488. In regard to money of silver or gol_The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 - Volume 40 of 55, 1690-1691 Explorations by Early Navigators, Descriptions of the Islands and Their Peoples, Their History and Records of the Catholic Missions, as Related in Contemporaneous Books and Manuscripts, Showing the Political, Economic, Commercial and Religious Conditions of Those Islands from Their Earliest Relations with European Nations to the Close of the Nineteenth Century

in that [early] time. Those metals were employed in their trading

only by the weight, which was used alone for silver and gold;

and that weight they called talaro, and was indicated by balances,

like ours. They reckoned and divided by this. And after they learned

about money they gave to each piece its proper name, taking the coin

that we call "tostòn," or "real of four," as the basis for greater

sums. This they called salapì, although that is the common term

for all kinds of money. They divided the salapì into two cahàtis,

the cahàtis into two seycapat, the seycapat into two seycávalos, the

seycávalo into two calatíos, the calatìo (which they call aliu) into

the cuding, etc. All this division was regulated by tostòns in this

manner: the cahàti signifies one-half tostòn; seycàpat, the fourth

part; seycávalo, the eighth; calatìo is the Tagálog cuartillo; [356]

and so on. In order to say "three reals," they say tatlongbahagui,

that is, three parts of the tostòn. From the tostòn on, they count up

to ten, and from ten to twenty, etc. Consequently, in their language

they use this expression for ours, saying, "I ask ten and one more,"

or "I ask one for twenty;" and so on. But now since they know what

pesos are, that is, reals of eight, some of them reckon by pesos,

which is more familiar to the Spaniards. But most of them do not

forget their salapìs, nor the method of reckoning used by the ancients.

489. The gold, which they call guinto, was also reckoned by weight. The

largest weight is the tàhel, which is the weight of ten reals of

silver--or, as we say, of one escudo. The half-tàhel is called tingà,

which is the weight of five reals. The fourth part is called sapaha,

which is two and one-half reals. They also used other metaphorical

terms (as the Spanish do the term granos), and said sangsàga, which

is the weight of one red kidney-bean [frixolillo] with a white spot

in the middle.

490. In order to weigh bulkier things, such as wax, silk, meat,

etc., they had steelyards, which they called sinantan, which was

equivalent to ten cates, of twenty onzas [i.e., ounce] apiece. The

half of that they called banal, which was five cates; and the half

of the cate they called soco. Consequently, these old weights having

been adjusted to the Spanish weights by the regulations of the year

1727, one cale is equivalent to one libra, six onzas; one chinanta

to thirteen libras, and twelve onzas; hence one quintal, of eighty

of the old cates, corresponds to four arrobas and ten libras of our

weight. A pico of one hundred cates is equivalent to five arrobas,

twelve and one-half libras, in the new arrangement. As in the case

of gold, one tàhel must weigh one and one-fourth onzas in our weight.

491. In regard to the measures of quantity which the ancients used,

they were the same as those we now see: cabàn, ganta, half-ganta,

and chupa. The city has regulated them by the Spanish measures in

the following manner. The caban, which signifies "box" [arca] in

their own Tagalog speech, is equivalent to one fanega of the standard

of Toledo. The ganta (gantang in Visayan, and salòp in Tagálog) is

equivalent to one half of a Toledo almud, which is the hal-zelemin

in other territories. The half-ganta is equivalent to one cuartillo,

which is called pitìs or caguiina in Tagálog. The chupa is the eighth

of the half-almud of Toledo, which is called gàtang in Tagálog, and

also gahinan, for it is the ration of cleaned rice sufficient for

each meal of a man. The act of measuring in this manner is expressed

by the word tàcal among the Tagálogs. When the king issues orders

for rice, it is reckoned by cabàns of twenty-four gantas apiece;

and now it is known that it is of pálay rice, which is rice with the

husk and uncleaned. When vouchers are issued for the stipends and

the support of the religious ministers, the reckoning is by fanegas,

at the rate of two cabàns of twenty-four gantas each, of the said

pálay rice uncleaned. And because his Majesty chooses that they give

it to us very clean, it is now ruled in the royal accountancy that

forty-eight gantas of the fanega of pálay is equivalent to a basket of

twenty gantas of bigàs, which is the name for cleaned rice. Henge the

king in his charity, in order to give us our sustenance in the rice

without waste, gives valuation to the measure at his own pleasure,

for the rice with husk, so that the quantity may be doubled. The

estimation of the king in this is not the same as looking into the

hollow measure in its strict capacity, as has been already explained.

492. They also measure by brazas and palmos (but for the vara, I find

no proper Tagálog term, but only the Spanish). The braza is called

dipa; that of the city is of sixty points, into which the six feet

contained in it are divided. The palmo is called dancal. Tumòro is

one jeme. [357] Sangdamàc is the whole width of the hand with the

five fingers. Sangdali is the width of one finger; and sucat is the

act of measuring in this manner. [358]

493. So was their usage in their business. Although there are no

arithmetical numbers among their characters, such as we use, they

counted with little stones, making small heaps of them, and made use

of the natural words of their own speech, which are very expressive

in Tagálog; and they did not feel their ignorance of the numbers

written in their own characters; for they could express the highest

number very clearly by word of mouth.

494. The maritime folk were wont to go out upon many raids, and those

ashore to set strange ambushes for their robberies, to the great loss

of life. Their arms were bow and arrow, and a short lance resembling a

dart, with the iron head of innumerable shapes; and some without iron,

the points being made from the bamboos themselves, or from stakes

hardened in the fire. They used cutlasses; large and broad daggers,

of excellent quality, with sharp edges; and long blowpipes, through

which they discharged arrows dipped in poison. Their defensive arms

were wooden shields, breastplates of rattan or thick cord, and helmets

of the same material.

495. Among so many barbaric customs, the universality of their vices

prevailed; and they were infidel, tyrannical, and unchaste. They

regarded virginity as an opprobrium, and there were men who received a

salary for the office of deflowering [the girls] of their virginity. No

woman, married or single, assured her honor and credit, unless she had

some sweetheart; and although this was so honorable for the women, it

was considered a dishonor to give the liberty of her body freely. Now

the women are modest in their behavior, but easy, if they are sought,

as the smoke from the fire of their beginnings still endures. At the

birth of males, and even the females, the midwives themselves made

easier for them the carnal act, by cutting off I know not what from

their organs. And now that the midwives do not do it, there is no lack

of the introduction of this abuse among the boys; but it is assured

that this is not the circumcision of the Jews. The devil influenced

them in other curious ways for the greater sensuality and duration in

their carnal acts, methods which are now completely extinct. But they

have sufficiently caught the plague of sodomy from the Japanese and

Chinese; and I have already seen some persons burned, in my time. In

short, men and women never think of being chaste, so that among the

most holy all their thought is of their marriages.

496. At the present time we have always tried to see that the brides

and grooms are always of equal rank and condition. It was not usual

for them to have more than one own wife, and one own husband; but

those who were chiefs and wealthy were allowed to have some slaves as

concubines, especially if their own wives did not prove fruitful. Only

among the Visayans did the first religious ministers of the gospel find

established the custom of one man having many legitimate wives, and

that of large dowries, which was no small obstruction to the planting

of the gospel. The general rule was for each man to have one legitimate

wife; and they tried to obtain one who was of their own family, and

even very closely related to them, barring out the first degree,

for that was always a direct impediment to their marriage. Their

marriages were not indissoluble, as are those of Christians. For if

the consorts returned the dowry, one to the other, the one at fault

to the one without blame, that was sufficient for repudiation; and

they could marry others, unless the couple had children, in which

case all the dowry was given to these. If profits had been made with

the lapse of time, while they had lived together, those profits were

divided between them both, if the gains were in common. But if they

were the secret gains of one of them, then that one kept them.

497. The dowry, which is called bigaycàya, was always given by the man

(and it is even yet given), the parents of the girl determining the

sum beforehand, at the time when they discussed the marriage. The

parents of the bride received that dowry, and neither the bride nor

her parents contributed any fund. The dowry was set according to the

rank of the contracting parties; and if, perchance, the parents of the

bride asked more than the ordinary sum, they were under obligations

to bestow some gift to the married couple to suit the occasion as,

for instance, a couple of slaves, some small gold jewel, or a bit of

cleared land--for cultivation, as I have seen practiced even yet,

and which they called pasonòr. In this bigaycaya was included what

they called panhimùyat, which was the sum that had to be paid to the

mother of the bride in return for her care and labor in the rearing

and education of her daughter. In it was also included the pasòso, or

the sum that was to be paid to the chichiva, or nurse, who had reared

her. At present, if perhaps there is no bigaycaya in any marriage,

for any reason, they never fail to collect these revenues from the

groom, upon which there is generally a suit.

498. This dowry or bigaycaya was and is given before the marriage with

all the solemnity that they can muster up, amid a great concourse of

maguinoos, relatives, and friends of the lovers. The latter are given

the crosses on the money to kiss, which is counted and exhibited

in public, in confirmation of the pact; and then the marriage is

immediately celebrated with feasting and rejoicing. The employment

of this bigaycaya is not the same in all the villages. In some it is

all converted into the property of the parents of the bride, by way

of trade, they selling their daughter (as do those of Mesopotamia)

for a reasonable price. If the men do not possess the wherewithal

with which to buy them promptly, innumerable sins follow and the two

live in improper relations, even to the knowledge of the parents

themselves--the young man serving as a servant in the houses of

the latter to do their will, but in the capacity of a son, as far

as familiarity and permission for evil are concerned. Many efforts

are employed to extirpate this diabolical abuse, but it still costs

great toil. Under the title of catipàdos (thus they call those who

are engaged for marriage) are some concubinages legitimate for all

time, for which the bigaycàya is not necessary. Having given up the

bigaycàya, the poor couple are left destitute, for the parents of

the bride take charge of everything.

499. That money is better used in some villages; for it serves to

provide all kinds of clothes for the bride, and for one-half the

expenses of the wedding (which are generally very great), and the

parochial fees of the marriage, so that scarcely any is left for the

parents of the couple. This is the practice that I have seen observed

where I have been. These and other ogalis (which are customs) can

only have their origin in the past, and come from father to son,

and even there is variety in them, according to their distinct origins.

500. That which in España is called "the exchange of rings," in order

to give security to the marriage contract and the wishes of those who

are to contract it, has also been observed here, the couple giving

each other some jewel. This has been called talingbòhol. This was

followed by the habìlin, which is the sign that they have given the

dowry which they had promised. And this was like the sign in shops

to show that the price was fixed and that the article could not be

sold at another price. Some fathers have maintained the custom of

asking the same price for their daughter as they paid for the mother

when they were married; but as fortunes are unequal, this cannot be

maintained inexorably, nor at all times, nor with all.

501. The dowry was never returned to the one who gave it, unless the

son-in-law were so obedient to his parents-in-law that he should win

their affection, in which case they returned him the dowry, at the

death of any one; but this was rather a matter of charity than of

obligation, as all confess. If the woman who was to be married was

alone, and had neither parents nor grandparents, she herself and no

other received the dowry. At present, the greed of the Indians must

be greater; for this poor lone woman is never without either the

chichiva who gave her the breast, who will not be left without her

payment, or uncle, aunt, or other relative in whose care she has been

because of the loss of her legitimate parents. And since the above

consider themselves as her parents in this matter (the pinaca ama,

as the Indians call it) they take upon themselves the place of her

parents, and get all the money, just as if they were the true parents.

