[These chapters relate the coming of Corcuera as governor,
his controversies with the bishop, and the exile of the latter;
biographical accounts of various noted Augustinian missionaries,
some of whom were martyrs in Japan; and the final incidents of the
persecution in that country, so far as Diaz could learn of them, up to
about 1715. Nearly all of this matter is either a repetition of what
we have already presented in previous volumes, or irrelevant to our
purpose; but we select occasional passages which properly belong to
the history of the islands, especially its ecclesiastical aspects. In
our VOL. XXV may be found extracts from Diaz's work regarding the
contest between Corcuera and Guerrero (chapters xv-xviii). Chapter
xix is devoted to the opinion of "a learned auditor of Manila" on the
banishment of the archbishop; the editor of Diaz, Father Tirso Lopez,
prints this opinion, in order to reproduce all of Diaz's history,
which is his only reason for not suppressing "this conceited, most
tedious, and ill-digested document." Chapters xx and xxi are devoted
to the biographies of two Augustinian missionaries, Fray Alonso de
Mentrida and Fray Juan de Medina respectively. The former excelled
as a linguist.]
[Pp. 353-355:] He composed a curious and ingenious grammar [arte], by
which the main difficulty in [learning] those languages was surmounted
in a short time. He also composed a copious vocabulary of the languages
of the two islands, Panay and Cebu, which are quite distinct. In the
mountain region of Ogton a very harsh language is spoken, which they
call Halaya; and along the coast another, more polished and elegant,
which is called Hileygueina. This work [i.e., the vocabulary] cost him
much labor, and is very useful to the ministers. He left it complete,
and after his death it was published by father Fray Martin Claver. [85]
He [Fray Alonso] composed a brief catechism, accurately written,
in the Bisayan language, which is very useful for instructing those
natives in the mysteries of our holy faith; this was printed twice,
in order that there might be an abundant supply of a work so important
for the welfare of souls. He also published the ritual by which the
holy sacraments are usually administered in these islands; and this
work is deserving of esteem, since one finds therein a compilation of
what is strictly necessary for the more safe administration [of the
sacraments]. It is so highly regarded by the other religious orders
that, although two large editions of the work have been printed,
it is now necessary to issue a third, since all are trying to obtain
this book. [86]
Father Fray Alonso de Mentrida spent many years in the provinces of
Ogton and Panay, [87] where he gathered much fruit in the conversion
of those souls, especially in the district of Ogton--which in those
times was, in the greater part of its mountain region, shrouded
in the darkness of error. There the devil was well entrenched in
those rugged mountains, having solidly established his kingdom and
worship among those simple natives--who, influenced more by fear
than by any other consideration, prostrated themselves before that
demon, and gave him their worship and adoration. His crafty designs
were successful among them through the agency of many priests and
priestesses (in the Bisayan idiom called babaylanes), who, being
especially assisted by that infernal spirit, concoct certain frauds
and delusions, with which they deceive the simple Bisayans. These
priests, moreover, secure much advantage from this mode of life,
since by it they make their living, and are feared and looked up to;
for most of them have a compact with the devil, by means of which
they wreak such evil as they can on those persons on whom they try
to be revenged, or whom they wish to injure because some one else
has done them harm. Against this infernal horde father Fray Alonso
de Mentrida waged continual battle, roaming through those mountains
on foot, and accompanied only by one servant, a very good Christian,
who aided him much in his work. This man died at a great age (more
than one hundred and ten years); he lived in the village of Guimbal,
of which he was a native, and his name was Vilango. They journeyed
so destitute of human aid that they carried in their pouches only
some roots, cooked, which in that country are very common, called
camotes, with a little rice, eaten cold and half-cooked. This sort of
abstinence was so continual in Father Mentrida that he ate nothing
else than the vegetables and pottages of the country, with a little
fish when he wished to appease his more pressing hunger; and it is not
known that he ate meat until, in his old age and in several attacks
of illness that he suffered, the duty of obedience compelled him to
moderate so austere a diet. In such a mode of life this apostolic
man wandered through those mountains, preaching to the infidels the
word of God, and persuading them to leave their straggling hamlets
[rancherias] and settle in some small villages, that he might more
advantageously call them together and instruct them, separating them
from their errors and blindness. With great benefit to their souls
the simple mountaineers of Ogton received the gospel preaching,
as they all are gentle and well-inclined people; the father's only
opponents were those ministers of Satan and children of perdition,
the babaylanes, who with their lies sowed their diabolical tares
upon the grain of heaven, and easily smothered the seed that took
root in piously-inclined hearts. Those priests artfully suggested
to the natives the anger which their divatas (thus they name the
spirits to whom they give adoration) felt against them, and on
their own part uttered threats against them, menacing either their
lives or their poor property--which is a scanty grain-field of rice;
and by these shameless acts they terrorized the people, and caused
some of them to lose their solicitude for attending church. Father
Fray Alonso de Mentrida spared neither hardship nor effort to bring
back to the fold of the Church those whom these malicious ministers
had, through their crafty methods, caused to backslide; and he held
with those priests extraordinary discussions, from which, in place
of gaining good results, he obtained only their plots. With these
they tried, on several occasions, to deprive him of life by their
arts and witchcraft; but the Lord, who watched over His servant,
did not permit them to succeed in their damnable attempts, and,
for the greater humiliation of the common enemy [i.e., the devil],
held back the father from the greatest dangers.
