Chapter XXVI.Zambales (3).The Zambales are a small and unimportant tribe of the Malay race, with some admixture of Negrito blood. They inhabit part of the province of Zambales from the River Nája down to South Felipe, a coast village in 15° N. latitude, and in their mountains there roam a good many Negritos. The Zambales are subjugated and converted to Christianity, but some still maintain a partial independence amongst the mountains, paying, however, the “Reconocimentio de Vassallaje.” At the time of the conquest, these people were famous head-hunters, and otherwise manifested a bloodthirsty disposition. They lived in villages of thirty to forty families, quite independent of each other, and their chiefs possessed but little influence. When one of a family died the surviving male relatives put on a black head-cloth or turban, which they durst not remove until one of them had killed some one else so as to satisfy the death vengeance. A murder could be atoned for by a payment in gold or in goods, or a slave or Negrito might be delivered up to be sacrificed to themanesof the departed. It was customary amongst them to take with them to their feasts the heads or skulls they possessed. The heads were placed on poles and ceremonial dances were performed around them. They also emulated the Vikings by making drinking cups out of their enemies’ skulls.Their religion was similar to that of the Tagals. Their principal god was called Malayari, but he had under him two deputy gods, Acasi and Manglobag, and a large number of inferior gods. Their chief priest was called Bayoc, and exercised great influence amongst them.They celebrated baptism with the blood of a pig. Amongst them, as in Borneo and with many tribes of Malays who are not Mahometans, the pig is considered as the most acceptablesacrifice to the gods. For particulars about this I refer the reader to ‘Life in the Forests of the Far East,’ by Spenser St. John.Now, at last, they have been brought into the Christian fold, though, perhaps, amongst the pine-clad mountains, heathen customs maintain their hold upon the wild hillmen. These latter trade with their Christian and partly-civilised brethren, bringing them jungle produce, tobacco, and the small bezoar stones, so highly prized by the Chinese, in return for articles they require. The Zambales raise some rice and a little sugar. Their trade is inconsiderable, their exports being limited to Sapan wood, jungle produce, timber, fire-wood, and charcoal, all of which is shipped to Manila, where it finds a ready sale. The total population of this province was 94,551 in 1876, but only a portion of these were Zambales.Pangasinanes (4).The Pangasinanes inhabit the north-western part of the province of Pangasinan, and the northern part of the province of Zambales from the River Naja, which runs into the Bay of Bazol, round Cape Bolinao to Sual, including the Island of Cabarruyan and Santiago. But the southern and eastern part of their province is partly inhabited by Pampangos and Ilocanos.On the other hand, there are some Pangasinanes scattered about the northern part of Nueva Écija amongst Tagals and Ilocanos, and there are a few as colonists in Benguet.In former times the Pangasinanes occupied a wider extent of country. When Juan Salcedo arrived he found them occupying the southern part of La Union; but they have been and are still being pushed back by the more hard working and energetic Ilocanos.As the limits of their province do not correspond to the ethnographical boundaries, it is not easy to estimate their numbers. I think there may be about 300,000 of them.The Pangasinanes were subjugated by the Spaniards in 1572, and in 1576 they were all Christians. Their manners and customs are similar to those of the Pampangos and Tagals, but they have a rougher and more uncouth appearance. Their chief occupation is cultivating rice, and whenever this is the case the people are poor and little advancedin civilisation. It is the lowest kind of agriculture any people can follow. The first sign of prosperity in an eastern people is given when they begin to import rice, as it shows that they have a more remunerative occupation to follow than cultivating it for themselves. Thus the Cagayanes who grow tobacco, the Pampangos who grow sugar, and the Vicols of Albay and neighbouring islands who grow hemp, all import rice.Mr. J. W. Jamieson, the Acting British Consul at Sumao, in a report on the trade of Yunnan, issued the 7th of December, 1898, says: “Apart from minerals, the province possesses a few other resources and the inhabitants are lazy and unenterprising to a degree. So long as they can grow enough rice to feed themselves and procure enough cotton to make the few articles of clothing necessary in this equable climate, they are content.”I am glad to find this confirmation of my views in this matter. Mr. Jamieson’s remarks apply to all the rice-growers I have seen.The rice is raised in the delta of the Agno and about that river. Formerly, the Pangasinanes not only sent rice to Manila, but exported it to China, Siam, and Annan.For this trade they built their own vessels at Lingayen, and in the flourishing period, some twenty-five years ago, their shipwrights used to turn out eight or ten schooners in a year, vessels able to carry 300 to 400 tons dead weight. Since the introduction of steamers into the coasting trade, the construction of sailing vessels has greatly diminished. Still, they turn out two or three a year.In some parts of the province they make sugar, but it will not compare in quality with that made in Pampanga. It has a smaller grain and a paler colour, but less sweetening power. The average of thirty samples, taken as the sugar was ladled out of thetacho, was—Crystallizable sugar70.40 per cent.Uncrystallizable13.00Ash1.97It is drained in pilones, or earthenware moulds; but, unlike the Pampanga custom, the moulds are not delivered with the sugar, but the leaf is wrapped in the dried sheaths of the palm, tied about with split rattan. Most of the sugar is sent by sea to Manila and exported to China for directconsumption in one of the provinces where it finds a ready sale.Indigo was formerly cultivated here and exported, and at one time a good deal of Sapan wood was also exported, but the trade in these articles has almost ceased.Amongst the industries of Pangasinan may be mentioned the manufacture of hats, hundreds of thousands of which were made at Calasiao from grass ornito, and sent to Boston or New York. There are also at Calasiao, and in some other towns, blacksmiths who forge excellentbolosor wood-knives from the iron-bands taken off bales of cotton cloth or sacking.Carromatas, the two-wheeled vehicles of the country, are constructed in Lingayen and Dagupan, and are said to be very well made.I may mention here that the ponies raised in these provinces are inferior to the Ilocanos or even the Albay breed.The sands of the River Agno near Rosales, and of the streams coming down from Mount Lagsig, are washed for gold, principally by women who obtain but a meagre return.The civilisation of the Pangasinanes is only skin-deep, and one of their characteristics is a decided propensity toremontar, that is, to abandon their towns or villages and take to the mountains, out of reach of all authority. There are some great land-owners in Pangasinan; one of them, Don Rafael Sison, owns an estate that stretches from Calasiao and Santa Barbara to Urdaneta.Ilocanos (5).This hard-working and industrious race occupies the northern and western shores of Luzon, from Point Lacatacay on the 121st meridian, east from Greenwich, to San Fabian, on the Gulf of Lingayen. This includes the three provinces of Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, and La Union. The Ilocanos have also pushed into the north-eastern part of Pangasinan, where they occupy seven towns, and they inhabit the town of Alcalá in the province of Cagayan, several villages in Benguet, parts of the towns of Capas and O’Donnell in the provinces of Tarlac, and some towns in Zambales and Nueva Écija. They are all civilised and have been Christians for three centuries. Amongst themdwell many converted Tinguianes and Igorrotes, who speak the Ilocan dialect.Blumentritt attributes the energy and activity of the Ilocanos to an admixture, even though it be small, of these brave and hardy races. In dress and appearance they are similar to the Tagals, and like them carry the indispensablebolo. They cultivate tobacco, cotton, rice, maize, indigo, sugar-cane, and a little cacao and coffee. They also grow the pita (Agave Americana), which gives the fibre for the nipis textiles, ajonjoli (Sesamum indicum, L.), from which they extract oil, which is used in medicine and for the hair, and they even grow some wheat. They extract a black resin from the Antong (Canarum Pimela), which is used as incense or for making torches; another resin from the Bangad, which is used as a varnish, another from the Cajel (Citrus Aurantium), and many others used either in medicine, for torches, for varnishing, or for paying the seams of wooden vessels. They get gum from the Balete (Ficus Urostigma), and from the Lucban, or orange tree (Citrus decumana,L.), oil from the Palomaria (Calophyllum inophyllum,L.), and from a large number of other trees, some only known by the native name, and the use of which is uncertain. They obtain dyes from many trees growing wild in the forests, amongst others from the Tabungao (Jatropha Curcas,L.), the Lomboy (Eugenia Lambolana,Lam.), the sibucao (Coesalpinia Sappan,L.). Their cultivation of indigo is declining, partly because the demand has diminished in consequence of the introduction of chemical substitutes, and also because the Chinese, into whose hands the whole produce of these provinces found its way, adulterated it so abominably as to discredit it altogether. Yet so great is the facility of Ilocan territory for growing indigo, that Gregorio Sy Quia of Vigan exhibited in Madrid in 1887 no less than seventy-five different kinds of indigo, and seventy-five different seeds corresponding to the samples. At the same exhibition, no less than twenty-four different kinds of rice were exhibited from Ilocos, and this by no means exhausts the list. Every kind has a distinctive name. The textile industry flourishes amongst these industrious people. The Local Committee of Namagpacan, in the province of La Union, sent to Madrid for the above-mentioned exhibition, no less than 145 different textiles, whilst other towns sent looms and other implements. Amongst the articles woven are quilts, cotton blankets(the celebrated Mantos de Ilocos), napkins and towels, and a great variety of material for coats, trousers, women’s dresses and other uses. Guingon (called by sailors dungaree), a blue stuff for clothing, costs from $0.50 to $0.31, 2s.8d.per vara (2 feet 9 inches), a mixture of cotton and silk, for men’s wear, $1.25 per vara, silk handkerchiefs $0.25 each.The Ilocans also make nets for fish, and for deer and pigs; baskets of all sorts, salacots or hats.They grow two kinds of cotton for textiles, the white and the Coyote. Another kind, a tree cotton from the Boboy (Eriodendron anfractuosum,D.C.), is only used for stuffing pillows. They extract oil from the seeds of all three kinds.Like the other civilized natives they live principally on rice and fish, which they capture in large quantities. Blumentritt mentions two kinds, the “Ipon” and the “Dolon,” which they salt or pickle.They have fine cattle, which they sell to the Igorrotes. It will be noted that the Tinguianes, on the other hand, sell cattle to the Ilocanos. The ponies of Ilocos are highly valued in Manila, where there is a great demand for them. They are smaller than the ponies of other provinces, but are very hardy and spirited, and go at a great pace.Tulisanesformerly infested these provinces and found a ready refuge in the mountains, when pursued by thecuadrilleros, or village constables, who were only armed withbolos, lances, and a few old muskets. But the creation of the Civil Guard, formed of picked officers and men, who were armed with Remingtons and revolvers, and whose orders were, “Do not hesitate to shoot,” made this business very dangerous, and the three provinces suffer little from brigandage. When Juan Salcedo conquered the Ilocos, he found a caste of nobles amongst them who possessed all the riches of the country, and treated thecailanes, or serfs, with great rigour. Their tyranny caused several bloody rebellions, and although at present matters in this respect have improved, there is still room for complaint that the people who do the work do not get a fair remuneration for it, the rich man always endeavouring to keep the poor man in permanent indebtedness. In consequence of this, the Ilocanos are ever ready to emigrate, and besides the places I have mentioned, there are thousands of them in Manila and other parts of the islands. They easily obtain employmenteither as servants, cultivators, or labourers, for they are superior in stamina to most of the civilised races, and in industry superior to them all.I have no doubt that there is a great future before this hardy, enterprising, and industrious people.Ibanags or Cagayanes (6).The Ibanags inhabit the Babuyanes and Batanes Islands and the northern coast of Luzon, from Point Lacaytacay to Punta Escarpada, and all the country comprised between the Rio Grande and the summits of the Sierra Madre as far south as Balasig.They also hold the left bank of the river from the sea, right up to the confluence of the River Magat for an average width of some five miles.They are said to be the finest race and the most valiant men in the islands, and to have manfully resisted the Spaniards.However, they were conquered and converted to Christianity. From the year 1781 they have been subjected to the worst form of slavery, the forced cultivation of tobacco. The detestable abuses brought into this system by the unblushing rascality of the agents of the treasury, became, finally, so glaring, and the condition of the Ibanags so dreadful, that, in 1882, the Governor-General, Moriones (see Chapter “Spanish Government”), forced the hand of Cánovas and the royal family, who desired to sell the monopoly, and this horrible slavery ceased, having lasted over a century, going from bad to worse.Since that date the condition of the Ibanags has greatly improved; they have continued the cultivation of tobacco, and private enterprise has done much to introduce the finest seed and to improve the cultivation and preparatory operations. The “Compañia Tabacalera de Filipinas,” a Franco-Catalan enterprise, has established the Haciendas of San Antonio, San Rafael, and Santa Isabel, in the district of Isabela.They have built large warehouses in Tumaúini and have agents in all the principal towns.On the river they have a stern-wheel steamer, theAntonio Lopez, and a number of steel-lighters for carrying down tobacco.The tobacco is ready for transport in December andJanuary. It is sent down the river to Aparri, from whence it is shipped to Manila. In a normal dry season (February to August), the river is navigable for steamers of two feet draught up to Alcalá, the trade of which town is not important; but that of Tuguegárao is so, and up to that point the current is not strong.Amongst the Ibanags the distinction of noble and plebeian has been as strongly marked as amongst the Tagals, Pampangos, and Ilocanos, and the intense cupidity of the nobles, or rather usurers, which name better describes them, has led to many bloody outbreaks on the part of the oppressed and enslaved debtors.The government has steadily encouraged the Ilocanos and others to settle in Cagayan and plant tobacco, giving them free passages and advances of money in the days of the monopoly.On the other hand, the discontent of the Ibanags has led them to migrate to other provinces when possible, for the authorities prevented them from doing so by force when they could. They especially endeavoured to get to Manila, and I remember many years ago the arrival of a starving and ragged band, who had tramped all the way from Isabela to Manila to escape from their cruel task-masters.However, things are better with them now, and I hope means will be found under the Stars and Stripes to introduce a better system of finance, and to curb the greed of the usurer, either by legislation or by competition on a fair and humane basis. The Ibanag language is spreading greatly amongst the hill-tribes around them as a commercial language, just as Ilocano is spreading on the West Coast.Under American influence an immense development of the provinces of Cagayan and Isabela may be expected in the near future, and the Ibanags will doubtless benefit by this.
