_Which treats of the rites and ceremonies observed by the Moros in
the vicinity of Manilla, and of their social conditions_
_The god Batala_. According to the religion formerly observed by these
Moros, they worshiped a deity called among them Batala, which properly
means "God." They said that they adored this Batala because he was
the Lord of all, and had created human beings and villages. They said
that this Batala had many agents under him, whom he sent to this world
to produce, in behalf of men, what is yielded here. These beings were
called _anitos_, and each anito had a special office. Some of them were
for the fields, and some for those who journey by sea; some for those
who went to war, and some for diseases. Each anito was therefore named
for his office; there was, for instance, the anito of the fields, and
the anito of the rain. To these anitos the people offered sacrifices,
when they desired anything--to each one according to his office. The
mode of sacrifice was like that of the Pintados. They summoned a
_catalonan_, which is the same as the vaylan among the Pintados,
that is, a priest. He offered the sacrifice, requesting from the
anito whatever the people desired him to ask, and heaping up great
quantities of rice, meat, and fish. His invocations lasted until
the demon entered his body, when the catalonan fell into a swoon,
foaming at the mouth. The Indians sang, drank, and feasted until the
catalonan came to himself, and told them the answer that the anito
had given to him. If the sacrifice was in behalf of a sick person,
they offered many golden chains and ornaments, saying that they were
paying a ransom for the sick person's health. This invocation of the
anito continued as long as the sickness lasted.
When the natives were asked why the sacrifices were offered to the
anito, and not to the Batala, they answered that the Batala was a
great lord, and no one could speak to him. He lived in the sky;
but the anito, who was of such a nature that he came down here
to talk with men, was to the Batala as a minister, and interceded
for them. In some places and especially in the mountain districts,
when the father, mother, or other relative dies, the people unite in
making a small wooden idol, and preserve it. Accordingly there is a
house which contains one hundred or two hundred of these idols. These
images also are called _anitos_; for they say that when people die,
they go to serve the Batala. Therefore they make sacrifices to these
anitos, offering them food, wine, and gold ornaments; and request them
to be intercessors for them before the Batala, whom they regard as God.
_Government of the Moros_. Among the Moros there is precisely the same
lack of government as among the Pintados. They had chiefs in their
respective districts, whom the people obeyed; they punished criminals,
and laid down the laws that must be observed. In the villages, where
they had ten or twelve chiefs, one only--the richest of them--was
he whom all obeyed. They greatly esteem an ancient lineage, which is
therefore a great advantage to him who desires to be a lord. When laws
were to be enacted for governing the commonwealth, the greatest chief,
whom all the rest obeyed, assembled in his own house all the other
chiefs of the village; and when they had come, he made a speech,
declaring that, to correct the many criminal acts which were being
committed, it was necessary that they impose penalties and enact
ordinances, so that these evils might be remedied and that all might
live in peace. This policy was not in vogue among the Pintados, because
no one of them was willing to recognize another as his superior. Then
the other chiefs replied that this seemed good to them; and that,
since he was the greatest chief of all, he might do whatever appeared
to him just, and they would approve it. Accordingly, that chief made
such regulations as he deemed necessary; for these Moros possess
the art of writing, which no other natives of the islands have. The
other chiefs approved what he ordained. Immediately came a public
crier, whom they call _umalahocan_, who is properly a mayor-domo, or
steward; he took a bell and went through the village, announcing in
each district the regulations which had been made. The people replied
that they would obey. Thus the umalahocan went from village to village,
through the whole district of this chief; and from that time on he who
incurred the penalties of law was taken to the chief, who sentenced him
accordingly. If the penalty be death, and the condemned man say that
he prefers to be a slave, he is pardoned, and becomes a slave. All the
other chiefs are also judges, each in his own district; but when any
important case arises the head chief calls all the others together, in
order to decide it, and the affair is settled by the vote of all. The
chiefs are accustomed to impose the taxes; but there is no fixed
amount for these, save what the proper judge decrees shall be paid.
_Marriages_. These Moros followed in their marriages the same customs
as those of the Pintados, in giving the dowry. Thus, if the man
should, contrary to the woman's desire, break his pledge and annul the
marriage, he would lose the dowry, and she would retain it, free from
him. Likewise, if the wife left the husband she was obliged to return
him the dowry. If she committed adultery and the husband therefore
left her, she returned him double the amount of the dowry. If the wife
left the husband in order to marry another, the second husband was
obliged to repay to the first husband the dowry which the latter had
given to the woman, and to pay a fine, more or less--such an amount
as the judge should order him to give. If the husband were a chief,
and caught his wife in the act of committing adultery, he had the
right to punish her with death, and the adulterer also, and could
slay them with impunity. If he killed one and the other escaped,
there would be open war between the two families until the other
adulterer died. If both escaped, they must pay for their lives with
a certain weight of gold. If they were chiefs, the penalty was one
hundred taes, fifty for the woman and fifty for the adulterer. This
done, they were pardoned, and remained friends. If they were timaguas,
they incurred a lighter penalty.
_Wars_. In wars and slavery among the Moros, they observed the same
customs as did the Pintados.
_Thieves_. There was among the natives a law concerning thieves. It
was a petty theft if the amount were less than four taes (that is,
twenty pesos); but if more than that sum, it was a serious offense. He
who committed the former must return the gold, and then be sentenced,
at the will of the judge, to pay a fine in money. If it were the
greater theft, involving an amount of four taes or upward, he incurred
the penalty of slavery. But if the goods stolen amounted to a cati
[catty] of gold, the penalty was death, or the enslavement of the
culprit and his children and all those of his household.
