Missions to the apostates and infidels intermixed
Another mission, in my judgment more arduous than any of those I have
mentioned, according to what I myself have experienced--and this is the
general opinion of all those who are engaged in its cultivation--is
the mission which the province maintains in a place which is called
the Marangley. This is composed of some very extensive and close
forests, with various mountains, so covered with thickets and lofty
trees that the sunlight can hardly enter there--although at intervals
the natives have their clearings, of land which is so fertile that
it seems incredible; and for this very reason, thinking that it would
be considered fabulous, I omit an account of the abundance with which
the land responds to whatever handful of seed they are accustomed to
cast into it.
In the said forests and hills dwell many people of various tribes,
mingled together, Christians and infidels. Some are there, attracted by
the hills from which they went out [in former times]; others, in flight
from the officers of justice, who are seeking them. Many also go there
in order to live in idleness, and to free themselves from the payment
of tribute and the fulfilment of other obligations; and many, because
it is the region in which they were born, and where they have lived as
infidels. There they dwell intermingled, infidels and Christians being
married together, and mingling a thousand superstitions with the law of
Jesus Christ. From this results a hydra more fierce and more difficult
to conquer than the celebrated one with which Hercules fought; for the
apostates, as being entirely corrupt, are most difficult to reclaim,
and they with their corruption, persuasions, and evil customs, to
a great degree pervert the simple nature of the infidels, just as
St. Paul tells us. Their sustenance is like that which I related of the
Zambals, that is, [obtained] from the chase and from the innumerable
wild palms which I have already mentioned; but they also sow their
scanty bit of rice, the land responding to them with an incredible
harvest, although they cultivate it wretchedly and take very little
care of their fields. As many of them are Christians and had learned
the mysteries of our holy faith, while the infidels among whom they
live have a thousand superstitions, omens, and foolish observances,
they make a medley of Jesus Christ and Baal, which is not even that of
those Samaritans of whom it is related that they desired at the same
time to serve the God of Israel and not to cast out their [false]
gods. And because among these peoples are generally encountered not
only the superstitions which those infidel communities maintain, but
also the frivolous beliefs in which the peoples of Philipinas were
living before they could receive our holy faith, I have thought it
well to reserve this information for this place--observing, moreover,
that among the Christian communities hardly a trace of these things is
now encountered. This is the result of the labors, past and present,
of the religious in extirpating them, and even in so short a time they
have been able to banish them; while in our Europa, and even in our
España, after so many centuries remnants of the ancient paganism are
still frequently encountered.... Those of whom we are speaking believe
that every forest, every mountain, every river, and every grove has a
powerful spirit who rules in those places; they call him Nono, which
signifies "grandfather"--by which name I understand they call him,
partly because they think that the said spirit is that of some one of
the powerful ones who once lived there, and also partly on account of
the extreme veneration which those people have for their old men. It
is also very credible that this foolish belief among them comes from
their neighbors the Chinese, who likewise attribute to every river,
forest, field, and grove these Penates and fauns, giving them a name
which signifies the ruler and master of those places. They believe,
then, that this spirit which they say rules there has his dwelling
in some one of those trees which are most distinguished for size and
for abundance of leaves, as likewise in some great heaps of earth,
shaped like a sugar-loaf, which are made by a kind of ants, very
destructive, which they call anay, [47] of which many are found in
the open country there. Accordingly, not only do they regard it as
a religious duty not to pick fruit or take anything from the said
hills without first asking permission from the nono, with words of
great reverence, but likewise, whenever they pass before the said
tree or hillock, they pay their respects, saying in their language,
Tabipo, which means, "By your permission," and then they go on
their way. They are so fearful that, if they fail in doing this,
they imagine that the said spirit will send upon them some sickness
which will deprive them of life; this notion they confirm with some
irrelevant casualties--some persons having failed to perform this
ceremony, and afterward by accident having fallen ill--from which
they conclude that this was a punishment from the nono; and therefore
they try afterward to appease his anger by various gifts, which they
offer to him after their fashion. Moreover, in the said trees there
is often heard some loud noise, which, although it is frequently made
by some great serpent which has its abode in some hole that may be
in the tree, they attribute to its nono--although it is true that
the demon, in order to blind them more and thus to inspire them with
greater terror, is wont to appear to them often in the said trees. The
sacrifices which they are wont to offer to him in case of sickness,
as likewise several times in the year, are reduced to burning certain
herbs in front of the said tree, and placing there some little portion
of food, drink, leaf tobacco, and an herb which they are accustomed
to chew when combined with the small fruit of a palm, which they
call luyos in the Pampanga tongue, and bonga in the Tagal (and that
fruit and the herb all together they call in the former language mama,
and in the latter buyo), all which things, after having thus offered
them, they themselves eat, having made their prayers, such as they
are. [Mozo here stops to recall how like superstitions and heathen
sacrifices lingered for a long time in Africa and even in Europe,
and the efforts made by the Christian fathers to extirpate them. He
says that in Filipinas the heathen do not "adore the trees as gods;
but the aforesaid tree they regard as the dwelling in which the spirit
who rules that grove or forest has his abode, and therefore they
offer before it what we have described, and perform the said acts
of prayer and veneration; but these are not directed to the tree,
but to the spirit or nono who resides in it."]
Besides this, they have another and exceedingly foolish superstition
and belief, which is also found among the Chinese (and the Romans
had it, as we read in our father St. Augustine and others); this is
the belief that there is an evil spirit who is hostile to the birth
of children, and who, they say, in the form of a bird approaches
the house where the woman lies in childbirth, and kills the child
by tearing out its bowels. This spirit they call in their language
usuang (and it is the same that the Romans call Silvanus), which, they
say, shines by night. In order to free themselves from this spirit,
they do a ridiculous thing. As soon as the woman begins her travail,
the husband, attended by other persons, strips off his clothes, and,
taking his naked cutlass, climbs to the ridge-pole of the house, his
companions remaining below with their lances; and he does not cease
making cuts at the air until the infant is born. They believe that
the said usuang is frightened away by this, and dares not return. At
other times they do the same thing, [except that] they are stationed
below the house. They also fear greatly two other genii or spirits,
of whom they tell a thousand stories. One they call tigbalang, which
they say has the body of a giant and the legs of a horse; and the
other, which they say resembles a pigmy they call patianac. [48]
It is certain that the demon thus appears to them, to terrify them
with threats if they fail to serve him.
