Cross or Crescent?
In the lower part of the Philippine group, in the islands of Sulu
and Mindanao, the Catholic Spanish conqueror early came into conflict
with a religion not less intense and fanatical than his own. The story
of this fierce struggle between Malay Mussulman and Spanish Catholic
reads not unlike the more celebrated conflict between Christian and
Mohammedan in the days of good King Ferdinand and pious Isabella. Here,
too, was waged that dire battle of the creeds that deluged half of
Europe with holy blood. Here, too, was mutual advance and retreat,
but no reconciliation--no conversion.
The island of Sulu, on account of its position between Mindanao
and Borneo, became, in this wise, populated by the followers of
the Prophet: About three centuries ago Paguian Tindig, a Borneo
chief, quarreled with his brother and was forced to flee for his
life. He landed on Sulu Island, where he soon achieved great fame
as a warrior. His cousin, Adasaolan, who had accompanied him, had
taken up his abode in Basilan. Here he lorded it over the natives,
but acknowledged the suzerainty of the Spaniards.
Adasaolan married a Mahometan princess--a daughter of the King
of Mindanao, where, it appears, Islamism had been carried by Arab
missionaries.
Soon afterward, Adasaolan, longing for the possession of the fat acres
of Sulu, attacked his cousin Tindig, and vanquished that intrepid
soldier, who died fighting bravely. However, Rajah Bongso, and not
Adasaolan, succeeded Tindig. Nevertheless, Adasaolan had, with the
aid of friends from Borneo and Mindanao, introduced Mahometanism into
Sulu, which has since become the Mecca of the Philippines.
In 1596 the Spaniards sent an expedition to Mindanao, but were
repulsed. Their ravages and constant desire for conquest embittered the
Mohammedans,--who, retaliating, began to fit out expeditions against
their Christian enemies; like birds of prey they hovered round the
bays with their prahus, penetrating every inlet. These pirates soon
became the terror of the Spanish coasts, and were as brave as they were
merciless. For three centuries they preyed upon Spanish merchantmen,
pillaged the northern towns and villages, massacring the old and
helpless, leading thousands of Christian women into concubinage, and
tens of thousands of able-bodied men into slavery. Myriads were thus
murdered, and incalculable damage done, all because of the continued
attempt of the Spaniards to win their southern neighbors to their
own faith.
In 1750 the Sultan Mahamed Alimudin, having been deposed by his
brother, Prince Bantilan, visited Manila. He was lavishly entertained
by the Priest-Governor, who was unceasing in his efforts to persuade
him to embrace Christianity. The Sultan at last yielded and was
baptized. He was christened Ferdinand I. of Sulu. The rank of a
Spanish Lieutenant-General was also accorded him.
All this was done with great pomp and ceremony. Te Deums were sung
in all the churches; glittering processions marched daily through
the streets; comedies were acted on the streets, for the benefit of
the populace, who shared in the general rejoicing: bull-fights and
other equally delightful and harmless recreations were also the order
of the day--all given at the expense of the Church, which regarded
the conversion of the Head of the hated Mussulmans as an event of no
ordinary importance.
The Sultan's State.
The Sultan lived in great state. He had a retinue of sixty persons,
and was accompanied by many of the princes of the blood. All lived
on the generous bounty of Spain.
Measures were now apparently begun to restore the deposed monarch
to his throne. But the Spaniards pretended to discover that the
Sultan harbored designs against them, and that he possessed a secret
preference for the Mussulman faith. For this crime he, with all his
relatives and retainers, 160 in number, was cast into prison, where
he was confined several years.
A decree of extermination was then declared against the Mohammedans. A
fleet of ships, carrying 2000 men, at once proceeded to Sulu, which
the natives defended most ably. The Spanish campaign proved a dismal
failure, and awful were the reprisals of the infuriated Mussulmans.
In 1755 most of the Sultan's suite was sent back to Sulu, though the
Sultan himself was still kept in close confinement.
The wily Mohammedan again professed Christianity; but, though the
Sultan was henceforth treated with greater leniency, he was not
released: he remained captive in Manila until the occupation of the
British, in 1763, who restored him to his throne in Sulu.
As might be expected, Mahamed lost no opportunity to avenge the insults
that his hereditary enemies had for so many years been heaping upon
him; accordingly, he led several incursions against them.
I have not space here to recount the various expeditions of the
Spaniards against their southern neighbors. I shall, instead, mention
only the more prominent ones of recent years.
In 1851, Sulu Town, the capital of Sulu, was attacked and razed by
the Spaniards. Their advantage, however, proved but temporary. The
Mohammedans now changed their capital to Maybun on the south coast,
which is far less accessible.
