina. He was a man who liked amusements. He was never deficient
in the fulfilment of his duties. Every day he said mass, and on Sunday
he said mass twice. Also, he christened children, said blessings over
the dead, carried the sacrament, heard confession, and gave holy
communion. He performed all his duties well, but the confessing he
overdid a little. From his point of view this was perhaps useful in
lessening the sins of those whom he confessed, but for some of the
latter it had its bad side.
Once there was a young woman who was fond of going to church and to
confession. When this young woman reached the age of twenty years,
she abandoned the pious duty of going to confession, and also went
to church but rarely. Once when this woman was questioned, she spoke
as follows:
"At first I really thought that Father Mundo was a saint, but now the
people realize that he is a horrid man. At flood-time, when the people
are all canoeing on the flood, he rides along in the women's canoe,
and not with the men. In the morning, after saying mass, he is seen
squatting in his courtyard with his vestments trailing on the ground,
petting fighting-cocks, in company with the other cock-fighters.
"At first I often confessed to him, but there came a day when
the things he asked me in the confessional were nothing but
foolishness. Was it right for him to ask me how many suitors I had,
whom I liked, and where I met them? What I thought was that this priest
was extremely impudent. So I left him at once in the confessional,
and since that time I have not been going to confession."
29. JUAN THE JOKER.
Juan was a man given to doing nonsensical things, but he did not do
them intentionally to anger his fellow-men; it was merely his natural
habit, prompted by his character.
Once he went to the festival of a certain town. He was carrying three
young pigs to sell in the town. When he got there, he saw many people
gathered in the courtyard of the church and listening to a speech
which the mayor of the town was delivering. The people stood in a dense
crowd, but he succeeded in getting close to the foot of the platform
on which the orator was standing. While he took part in the crowding,
the three pigs kept squealing. When he had arrived in front of the
mayor, he held his hand over their mouths to make them keep quiet,
but he did not succeed. The mayor took notice of the squealing of
the pigs and looked round to see who had brought the pigs there.
When he saw Juan he addressed him as follows: "Juan! What do you mean
by making your pigs squeal here? Get out of here at once and never
again dare to set foot on the ground of Bustos!"
Juan departed and went home to his town of San Ildefonso. A year
passed, and the festival in the town of Bustos came round again. Juan
wanted to go there, but he remembered that the mayor of that town had
threatened him that, if he were seen again on the ground of Bustos,
he would have him imprisoned and tortured. Juan thought of a way of
going there none the less.
When the festival arrived, there was a high mass, which was attended by
thousands of people. Juan was one of these people, and he it was whom
all the people were watching, owing to the manner of his appearance
there in the church. It was not long before one of the people who
were watching him complained to the mayor, saying that Juan was in
the church mounted on a wagon drawn by carabao, and that the whole
thing, wagon, carabao, and Juan, was inside the church. Juan had not
got down from the wagon on which he was standing.
The mayor went to the church to arrest Juan. When he got there he said:
"Juan! Follow me, I am going to imprison you. Didn't I tell you not
to set foot on the ground of Bustos?"
But Juan answered: "Mr. Mayor! You certainly did tell me that. That
is why I cannot get out of my wagon. Do you see this earth, sir, with
which my wagon is loaded and on which I am standing? This is not the
ground of Bustos, sir, but earth of San Ildefonso. I got this earth
in my town."
When Juan had said this, the mayor could not restrain his laughter
and only said to himself that he could do nothing to Juan, for the
latter was in the right.
30. THE THREE THIEVES.
Juan, Andrés, and Diego were three expert thieves. They were
very famous, and many people were trying to catch them, but their
cleverness at dodging and stealing kept them from being caught. The
three once made an appointment to meet at a certain quiet and secret
place to discuss their means of livelihood and new good methods of
thievery. Not one of them had an honest trade. This had been their
mode of life from childhood on, so they had become skilful and very
clever at this activity.
When the day of their meeting came, they were there already at
dawn. Each one of them had much to tell, and, as they were all talking
at once, their stories were indistinguishable.
Juan asked of Diego: "How skilled are you now at your work?"
"In my opinion," answered Diego, "I am the most skilful of us three,
for I am able to steal the eggs a hen is brooding on without its
knowing it. And not only this," he continued, "I am able to rob wild
animals of their young without their noticing it."