Chapter XXVI.Zambales (3).The Zambales are a small and unimportant tribe of the Malay race, with some admixture of Negrito blood. They inhabit part of the province of Zambales from the River Nája down to South Felipe, a coast village in 15° N. latitude, and in their mountains there roam a good many Negritos. The Zambales are subjugated and converted to Christianity, but some still maintain a partial independence amongst the mountains, paying, however, the “Reconocimentio de Vassallaje.” At the time of the conquest, these people were famous head-hunters, and otherwise manifested a bloodthirsty disposition. They lived in villages of thirty to forty families, quite independent of each other, and their chiefs possessed but little influence. When one of a family died the surviving male relatives put on a black head-cloth or turban, which they durst not remove until one of them had killed some one else so as to satisfy the death vengeance. A murder could be atoned for by a payment in gold or in goods, or a slave or Negrito might be delivered up to be sacrificed to themanesof the departed. It was customary amongst them to take with them to their feasts the heads or skulls they possessed. The heads were placed on poles and ceremonial dances were performed around them. They also emulated the Vikings by making drinking cups out of their enemies’ skulls.Their religion was similar to that of the Tagals. Their principal god was called Malayari, but he had under him two deputy gods, Acasi and Manglobag, and a large number of inferior gods. Their chief priest was called Bayoc, and exercised great influence amongst them.They celebrated baptism with the blood of a pig. Amongst them, as in Borneo and with many tribes of Malays who are not Mahometans, the pig is considered as the most acceptablesacrifice to the gods. For particulars about this I refer the reader to ‘Life in the Forests of the Far East,’ by Spenser St. John.Now, at last, they have been brought into the Christian fold, though, perhaps, amongst the pine-clad mountains, heathen customs maintain their hold upon the wild hillmen. These latter trade with their Christian and partly-civilised brethren, bringing them jungle produce, tobacco, and the small bezoar stones, so highly prized by the Chinese, in return for articles they require. The Zambales raise some rice and a little sugar. Their trade is inconsiderable, their exports being limited to Sapan wood, jungle produce, timber, fire-wood, and charcoal, all of which is shipped to Manila, where it finds a ready sale. The total population of this province was 94,551 in 1876, but only a portion of these were Zambales.Pangasinanes (4).The Pangasinanes inhabit the north-western part of the province of Pangasinan, and the northern part of the province of Zambales from the River Naja, which runs into the Bay of Bazol, round Cape Bolinao to Sual, including the Island of Cabarruyan and Santiago. But the southern and eastern part of their province is partly inhabited by Pampangos and Ilocanos.On the other hand, there are some Pangasinanes scattered about the northern part of Nueva Écija amongst Tagals and Ilocanos, and there are a few as colonists in Benguet.In former times the Pangasinanes occupied a wider extent of country. When Juan Salcedo arrived he found them occupying the southern part of La Union; but they have been and are still being pushed back by the more hard working and energetic Ilocanos.As the limits of their province do not correspond to the ethnographical boundaries, it is not easy to estimate their numbers. I think there may be about 300,000 of them.The Pangasinanes were subjugated by the Spaniards in 1572, and in 1576 they were all Christians. Their manners and customs are similar to those of the Pampangos and Tagals, but they have a rougher and more uncouth appearance. Their chief occupation is cultivating rice, and whenever this is the case the people are poor and little advancedin civilisation. It is the lowest kind of agriculture any people can follow. The first sign of prosperity in an eastern people is given when they begin to import rice, as it shows that they have a more remunerative occupation to follow than cultivating it for themselves. Thus the Cagayanes who grow tobacco, the Pampangos who grow sugar, and the Vicols of Albay and neighbouring islands who grow hemp, all import rice.Mr. J. W. Jamieson, the Acting British Consul at Sumao, in a report on the trade of Yunnan, issued the 7th of December, 1898, says: “Apart from minerals, the province possesses a few other resources and the inhabitants are lazy and unenterprising to a degree. So long as they can grow enough rice to feed themselves and procure enough cotton to make the few articles of clothing necessary in this equable climate, they are content.”I am glad to find this confirmation of my views in this matter. Mr. Jamieson’s remarks apply to all the rice-growers I have seen.The rice is raised in the delta of the Agno and about that river. Formerly, the Pangasinanes not only sent rice to Manila, but exported it to China, Siam, and Annan.For this trade they built their own vessels at Lingayen, and in the flourishing period, some twenty-five years ago, their shipwrights used to turn out eight or ten schooners in a year, vessels able to carry 300 to 400 tons dead weight. Since the introduction of steamers into the coasting trade, the construction of sailing vessels has greatly diminished. Still, they turn out two or three a year.In some parts of the province they make sugar, but it will not compare in quality with that made in Pampanga. It has a smaller grain and a paler colour, but less sweetening power. The average of thirty samples, taken as the sugar was ladled out of thetacho, was—Crystallizable sugar70.40 per cent.Uncrystallizable13.00Ash1.97It is drained in pilones, or earthenware moulds; but, unlike the Pampanga custom, the moulds are not delivered with the sugar, but the leaf is wrapped in the dried sheaths of the palm, tied about with split rattan. Most of the sugar is sent by sea to Manila and exported to China for directconsumption in one of the provinces where it finds a ready sale.Indigo was formerly cultivated here and exported, and at one time a good deal of Sapan wood was also exported, but the trade in these articles has almost ceased.Amongst the industries of Pangasinan may be mentioned the manufacture of hats, hundreds of thousands of which were made at Calasiao from grass ornito, and sent to Boston or New York. There are also at Calasiao, and in some other towns, blacksmiths who forge excellentbolosor wood-knives from the iron-bands taken off bales of cotton cloth or sacking.Carromatas, the two-wheeled vehicles of the country, are constructed in Lingayen and Dagupan, and are said to be very well made.I may mention here that the ponies raised in these provinces are inferior to the Ilocanos or even the Albay breed.The sands of the River Agno near Rosales, and of the streams coming down from Mount Lagsig, are washed for gold, principally by women who obtain but a meagre return.The civilisation of the Pangasinanes is only skin-deep, and one of their characteristics is a decided propensity toremontar, that is, to abandon their towns or villages and take to the mountains, out of reach of all authority. There are some great land-owners in Pangasinan; one of them, Don Rafael Sison, owns an estate that stretches from Calasiao and Santa Barbara to Urdaneta.Ilocanos (5).This hard-working and industrious race occupies the northern and western shores of Luzon, from Point Lacatacay on the 121st meridian, east from Greenwich, to San Fabian, on the Gulf of Lingayen. This includes the three provinces of Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, and La Union. The Ilocanos have also pushed into the north-eastern part of Pangasinan, where they occupy seven towns, and they inhabit the town of Alcalá in the province of Cagayan, several villages in Benguet, parts of the towns of Capas and O’Donnell in the provinces of Tarlac, and some towns in Zambales and Nueva Écija. They are all civilised and have been Christians for three centuries. Amongst themdwell many converted Tinguianes and Igorrotes, who speak the Ilocan dialect.Blumentritt attributes the energy and activity of the Ilocanos to an admixture, even though it be small, of these brave and hardy races. In dress and appearance they are similar to the Tagals, and like them carry the indispensablebolo. They cultivate tobacco, cotton, rice, maize, indigo, sugar-cane, and a little cacao and coffee. They also grow the pita (Agave Americana), which gives the fibre for the nipis textiles, ajonjoli (Sesamum indicum, L.), from which they extract oil, which is used in medicine and for the hair, and they even grow some wheat. They extract a black resin from the Antong (Canarum Pimela), which is used as incense or for making torches; another resin from the Bangad, which is used as a varnish, another from the Cajel (Citrus Aurantium), and many others used either in medicine, for torches, for varnishing, or for paying the seams of wooden vessels. They get gum from the Balete (Ficus Urostigma), and from the Lucban, or orange tree (Citrus decumana,L.), oil from the Palomaria (Calophyllum inophyllum,L.), and from a large number of other trees, some only known by the native name, and the use of which is uncertain. They obtain dyes from many trees growing wild in the forests, amongst others from the Tabungao (Jatropha Curcas,L.), the Lomboy (Eugenia Lambolana,Lam.), the sibucao (Coesalpinia Sappan,L.). Their cultivation of indigo is declining, partly because the demand has diminished in consequence of the introduction of chemical substitutes, and also because the Chinese, into whose hands the whole produce of these provinces found its way, adulterated it so abominably as to discredit it altogether. Yet so great is the facility of Ilocan territory for growing indigo, that Gregorio Sy Quia of Vigan exhibited in Madrid in 1887 no less than seventy-five different kinds of indigo, and seventy-five different seeds corresponding to the samples. At the same exhibition, no less than twenty-four different kinds of rice were exhibited from Ilocos, and this by no means exhausts the list. Every kind has a distinctive name. The textile industry flourishes amongst these industrious people. The Local Committee of Namagpacan, in the province of La Union, sent to Madrid for the above-mentioned exhibition, no less than 145 different textiles, whilst other towns sent looms and other implements. Amongst the articles woven are quilts, cotton blankets(the celebrated Mantos de Ilocos), napkins and towels, and a great variety of material for coats, trousers, women’s dresses and other uses. Guingon (called by sailors dungaree), a blue stuff for clothing, costs from $0.50 to $0.31, 2s.8d.per vara (2 feet 9 inches), a mixture of cotton and silk, for men’s wear, $1.25 per vara, silk handkerchiefs $0.25 each.The Ilocans also make nets for fish, and for deer and pigs; baskets of all sorts, salacots or hats.They grow two kinds of cotton for textiles, the white and the Coyote. Another kind, a tree cotton from the Boboy (Eriodendron anfractuosum,D.C.), is only used for stuffing pillows. They extract oil from the seeds of all three kinds.Like the other civilized natives they live principally on rice and fish, which they capture in large quantities. Blumentritt mentions two kinds, the “Ipon” and the “Dolon,” which they salt or pickle.They have fine cattle, which they sell to the Igorrotes. It will be noted that the Tinguianes, on the other hand, sell cattle to the Ilocanos. The ponies of Ilocos are highly valued in Manila, where there is a great demand for them. They are smaller than the ponies of other provinces, but are very hardy and spirited, and go at a great pace.Tulisanesformerly infested these provinces and found a ready refuge in the mountains, when pursued by thecuadrilleros, or village constables, who were only armed withbolos, lances, and a few old muskets. But the creation of the Civil Guard, formed of picked officers and men, who were armed with Remingtons and revolvers, and whose orders were, “Do not hesitate to shoot,” made this business very dangerous, and the three provinces suffer little from brigandage. When Juan Salcedo conquered the Ilocos, he found a caste of nobles amongst them who possessed all the riches of the country, and treated thecailanes, or serfs, with great rigour. Their tyranny caused several bloody rebellions, and although at present matters in this respect have improved, there is still room for complaint that the people who do the work do not get a fair remuneration for it, the rich man always endeavouring to keep the poor man in permanent indebtedness. In consequence of this, the Ilocanos are ever ready to emigrate, and besides the places I have mentioned, there are thousands of them in Manila and other parts of the islands. They easily obtain employmenteither as servants, cultivators, or labourers, for they are superior in stamina to most of the civilised races, and in industry superior to them all.I have no doubt that there is a great future before this hardy, enterprising, and industrious people.Ibanags or Cagayanes (6).The Ibanags inhabit the Babuyanes and Batanes Islands and the northern coast of Luzon, from Point Lacaytacay to Punta Escarpada, and all the country comprised between the Rio Grande and the summits of the Sierra Madre as far south as Balasig.They also hold the left bank of the river from the sea, right up to the confluence of the River Magat for an average width of some five miles.They are said to be the finest race and the most valiant men in the islands, and to have manfully resisted the Spaniards.However, they were conquered and converted to Christianity. From the year 1781 they have been subjected to the worst form of slavery, the forced cultivation of tobacco. The detestable abuses brought into this system by the unblushing rascality of the agents of the treasury, became, finally, so glaring, and the condition of the Ibanags so dreadful, that, in 1882, the Governor-General, Moriones (see Chapter “Spanish Government”), forced the hand of Cánovas and the royal family, who desired to sell the monopoly, and this horrible slavery ceased, having lasted over a century, going from bad to worse.Since that date the condition of the Ibanags has greatly improved; they have continued the cultivation of tobacco, and private enterprise has done much to introduce the finest seed and to improve the cultivation and preparatory operations. The “Compañia Tabacalera de Filipinas,” a Franco-Catalan enterprise, has established the Haciendas of San Antonio, San Rafael, and Santa Isabel, in the district of Isabela.They have built large warehouses in Tumaúini and have agents in all the principal towns.On the river they have a stern-wheel steamer, theAntonio Lopez, and a number of steel-lighters for carrying down tobacco.The tobacco is ready for transport in December andJanuary. It is sent down the river to Aparri, from whence it is shipped to Manila. In a normal dry season (February to August), the river is navigable for steamers of two feet draught up to Alcalá, the trade of which town is not important; but that of Tuguegárao is so, and up to that point the current is not strong.Amongst the Ibanags the distinction of noble and plebeian has been as strongly marked as amongst the Tagals, Pampangos, and Ilocanos, and the intense cupidity of the nobles, or rather usurers, which name better describes them, has led to many bloody outbreaks on the part of the oppressed and enslaved debtors.The government has steadily encouraged the Ilocanos and others to settle in Cagayan and plant tobacco, giving them free passages and advances of money in the days of the monopoly.On the other hand, the discontent of the Ibanags has led them to migrate to other provinces when possible, for the authorities prevented them from doing so by force when they could. They especially endeavoured to get to Manila, and I remember many years ago the arrival of a starving and ragged band, who had tramped all the way from Isabela to Manila to escape from their cruel task-masters.However, things are better with them now, and I hope means will be found under the Stars and Stripes to introduce a better system of finance, and to curb the greed of the usurer, either by legislation or by competition on a fair and humane basis. The Ibanag language is spreading greatly amongst the hill-tribes around them as a commercial language, just as Ilocano is spreading on the West Coast.Under American influence an immense development of the provinces of Cagayan and Isabela may be expected in the near future, and the Ibanags will doubtless benefit by this.
Chapter XXVI.Zambales (3).The Zambales are a small and unimportant tribe of the Malay race, with some admixture of Negrito blood. They inhabit part of the province of Zambales from the River Nája down to South Felipe, a coast village in 15° N. latitude, and in their mountains there roam a good many Negritos. The Zambales are subjugated and converted to Christianity, but some still maintain a partial independence amongst the mountains, paying, however, the “Reconocimentio de Vassallaje.” At the time of the conquest, these people were famous head-hunters, and otherwise manifested a bloodthirsty disposition. They lived in villages of thirty to forty families, quite independent of each other, and their chiefs possessed but little influence. When one of a family died the surviving male relatives put on a black head-cloth or turban, which they durst not remove until one of them had killed some one else so as to satisfy the death vengeance. A murder could be atoned for by a payment in gold or in goods, or a slave or Negrito might be delivered up to be sacrificed to themanesof the departed. It was customary amongst them to take with them to their feasts the heads or skulls they possessed. The heads were placed on poles and ceremonial dances were performed around them. They also emulated the Vikings by making drinking cups out of their enemies’ skulls.Their religion was similar to that of the Tagals. Their principal god was called Malayari, but he had under him two deputy gods, Acasi and Manglobag, and a large number of inferior gods. Their chief priest was called Bayoc, and exercised great influence amongst them.They celebrated baptism with the blood of a pig. Amongst them, as in Borneo and with many tribes of Malays who are not Mahometans, the pig is considered as the most acceptablesacrifice to the gods. For particulars about this I refer the reader to ‘Life in the Forests of the Far East,’ by Spenser St. John.Now, at last, they have been brought into the Christian fold, though, perhaps, amongst the pine-clad mountains, heathen customs maintain their hold upon the wild hillmen. These latter trade with their Christian and partly-civilised brethren, bringing them jungle produce, tobacco, and the small bezoar stones, so highly prized by the Chinese, in return for articles they require. The Zambales raise some rice and a little sugar. Their trade is inconsiderable, their exports being limited to Sapan wood, jungle produce, timber, fire-wood, and charcoal, all of which is shipped to Manila, where it finds a ready sale. The total population of this province was 94,551 in 1876, but only a portion of these were Zambales.Pangasinanes (4).The Pangasinanes inhabit the north-western part of the province of Pangasinan, and the northern part of the province of Zambales from the River Naja, which runs into the Bay of Bazol, round Cape Bolinao to Sual, including the Island of Cabarruyan and Santiago. But the southern and eastern part of their province is partly inhabited by Pampangos and Ilocanos.On the other hand, there are some Pangasinanes scattered about the northern part of Nueva Écija amongst Tagals and Ilocanos, and there are a few as colonists in Benguet.In former times the Pangasinanes occupied a wider extent of country. When Juan Salcedo arrived he found them occupying the southern part of La Union; but they have been and are still being pushed back by the more hard working and energetic Ilocanos.As the limits of their province do not correspond to the ethnographical boundaries, it is not easy to estimate their numbers. I think there may be about 300,000 of them.The Pangasinanes were subjugated by the Spaniards in 1572, and in 1576 they were all Christians. Their manners and customs are similar to those of the Pampangos and Tagals, but they have a rougher and more uncouth appearance. Their chief occupation is cultivating rice, and whenever this is the case the people are poor and little advancedin civilisation. It is the lowest kind of agriculture any people can follow. The first sign of prosperity in an eastern people is given when they begin to import rice, as it shows that they have a more remunerative occupation to follow than cultivating it for themselves. Thus the Cagayanes who grow tobacco, the Pampangos who grow sugar, and the Vicols of Albay and neighbouring islands who grow hemp, all import rice.Mr. J. W. Jamieson, the Acting British Consul at Sumao, in a report on the trade of Yunnan, issued the 7th of December, 1898, says: “Apart from minerals, the province possesses a few other resources and the inhabitants are lazy and unenterprising to a degree. So long as they can grow enough rice to feed themselves and procure enough cotton to make the few articles of clothing necessary in this equable climate, they are content.”I am glad to find this confirmation of my views in this matter. Mr. Jamieson’s remarks apply to all the rice-growers I have seen.The rice is raised in the delta of the Agno and about that river. Formerly, the Pangasinanes not only sent rice to Manila, but exported it to China, Siam, and Annan.For this trade they built their own vessels at Lingayen, and in the flourishing period, some twenty-five years ago, their shipwrights used to turn out eight or ten schooners in a year, vessels able to carry 300 to 400 tons dead weight. Since the introduction of steamers into the coasting trade, the construction of sailing vessels has greatly diminished. Still, they turn out two or three a year.In some parts of the province they make sugar, but it will not compare in quality with that made in Pampanga. It has a smaller grain and a paler colour, but less sweetening power. The average of thirty samples, taken as the sugar was ladled out of thetacho, was—Crystallizable sugar70.40 per cent.Uncrystallizable13.00Ash1.97It is drained in pilones, or earthenware moulds; but, unlike the Pampanga custom, the moulds are not delivered with the sugar, but the leaf is wrapped in the dried sheaths of the palm, tied about with split rattan. Most of the sugar is sent by sea to Manila and exported to China for directconsumption in one of the provinces where it finds a ready sale.Indigo was formerly cultivated here and exported, and at one time a good deal of Sapan wood was also exported, but the trade in these articles has almost ceased.Amongst the industries of Pangasinan may be mentioned the manufacture of hats, hundreds of thousands of which were made at Calasiao from grass ornito, and sent to Boston or New York. There are also at Calasiao, and in some other towns, blacksmiths who forge excellentbolosor wood-knives from the iron-bands taken off bales of cotton cloth or sacking.Carromatas, the two-wheeled vehicles of the country, are constructed in Lingayen and Dagupan, and are said to be very well made.I may mention here that the ponies raised in these provinces are inferior to the Ilocanos or even the Albay breed.The sands of the River Agno near Rosales, and of the streams coming down from Mount Lagsig, are washed for gold, principally by women who obtain but a meagre return.The civilisation of the Pangasinanes is only skin-deep, and one of their characteristics is a decided propensity toremontar, that is, to abandon their towns or villages and take to the mountains, out of reach of all authority. There are some great land-owners in Pangasinan; one of them, Don Rafael Sison, owns an estate that stretches from Calasiao and Santa Barbara to Urdaneta.Ilocanos (5).This hard-working and industrious race occupies the northern and western shores of Luzon, from Point Lacatacay on the 121st meridian, east from Greenwich, to San Fabian, on the Gulf of Lingayen. This includes the three provinces of Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, and La Union. The Ilocanos have also pushed into the north-eastern part of Pangasinan, where they occupy seven towns, and they inhabit the town of Alcalá in the province of Cagayan, several villages in Benguet, parts of the towns of Capas and O’Donnell in the provinces of Tarlac, and some towns in Zambales and Nueva Écija. They are all civilised and have been Christians for three centuries. Amongst themdwell many converted Tinguianes and Igorrotes, who speak the Ilocan dialect.Blumentritt attributes the energy and activity of the Ilocanos to an admixture, even though it be small, of these brave and hardy races. In dress and appearance they are similar to the Tagals, and like them carry the indispensablebolo. They cultivate tobacco, cotton, rice, maize, indigo, sugar-cane, and a little cacao and coffee. They also grow the pita (Agave Americana), which gives the fibre for the nipis textiles, ajonjoli (Sesamum indicum, L.), from which they extract oil, which is used in medicine and for the hair, and they even grow some wheat. They extract a black resin from the Antong (Canarum Pimela), which is used as incense or for making torches; another resin from the Bangad, which is used as a varnish, another from the Cajel (Citrus Aurantium), and many others used either in medicine, for torches, for varnishing, or for paying the seams of wooden vessels. They get gum from the Balete (Ficus Urostigma), and from the Lucban, or orange tree (Citrus decumana,L.), oil from the Palomaria (Calophyllum inophyllum,L.), and from a large number of other trees, some only known by the native name, and the use of which is uncertain. They obtain dyes from many trees growing wild in the forests, amongst others from the Tabungao (Jatropha Curcas,L.), the Lomboy (Eugenia Lambolana,Lam.), the sibucao (Coesalpinia Sappan,L.). Their cultivation of indigo is declining, partly because the demand has diminished in consequence of the introduction of chemical