In 1860, Governor-General Norzagaray led another expedition against
the Mohammedans. This also met with some success; but none of it was
decisive. On account of the persistent renewals of the hated Sulu
piracy in 1876, another expedition, under Vice-Admiral Malcampo,
pierced the interior of Sulu, where he was ambushed and attacked by
a body of juramentados,--formidable fanatics, armed with javelins
and the deadly kris. He returned to Manila having sustained great loss.
The Dreaded Juramentados.
These juramentados are Mohammedans, who, having taken an inviolable
oath to shed the blood of the hated Christian, and, having absolutely
no fear of death, are as dangerous as they are fanatical.
By the laws of Sulu, the bankrupt debtor is the slave of his creditor;
and not only he, but likewise his wife and children, whom he can free
only by the sacrifice of his life--by enrolling himself in the ranks of
the juramentados, who combine the performance of a religious duty with
the patriotic pleasure of killing their Christian enemy. The panditas,
or priests, encourage him in this resolve until he is brought to a very
frenzy of enthusiasm. In their meetings the priests sing to these sworn
assassins impassioned chants, that hold out the most entrancing visions
of the joys of Paradise, perpetual happiness, and the honeyed kisses
and rapturous embraces of beautiful houris. Similar to the Druids of
old, they, too, stand like avenging deities in the religious gloom of
the forests, and incite these fanatics to the destruction of their
enemies: they promise eternal reward; holding up to their excited
imaginations delightful pictures of sensual enjoyment.
Thus lashed into a fury of madness, the juramentado becomes more
beast than human, and is forever lusting for murder. He oils his
supple limbs and rushes ferociously into the conflict. Nothing
can stay him. He knows that he is going to certain death--that is
but the door to Paradise! In his excitement he feels no pain; and,
though severely wounded, he will continue his furious onset until
killed. Hence, he cares not how many oppose him; the more the better;
he will probably succeed in doing greater execution.
A distinguished French scientist, Dr. Montano, gives a vivid
description of the entry of eleven juramentados into the village of
Tianzgi. Divided into three or four bands they secretly entered the
town, by concealing themselves, with their krises, in loads of fodder
that they pretended to have for sale. After stabbing the guards they
rushed up the street,--striking at all whom they met.
The soldiers in the garrison, hearing the cry "Los
juramentados!" seized their guns and advanced to meet them.
The mad Mahometans rushed blindly on them, cutting and slashing right
and left. Again and again, though shot and shattered by the hail
of bullets, they rose and flung themselves upon their enemies. One
of them, though transfixed by a bayonet, remained erect,--struggling
fiercely to reach the soldier that had impaled him. Nor would he cease
his furious efforts till another soldier had blown his brains out
with a pistol. Before all of the juramentados could be killed, they
had hacked fifteen soldiers to pieces, besides wounding many others.
"And what wounds!" says Dr. Montano; "the head of one corpse is cut
off as clean as if it had been done with a razor; another soldier is
cut almost in two. The first of the wounded to come under my hand
was a soldier of the Third Regiment, who was mounting guard at the
gate through which some of the assassins entered. His left arm was
fractured in three places; his shoulder and breast were literally
cut up like mince-meat; amputation appeared to be the only chance
for him; but in that lacerated flesh there was no longer a spot from
which could be cut a shred."
The Extent of Mohammedan Rule.
The Mussulmans are, indeed, over the whole of the island
of Mindanao. It is under the Sultanate of Sulu, there being two
Sultanates in the island. Not more than a fourth of Mindanao is under
Spanish rule, although by an old treaty, never enforced, Spain claimed
suzerainty over all the territory subject to the Sultan of Sulu. This
treaty was formally recognized at the close of the war of 1876.
In the interior of Mindanao are many fierce and savage tribes,
owning allegiance to no government, controlled only by their own
fierce passions.
A bagani, or man of might, is one that has won recognition by having
cut off sixty heads. This entitles him to wear a scarlet turban. No
one not a bagani can be a chief. Thus, murder and assassination are
legalized and honored.
The Mandayas, to escape from the baganis, are wont to build their
huts in the branches of lofty trees, thirty or forty feet from the
ground. Here they climb when attacked, defending themselves by hurling
stones upon their assailants. The baganis usually attempt to take
them by surprise, shooting burning arrows at the ærial habitation,
that they may set it on fire. Sometimes, it is said, the bagani
will climb up to the hut with their shields locked together above
them. Then, cutting down the posts that support this abode in the
tree-tops, they soon bring the besieged to terms. The captives are
then divided among the besiegers--the heads of the dead and of the
wounded, and of all the grown males, are cut off, and the women and
children are carried away captives.
Such is the interior of Mindanao; and from this description it can
readily be seen how ineffective has been the Spanish occupation of
that island.