It was also a law that for the first theft the penalty was a fine
in money, and for the second, slavery; for further offenses, it was
death. Or if pardoned, as described above, he was made a slave,
with his wife and children. This punishment did not apply to the
son who proved that he was outside the house--whether he dwelt in a
house of his own or lived with relatives on an independent footing;
and therefore he was free. Only those who lived in the house of the
delinquent were liable to punishment, because they all were suspected
of knowledge of the theft.
There was also a law that anyone who spoke disrespectfully of a chief,
or uttered abusive language to him, was liable to death. If he could
redeem his life, a fine of fifteen taes of gold was imposed. If he did
not have the means to pay and relatives did not contribute to ransom
him, and the delinquent begged for mercy, saying that then he would
become a slave, his life was spared, and he became the slave of the
injured party. For this reason the penalty of a fine was available
for him who possessed wealth. If the quarrel were between persons
of equal rank, the chiefs settled the matter according to justice
and their laws, and the like penalty was imposed. If the delinquent
refused to pay according to this sentence, war was declared between
the villages or the factions. Hostilities then followed; and from
that time those who were captured were enslaved.
_One may be released after paying the sum decreed; until then he
is a slave._ It was a law that if, when two timaguas were together,
either of them insulted the other, he must pay a sum of money according
to the nature of the insult, which was decided by the judge. If the
insult were a gross one, the fine was large accordingly; and if the
culprit had not the means to pay more than five taes, he became the
slave of the injured person. If the delinquent begged from the chief
or some other friend the favor of lending him the money, he became
the slave of him who loaned the money. This slavery extended only to
the culprit, and not to his children or relatives, except to children
who were born during his slavery.
It is usual among the natives of this island to aid one another with
money-loans. He who borrowed from a chief or a timagua retained the
money until a fixed time had elapsed, during which he might use the
money that was lent to him; and besides, he divided with the lender
the profit that he made, in acknowledgment of the favor that he
had received.
It was a law that if he who borrowed the money became insolvent, and
had not means to pay his debt, he was considered a slave therefor,
together with the children born during his slavery; those already
born were free.
It was a law among these people, when two men formed a business
partnership in which each placed the same amount of money, that
if one of them went to traffic with the money belonging to both,
and while on a trading journey were captured by enemies, the other
man who remained in the village must go to ransom his partner,
with half of the ransom-price agreed upon; and the captive was then
released from liability--not only for what was due to the partnership,
but for the amount which was afterward given for his ransom, and was
not obliged to pay anything. If the man who lost the money lost it in
gambling, or by spending it with women, he was obliged to repay to the
partnership the amount which he had drawn therefrom, and he and his
children were obliged to pay it. If the amount were so great that they
could not pay it within the time agreed upon, he and half his children
would become the slaves of the partner. If there were two children,
one was a slave and the other was free; if four, two were slaves,
and two free; and so on with any larger number. If the children were
able to pay their father's debt afterward, they were set free.
It was a law that he who killed another must die; but if he begged for
mercy he would become the slave of the dead man's father, children, or
nearest relatives. If four or five men were concerned in the murder,
they all paid to the master of the slave the price which the slave
might be worth; and then the judge sentenced them to such punishment
as he thought just. If the men had not means to pay the fine, they
became slaves. If the dead man were a timagua, the penalty of death
was incurred by those who were proved to be his murderers; but if
the condemned men begged for mercy they became slaves. Accordingly,
after they were sentenced the culprit might choose between death and
slavery. If the man slain were a chief, the entire village where he
was slain must, when that was proved, become slaves, those who were
most guilty being first put to death. If the murderers were private
persons only, three or four of the most guilty were put to death,
without any resource in mercy; and the rest, with their children,
became slaves.
When any person entered the house of a chief by night, against
the will of the owner, he incurred the death penalty. It was their
custom that when such an offender was caught he was first tortured,
to ascertain whether any other chief had sent him. If he confessed
that he had been thus sent, he was punished by enslavement; and he
who had sent him incurred the death penalty, but might be released
therefrom by paying a certain amount of gold for the crime.
He who committed adultery was, if he were one of the chiefs, punished
with death; the same penalty was inflicted upon any man who was caught
with the concubine of a chief. Similarly, the husband might kill the
adulterer, if caught in the act. If perchance he escaped by flight,
he was condemned to pay a fine in money; and until this was done
there was enmity between the two families concerned. The same law
was in force among the timaguas.
This relation was written by order of the governor of these islands.
_Miguel de Loarca_
of the town of Arevalo.
was also one of the first, among those who came to these islands,
who showed any curiosity regarding these matters; and therefore I
consider this a reliable and true account.
[_Endorsed at end_: "A memoir regarding the peculiarities of these
islands, written in obedience to a decree of his Majesty. To the
royal Council of the Indies."]
[_Endorsed on outside wrapper_: "Relation of the Filipinas Islands,
their discovery, the Spanish settlements, the usages and customs
of the natives, their religion, etc.; written, in virtue of a royal
decree, by Miguel de Loarca, a citizen of the town of Arevalo, one
of the earliest conquerors and settlers." _A similar endorsement is
written on the inside cover of the MS_.]