During the time when this apostolic minister was preaching in the
mountains of Ogton, there were visible apparitions of the devil,
standing upon a rock and teaching superstitions and giving laws
to a great multitude of Indians, who, deceived by him, followed
him. Moreover, in those mountains are many demons, who appear to the
natives in horrible forms--as hideous savages, covered with bristles,
having very long claws, with terrifying eyes and features, who attack
and maltreat those whom they encounter. These being are called by
the Indians Banuanhon, who are equivalent to the satyrs and fauns of
ancient times. Even at this day these hideous monsters are wont to
appear to the Indians, some of whom remain in a demented condition for
months from the mere sight of them; others go away with these demons,
and are lost for a long time, and then will return in a terrified
and fainting condition, few of them failing to die soon afterward. I
would have much to tell and relate if I should stop to mention what
has occurred with such monsters, who have been seen not only in the
mountains of Ogton and Panay, but very frequently in the province
of Taal. They are called in the Tagal language Tigbalang; and many
persons who have seen them have described to me, in the same terms,
the aspect of the monster. They say that he has a face like a cat's,
with a head that is flattened above, not round, with thick beard, and
covered with long hair; his legs are so long that, when he squats on
his buttocks, his knees stand a vara above his head; and he is so swift
in running that there is no quadruped that can be compared with him.
[Diaz proceeds to relate several incidents connected with these
demons, and the difficulties encountered by Mentrida, caused by the
hostility of the native priests--who much resembled the "medicine-men"
of the North American Indians; and adds (p. 356): "In these holy
occupations he passed much time in that mountain wilderness, as his
companion Vilango has told me; and gradually those hearts, hard as
diamonds, were softened, and they were converted to our holy faith. He
proceeded to gather those people into villages, founding those of
Agra (with the advocacy of St. Nicholas), Baong, Santiago, Limao,
San Pedro, Taytay, and Catingpan--which remain to this very day,
and in my time preserve the memory of this apostolic man, to whom,
as they recognize, they owe the knowledge of the truth." Mentrida
remained in the missions until 1618, when he was summoned to Manila,
to become prior of the Augustinian convent there; and in 1623, he was
elected provincial. The rest of his life he was afflicted by age and
broken health; and he died at Manila, March 22, 1637.]
[Diaz sketches the life and labors of Juan de Medina (whose history
of his order in Filipinas we publish in VOLS. XXIII and XXIV of this
series), giving the following summary of his achievements: "It is
not easy to relate in full the great labors of this religious in the
conversion of the Indians in the province of Ogton, when they all,
on account of the coming of the Dutch the first time to the point
of Iloilo, took refuge in the mountains, forsaking their villages,
so that it was difficult for several years to bring them back to a
sedentary life. During that time, this religious traveled, carrying
little more than his staff, through all the mountains of Ogton,
preaching to the people that they might be converted, and maintaining
a continual battle with the devil--who had, through the agency of his
ministers the babaylanes, persuaded the people that the Spaniards could
not deliver them from the Dutch. During that time he suffered many
dangers through the plots of those infernal ministers, who at various
times tried to take his life--divine Providence delivering him from
them all, for the greater gain of those Christian communities. Amid
those dangers did this religious convert most of the peoples in
Ogton, Xaro, Baong, and Pasig. In all places where this minister
went, he left an especial reputation for his virtue and apostolic
teaching. He visited some nine times the entire province of Bisayas,
and usually held the office of vicar-provincial--obedience obliging
him to accept it, on account of the great importance of his direction
for the greater glory of the order." After twenty years spent in these
labors, he obtained permission (1631) to go to Spain, and miraculously
escaped from the wreck of his ship in the very port of Cavite. He then
returned to the Visayan missions, but again set out for Spain in 1635;
while crossing the Pacific, he was carried away by disease. Chapters
xxii-xxv are devoted to the persecutions and martyrdoms of Christians
in Japan; chapter xxvi treats mainly of the controversy within the
Augustinian order regarding the "alternation" of offices between the
friars sent from Spain and those who had taken the habit in the Indias
(already related in our VOL. XXVIII). The following paragraphs are
of interest here.]
