[The walled city of Manila.] The city proper of Manila, inhabited by
Spaniards, Creoles, the Filipinos directly connected with them, and
Chinese, lies, surrounded by walls and wide ditches, on the left or
southern bank of the Pasig, looking towards the sea. [42] It is a hot,
dried-up place, full of monasteries, convents, barracks, and government
buildings. Safety, not appearance, was the object of its builders. It
reminds the beholder of a Spanish provincial town, and is, next to Goa,
the oldest city in the Indies. Foreigners reside on the northern bank
of the river; in Binondo, the headquarters of wholesale and retail
commerce, or in the pleasant suburban villages, which blend into
a considerable whole. [Population.] The total population of city
and suburbs has been estimated, perhaps with some exaggeration,
at 200,000. [Bridges.] A handsome old stone bridge of ten arches
serves as the communication between the two banks of the Pasig,
which, more recently, has also been spanned by an iron suspension
bridge. [43] Very little intercourse exists between the inhabitants
of Manila and Binondo. [Friction between classes.] Life in the city
proper cannot be very pleasant; pride, envy, place-hunting, and caste
hatred, are the order of the day; the Spaniards consider themselves
superior to the creoles, who, in their turn, reproach the former with
the taunt that they have only come to the colony to save themselves
from starvation. A similar hatred and envy exists between the whites
and the mestizos. This state of things is to be found in all Spanish
colonies, and is chiefly caused by the colonial policy of Madrid,
which always does its best to sow discord between the different races
and classes of its foreign possessions, under the idea that their
union would imperil the sway of the mother country. [44]
[Few large landowners.] In Manila, moreover, this state of things was
rendered worse by the fact that the planter class, whose large landed
possessions always give it a strong interest in the country of its
inhabitance, was entirely wanting. At the present day, however, the
increasing demand for the produce of the colony seems to be bringing
about a pleasant change in this respect. [Spaniards transient.] The
manner in which the Spanish population of the Islands was affected
by the gambling ventures of the galleons, at one time the only
source of commercial wealth, is thus described by Murillo Velarde
(page 272):--"The Spaniards who settle here look upon these Islands
as a tavern rather than a permanent home. If they marry, it is by the
merest chance; where can a family be found that has been settled here
for several generations? The father amasses wealth, the son spends it,
the grandson is a beggar. The largest capitals are not more stable than
the waves of the ocean, across the crests of which they were gathered."
[Discomforts and the high cost of living.] There is nothing like
the same amount of sociability amongst the foreigners in Binondo as
prevails in English and Dutch colonies; and scarcely any intercourse at
all with the Spaniards, who envy the strangers and almost seem to look
upon the gains the latter make in the country as so many robberies
committed upon themselves, its owners. Besides all this, living is
very expensive, much more so than in Singapore and Batavia. To many,
the mere cost of existence seems greatly out of proportion to their
official salaries. The (European style) houses, which are generally
spacious, are gloomy and ugly, and not well ventilated for such a
climate. Instead of light jalousies, they are fitted with heavy sash
windows, which admit the light through thin oyster shells, forming
small panes scarcely two square inches in area, and held together by
laths an inch thick. The ground floors of the houses are, on account
of the great damp, sensibly enough, generally uninhabited; and are
used as cellars, stables, and servant's offices.
[Native houses comfortable and unchanged.] The unassuming, but for
their purposes very practical houses, of boards, bamboos, and (nipa)
palm leaves, are supported on account of the damp on isolated beams
or props; and the space beneath, which is generally fenced in with
a railing, is used as a stable or a warehouse; such was the case
as early as the days of Magellan. These dwellings [45] are very
lightly put together. La Pérouse estimates the weight of some of them,
furniture and all, at something less than two hundred pounds. Nearly
all these houses, as well as the huts of the natives, are furnished
with an azotea, that is, an uncovered space, on the same level as the
dwelling, which takes the place of yard and balcony. The Spaniards
appear to have copied this useful contrivance from the Moors, but the
natives were acquainted with them before the arrival of the Europeans,
for Morga mentions similar batalanes.