They also use auguries, which they obtain from a bird that they
call batala, in the manner of which Virgilius sings, and which his
commentator Servius explains; upon this Gellius, Pompeius, Cicero,
Tiraquellus, and other humanists expatiate at length. And it is
not surprising that they should be prepossessed by this error; for,
if we believe Luis Vives, it passed from Assia to Grecia, and thence
to Italia and Roma. Their belief is of that sort in this particular,
that, if they set out on any expedition against another people, and
on encountering them this bird should appear, singing in what they
think is a melancholy tone, they immediately turn back and abandon
their purpose, fearing to be entirely destroyed. On the other hand,
if the bird sings to them agreeably, they at once regard their success
as certain.
When they make peace with their opponents, they use a thousand
execrations and imprecations with which they sign their treaties; and
in order to divine whether there is any insecurity in the decision
they catch a hog, and having stretched it on the ground, with its
feet fastened thereto, they thrust into the midst of its body a
knife, very broad and sharply pointed, and, quickly drawing this
out, they carefully look for the blood on both sides. If on the side
which faces either of the two parties there is no blood, or if it is
there but not running, they conclude that the people on that side are
deceiving them; but if the blood runs on both sides they shake hands,
together they feast on the hog, and they swallow powerful draughts
[of palm-wine?]--forming the same opinion from the blood as did the
ancients from the entrails of the animals which they sacrificed,
Cicero's statement being verified that there is hardly a nation which
does not find auguries in these things.
In the eclipses they display great sadness, believing that some dragon
will carry away the sun or the moon, and therefore they call upon it
in terms which express that idea. Accordingly, in order to succor those
heavenly bodies they raise loud yells, and shooting arrows upward, they
make a thousand demonstrations of grief, as did the Romans, according
to Tacitus and Livius.... To this the Chinese add still more; for,
besides the said shouting, they bring out some copper instruments,
a sort of timbrel, having a very loud and disagreeable sound;
and striking these all at the same time, they make a frightful and
horrible sound. This, they say, is to aid the sun not to be carried
away by the dragon, which they think is frightened by this noise,
and thus lets the sun go free.
These and other superstitions and idle beliefs are generally held by
the infidels of these islands, and among the peoples of whom we are
speaking not only are these ideas found complete, but also, since among
those people dwell apostates, who have some knowledge of the mysteries
of our holy faith and of Christian observances, they introduce among
the multitude of such notions others from Christianity--with the
mixture which they make of these, bending one knee to Christ and the
other to the demon, and believing all these things equally. But it is
not surprising that they do this, when even over here after six hundred
years there still were left relics of the ancient heathenism, like to
these, as appears from the Councils, and from the saints above cited,
who rebuke in terminis these very things--to which may be added the
Council of Agde, [49] and other writings of the saints. [Mozo here
relates some incidents to show how the devil holds these poor people
in bondage, and terrifies them with threats and horrible sights.]
[In these missions, from the year 1718, multitudes of infidels were
baptized and hundreds of apostates reclaimed. Prominent among the
laborers therein were Fray Juan Velloxin, Fray Antonio Leon and a
brother of his (who died worn out by the fatigues of his work), Fray
Manuel Calvo, and Fray Francisco Alvarez. [50] During that time four
villages of converts were formed--Ururin, Lupao, Umingan, and Tayog,
in which the natives lived in very Christian fashion, their numbers
increasing with new conversions. Mozo relates several instances of
the opposition made by the devil to this work.]
CHAPTERS X, XI
Missions to Visayas
Having now made known the triumphs secured in this present century
in the great island of Luzon, it is right that we say something of
the missions which the province maintains in the various islands
which are called Visayas; and, in order that the reader may better
understand the pious labors which are being endured in the conversion
of the infidels therein to our holy faith, it will be very proper
to say something about the customs of the said peoples, and of the
places where they dwell, even though it be without enlarging much
thereon. Commencing with the latter point, I relate how in two
islands, called Zebu and Panay, there are some exceedingly dense
woodlands, and mountain districts more rugged than can be described;
for they are so impenetrable, and so thick with undergrowth, that
it is impossible to make a step forward without the utmost toil,
and even danger, especially for those who are ignorant of the path,
such as it is--which the natives know, and by which they go down,
when it suits them, to look for some things which they need. In
the said mountains dwell a people who are called Mundos; [51] they
have the same characteristics of fierceness and barbarism as those
of whom we have spoken in preceding missions, but they have besides
this a peculiarity which renders them intractable, for they have among
them some fearful wizards, who by conversing with the demon do things
which cause terror, and who are able to render credible much of what
is regarded as fabulous. [Here our author cites various writers to
show how prevalent was witchcraft in the ancient times.]
In this manner, then, instructed and misled by the demon, those
barbarians do fearful things, especially to revenge themselves, to
the continual terror of those about them. The natives say that these
wizards, changed into crocodiles, follow them when in their canoes,
and do not stop until they seize some person whom they hate; also
that they change themselves into other animals, in order to commit
other wicked acts--as likewise that, availing themselves of various
enchantments, they commit horrible murders, with a thousand other
diabolical acts which are attributed to them. For this reason, if any
one having this reputation enters any village to settle there, or,
when already resident there, some rumor arises that he may be such
a person, they immediately summon him peremptorily to depart from
the village within three days; and if he does not obey they burn his
house, and even himself and his family, nor is it once only that they
have killed such persons with their lances. I do not doubt that the
vulgar herd invent much, but as little is it doubtful that there are
many wizards, who do a thousand evil things.
Among them a malady is apt to prevail which they call bungsol (which
signifies "a sudden swoon"), which is apt to attack them as a result
of swellings, as hard as a stone, which originate in their stomachs;
this trouble is often caused by chills, which they experience from
going barefoot in the water and in wet places, and is wont to cause
them such pains that on occasion they will suddenly appear as if
dead. At other times, this sickness is also caused by some magic of a
sorcerer, which they call gavay, by which word they are accustomed to
denote the witchcraft and the act of practicing it--in which they do
not often make a mistake; for through their mouths, as well as through
other conduits of the body, these sorcerers on occasion eject rice
in the hull, and other things, which could not be done if they were
not aided by something of the said magic. In order to cure the person
bewitched in this manner, they endeavor to summon some other person who
has the reputation of a sorcerer; and this person, performing various
exercises of his powers, calls to the one who caused that sickness. If
the sufferer does not improve, the sorcerer at once pretends that the
first one must be very far away, and for this reason cannot hear him,
but will return the next day; and by this means he keeps the people
deceived, and eats and drinks at the cost of the poor sick man. It
also sometimes happens that they are quickly cured, and therefore
when they see these things they feel such fear that, when the sorcerer
goes so far as to ask for anything, they immediately give it to him,
fearing lest he may bewitch them--in the same way as occurs over here
[in España] in some little villages, when those persons go through
them whom they call loberos, [52] and others of that stripe.