In 1877 a protocol was signed by England and Germany recognizing
Spain's rights to the Tawi-Tawi group and the chain of islands from
Sulu to Borneo.
In 1885 the heir to the Sultanate, having failed to appear in Manila,
where he had been cited to receive his investiture at the hands of
the Governor-General, as had for some years been the custom, another
chief, Datto Harun, was selected by the Spanish Government to take
his place. He took the oath of allegiance to the King of Spain, and
was supported in his office. Two years later several chiefs found
another pretext for rebellion, but they were finally compelled to
yield their submission. Over this trifling victory the Spaniards made
a great display.
Hardly had the Mohammedan chiefs submitted, when war broke out afresh
and Colonel Arolas was sent to the scene of the disturbance. He
defeated the natives in several engagements, and, at last, a permanent
peace was established. The Sulu protectorate comprises Sulu Mindanao,
and about 140 other islands; many of these are uninhabited. Next to
Luzon, Mindanao is the largest island in the Archipelago. Sulu is
about 35 miles long and 12 miles broad. The population of Mindanao
is unknown. Luzon contains about 125,000 Mohammedans, many of whom
are slaves.
Sulu Customs.
The fierce and conservative nature of the people, the peculiar
and long-rooted feudal laws, the presence of an ancient dynasty,
and of an ineradicable, fanatical belief,--these are a few phases
of the complex problem to be met now. So far, the Spaniards have
succeeded in maintaining their protectorate only by a protracted
military occupation, which, as I have said, has by no means been
always effective.
The Sulu Islanders dress with great taste. The women are fond of bright
colors and love to adorn themselves with jewelry. They have the baggy
nether dual-garment, so dear to all other women of their faith. Their
tight-fitting bodice is usually covered with arabesque designs. In
embroidering them they show great skill. For a head-covering they
wear the jabul, a long strip of stuff, sewn like a deep narrow sack,
open at the sides. This, if allowed to fall, would reach down to the
feet; the end, however, is always held under the arm. The women are
usually very graceful, and many are also pretty.
The men wear tight breeches, usually a scarlet, or of some other
bright, color. On the sides are rows of shining buttons, that
give a very dazzling effect. A buttoned waistcoat, a jacket with
close-fitting sleeves, and a turban complete a costume that is as
picturesque as it is unique. The men are handsome and very robust,
lithe and active. Their complexion is a dusky bronze, and they have
piercing black eyes. Their forehead is low, and their black hair
falls in glossy waves upon the neck. Though brave and daring to an
extraordinary degree, they are conservative and cautious--no less quick
in mind than agile in body, and always sober and self-contained. They
are extremely suspicious, and as merciless when angry as they are
obstinate and vindictive. They are far more artistic than their
Christian neighbors in the north. Their coats of mail, krises,
lances, swords, and other weapons are of their own making. They are
most skilful navigators, too, which accounts for their success as
pirates. All males over sixteen years of age bear arms. The office
of chief is hereditary. When a chief dies, the pandita, or priest,
chants a requiem, while the attendants beat a hollow piece of wood
that serves as a gong. The neighbors rush in, and shout and stamp
their feet while the body is sprinkled with salt. A successor is
then proclaimed. The panditas have great power over their flocks,
inciting them to frequent fasts and to furious flagellations. Many
and varied are the ceremonials of their belief.
The Spanish Government derives no taxes from the Sulu Protectorate,
but gives the Sultan a pension of $2,400 a year. The Sultan is called
the Stainless One, and is the chief of both Church and State. He is an
irresponsible despot, and the head of the feudal system. The Sultanate
is hereditary under the Salic law. The Sultan has his Advisory Council
and his Ministers. He lives in considerable state in the centre of
the new capital, Maybun, in a large well-constructed palace of wood.
The roomy vestibule is always lined with an abundant display of
indigenous plants and shrubs, dazzling to the eye and intoxicating
to the senses. It is, indeed, as if the entire tropic realm had
been ravished of its richest, rarest, and most gorgeous specimens of
plant-life to glorify this spacious entrance-way. From there on to
the throne-room is of but little interest.
Of course, letters, despatches, or verbal requests of foreigners
have all to be transmitted through the official interpreter, servants
meanwhile flitting about, in the gayest and most ludicrous costumes,
offering betel-nut to each and everyone,--to the bevy of Sultanas
and to foreign guests, all seated on silken and highly embroidered
cushions scattered on the floor.
In the town of Maybun there is nothing to be seen of any note, but
the country round about is magnificent.
Slavery exists by birth and conquest. Rice, Indian corn, sugar-cane,
indigo, and coffee are the common products of the Sultanate. The
chief export is pearls, for which the natives dive often a hundred
feet. They frequently attack sharks, which they fight with the deadly
kris, never failing to come off victors.