502. All the relatives and friends who go to weddings were also

wont to take each some little present. These gifts were set down

very carefully and accurately, in an account, noting whatever each

one gave. For if Pedro So-and-so gave two reals at this wedding,

two reals were also given to him if he had another wedding in his

house. All this money is spent, either in paying, if anything is due

for the wedding, or as an aid in the expenses. Or if the parents of

both the young couple are niggardly, they divide it and keep it. If

they are generous, they use it in the pamamuhay, or furnishing of

the house of the couple. Consequently, there is no regular custom

in this. The nearest relatives give the couple a jewel as a mark of

affection, but do not give money. These jewels belong to the bride,

and to no one else.

503. Three days before the wedding all the relatives of both parties

assemble at the house where it is to be celebrated, to make the

pàlapàla, which is a sort of bower, by which they make the house larger

so that all the guests may be accommodated easily. They spend three

days in making this. The next three days are those customary to the

wedding and its feast. Consequently, there are six days of expense,

of racket, of reveling, of dancing and singing, until they fall

asleep with fatigue and repletion, all helter-skelter without any

distinction. Often from this perverse river the devil in turn gets

his little harvest--now in quarrels and mishaps which have happened,

and now in other more common sins; the greatest vigilance of the

father ministers is insufficient to stop these wrongs, and there are

no human forces (although there ought to be) which can banish these

pernicious ogalis.

504. In the olden days they employed certain ridiculous ceremonies,

which had but little decency attending the intercourse of the couple

upon the night of the wedding, customs which have now been totally

uprooted. The least indecent was the coming of the catalona or

babaylana to celebrate the espousals. They brought a hog for this

purpose, and with it and on it performed their rites as in other

sacrifices. The young couple seated themselves on their bridal bed,

in the laps of certain old women who played the part of godmothers of

the espousal. These women fed the young couple with their own hands

from one dish, and they both drank from one vessel. The groom said that

he loved the bride, and she that she loved the groom. Thereupon the

shouts of joy broke out, and cries, and there was singing and dancing

and drinking. Then the catalona arose with great gravity, and so many

were the blessings that she showered down upon the young couple that,

according to some that I have heard among these natives, they would

exceed without any doubt the flatteries of our gypsy men and women,

when they tell the fortune of one who has given them a large reward.

505. If the recently-married couple did not agree well, the groom

danced, spear in hand, before a hog, and then gave it the death-thrust,

praying meanwhile to his anito, and this was sufficient to make the

young couple agree. Now the couple go in festal procession in the

manner of a masquerade, to the house where they are to live. Then they

form another such procession, in order to convey the godparents to

their abodes, and with this the festival is at an end. And after so

great expense, they usually remain indebted for the small parochial

marriage fees, if the father minister has not been very prompt.

506. In regard to heirs, all the legitimate children equally inherited

all the property of their parents. If there were no legitimate

children, then the nearest relatives inherited. If one had two or

more children by two wives, all legitimate, each child inherited

what belonged to his mother, both of the wealth of her time, and of

the profits made from it, which could have belonged to her. As to

the dowry, it is inferred that the child's grandparents received it,

and spent it at the time of the wedding. If there were other children

who were not legitimate, who had been had by a free woman, they had

one-third of the property, and the legitimate children the other two

thirds. But in case that there were no legitimate children, then the

illegitimate children of a free woman were the absolute heirs. Some

property was given to the children of slave women according to the

wishes of the legitimate heirs, and the mother became free, as has

been stated above--as did the children also, in the manner already

explained.

507. They were also accustomed to have adopted children, and they are

still much addicted to this; but the adoption was purchased by the one

adopted, who gave the adopter a certain sum of gold, and, without any

other intricacies of law, the latter kept the one adopted, although

otherwise he had his own legitimate father. This was the contract made

in such cases. If the adopter reared the one adopted during his life

(whether he had other children or not), the one adopted was to inherit

the sum that had been given for his adoption--increased by a like sum,

obtaining in the inheritance twenty, if ten had been given. But if the

one adopted died first, the total obligation of the adopter expired,

even to the heirs of the one adopted. Over and above the inheritance

obligation, the adopter generally left the one adopted something else,

such as a jewel or a slave, if his services had been good, as a reward

for his faithfulness and affection. If however, the one adopted was

disagreeable, the adopter gave him up by giving back the sum that

had been given for his adoption, and the contract was annulled.

508. If children were had in adultery, they all lived with the

mother. If the party aggrieved had been paid and satisfied by the

culprit with gold, according to their custom, the children were

declared legitimate, and inherited equally with the real legitimate

children in the inheritance of the father; but they inherited nothing

from the mother. But if the injury were not atoned for, they had no

inheritance, and were not regarded as legitimate.

509. These children, and those had by one's own slave woman

(notwithstanding the liberty which she and her children enjoyed),

and much less the children had by a slave of another master

(notwithstanding that gold was paid for her during her pregnancy),

did not succeed to the nobility of their parents, nor to their

privileges; but were always considered as people of low birth, and

were enrolled among the timavas in the villages. The legitimate

children alone could inherit nobility, and even posts. Hence if

the father were absolute lord in one barangay, his sons succeeded

to that office, according to priority of birth; and if there were

no sons, then the daughters, and after them the nearest relatives;

and it was unnecessary to appoint or name them in their wills. They

have never had the custom of making wills, and at most leave a list

of their wealth and obligations. However, the custom is now coming

in of making some testamentary memoranda before the village clerk,

so that it may be legal in court.

NOTES

[1] Domingo Zabálburu de Echevarri (see Vol. XVII, p. 294).

[2] For description of Borneo, see Vol. XXXIII, p. 353, note

419. Malayo refers to a portion of the Malay Peninsula. For the origin,

settlement, and distribution of the native peoples in the Philippines,

see Barrows's account in Census of Philippine Islands, i, pp. 411-417,

447-477; cf. Crawfurd's Dictionary of Indian Islands, pp. 249-253.

[3] João de Barros, the great Portuguese historian, was born at Vizeu

in 1496 and became page to the crown prince (afterward João III),

for whose amusement he wrote his three-volume romance, Cronica de

Emperador Clarimundo (Coimbra, 1520). João III appointed him captain

of the fortress of San Jorge de Mina, governor of the Portuguese

possessions in Guinea, and (1533) treasurer and general agent for

Portuguese India. An attempt to colonize a grant of land in Brazil

(received 1539) failed, and was abandoned. Barros died in 1570. The

book referred to in the text was his Decados, a history of Portuguese

India, written in fulfilment of a royal commission. The first "decade"

was completed in nine years (1552), the second soon after, and the

third ten years later. The fourth was left unfinished at his death,

but was completed later by Diogo do Conto, who added eight more

volumes. A complete edition was printed at Lisbon in twenty-four

volumes (1778-88). Barros was a conscientious writer and a good

stylist. (New International Encyclopædia.)

[4] An apparent error for the word "kasis," and here wrongly used

(see Vol. XVI, p. 134, note 161).

[5] Thus (sur) in text; but, as a matter of fact, Paragua stretches

northeast from the north point of Borneo, and the Sulu archipelago

in the same direction from its northeast side.

[6] Sumatra is on the whole deficient in lakes. The largest is Lake

Singkara, about twenty miles in length by about twelve to fifteen in

breadth, with a depth of twenty-four fathoms, and is the source of the

Indragiri River. Another lies near the foot of the mountain Mârapi,

and is called Danau Sapuluh kota, or "Lake of the ten forts." There are

two others in the country of the Korinchi Malays; and still another

in the country of the Lampungs, toward Java, and called the Ranu

(Javanese synonym for "water"). It is about sixteen miles long and

eight miles wide. Colin evidently refers to either the first or the

last of these. See Crawfurd's Dictionary, p. 416.

[7] India citra Gangem (if we accept Marco Polo's division) would

correspond to Greater India, or the country extending from the

Ganges to the Indus. India extra Gangem, or Lesser India, included the

territory between the eastern coast of the peninsula of India, and that

of Cochinchina or Champa. See Wright's edition of Travels of Marco

Polo (London and New York, 1892), p. 435, note. Colin says (p. 1),

that India extra Gangem or Farther India included the coasts of the

rich kingdoms of Malacca, Sian, Camboja, Champa, Cochinchina, Tunquin,

and China, as far as the confines of Oriental Tartary. The allusion

to an Asiatic Ethiopia is hopelessly confused, and may have arisen

from Marco Polo's second division of India, which includes Abyssinia.

[8] Of the Manguianes, or more properly the Mangyan, Pardo de Tavera

says in Etimologia de las nombres de razas de Filipinas (Manila,

1901): "In Tagálog, Bícol, and Visaya, manguian signifies 'savage,'

'mountaineer,' 'pagan negroes.' It may be that the use of this word

is applicable to a great number of Filipinos, but nevertheless it

has been applied only to certain inhabitants of Mindoro. In primitive

times, without doubt, the name was even then given to those of that

island who to-day bear it, but its employment in three Filipino

languages shows that the radical ngian had in all these languages

a sense to-day forgotten. In Pampango this radical ending still

exists and signifies 'ancient,' from which we can deduce that the

name was applied to men considered to be the ancient inhabitants,

and that these men were pushed back into the interior by the modern

invaders in whose languages they are called the 'ancients.'" They

live in the mountains of Mindoro and are probably a mixture of the

Negritos with other Filipinos, and possibly in some localities there

may be a small infusion of white blood. They are non-Christian,

and are very timid. Their dress consists of the "gee" string, with

the addition, in the case of the younger girls, of some forty or

eighty yards of bejuco (rattan) wrapped around the waist. They are

divided into several tribes, chief among which are the "Buquit,"

"Bangon," and "Batanganes," who roam in bunches or by families, the

oldest acting as chief. They are willing workers, and make nearly

all the bancas used in the province. They have no knowledge whatever

of agriculture, and do not know the value of money. The census of

1903 shows a population of 7,269. See Census of the Philippines, i,

pp. 472, 473, 547, and 548; and ii, p. 15.

[9] The Chinese carried on a fairly active trade in the Philippines

three centuries before Magellan's discovery of the archipelago. The

articles traded by them for the products of the country consisted of

pottery, lead, glass beads, iron cooking-pans, and iron needles. Some

of them may have gone north above Manila. See Census of Philippines,

i, p. 482.

[10] See David P. Barrows "History of the Population of the

Philippines," published in vol. 1, of Census of Philippines, for

valuable material in regard to the peopling of the Philippines. See

also Crawfurd's Dictionary.

[11] Diodorus, surnamed Siculus, or "the Sicilian," was a Greek

historian, a native of Agyrion, Sicily, who lived in the time

of Cæsar and Augustus. After long travels in Asia and Europe he

wrote his Bibliotheca, a universal history in 40 books, covering a

period from the oldest time to 60 B. C. Books 1-5 and 11-20, besides

other fragments, are still extant. The early portion of the work is

ethnological, but the later is in the annalist style. (Seyffert's

Dictionary of Classical Antiquities.)