substitutes, and also because the Chinese, into whose hands the whole produce of these provinces found its way, adulterated it so abominably as to discredit it altogether. Yet so great is the facility of Ilocan territory for growing indigo, that Gregorio Sy Quia of Vigan exhibited in Madrid in 1887 no less than seventy-five different kinds of indigo, and seventy-five different seeds corresponding to the samples. At the same exhibition, no less than twenty-four different kinds of rice were exhibited from Ilocos, and this by no means exhausts the list. Every kind has a distinctive name. The textile industry flourishes amongst these industrious people. The Local Committee of Namagpacan, in the province of La Union, sent to Madrid for the above-mentioned exhibition, no less than 145 different textiles, whilst other towns sent looms and other implements. Amongst the articles woven are quilts, cotton blankets(the celebrated Mantos de Ilocos), napkins and towels, and a great variety of material for coats, trousers, women’s dresses and other uses. Guingon (called by sailors dungaree), a blue stuff for clothing, costs from $0.50 to $0.31, 2s.8d.per vara (2 feet 9 inches), a mixture of cotton and silk, for men’s wear, $1.25 per vara, silk handkerchiefs $0.25 each.The Ilocans also make nets for fish, and for deer and pigs; baskets of all sorts, salacots or hats.They grow two kinds of cotton for textiles, the white and the Coyote. Another kind, a tree cotton from the Boboy (Eriodendron anfractuosum,D.C.), is only used for stuffing pillows. They extract oil from the seeds of all three kinds.Like the other civilized natives they live principally on rice and fish, which they capture in large quantities. Blumentritt mentions two kinds, the “Ipon” and the “Dolon,” which they salt or pickle.They have fine cattle, which they sell to the Igorrotes. It will be noted that the Tinguianes, on the other hand, sell cattle to the Ilocanos. The ponies of Ilocos are highly valued in Manila, where there is a great demand for them. They are smaller than the ponies of other provinces, but are very hardy and spirited, and go at a great pace.Tulisanesformerly infested these provinces and found a ready refuge in the mountains, when pursued by thecuadrilleros, or village constables, who were only armed withbolos, lances, and a few old muskets. But the creation of the Civil Guard, formed of picked officers and men, who were armed with Remingtons and revolvers, and whose orders were, “Do not hesitate to shoot,” made this business very dangerous, and the three provinces suffer little from brigandage. When Juan Salcedo conquered the Ilocos, he found a caste of nobles amongst them who possessed all the riches of the country, and treated thecailanes, or serfs, with great rigour. Their tyranny caused several bloody rebellions, and although at present matters in this respect have improved, there is still room for complaint that the people who do the work do not get a fair remuneration for it, the rich man always endeavouring to keep the poor man in permanent indebtedness. In consequence of this, the Ilocanos are ever ready to emigrate, and besides the places I have mentioned, there are thousands of them in Manila and other parts of the islands. They easily obtain employmenteither as servants, cultivators, or labourers, for they are superior in stamina to most of the civilised races, and in industry superior to them all.I have no doubt that there is a great future before this hardy, enterprising, and industrious people.Ibanags or Cagayanes (6).The Ibanags inhabit the Babuyanes and Batanes Islands and the northern coast of Luzon, from Point Lacaytacay to Punta Escarpada, and all the country comprised between the Rio Grande and the summits of the Sierra Madre as far south as Balasig.They also hold the left bank of the river from the sea, right up to the confluence of the River Magat for an average width of some five miles.They are said to be the finest race and the most valiant men in the islands, and to have manfully resisted the Spaniards.However, they were conquered and converted to Christianity. From the year 1781 they have been subjected to the worst form of slavery, the forced cultivation of tobacco. The detestable abuses brought into this system by the unblushing rascality of the agents of the treasury, became, finally, so glaring, and the condition of the Ibanags so dreadful, that, in 1882, the Governor-General, Moriones (see Chapter “Spanish Government”), forced the hand of Cánovas and the royal family, who desired to sell the monopoly, and this horrible slavery ceased, having lasted over a century, going from bad to worse.Since that date the condition of the Ibanags has greatly improved; they have continued the cultivation of tobacco, and private enterprise has done much to introduce the finest seed and to improve the cultivation and preparatory operations. The “Compañia Tabacalera de Filipinas,” a Franco-Catalan enterprise, has established the Haciendas of San Antonio, San Rafael, and Santa Isabel, in the district of Isabela.They have built large warehouses in Tumaúini and have agents in all the principal towns.On the river they have a stern-wheel steamer, theAntonio Lopez, and a number of steel-lighters for carrying down tobacco.The tobacco is ready for transport in December andJanuary. It is sent down the river to Aparri, from whence it is shipped to Manila. In a normal dry season (February to August), the river is navigable for steamers of two feet draught up to Alcalá, the trade of which town is not important; but that of Tuguegárao is so, and up to that point the current is not strong.Amongst the Ibanags the distinction of noble and plebeian has been as strongly marked as amongst the Tagals, Pampangos, and Ilocanos, and the intense cupidity of the nobles, or rather usurers, which name better describes them, has led to many bloody outbreaks on the part of the oppressed and enslaved debtors.The government has steadily encouraged the Ilocanos and others to settle in Cagayan and plant tobacco, giving them free passages and advances of money in the days of the monopoly.On the other hand, the discontent of the Ibanags has led them to migrate to other provinces when possible, for the authorities prevented them from doing so by force when they could. They especially endeavoured to get to Manila, and I remember many years ago the arrival of a starving and ragged band, who had tramped all the way from Isabela to Manila to escape from their cruel task-masters.However, things are better with them now, and I hope means will be found under the Stars and Stripes to introduce a better system of finance, and to curb the greed of the usurer, either by legislation or by competition on a fair and humane basis. The Ibanag language is spreading greatly amongst the hill-tribes around them as a commercial language, just as Ilocano is spreading on the West Coast.Under American influence an immense development of the provinces of Cagayan and Isabela may be expected in the near future, and the Ibanags will doubtless benefit by this.
Chapter XXVI.Zambales (3).
The Zambales are a small and unimportant tribe of the Malay race, with some admixture of Negrito blood. They inhabit part of the province of Zambales from the River Nája down to South Felipe, a coast village in 15° N. latitude, and in their mountains there roam a good many Negritos. The Zambales are subjugated and converted to Christianity, but some still maintain a partial independence amongst the mountains, paying, however, the “Reconocimentio de Vassallaje.” At the time of the conquest, these people were famous head-hunters, and otherwise manifested a bloodthirsty disposition. They lived in villages of thirty to forty families, quite independent of each other, and their chiefs possessed but little influence. When one of a family died the surviving male relatives put on a black head-cloth or turban, which they durst not remove until one of them had killed some one else so as to satisfy the death vengeance. A murder could be atoned for by a payment in gold or in goods, or a slave or Negrito might be delivered up to be sacrificed to themanesof the departed. It was customary amongst them to take with them to their feasts the heads or skulls they possessed. The heads were placed on poles and ceremonial dances were performed around them. They also emulated the Vikings by making drinking cups out of their enemies’ skulls.Their religion was similar to that of the Tagals. Their principal god was called Malayari, but he had under him two deputy gods, Acasi and Manglobag, and a large number of inferior gods. Their chief priest was called Bayoc, and exercised great influence amongst them.They celebrated baptism with the blood of a pig. Amongst them, as in Borneo and with many tribes of Malays who are not Mahometans, the pig is considered as the most acceptablesacrifice to the gods. For particulars about this I refer the reader to ‘Life in the Forests of the Far East,’ by Spenser St. John.Now, at last, they have been brought into the Christian fold, though, perhaps, amongst the pine-clad mountains, heathen customs maintain their hold upon the wild hillmen. These latter trade with their Christian and partly-civilised brethren, bringing them jungle produce, tobacco, and the small bezoar stones, so highly prized by the Chinese, in return for articles they require. The Zambales raise some rice and a little sugar. Their trade is inconsiderable, their exports being limited to Sapan wood, jungle produce, timber, fire-wood, and charcoal, all of which is shipped to Manila, where it finds a ready sale. The total population of this province was 94,551 in 1876, but only a portion of these were Zambales.Pangasinanes (4).The Pangasinanes inhabit the north-western part of the province of Pangasinan, and the northern part of the province of Zambales from the River Naja, which runs into the Bay of Bazol, round Cape Bolinao to Sual, including the Island of Cabarruyan and Santiago. But the southern and eastern part of their province is partly inhabited by Pampangos and Ilocanos.On the other hand, there are some Pangasinanes scattered about the northern part of Nueva Écija amongst Tagals and Ilocanos, and there are a few as colonists in Benguet.In former times the Pangasinanes occupied a wider extent of country. When Juan Salcedo arrived he found them occupying the southern part of La Union; but they have been and are still being pushed back by the more hard working and energetic Ilocanos.As the limits of their province do not correspond to the ethnographical boundaries, it is not easy to estimate their numbers. I think there may be about 300,000 of them.The Pangasinanes were subjugated by the Spaniards in 1572, and in 1576 they were all Christians. Their manners and customs are similar to those of the Pampangos and Tagals, but they have a rougher and more uncouth appearance. Their chief occupation is cultivating rice, and whenever this is the case the people are poor and little advancedin civilisation. It is the lowest kind of agriculture any people can follow. The first sign of prosperity in an eastern people is given when they begin to import rice, as it shows that they have a more remunerative occupation to follow than cultivating it for themselves. Thus the Cagayanes who grow tobacco, the Pampangos who grow sugar, and the Vicols of Albay and neighbouring islands who grow hemp, all import rice.Mr. J. W. Jamieson, the Acting British Consul at Sumao, in a report on the trade of Yunnan, issued the 7th of December, 1898, says: “Apart from minerals, the province possesses a few other resources and the inhabitants are lazy and unenterprising to a degree. So long as they can grow enough rice to feed themselves and procure enough cotton to make the few articles of clothing necessary in this equable climate, they are content.”I am glad to find this confirmation of my views in this matter. Mr. Jamieson’s remarks apply to all the rice-growers I have seen.The rice is raised in the delta of the Agno and about that river. Formerly, the Pangasinanes not only sent rice to Manila, but exported it to China, Siam, and Annan.For this trade they built their own vessels at Lingayen, and in the flourishing period, some twenty-five years ago, their shipwrights used to turn out eight or ten schooners in a year, vessels able to carry 300 to 400 tons dead weight. Since the introduction of steamers into the coasting trade, the construction of sailing vessels has greatly diminished. Still, they turn out two or three a year.In some parts of the province they make sugar, but it will not compare in quality with that made in Pampanga. It has a smaller grain and a paler colour, but less sweetening power. The average of thirty samples, taken as the sugar was ladled out of thetacho, was—Crystallizable sugar70.40 per cent.Uncrystallizable13.00Ash1.97It is drained in pilones, or earthenware moulds; but, unlike the Pampanga custom, the moulds are not delivered with the sugar, but the leaf is wrapped in the dried sheaths of the palm, tied about with split rattan. Most of the sugar is sent by sea to Manila and exported to China for directconsumption in one of the provinces where it finds a ready sale.Indigo