[Neglected river and canals offensive.] In the suburbs nearly every
hut stands in its own garden. The river is often quite covered with
green scum; and dead cats and dogs surrounded with weeds, which look
like cabbage-lettuce, frequently adorn its waters. In the dry season,
the numerous canals of the suburbs are so many stagnant drains,
and at each ebb of the tide the ditches around the town exhibit a
similar spectacle.
[Dreary and unprogressive life.] Manila offers very few opportunities
for amusement. There was no Spanish theatre open during my stay there,
but Tagalog plays (translations) were sometimes represented. The town
possessed no club, and contained no readable books. Never once did
the least excitement enliven its feeble newspapers, for the items
of intelligence, forwarded fortnightly from Hongkong, were sifted by
priestly censors, who left little but the chronicles of the Spanish
and French courts to feed the barren columns of the local sheets. [46]
The pompously celebrated religious festivals were the only events
that sometimes chequered the wearisome monotony.
[Cock-fighting.] The chief amusement of the Filipinos is cock-fighting,
which is carried on with a passionate eagerness that must strike every
stranger. Nearly every man keeps a fighting cock. Many are never seen
out of doors without their favorite in their arms; they pay as much
as $50 and upwards for these pets, and heap the tenderest caresses
on them. The passion for cock-fighting can well be termed a national
vice; but the practice may have been introduced by the Spaniards, or
the Mexicans who accompanied them, as, in a like manner, the habit of
smoking opium among the Chinese, which has become a national curse,
was first introduced by the English. [Probably Malay Custom.] It is,
however, more probable that the Malays brought the custom into the
country. In the eastern portion of the Philippines, cock-fighting
was unknown in the days of Pigafetta. The first cock-fight he met
with was at Palawan. "They keep large cocks, which from a species of
superstition, they never eat, but keep for fighting purposes. Heavy
bets are made on the upshot of the contest, which are paid to the
owner of the winning bird." [47] The sight is one extremely repulsive
to Europeans. [The cockpit.] The ring around the cockpit is crowded
with men, perspiring at every pore, while their countenances bear
the imprint of the ugliest passions. Each bird is armed with a sharp
curved spur, three inches long capable of making deep wounds, and which
always causes the death of one or both birds by the serious injuries it
inflicts. If a cock shows symptoms of fear and declines the encounter,
it is plucked alive. Incredibly large sums, in proportion to the means
of the gamblers, are wagered on the result. [Its bad influence.] It
is very evident that these cock-fights must have a most demoralising
effect upon a people so addicted to idleness and dissipation, and so
accustomed to give way to the impulse of the moment. Their effect
is to make them little able to resist the temptation of procuring
money without working for it. The passion for the game leads many
to borrow at usury, to embezzlement, to theft, and even to highway
robbery. The land and sea pirates, of whom I shall speak presently,
are principally composed of ruined gamesters. [48]
[Feminine attractiveness.] In the comeliness of the women who
lend animation to its streets Manila surpasses all other towns in
the Indian Archipelago. Mallat describes them in glowing colors. A
charming picture of Manila street life, full of local color, is given
in the very amusing Aventures d'un Gentilhomme Breton. [49]
[Mestizas.] How many of the prettiest Filipinas are of perfectly
unmixed blood, it is, I confess, difficult to decide. Many of them
are very fair and of quite an European type, and are thereby easily
distinguished from their sisters in the outlying provinces. The
immediate environs of Manila can boast many beautiful spots, but
they are not the resort of the local rank and fashion, the object
of whose daily promenade is the display of their toilettes, and not
the enjoyment of nature. In the hot season, all who can afford it
are driven every evening along the [The Luneta.] dusty streets to
a promenade on the beach, which was built a short time back, where
several times a week the band of a native regiment plays fairly good
music, and there walk formally up and down. All the Spaniards [The
Angelas.] are in uniform or in black frock coats. When the bells ring
out for evening prayer, carriages, horsemen, pedestrians, all suddenly
stand motionless; the men take off their hats, and everybody appears
momentarily absorbed in prayer.
