MANNERS AND SUPERSTITIONS OF THE PEOPLE.
Far more than the fair portion of domestic and social cares falls
upon the Indian female, and she has far less than her becoming
share of enjoyments. Barbarous practices are frequently associated
with parturition. The Mabuting hilot, the good midwife, is called
in. If the birth be delayed, witches are supposed to be the cause,
and their dispersion is effected by the explosion of gunpowder from
a bamboo cane close to the head of the sufferer. The new-born infant
is laid on a mat or pillow and exposed to the air, to facilitate the
escape of evil influences from the body, which is brought about by
burning three wax tapers placed on the two cheeks and chin of the
babe, often to its great peril. These practices are to some extent
checked and controlled by the priests, who provide where they can
for the baptism and registration of the infant.
The patriarchal custom of serving in the house of the father in
order to obtain the hand and heart of the daughter, is by no means
abolished in the Philippines; nor is the yet more intimate intercourse
of plighted lovers, which is reported to be still in usage in the
ruder parts of Wales, and with the same perilous consequences to
the feebler sex. The domestication of the lover in the house of
his intended father-in-law leads to the birth of great numbers of
illegitimate children, to frequent violations of vows and promises,
to domestic quarrels and much misery. The influence of the friars
is generally employed for the protection of the frail one. They are
opposed both by duty and interest to these irregularities, matrimonial
fees being among the most productive contributions to their revenues.
I find one of the priests giving the following instructions to
the Indians as to marriage:--"It is not right," he says, "to marry
heedlessly, nor to hurry the sacred ceremony as if it were to be
got rid of as soon as possible. Let the parties consult the padre,
who will learn if they are really disposed to marry. You Indians say
the male naturally runs after the female and obtains her consent
(an Indian proverb); but this is not decorous; the proper mode of
courting is for the priest to say, 'Will you be the spouse of ----,
according to the arrangements of our holy mother Church?' This is first
to be asked of the woman, and then an inquiry is to be made of the man
whether he will have the woman, and the ancient and immodest usages of
past times must then be abandoned." In the same spirit is the common
saying of the Indians, "Savangmatovir ang ihinahatol nang mañga padre"
(The counsels of the padre are always right). And again--"There is
no Christian road but through the Roman Catholic Church."
F. de los Santos says there is no instance of a Tagála woman making
advances in the way of marriage, nor of a father or mother looking out
a bridegroom for their daughter; that it would be a great affront were
any girl to seek the favour of the person whom she wished to be her
mother-in-law in order to win the son. No woman was ever heard to say,
"Manciganguin mo aco" (Make me thy daughter-in-law).
The same friar asserts that the Indians have learnt the meaning
which the Europeans attach to "horns," and that the corresponding
Tagál word sungayan (horned animal) cannot be used indiscreetly
without giving great offence. He is very angry with the nonsense
(boberias and disparates) which he says the natives address to their
children. A mother will call her babe father, and mother, and aunt,
and even king and queen, sir and madam, with other extravagant and
unbecoming outbreaks of affection, which he reproves as altogether
blameworthy and intolerable.
Though there is some variety in the houses of the Indians, according
to their opulence, they preserve a common character, having bamboo
floors, nipa roofs, and wooden pillars to support them. A speculation
was entered into near Manila to provide more comfortable domestic
accommodation for the natives by introducing imported improvements;
but the houses were unoccupied, and the adventure proved a losing
one. I have seen handsome lamps suspended from the roofs, and pictures
hung upon the walls, of some of the Indian dwellings; while among
the mestizos many aspire to all the decorations of Spanish luxury,
competing with the richest among the European settlers. But religious
ornaments are never forgotten, such as images and pictures of the
Virgin and her child, vessels for holy water and crucifixes.
The beds of the Indians are merely mats on which the whole family
repose indiscriminately. Here they smoke their cigars, chew their
betel, and fall asleep. The domestic utensils are "a mortar for
grinding rice, bamboos for all purposes, cup and spoons of the
cocoa-nut shell, pots and kettles, a knife called a goloc, a bench
against the wall, a stool which serves for a table, a Chinese basin
for oil, a clay lamp, some cotton wicks, torches of the resin-cane,
an image of the Virgin, a crucifix, mats, a jar of betel leaves,
some areca nuts and lime ready for use, and sometimes a flute or
guitar."--(Buzeta.)
The Indians have a very vague idea of distance. Tahanan and
Bitañgan are the names given to places of rest between different
localities. Instead of the Spanish word league, they say "taval," which
is the distance an ordinary burthen can be carried without stoppage.