[12] Either Iamblichus the Syrian Greek romance writer, who lived in

the second century A. D., or Iamblichus the Greek philosopher from

Chalcis in Syria, who was a pupil of Porphyrius, and the founder of

the Syrian school of Neo-Platonic philosophy, and who died about 330

A. D. The latter justified Oriental superstition and had the reputation

of working miracles. (Seyffert's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities.)

[13] See Vol. XVI, p. 117, note 135.

[14] Señor Don Antonio Graiño, a bookman in Madrid, Spain, has an

unpublished MS. history by Pedro Chirino, probably a copy of the one

mentioned by Colin.

[15] See Vol. XII, p. 237.

[16] This should be compared with the Ave Maria as given by Chirino

(see Vol. XII, p. 237). Colin also gives the same in the Visayan

tongue, but as it differs so slightly from the version as given

by Chirino ("ginoon" in place of "guinoon," line 2, second word;

"sancta," in place of "santa," line 5, first word; "Ynahan" in place

of "inahan," line 5, third word; "macasala" in place of "macasasala"

line 6, fourth word; and "camatay" in place of "camatai," last line,

fourth word), it is omitted here (see ut supra, p. 239). The version

in the Harayan tongue that is given (ut supra, p. 238) by Chirino, is

omitted by Colin. In his text we retain also his Spanish translation

of the prayer.

[17] Cf. personal names and the ceremonies attendant on bestowing them

among the Bornean Malays, in Furness's Home-life of Borneo Head-hunters

(Philadelphia, 1902), pp. 16-53; and Ling Roth's Natives of Sarawak,

ii, pp. 273-277.

[18] Light thin stuff made of silk or thread; crape. See Velázquez's

New Dictionary.

[19] "Such is the wine from nipa, called Tanduay. The famous chemist

(a Chinese mestizo) Anacleto del Rosario, discovered a process by

which the disagreeable taste of this brandy disappears; and it becomes

equal to that of Spain in color, smell, taste, and strength." (Father

Pastells, in his edition of Colin, i, p. 62, note 2.)

[20] Gachas: A certain food composed of flour, milk, and water,

to which is added honey or sugar, and the consistency of which is

midway between starch and flour paste. (Dominguez's Diccionario.)

[21] "Their most popular traditional songs are the Cundimán, the

Comintán, the Balitao, the Saloma, and the Talindao. Some are only

sung; in others, they sing and dance at the same time." (Pastells,

in his Colin, i. p. 63, note 1.)

[22] "The dance here described by the author is that which is called

in Filipinas Moro-Moro." (Pastells, ut supra, p. 63, note 3.)

[23] Pastells (ut supra, p. 64, note 1) discusses the meaning of

the word Bathala; he thinks that it is ascertained "by resolving the

word into its primary elements, Bata and Ala = 'Son God, or Son of

God.' This is why the first missionaries did not deprive the natives of

this name when they instructed them about the existence of God and the

mysteries of the Trinity, the incarnation, and redemption, as states an

anonymous but very circumstantial relation written at Manila, on April

20, 1572. This is more evident in the song which the Mandayan baylanas

use in their sacrifices, when they chant the Miminsad, saying: [Here

follow the words of this song, for which consult our Vol. XII, p. 270,

note.] ... The Mandayas believe that Mansilatan is the father of Batla

(man being a prefix which indicates paternity, being, or dominion),

and the Búsao who takes possession of the baylanas when they tremble,

and of the Baganis when they become furious; it is a power which is

derived from Mansilatan.... This interpretation of the word Bathala

is confirmed by that word of the Visayans, Diuata; we always find here

the same idea signified in the words Diwa and uata, differing only in

their transposition.... In closing, we may note that Dewa in Malay,

Déwa in Javanese, Sunda, Makasar, and Day[ak?], Deva in Maguindanao,

and Djebata in Bornean, signify 'the supreme God,' or 'Divinity.'"

[24] The caverns were, in especial, formerly the usual sepulchres of

the Indians. The anthropologists have profited by this circumstance

for their studies, and for furnishing the museums of their respective

nations with skeletons of those natives. (Pastells, ut supra, p. 66,

note 1.)

[25] The Mahometans [Moros] had their mosque, or lañgà." (Pastells, ut

supra, p. 66, note 3.) Legazpi says (Vol. III, p. 60): "The heathens

have no [religious] law at all; they have neither temples nor idols,

nor do they offer any sacrifices."

[26] A reference to the common little house or chirping lizard,

which is often seen and heard on the walls of the houses. See Census

of Philippines, i, p. 74.

Arthur Stanley Riggs says in a note in a forthcoming volume, The

Filipino Drama: "The common or house lizard in the Philippines has a

pretty, chirping note. When one hears a lizard 'sing,' as the Spaniards

call the cry, it means, among the Ilocanos, an important visit of

some kind. If hunting at the time one hears several lizards sing,

he must turn back immediately, as disaster will inevitably follow

further progress. Other curious and interesting superstitions obtain

in like manner in other parts of the islands."

[27] i.e., "over and above the dowry."

[28] i.e., "Property which was given to women over and above the dowry,

and remained at their own disposition."

[29] Juan Francisco Combés was born at Zaragoza on October 5,

1620. At the age of twelve he entered the Jesuit order as a novice,

at Tarragona; after six years of study there, he wished to enter

the Philippine missions, and was therefore sent to Mexico to await

an opportunity for going to the islands. This did not come until

1643, when Diego de Bobadilla went from Acapulco with forty-seven

Jesuit missionaries, of whom Combés was one; five of these died in an

epidemic, which carried away one hundred and fifteen of the people on

the ship. Combés completed his theological studies at Manila, and was

ordained in 1645, being soon afterward sent to Zamboanga. He remained

in Mindanao twelve years, often acting as ambassador of the governors

to Corralat and other Moro chiefs, and ministering in various places;

in 1657 he returned to Manila, where he spent two years, and then three

years in Leyte. He was then recalled (1662) to Manila, and tried to

induce the authorities there to maintain the forts in the Moro country;

but his efforts failed. In 1665 he was sent as procurator for his order

to Madrid and Rome; but he died on the voyage, December 29 of that

year. (Retana and Pastells's ed. of Hist. de Mindanao, col. vi-xix.)

[30] Of the Caragas, Blumentritt says (Tribes of the Philippines,

Mason's translation, p. 535): "In older works are so named the warlike

and Christian inhabitants of the localities subdued by the Spaniards

on the east coast of Mindanao, and, indeed, after their principal

city, Caraga. It has been called, if not a peculiar language,

a Visaya dialect, while now only Visaya (near Manobo and Mandaya)

is spoken, and an especial Caraga nation is no longer known." It is

quite probable that the term Caragas was only a local name applied

by the people of this district to themselves or applied to them by

the Spaniards; and if they ever did exist as a separate people they

have been completely absorbed by the surrounding peoples.

[31] The Mindanaos (properly Maguindanaos, "people who come from the

lake") are mentioned by Pigafetta (Vol. XXXIII, p. 239); they live

now, as formerly, principally about the Rio Grande, and they gave

name to the island of Mindanao. They are Mahometan Moros and were the

chief obstacle of the Spaniards in Mindanao, but were finally brought

under control by General Weyler, and their power and importance is

now almost gone. Their political achievements are the only ones of

consequence ever made by peoples of the Philippines. See Census of

Philippine Islands, i, pp. 466-467.

[32] Blumentritt (Tribes of the Philippines) identities the Lutaos

with the Mono of the district of Zamboanga, who are frequently called

Ilanos, and adds that the name appears to be the Hispanicized form

of the Malay Orang-Laút ("Men of the Sea"). The description given

by Combes fits rather the Orang-Laút themselves than the Ilanos, who

live along the seacoast west of Malabang, and are few in number. The

Orang-Laút, called also "Sea Gypsies," "Bajau" and "Sámal-Laút"

("Sámal of the Sea") are found throughout the Malay Archipelago

(in the Philippines along southern Mindanao and throughout the Sulu

Archipelago), and live for mouths in their small boats. Their original

home was Johore and the islands in the strait of Malacca; and they are

only imperfectly Mahometanized, some being quite pagans. The Sámal

living in towns in Zamboanga and the Sulu Archipelago are probably

descendants of the Sámal-Laút who have abandoned their wandering

life. See Census of the Philippines, i, pp. 464, 475, 476, 563.

[33] The Subanon (Spanish form "Subanos"), or "Men of the Rivers"

are an important pagan tribe of western Mindanao, who are found in the

mountains of Zamboanga, and extending eastward slightly into Cottabato,

Misamis, and Dapitan. For a modern description that agrees essentially

with that of Combés, see Census of the Philippines, i, pp. 552-560.

[34] Spanish, redentor; in religious orders, the father appointed

to attend to the ransoming and return of Christians held captive by

Mahometan enemies.

[35] Antonio de Abarca, S.J., was born in Villalba in the diocese of

Cuenca, September 13, 1610. He entered the Society March 23, 1628,

went to the Philippines in 1632, and took his final vows, January

21, 1649. He was a missionary in Mindanao and the Visayan Islands,

and rector of Carigara and Cebú. While going to Rome as procurator,

he died at sea (January 23, 1660), near Acapulco. (Combés, Pastells

and Retana ed., col. 694.)

[36] This chief is called timoly by the Subanos; hari-hari by the

Mandayas; masali campo, by the Monteses; matado, by the Manobos;

bagani, by the Bagobos; and dato and sultán by the Mahometans and

Moros. (Pastells and Retana's Combés, col. 655.)

[37] The so-called Dapitan nation was a Visayan tribe and lived in

Mindanao in the present comandancia of Dapitán in the province of

Misámis. Strictly speaking they can be called a distinct tribe with

no greater accuracy than can the Caragas. See Blumentritt's Tribes

of the Philippines (Mason's translation); and Pastells and Retana's

Combés, col. 779.

[38] Baclayón is a village on the extreme southwest coast of

Bohol. Loboc is a village of southern Bohol, and two miles

inland. (Philippine Gazetteer.)

[39] The Portuguese had discovered the Moluccas before Magallanes

set out on his memorable voyage in 1519. See Vol. XXXIV, pp. 39, 153.

[40] The text which we follow reads "y quan a fauor de sus

nueuas." "Nueuas" may possibly be a misprint for "navios," in which

case the phrase would read "how much at the mercy of their ships."

[41] Even yet infidels abandon a house in which the head of the

family has died. Father Pastells says that while crossing the island

of Mindanao with Father Heras in 1878, one Sálug died in the house of

Silungan, a freedman recently redeemed by the said missionaries. He was

baptised before death by Father Pastells. Silungan demanded from the

religious the value of the house, which he proposed to abandon. The

fathers, however, answered him that since the freedman had died with

baptism, the house was purified. This satisfied the heathens, and

they did not insist on their demand. (Pastells and Retana's edition

of Combés, note 13, col. 655.)