[Botanical gardens.] The same governor who laid out the promenade
established a botanical garden. It is true that everything he planted
in it, exposed on a marshy soil to the full heat of a powerful sun,
soon faded away; but its ground was enclosed and laid out, and though
it was overgrown with weeds, it had at least received a name. At
present it is said to be in better condition. [50]
[Pretty girls in gay garments.] The religious festivals in the
neighborhood of Manila are well worth a visit, if only for the sake
of the numerous pretty Filipinas and mestizas in their best clothes
who make their appearance in the evening and promenade up and down
the streets, which are illuminated and profusely decked with flowers
and bright colors. They offer a charming spectacle, particularly
to a stranger lately arrived from Malaysia. The Filipinas are very
beautifully formed. They have luxuriant black hair, and large dark
eyes; the upper part of their bodies is clad in a homespun but often
costly material of transparent fineness and snow-white purity; and,
from their waist downwards, they are wrapped in a brightly-striped
cloth (saya), which falls in broad folds, and which, as far as the
knee, is so tightly compressed with a dark shawl (lapis), closely drawn
around the figure, that the rich variegated folds of the saya burst
out beneath it like the blossoms of a pomegranate. This swathing only
allows the young girls to take very short steps, and this timidity of
gait, in unison with their downcast eyes, gives them a very modest
appearance. On their naked feet they wear embroidered slippers of
such a small size that their little toes protrude for want of room,
and grasp the outside of the sandal. [51]
[Dress of the poorer women.] The poorer women clothe themselves in a
saya and in a so-called chemise, which is so extremely short that it
frequently does not even reach the first fold of the former. In the
more eastern islands grown-up girls and women wear, with the exception
of a Catholic amulet, nothing but these two garments, which are,
particularly after bathing, and before they get dried by the sun,
nearly transparent.
[Men's clothing.] A hat, trousers, and a shirt worn outside them,
both made of coarse Guinara cloth, compose the dress of the men of
the poorer classes. The shirts worn by the wealthy are often made
of an extremely expensive home-made material, woven from the fibers
of the pineapple or the banana. Some of them are ornamented with
silk stripes, some are plain. They are also frequently manufactured
entirely of jusi (Chinese floret silk), in which case they will not
stand washing, and can only be worn once. The hat (salacot), a round
piece of home-made plaiting, is used as both umbrella and sunshade,
and is often adorned with silver ornaments of considerable value. [The
"Principales".] The principalia class enjoy the special privilege
of wearing short jackets above their shirts, and are usually easily
recognizable by their amusing assumption of dignity, and by the faded
cylindrical hats, yellow with age, family heirlooms, constantly
worn. [The dandies.] The native dandies wear patent leather shoes
on their naked feet, tight-fitting trousers of some material striped
with black and white or with some other glaringly-contrasted colors,
a starched plaited shirt of European make, a chimney-pot silk hat,
and carry a cane in their hands. [The servants.] The servants waiting
at dinner in their white starched shirts and trousers are by no means
an agreeable spectacle, and I never realised the full ludicrousness
of European male costume till my eye fell upon its caricature,
exemplified in the person of a "Manila dandy."
[Mestiza costume.] The mestizas dress like the Filipinas, but do not
wear the tapis, and those of them who are married to Europeans are
generally clad in both shoes and stockings. Many of the mestizas are
extremely pretty, but their gait drags a little, from their habit of
wearing slippers. As a rule they are prudent, thrifty, and [Clever
business women.] clever business women, but their conversation is
often awkward and tedious. Their want of education is, however, not
the cause of this latter failing, for Andalusian women who never learn
anything but the elementary doctrines of Christianity, are among the
most charming creatures in the world, in their youth. [Ill at ease
in society.] Its cause lies rather in this equivocal position; they
are haughtily repelled by their white sisters, whilst they themselves
disown their mother's kin. They are wanting in the ease, in the tact,
that the women of Spain show in every relation of existence.
[Mestizos.] The mestizos, particularly those born of Chinese and Tagal
mothers, constitute the richest and the most enterprising portion of
the native population. They are well acquainted with all the good and
bad qualities of the Filipino inhabitants, and use them unscrupulously
for their own purposes.