The forty days' labour which is exacted every year from the Indians is
called atag or bayani. This is in addition to the tributo of a dollar
and one-third; but exemption from the atag may be obtained by the
payment of three dollars. The tribute is called bovis or buvis. "Buvis
aco sa balañgay ni covan' (I am tributary to such and such a balangay).
A curious illustration of the passion for gaming, so general among
the Filipinos, is given by the statistical commission, in the report
on Binondo. Among the not prohibited games is that called by the
natives Panguingui. It is played with six packs of cards, and five
or six persons make a party. This game is most popular among all
classes. The authorities prohibit its being played during the hours
of labour, but it is permitted from twelve to two P.M., and from
sunset to ten P.M., on ordinary days, and there is no restriction on
festival days. The commission determined to visit without notice the
different tables where the game was played; they found on an average
200 tables occupied, but there were 39 ready for play unoccupied.
Players at the 200 tables, 867 men and 313 women.
Spectators at the 200 tables, 405 men and 353 women.
This did not include the tables in private houses, to which the
commission had no access. It is to be presumed that these visits took
place during the authorised hour of play, but this is not stated by
the commission.
Though games of hazard are prohibited to the multitude, the great game
of the lottery is monthly played for the profit of the government
and the perdition of the people. Its existence and its temptations
encourage that gambling passion which is one of the greatest plagues of
the Filipinos. The newspapers are constantly occupied with long lists
of persons condemned to heavy fines and imprisonments for indulging
in what may be called the besetting sin of the Indians, from which,
however, neither mestizos, Chinese nor Europeans are by any means free.
But the passion for play is most strikingly and universally exhibited
in the cock-fights, so characteristic that I can scarcely avoid
entering upon some details.
A writer on the Philippines, after showing the antiquity of
cock-fighting, and tracing its history through most of the civilized
nations of the world, thus concludes:--"In Spain there is a notable
affection for cock-fights, and great is the care with which the birds
are trained to the combat. In America this amusement is a dominant
passion, and the Filipinos are not a whit behind the Americans. Nay,
here the passion is a delirium, and no law can check the number or the
duration of the fights, accompanied by slaughter of the combatants,
which may be well called perfidious" (i.e. in violation of protecting
regulations). "In other places they sharpen the spurs of the cocks. In
the Philippines they are armed with razors, and chance more than skill
decides the contest. Every day countless numbers perish, but the race
is not diminished. There is hardly a locality which has not more cocks
than human inhabitants. On the Puente Grande of Manila, at between
four and five A.M., hundreds and hundreds of 'the shrill clarions' are
heard on all sides, and from vast distances; it is a string of signals
passed from mouth to mouth, from the port of Bangui, in North Ilocos,
to Manog, the southernmost point of Albay. There are cocks in every
house, at every corner, at the foot of every tree, along the quays
and shores, on the prows of every coasting ship, and, as if the living
were not enough, they are sculptured, they are painted and charcoaled
(not artistically) on every wall for public admiration, and public
admiration recognizes the portraiture, though the information is not
placed there--as by the painter of old--to announce, 'This is a cock.'"
The following is a translation of an advertisement from a Manila
newspaper:--"Principal Cock-fight of Tondo.--The subscriber informs the
public that on all cock-fighting days a great crowd from all parts,
nearly half of them Chinese, attend, so that on a single day there
are from 90 to 100 combats, and this not only from the convenience of
the place, which is made of tiles, but because the doubloons (onzas)
which circulate there are honest doubloons (son de recibo).--Dalmacio
Oligario."
It is considered a discourtesy to touch an Indian's game-cock,
and permission is always asked to examine a favourite bird. He is
the object of many a caress; he eats, crows, and sleeps in the arms
of his master; and, whatever else may be forgotten, the cock is in
continual remembrance. I have found him celebrated in verse in terms
the most affectionate. A cock that has been frequently victorious
is subjected to the most minute criticism, in order to discover by
external marks what may serve to characterize his merits. The scales
of his legs are counted, their form and distribution, the bent of the
rings on the spurs, and whether the two spurs resemble each other;
the shape of the toes and their nails, the number and colours of the
wing-feathers (eleven being the favourite quantity); white eyes are
preferred to chesnut; a short comb falling over the eye and beak is a
recommendation. Cocks of different colours bear different names--white,
puti; red, pula; white with black spots, talisain; red body and black
tail and wings, bulic or taguiguin; black, casilien, or maitin; black
and white, binabay; ash-colour, abuen; black and white, having black
legs, tagaguin; and many others. The wild cock is called labuyo.