"Is that all your skill?" Andrés quickly interrupted, "I am able to
rob animals and men too. I have stolen all of people's jewelry that I
wanted to steal, whether the owner was asleep or up and about. Once
I stole a ring that the owner was sleeping on to keep it from being
stolen,--but I stole it without his noticing."
"Is that all the skill you two have?" asked Juan. "The things you
do don't come halfway up to my skill at stealing. I can steal people
themselves, and not only their property."
The two he was talking to were surprised, for they did not think
that a live man could be stolen without his knowing it, and, to test
Juan's ability, the two made a bet with Juan. They told him to steal
the priest of the town and to bring him to the place where they now
were. If he succeeded in doing this, Andrés and Diego would pay him
five hundred pesos. But if he could not do it, he was to pay Andrés
and Diego one hundred pesos. Juan agreed to this bet, and they parted.
Juan went to the town and found out by inquiry where the priest
lived. When he had found this out, he figured out the plan he would
pursue in stealing the priest. He entered the priest's household as
a servant. During his stay as a servant he became acquainted with the
habits of the priest. One of his habits, from which he never deviated,
was praying a rosary before the image of a saint. The image was made of
wood, and it represented Saint John. The size of this image was equal
to that of a man. Juan had a carver make an image just like this one,
but with an opening, and hollow inside. This opening inside the body
of the image of the saint was such that a man could enter it. When
the image which Juan had had made was ready, he replaced with it the
image of Saint John which belonged to the priest.
One afternoon before prayers he took a rice-sack and went into the
inside of the saint he had had made. When the priest had eaten supper
he went into the room in which he prayed, to say a rosary. When he
was halfway through his prayers, and just about as Juan was getting
tired of standing up, the latter spoke: "Cease your praying, Father
Lucas. I have been sent here to conduct you to Heaven."
At first the priest was filled with fear, but then he thought that his
saint was doing a miracle and was really calling for him in order to
take him to Heaven. As he did not say anything, Juan again spoke as
follows: "Many are the works of piety which you have done. You have
been patient in living a lowly life, therefore all the joys of Heaven
have been reserved for you. Come with me, and I shall conduct you."
The priest answered: "How shall I manage to come with you? I am old
and cannot walk from here on earth as far as Heaven."
Juan answered: "Never you mind that, I have a bag here. Get into it
and I will carry you on my way to Heaven."
When he had said this, he spread out the rice-sack. When the priest
had got into it, Juan tied the bag tightly. He got out from inside
the image and carried Father Lucas on his shoulder toward the house
where he had his appointment with his two friends. Father Lucas
really believed that he was going to Heaven, and so he staid still
in the sack.
However, when Juan was wading through a shallow river, it occurred to
him that he was being fooled and that they were not going to Heaven
at all.
Therefore he asked Juan: "What river is this, and why must we cross
a river on the way to Heaven?"
Juan answered: "Shhh! Don't make any noise! This is the river Jordan."
The priest desisted from speaking. Juan kept on walking. When he was
already going up into the house that was their place of meeting,
the priest was again surprised and again asked: "What stairway is
this? Is this the way the staircase of Heaven looks?"
"I have told you already that you must not make any noise," answered
Juan, "This is the stairway that leads to Heaven."
When they had come up into the house, they were met by Diego and
Andrés. Juan dropped his burden and said to them: "I have brought here
what you told me to steal. Have you brought the five hundred pesos?"
The other two did not believe him at once. So what they did was to
make a hole in the bag and peep at the contents. In it they saw the
head of the priest with the tonsure. Accordingly they handed Juan
the five hundred pesos and they all quickly left the house. They
abandoned the priest, leaving him to get free as best he could.
31. HOW MONKEYS ARE CAUGHT.
In the jungle one not rarely meets with large herds of monkeys. When
the one who comes into their haunts is unarmed, there is danger of
their killing the man whom they overpower by their numbers. When angry,
they climb down from the trees and all bite at the man who is in their
power. Therefore a man who is going into jungles where there are many
monkeys will not neglect to carry a gun. When the monkeys hear the
noise of the gun, they are unafraid. Most of them do not run away,
but look at the place where the noise and smoke come from. Those
who are reached by a bullet try to ward it off with their hand, like
one who is warding off a mere throw. Therefore, when they are shot,
their palms too are pierced by the bullet.
