certain that a generation ago nearly if not quite two-thirds of the
children were slain by their mothers, and few mothers were guiltless of
the blood of their own offspring. The explanation of the prevalence of
this species of massacre is readily discernible in the following
paragraph from Ellis's _Researches_: "During the whole of their lives
the females were subject to the most abasing degradation; and their sex
was often, at their birth, the cause of their destruction. If the
purpose of the unnatural parents had not been fully matured before, the
circumstance of its being a female child was often sufficient to fix
their determination on its death. Whenever we have asked them what could
induce them to make a distinction so invidious, they have generally
answered,--that the fisheries, the service of the temple, and especially
war, were the only purposes for which they thought it desirable to rear
children; that in these pursuits women were comparatively useless; and
therefore female children were frequently not suffered to live. Facts
fully confirm these statements."
Dense superstition, too, has sometimes played a part in this murder of
children. In Central Africa, for example, it is held with religious
scrupulosity that twin children should never be allowed to live. When
children are born with a deformity, they are despatched as a matter of
course. And yet, notwithstanding all these horrors, the instinct, even
of the most debased mothers, is toward the love and preservation of
their offspring. From the earliest days, this care for the infant, the
helpless, and the weak has been the most powerful counterpoise to
abnormal self-seeking. These two characteristics, self-giving and
self-seeking, are among the most potent factors in the development of
all the races of mankind.
The Filipino woman has lately had for us fresh interest. Indeed, the
women of the Philippine Islands are among the most interesting in the
world. In the mountains of Luzon and in the other out-of-the-way places
are the negritos, or little negroes, of whom we have written in an
earlier portion of this chapter. These little people are shoved away
into the mountain regions, where the resources of life are as meagre as
they can be if existence is to endure. In the lower parts of the
archipelago, which are more accessible to the coast, will be found the
descendants of an old Malayo-Polynesian race; these are characterized by
their primitive industrial life. A later immigration of the same stock
brought people to the island who have developed alphabets, metallurgic
arts carried on by the men, and weaving and needlework done by the
women. Closely following these, and because there were opportunities for
commerce, came the more cultivated races of Eastern Asia, Chinese,
Japanese, Siamese, and even Hindoos, to mingle their blood with these
more primitive stocks. In the twelfth century of our era, Mohammedanized
Malays took possession of the southern part of the archipelago. These
people are called Moros, or Moors. Leaving out the negritos, who are
only a little mixed with the other races, the other peoples we have
mentioned have mingled their blood with the modern population, the
Spanish and Portuguese, who have come in since the sixteenth century.
The commingling of blood has been favorable to the modern Filipinos, and
many regard their women as worthy of being admired for their grace and
beauty. Notwithstanding their great variety of racial stocks, the women
of Manila have a certain common physiognomy, the Malay type being the
strongest element in their composite face. Features that mark the yellow
races are also quite prominent in many of the Filipino women.
As in other races of the same grade of culture, the marriage tie is a
part of the social system. Clan relationship, by whatever name it may be
called, governs the selection of a spouse. The bond has been a very
loose one in the islands, and it has not been an uncommon thing for men
and women to break up their relationships unceremoniously and form new
ones. Among a people composed of so many elements, wide differences may
be expected in the matter of marriage. The Igorrotes, or wild
inhabitants of Luzon, though primitive in development, are monogamous.
The clan system is broken down and a young man is allowed to take the
woman of his choice with little ceremony, and they become man and wife.
Many astonishing customs are, of course, found among these people. For
example, Alfred Marche calls attention to a form of voluntary slavery.
It is that of a young man who wants to marry. In many places, he is
bound to work for two or three years as a simple domestic in the house
of the father of his fiancee. During this time he is fed, but never
takes his place at the same table with the young girl. He is allowed to
walk with her and to sleep under the same roof, but he may not eat with
her.
When the young man has passed this stage, he must, before the ceremony
of marriage, build a house and make certain indispensable purchases. He
must also pay all the expenses of the marriage. The affair does not
always terminate as regularly as one could wish. The father sometimes
seeks a quarrel with his future son-in-law at the moment when the
ceremony is about to take place, and admits a new aspirant for his
daughter's hand. The newcomer undertakes to work for him without any
scruples. The house, which is of little value, is all that remains to
the late fiance as a consolation.
De Morgan, who travelled in the Philippine Islands for the Spanish
government and published his account, in the City of Mexico, in 1609,
gives an account of the native women three hundred years ago.
The women of Luzon are described as wearing sleeves of all colors which
they call _baros_. White cotton stuffs were wrapped or folded from the
waist downward to the feet, and over these sometimes was a thin cloak
folded gracefully. The people of the highest rank substituted silk or
fine native fabrics for the cotton, and added gold chains, bracelets,
and earrings, and rings on their fingers. Their hair, which is
exceedingly black, was tied gracefully in a knot on the back of their
head. Many of these characteristics noted by De Morgan may still be seen
among the women of the islands. The closer contact of the Philippine
Islands with the mainland and more particularly with western commerce
and civilization is destined to work many and possibly rapid changes
even in the customs and ideals of the women whose native conservatism
has held them for many centuries very much in the same groove of life
and daily routine.
The women of Luzon have always been cleanly and elegant in their
persons, and they are attractive and graceful. Much time is spent on
their hair, which is frequently washed and anointed with the oil of
sesame prepared with musk. They spend much time on their teeth, and
formerly began at a tender age to file them into the shape demanded by
the customs of the country. They also dyed their teeth black. Like the
Moorish women, the Filipinos are fond of the bath; they frequent the
rivers and creeks and bathe throughout the entire year, the genial
climate allowing such pastime.
As in other countries below the grade of civilization, the industrial
employments of the Philippines are largely for the women. To them is the
task of spinning and weaving the exceptionally delicate fabric of the
archipelago into the finest cloth. They also are the food purveyors,
assisting in gathering food material, pounding it in their simple mills
and serving it. In their cuisine are such vegetables as sweet potatoes,
beans, plantains, guavas, pineapples, and oranges. The women rear fowls
and domestic animals, and take upon themselves the entire care of the
family and household.
While the women of all countries have always been the natural and most
persistent conservers of ancient ideals and racial customs, yet it may
be predicted that the throwing of the Filipino tribes into contact with
New World politics, trade, and customs will, at length, bring about
marked social changes. These must eventually give to the women of the
Filipinos a wider outlook upon life and a new power to carry its
burdens.
CONTENTS
PREFACE
I WOMEN OF THE DAWN
II ISRAEL'S HEROIC AGE
III THE DAYS OF THE KINGS
IV THE ERA OF POLITICAL DECLINE
V THE BABYLONIAN AND ASSYRIAN WOMEN
VI THE LAND OF THE LOTUS
VII THE WOMEN OF THE HINDOOS
VIII BESIDE THE PERSIAN GULF
IX THE WOMEN OF ARABIA
X THE TURKISH WOMEN
XI THE MOORISH WOMEN
XII WOMEN OF CHINA AND COREA
XIII UNDER THE CHERRY BLOSSOMS--THE WOMEN OF JAPAN
XIV WOMEN OF THE BACKWARD RACES OF THE EAST
LIST OF ILLUSTRATION
SUBJECT ARTIST
Rebekah and Isaac's agent, Eliezer _A. Cabanel_
_Ghawazi C. L. Muller_
Interior court of a zenana _From an Indo-Persian painting_
An Oriental woman's pastime _Frederick A. Bridgman_
The mutes _P. L. Bouchard_
Woman's taste in Japan _Charles E. Fripp_