Of cock-fighting I translate Buzeta's description:--"The Indians have
an inveterate passion for the sport, which occupies the first place in
their amusements. The cock is the first object of their care, their
general companion, which accompanies them even to the church-door,
and is fastened to a bamboo plug outside, when they enter for the
service of the mass. For no money will they dispose of a favourite
bird. Some possess as many as half-a-dozen of these inappreciable
treasures, for whose service they seem principally to live.
"Every pueblo has its gallera, or amphitheatre, for the cock-fights,
from which the government draws a considerable revenue. The galleras
are large buildings constructed of palm-trunks, bamboo, and nipa
leaves, consisting of a hall, lighted from windows in the roof. In the
centre is a stage, raised about five feet high, surrounded by bamboo
galleries, which are reached by the spectators, who pay according to
the adjacency and convenience of the seats. The gallera is generally
crowded. The Indian enters with his cock under his arm; he caresses the
favourite, places him on the ground, lifts him up again, smooths his
feathers, talks to him, blows his cigar-smoke over him, and, pressing
him to his breast, tells him to fight bravely. The cock generally crows
aloud in defiance and in pride. His rival appears, a sharpened spur,
or rather two-edged knife, or razor, is fastened to the natural spur
of the bird, and after being for some time presented to each other
the sign of combat is given, which is carried on with extraordinary
excitement, until an alguacil announces that the betting is closed. The
announcement is followed by universal silence. The owners of the
cocks withdraw at another signal, and the combatants contemplate
each other, their feathers agitated and erect; they bend their necks,
shake their heads, and spring upon one another; the fight continues
until one is mortally wounded and falls. The conqueror springs upon
him, and crows in token of victory; but it is not unusual for the
wounded cock to rise and turn upon his victor. If the victor should
fly (as is sometimes the case), he is condemned to ignominious death;
his feathers are plucked, and he is suspended almost naked on the
outside of the gallera. The wounds of the living bird are staunched by
an infusion of tobacco leaves in cocoa-nut wine. He becomes from that
hour a favourite to be betted on, and if disabled for future frays,
he is carefully provided for by his master. There are cock-doctors
and receiving-houses devoted to the healing of their wounds.
"In the neighbourhood of the gallera are stalls, where wines,
sweetmeats, chocolate, and other refreshments, are sold, prepared by
Indians and Chinese. A whole day is devoted to the combat, and even
the charms of the siesta are forgotten, and the Indian often returns
to his home after sunset a wretched and a ruined man."
The Indians were sometimes desirous that we should witness the
exhibition, and brought their favourite cocks to be admired; but I
had little curiosity to witness such a display, picturesque as it
was no doubt--more picturesque than humane.
Don Ildefonso de Aragon passes this severe judgment upon the
sport:--"Perpetual idlers," the Indians, "they go from cockpit to
cockpit, those universities of every vice, which the owners think
themselves privileged to keep constantly open and accessible; hence
they come forth consummate masters of roguery, jugglery, frauds, ready
for acts of violence in private and in public, in town and in country."
Kite-flying (introduced by the Chinese, among whom it is an amusement
both for young and old, and who have made their kites musical by
day and illuminated by night) is popular in the Philippines, as are
fire-balloons and other pyrotechnic displays.
Except on suitable occasions, the Indian is sober and economical,
but he makes great efforts at display when desirous of honouring
his guests. On two or three occasions we sat down to meals, which
a gastronomer would scarcely have ventured to criticise; a variety
of wines, health-drinking, and even speech-making, music and firing
of guns, accompanying the festivity. Smoking never fails to form a
part of the entertainment; pure cigars of various sizes, and paper
cigarritos, being always at hand. St. Andrew's day, kept in celebration
of the delivery of the Philippines from piratical Chinese, is one of
great rejoicing.
In religious ceremonies the Indian takes a busy part, and lends a
very active co-operation. When they take place after sunset, crowds
attend with burning tapers. Gun-firing, music and illuminations
are the general accompaniments of the great fiestas. I have more
than once mentioned the universality of the musical passion, which
is easily trained to excellent performances. An Indian, we heard,
was not selected to the band unless he could play for eight hours
without cessation. The national music of Spain is generally studied,
and, in honour to us, in some places they learnt our "God save the
Queen!" We were not hypercritical upon the first attempts, but such
tributes from a race, that only sought to do our sovereign, our
country, and ourselves all honour, could not but greatly gratify us.