was formerly cultivated here and exported, and at one time a good deal of Sapan wood was also exported, but the trade in these articles has almost ceased.Amongst the industries of Pangasinan may be mentioned the manufacture of hats, hundreds of thousands of which were made at Calasiao from grass ornito, and sent to Boston or New York. There are also at Calasiao, and in some other towns, blacksmiths who forge excellentbolosor wood-knives from the iron-bands taken off bales of cotton cloth or sacking.Carromatas, the two-wheeled vehicles of the country, are constructed in Lingayen and Dagupan, and are said to be very well made.I may mention here that the ponies raised in these provinces are inferior to the Ilocanos or even the Albay breed.The sands of the River Agno near Rosales, and of the streams coming down from Mount Lagsig, are washed for gold, principally by women who obtain but a meagre return.The civilisation of the Pangasinanes is only skin-deep, and one of their characteristics is a decided propensity toremontar, that is, to abandon their towns or villages and take to the mountains, out of reach of all authority. There are some great land-owners in Pangasinan; one of them, Don Rafael Sison, owns an estate that stretches from Calasiao and Santa Barbara to Urdaneta.Ilocanos (5).This hard-working and industrious race occupies the northern and western shores of Luzon, from Point Lacatacay on the 121st meridian, east from Greenwich, to San Fabian, on the Gulf of Lingayen. This includes the three provinces of Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, and La Union. The Ilocanos have also pushed into the north-eastern part of Pangasinan, where they occupy seven towns, and they inhabit the town of Alcalá in the province of Cagayan, several villages in Benguet, parts of the towns of Capas and O’Donnell in the provinces of Tarlac, and some towns in Zambales and Nueva Écija. They are all civilised and have been Christians for three centuries. Amongst themdwell many converted Tinguianes and Igorrotes, who speak the Ilocan dialect.Blumentritt attributes the energy and activity of the Ilocanos to an admixture, even though it be small, of these brave and hardy races. In dress and appearance they are similar to the Tagals, and like them carry the indispensablebolo. They cultivate tobacco, cotton, rice, maize, indigo, sugar-cane, and a little cacao and coffee. They also grow the pita (Agave Americana), which gives the fibre for the nipis textiles, ajonjoli (Sesamum indicum, L.), from which they extract oil, which is used in medicine and for the hair, and they even grow some wheat. They extract a black resin from the Antong (Canarum Pimela), which is used as incense or for making torches; another resin from the Bangad, which is used as a varnish, another from the Cajel (Citrus Aurantium), and many others used either in medicine, for torches, for varnishing, or for paying the seams of wooden vessels. They get gum from the Balete (Ficus Urostigma), and from the Lucban, or orange tree (Citrus decumana,L.), oil from the Palomaria (Calophyllum inophyllum,L.), and from a large number of other trees, some only known by the native name, and the use of which is uncertain. They obtain dyes from many trees growing wild in the forests, amongst others from the Tabungao (Jatropha Curcas,L.), the Lomboy (Eugenia Lambolana,Lam.), the sibucao (Coesalpinia Sappan,L.). Their cultivation of indigo is declining, partly because the demand has diminished in consequence of the introduction of chemical substitutes, and also because the Chinese, into whose hands the whole produce of these provinces found its way, adulterated it so abominably as to discredit it altogether. Yet so great is the facility of Ilocan territory for growing indigo, that Gregorio Sy Quia of Vigan exhibited in Madrid in 1887 no less than seventy-five different kinds of indigo, and seventy-five different seeds corresponding to the samples. At the same exhibition, no less than twenty-four different kinds of rice were exhibited from Ilocos, and this by no means exhausts the list. Every kind has a distinctive name. The textile industry flourishes amongst these industrious people. The Local Committee of Namagpacan, in the province of La Union, sent to Madrid for the above-mentioned exhibition, no less than 145 different textiles, whilst other towns sent looms and other implements. Amongst the articles woven are quilts, cotton blankets(the celebrated Mantos de Ilocos), napkins and towels, and a great variety of material for coats, trousers, women’s dresses and other uses. Guingon (called by sailors dungaree), a blue stuff for clothing, costs from $0.50 to $0.31, 2s.8d.per vara (2 feet 9 inches), a mixture of cotton and silk, for men’s wear, $1.25 per vara, silk handkerchiefs $0.25 each.The Ilocans also make nets for fish, and for deer and pigs; baskets of all sorts, salacots or hats.They grow two kinds of cotton for textiles, the white and the Coyote. Another kind, a tree cotton from the Boboy (Eriodendron anfractuosum,D.C.), is only used for stuffing pillows. They extract oil from the seeds of all three kinds.Like the other civilized natives they live principally on rice and fish, which they capture in large quantities. Blumentritt mentions two kinds, the “Ipon” and the “Dolon,” which they salt or pickle.They have fine cattle, which they sell to the Igorrotes. It will be noted that the Tinguianes, on the other hand, sell cattle to the Ilocanos. The ponies of Ilocos are highly valued in Manila, where there is a great demand for them. They are smaller than the ponies of other provinces, but are very hardy and spirited, and go at a great pace.Tulisanesformerly infested these provinces and found a ready refuge in the mountains, when pursued by thecuadrilleros, or village constables, who were only armed withbolos, lances, and a few old muskets. But the creation of the Civil Guard, formed of picked officers and men, who were armed with Remingtons and revolvers, and whose orders were, “Do not hesitate to shoot,” made this business very dangerous, and the three provinces suffer little from brigandage. When Juan Salcedo conquered the Ilocos, he found a caste of nobles amongst them who possessed all the riches of the country, and treated thecailanes, or serfs, with great rigour. Their tyranny caused several bloody rebellions, and although at present matters in this respect have improved, there is still room for complaint that the people who do the work do not get a fair remuneration for it, the rich man always endeavouring to keep the poor man in permanent indebtedness. In consequence of this, the Ilocanos are ever ready to emigrate, and besides the places I have mentioned, there are thousands of them in Manila and other parts of the islands. They easily obtain employmenteither as servants, cultivators, or labourers, for they are superior in stamina to most of the civilised races, and in industry superior to them all.I have no doubt that there is a great future before this hardy, enterprising, and industrious people.Ibanags or Cagayanes (6).The Ibanags inhabit the Babuyanes and Batanes Islands and the northern coast of Luzon, from Point Lacaytacay to Punta Escarpada, and all the country comprised between the Rio Grande and the summits of the Sierra Madre as far south as Balasig.They also hold the left bank of the river from the sea, right up to the confluence of the River Magat for an average width of some five miles.They are said to be the finest race and the most valiant men in the islands, and to have manfully resisted the Spaniards.However, they were conquered and converted to Christianity. From the year 1781 they have been subjected to the worst form of slavery, the forced cultivation of tobacco. The detestable abuses brought into this system by the unblushing rascality of the agents of the treasury, became, finally, so glaring, and the condition of the Ibanags so dreadful, that, in 1882, the Governor-General, Moriones (see Chapter “Spanish Government”), forced the hand of Cánovas and the royal family, who desired to sell the monopoly, and this horrible slavery ceased, having lasted over a century, going from bad to worse.Since that date the condition of the Ibanags has greatly improved; they have continued the cultivation of tobacco, and private enterprise has done much to introduce the finest seed and to improve the cultivation and preparatory operations. The “Compañia Tabacalera de Filipinas,” a Franco-Catalan enterprise, has established the Haciendas of San Antonio, San Rafael, and Santa Isabel, in the district of Isabela.They have built large warehouses in Tumaúini and have agents in all the principal towns.On the river they have a stern-wheel steamer, theAntonio Lopez, and a number of steel-lighters for carrying down tobacco.The tobacco is ready for transport in December andJanuary. It is sent down the river to Aparri, from whence it is shipped to Manila. In a normal dry season (February to August), the river is navigable for steamers of two feet draught up to Alcalá, the trade of which town is not important; but that of Tuguegárao is so, and up to that point the current is not strong.Amongst the Ibanags the distinction of noble and plebeian has been as strongly marked as amongst the Tagals, Pampangos, and Ilocanos, and the intense cupidity of the nobles, or rather usurers, which name better describes them, has led to many bloody outbreaks on the part of the oppressed and enslaved debtors.The government has steadily encouraged the Ilocanos and others to settle in Cagayan and plant tobacco, giving them free passages and advances of money in the days of the monopoly.On the other hand, the discontent of the Ibanags has led them to migrate to other provinces when possible, for the authorities prevented them from doing so by force when they could. They especially endeavoured to get to Manila, and I remember many years ago the arrival of a starving and ragged band, who had tramped all the way from Isabela to Manila to escape from their cruel task-masters.However, things are better with them now, and I hope means will be found under the Stars and Stripes to introduce a better system of finance, and to curb the greed of the usurer, either by legislation or by competition on a fair and humane basis. The Ibanag language is spreading greatly amongst the hill-tribes around them as a commercial language, just as Ilocano is spreading on the West Coast.Under American influence an immense development of the provinces of Cagayan and Isabela may be expected in the near future, and the Ibanags will doubtless benefit by this.
The Zambales are a small and unimportant tribe of the Malay race, with some admixture of Negrito blood. They inhabit part of the province of Zambales from the River Nája down to South Felipe, a coast village in 15° N. latitude, and in their mountains there roam a good many Negritos. The Zambales are subjugated and converted to Christianity, but some still maintain a partial independence amongst the mountains, paying, however, the “Reconocimentio de Vassallaje.” At the time of the conquest, these people were famous head-hunters, and otherwise manifested a bloodthirsty disposition. They lived in villages of thirty to forty families, quite independent of each other, and their chiefs possessed but little influence. When one of a family died the surviving male relatives put on a black head-cloth or turban, which they durst not remove until one of them had killed some one else so as to satisfy the death vengeance. A murder could be atoned for by a payment in gold or in goods, or a slave or Negrito might be delivered up to be sacrificed to themanesof the departed. It was customary amongst them to take with them to their feasts the heads or skulls they possessed. The heads were placed on poles and ceremonial dances were performed around them. They also emulated the Vikings by making drinking cups out of their enemies’ skulls.
Their religion was similar to that of the Tagals. Their principal god was called Malayari, but he had under him two deputy gods, Acasi and Manglobag, and a large number of inferior gods. Their chief priest was called Bayoc, and exercised great influence amongst them.They celebrated baptism with the blood of a pig. Amongst them, as in Borneo and with many tribes of Malays who are not Mahometans, the pig is considered as the most acceptablesacrifice to the gods. For particulars about this I refer the reader to ‘Life in the Forests of the Far East,’ by Spenser St. John.
Now, at last, they have been brought into the Christian fold, though, perhaps, amongst the pine-clad mountains, heathen customs maintain their hold upon the wild hillmen. These latter trade with their Christian and partly-civilised brethren, bringing them jungle produce, tobacco, and the small bezoar stones, so highly prized by the Chinese, in return for articles they require. The Zambales raise some rice and a little sugar. Their trade is inconsiderable, their exports being limited to Sapan wood, jungle produce, timber, fire-wood, and charcoal, all of which is shipped to Manila, where it finds a ready sale. The total population of this province was 94,551 in 1876, but only a portion of these were Zambales.
