Missions to the Zambals
Along the provinces of Pangasinan and Pampanga, fronting their
western side, there dwells another tribe, which they call Zambal,
no less fierce than those already mentioned, and exceeding them in
boldness. They are continually assaulting travelers, and they take
their greatest pleasure in killing. So continual are their descents
from the mountains to infest the said roads that it is only with great
peril that one can cross from one province to the other without an
escort; and even then many mishaps occur frequently; for these bandits
lie hidden in the thickets and ravines at the sides of the road, and,
when one of them gives a yell, all discharge their arrows, in the
management of which they are very skilful; and, felling to the ground
those whom they can reach, they cut off the heads of these, and carry
them away in order to celebrate their feasts. They are also wont to
approach the villages by night, and in hiding to wait for any person
who strays from the rest and leaves the village early; then they do the
same with him, be his rank what it may; afterward they take the skull
of the slain man's head and use it for a drinking-vessel, in the same
manner as did the Scythians, as Ravisius Textor and Plinius relate.
This tribe obtain their living generally from the hunting of deer, wild
swine and buffaloes, and from the honey produced by the innumerable
bees which are in those extensive forests and shut-in mountains. They
are accustomed also to plant certain potatoes, which here we call
Malagan potatoes, and there are named camote, the seed of which,
with the name, was carried [thither] from Nueva España; but they
care little for the said planting, because without any work of their
own the Author of Nature provides them with a kind of wild palm,
so useful and profitable that this tree alone admirably displays the
wisdom of its Creator--for what it spontaneously yields is a thing to
cause astonishment, and would even be incredible to one who did not
see it. [Mozo here cites several authors regarding the uses of the
palm in other countries, but says, "all this is nothing compared to
the palms which we are going to describe; accordingly, for the praise
of the Creator, I am going to give a full account of the said tree,"
which he accordingly does. The palm referred to is the buri, [37] or
sago-palm; its farinaceous product is called yoro in Pampangan, and
in Tagálog sagu. He describes the native method of fire-making among
these people, as follows: "They take two splinters of a kind of bamboo,
very thick and tall, which grows in abundance throughout the forests
there, and along the creeks; and, scraping the outer surface of one of
these a little with a knife, they make tinder of the shavings. Then
they make a notch in the splinter with which they must rub the other
one; and, placing on its outside that which serves for tinder, they
make the other splinter firm, placing it on edge against some tree,
first paring its upper edge thin, like a knife-blade. This done, with
the other and notched splinter (and the tinder filling the notch)
they begin, holding it flat, to rub the lower one very hard. In
less than two minutes it begins to smoke, and is fully kindled;
they breathe upon it to raise a flame, and, feeding this with dry
leaves, grass, and little sticks, in a very short time they make
a fierce blaze." [38] Mozo also describes some vegetable medicines
used by the natives. Among these wild people were sent missionaries,
Fray Gonzalo de Salazar and others; these form villages with their
converts--"Magalang, Tarlac, Bucsic, and Panlinlan, in which there
are more than seven hundred families, as appears from the original
register, made in the past year of 1759, of which I have a legal
copy." In 1728, Fray Juan Velloxin formed the village of Tunàs;
and in 1755 Fray Sebastian Morono established those of Pandolan,
Garlit, San Miguèl, and another one. Besides these, many converts
removed their residence to other Christian villages. Mozo notices,
as a curious phenomenon, that among these Zambals are certain persons
who are immune to the bites of poisonous animals and insects--as
he thinks, because of some quality of their "humors," or of their
physical conditions; he cites therefor Pliny and other writers, and
various instances of which he has known personally. He also describes
the cure of these poisonous bites by sucking out the poison, which
act (as also the person who does it) is called, in Pampangan, tavac;
but the ability to accomplish this he ascribes to some peculiarity
of temperament or physique on the part of the healer.]