[42] This refers to Legazpi's and not Magallanes's expedition. Pagbuaya

made friendship with the former, and gave him a pilot to guide him to

the inland of Panglao. In book two of Combés's Historia, chapter II,

is related rightly the occurrence with regard to the king of Borneo,

after the arrival of Legazpi. Combés says that the Dapitans imagined

that the Spaniards were eating fire when they smoked, and the hard

white sea-biscuits they imagined to be stones. The noise of the

artillery they took to be thunder, and the sword with which each one

was girt, they thought to be a tail.

[43] The term "Malanao" is derived from "ma," "people of" and "lanao,"

"lake," and has long been used to distinguish the Moros living on

the watershed of Lake Lanao. See Census of the Philippines, i, p. 473.

[44] In 1596, Fathers Valerio de Ledesma and Manuel Martinez first

established the mission of the River of Butuan. That same year,

there not being as yet any division into bishoprics, the Manila

ecclesiastical cabildo (as the see was vacant), gave Mindanao into the

formal possession of the Society of Jesus, an act that was confirmed

by Francisco Tello, as viceroyal patron. Later, the question of

the jurisdiction about Lake Malanao was argued in court between the

Jesuits and Recollects, and was decided in favor of the former by

Juan Niño de Tabora, a sentence confirmed by Corcuera September 5,

1637. (Pastells and Retana's Combés, cols. 655, 656.)

[45] The bay of Panguil or Pangil takes its name from a fruit, pangi

(Hidnocarpus polyandra--Bl.), which is carried down to the coast by

the rivers. (Pastells and Retana's Combés, col. 759.)

[46] The Manobos are a Malay head-hunting heathen tribe of northern

Mindanao who live in the interior about the watershed of the Agusan

River. "Manobo" is a native word, which, in the Bagobo language of

the gulf of Dávao, means "man." Blumentritt (with whom Retana agrees)

says that the correct form of the name is "Manuba" or "Man-Suba," i.e.,

"river-people." The term might possibly be extended to the mountain

people of Misamis province. See Census of the Philippines, i, pp. 461,

473; Blumentritt's Tribes of the Philippines (Mason's translation);

and Pastells and Retana's Combés, col. 780.

[47] Blumentritt (Tribes of the Philippines, Mason's translation) says

of the Mananapes: "A heathen people alleged to dwell in the interior

of Mindanao, possibly a tribe of Buquidnones or Manobos." Retana

(Pastells and Retana's Combés, col. 780) says that the appellation is

equivalent to "Manap," and is not the name of a tribe, but merely a

nickname to indicate that those bearing that name are wild like beasts.

[48] Retana (Pastells and Retana's Combés, col. 780), derives

"Sameacas" from "Sumasacas," a word which he says is equivalent to

the Visayan "tagasaca," "people of the uplands." According to him,

they are Malayan Moros, but Montero y Gay (Blumentritt's Tribes of

Philippines, Mason's translation) says that they are heathen. It should

be observed that Retana is not always a safe guide in etymological

and ethnological matters.

[49] This entire sentence is, like many others of Combés, of loose and

vague construction. Apparently what he means is, that the Lutaos had,

like the Javanese, a polite and a vulgar tongue; and that the former

more closely resembles the Sanskrit (since he implies that the Lutaos

came from India).

[50] The Spaniards, mindful of their own struggles with the Moors of

Spain (Moros) called all Mahometan peoples Moors.

[51] See Vol. XXXVI, p. 174, note 33.

[52] A classic allusion, occasioned by the marine life and habits of

the Lutaos.

[53] Paguian Tindig is equivalent to "just king." In their literal

sense, both words signify "he who causes persons and things to pass

by the right path." (Pastells and Retana's Combés, col. 727.)

[54] Elsewhere written Limansacay; see Vol. IV, pp. 241-278, the

account of Gabriel de Ribera's expedition against the Mindanaos

in 1579.

[55] Such was the first outbreak of hostilities which caused the

rebellion of the Moros of Joló against Spain, and originated the

piracy of that small archipelago, which wrought so much ruin, and

caused so much bloodshed and depopulation among the Visayan and

Tagálog islands. (Pastells and Retanas Combés, col. 658.)

[56] Regarding the introduction of Mahometanism in those islands,

see Vol. IV, pp. 150, 151, 168, 178.

[57] A common name for the mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana), a fruit

of delicate flavor and highly prized; this tree grows in Joló and

Mindanao. (Official Handbook of Philippines, p. 316.)

[58] Becoquin: "A sort of cap made with a piece of cloth." When the

Joloans made a treaty with the Jesuit Lopez, they ratified it by an

oath taken "on the becoquin or cap of Tampan, one of the old-time

ministers of their deceit.... When the princes of Joló swear by this

becoquin, using this ceremony, it is the strongest oath that they can

take, and that which is most respected." (Combés, Hist. de Mindanao,

col. 478, 785.)

[59] The limocon (Calcophups indica) is a species of turtledove with

red feet and beak. It is very beautiful, its plumage being green on

a white background. See Delgado's Historia, p. 830.

[60] There are offerings and sacrifices among the Mindanao heathen. The

first [pagcayog] consist in offering rice, buyo, and money before

a small idol of bayog [Pterospermum] wood (placed on a small altar

adorned with bamboo and bonga [Areca]), called diuata or Manáug. This

idol, which is a poorly-made image, has for eyes the red fruit of the

tree called mabugaháy, and is painted with the sap of the narra. The

blood sacrifices are of animals, and even of human beings. The

first are called talíbong, if the animal sacrificed is a cock,

and pag-balílig, if it is a hog. In either case, the priestesses

(bailanes) having assembled, to the sound of the agun and guímbao,

are clad according to rule; that is, with embroidered handkerchiefs on

the head; magnificent red shirts, rich glass beads hanging from the

neck; silver medals fastened to the breast; large gold earrings with

strings of beads; a jabol or dagmay which serves them as a skirt, and

is very skilfully woven and figured with crocodiles and other designs;

at the girdle, in the midst of fragrant flowers and hawk's-bells,

they carry the balarao or dagger with which the sacrifice of the

victim is made; on the arms precious bracelets of ságai-ságai and

pamóans; and on the feet hoops and hawk's-bells, which sound in

cadence with the dance which legalizes such ceremonies. When the

priestesses have taken their places about the altar, upon which

the victim is to be sacrificed, they commence their dances to the

sound of the culintangan, some of them playing on the guimbao and

the agun. They walk about the altar; they tremble and belch, while

singing the "miminsad," until they fall senseless to the ground like

those stricken with epileptic fits. Then the spectators go to them,

fan them, sprinkle them with water, and the other women bear them

up in their arms until they recover consciousness. Then they repeat

the ceremony and the chief priestess buries her balarao in the

heart of the hog or slits the cock's neck. Thereupon, she sucks up

the blood which gushes forth from the victim, partaking thus of the

sacrifice. The other bailanes do the same. During the epileptic fit,

they assert that Mansilatan has appeared to them and notified them

of the good or ill outcome of the war, sickness, harvest, or whatever

they have been investigating. Then it all ends in excessive eating and

drinking. The human sacrifice is called huaga, and is only practiced

among the Bagobos and most barbarous heathen of Mindanao. The victim

is offered to the Mandarangan, the god of the mountain or volcano of

Apo; this person's value is generally apportioned among those who

participate in the sacrifice, and he who pays most is the first to

wound the unfortunate victim. The latter is cut into mincemeat in a

moment amid the horrifying cries of his infamous executioners. Thanks

to the painstaking vigilance of the authorities of that district, and

to the incessant care of the missionaries, so impious and criminal

a ceremony is almost entirely eradicated, and is only practiced

in secret, in the densest woods. In addition to the huaga, there

are true cases of cannibalism among the Baganis, who are wont to

eat the raw entrails of those who fall before their lances, krises,

and balaraos in battle. They do that as a mark of bravery. They have

a proverb which says: "I am long accustomed to eat the entrails of

men." (Pastells and Retana's Combés, cols. 657, 658.)

[61] Referring to Tuambaloca, the queen of Raya Bongso; Bactial

(misprinted Bachal in the Combés text) was his bastard son, who for

a time ruled Joló, during his father's life.

[62] These patolas are mentioned by Pigafetta in his relation. See

Vol. XXXIV, p. 59.

[63] A measure of capacity equivalent to about one-half an English

gallon, or two liters.

[64] This last sentence is in the language of the Inquisition,

the original being "y aun entre barbaros puso con sambenito

al vicioso, para que no tengan escusa los que se le hizieron

Familiares." "Sambenito" (translated "penance") is the "garment worn by

penitent convicts of the Inquisition;" or "an inscription in churches,

containing the name, punishment, and signs of the chastisement of

those doing penance."

[65] The dedo is a measure equivalent to one forty-eighth of the vara

or Spanish yard.

[66] Father Pastells has seen the immediate effects of the execution

of judgment by boiling water, and cured a young man, who had thrust

his hand into boiling water, by sentence of the chiefs, in order to

prove his innocence. The judgment of plunging the parties into water

is also practiced, and he who remains in the water the shortest time

is adjudged the criminal. (Pastells and Retana's Combés, col. 659.)

[67] These prices are mentioned in Vol. XLI, appendix.

[68] One of the chief causes of the great depopulation of Mindanao

and the Visayan Islands was the slavery produced by the piracy of the

Lutaos, encouraged by the Moros of Borneo, Célebes, Gilolo, Macazar,

Ternate, and the other Moluccas, who brought the slaves in the markets

to which they were conveyed. (Pastells and Retana's Combés, col. 659.)

[69] The Baganis, who dress in the manner described by the author,

generally count the number of their victims, by placing on the edge of

the shield as many locks of hair as the assassinations that they have

committed. One Macusang gave Father Pastells his shield as a present,

as a sign that he would kill no more Christians; and that shield held

one hundred and eight locks of hair. (Pastells and Retana's Combés,

col. 659.)

[70] Now called bido. They dress like women; and some think them

hermaphrodites. (Pastells and Retana's Combés, col. 659.)

Henry Ling Roth, in his Natives of Sarawak and British North Borneo

(London, 1896), i, pp. 270, 271, describes these men in women's attire

as found in Borneo, where they are called Manang bali. Before such

assume women's dress they are unsexed; and thenceforth they endevour

to imitate as nearly as possible the women in everything, he who

can best do so being regarded as the most successful. Their services

are in great demand and they generally grow wealthy, when in order

the better to act their assumed character as women, the manang bali

takes a husband. The latter is despised by the women and disliked by

the men of the tribe, and is completely under his so-called "wife's"

domination. Men are not brought up in this office as a profession, but

one becomes a manang bali from pure choice, or by sudden inclination,

at a mature age. He is always a person of great consequence in the

village, and may become the chief. He has many cares, and acts often

as a peacemaker, in which he excels, all little differences being

brought to him. His wealth is often at the service of his followers,

and he is ready to help in times of trouble and distress. When the

manang bali marries, he generally adopts some children; and if he

has had children before he becomes a manang bali, he must give them

their portions and start in that career unencumbered.

Cf. the "berdashes" among the North American Indians; see Jesuit

Relations (Cleveland reissue), lix, pp. 309, 310.

[71] Retana (Pastells and Retana's Combés, col. 786) derives "labia"

from "labi" and "a" "he who advantages the others." "Tuto" is said by

Retana (ut supra, col. 790) to be equivalent to "tuud-tuud" meaning

"in real truth."