When at Guimbal (Iloilo), we were waited on at table wholly by Indian
female children, prettily dressed; whose bright eyes expressed extreme
curiosity, and whose anxiety to understand and to administer to every
wish was very charming. They were much pleased to exhibit the various
garments they wore of the piña cloth. I remarked one who went to the
friar, and whispered in his ear, "But where are the golden garments
of the general?" meaning me, and the padre had to explain to the
children that "golden garments" were only worn on State occasions,
which did not seem satisfactory, as the occasion of our arrival in the
pueblo was one of unprecedented excitement and display. They crowded
round me, however, and looked into my face, and expressed admiration
at my long soft hair. Their associating finery with rank reminded me
of a visit once paid me by a young Abyssinian prince, who was taken
up the narrow staircase by some mistake of the servants, and who (his
interpreter told me) afterwards said to him, "You told me I was to
see a great man--had ever a great man so small a staircase?" At his
next visit, he was conducted through the principal portals up the
wide marble steps of the house in which I lived, and he expressed
extreme satisfaction, and said, "Ah! this is as it should be."
A few of the Indians reach the dignity of the priesthood, but they
are generally asistentes to the friars. I have heard from the lips
of Indian priests as pure Castilian as that spoken in Madrid.
"I have observed," says Father Diaz, "that the word of an Indian is
more to be trusted when he uses one of the ancient forms of speech,
such as 'totoo nang totoo' (it is as true as truth, or, it is truly
true), than when called on to take a solemn oath in the name of God
or of the cross." A youth always seeks to get the promise of his
sweetheart made according to the old Tagál usage, and it is held as
the best security of veracity in all the relations of life.
Many of the padres complain that, notwithstanding all the religious
instruction given, the taint of idolatry still exists among the
converted Indians. There is a sort of worship of ancestors which
is seen in many forms. They attach to the word nono (forefather) the
same spiritual meaning which the Chinese give to Kwei. These nonos are
often addressed in prayer, in order to bring down blessings or to avert
calamities. If an Indian gather a flower or fruit, he silently asks
leave of the nono. Certain spots, woods and rivers, he never passes
without an invocation to these departed genii. Pardon is asked for
short-comings or actions of doubtful character. There is a disease
called pamoao which is attributed to the influence of the nonos,
to whom petitions and sacrifices are offered to obtain relief. These
idolatries, says one of the friars, are so deeply rooted and so widely
spread as to demand the utmost vigilance for their extirpation.
So, again, they have their native devil, in the shape of a little black
old man, a wild horse, or monster. As a protection against this fiend,
however, they apply to their rosary, which certainly affords evidence
that he is an orthodox demon of whom the padres cannot fairly complain.
Witches and witchery are called in to discover thieves and to
unbewitch bewitched persons; but scapularies and saints, especially
St. Anthony of Padua, are auxiliaries in undoing the mischiefs menaced
or done. The cauldrons of the weird sisters in Macbeth would find
counterparts among the people of the Philippine Islands, but there
must be a mingling of Christian texts and Catholic superstitions to
complete the identity. One author says these incantations are used for
the attainment of riches, beautiful wives, success in battle, escape
from justice, and other objects of desire. Father Ortiz will have it
that the secrets of these supernatural influences are treasured up in
various manuscript works "which ought to be burned." Their preservation
and publication (if they exist) would be more serviceable, because
more instructive, to mankind.
Indian women are seldom seen without some religious ornaments. They
have rosaries of corals or pearl beads, medals of copper or gold,
having figures of Our Lady of Mexico or Guadalupe. The scapulary
is generally found hanging by the rosary. Many of the Indians are
associated in the Cofradias, whose different emblems they preserve
with great veneration; such as St. Augustine's string, St. Francis'
cord, St. Thomas's belt; but they also hang upon their children's
necks crocodiles' teeth as a preservative against disease.