Pangasinanes (4).The Pangasinanes inhabit the north-western part of the province of Pangasinan, and the northern part of the province of Zambales from the River Naja, which runs into the Bay of Bazol, round Cape Bolinao to Sual, including the Island of Cabarruyan and Santiago. But the southern and eastern part of their province is partly inhabited by Pampangos and Ilocanos.On the other hand, there are some Pangasinanes scattered about the northern part of Nueva Écija amongst Tagals and Ilocanos, and there are a few as colonists in Benguet.In former times the Pangasinanes occupied a wider extent of country. When Juan Salcedo arrived he found them occupying the southern part of La Union; but they have been and are still being pushed back by the more hard working and energetic Ilocanos.As the limits of their province do not correspond to the ethnographical boundaries, it is not easy to estimate their numbers. I think there may be about 300,000 of them.The Pangasinanes were subjugated by the Spaniards in 1572, and in 1576 they were all Christians. Their manners and customs are similar to those of the Pampangos and Tagals, but they have a rougher and more uncouth appearance. Their chief occupation is cultivating rice, and whenever this is the case the people are poor and little advancedin civilisation. It is the lowest kind of agriculture any people can follow. The first sign of prosperity in an eastern people is given when they begin to import rice, as it shows that they have a more remunerative occupation to follow than cultivating it for themselves. Thus the Cagayanes who grow tobacco, the Pampangos who grow sugar, and the Vicols of Albay and neighbouring islands who grow hemp, all import rice.Mr. J. W. Jamieson, the Acting British Consul at Sumao, in a report on the trade of Yunnan, issued the 7th of December, 1898, says: “Apart from minerals, the province possesses a few other resources and the inhabitants are lazy and unenterprising to a degree. So long as they can grow enough rice to feed themselves and procure enough cotton to make the few articles of clothing necessary in this equable climate, they are content.”I am glad to find this confirmation of my views in this matter. Mr. Jamieson’s remarks apply to all the rice-growers I have seen.The rice is raised in the delta of the Agno and about that river. Formerly, the Pangasinanes not only sent rice to Manila, but exported it to China, Siam, and Annan.For this trade they built their own vessels at Lingayen, and in the flourishing period, some twenty-five years ago, their shipwrights used to turn out eight or ten schooners in a year, vessels able to carry 300 to 400 tons dead weight. Since the introduction of steamers into the coasting trade, the construction of sailing vessels has greatly diminished. Still, they turn out two or three a year.In some parts of the province they make sugar, but it will not compare in quality with that made in Pampanga. It has a smaller grain and a paler colour, but less sweetening power. The average of thirty samples, taken as the sugar was ladled out of thetacho, was—Crystallizable sugar70.40 per cent.Uncrystallizable13.00Ash1.97It is drained in pilones, or earthenware moulds; but, unlike the Pampanga custom, the moulds are not delivered with the sugar, but the leaf is wrapped in the dried sheaths of the palm, tied about with split rattan. Most of the sugar is sent by sea to Manila and exported to China for directconsumption in one of the provinces where it finds a ready sale.Indigo was formerly cultivated here and exported, and at one time a good deal of Sapan wood was also exported, but the trade in these articles has almost ceased.Amongst the industries of Pangasinan may be mentioned the manufacture of hats, hundreds of thousands of which were made at Calasiao from grass ornito, and sent to Boston or New York. There are also at Calasiao, and in some other towns, blacksmiths who forge excellentbolosor wood-knives from the iron-bands taken off bales of cotton cloth or sacking.Carromatas, the two-wheeled vehicles of the country, are constructed in Lingayen and Dagupan, and are said to be very well made.I may mention here that the ponies raised in these provinces are inferior to the Ilocanos or even the Albay breed.The sands of the River Agno near Rosales, and of the streams coming down from Mount Lagsig, are washed for gold, principally by women who obtain but a meagre return.The civilisation of the Pangasinanes is only skin-deep, and one of their characteristics is a decided propensity toremontar, that is, to abandon their towns or villages and take to the mountains, out of reach of all authority. There are some great land-owners in Pangasinan; one of them, Don Rafael Sison, owns an estate that stretches from Calasiao and Santa Barbara to Urdaneta.
Pangasinanes (4).
The Pangasinanes inhabit the north-western part of the province of Pangasinan, and the northern part of the province of Zambales from the River Naja, which runs into the Bay of Bazol, round Cape Bolinao to Sual, including the Island of Cabarruyan and Santiago. But the southern and eastern part of their province is partly inhabited by Pampangos and Ilocanos.On the other hand, there are some Pangasinanes scattered about the northern part of Nueva Écija amongst Tagals and Ilocanos, and there are a few as colonists in Benguet.In former times the Pangasinanes occupied a wider extent of country. When Juan Salcedo arrived he found them occupying the southern part of La Union; but they have been and are still being pushed back by the more hard working and energetic Ilocanos.As the limits of their province do not correspond to the ethnographical boundaries, it is not easy to estimate their numbers. I think there may be about 300,000 of them.The Pangasinanes were subjugated by the Spaniards in 1572, and in 1576 they were all Christians. Their manners and customs are similar to those of the Pampangos and Tagals, but they have a rougher and more uncouth appearance. Their chief occupation is cultivating rice, and whenever this is the case the people are poor and little advancedin civilisation. It is the lowest kind of agriculture any people can follow. The first sign of prosperity in an eastern people is given when they begin to import rice, as it shows that they have a more remunerative occupation to follow than cultivating it for themselves. Thus the Cagayanes who grow tobacco, the Pampangos who grow sugar, and the Vicols of Albay and neighbouring islands who grow hemp, all import rice.Mr. J. W. Jamieson, the Acting British Consul at Sumao, in a report on the trade of Yunnan, issued the 7th of December, 1898, says: “Apart from minerals, the province possesses a few other resources and the inhabitants are lazy and unenterprising to a degree. So long as they can grow enough rice to feed themselves and procure enough cotton to make the few articles of clothing necessary in this equable climate, they are content.”I am glad to find this confirmation of my views in this matter. Mr. Jamieson’s remarks apply to all the rice-growers I have seen.The rice is raised in the delta of the Agno and about that river. Formerly, the Pangasinanes not only sent rice to Manila, but exported it to China, Siam, and Annan.For this trade they built their own vessels at Lingayen, and in the flourishing period, some twenty-five years ago, their shipwrights used to turn out eight or ten schooners in a year, vessels able to carry 300 to 400 tons dead weight. Since the introduction of steamers into the coasting trade, the construction of sailing vessels has greatly diminished. Still, they turn out two or three a year.In some parts of the province they make sugar, but it will not compare in quality with that made in Pampanga. It has a smaller grain and a paler colour, but less sweetening power. The average of thirty samples, taken as the sugar was ladled out of thetacho, was—Crystallizable sugar70.40 per cent.Uncrystallizable13.00Ash1.97It is drained in pilones, or earthenware moulds; but, unlike the Pampanga custom, the moulds are not delivered with the sugar, but the leaf is wrapped in the dried sheaths of the palm, tied about with split rattan. Most of the sugar is sent by sea to Manila and exported to China for directconsumption in one of the provinces where it finds a ready sale.Indigo was formerly cultivated here and exported, and at one time a good deal of Sapan wood was also exported, but the trade in these articles has almost ceased.Amongst the industries of Pangasinan may be mentioned the manufacture of hats, hundreds of thousands of which were made at Calasiao from grass ornito, and sent to Boston or New York. There are also at Calasiao, and in some other towns, blacksmiths who forge excellentbolosor wood-knives from the iron-bands taken off bales of cotton cloth or sacking.Carromatas, the two-wheeled vehicles of the country, are constructed in Lingayen and Dagupan, and are said to be very well made.I may mention here that the ponies raised in these provinces are inferior to the Ilocanos or even the Albay breed.The sands of the River Agno near Rosales, and of the streams coming down from Mount Lagsig, are washed for gold, principally by women who obtain but a meagre return.The civilisation of the Pangasinanes is only skin-deep, and one of their characteristics is a decided propensity toremontar, that is, to abandon their towns or villages and take to the mountains, out of reach of all authority. There are some great land-owners in Pangasinan; one of them, Don Rafael Sison, owns an estate that stretches from Calasiao and Santa Barbara to Urdaneta.
The Pangasinanes inhabit the north-western part of the province of Pangasinan, and the northern part of the province of Zambales from the River Naja, which runs into the Bay of Bazol, round Cape Bolinao to Sual, including the Island of Cabarruyan and Santiago. But the southern and eastern part of their province is partly inhabited by Pampangos and Ilocanos.
On the other hand, there are some Pangasinanes scattered about the northern part of Nueva Écija amongst Tagals and Ilocanos, and there are a few as colonists in Benguet.
In former times the Pangasinanes occupied a wider extent of country. When Juan Salcedo arrived he found them occupying the southern part of La Union; but they have been and are still being pushed back by the more hard working and energetic Ilocanos.
As the limits of their province do not correspond to the ethnographical boundaries, it is not easy to estimate their numbers. I think there may be about 300,000 of them.
The Pangasinanes were subjugated by the Spaniards in 1572, and in 1576 they were all Christians. Their manners and customs are similar to those of the Pampangos and Tagals, but they have a rougher and more uncouth appearance. Their chief occupation is cultivating rice, and whenever this is the case the people are poor and little advancedin civilisation. It is the lowest kind of agriculture any people can follow. The first sign of prosperity in an eastern people is given when they begin to import rice, as it shows that they have a more remunerative occupation to follow than cultivating it for themselves. Thus the Cagayanes who grow tobacco, the Pampangos who grow sugar, and the Vicols of Albay and neighbouring islands who grow hemp, all import rice.
Mr. J. W. Jamieson, the Acting British Consul at Sumao, in a report on the trade of Yunnan, issued the 7th of December, 1898, says: “Apart from minerals, the province possesses a few other resources and the inhabitants are lazy and unenterprising to a degree. So long as they can grow enough rice to feed themselves and procure enough cotton to make the few articles of clothing necessary in this equable climate, they are content.”
I am glad to find this confirmation of my views in this matter. Mr. Jamieson’s remarks apply to all the rice-growers I have seen.
The rice is raised in the delta of the Agno and about that river. Formerly, the Pangasinanes not only sent rice to Manila, but exported it to China, Siam, and Annan.
For this trade they built their own vessels at Lingayen, and in the flourishing period, some twenty-five years ago, their shipwrights used to turn out eight or ten schooners in a year, vessels able to carry 300 to 400 tons dead weight. Since the introduction of steamers into the coasting trade, the construction of sailing vessels has greatly diminished. Still, they turn out two or three a year.
In some parts of the province they make sugar, but it will not compare in quality with that made in Pampanga. It has a smaller grain and a paler colour, but less sweetening power. The average of thirty samples, taken as the sugar was ladled out of thetacho, was—
Crystallizable sugar70.40 per cent.Uncrystallizable13.00Ash1.97
It is drained in pilones, or earthenware moulds; but, unlike the Pampanga custom, the moulds are not delivered with the sugar, but the leaf is wrapped in the dried sheaths of the palm, tied about with split rattan. Most of the sugar is sent by sea to Manila and exported to China for directconsumption in one of the provinces where it finds a ready sale.
Indigo was formerly cultivated here and exported, and at one time a good deal of Sapan wood was also exported, but the trade in these articles has almost ceased.
Amongst the industries of Pangasinan may be mentioned the manufacture of hats, hundreds of thousands of which were made at Calasiao from grass ornito, and sent to Boston or New York. There are also at Calasiao, and in some other towns, blacksmiths who forge excellentbolosor wood-knives from the iron-bands taken off bales of cotton cloth or sacking.
Carromatas, the two-wheeled vehicles of the country, are constructed in Lingayen and Dagupan, and are said to be very well made.
I may mention here that the ponies raised in these provinces are inferior to the Ilocanos or even the Albay breed.
The sands of the River Agno near Rosales, and of the streams coming down from Mount Lagsig, are washed for gold, principally by women who obtain but a meagre return.
The civilisation of the Pangasinanes is only skin-deep, and one of their characteristics is a decided propensity toremontar, that is, to abandon their towns or villages and take to the mountains, out of reach of all authority. There are some great land-owners in Pangasinan; one of them, Don Rafael Sison, owns an estate that stretches from Calasiao and Santa Barbara to Urdaneta.