[72] Either the eleventh or twelfth of November. The first date is

the day of St. Martin, the blessed confessor; and the second that of

St. Martin, pope and martyr, who was martyred in 655.

[73] The island of Pañgutarang, of the Sulu group. It is about

11 × 9 miles in extent, and is low, but is densely inhabited and

has considerable trade with Joló. It has some settlements of the

Sámals, the descendants of the Sámal Laút or "sea gypsies." See

U. S. Philippine Gazetteer, and Census of the Philippine Islands, i,

p. 464.

[74] At present, when anyone dies, those of his house break out into

uncontrollable lamentations, and the father or husband becomes so

beside himself at times that, seizing his bolo, he slashes right and

left whatever he finds, destroying his clothes, furniture, utensils,

and even the very floor of the house; and it is necessary to lay

hold of him in order to avoid a worse ending to such uncontrolled

actions. (Pastells and Retana's Combés, col. 660.)

[75] Socsocan (Sofocan, Sogsocan) was a Basilan by birth and one of

the most esteemed of Corralat's chiefs. He became friendly to the

Spaniards and served them well as commander of the Lutaos. His name

is said to signify "he who penetrates the fortresses or the ranks of

the enemy." (Pastells and Retana's Combés, col. 735.)

[76] Captain Gaspar de Morales was made admiral of the squadron in

Joló. He fought bravely in La Sabanilla and in Joló, where he was

severely wounded. He became commandant of the stronghold and afterward

was governor of the Joloan fort. As governor he was an utter failure;

for by his avarice and licentiousness he occasioned the insurrection

of Salibansa (whose daughter he had seized), and the loss of the Sulu

archipelago for more than two centuries. (Pastells and Retana's Combés,

col. 723.)

[77] Among woods of extraordinary hardness is the magconó (Xanthostemon

verdugonianus naves). This wood is so hard that if a nail be driven

into its heart and it be afterward sawn apart, one does not observe

where the saw strikes the nail, and it said that both substances are of

equal hardness. Father Pastells asserts that he has seen bits of this

wood that have been converted into real flint after only twenty-five

years. (Pastells and Retana's Combés, col. 660.)

[78] Of these people, properly called Guimbajanos (Guinbajanos,

Guimbanos, Guimbas, and Quimpanos), Blumentritt (Tribes of the

Philippines, Mason's translation) says: "The historians of the

seventeenth century, under this title, designated a wild, heathen

people, apparently of Malay origin, living in the interior of Sulu

Island. Their name is derived from their war drum (guimba). Later

writers are silent concerning them. In modern times the first mention

of them is by P. A. de Pazos and by a Manila journal, from which

accounts they are still at least in Caroden and in the valley of

the Loo; it appears that a considerable portion of them, if not the

entire people, have received Islam." Retana (Pastells and Retana's

Combés, col. 779) derives the name of these people from guimba,

"a mountain." They are not mentioned under this name by the Census

of the Philippines.

[79] Pedro de Almonte Vérastegui, of Sevilla, was a brave soldier,

who served as general and sargento-mayor, and admiral of an expedition

against Maluco. He was especially distinguished for his honesty and

uprightness. In Sibuguey he attained equal merit with Corcuera, and

in 1638 conquered Joló. Diego Fajardo assigned him the encomienda

of Lorenzo Cañete, left vacant (July 1, 1645), by the death of the

latter's son. (Pastells and Retana's Combés, col. 695.) Almonte

Vérastegui has often been mentioned in this series.

[80] The Chinese, during the Spanish régime of the Philippines, were

allowed to smoke opium under certain rules; but its use was prohibited

to the natives, although it was at times used secretly. (Pastells

and Retana's Combés, col. 781.)

[81] The former officer of the crown of Aragon, who was assigned to

duty immediate to the king's person. He enjoyed several privileges,

one of them being to hold the royal sword naked in public

ceremonies. (Dominguez, Diccionario nacional.)

[82] The arms of the natives of Mindanao, like their clothes,

are manufactured by themselves. The spears and campilans are said

to be finely tempered. They themselves adjust the dies for their

pataquias. The sheaths, like the hafts of their krises, are of gold

richly engraved. The haft of the kris used by Dato Ayuman of Tabiran

was of solid gold, and was engraved with sentences from the Koran

in Arabic characters. The usual weapons are: campilans, krises

(straight and wavy), machetes, bolos, ligdaos, súndanes, various

kinds of spears, balaraos, and badis. They use coats-of-mail made

of brass, tortoise-shell, malibago [-bark], or very thick cloth, or

long sashes wound about the breast. Spears and arrows are generally

poisoned with the resin of the tree called quemandag or the poison of

red ants or scorpions; and the points of their daggers and balaraos

are also poisoned. They also use darts made of steel, iron, bone,

palm-wood and bamboo. For defense they construct traps, dig pits,

and set bamboo points. They use also various kinds of lantacas and

other kinds of firearms, with which the Chinese supply them, or which

they manufacture themselves. These were considered contraband of war

during the Spanish régime. (Pastells and Retana's Combés, col. 782.)

[83] Juan José Delgado was a native of Cadiz; the time of his birth is

not known. In 1711 he left Spain for Filipinas, and perhaps remained

for some time in Mexico: it is probable that he reached Filipinas

as early as 1717. He seems to have spent most of his life in the

Visayan Islands--Sámar, Cebú, Leyte, etc.--but to have visited most

of the peoples in the archipelago at some time or other. His Historia

was written during the years 1751-54; the date of his death is not

known. See sketch of his life in the Historia (Manila, 1892), pp. x-xi.

[84] Mas used the MS. of the Museo-Biblioteca de Ultramar, which is

wrongly dated. See post, pp. 278-280. Of the letter itself he says (i,

"Poblacion" p. 63): "These paragraphs and other ancient documents

will show us ... how little the individuals who now occupy us have

changed since that time."

[85] For instance, Mas says (p. 63): "Here follows what the author of

the celebrated work on the Philippines, called Cronicas franciscanas

[referring to San Antonio's Chronicas] says: 'The very reverend father,

Fray Gaspar de San Agustin, an Augustinian from Madrid,'" etc. Bowring

makes this: "Among the most celebrated books on the Philippines are the

'Cronicas Franciscanas' by Fr. Gaspar de San Agustin, an Augustine

monk of Madrid;" and following gives the impression that he makes

the selections directly from San Agustin--a ridiculous error.

In regard to the word "monk" used by Bowring, that author is again in

error, technically at least, an error that is quite often met with

in many works. As pointed out by Rev. T. C. Middleton, O.S.A., in a

letter dated December 8, 1902, the only regulars in the Philippines

who could rightfully be styled "monks" were the Benedictines. The

members of the other orders are "friars," the equivalent of the Spanish

"frailes." The monks are strictly cloistered. The friars appeared first

in the thirteenth century, and do not live a strictly cloistered life.

[86] M. reads on the outside wrapper: "Letter by Fray Gaspar de San

Agustin;" and the heading of the letter is as follows: "+ Letter

written by an aged religious of Philipinas to a friend in España,

who asked him as to the nature and characteristics of the Indian

natives of these islands." D. reads: "Letter written by the very

reverend father Fray ... giving him an account ..."

[87] M. and D. read "mathematical side;" and continuing D. reads

"of the double of the cube of the sphere."

[88] i.e., "I was with this generation for about forty years, and I

said 'These people always err from the heart.'" M. omits the Latin

phrase and reads in its place "and I have only learned that they are

almost incomprehensible." D. reads as M. and then adds "and therefore

I shall only say," followed by the Latin phrase.

[89] i.e., "He himself knew our formation." The last word of the

Latin phrase is omitted in M.

[90] D. reads "excuse myself from the burden and difficulty."

[91] i.e., "It is difficult to know man--a changeable and variable

animal." M. gives only the first four words of this Latin phrase.

[92] i.e., "I see men as trees walking."

[93] Not set off into lines in the Ayer MS. A literal translation

of the citation, which is rather freely translated in the text,

is: "Spring makes me green; burning summer, yellow; autumn, white;

and chill winter, bald." M. omits all the quotation after the first

three words; D. reads "Glaucumque" instead of "flavamque." The poet

mentioned by San Agustin was a Welshman by the name of John Owen,

or, according to his Latin name, Joannis Audoenus. He was born about

1560, at Armon, Wales, and died in London, in 1622. He studied law at

Oxford, and afterward became a teacher at various places. He imitated

the Epigrams of Martial, and his Epigrammata were published first

in three books at London, in 1606, but were later augmented by seven

more books. They were reprinted many times in various countries and

even translated into other languages--among the latter, into English,

French, and Spanish (Madrid, 1674-82). One of the best editions is

that printed at Paris in 1774.

[94] D. omits this last phrase.

[95] M. omits the epigram. It is the forty-seventh epigram of the

twelfth book, and is translated thus in Henry G. Bohn's Epigrams

of Martial (London, 1877): "You are at once morose and agreeable,

pleasing and repulsive. I can neither live with you nor without

you." It has been several times translated into English verse.

[96] i.e., "As many opinions as persons."

[97] From the Greek words monos, "one," "single," and pas, "all;"

thus meaning, "homogeneous."

[98] The Monophysites held that there was but one nature in

Christ. They were condemned at the fourth general council held at

Chalcedon in 451, but the decision of that council was a few years

later set aside by an imperial encyclical issued by the emperor

Basilicus. During the next century the Monophysites split up into

many sects, and fought among themselves. The Monophysites still

exist in Armenia, Egypt, Syria, and Mesopotamia; and are represented

by the Armenian National church, the Jacobite Christians of Syria

and Mesopotamia, the Coptic church, and the Abyssinian church. The

schismatic Christians of St. Thomas are now connected with the

Jacobites. See Addis and Arnold's Catholic Dictionary, pp. 597, 598.

[99] M. greatly abridges this paragraph, among other things omitting

all mention of the Monophysites. D. also omits the latter.

[100] At this point M. adds "who are the true Indians, so named from

the River Indus or from Indostan, for our Indians are so by catachresis

or misusage."

[101] The title of the Franciscan Juan de Torquemada's book, is

as follows: Ia (-IIIa) Parte de los veynte y un libros rituales y

monarchia Indiana con el origen y guerras de los Indios occidentales

de sus poblaçones, descubrimiento, conquista, conversion y otras

cosas maravillosas de la misma tierra (Sevilla, 1615; in three parts).

[102] The title of Antonio de Ramesal's book is Historia general de

las Indias Ocidentales, y particular, de la governacion de Chiapa,

y Guatemala. Escrivese juntamente los principios de nuestro glorioso

Padre Santo Domingo, y de las demas religiones (Madrid, 1620).

Remesal was born in Allariz in Galicia, and took the Dominican habit

in Salamanca, where he also became doctor of theology. He was sent

to Central America in 1613, and on his return wrote his book. See

Moreri's Dictionaire, vii, p. 68; and Hoefer's Nouvelle biographie

générale, xli, col. 956.

[103] See Vol. VIII, p. 38, note 1.