Not infrequently people catch live monkeys, so as to domesticate
them and sell them to the various foreigners who come to the
Philippines. The catching of live monkeys does not involve much labor,
for the method of catching them is simply to trick them.
When one wants to catch monkeys, one usually cooks or has cooked
some sweetmeats, and into these one mixes or has mixed some
balasing. Balasing is the seed of a plant which intoxicates or puts
into a deep sleep the animals which eat it. It is used also in
catching fish in rivers. When these sweetmeats have been cooked,
the man carries them to where the herd of monkeys is. However,
if he should place it carefully on the ground, the monkeys would
not climb down to eat it. They suspect that these sweetmeats are
only a bait for them, that they may be caught or killed. Therefore
what the man does is to pretend that he is frightened and when he
sees the monkeys, he starts running, carrying on his head the tray
of drugged sweetmeats. While running he pretends to take a fall on
his face, so that the sweetmeats he is carrying on his head fall
down and are scattered over the ground. When this happens, he keeps
on running just the same, and hides somewhere or other to watch the
monkeys eat. When the monkeys see the man running away, and when he
is hidden, they climb down from the trees and all start grabbing the
sweetmeats. They all crowd on top of one another in their greed, and
the noise is very great, for each herd of monkeys is about five hundred
or a thousand strong. When they have eaten it is not long before they
are attacked by sleepiness. They get weak and cannot climb into the
trees. It is a laughable sight to see these monkeys, old and young,
squatting on the ground and nodding, everyone of them. The ones who
did not succeed in grabbing any sweetmeats climb up into the trees
and look down at their drunken companions. When the monkeys are in
this state, and not before, does the man who is hidden come up and
take the sleeping monkeys one by one. The effect of the drug is not
of long duration, and the monkeys get well after a few days.
Another common way of catching monkeys is to use cocoanuts as bait. A
hole is made in an unopened cocoanut. The size of this hole is just
large enough for a monkey to put in his hand when it is not holding
anything. Inside the cocoanut-shell is placed a piece of the meat
of the cocoanut, and the whole thing is placed in a spot where there
are monkeys. Monkeys like cocoanut, and when they see it, they grasp
the meat that is inside the shell. But when they have hold of the
cocoanut-meat, they can no longer take their hand out through the
opening, but they will not let go of the cocoanut-meat. Consequently
they are as though in stocks, and when the man who is catching them
approaches, they cannot get away, for the cocoanuts are heavy and
sometimes are weighted in addition. So when the catcher comes up,
he is able without difficulty to capture the handcuffed monkeys,
grown or young.
32. THE FESTIVAL OF SAINT JOHN.
The twenty-fourth of June is the festival of Saint John, and it is
celebrated in the various towns of the province of Bulacán. In the
month of June there is usually rain and mud. The people believe that
Saint John is the saint who makes the rain fall, and therefore is fond
of water and mud. Hence the celebrations performed on his day are
very different from those performed on the days of other saints. In
the towns near the sea there are floods in the month of June and the
water comes up into the town. In the towns farther from the sea it is
also very rainy, and usually these floods and rains fall on the day of
Saint John. The people who take part in the celebration get themselves
drenched in the flood or in the rain. In the towns of Malolos and
Hagúnoy, when this holiday falls into a time of large flood, almost
all the people get into the water or else go canoeing. If there is no
flood, the people walk about in the rain. Many people from the country
and the suburbs go about collecting alms on this holiday. Most of them
are boys or young men; rarely are there any women. In separate groups
they go about collecting alms, and each group has with it a band that
plays on bamboo instruments. Those who do not play are supposed to
have the task of singing or dancing. All of them are almost without
clothing, like Igorots, but their whole body, from head to foot,
including even the eyes and ears, is caked over with mud.
These groups go calling from house to house. They stop in front of a
house and there they play music or sing or dance. They usually sing
about the life of Saint John or of some other saint who was a friend of
his. While their music is playing, their order is in single file in a
circle, sometimes standing, sometimes squatting or kneeling. When there
is a singer or dancer, he is within the circle of musicians and there
performs his singing or dancing. After two or three pieces of music,
songs, or dances they stop and all go round asking alms of the people
who are watching them. If they receive no alms, they take mud from
their body and throw it at the stingy people. They spend the whole
day in such celebration. As these alms-gatherers are very numerous,
they help to make the town gay, even though it is very rainy.