Ilocanos (5).This hard-working and industrious race occupies the northern and western shores of Luzon, from Point Lacatacay on the 121st meridian, east from Greenwich, to San Fabian, on the Gulf of Lingayen. This includes the three provinces of Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, and La Union. The Ilocanos have also pushed into the north-eastern part of Pangasinan, where they occupy seven towns, and they inhabit the town of Alcalá in the province of Cagayan, several villages in Benguet, parts of the towns of Capas and O’Donnell in the provinces of Tarlac, and some towns in Zambales and Nueva Écija. They are all civilised and have been Christians for three centuries. Amongst themdwell many converted Tinguianes and Igorrotes, who speak the Ilocan dialect.Blumentritt attributes the energy and activity of the Ilocanos to an admixture, even though it be small, of these brave and hardy races. In dress and appearance they are similar to the Tagals, and like them carry the indispensablebolo. They cultivate tobacco, cotton, rice, maize, indigo, sugar-cane, and a little cacao and coffee. They also grow the pita (Agave Americana), which gives the fibre for the nipis textiles, ajonjoli (Sesamum indicum, L.), from which they extract oil, which is used in medicine and for the hair, and they even grow some wheat. They extract a black resin from the Antong (Canarum Pimela), which is used as incense or for making torches; another resin from the Bangad, which is used as a varnish, another from the Cajel (Citrus Aurantium), and many others used either in medicine, for torches, for varnishing, or for paying the seams of wooden vessels. They get gum from the Balete (Ficus Urostigma), and from the Lucban, or orange tree (Citrus decumana,L.), oil from the Palomaria (Calophyllum inophyllum,L.), and from a large number of other trees, some only known by the native name, and the use of which is uncertain. They obtain dyes from many trees growing wild in the forests, amongst others from the Tabungao (Jatropha Curcas,L.), the Lomboy (Eugenia Lambolana,Lam.), the sibucao (Coesalpinia Sappan,L.). Their cultivation of indigo is declining, partly because the demand has diminished in consequence of the introduction of chemical substitutes, and also because the Chinese, into whose hands the whole produce of these provinces found its way, adulterated it so abominably as to discredit it altogether. Yet so great is the facility of Ilocan territory for growing indigo, that Gregorio Sy Quia of Vigan exhibited in Madrid in 1887 no less than seventy-five different kinds of indigo, and seventy-five different seeds corresponding to the samples. At the same exhibition, no less than twenty-four different kinds of rice were exhibited from Ilocos, and this by no means exhausts the list. Every kind has a distinctive name. The textile industry flourishes amongst these industrious people. The Local Committee of Namagpacan, in the province of La Union, sent to Madrid for the above-mentioned exhibition, no less than 145 different textiles, whilst other towns sent looms and other implements. Amongst the articles woven are quilts, cotton blankets(the celebrated Mantos de Ilocos), napkins and towels, and a great variety of material for coats, trousers, women’s dresses and other uses. Guingon (called by sailors dungaree), a blue stuff for clothing, costs from $0.50 to $0.31, 2s.8d.per vara (2 feet 9 inches), a mixture of cotton and silk, for men’s wear, $1.25 per vara, silk handkerchiefs $0.25 each.The Ilocans also make nets for fish, and for deer and pigs; baskets of all sorts, salacots or hats.They grow two kinds of cotton for textiles, the white and the Coyote. Another kind, a tree cotton from the Boboy (Eriodendron anfractuosum,D.C.), is only used for stuffing pillows. They extract oil from the seeds of all three kinds.Like the other civilized natives they live principally on rice and fish, which they capture in large quantities. Blumentritt mentions two kinds, the “Ipon” and the “Dolon,” which they salt or pickle.They have fine cattle, which they sell to the Igorrotes. It will be noted that the Tinguianes, on the other hand, sell cattle to the Ilocanos. The ponies of Ilocos are highly valued in Manila, where there is a great demand for them. They are smaller than the ponies of other provinces, but are very hardy and spirited, and go at a great pace.Tulisanesformerly infested these provinces and found a ready refuge in the mountains, when pursued by thecuadrilleros, or village constables, who were only armed withbolos, lances, and a few old muskets. But the creation of the Civil Guard, formed of picked officers and men, who were armed with Remingtons and revolvers, and whose orders were, “Do not hesitate to shoot,” made this business very dangerous, and the three provinces suffer little from brigandage. When Juan Salcedo conquered the Ilocos, he found a caste of nobles amongst them who possessed all the riches of the country, and treated thecailanes, or serfs, with great rigour. Their tyranny caused several bloody rebellions, and although at present matters in this respect have improved, there is still room for complaint that the people who do the work do not get a fair remuneration for it, the rich man always endeavouring to keep the poor man in permanent indebtedness. In consequence of this, the Ilocanos are ever ready to emigrate, and besides the places I have mentioned, there are thousands of them in Manila and other parts of the islands. They easily obtain employmenteither as servants, cultivators, or labourers, for they are superior in stamina to most of the civilised races, and in industry superior to them all.I have no doubt that there is a great future before this hardy, enterprising, and industrious people.
Ilocanos (5).
This hard-working and industrious race occupies the northern and western shores of Luzon, from Point Lacatacay on the 121st meridian, east from Greenwich, to San Fabian, on the Gulf of Lingayen. This includes the three provinces of Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, and La Union. The Ilocanos have also pushed into the north-eastern part of Pangasinan, where they occupy seven towns, and they inhabit the town of Alcalá in the province of Cagayan, several villages in Benguet, parts of the towns of Capas and O’Donnell in the provinces of Tarlac, and some towns in Zambales and Nueva Écija. They are all civilised and have been Christians for three centuries. Amongst themdwell many converted Tinguianes and Igorrotes, who speak the Ilocan dialect.Blumentritt attributes the energy and activity of the Ilocanos to an admixture, even though it be small, of these brave and hardy races. In dress and appearance they are similar to the Tagals, and like them carry the indispensablebolo. They cultivate tobacco, cotton, rice, maize, indigo, sugar-cane, and a little cacao and coffee. They also grow the pita (Agave Americana), which gives the fibre for the nipis textiles, ajonjoli (Sesamum indicum, L.), from which they extract oil, which is used in medicine and for the hair, and they even grow some wheat. They extract a black resin from the Antong (Canarum Pimela), which is used as incense or for making torches; another resin from the Bangad, which is used as a varnish, another from the Cajel (Citrus Aurantium), and many others used either in medicine, for torches, for varnishing, or for paying the seams of wooden vessels. They get gum from the Balete (Ficus Urostigma), and from the Lucban, or orange tree (Citrus decumana,L.), oil from the Palomaria (Calophyllum inophyllum,L.), and from a large number of other trees, some only known by the native name, and the use of which is uncertain. They obtain dyes from many trees growing wild in the forests, amongst others from the Tabungao (Jatropha Curcas,L.), the Lomboy (Eugenia Lambolana,Lam.), the sibucao (Coesalpinia Sappan,L.). Their cultivation of indigo is declining, partly because the demand has diminished in consequence of the introduction of chemical substitutes, and also because the Chinese, into whose hands the whole produce of these provinces found its way, adulterated it so abominably as to discredit it altogether. Yet so great is the facility of Ilocan territory for growing indigo, that Gregorio Sy Quia of Vigan exhibited in Madrid in 1887 no less than seventy-five different kinds of indigo, and seventy-five different seeds corresponding to the samples. At the same exhibition, no less than twenty-four different kinds of rice were exhibited from Ilocos, and this by no means exhausts the list. Every kind has a distinctive name. The textile industry flourishes amongst these industrious people. The Local Committee of Namagpacan, in the province of La Union, sent to Madrid for the above-mentioned exhibition, no less than 145 different textiles, whilst other towns sent looms and other implements. Amongst the articles woven are quilts, cotton blankets(the celebrated Mantos de Ilocos), napkins and towels, and a great variety of material for coats, trousers, women’s dresses and other uses. Guingon (called by sailors dungaree), a blue stuff for clothing, costs from $0.50 to $0.31, 2s.8d.per vara (2 feet 9 inches), a mixture of cotton and silk, for men’s wear, $1.25 per vara, silk handkerchiefs $0.25 each.The Ilocans also make nets for fish, and for deer and pigs; baskets of all sorts, salacots or hats.They grow two kinds of cotton for textiles, the white and the Coyote. Another kind, a tree cotton from the Boboy (Eriodendron anfractuosum,D.C.), is only used for stuffing pillows. They extract oil from the seeds of all three kinds.Like the other civilized natives they live principally on rice and fish, which they capture in large quantities. Blumentritt mentions two kinds, the “Ipon” and the “Dolon,” which they salt or pickle.They have fine cattle, which they sell to the Igorrotes. It will be noted that the Tinguianes, on the other hand, sell cattle to the Ilocanos. The ponies of Ilocos are highly valued in Manila, where there is a great demand for them. They are smaller than the ponies of other provinces, but are very hardy and spirited, and go at a great pace.Tulisanesformerly infested these provinces and found a ready refuge in the mountains, when pursued by thecuadrilleros, or village constables, who were only armed withbolos, lances, and a few old muskets. But the creation of the Civil Guard, formed of picked officers and men, who were armed with Remingtons and revolvers, and whose orders were, “Do not hesitate to shoot,” made this business very dangerous, and the three provinces suffer little from brigandage. When Juan Salcedo conquered the Ilocos, he found a caste of nobles amongst them who possessed all the riches of the country, and treated thecailanes, or serfs, with great rigour. Their tyranny caused several bloody rebellions, and although at present matters in this respect have improved, there is still room for complaint that the people who do the work do not get a fair remuneration for it, the rich man always endeavouring to keep the poor man in permanent indebtedness. In consequence of this, the Ilocanos are ever ready to emigrate, and besides the places I have mentioned, there are thousands of them in Manila and other parts of the islands. They easily obtain employmenteither as servants, cultivators, or labourers, for they are superior in stamina to most of the civilised races, and in industry superior to them all.I have no doubt that there is a great future before this hardy, enterprising, and industrious people.
This hard-working and industrious race occupies the northern and western shores of Luzon, from Point Lacatacay on the 121st meridian, east from Greenwich, to San Fabian, on the Gulf of Lingayen. This includes the three provinces of Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, and La Union. The Ilocanos have also pushed into the north-eastern part of Pangasinan, where they occupy seven towns, and they inhabit the town of Alcalá in the province of Cagayan, several villages in Benguet, parts of the towns of Capas and O’Donnell in the provinces of Tarlac, and some towns in Zambales and Nueva Écija. They are all civilised and have been Christians for three centuries. Amongst themdwell many converted Tinguianes and Igorrotes, who speak the Ilocan dialect.