[104] Bartolome (not Bernardino) de las Casas, the great apostle of the

Indians. He first went to the New World in 1502 as a planter, became a

Dominican religious in 1510, and in 1514 began to preach against the

cruelty inflicted on the Indians by the Spaniards, for the purpose

of alleviating their misfortunes, making numerous trips to Spain. He

finally obtained from Cárlos I the "New Laws," which were so rigorous

that an attempt to enforce them resulted in an insurrection in Peru

under Gonzalo Pizarro, for an account of which see Pedro Gutiérrez

de Santa Clara's Historia de las guerras civiles del Peru, 1544-1548

(Madrid, 1904-05). He finally returned to Spain for the last time,

and died after a few years in the Dominican convent of Valladolid. His

writings are many, and important. The reference in the text may be

to his Brevissima relacion de la destruycion de las Indias (Sevilla,

1552); or to his Historia general de las Indias, which existed only

in MS., until 1875.

[105] See Vol. XXIX, p. 189, note 42. San Agustin probably refers to

his Virtudes del Indio (1650?). Palafox left many writings, a number

of which are of a controversial nature.

[106] In D., "taught."

[107] In D., "collect."

[108] M. and D. call these last two peoples the "Mogores" and the

"Camarines."

[109] Baltasar Gracian was born in Calatayud, Aragon, in 1601,

and entered the Society of Jesus in 1619. He taught belles-lettres,

philosophy, moral theology, and the Holy Scriptures, and preached for

several years. He was rector of the college at Taragona, Catalonia,

where he died December 6, 1658. His first book, El Heroë, appeared in

1630. The most famous of his numerous works was his Criticon, which

is probably the book referred to in the text. It is a sort of satire

on the vices and customs of the times; and in places reminds one of

Pilgrim's Progress. It was published in three parts, the first in 1650

at Madrid, and the other two at Huesca, in 1653. Most of his works were

published under his brother Lorenzo's name. His talent in writing is

vitiated by his affectation and other faults. See Ticknor's History

of Spanish Literature (New York, 1854); Sommervogel's Bibliothèque;

Moreri's Dictionaire, iv, p. 174; and Hoefer's Nouvelle biographie

générale, xxi, cols. 570, 571.

[110] M. and D. add "For most of the defects and vices of these

Indians are common, on account of the," and continue as above.

[111] This passage is badly confused in the three copies. The

transcriber of M. has wrongly made the viviendo acephalos of the Ayer

copy, bebiendo à sed [i.e., drinking when thirsty?] which hardly makes

sense. That MS. continues, "and in confused anarchy," which is better

than the Ayer reading. D. reads "Who besides having been living as

the greatest barbarians, leaderless, and in confused anarchy."

[112] Both M. and D. omit the passage referring to the influence and

dominion of the moon. M. gives the names as "Beyerlinhe," and D. as

"Bayarlinch."

Laurentius Beyerlinck was a noted Flemish savant and litterateur. He

was born at Antwerp in 1578, and, after studying in that city with

the Jesuits, went to Louvain, where he enjoyed a benefice until

1605. In that year he was recalled to Antwerp to become head of

the seminary, and soon afterward obtained a canonry and then an

archdeaconry there. His death occurred in Antwerp June 22, 1627,

at the age of forty-nine. Notwithstanding his short life and his

religious labors, he wrote a surprising amount. An edition of his

Magnum Theatrum Vitæ Humanæ appeared in London, in eight volumes,

in 1678. See Moreri's Dictionaire.

[113] "When they grow delirious in their sickness, they are never

frantic, but calm." (Mas, p. 64.)

[114] M. and D. add here "slow."

[115] In the Ayer MS. "serithnophagos." D. makes it "ictiófagos,"

which reading we have adopted; and M. omits the phrase.

[116] The abundance of fish is one of the means by which nature

aids their necessities. In the rainy season, all the creeks and

ravines are full of water and fish. The very rice fields swarm with

eels, shrimps, and a species of fish called dalag, which is about

two palmos long and more than two inches thick. It is especially

interesting for an European to see a crowd of people in the month of

October on the high-road, busily fishing in the sowed fields. As the

rice is now grown, it is impossible to see the water that bathes and

wets its roots, and consequently, when the hooks are drawn out with

fish two palmos long on them, it appears to be enchantment, or the

inconsequential things of a dream. As the water dries up, the fish,

still living, gather down in toward the hollows where there is yet some

water; and they are there caught with the hand, or killed with clubs.

"The Indians have three meals [per day]: breakfast, dinner, and

supper. These three meals consist of rice boiled in water but dry

like the rice cooked in the Valencian style, or like the Turkish

pilao. In addition they eat a trifle of fresh or salt fish, some

sort of meat stew, camotes, etc.; but rarely do they have more than

two different dishes, unless it is the occasion of a banquet. In the

dearest provinces, the [expense of] common food cannot be estimated

at more than one-half real of silver per day per adult; and since

the daily wage that they earn is at least one-half real and their

food, it results that this race have great opportunity to save and

acquire considerable wealth. But their vices, their few necessities,

and their disposition, which is indifferent and lacking in foresight,

does not allow them to better the condition of their birth; and they

remain in the wake of the mestizos, who are always the wealthy people

of the villages." (Mas, pp. 64, 65.)

[117] Mas says (p. 65): "It is not easy for anyone to explain them,

so long as he tries to consider these men equal to the Europeans."

[118] This sentence is omitted in M. and D.

[119] All the matter above between the word "father" and this point

is lacking in M.

[120] The solidus was a coin of the Roman empire, which was at first

called "aureus," and worth about twenty-five denarii, but afterward

reduced to about one-half that value. It is used in the same manner as

"farthing" or "cent" would be in English.

[121] These passages are translated as follows in the Douay version

of the Bible:

4. Many have looked upon a thing lent as a thing found, and have

given trouble to them that helped them.

5. Till they receive, they kiss the hands of the lender, and in

promise they humble their voice.

6. But when they should repay, they will ask time, and will return

tedious and murmuring words, and will complain of the time:

7. And if he be able to pay, he will stand off, he will scarce pay

one-half, and will count it as if he had found it:

8. But if not, he will defraud him of his money, and he shall get

him for an enemy without cause:

9. And he will pay him with reproaches and curses, and instead of

honour and good turn will repay him injuries.

[122] i.e., "Scarce does he return the half."

[123] In the Douay version: "The sinner shall borrow and not pay

again;" being only one-half the verse. M. omits the reference, but

gives the passage.

[124] Delgado (Historia, p. 306) commenting on this passage says: "I

find noted many actions of the Indian boys who serve in the houses and

convents; and all are ridiculous things which we ourselves did in our

own country when we were boys like them." He objects to San Agustin's

quotation from Scripture on the ground that it is too general, and

that those words were not written merely for them. "If twenty cases

have been experienced where the Indian borrower has failed to return

what he borrowed, it cannot be said that the entire Tagálog nation are

sinners, let alone other nations, which may not have been seen. Such

a supposition is illogical."

[125] The paragraph structure of M. and D. differs from our text in

the above two paragraphs, and in other places throughout this letter;

and the paragraphs are also unnumbered in both of these versions. The

copy owned by Eduardo Navarro, O.S.A., Valladolid, agrees with the

Ayer MS. in having numbered paragraphs, but the numbering is not in

all cases the same.

[126] At this point the following paragraphs which are not contained

in either the Ayer MS. or in D. occur.

"They think that it is a fine thing to meddle and take part in things

where they are not invited. Consequently, if any of Ours wishes to

attend to any bodily necessity, not fit to mention, even when he least

wishes it, there comes an Indian before or behind him even though he

leave the banca and seek the most retired spot to do what no other

can do for him.

"They cruelly treat the animals that serve them, and the danger of

losing them does not move them to the contrary. Thus following the

very opposite of St. Paul's command: Non alligavis vos bobi trituranti

[i.e., "Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn,"--I

Tim. v, 18, a quotation from Deut. xxv, 4], they tie the poor cow or

carabao to a post after it has worked all day; and, if it is a horse,

they feed it without removing bit or bridle. And if they have to look

after their carabao it must be on condition of their being atop of it

while it moves from place to place; and on the road they make sores

on its buttocks."

That the Indian does not shut a door that he has opened, etc.;

Delgado says (p. 306): "This is done by boys, and is common in our

own country. It is not because of laziness, but perchance, for lack

of attention, or the liveliness or mischievousness of boys, in which

the aged and prudent Indians cannot be included." He has often seen

the carpenters carefully collect their tools and take them away, so

that they should not be lost. San Agustin's criticism is too general

and has proceeded from what he has experienced in a few foolish lads.

[127] "This," says Delgado (p. 307) "is peculiar only to some workmen,

and not to all the nations of these islands, and the same thing

happens also in our own country among cobblers, tailors, and other

deceitful and tricky workmen."

Mas comments as follows (pp. 66, 67): "There is no tailor, cobbler,

or workman of any kind, who does not begin by begging money when any

work is ordered. If he is a carpenter, he needs the money in order

to buy lumber; if a laundryman, to buy soap. This is not for lack of

confidence in receiving their pay, for the same thing happens with

those who have the best credit, with the cura of the village, and even

with the captain-general himself. It consists, firstly, in the fact

that the majority have no money, because of their dissipation; and

secondly, because they are sure that after they have received a part

of their price, their customer will not go to another house, and that

he will wait for the workman as long as he wishes (which is usually

as long as what he has collected lasts), and that then the customer

will have to take the work in the way in which it is delivered to him."

[128] M. reads, "in the region of the genitals;" and D., "ears."

[129] Delgado says of this: "Let us give thanks to God that our

parents reared us in civilized ways; for if they had not, we would

do the same. But how many blows and lashes we had to take to become

so! And indeed it must be noted that it is not so much because of

rudeness that the Indian scratches himself, or does other things

somewhat more indecent and coarse, as has happened to me at times

when with them; but because of a sort of fear or respect, that so

confuses them that they do not know at times what they are doing, or

even what they are saying." The criticism, like others of San Agustin,

is too sweeping. Delgado has not noticed this among the Visayans,

although he has noted it among the Tagálogs. Because some women are

coarse, coarseness cannot be charged in general upon all the women

of the islands.

[130] D. reads "And as yet they have not gotten over the difficulty

of folding a cloak with the right side in."

[131] M. and D. read "make gestures of wonder."

[132] "I have observed that they are very stupid in making anything

when one tries to give them instructions, but not when one allows them

to work in their own manner. For example, one desires to have the cork

which has slipped down into a bottle drawn. The best thing to say then,

is 'See here, get this cork out without breaking the bottle. Take

care!' Thereupon the Indian goes and fixes it as well as he can. Once

I asked an old woman for some fire to light my cigar. There were many

live coals on the ground remaining from a fire. She took a handful of

earth in her palm, and atop of that placed a coal which she presented

to me. In this way they do things that at times show sufficient

ingenuity and skill, especially with bamboo and rattan. General Alava

declared that their brains were in their hands." (Mas, pp. 67, 68.)

[133] These last six words are lacking in M. This refers to the

well-known myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. By Auresteo, San Agustin means

Aristæus, probably an early Greek poet, but deified as a beneficent

god and worshiped in various parts of Greece and other places. He

was said to be the son of Apollo and the Thessalian nymph Cyrene,

and was reared by Hermes, who made him immortal; although he is also

sometimes called the son of Urana and Gæa. His connection with the

Orpheus myth was probably an innovation of Virgil (Georgics, iv,

ll. 315-558) who tells how he caused the death of Eurydice, who was

killed by a serpent while fleeing from his persecutions. See Smith's

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, and Seyffert's

Dictionary of Classical Antiquities (London, 1891).