When there is canoeing it is not uncommon for people to get
drowned. Consequently this custom is gradually disappearing. Moreover,
in these days people are getting stingy and rarely give alms. Hence
the gatherers of alms on the festival of Saint John are gradually
disappearing.
33. FAMILY CELEBRATIONS AFTER A DEATH.
A family that has suffered a loss by death suffers not only in its
mind and soul, but also in its purse. This is on account of the great
expense borne by the bereaved ones in conforming with various customs.
On the day when someone has died very many people call on his
family, and these visitors do not content themselves with condoling
with the dead person's family, but make a long stay in the house of
mourning. Consequently the bereaved family is compelled to serve food
to the visitors. Usually the dead person is not buried at once, but
is first placed in state for two or three days from the time when he
ceased to breathe. During these days people's visits stop neither by
day nor by night. Most of them are relatives and others are friends,
neighbors, and other acquaintances in town. If the deceased had
many friends or relatives in other towns, they too come to visit,
and they have to be given board and lodging by the dead person's
family. This is because in the small towns in the provinces there
are no hotels. In feeding all these guests they often use up half
a cow, several sheep and goats, and innumerable chickens. The chef
is usually hired, and the near relatives of the deceased help with
the cooking. For this reason in the house of death the place where
the deceased is lying in state is very quiet, and even when many
people are there, when they talk it is only in whispers. But in
the dining-room and kitchen the noise is extraordinary. Everyone
is giving orders to the servants, some are washing dishes or pots,
some are polishing knives and forks, some are serving at the table,
and so on. In the kitchen the sputtering of the frying-pans never
stops, and one can hear only the voices of the chef and his assistants.
But in one chamber of the house stays the immediate family of the
deceased and is plunged in grief. They all cry as hard as they can
and from time to time blurt out questions as to what will happen to
them because of the departure of the one who has died.
If the deceased is wealthy, a priest comes to get him and escorts
him to the church. Arriving at the church, the body is blessed by the
priest and after this the priest escorts it also to the cemetery. All
the visitors are present at the burial, and usually they ride in
carriages. These carriages are hired, except for a few which belong
to some of the visitors.
When the dead has been buried the guests who come from other towns
go along back to the house of mourning. Most commonly they soon
depart, but sometimes they stay three days, to take part in the
Three Nights' Celebration. The Three Nights are celebrated in the
house of the deceased. At this time the relatives call and all pray
together. In this praying only the older people take part, and the
young men and young women tell each other riddles. These ceremonies
are performed during the Three Nights. On the last night there are
usually many people, and the entertaining is more elaborate than on
the two preceding nights. Many of those who come give presents to
the bereaved ones. Usually these are things to eat for the guests.
In poor families these ceremonies are also performed, but the priest's
calling for and escorting the corpse does not take place. For the
blessing of the corpse one may pay the priest whatever one desires. The
cheapest thing is the blessing of the corpse at the door of the church
and placed on the ground. The next in order is the blessing of the
corpse also at the door of the church, but with the coffin placed
on an altar. The most expensive blessings are performed right by the
altar. The price of these is from one-hundred to five-hundred pesos.
34. FLEEING FROM THE AMERICANS.
The people of San Miguel were like herds of animals fleeing before the
whips of the herdsmen and the pursuit of savage dogs. They are very
fond of peace and quiet. Also they are very credulous toward hearsay,
and these circumstances are what did not allow most of them to stay
at ease in the town during the time of the revolutions against the
Spaniards and the Americans. It is also true, however, that many of
them ran away merely from fright or cowardice.
When the revolution against the Spaniards of the year 1896 took place,
I was only four years old. According to what my mother has told me,
we went to Manila instead of going up into the mountains. I do not
remember much of what happened at that time, except the fact that
we went to the railroad station. When we arrived at Manila we were
not able to enter the city unless we had a permit from an official
of this city.
The next thing which has become fixed in my memory is our stay in
Bigaá, in the house of an attorney, whose name was Don Nasario. We went
to this town to escape the fighting of the forces of the Katipunan
and the Spaniards in Manila. In Bigaá were Tagalog soldiers drilling
to take part in the fighting.