If on a journey they lose their way in some desert plain, they
attribute this to the patianac of whom we spoke before; and in order
that they may be able to find the road they strip off their clothing,
and with this they say that they succeed in doing so because this
proceeding frightens the patianac, and he takes flight and does not
mislead them. In order to discover and know who it is that has taken
from them any missing article, they employ a diabolical device, which
they practice with a sort of sieve, which they call bilao--an act in
which one plainly recognizes that it proceeds from the demon; for by
simply shaking the said sieve while they name various persons the
[name of the] thief comes into their minds. They also summon their
manes, or [spirits of the] dead, when they are assembled in the house
where some person has died; and in order to see whether or not those
spirits come they lay down a sort of fine mat, and, scattering over
it ashes in order that the marks of feet may be printed thereon,
often there may be seen the traces of footsteps, and with this they
remain well content. It is true, however, that even over here [in
Europa] such things were wont to be seen in olden times, as we read in
various writings which describe the sacrifices which were offered to
such departed spirits; and our father St. Augustine points out this,
citing Marcus Varro, while it is individually explained by Tiraquellus
and others....
As for the missions which the [Augustinian] province has in the Visayas
Islands, the toil with which they have been and are being cultivated
is inexpressible, and very little, if anything, has been published
or known about them--partly because, as this work is carried on more
remote from sight, it has been less likely to attract applause;
and likewise because the religious, content that God, for love of
whom they are employed therein, should be cognizant of their labors,
care little for the rest, thus avoiding the subtle vainglory which,
under pretext of the glory of God and the honor of the religious order,
often deceitfully seeks praise for oneself....
Let the first mission, then, to become known to the public be that
of Bugasson, in the mountains of the province of Panay, in order
that it may be known how great has been the labor in the conversion
of those infidels. In the year 1704, father Fray Thomás Sanchez,
a son of this province of Castilla, when he had finished baptizing
the Indians who lived on the plains in that region, was assigned
by his obedience to the said mountains, with two other fathers,
as his associates. They obeyed the orders of their superior, and,
after having conquered various difficulties, with a thousand risks
of their lives, and having endured a thousand hardships of hunger,
want, the fatigues of the wretched roads, and other inclemencies of
the weather, amid the terrors of death they were able to secure the
baptism of a number of barbarians, enough to establish a foothold in
that region and erect a church. They continued in their task, reaping
considerable fruit, although in a short time, worn out by fatigues,
the said father and one of his companions died. Others were sent in
their places by the province, who were able to imitate the zeal of the
first missionaries so closely that in the year 1733 they were able to
form a village of the recent converts alone, on a most favorable site,
of more than two thousand five hundred souls; and, our Lord continuing
His favors, so great a number have been added to the flock of Christ,
by means of the continual preaching and industry of the missionary
religious, that in the original chart of the said village which was
sent to his Majesty in the past year of 1760, it is shown to have,
counting women, men, and children, six thousand and eighty-nine souls,
who are now baptized and reclaimed to civilization.
At the western side of the province of Panay, about twenty-five or
thirty leguas out at sea, there are some little islets called the
Cagayans; they are so low that they can hardly be seen, except when
one is very near, and therefore when the Indians sailed thither they
followed a star, by which they had marked the location of these
islets. In them were many infidels, and even therein took refuge
all the outlaws, and men who committed murders. There is no water
in the said islands, but they contain so great an abundance of the
palms called "cocoa" that, with the water of the said fruit, they
do not feel the need of any other. [To go among these people was
exceedingly dangerous, on account of their fierce natures; but it
was accomplished (in 1703) by Fray Hypolito Casiano, who succeeded in
winning their friendship and converting them to the Christian faith,
so that in two years (as stated by the provincial Olarte, ante) he had
"baptized all the infidels there, and induced all the criminals who had
resorted thither to repent of their deeds and reform their lives." He
continued these labors and these triumphs until his death, in 1726.]
The third mission of the Visayas Islands is that of which the reverend
father provincial Fray Vicente Ibarra gave a particular and exact
account to the governor of the islands in the year 1738, when he had
finished his visitation of the missions, having received an urgent
request that he should make report of their condition and progress
(for with all this strictness are affairs examined in Philipinas,
since such is the command of his Majesty, whom may God preserve);
and because the said father provincial, as being an eyewitness
and well acquainted with the religious who began that mission, can
speak with more accuracy, I will set down his very words, as follows:
"The third mission which my province maintains is in the mountains of
Bosoc in the province of Ogtong, on the further coast of the province
of Panay. This mission was established in the year 1728, an entrance
being made in the rugged region of those mountains by father Fray
Felix de Zuñiga [53]--a religious of the most religious habits and the
gentlest demeanor; and so zealous for souls that, without heeding the
inclemencies of those wild mountains, he went about on foot, unshod, in
sun and in rain, crossing almost by a miracle swollen and rapid rivers,
and, despising danger, made his way into the most secluded places, in
which there are many apostates and Carib [54] blacks, of which sort
are all those who are in the mountains of these islands. Such power
had his zeal and constancy that he gained no small number of souls,
since from those who were converted he was able to form three small
villages; but, while he was praying one day in the little house which
he had made for his dwelling, some apostates killed him with their
lances. At present the said mission is cared for, on account of the
great deficiency of men that we experience, by two religious who are
in the village of Bugasson."
[All these missions were still conducted, when Mozo wrote, and were
saving many souls; but their work was greatly limited and hindered by
the scarcity of workers. These missionaries displayed the same spirit
of devotion, zeal for souls, and self-sacrifice as did the earlier
ones, but "with this difference [in results], that our predecessors
dealt with peoples who were gentler and more civilized, while those of
the present time are handling people who are more fierce and barbarous;
and for this reason their triumphs must be the more glorious, and their
virtue and constancy most firmly grounded. Many other souls are caught
for Heaven in these islands by those religious who serve in villages
near the districts where there are infidels, of which there are many
in the said islands. They penetrate further into the country when
they are permitted to do so, and they lose no opportunity when those
[infidels] go down to their villages to procure articles that they
need, which occurs often; those [thus converted] amount to several
hundred persons annually."]