"It is still the custom in many of the churches for the men to take

their positions in the center toward the upper part, and the women

in the lower half." (Mas, p. 68.)

[134] The last two words are missing in M. and D.

Curiosity, says Delgado (p. 307) and impertinence is a characteristic

of all the peoples of Asia.

"They have asked me often as to my employment or occupation, my manner

of living, and the amount of my pay. This proceeds from the tolerance

and benevolence that they generally find in The Spaniards." (Mas,

p. 68.)

[135] This argues only their wildness and lack of civilization, says

Delgado (pp. 307, 308), and they ought to be taught civilized manners

by their masters, or at least by the missionaries. The Spanish houses

generally have porters, so that the Indians cannot penetrate into the

most retired apartment. It may happen at times in Manila, or in some

of the missions; but it is not the custom in the Visayas, or in the

province of Tagálos. Delgado has never had such a thing happen to him,

for the Indians have always announced their arrival before entering.

[136] "This proves the severity with which they are treated by their

own people, and the kindness that they experience in us." (Mas, p. 68.)

[137] "Thank God," says Delgado (p. 308) "that I find the prognosis

above that says 'they are great sleepers' absolutely false."

[138] This sentence is lacking in M. and D.

[139] In D., "where the women go."

"They do this because they are humored like children in the

convents." (Mas, p. 69.)

[140] M. and D. omit "and perukes."

[141] Literally, "the flower of the saints," perhaps alluding to

some book of lives of saints, thus entitled. M. has "the isles of

the saints."

[142] M. and D. omit the last three words.

[143] "Nearly all the villages have theaters for cock-fighting. Before

fighting, some very sharp knives are fastened to the spurs so that

one or the other is killed at the first meeting. On this account the

cockfight does not offer the interest or sport that it does in España

and other places, and it occupies the attention of these people solely

as a means of winning or losing money. In reality, a cockpit is a house

of play. Before the two fowls are placed in attitude of fight, the bets

are placed on two spindles. One of them generally offers a great sum in

favor of the black cock, while others bet on the white one, until the

sum is matched. The leading cocks are loosed and one of them is killed

in less than two minutes. This is in fact a 'monte,' as is playing

the races or betting on the jack [at cards]. The Filipinos, by nature

idlers and greedy, are passionately fond of play, for they consider

it an excellent and unique way of getting money without working; and

they gather like flies to these pernicious places, in order to spend

what they have and what they can succeed in borrowing or robbing,

abandoning their most sacred and peremptory obligations. Furthermore,

they pass many hours, both in their houses and in the cockpit, teaching

a cock how to fight and to have no fear of the people; and examining

the other cocks, in order to ascertain by certain rules and marks which

will triumph and which will succumb. There is nothing more commonly

seen even in the very streets of Manila itself, than a man squatted

down on his heels with one of these fowls, in order that it might

become accustomed to the noise, so that it might not grow confused or

become frightened in the pit. There are men who take heed of nothing

else or have other thought during the day than of their cocks.

"The government authorizes these wretched gatherings, not only on

Sundays, but also on Thursdays or fair-days, which are not few,

and has rented out the right of opening these theaters. Last year

this department produced about 40,000 pesos fuertes. A sad recourse

which must have occasioned and will occasion so many tears, crimes,

and punishments, since so much vagabondage is thereby caused. There

are often serious quarrels, which two judges of the theater end

by deciding according to the laws. When any one of the contestants

does not conform to the sentence, he has recourse to the alcalde,

who takes the evidences in regard to the matter; and these quarrels

generally go on appeal to the superintendency and to the upper

litigious assembly. These causes are judged according to existing

instructions, which were written in America.

"The Indians are also very fond of cards. They play brisca, burro

(which is distinct from that of España), and panguingui, which is

a game played very commonly by the Chinese. In this occupation they

often pass all the night until dawn; and the cabezas de barangay lose

the tributes of their subjects, and they have to go immediately to

jail, or take to the mountain.

"They generally play duplo at their parties--a game consisting in

arithmetical combinations--and also our game of forfeits." (Mas,

pp. 69-71.)

[144] Delgado (p. 308) admits that the youthful servants do break

dishes, but they are cheap. "There are Indians in Manila who make

and repair watches and other delicate baubles, and do not break

them. Consequently, not only can they handle bamboo, rattan, nipa, and

bolos, but also other things; and they make and handle them lovingly."

"This is because they are generally heedless, sometimes through

stupidity, and at other times because they are thinking of their

sweetheart, or of something else, instead of what they are doing. When

the Filipino drops a dish, the Spaniard says nothing, or is satisfied

by calling him only a brute, animal, or savage; while in his own home,

he would not escape without some buffets, which have more effect on

this race than would the Philippics of Cicero." (Mas, p. 71.)

[145] "The father must have said this of the country people, or of

those who are servants; for among those who devote themselves to the

arts there are some who turn out work very delicate and difficult to

execute, even in Europa--as, for instance, the textiles and embroidery

of piña, and the gold chains or bejuquillos, etc." (Mas, pp. 71, 72.)

[146] D. adds "or [rather] not eating." This incident is related in

the second part of Don Quixote, chapter xlvii.

[147] This sentence is omitted in M. The following is there a question,

"And what shall we say if they bring four eggs?"

[148] A Dominican and the assistant of Archbishop Pardo, who became

acting archbishop after the death of the latter. See Ferrando's

Historia de los PP. Dominicos, vi, p. cxlvii; and our Vol. XXXIX,

"The Pardo Controversy."

[149] Don Fernando Valenzuela, a grandee of Spain, marquis of San

Bartolomé de los Pinales and of Villasierra, chief master of the horse,

gentleman of the chamber, etc., the favorite of the mother of Carlos

II of Spain, Mariana of Austria (with whom his connection was said to

be dishonorable), was, as a youth, page to the Duke of Infantado. He

went to Rome with the duke, who was appointed ambassador to the papal

court. On his return he gained the favor of the queen's confessor

the German Jesuit Nitard, who introduced him into court circles. His

rise to favor was rapid, for he was talented and handsome. After the

downfall of Nitard, he gained entire ascendancy over the weak queen,

who showered honors upon him. Finally he was exiled to the Philippines

(1670), through the efforts of Don Juan of Austria, uncle of the king,

and was imprisoned in the fort of Cavite where he landed March 29,

1679. On the death of Don Juan, the first act of the queen was to

have Valenzuela freed from his exile, and a special ship was sent

to the Philippines to take him to Spain. It is reported, however,

that he died in Mexico, while on his way to Spain, from the kick of

a horse. He built the bridge over the Manzanares at Toledo, at the

cost of one million ducats. See Harrison's History of Spain (Boston,

1881); Montero y Vidal, i, p. 364; and Concepción, Hist. de Philipinas,

vii, pp. 349-364. A document in Ventura del Arco's MS. collection

(vol. iii)--which is a compilation from original documents in the Real

Academia de la Historia, Madrid--gives an account of the reception

accorded to Valenzuela on his arrival at the Philippines, and some

details of his life there.

[150] M. reads "rice in the husk."

[151] M. and D. add "pesos."

[152] Delgado says (p. 308): "If they had as much understanding as the

reverend father, they would not do it." The cases cited prove nothing

general, since they are only particular cases. "But it must be borne

in mind that all the Indians of these islands are very poor, and dress

very poorly and live meanly; and when they see that the Spaniards,

and especially these bishops and marquises, bear themselves with so

great ostentation, and are so free and magnanimous and liberal, as

their nobility demands, some Indians of little capacity are emboldened

to beg from them things that they ought not; for they think that such

men will never remain poor even though they give much." We beg God

often for things out of season.

"This is because they know beforehand that they ask nonsense, and

assume that their demand will not be granted, but they only are trying

to see whether it might be met by any chance; for they are accustomed

to the extreme goodness of the Spaniards, and do not fear making them

angry by an absurd demand." (Mas, pp. 72, 73.)

[153] M. and D. read: "Although the Sangleys cheat them, as if they

were simpletons, and they are satisfied to be cheated by them."

Delgado says (p. 309): "This I absolutely deny, for I have more than

once seen that after the Indians have traversed the whole Parian of

the Sangleys to sell their goods, if they are not offered more than

four they immediately carry their goods to the Spaniards or to the

fathers, in order to get eight for them; and this must be tongod

sa calooy, that is, for charity, which the Spaniard and the father

always practice with them."

"This is a fact, but it needs explanation. The Filipino is by nature

phlegmatic, and especially when it is a question of buying or selling

anything; for he exerts himself to get the largest profit possible,

and the calculation of that costs him much trouble. A countryman

comes, for instance, to sell two or three quintals of indigo to a

merchant. Thereupon, he does not come alone, but is accompanied

by relatives and friends, and sometimes women. Very often the

indigo belongs to four or five owners, who all come in the wake of

the seller. Each proposition must be communicated to the society

that is squatted there in a circle on their heels. The matter is

discussed at length, and then it is decided to lower the price one

peso per quintal. The buyer claims that the price should be three

pesos. Finally this point is settled. Then another discussion begins,

namely, that the indigo is damp, and that some pounds must be allowed

for waste. In short the transaction is so tiresome and so eternal,

that there are very few Spaniards who have the patience to endure so

much impertinence and importunity; and they generally end by saying

dryly, 'Will you or will you not give it?' And then they order them

angrily into the street. The Chinese and mestizos do not hurry them,

but on the contrary invite them to eat, and keep them in their houses

for three or four hours, and sometimes days. Finally they get the goods

for what they wish to give, and more often cheat them like Chinese. For

the Filipino is very stupid even in matters of self-interest. Once

I was with a Spaniard who was buying indigo. After the trading had

cost him more patience than Job must have had, the indigo was weighed

before him, the account was reckoned, the money made ready and placed

on the table in piles of 20 pesos, while there was one of 7, which

was placed separately, and another of reals and copper coins. The

man who had been most attentive to everything took the piles of 20's

and left the pile of 7. We called him back to tell him to take that

money which he had left. Thereupon he took the seven pesos, and it

was necessary to call him back the third time to tell him that all

the money on the table belonged to him. He himself had determined

that the price should be 52 or 53 per quintal, and then he took what

was given him. The majority are the same. Then it is learned that

a Chinese has bought for 20 the same quantity of indigo for which a

Spaniard offered 25. It is said that a Filipino would rather receive

one real from a Chinese than one peso from a Spaniard, as we have

just seen was written by Father Gaspar." (Mas, pp. 73, 74.)

[154] "And tell me, your Paternity," says Delgado (p. 309), "who is

not given to this vice in this land?"--an interesting commentary on

social conditions.

[155] Commenting on this, Delgado (p. 309) says: "Who are the ones who

cut the timber, and build the ships, galleys, and galliots, as says

Father Murillo, and work in the ships in the port? Then they do this

stretched out in their houses, as says our father master? It is true

that they are always poor, but the true cause of that is different. Let

them not admit into Manila so many heathen Chinese, who possess in

themselves all the trades and employments, by which one may seek

his livelihood. The Indians would apply themselves to these trades,

and would not lie stretched out in their houses, for the Sangleys do

not allow them to engage in these or to seek their livelihood."