A little later we went to the town of Bustos. This town also was at
that time in the hands of the Katipunan. This town is very pretty
because of the various aspect of the things one sees. The river is
very broad, the banks are wide, and on the banks are hills of stone
and sand. The friends with whom we stayed were kind people. They
often played with my sister and me, and the game was to make ducks
dive in the clear waters of the river.
What took place in the fighting of those times I did not find out,
for I was still small and had not yet any understanding.
When the flight from the Americans came, I was already a little older,
and I remember much of our flight to the mountains. When the Americans
had defeated the soldiers of Aguinaldo the people of San Miguel
were filled with terror. The report circulated in the town that the
Americans were wild people, cruel and fierce, and without respect for
anything. This no doubt was a rumor which the Spaniards caused to be
spread, and especially the Spanish priests in the Philippines. Owing
to people's fear of the Americans, almost all of us townspeople packed
up our belongings and went up into the mountains. We were living at
that time in the house of an aunt of my mother's, and there dwelt
with us also the family of my mother's oldest brother. I remember
that the packing and hauling of the goods of all of us who lived in
the house took more than ten days. The wagons laden with our goods
were despatched at night, so that the carabao that drew them should
not get exhausted in the heat of the sun. The wagons were filled up
to the top of the covering, and the carabao were much wearied by the
drawing of the heavy loads. When no belongings of ours were left,
we ourselves got into the wagon to be carried to the mountains.
The place we went to was called Paang-Bundóc, half a day's walk from
Sibul Springs. The dwelling we came to there was a mere hut with a
roof of cugon-grass, and very small. The floor consisted of branches
of trees with the twigs cut off, but not smooth or even. It was very
small and was penetrated by wind and cold. Such was the place we lived
in for several months, instead of the frame house of my mother's aunt.
There in Paang-Bundóc there came to us many fellow-townspeople who
were also fleeing, and the last comers reported that all the people
of the town were by now in the mountains, or at any rate gone, and
only the houses were left.
After several months' stay at Paang-Bundóc we went from there to a
secret place. This place was a clearing in the jungle. Not one of
us was allowed to know the name of the place, and those who knew it
kept it very secret, so that our hiding-place should not be known by
any outsider. This was a way of escaping not only the enemy, but also
robbers and thieves. The house we lived in there was very large, a very
long building, all under one roof. The building was cut up into rooms
of equal size. The number of these was about eight. In each room one
family lived. Here too we were compelled to stay for several months.
When the Americans were already near the town of San Miguel, it was
reported to us that these people were not as hearsay described them, so
that our fear of them gradually gave way. Accordingly we left our deep
concealment and went to Paho. This too is a place in the mountains,
but nearer to the town. There we were met by many fellow-townsmen
and people from various other places. Most of them were sick from
staying in the mountains. Here the medicines which Mother had taken up
into the mountains instead of leaving them in the town, were of great
use. These medicines belonged to Father; he had left them behind when
he was banished to Sulu by the Spanish priests. One morning someone
called at our house to buy some medicine. Mother went to the chest in
which the medicine lay. When it was opened, we saw a snake coiled up
and sleeping on the rice-hulls that covered the bottles. The people
who saw this rejoiced greatly, but Mother was only frightened. She
did not know the meaning of the snake. When the rejoicing was over,
Mother asked why they were all so glad. They answered that the
meaning of the snake was that the owner of the medicine was going
to get rich. Mother only laughed at what they said, for she did not
believe in these things.
After a few months we left Paho and went home to our town. When we got
there, most of the few belongings we had left there had been stolen
by the few people who had been left in the town. The boards of the
flooring of the house of Mother's aunt were gone, and they did not
know who had taken them.
Not long after our arrival in town it was reported that the American
soldiers were now near to the town of San Miguel. We were not made
uneasy by this news, and awaited their arrival. One noon the town was
quiet. The soldiers who were in the town went away and those who did
not go away threw away their guns. The reason for this was the entry
of the American soldiers. From the back yard of the house in which
we were living I saw the approach of the soldiers. Their trousers
were khaki and their shirts blue. They carried their guns and ran in
single file across the fields and came toward the road.