[Mozo here describes certain remedies for sickness which are used
by the natives. Among these are the gall and fat of the python
(called saua and biting, in various dialects) and another similar
species of serpent, which reach an enormous size in the forests of
the interior. The gall is used both internally and externally by
the natives, to cure chills and pains in the stomach--to which they
are especially liable from going barefooted, and more or less naked,
through mud and rain at all times; also for malignant fevers and any
inflammation which causes them. Mozo relates how he had cured himself
of a high fever, when the physicians had "sentenced him to death,"
by the use of this remedy, and had on other occasions been relieved or
cured by it; "consequently, I guard what I have of it like a precious
jewel." The fat of these serpents is equally efficient for swellings
or pains in the muscles and sinews, especially those caused by chills
and exposure to weather; also it relieves the pains of gout.]
[Those Indians used a small stone, resembling a nut, in order to
facilitate childbirth; they said that it was found, although only in
small quantities, in a mine somewhere; this stone, applied to the left
thigh, would quickly relieve the most difficult case of parturition,
[55] and afterward, applied again, would bring away the placenta;
but in both cases it must be removed as soon as the desired effect
was accomplished, or else it would "cause even the bowels to be drawn
out." They also made use of a certain root, called in the Pampanga
tongue sugapa, [56] to inflame their courage in battle; "he who eats
it is made beside himself, and rendered so furious that while its
effect lasts he cares not for dangers, nor even hesitates to rush
into the midst of pikes and swords. On many occasions, therefore,
when they go out to fight with any who are hostile to them they are
wont to carry this root with them, and, by eating it at the time of
the attack, they enter the battle like furious wild beasts, without
turning back even when their force is cut to pieces; on the other hand,
even when one of them is pierced from side to side with a lance, he
will raise himself by that very lance in order to strike at him who
had pierced him. Sometimes, also, when they wish to revenge themselves
on some more powerful man, it occurs to them to eat the said root;
and, with the fury which it arouses in them, they fling themselves
upon him like rabid wolves, being carried away by that rage in the
presence of the person whom they meet, whoever he may be. Therefore,
on account of the pernicious effects which the said root causes,
the Dutch have given peremptory orders in Batavia that any person
who sees another, whoever he may be, in the said fury shall without
fail shoot him or [otherwise] put him to death, in order that an end
may be put to the fatal accidents which are daily seen in that city,
on account of the natives there being very prone to this barbarous
proceeding. The Malanao and Joloan Moros are accustomed to use this
plant much. They are also acquainted with other herbs the use of
which is no less pernicious, although in another way than is the
root above referred to. I have forgotten their names, but in those
regions there are many who know them, and are even acquainted with
those plants (would that it were not so!). It is true, indeed, that
among those who are now living in a civilized manner and are grounded
in the faith, hardly any abuse is found in this respect; and even,
except very seldom, any one who is acquainted with those plants;
but among some infidel tribes there is often much of this, as I
could confirm by cases which occurred to me while I was among those
people." [Mozo here mentions certain herbs (unnamed) which produce a
complete physical torpor in the person to whom they are administered,
so that he can use neither voice nor limbs; [57] the natives are apt
to avail themselves of this for purposes of robbery, but "they do not
use it in order to abuse women, which is an especial providence of our
Lord." He relates an "amusing trick" played by the natives on another
religious: this father had baptized some infants, on condition that
they be surrendered to his care to be brought up as Christians; after
a time, the parents came one night, and burned the above-mentioned
herb under the house, thus producing its effect upon the inmates;
"and in the sight of all, without any one having the power to move,
they seized the infants and went away with them," nor was the father
ever able to find either the children or their parents.]
[The rest of Mozo's work (pp. 152-234) is occupied with the relation
of the Augustinian missions in China; at the end is a list of the
baptisms solemnized by one missionary during the year 1760-61,
giving the name, age, and residence of each; most of these persons
are children, and one had been a priest of an idol.]
DOMINICAN MISSIONS IN PANIQUI AND ITUY
[In a rare pamphlet printed at Manila and dated 1745--of which the
Library of Congress possesses a copy--Bernardo Ustáriz, [58] then
provincial of the Dominican order in Filipinas, wrote a sketch of
the above missions, from which we make the following summary:]
[The missions of the order had reaped a rich harvest in central Luzón,
but the fathers were not satisfied because the gospel had secured no
stable footing "in Paniqui, [59] which was hiding among the provinces
of Cagayan, Pangasinan, and Pampanga." They succeeded in making an
entrance therein in 1739, at the cost of the lives of four of their
missionaries; but six years later they were maintaining four laborers
in that region and making encouraging progress. In this enterprise
they were liberally aided by Governor Gaspar de la Torre. In those
remote and wild regions the missionaries suffered greatly from lack
of suitable shelter and food, the inclemencies of the weather, and
the hardships of traveling. As an illustration: "On one occasion,
a missionary having set out from the village of Appiàt for the place
called Cauayan, night came upon him when he reached a village named
Làcab; he expected that he could find a lodging there, and thus
pass the night less uncomfortably, under some roof. He uttered loud
cries, calling to its inhabitants, but his only reply was a confused
yelling from the women, who in anger cried out that the religious
should not enter the village. At the time they were offering a
public supplication, in order to obtain from their idols rain for
making their fields fruitful; and, as they formed the opinion that
the devil would not speak to them through fear of the religious,
they would not consent that the father should lodge in any of their
houses. Accordingly, he found himself obliged to sleep on the ground
that night, exposed to any disagreeable change of weather that might
arise." For some time the missionaries were derided, repelled, and
threatened, and the natives endeavored to prevent them from entering
the houses; but they persevered undauntedly, and the devil was
often thwarted by their courageous resistance. Many persons desired
baptism, but some were lured away by the devil, speaking through
the priestesses (or aniteras), and others were intimidated by the
opposition of their friends and relatives, who would even threaten
a convert with death. Some fancied that to become a Christian would
render one "a perpetual slave to the Spaniards." In 1743, a chief at
Appiat came with his family to the missionaries to be baptized. In
the aforesaid space of six years, they had "succeeded in erecting
six churches, in the villages of Cauayàn, Appiàt, Bagabag, Lappàu,
Darùyag, and Carìg. To these should be added that of Bayombong; for,
although some Christians were there when it was received from the
reverend Augustinian fathers, there were still many infidels, of whom
some lived with the said Christians, and others had fled to a forest
called Vàcal--from which they have gradually come out by dint of the
visits which the missionaries have frequently made them, and with the
baptisms among them an increase has been made in the number of the
Christians who were in Bayombong when the Order of St. Dominic began
its ministrations there. Thus, in the said seven churches there is
the number of nine hundred and seventy souls, baptized in the said
time--besides ten apostates, who after many years have returned to
the Christian faith. The number of Christians would be greater, if the
missionaries did not use especial care in administering baptism, and if
they were willing to comply with the desires of many persons." Many
of the requests for baptism were caused by the desire to escape
from tyrannical lords, or from creditors, or from the penalty due to
their crimes; and not a few imagined that they could thus gain some
more influential position among their people. In those seven churches
there were eight hundred and fifty-eight catechumens; and these would
have been more numerous if there were missionaries. At the time of
Ustáriz's writing, there has been a gratifying change in the feelings
of those people, even among the infidels; they are more docile, and
more friendly to the missionaries, and they even live more peaceably
among themselves, committing fewer murders. Governor Torre granted
to these fathers "extraordinary Indian guards, who even yet have not
been able to complete the works in all the villages. In Cauayàn and
Lappàu, they have built substantial houses and churches of planks;
in Bagabag and Daruyag they have constructed houses of the same sort,
and although [in those places] there are pavilions suitable for saying
mass, they will proceed to build there substantial churches when
they finish the wooden house and church in Appiàt (or Gàpat); they
will also build a house in Carig, where a large church of planks has
already been completed. In the village of Bayombong it has likewise
been necessary to build a new house and church of planks, because
the buildings which were there for both these were little more than
hovels." These same Indian guards had been obliged to spend much time
in opening and repairing roads, which had delayed their work on the
church buildings; but those new roads had enabled the missionaries
to secure an easy communication with the surrounding provinces, and
to discover the lurking-places of the heathen natives. The work and
maintenance of these Indian laborers are paid for by the government;
but the fathers had to spend no small sum in other ways, to secure
the spiritual conquest of the heathen about them. "It is necessary to
influence them not only by fear but by love," and thus the missionary
must give them gratuities and presents; he must also support some
of them, even for several months, who came from a great distance to
receive instruction and, being in a strange land, had no means of
support. The fathers had furnished plows to all who asked for them,
that the natives might better cultivate their lands.]