Mas says (pp. 75-77): "I have never read a single manuscript or

printed book about the Filipinos that does not speak of their laziness.

"I, accustomed to hear the term 'lazy' given to Spaniards, and to

other men who have been or are idle--rather through the influence

of bad laws or because of the lack of laws, than because of the

impulses of their physical organization--was ready to believe that

the Filipinos would be found to exhibit the same characteristic in

regard to this--especially when I remembered the system of delivering

the provinces to trading governors and monopolists and the prohibition

for so many years of trading with foreign ports, which still exists,

with the exception of the city of Manila. But in spite of the fact

that these things powerfully influence the obstruction of the founts

of wealth and choke incentives to work, I have seen things that have

made me change my opinion. For instance, I have desired to send people

to get grass for my horses; and, in spite of the facts that it was

very abundant and near, and there was not the slightest doubt about

the pay, I have been unable to get anyone to go for it. On arriving

at a village, I have endeavored to get a guide to accompany me to the

next village; and, in spite of the facts that the distance was not

more than one hour and the road excellent, I have found it difficult

to obtain him. And even I have obtained it by means of the justice, as

[a carrier of] baggage; although one pays for this service, according

to the schedule, one silver real, with which a Filipino has enough to

live on for at least two days. A few weeks before my departure from

Filipinas I was at an estate belonging to religious, where there are

various individuals who enjoy an annual salary sufficient to support

themselves, on condition that they guard the estate against robbers,

and that they work whenever necessary, in which case their day's wage

is paid them. The question was raised of transferring the rice in the

husk from one granary to another, distant about 20 paces, and they

were not to work more than the hours usual in that country, which

are very few, for which they were to be given one silver real daily,

besides their food. All this was in addition to their annual pay. It

is to be noted that the season was the dryest and coolest of the whole

year, namely, the month of January, and a Filipino's support cost then

about five cuartos per diem. However, by no means would they consent

to work consecutively all the days, for they said that when night came

they were exhausted, and needed rest on the following day. Had I not

been present there I would not have believed it. I have been in many

Filipino huts where I saw many men and women pass the day without doing

anything, while everything was indicative of their poverty. I have

examined the condition of the fields, and I have discovered that any

man may become wealthy, and yet all live in wretchedness. I have been

much surprised to hear that they must be ordered by edict to sow the

fields, so that the propitious season may not pass by; and that those

who allow their houses to burn are punished. Especially have I noted

that the Chinese mestizos, who are partly of the same blood as the most

diligent Chinese immigrants, are always comfortable, and some of them

have accumulated considerable wealth. This might all be in the hands

of the Filipinos, who are the most ancient inhabitants, have enjoyed

and enjoy greater protection, and have been owners of all the estates

that are now possessed by the mestizos, which the latter have bought

by the fruits of their industry and their economy. It is to be noted

that all the Chinese who come to Filipinas are very poor, and come

from a colder country. Gentil says that the Filipinos have acquired

their laziness from the Spaniards; but if they have learned indolence

from the Spaniards, why did not the mestizos learn it also, who are on

the contrary so active and industrious? Why have they not learned to

be diligent from the mestizos, since they have a more continual and

intimate intercourse with them than with the Spaniards? I conclude

by saying that after examining and weighing everything thoroughly,

I am of the opinion that there exists in the nature of the Filipino,

quite independent of any accessory and modifying cause, an element

of quiet and inertia that is but slightly neutralized by the ambition

of acquiring consideration and wealth."

[156] Delgado (pp. 309-310) says: "This happens perhaps among the

boys who serve in the convents in Tagalos and in no other missions;

and I have also seen them awakened in another manner. And although

this seems a matter for laughter among us Spaniards, it is not so

for them. For they do it in order not to make the other impatient by

waking him suddenly, and it serves among them as a kind of prudence

and respect. The game thing happens when they call at the door of

any house. But generally they enter without the formulas of etiquette."

"This is a hard fact and has been called to my attention often. For

in any other matter whatsoever, it is well understood that ignorance

makes an unpolished man appear quite distinct from a civilized

man. But when it comes to waking one who is sleeping, I cannot

conceive that wisdom, or even a knowledge of reading, can have the

least influence. But I believe that I have discovered the origin of

this peculiarity. The remontados Filipinos of Abra have the greatest

respect for a sleeping man. Their deepest curse is 'May I die when

asleep.' Their oath, when they come to the province of Ilocos for the

election of gobernadorcillos, for causes, etc., is 'May I die when

asleep,' 'May a bolt of lightning strike me,' etc. This same fear of

dying when asleep exists also in other tribes and in the provinces of

Ilocos, and must have been formerly a general idea, since, as we have

already observed, the origin of our Christianized Indians and those

at present remontados and called infidels was the same. Whether this

fear arose from some disease in which the people slept and did not

awaken, or whether only from the similitude of sleep to death, it is

difficult to ascertain. However, it is always surprising that, since

no one now dies or becomes sick because his rest is interrupted, the

Indians still constantly preserve this so stupid dread; so that even

after a master has ordered his servant to awaken him, the latter has

great difficulty in doing it in a quick and positive manner, although

he knows that, if he do not execute it, it will put his master out

greatly. That shows at least the most powerful influence of habit

on the minds of these men. Somewhat similar to this is our custom

of saying 'Jesus,' when anyone sneezes--a custom which I have heard

expressed by 'God bless you,' 'Á vous souhaits,' 'Salute,' etc.,

among all the peoples of Europa.... This custom generally allows

the man who receives an accident to die without aid, because of not

awaking the physician or cura." (Mas, pp. 77, 78.)

[157] This is because the Indians do not appreciate the danger,

says Delgado (p. 310). This happens often on narrow roads, and not

to Indians, but to Spaniards or mulattoes, and neither will yield to

the other, whereupon quarrels ensue. But the lesser always yields to

the greater. It has happened once or twice to Delgado.

"This is a fact, and a proof of their indifference and

stolidity." (Mas, p. 78.)

[158] The lengua franca is the trade-jargon of the Orient. The

original of the passage above is as follows: "Deó grande nopillar

fantacia; mondo cosi cosi; si estar escrito in testa andar andar;

sino acá morir." M. reads "an andar andar," and has other slight

differences. D. reads "ha (de) andar" and has also other slight

differences.

The full name of the author above mentioned is Gabriel Gomez de

Losada, and his book is Escuela de trabaios, in quatro libros dividida:

Primero, del cautiverio mas cruel.... Segundo, Noticias y govierno de

Argel: Tercero, necessidad y conveniencia de la redempcion de Cautivos

Christianos: Quarto, el mejor cautivo rescatado.... (Madrid, 1670).

[159] M. and D. add (though with a slight difference in wording)

"for they will not believe that he who loves danger will perish in it."

Some Indians are fatalists, but not all, says Delgado (p. 310). The

Visayans are generally careful, and watch out for the crocodiles. Those

who have been devoured by those reptiles have always been evil, and

were so punished by God for their sins. Mas says (p. 79), that this

fatalism must have been imported from Asia.

[160] Delgado says (p. 310): "This proceeds from their barbarous

condition, and because the Spaniards commonly deceive them, and

teach them things that are not very good, especially the convict

guachinangos, of whom this country is full. But that they cannot

be persuaded that it is a sin to steal from the religious or from

the Spaniards, I regard as a misapprehension, or at least it is not

common for this to happen, although his Paternity brings forward such

evidence, that one cannot doubt him. For I have seen the contrary in

many villages."

Mas (pp. 80, 81), says: "It is a fact that some Indians have but

little scruple in stealing from Spaniards, for they say that all

that the latter possess is of the Philippines and consequently

theirs. But do not believe that they have any consideration for their

fellow-countrymen. In its proper place we shall see that theft is

the greatest part of the criminality of the islands.... It is to be

noted that they generally rob on a small and rarely on a large scale;

for their ambition is limited to satisfying a vice or to bettering

their present condition, but not in changing it.

"The father provincial of the Augustinian religious, said in his

printed report, in the compilation made concerning the causes of the

insurrection in Ilocos in 1807:

"'The Indians of Ilocos have become highwaymen, like those of the

other provinces. They steal cows, horses, and carabaos from their own

countrymen; and those who are occupied in this trade are ready for

all sorts of evil. It is not surprising that many of these should

have come with the deserters who first rebelled in the mountains

of Piddig, and that others should unite with them when the fire

was fanned. But one can not call this a cause for insurrection,

nor do I believe that for such thefts the means should be to take

the stealers of carabaos to Manila so that they might be punished;

but it is enough for the alcaldes-mayor to watch over their province

and punish these thefts. By so doing they would succeed in lessening

thefts, for the extermination of them is as impossible as is making

an end of the classes of the thieves according to the proverb of the

Indians, "When the rats die, then the thieves will come to an end."'

"It is true that perhaps one ought not to ascribe all this

demoralization to a perverse disposition. One must not have lived

among the Filipinos, or have been very blind in regard to them, to

say that they are all thieves. There are very many who, although they

could steal with impunity, do not do so.... The frequency of theft may

proceed from other causes. Perhaps the system of mercy and impunity

that has dictated and is dictating the sentences of the Audiencia of

Manila has contributed thereto...."

[161] M. and D. omit "of which I heard," and the latter reads "and

I shall only tell of two of which I was a witness."

Spaniards also, says Delgado (pp. 310, 311), recount things that are

not credible, and "it is not to be wondered at that some rude and

ignorant people should believe such nonsense; and if they believe

some things that are told them by some scholars, it is because of

the authority of those people among them.... This happens commonly

in other places, besides among the Indians."

[162] See an account of this matter and the trouble caused by it,

in Vol. XXXIX.

[163] i.e., "Silver and gold have I none"--a reference to Acts III, 6.

[164] M. and D. read "miners."

[165] "When the ship 'Santa Ana' arrived at Manila in the year 1832

with 250 Spanish soldiers, it was rumored among the women of the

tobacco factory that those soldiers were coming to take away their

children in order to irrigate the mines in España with their blood. All

were aroused and fled to their homes, took their children, and began

to take refuge in the houses of the Spanish women, and they could

not be persuaded that it was all nonsense. The house of Doña Dolores

Goyena was filled with them. Also many men armed with spears came

out on the streets; but the disorder gradually subsided." (Mas, p. 82.)

[166] M. and D. add "for all the ministers cannot free them from

this deceit."

[167] This is not so in general, says Delgado (p. 311), but is true

only of some individuals among the various nations.

[168] M. reads "respect the Spaniard more."

The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 - Volume 40 of 55, 1690-1691 Explorations by Early Navigators, Descriptions of the Islands and Their Peoples, Their History and Records of the Catholic Missions, as Related in Contemporaneous Books and Manuscripts, Showing the Political, Economic, Commercial and Religious Conditions of Those Islands from Their Earliest Relations with European Nations to the Close of the Nineteenth Century · 第 12 / 13 章

488. In regard to money of silver or gold they did not possess it