When the Americans were in possession of the town, orders for some
months were strict. Lights were ordered extinguished at six o'clock
in the evening, and no one was allowed to walk about after this
hour. In the mountains near San Miguel were many Tagalog soldiers,
and they often attacked the town of San Miguel. On account of these
attacks the Americans set fire to houses in San Miguel. Night after
night when the soldiers attacked, the houses were regularly set fire
to. Our neighbors came to us every night to sleep with us, because in
our house the danger from the bullets of the contestants was not so
great. The doctor of the American soldiers who were in the town of
San Miguel had become a friend of my father's, and for this reason
our house escaped being burned. Once this doctor told Father that
he often accompanied the patrols and told them not to burn down our
house. Finally, as the Tagalog soldiers did not succeed in driving
the Americans out of the town, they stopped their attacks, and the
town became quiet.
II. GRAMMATICAL ANALYSIS.
Note.--The following grammatical analysis of Mr. Santiago's speech
can, of course, lay no claim to completeness: he surely uses some
constructions and very many forms which I have not heard or have
failed to note. Such fulness as will be found is due to Mr. Santiago's
intelligence and patience under questioning and in conversation. A
very few of the examples represent his form of sentences in MacKinlay's
Handbook. The full representation of derivatives of the root pútol cut
is due to Mr. Santiago's kindness in listing these forms, wherever they
seemed possible to his speech-feeling, in accordance with my list of
morphologic elements, and in then forming sentences to illustrate them.
In the use of accent-marks and of the symbol y I have deviated from the
practice of the International Phonetic Association. Where roots did
not occur as independent words, I have prefixed a hyphen and given a
theoretical meaning. In the explanation of constructions I have allowed
myself the use of distorted English; although this time-honored device
does not really reproduce the foreign expression (substituting, as
it does, impossible constructions for natural ones), it does enable
the reader to follow the general trend of the foreign idiom.
A. PHONETICS.
1. Distinctive sounds.
1. The distinctive sounds are the following:
Labial Dental Palatal Velar Laryngeal
Stops: unvoiced p t k `
Stops: voiced b d g
Spirants (unvoiced) s h
Nasals (voiced) m n ng
Trill (voiced) r
Lateral (voiced) l
High vowels i(e,y) u(o,w)
Low vowel a
2. a is a low unrounded vowel, as in Standard English far, but more
tense and with the corners of the mouth (lips) slightly drawn back:
hàlamanàn garden.
3. i and u, in what may be regarded as the normal form, are about
as high as the Standard (American) English vowels in pit and put,
but more tense; moreover, the lips are well drawn back for i and well
rounded for u: ínit heat, lutúin be cooked.
4. In the final syllable of a phrase (or of a word spoken alone)
the tongue position of i and u is as a rule lowered, often all the
way to mid position; the tenseness and lip position are, however,
kept, so that the resulting sound often resembles French è and lower o.
5. u is nearly always so lowered: bágo new, buhòk hair. It is not
lowered in pù` ten.
6. i is not lowered before dentals: káhit though, ákin my, pígil
compulsion. It is usually kept high also before velars: sahìg flooring,
singsìng ring. Some words ending in velars more or less regularly
have the lowering: pútik, pútek mud; so especially some proper names:
Intsèk Chinese, Lóleng Lola.
Even in other cases the higher variants of i are commoner than the
lower; hindì` not, kamì we, gabì night, mulì` again are commoner
than these words with e; a very few words, such as ulè` again have
oftener e than i; others, such as itèm black are fairly regular in
their variation.
7. Within a closely unified phrase the lowering is as a rule omitted:
ulí sya again he (ulè`), Hintú na! Stop! (hintò`). In this regard the
habits are variable; the form chosen depends mostly on the speaker's
momentary attitude toward the closeness of joining of the words.
A dissimilative factor also seems to be involved: a following i or
u favors the lowering:
Natùtúlug ang áso. The dog is sleeping.
Natùtúlog si Hwàn. Juan is sleeping.
8. o occurs in a number of words as the vowel in the last two
syllables: in all of them the intervening consonant is the glottal
stop: ó`o yes, do`òn there; bo`ò` whole has occasionally bu`ò`. The
raised variant is not used within the phrase: Ó`o pò`. Yes, sir. Yes,
ma'am. do`òn sya there he.
e occurs in the same way in le`èg neck, beside li`ìg.