[In the villages of Bujay and Dupag, and still more in the district
of Ytuy, they met many obstacles and afflictions, as those natives
were not so docile as those of Paniqui. "Nevertheless, much fruit
has been gathered, in baptizing many infidels of the neighboring
tribes, Ygolot, Ylongot, and others; and in reclaiming some apostates
who were hiding in the mountains." The missionaries were troubled
not only with the obstinacy of those in Ytuy (or Ysinay), and the
persistent efforts of the devil to render their labors vain, but
with the hostilities committed on their converts by a tribe close
by Ytuy, called Panoypuyes, who made head-hunting raids on their
Christian neighbors. The Ysinays were a timid people, and these fierce
marauders kept them in abject submission to their tyranny--killing
them when found alone or unprotected on the road, killing or snaring
their cattle, demanding from them contributions of produce, and even
human beings whom the tyrants slew and then "offered in sacrifice
to their false gods." The missionaries feared that they must abandon
this mission; but, hearing that Auditor Arzadun was then making his
official visitation in the province of Pangasinan, they appealed to
him for aid. He sent a body of armed men from that province against
the Panoypuyes, but they could not administer sufficient punishment;
he then ordered troops from Cagayan, two hundred and eighty-two
in number. To these were added fifty of the Indian guards from the
mission of Santa Cruz of Paniqui, and some of the native converts
there; and this expedition was able to check the insolence of those
dreaded marauders. Ustáriz presents an extract from the report of
this enterprise which was furnished to him by Fray Antonio del Campo,
the vicar-provincial of the said missions. The expedition captured
and burned the villages of Ajanàs (the principal village of the
Panoypuyes), Masi, Taveng, Bangao, and others; and slew Sapàc--the
chief who ruled that tribe, and had been most tyrannical toward "the
poor Ysinay Christians"--with many of his followers. In Ajanàs was a
large building, on higher ground than the rest, and surrounded by a
wall of stones, which was their sole fortress; "it was destined only
for the residence of the unmarried men, who, according to the custom of
that tribe, are not allowed to cover the more shameful part of their
bodies, nor sleep where the married people live; the said pavilion
also served as a watch-tower the duty of sentinel service belonging to
the unmarried men." Since this castigation, the missions and Christian
Indians had enjoyed peace; and the natives, relieved from their terror
of the enemy, had flocked to the missionaries for baptism. In Bujày
there were baptized about two hundred persons of the Ygolots alone,
and at this writing there were "more than seven hundred souls newly
added to this mission; for, the report of the valor of the Cagayan
Christians in this undertaking having spread abroad, it has penetrated
into even the most remote part of the mountains, attracting even
the most secluded of the Ylongots, a tribe who rival the Panoypuyes
in valor and fierceness. The mission of Paniqui likewise felt these
benign effects; for at the report of such an achievement more than
six hundred persons came to enroll themselves for the [instruction in]
catechism, from the Yogad and Gaddàng tribes--besides forty souls from
the village of Ybana in the Ygolot tribe, who united themselves to
the village of Bayombong. Nor was this blessing monopolized by these
two missions, but, crossing the mountains, it went on to Pungcan--to
which place many families, influenced by the rumor of this influx
of people [to the missions], have come down from the Gumangi tribe,
in whose instruction the reverend Augustinian fathers are occupied."]