The ancient Indian name for God was Bathala, to whom they attributed
the creation of the world. Remnants of the old idolatry remain among
the people, and the names of some of the idols are preserved. A few
phrases are still retained, especially in the remoter parts, as,
for example, "Magpabathala ca" (Let the will of Bathala be done),
and the priests have been generally willing to recognize the name as
not objectionable in substitution for Dios. The Tagál word adopted for
idolatry is Pagaanito, but to the worship of images they give the term
Anito. I find among the records reference to an idol called Lacambui,
probably the god of eating, as the Spaniards call him Abogado de
la Garganta (the throat-advocate). The idol Lacanpate was the god
of the harvest, and was equally male and female; "an hermaphrodite
devil," he is called by one of the friars. Linga was the god who cured
diseases. Lachan bacor protected the growing crops. Aman Sinaya was the
fisherman's god, and was appealed to when the nets were cast. Ama ni
Caable was the protector of huntsmen. An ill-famed idol named Tumano
was believed to wander about at night among human habitations; the
Indians threw ashes upon him, and calling out, "Iri, iri," he fled,
being "a cowardly devil." Mancucutor was the patron of a particular
class of Indians, but the traditions are very obscure.
There is a bird called by the natives Tigmamanoquin, and if, when they
are going to a festival, this bird flies from the right to the left,
it is considered of auspicious augury, but disastrous if it fly from
the left to the right. The bird (I know not its classical name) is
never killed by the Indians, but if caught it is set free with the
words, "Hayona tigmamanoquin, lunchan mo nang halinging" (Be gone,
bird! and sing sweetly for me).
The Indians believe that a guardian angel is born at the birth of
every Christian child, to whose special care through life the infant
is confided. In some parts this angel is called Catotobo, in others
Tagatanor. But the Tagáls habitually employ the Castilian words
angel and angeles in the Catholic sense. I remember to have heard
a clever Dutchman say that Java was well governed by knowing how to
use properly two Arabic words--Islam (faith), which was never to be
interfered with; and Kismet (fate), under whose influence Mussulmans
cheerfully submit to their destiny. The Santa Iglesia madre is the
charm by which the Philippines are ruled.
The Indian women are generally cleanly in their persons, using the
bath very frequently, and constantly cleaning and brightening their
black and abundant hair, which they are fond of perfuming and tying
in a knot behind, called the pusód, which is kept together by a small
comb and gilded needles, and is adorned with a fragrant flower. They
are proud of their small foot, which the Chinese call golden lily,
and which has a slipper, often embroidered with gold or silver,
just supported by the toes. Their walk is graceful and somewhat
coquettish; they smoke, eat betel, and are rather given to display
a languid, liquid eye, for which they have an Indian expression,
"Mapuñgay na mata."
The dress of the Filipinos is simple enough. It consists of a shirt
worn outside a pair of pantaloons; but the shirt is sometimes of
considerable value, woven of the piña, handsomely embroidered, and
of various colours, bright red being predominant. I asked an opulent
Indian to show me his wardrobe, and he brought out twenty-five shirts,
exhibiting them with great pride; there were among them some which
may have been worth a hundred dollars each. It is difficult to fix a
limit to the money value of the more exquisite specimens of weaving and
embroidery. A small pocket handkerchief sent to the Queen of Spain is
said to have cost five hundred dollars. One or two doubloons (onzas) of
gold are asked for the pañuelos (kerchiefs) usually sold in the shops
of the capital. The finest qualities are woven in the neighbourhood of
Iloilo. The loom is of the rudest and simplest construction; one woman
throws the shuttle, another looks after the threads. The cloth is sent
to Manila to be embroidered. The women wear gowns of the fabrics of
the country, into which, of late, the silks of China and the coloured
yarns of Lancashire have been introduced. The better-conditioned wear
an embroidered shawl or kerchief of piña. This is the representative
of female vanity or ambition. When we passed through the towns and
villages of the interior, a handsomely adorned piña handkerchief was
the flag that often welcomed us from the windows of the native huts,
and sometimes the children bore them about and waved them before us
in the processions with which they were wont to show their pleasure
at our presence.
The dress of the Indians is nearly the same throughout the islands; the
pantaloons of cotton or silk, white or striped with various colours,
girded round the waist with a kerchief, whose folds serve for pockets,
and a shirt over the pantaloons of cotton. Sinamay (a native cloth),
or piña for the more opulent, is universally employed. Straw hat or
kerchief round the head; but the favourite covering is a huge circular
cap like a large inverted punch-bowl, made generally of bamboo,
but sometimes of tortoise-shell, and having a metal spike or other
ornament at the top; it is fitted to the head by an internal frame,
and fastened by a ribbon under the chin. This salacot is used by many
as a protection against sun and rain; it appeared to me too heavy to
be convenient.