9. In word-formation, when, by the addition of suffixes, the i or u is
no longer final, it is not lowered: lúto` cook, lutúin be cooked; itèm
black, itimàn be made black. Occasionally, however, the lowered vowel
is retained: táo human being, ka-taó-han mankind, beside kataúhan,
tao-taó-han manikin, pupil of the eye, beside tautaúhan.
The words with o`o (§ 8) keep the lowered vowel when uncontracted:
pina-ro`on-àn was gone to (do`òn there); these words are also
reduplicated with o: kinà-dò-ro`on-àn is been in.
10. e and o occur also in unassimilated loan-words: bèsbol baseball,
Silà y nag-bè-bèsbol, They are playing baseball, estudiyànte,
istudiyànte student, polìs, pulìs policeman, sipéro football player,
bangkéro canoer (both with Spanish suffix -éro added to Tagalog words:
sípa` football, bangkà` canoe).
For e see also § 29.
11. As the variation between i and e and between o and u is thus never
distinctive, there is no need of indicating it in transcription; I
have, however, used the characters e and o wherever I heard markedly
lowered variants.
12. i and u occur also as non-syllabics; I use, respectively, the
characters y and w: yaòn that, gáya like, wíka` speech, word, táwag
call. In final position they are always lowered: thus in patày dead
person, ikàw thou, y represents non-syllabic e, w non-syllabic o.
13. In word-formation before suffixes vowels are in certain cases lost,
see Morphology: kánin be eaten, -káin eat with suffix -in.
14. The laryngeal (glottal) stop occurs as a distinctive sound only
after a vowel at the end of words: báta` child, boy, girl, hindì`
not, hintò` stop.
As a non-distinctive sound it is used as a vowel-separator wherever
syllabic vowels follow each other without an intervening distinctive
non-syllabic. In this use I shall not indicate it in transcription, as
it may be taken for granted wherever vowels are written together. Such
words as those in § 8 will therefore from now on be transcribed without
the sign for glottal stop: doòn, óo, boò`. So táo (§ 9) means tá`o,
etc. Cf. below.
15. The distinctive final glottal stop is usually lost before a
following word in the phrase: hindí sya not he, Hintú na! Stop!
It is always lost before the words ng, t, and y: ang báta ng mabaìt
the good child.
16. p, t, k are unvoiced fortis stops; they differ from the
corresponding English sounds primarily in that they are only slightly
aspirated. In sentence-final the implosion only is made.
t (in contrast with the English sound) is postdental, often near
to interdental.
k is always articulated in back velar position (as in English coo), no
matter what sound follows. The closure of k is occasionally imperfect,
so that a rather open velar spirant (resembling Slavic x) is heard:
malaxàs for malakàs strong; this variation has not been noted in
transcription.
In word-formation p, t, k alternate, respectively, with m, n, ng;
see Morphology.
17. b, d, g correspond in position to p, t, k. They are fully voiced
lenis stops; in sentence-final often implosive only, and then weakly
voiced.
The closure of b is occasionally imperfect, so that a bilabial spirant
is produced: túVig for túbig water; this variation has been ignored
in transcription.
In word-formation b alternates with m; see Morphology.
Final d in word-formation is always replaced by r before the vowel
of a suffix: lákad walk, lakar-àn walking-party.
Initial d becomes r in the sentence frequently after the final vowel
of a preceding word and occasionally even after a final non-syllabic,
in the words daàn hundred (not in daàn road), damò, dàw, dìn, díne,
díto, diyàn, doòn; e. g. ako rìn I too.
In word-formation some words frequently change d to r after the vowel
of a prefix or a reduplication, and others do not: pa-raàn means
(daàn road, way), but i-pa-dalà be sent (dalà bring, carry). The
words (or roots) that have changeable d- are those mentioned in the
preceding paragraph and daàn, -dáka, damdàm, dámi, dámot, dangàl,
dapà`, dápat, dáti, -dátig, -datìng, dikìt, -dinìg, -díwang, -dúkit,
-dumè, dúnong, dúsa.
18. s is the normal unvoiced sibilant, spoken in postdental
position. Before y and iy it is somewhat palatalized (more, for
instance, than Russian palatalized s),--a variation that is not
distinctive and need not be noted in transcription: siyà, syà he,
she, pronounced with palatalized s.
s alternates in word-formation with n; see Morphology.