[A pamphlet (Mexico? ca. 1740) by Fray Manuel del Rio, then provincial
of the Dominicans in Filipinas, relates the "events in the mission of
Santa Cruz in Ituy, in the province of Paniqui: in the year 1739;" it
is reprinted by Retana in his Archivo, ii, pp. 175-205. The following
information is gleaned therefrom, space not permitting us to present
more than the leading facts contained therein.] [60]
[The Dominican province of Filipinas had within the islands the
following active missions: San Miguel de Oriong, in the mountains of
Batan; Pantol and Asingan, in those of Pangasinan; in the islands
[61] which extend toward Hermosa Island, those of the Batanes and
Calayàn; and in the mountains and hills of Cagayan, the missions of
Santa Rosa of Cifun, Tumavini, Orag, Mavanan, Santa Cruz, Vangan,
and Capitanan. The missionaries in the provinces of Pangasinan and
Cagayan had long desired to extend their work into the inland region
lying between those provinces; and this was begun in the year 1632,
in the district of Ituy, or Isinay. This mission was founded by Fray
Thomàs Gutierrez, who afterward died therein. The district of Paniqui
was afterward chosen for missionary labors, but up to 1736 with only
indifferent and occasional success; it "was founded in Zifun by Fray
Pedro Ximenez, and afterward was transferred to the location which
it now has, with the title of Santa Rosa." In 1735, the Augustinian
fathers (who at the time of Río's writing were administering the Ituy
mission) observed some indications that those hearts were becoming
softened; of this they informed the Dominicans, who in the following
year made the eighth attempt to establish a mission in that heathen
district. On May 25, 1736, Fray Diego de la Torre went from his
village of Ilagan (in Cagayan) to make a reconnaissance among the
heathen people of Cagayan; at first they rebuffed him, but by dint
of kind treatment and presents he won the confidence of some among
them. These told him that the only obstacle in the way of his efforts
was, the impassableness of the high-road from Cagayan to Pangasinan;
if this were made passable, they would have no longer a barrier
between themselves and Spanish influence. Fray Torre's report of
his dealings with these heathen induced the Dominican provincial,
Fray Geronymo Sanz Ortiz, to ask Valdés Tamón for government aid
to their new enterprise; the governor granted the establishment
of a mission in Paniqui, composed of four religious and the guard
necessary for their protection, at the expense of the king; and
the following religious were sent thither: Fray Manuel Molinér,
Fray Joseph Thomás Marin, Fray Romualdo Molina, and Fray Pedro
de Sierra. They began their labors in July, 1737, and encountered
determined opposition from the natives, who, advised by the demon,
would not admit them into the villages. The chiefs demanded, as the
price of even allowing the missionaries to remain near the villages,
gifts of beads, cattle and horses, and gold; and, finally, two men
to slay as offerings to their demons. Fray Molinér died suddenly,
it was suspected from poison given to him by some heathen; and in
his stead Fray Torre was sent. About this time (1738) the fathers
received protection and hospitality from an Indian woman of rank in
that tribe; and this aid, with the presents given by the fathers and
their persistent charity and gentleness, softened the hearts of the
unbelievers until they consented to make a treaty of peace, some of
the chiefs even going to Nueva Segovia to ratify it. Nevertheless,
the fathers still experienced much opposition, especially from the
people of Bayongbong, the most southern and the chief village of that
heathen district; and often their lives were in danger, especially
when their Indian guards became frightened and began to retreat to
their homes. Indeed, Fathers Torre and Molina died suddenly, probably
from poison, like Molinér. The Dominican provincial again appealed
to the government for aid, asking that more guards be assigned to
the missionaries, and that one or two military posts be established
in that province--partly for the protection of the missionaries,
partly to ensure the safety of the road which was to be built from
Pangasinan to Cagayan; [62] this was granted by the governor, and the
necessary provisions made therefor. By the time when news of this came
to Cagayan, Marin had so far advanced matters that "almost nothing
remained to overcome;" he had secured the support of a powerful chief
named Danao, and toleration from another named Ansimo; and Marin went
to Pangasinan, taking with him Pyrán, Danao's grandson--who was so
caressed and honored by the Spaniards that he returned home a firm
friend to the missionaries, and did much to open his countrymen's
hearts toward them. The Dominican father provincial determined to
open a direct road from Paniqui to Pangasinan, at the expense of the
province--a most arduous and difficult undertaking, on account of
the rugged surface of the country and the hostility of the Igorrots,
"a bloodthirsty and very treacherous people." Father Manuel del Río was
sent out to make the necessary explorations for this road, in which
he suffered great hardship. The Igorrots were greatly opposed to the
intended road-making; but they were finally induced, by the father's
arguments, but still more by his liberal distribution of presents,
to give their consent. The treaty made with them was thus solemnized:
"In the presence of all, a hog was killed, and, as soon as the knife
was thrust into it, profound silence reigned--all watching the dying
struggles of the animal, and the flowing of its blood, which seemed
like a fountain gushing upward. After a long time, a Christian
Indian who was experienced in their ceremonies came forward, and,
collecting in his hand some of the animal's blood, went, with loud
cries and a swaggering step, and smeared with the blood the feet
of the Igorrot chiefs; at this they were well pleased, and began
to talk vigorously in their own language, and with bold gestures,
as a sign that they would fulfil their agreement. This done, they
were given something to drink, and the cattle, carajays, [63] salt,
and other things at which the bargain had been settled were placed
before them; and they returned to their villages contented, having
remained from that time friends with the Christians. This road is two
days' journey in length, from the most eastern village of Pangasinan,
called Asingan, to the village of Buxay among the Isinay people, which
is a mission of the Augustinian fathers. For the greater comfort of
travelers, road-houses were built at regular distances, in the places
called Colong, Malalapang, and Malionlion; and in the last-named,
which is the last town on the border of Pangasinan, a religious was
stationed--on account of some Igorrot Christians being there, with
some others who, it was hoped, would become Christians--with the title
of missionary to the infidels there; he was separate from the other
four who were in the province of Paniqui, who were destined to the
reduction and conversion of the infidels in that province. This was
a great achievement to open this road for communication between the
provinces; for this has been an undertaking often attempted but never
carried out, and often the royal exchequer has incurred great costs
in it, and always without any benefit--especially twenty years ago,
when the unfortunate mariscal Don Fernando Bustillo, governor and
captain-general of these islands, attempted to open this road. Many
thousands of pesos were spent, many unlucky events occurred, and
no result was attained; and now, without any expense to the royal
exchequer, at the cost of the religious order, it was readily cut
through and opened. It is hoped that this road will be of great
utility, not only for the said communication and trade between the
provinces, but also for the easier conversion of the infidels--who,
through trade and communication with the Christians, will learn their
civilization and excellent customs, and will after a time abandon the
barbarous condition in which they lived before." In April of 1739,
Father Río was accompanied to Manila by Danao and the other chiefs
already mentioned; they were feasted and laden with presents, and the
governor "granted freely whatever they asked." In this road-building
and other matters pertaining to this mission, the Dominican province
spent "almost three thousand eight-real pieces; although it is the
poorest province in the Indias, it can liberally spend its treasure,
as now it has done, in the service of God and for the good of souls,
for which chiefly it was founded."] [64]
EVENTS IN FILIPINAS, 1739-1762
[A brief summary of events during the above period is here presented;
it is taken, like similar abstracts in previous volumes, mainly from
the histories of Zúñiga, Concepción, and Montero y Vidal.]