[Pp. 386-388:] After the father provincial Fray Juan Ramirez (who
was one of the best superiors of that time) had governed this
province very successfully and judiciously, the time arrived for
the provincial chapter; it was held at the convent of San Pablo in
Manila, on the twenty-fourth of the month of April, 1638. Father Fray
Jeronimo Cornuetano, the general of the entire order, presided over
the meeting; and it resulted in the election, by unanimous consent,
of father Fray Martin Errasti, a religious who was much endeared to
all the rest by his many fine qualities. The definitors elected were
fathers Fray Juan de Trexo, Fray Jeronimo Venasque, Fray Francisco
de Madrid, and Fray Francisco de Villalon; and the visitors, father
Fray Juan de Boan and Fray Jeronimo de Paredes--all being religious
of recognized abilities, and men to whose care the interests of
this province could be confided. It was decided to send to Espana a
procurator to conduct a party of religious to this province, although
the choice of one was not effected until the following year; this fell
upon father Fray Pedro de Quesada, prior of the convent of Bulacan,
who had recently arrived, driven back by stress of weather, from [a
voyage to] the kingdom of Japon--whither he went with some religious
of St. Dominic; but stormy head-winds obliged them to return to Manila,
divine Providence keeping them in reserve for another ministry.
The Moro pirates of Mindanao and Jolo did not cease to infest the
Pintados Islands every year with their armed fleets--capturing
the natives, burning the villages, plundering the churches of the
consecrated vessels, and then destroying those temples by fire. So
far had gone the boldness of Corralat--who came to those islands,
subjected to his anger, without the Spaniards displaying any purpose
to defend them, or going out to hinder those injuries--that he
soon attributed this negligence to cowardice, and to the fear of
him which the Spaniards felt. This so increased his boldness that
his little fleets were daring enough to approach even the bay of
Manila. They experienced no resistance, save only in the province of
Caraga--[whose natives are] a warlike people--and this was due to
the valor of its alcalde-mayor, Captain Don Francisco de Atienza y
Banes, a native of Toledo; and to the great courage of a discalced
Augustinian religious named Fray Agustin de San Pedro, who was very
celebrated in those times, and feared by the pirates, [who was known]
by the name of "Father Captain" [Padre Capitan]. [88] The exploits
of this religious in defending the villages where he was a minister
of religious instruction, and in going out to find the enemy in their
own country, would be material for many chapters of history. He was a
religious of great virtue, and of zeal for the welfare of souls; and,
besides this, God had given him extraordinary courage, and a genius
worthy of Scipio and Hannibal. Accordingly, seeing that those who ought
to conduct military operations remained with folded hands, without
going out to the defense of those harassed peoples, he determined
to do so himself. On one occasion he went out from Butuan, where
he was prior, with some Spanish soldiers, and men whom he gathered
in Caraga; and with them he faced and put to flight an armed fleet
of Corralat. When Don Francisco de Atienza saw what aid he had in
the valor and experience of father Fray Agustin, the two laid their
plans to perform an exploit that should do them credit; and, manning
some caracoas with the best soldiers from the presidio of Tanda, both
Spaniards and Caragas, and providing two boats which could be taken
to pieces and carried overland in sections, and afterward be again
put together and framed, Don Francisco, accompanied by father Fray
Agustin, took the route to the lake of Malanao, [89] which was under
the jurisdiction of Corralat. This lake is in the island of Mindanao,
opposite the island of Bohol; from north to south it is eight leguas
long, and it is four leguas wide. Its shores are thickly settled by
several tribes, some Mahometan and others heathen (although all of
them are vassals of Corralat); but they are people who are very poor
in all except foodstuffs, of which they have a great abundance. Don
Francisco de Atienza and father Fray Agustin de San Pedro arrived at
this lake; and, as the water at its entrance was very low and there
were many miry places, they took the four [sic] vessels to pieces and
placed them on the lake, where they again [put them together and]
manned them. By this means the Spaniards went through that region,
carrying on hostilities among those tribes, and leaving them subjected
to the crown of Espana--although this submission did not last long, for
Corralat again reduced them, because the Spaniards had not left behind
a fortified post. This conquest was not one of much profit; but it
was enough to leave the Moros warned for some time by this punishment.
[Chapters xxvii and xxviii are occupied with the expedition of
Corcuera against Jolo, already described in our VOL. XXVIII. Chapters
xxix-xxxiv are devoted almost entirely to the Chinese insurrection
in Manila and its environs in 1639, and to an historical account of
former disturbances caused by them in the islands, from the time of
the pirate Limahon down. A brief paragraph mentions the death of
the provincial of the Augustinians, and his temporary successor:
"In the middle of the year 1639 occurred the death of the father
provincial Fray Martin de Herrasti, a loss which was keenly felt
by all the province on account of his many endowments and lovable
qualities. He was a native of Guipuzcoa, and a son of the convent at
Burgos. Having come to this province in the year 1617, he was assigned,
by his obedience, to the ministry in Pampanga, where he remained, an
excellent missionary, for a period of twenty years--until the province,
satisfied as to his virtue and discretion, chose to employ so worthy
a minister to govern it, and elected him provincial, although it
enjoyed but little of the direction of so excellent a superior. The
government of the province was assumed by father Fray Juan Ramirez,
as the most recent past provincial; and thus was somewhat lessened
the general grief caused by the loss of the deceased provincial."]