In the affricate combination ts, which is felt and treated as a single
sound, the s is always palatalized: Intsèk Chinese.
19. h is the unvoiced glottal spirant; as in English, it occurs only
in syllable-initial: hindì` not, báhay house, mukhà` face.
In word-formation h is often spoken before the initial vowel of a
suffix that is added to a final vowel: -bása read, basa-hàn reading
room. See Morphology.
20. The nasals m, n, ng correspond in position to the stops. In
word-formation they alternate, respectively, with p, t, k; m also
with b, and n also with s; ng is often prefixed to an initial vowel;
see Morphology.
Both in word-formation and in the phrase the nasals are occasionally
assimilated in position to a following consonant: sà m pù` ten (m
for ng), Saàng ka páparon? Where are you going? (for saàn).
In the sentence, final n is lost before the words ng, t, and y:
ang áki ng amà my father (for ákin my).
21. r is the voiced tongue-tip trill, postdental. It occurs between
vowels within simple, underived words: áraw sun, day,--no doubt as
a substitute for d, which never occurs in this position; everywhere
else r is merely a variant of d (§ 17).
22. l is postdental; the timbre is much as in Standard French or
German, the mid-tongue not lowered.
23. f and v (both labiodental) occur in unassimilated foreign words;
they are occasionally replaced (especially in derivatives) by p and
b. Filipínas the Philippines, infiyèrno, impiyèrno Hell, fiyèsta,
piyèsta fiesta, but always ka-piyestá-han day of a festival, sivìl,
sibìl civil, provìnsiya province, bintána` window, báso drinking-glass.
r occurs freely in all positions in foreign words (cf. § 21): trèn
train, trabáho work, krùs cross, relòs watch, sombréro hat, beside
Tagalized sambalílo.
The occurrence of ts (§ 18) is probably limited to foreign words.
24. When in word-formation a vowel is lost before a suffix (§ 13),
the non-syllabics thereby brought together are subject to various
changes: sigl-àn be filled, silìd with suffix -an. See Morphology.
2. Syllabication.
a. In the word.
25. If a single non-syllabic follows a stressed vowel, the latter
is spoken with open syllable accent, and the non-syllabic begins the
following syllable: bá-hay house, sù-sú-lat will write.
If a single non-syllabic follows an unstressed vowel, the latter has
close syllable accent,--that is, no stress-division is made between
the syllables (just as in English): itò this, kasakimàn selfishness,
sumú-lat wrote.
If two non-syllabics intervene between two syllabics, the
syllable-division is made between the non-syllabics: luk-sò jump,
muk-hà` face, In-tsèk Chinese. Stressed ay seems, however, to have
open syllable accent: káy-lan when?
Syllabics never follow each other without an intervening
non-syllabic. If no other non-syllabic intervenes, a non-distinctive
glottal stop is spoken. I have not written the glottal stop in this
position, as it may always be taken for granted (§ 14). Hence daàn
road is pronounced da`àn, siìk young pig si`ìk, doòn there do`òn,
táo human being tá`o.
Nor do more than two non-syllabics ever follow each other in a native
word. The following are examples of unusual combinations in foreign
words: An-drès, Pé-dro, beside Tagalized Píro, ká-tre bedstead,
sèr-mon, trabá-ho work, but in reduplication mag-tà-trabá-ho will
work, krùs cross, but in reduplication nag-kú-kurùs crosses himself,
cf. baráso arm, lóbo balloon (Sp. globo).
26. In frequently used words, especially in more rapid speech, the
intervocalic glottal stop is often lost.
If like vowels thus meet, they coalesce into a single vowel of no
more than normal length: pumaròn went there beside pumaroòn. When
oo is thus contracted, the resulting o may be raised to u (cf. § 9):
pinarunàn was gone to, beside pinaronàn and pinaroonàn.
If unlike vowels meet, the non-syllabic corresponding to the higher
vowel (i. e. y with i, e and w with u, o) takes the place of the
glottal stop. So táwo beside táo. The combinations so resulting are
treated in every way like those discussed in the next §.
27. If the non-syllabic intervening between two vowels is y or w,
the combination involves no peculiarity, provided that neither
of the vowels is homogeneous with the non-syllabic: bá-yan town,
pag-dirí-wang celebration, gayòn thus.