[The government of the islands by Valdés y Tamón ended in the summer
of 1739, when he was succeeded by Gaspar de la Torre. Just before this
time, the former ordered the royal fiscal, Christoval Perez de Arroyo,
[65] to be sent to prison for refusing to give up certain documents in
his possession; the fiscal then took refuge in the Recollect convent,
and his property was seized. After Torre's coming, the archbishop
(Fray Juan Angel Rodriguez), at the instance of the Recollects,
made arrangements with him for Arroyo's restitution to office;
but the governor, instead, imprisoned the fiscal. The suit against
him could not be decided at Manila, and was therefore referred to
the court at Madrid, Arroyo meanwhile remaining a prisoner, and
harshly treated. The archbishop was so grieved at this, and at his
having been the cause (although innocent) of Arroyo's imprisonment,
by inducing him to leave his asylum in the convent, that he became
seriously ill; and the heroic remedies prescribed by the physicians
so reduced his strength that he soon died. Among the accusations
made against Arroyo was that he had married (in 1738) Doña Maria
Luisa Josepha de Morales y Santistevan without the knowledge and
consent of her guardian; but this was apparently settled by the
proof afterward adduced that the marriage took place on August 12,
1742, and was performed by the guardian himself, Juan de la Fuente y
Yepes, dean of the cathedral. In the following December Arroyo died;
his widow was summoned to take his place in the legal proceedings
then pending against him, but asked the authorities to release her
from this requirement; nevertheless, her property was seized, and
the case was referred to Madrid for settlement. The court censured
both Valdés y Tamón and Torre for their proceedings in the matter,
and ordered that Arroyo be restored to his office, with pay for the
time which he had spent in prison; but this decision reached Manila
(April, 1743) only after his death. (Concepción, Hist. de Philipinas,
xi, pp. 89-121.)]
[In January of 1743 the bishop-elect of Nueva Caceres, the master
Don Isidoro de Arevalo, asked from the Manila government permission
to go to Macao to receive his consecration, there being no bishop in
the islands to confer it. But the governor had received letters from
China which told of the expedition of the English commander Anson (see
VOL. XLVII, p. 231, note 48), his depredations on the South American
coast, and his presence in the harbor of Canton for the purpose of
repairing his vessel; and he therefore asked the bishop to defer his
voyage for a time, in order to avert the danger of his capture by
the English "pirate." In the following May, news came to Manila that
Anson had sailed from Canton, and gone toward the Embocadero to lie
in wait for the Acapulco galleon "Cobadonga;" the ship "Pilar," which
Anson had been previously foiled in capturing, was despatched (June
3) to aid the galleon, but its commander seems to have been timorous,
and took refuge in the port of Ticao at the news of a strange warship
being seen (June 22) in those waters. Finally, his ship began to leak,
and he returned to Manila without accomplishing anything. On June
30 the "Cobadonga" was captured by Anson, after a brave resistance
by the Spaniards. The residencia of the officers of the "Pilar"
was delayed for two years, and, although the charges of delay and
negligence brought against them were serious, they were finally
exonerated from blame; those of the expedition which endeavored,
but unsuccessfully, to find and punish Anson after his capture of the
"Cobadonga" were also justified. As for the commander (Don Geronimo
Montero) and officers of the latter vessel, severe charges were
brought against them by the royal fiscal for surrendering the ship;
they were arrested, and a special investigation of the matter was made
by the royal Audiencia. The fiscal demanded that they be punished;
but after examination of the testimony, the governor decided that
they were not to blame for the surrender; but they were condemned to
pay the costs of their trial. In this voyage the "Cobadonga" had not
brought from Mexico the returns on the investments made for that year
by the Misericordia [66] and other administrators of obras pías; these
returns, amounting to 1,200,000 pesos, were left behind at Acapulco,
either through fear of the English cruisers or for more profitable
investment in Mexico. Hence arose a controversy as to the restitution
of these funds, and the Misericordia brought suit for their recovery
from the agents who had withheld them; but it was decided by the
Council of Indias that the latter were not bound and could not be
compelled to repay the money. "In the outer court of justice this
went very well, but in the inner court it was quite otherwise; for we
have knowledge of actual restitutions of the property thus withheld
being made to the obras pías, by those persons who had more healthy
consciences." (Concepción, Hist. de Philipinas, xi, pp. 121-237.)]
[The remainder of this summary is taken from Zúñiga's Historia de
Philipinas, pp. 546-601.]
Señor Don Gaspar de la Torre made a bad beginning of his government;
the violent proceedings which he instituted against the fiscal
Arroyo began to make him odious to the community, the misfortunes
which occurred during his term of office exasperated the minds of the
citizens, and all his conduct was directed more toward pacifying this
hatred than to gaining the esteem of the subjects whom he ruled. Seeing
that he was disliked in the city, he began to be affected with
melancholy, from which resulted a dysentery, a disease from which
one seldom recovers in Philipinas. His illness was aggravated by the
news which reached him that the village of Balayan in the province
of Batangas had revolted; [67] and finally a supposed revolt of the
Sangleys ended his life. There was a rumor that the Chinese were
going to come into the city, and, notwithstanding his illness, he
tried to go out against them; his friends would not permit this, and
soon ascertained that it was all a fabrication; [68] but he became so
feverish from the shock that he died a few days afterward, September
21, 1745.... In his place began to rule, conformably to the directions
given by his Majesty, Señor Arrechedera of the Order of St. Dominic,
the bishop-elect of Ylocos. He made investigations in regard to the
uprising of the Chinese, and found that they had no such intention,
nor had they given any cause for suspecting them of rebellion; it was
therefore believed that this report had been circulated in order to
vex the governor. No long time was spent in quelling the uprising
in Balayan; for the sargento-mayor went out with a hundred men of
the regular troops and many Indians, encountered the insurgents, and,
although he could not conquer them, because the Indians who accompanied
him all fled immediately, checked the onset of the enemy, without his
having suffered any mishap, save that he received a musket-shot from
one of his own men, a raw recruit. He asked for aid from Manila, and
they sent him two hundred men, with whom he conquered the enemies and
punished them as they deserved--shooting some, and banishing others,
according to the influence that they had exercised in the sedition,
which vanished like smoke. He left behind a small detachment in that
province, in order to inspire some respect [for the Spanish power]
in the seditious who might remain in hiding; and the rest of the
troops were sent to Cavite, because, besides the information which he
received that the English were at Batavia with a squadron, the alcalde
of Ilocos gave warning that two ships had been seen from that coast,
with two smaller vessels, which were believed to be enemies. The
most illustrious governor put the town in a condition for defense,
erected various works, purchased arms through the agency of foreigners,
and cast some cannons. All these preparations were not necessary,
for the English did not come, although they resented our having taken