Blumentritt attributes the energy and activity of the Ilocanos to an admixture, even though it be small, of these brave and hardy races. In dress and appearance they are similar to the Tagals, and like them carry the indispensablebolo. They cultivate tobacco, cotton, rice, maize, indigo, sugar-cane, and a little cacao and coffee. They also grow the pita (Agave Americana), which gives the fibre for the nipis textiles, ajonjoli (Sesamum indicum, L.), from which they extract oil, which is used in medicine and for the hair, and they even grow some wheat. They extract a black resin from the Antong (Canarum Pimela), which is used as incense or for making torches; another resin from the Bangad, which is used as a varnish, another from the Cajel (Citrus Aurantium), and many others used either in medicine, for torches, for varnishing, or for paying the seams of wooden vessels. They get gum from the Balete (Ficus Urostigma), and from the Lucban, or orange tree (Citrus decumana,L.), oil from the Palomaria (Calophyllum inophyllum,L.), and from a large number of other trees, some only known by the native name, and the use of which is uncertain. They obtain dyes from many trees growing wild in the forests, amongst others from the Tabungao (Jatropha Curcas,L.), the Lomboy (Eugenia Lambolana,Lam.), the sibucao (Coesalpinia Sappan,L.). Their cultivation of indigo is declining, partly because the demand has diminished in consequence of the introduction of chemical substitutes, and also because the Chinese, into whose hands the whole produce of these provinces found its way, adulterated it so abominably as to discredit it altogether. Yet so great is the facility of Ilocan territory for growing indigo, that Gregorio Sy Quia of Vigan exhibited in Madrid in 1887 no less than seventy-five different kinds of indigo, and seventy-five different seeds corresponding to the samples. At the same exhibition, no less than twenty-four different kinds of rice were exhibited from Ilocos, and this by no means exhausts the list. Every kind has a distinctive name. The textile industry flourishes amongst these industrious people. The Local Committee of Namagpacan, in the province of La Union, sent to Madrid for the above-mentioned exhibition, no less than 145 different textiles, whilst other towns sent looms and other implements. Amongst the articles woven are quilts, cotton blankets(the celebrated Mantos de Ilocos), napkins and towels, and a great variety of material for coats, trousers, women’s dresses and other uses. Guingon (called by sailors dungaree), a blue stuff for clothing, costs from $0.50 to $0.31, 2s.8d.per vara (2 feet 9 inches), a mixture of cotton and silk, for men’s wear, $1.25 per vara, silk handkerchiefs $0.25 each.
The Ilocans also make nets for fish, and for deer and pigs; baskets of all sorts, salacots or hats.
They grow two kinds of cotton for textiles, the white and the Coyote. Another kind, a tree cotton from the Boboy (Eriodendron anfractuosum,D.C.), is only used for stuffing pillows. They extract oil from the seeds of all three kinds.
Like the other civilized natives they live principally on rice and fish, which they capture in large quantities. Blumentritt mentions two kinds, the “Ipon” and the “Dolon,” which they salt or pickle.
They have fine cattle, which they sell to the Igorrotes. It will be noted that the Tinguianes, on the other hand, sell cattle to the Ilocanos. The ponies of Ilocos are highly valued in Manila, where there is a great demand for them. They are smaller than the ponies of other provinces, but are very hardy and spirited, and go at a great pace.Tulisanesformerly infested these provinces and found a ready refuge in the mountains, when pursued by thecuadrilleros, or village constables, who were only armed withbolos, lances, and a few old muskets. But the creation of the Civil Guard, formed of picked officers and men, who were armed with Remingtons and revolvers, and whose orders were, “Do not hesitate to shoot,” made this business very dangerous, and the three provinces suffer little from brigandage. When Juan Salcedo conquered the Ilocos, he found a caste of nobles amongst them who possessed all the riches of the country, and treated thecailanes, or serfs, with great rigour. Their tyranny caused several bloody rebellions, and although at present matters in this respect have improved, there is still room for complaint that the people who do the work do not get a fair remuneration for it, the rich man always endeavouring to keep the poor man in permanent indebtedness. In consequence of this, the Ilocanos are ever ready to emigrate, and besides the places I have mentioned, there are thousands of them in Manila and other parts of the islands. They easily obtain employmenteither as servants, cultivators, or labourers, for they are superior in stamina to most of the civilised races, and in industry superior to them all.
I have no doubt that there is a great future before this hardy, enterprising, and industrious people.
Ibanags or Cagayanes (6).The Ibanags inhabit the Babuyanes and Batanes Islands and the northern coast of Luzon, from Point Lacaytacay to Punta Escarpada, and all the country comprised between the Rio Grande and the summits of the Sierra Madre as far south as Balasig.They also hold the left bank of the river from the sea, right up to the confluence of the River Magat for an average width of some five miles.They are said to be the finest race and the most valiant men in the islands, and to have manfully resisted the Spaniards.However, they were conquered and converted to Christianity. From the year 1781 they have been subjected to the worst form of slavery, the forced cultivation of tobacco. The detestable abuses brought into this system by the unblushing rascality of the agents of the treasury, became, finally, so glaring, and the condition of the Ibanags so dreadful, that, in 1882, the Governor-General, Moriones (see Chapter “Spanish Government”), forced the hand of Cánovas and the royal family, who desired to sell the monopoly, and this horrible slavery ceased, having lasted over a century, going from bad to worse.Since that date the condition of the Ibanags has greatly improved; they have continued the cultivation of tobacco, and private enterprise has done much to introduce the finest seed and to improve the cultivation and preparatory operations. The “Compañia Tabacalera de Filipinas,” a Franco-Catalan enterprise, has established the Haciendas of San Antonio, San Rafael, and Santa Isabel, in the district of Isabela.They have built large warehouses in Tumaúini and have agents in all the principal towns.On the river they have a stern-wheel steamer, theAntonio Lopez, and a number of steel-lighters for carrying down tobacco.The tobacco is ready for transport in December andJanuary. It is sent down the river to Aparri, from whence it is shipped to Manila. In a normal dry season (February to August), the river is navigable for steamers of two feet draught up to Alcalá, the trade of which town is not important; but that of Tuguegárao is so, and up to that point the current is not strong.Amongst the Ibanags the distinction of noble and plebeian has been as strongly marked as amongst the Tagals, Pampangos, and Ilocanos, and the intense cupidity of the nobles, or rather usurers, which name better describes them, has led to many bloody outbreaks on the part of the oppressed and enslaved debtors.The government has steadily encouraged the Ilocanos and others to settle in Cagayan and plant tobacco, giving them free passages and advances of money in the days of the monopoly.On the other hand, the discontent of the Ibanags has led them to migrate to other provinces when possible, for the authorities prevented them from doing so by force when they could. They especially endeavoured to get to Manila, and I remember many years ago the arrival of a starving and ragged band, who had tramped all the way from Isabela to Manila to escape from their cruel task-masters.However, things are better with them now, and I hope means will be found under the Stars and Stripes to introduce a better system of finance, and to curb the greed of the usurer, either by legislation or by competition on a fair and humane basis. The Ibanag language is spreading greatly amongst the hill-tribes around them as a commercial language, just as Ilocano is spreading on the West Coast.Under American influence an immense development of the provinces of Cagayan and Isabela may be expected in the near future, and the Ibanags will doubtless benefit by this.
Ibanags or Cagayanes (6).
The Ibanags inhabit the Babuyanes and Batanes Islands and the northern coast of Luzon, from Point Lacaytacay to Punta Escarpada, and all the country comprised between the Rio Grande and the summits of the Sierra Madre as far south as Balasig.They also hold the left bank of the river from the sea, right up to the confluence of the River Magat for an average width of some five miles.They are said to be the finest race and the most valiant men in the islands, and to have manfully resisted the Spaniards.However, they were conquered and converted to Christianity. From the year 1781 they have been subjected to the worst form of slavery, the forced cultivation of tobacco. The detestable abuses brought into this system by the unblushing rascality of the agents of the treasury, became, finally, so glaring, and the condition of the Ibanags so dreadful, that, in 1882, the Governor-General, Moriones (see Chapter “Spanish Government”), forced the hand of Cánovas and the royal family, who desired to sell the monopoly, and this horrible slavery ceased, having lasted over a century, going from bad to worse.Since that date the condition of the Ibanags has greatly improved; they have continued the cultivation of tobacco, and private enterprise has done much to introduce the finest seed and to improve the cultivation and preparatory operations. The “Compañia Tabacalera de Filipinas,” a Franco-Catalan enterprise, has established the Haciendas of San Antonio, San Rafael, and Santa Isabel, in the district of Isabela.They have built large warehouses in Tumaúini and have agents in all the principal towns.On the river they have a stern-wheel steamer, theAntonio Lopez, and a number of steel-lighters for carrying down tobacco.The tobacco is ready for transport in December andJanuary. It is sent down the river to Aparri, from whence it is shipped to Manila. In a normal dry season (February to August), the river is navigable for steamers of two feet draught up to Alcalá, the trade of which town is not important; but that of Tuguegárao is so, and up to that point the current is not strong.Amongst the Ibanags the distinction of noble and plebeian has been as strongly marked as amongst the Tagals, Pampangos, and Ilocanos, and the intense cupidity of the nobles, or rather usurers, which name better describes them, has led to many bloody outbreaks on the part of the oppressed and enslaved debtors.The government has steadily encouraged the Ilocanos and others to settle in Cagayan and plant tobacco, giving them free passages and advances of money in the days of the monopoly.On the other hand, the discontent of the Ibanags has led them to migrate to other provinces when possible, for the authorities prevented them from doing so by force when they could. They especially endeavoured to get to Manila, and I remember many years ago the arrival of a starving and ragged band, who had tramped all the way from Isabela to Manila to escape from their cruel task-masters.However, things are better with them now, and I hope means will be found under the Stars and Stripes to introduce a better system of finance, and to curb the greed of the usurer, either by legislation or by competition on a fair and humane basis. The Ibanag language is spreading greatly amongst the hill-tribes around them as a commercial language, just as Ilocano is spreading on the West Coast.Under American influence an immense development of the provinces of Cagayan and Isabela may be expected in the near future, and the Ibanags will doubtless benefit by this.
The Ibanags inhabit the Babuyanes and Batanes Islands and the northern coast of Luzon, from Point Lacaytacay to Punta Escarpada, and all the country comprised between the Rio Grande and the summits of the Sierra Madre as far south as Balasig.
They also hold the left bank of the river from the sea, right up to the confluence of the River Magat for an average width of some five miles.
They are said to be the finest race and the most valiant men in the islands, and to have manfully resisted the Spaniards.
However, they were conquered and converted to Christianity. From the year 1781 they have been subjected to the worst form of slavery, the forced cultivation of tobacco. The detestable abuses brought into this system by the unblushing rascality of the agents of the treasury, became, finally, so glaring, and the condition of the Ibanags so dreadful, that, in 1882, the Governor-General, Moriones (see Chapter “Spanish Government”), forced the hand of Cánovas and the royal family, who desired to sell the monopoly, and this horrible slavery ceased, having lasted over a century, going from bad to worse.
Since that date the condition of the Ibanags has greatly improved; they have continued the cultivation of tobacco, and private enterprise has done much to introduce the finest seed and to improve the cultivation and preparatory operations. The “Compañia Tabacalera de Filipinas,” a Franco-Catalan enterprise, has established the Haciendas of San Antonio, San Rafael, and Santa Isabel, in the district of Isabela.
They have built large warehouses in Tumaúini and have agents in all the principal towns.
On the river they have a stern-wheel steamer, theAntonio Lopez, and a number of steel-lighters for carrying down tobacco.
The tobacco is ready for transport in December andJanuary. It is sent down the river to Aparri, from whence it is shipped to Manila. In a normal dry season (February to August), the river is navigable for steamers of two feet draught up to Alcalá, the trade of which town is not important; but that of Tuguegárao is so, and up to that point the current is not strong.
Amongst the Ibanags the distinction of noble and plebeian has been as strongly marked as amongst the Tagals, Pampangos, and Ilocanos, and the intense cupidity of the nobles, or rather usurers, which name better describes them, has led to many bloody outbreaks on the part of the oppressed and enslaved debtors.
The government has steadily encouraged the Ilocanos and others to settle in Cagayan and plant tobacco, giving them free passages and advances of money in the days of the monopoly.
On the other hand, the discontent of the Ibanags has led them to migrate to other provinces when possible, for the authorities prevented them from doing so by force when they could. They especially endeavoured to get to Manila, and I remember many years ago the arrival of a starving and ragged band, who had tramped all the way from Isabela to Manila to escape from their cruel task-masters.
However, things are better with them now, and I hope means will be found under the Stars and Stripes to introduce a better system of finance, and to curb the greed of the usurer, either by legislation or by competition on a fair and humane basis. The Ibanag language is spreading greatly amongst the hill-tribes around them as a commercial language, just as Ilocano is spreading on the West Coast.
Under American influence an immense development of the provinces of Cagayan and Isabela may be expected in the near future, and the Ibanags will doubtless benefit by this.