Among the Indian women the opulent wear costly embroidered garments
of piña, and many of them possess valuable jewels, and are decorated
on occasions of festivity with earrings, necklaces and bracelets
of pearls, diamonds and other precious stones. A few of them speak
Spanish, and during our visits became the interpreters for the others,
as the Indian women generally took a part in the graceful but simple
ceremonials which marked our progress; sometimes forming a line
through the towns and villages, and waving many-coloured flags
over us as we passed, escorted by the native bands of music. In
some families the garments which were worn a century ago are still
preserved. Many of the petty authorities are the hereditary possessors
of local rank, and on grand occasions make displays of the costumes of
their forefathers. There is some variety in the mode of dressing the
hair. The Tagálas clean it with lemon juice, and employ cocoa-nut oil
made fragrant by infusions of odoriferous flowers. They clean their
hands with pumice-stone. In many parts the thumbnail of the right hand
is allowed by both sexes to grow to a great length, which assists
playing on the guitar, and divers domestic operations. The under
garments of the women are tightened at the waist, and their camisas
have long and wide sleeves, which are turned back upon the arms, and
embroidered in more or less costly taste. They all chew the areca,
and, as age advances, they blacken their eyebrows and wear false hair
like their patrician mistresses. They sometimes paint their nails
with vermilion, and to be entitled a Castila, which means European,
is recognized as a great compliment.
Rice is the ordinary food of the Indians. It is boiled for half an
hour, and then called canin. The capsicum, or chile, is used for a
condiment. They eat three meals a day, out of a large dish, helping
themselves with their fingers, and sometimes using a plantain leaf
for a plate. They also have sauces round the central dish, into which
they dip the canin. They introduce the thumb first into the mouth,
and very dexterously employ the fingers to push forward the food. The
luxuries of the native are pretty nearly reduced to the cigar and
the betel-nut. Indeed these can scarcely be called luxuries; they are
more necessary to him than his simple food, which consists generally
of boiled rice, sometimes flavoured with fish or vegetables, and his
sweetmeat the sugar-cane. As he obtains his cigarritos at the estanco
for less than two cuertos a dozen, and can make them, or buy them from
a contrabandista, at not even half that price, and as the cost of the
areca is extremely small, his wants and his enjoyments are easily and
cheaply supplied. His garments are few and economical, and such as in
most parts of the islands are supplied by the rude family loom; but
the source of his ruin is in his gallo and his passion for play, to
which nine-tenths of the miseries of the Indian are to be traced. Out
of his embarrassments the Chinaman makes his profit, buying the labour
of the indebted and extorting its maximum with coarse and often cruel
tyranny. The Chinese have a proverb that the Indian must be led with
rice in the left hand of his master and a bamboo in the right.
There is in some of the islands abundance of deer and wild boars; they
are killed by arrows of two kinds--one barbed with a clove from the
wild palm, shot direct; another with an iron head, shot upwards and
falling down upon the animal. The Indians make a dry venison (called
tapa) of the flesh and send it to the Manila market. Much wild fowl
is found in the forest, especially of the gallinaceous species. The
Bisayan caves are frequented by the swallows which produce the edible
bird's-nests, and which are collected by the natives for exportation
to China.
Multitudes of Indians get their living by the fisheries. The fish
most esteemed is the sabalo, which is only found in the Taal Lake,
whose water is fresh and flows into the sea. In the centre of the
lake is an island, with its always burning volcano. At the season
when the sabalo quit the lake for the sea, an estocade of bamboos is
erected across the river, the top of which does not reach the surface
of the water; three or four yards below, another estocade is placed,
raised five or six feet above the surface, and the two estocades are
united by a bamboo platform. The fish leap over the first barrier,
and fall on the platform, where they are caught: some of them are
as large as salmon. The Bay Lake is celebrated for the curbina, an
excellent fish. By the banks of the river enormous nets are seen,
which are sunk and raised by a machinery of bamboo, and the devices
employed for the capture of fish are various and singular. In the
Bisayans the Indians make faggots, which they kindle, and, walking
on the banks with a spear in their right hand, the fish approach the
light and are harpooned and flung upon the shore. I understand the
sea-slug, which the Indians call balate, is thus captured. It is a
well-known delicacy among the Chinese. Turtle are caught by watching
their approach (the watcher being concealed) and simply turning them on
their backs when they are at a certain distance from the water. Native
divers bring up the mother-of-pearl oyster, but the pearl fishery
is not of much importance. These divers also discover the enormous
shell-fish which serve as receptacles for holy water in the churches.