from them a brigantine and a balandra.... In Philipinas, Manila found
some consolation in the arrival of two ships, [69] which had returned
from Acapulco and brought some funds to relieve the necessities of
the commonwealth. In one of them came Don Fray Pedro de la Santisima
Trinidad, [70] who, while a member of the Council of Indias, had
taken the Franciscan habit in the Recollect convent of Pomasque;
and his Majesty presented him for the archbishopric of Manila,
asking the pope to compel him to accept that dignity. Fray Pedro,
not being able to oppose the mandate of his Holiness, was consecrated
in España; he came to Philipinas, and took possession of his office
[mitra] on August 27, 1747. It appeared that he ought to have begun
at the same time to rule as governor [of the islands]; for the king's
decree appointed for the vacancies [in that office] the archbishop
of Manila, and in default of him the nearest bishop--through which
arrangement the office had been assumed by Señor Arrechedera, who
ought to have surrendered the authority to the archbishop as soon as
the latter took possession of his see. His most illustrious Lordship
did not choose to stir up this question, and contented himself with
reporting the matter to the court; answer was made to him that orders
had already been previously despatched that he should take charge
of the government ad interim, but this royal order did not arrive
[at Manila] until after the arrival of the proprietary governor. [His
most illustrious Lordship] also brought a decree in which his Majesty
committed to him the expulsion of the Chinese--which had not yet
been effected, on account of the personal interests of the governors,
although it had been repeatedly commanded; but he thought it well not
to make the decree known until a better opportunity, because he found
Señor Arrechedera greatly devoted to the Chinese." [71] This was the
only defect that was observed in this most illustrious prelate and
governor; in other matters his most illustrious Lordship carried
himself with much honor in his government. He quelled the revolt
in the island of Bohol, sending Commander Lechuga with a suitable
force; this officer punished some of the rebels, and reduced all the
fishermen's villages of that island to obedience to the king of España;
but in the hill-country the insurgents remain until this day. [72]
The Jesuits had been urging our Catholic monarch Phelipe V, and
constrained him to the inglorious act of writing to the kings of Joló
and Mindanao; the governor sent ambassadors to deliver his letters
and make an alliance with the Moros. [73] Those petty kings were
greatly delighted at the honor thus done them by a king so great
as that of España, and, in order to gratify him by complying with
his requests to them, consented to receive missionaries into their
countries. A Jesuit father went to Mindanao, but, seeing that the
chiefs were restless and the king had little power to restrain them,
he feared that they would take his life, and abandoned his mission;
and he fled for refuge to the fort of Zamboanga. In Joló two Jesuits
began to sow the seed of the gospel, [74] but gathered little fruit
because the panditas of the Moro religion raised a fierce opposition
to them, and the leading men of the kingdom were not willing that
the missionaries should preach a different faith from that which they
had inherited from their ancestors. In these circumstances the king
of Joló, Mahomad Alimudin, desired to go to visit the governor of
Manila; but the Jesuit fathers were displeased at this resolution,
because they feared that the king's brother Bantilan, an enemy to the
Christians, would be left in command. From this resulted jealousies
and disturbances in the court, and the minds of men became so inflamed
that some one gave the sultan, or king, a lance-thrust. [75] Affairs
were thrown into so bad condition that the fathers of the Society,
not considering themselves safe in Joló, precipitately retreated
to Zamboanga. The sultan Alimudin likewise fled from his kingdom
in order to go to Manila, to seek aid from the governor in order to
punish the rebels who had given him the lance-thrust and conspired
against his person. [76] He reached Zamboanga, [77] and there the
Spaniards furnished him with means to proceed to Manila; he entered
that city with a retinue of seventy persons, with whom he was lodged
in a house in the suburb of Binondo, which was kept at his disposal
at the cost of the royal treasury. Afterward he made his public entry
[into Manila], and was received with great ostentation; the leading
persons in Manila visited him, and presented to him gold chains,
robes, diamond rings, sashes, and gold-headed canes--so that he was
astonished at so much magnificence, and at the generosity of the
Spaniards, for whatever he needed for the support of his household
was supplied to him from the royal treasury. [78]
The governor desired that the sultan should become a Christian,
and spoke to him about it; and the latter did not delay to pretend
to embrace our religion. He was entrusted to two Jesuit fathers
for instruction in the faith, and very soon he was instructed in
the Christian doctrine, and gave signs of being truly converted,
by the urgent requests which he made to the archbishop to baptize
him. Nevertheless, his conversion was somewhat uncertain. Some said
that he became a Christian only that the Spaniards might place him on
the throne from which he saw himself ousted, and that we ought not to
trust in his conversion; others were of opinion that in his conforming
to the usage of the church we ought to believe that his intention
was sincere, and that he should be baptized, so long as he did not in
his outward actions give cause for thinking otherwise. In view of this
diversity of opinions, his illustrious Lordship thought it expedient to
delay the baptism, and to wait until the sultan should give stronger
proofs of his resolution. This delay vexed the bishop-governor, who
desired to see him a Christian as soon as possible; and, as he could
not change the archbishop's mind, he sent Alimudin to the village of
Panique, [79] which is the nearest one [to Manila] in his bishopric
of Ylocos, in order that he might be baptized there; and he sent a
Spaniard to appear in his name as sponsor. Besides the guard of his
own people, the sultan was accompanied by another guard of Spaniards;
and in all places through which he passed a ceremonious reception was
given to him. In Panique he was baptized by a Dominican religious,
on April 29, 1750, with great solemnity and the assistance of other
religious of the same order. On his return to Manila, the governor
received him with a general salvo from the plaza, and ordered that
festivities should be celebrated with comedies, dances, fireworks,
and bull-fights, in sign of rejoicing.
In Joló the brother of the sultan, named Bantilan, had continued
in the government of the kingdom; it was he who had ordered that
his brother be assaulted, and had stirred up the rebellion among
the chiefs which compelled his brother to take refuge among the
Spaniards. Bantilan was the greatest enemy that the Spaniards and
Christians had, and gave orders that many boats should go out to
infest our seas. The Joloans--who were rebels against their own king,
and pirates by office--equipped many pancos, joined with them other
Moros, whom they call Tirones, and began plundering raids through
all the islands. The most illustrious governor gave his commands
against them, and commanded some small fleets to set sail; this did
not fail to cause in the Moros some respect [for our power], and to
restrain them; but no injury was inflicted on them, nor were their
insolent acts punished, because there were in Manila few troops. For
this reason it was impossible to restore the throne to the king of
Joló, who was now, since becoming a Christian, named Don Fernando de
Alimudin; the proprietary governor, who arrived in the same year when
he was baptized, met him in Manila with the greatest ostentation.