Part I.Luzon and Adjacent Islands.Chapter XXIII.Tagals (1).1The most important race in the Archipelago is the Tagal, or Tagalog, inhabiting Central Luzon, including the following provinces:—Batangas, Bulacan, Bataan, Camarines Norte, Cavite, Laguna, Manila, part of Nueva Écija and Tayabas, the districts of Infanta, Morong, and part of Principe, also the Island of Corregidor and the coast of Mindoro. They probably number about one million five hundred thousand souls.Antonio de Morga, in his work ‘Sucesos de Philipinas,’ says (p. 126): “The women wear the báro and saya, and chains of gold upon their necks, also bracelets of the same. All classes are very clean in their persons and clothing, and of good carriage and graceful (de buen ayre y gracia”).They are very careful of their hair, washing it with gogo and anointing it with ajonjoli oil2perfumed with musk.In the ‘Relacion de las Islas Philipinas,’ 1595 (?), the anonymous author said of the Tagals: “The people of this province are the best of all the Islands, more polite, and more truly our friends. They go more clothed than the others, the men as well as the women. They are light-coloured people of very good figures and faces, and like to put on many ornaments of gold, which they have in great abundance.”A Manila Man.A Manila Man.A Manila Girl.A Manila Girl.In other respects, however, they seem, from the same author, to be less worthy of praise, for he goes on to tell us: When some principal man died, in vengeance of hisdeath they cut off many heads, with which they made many feasts and dances.... They had their houses full of wood and stone idols, which they called Tao-tao and Lichac, for temples they had none. And they said that when one of their parents or children died the soul entered into one of these idols, and for this they reverenced them and begged of them life, health, and riches. They called these idolsanitos, and when they were ill they drew lots to find which of these had given them the illness, and then made great sacrifices and feasts to it.They worshipped idols which were called Al Priapo Lacapati, Meilupa, but now, by the goodness of God, they are enlightened with the grace of the Divine Gospel and adore the living God in spirit.The old writer then remarks on the cleverness and sharpness of the boys, and the ease with which they learned to read and write, sing, play, and dance.This characteristic appears general to the Malay race, for, speaking of the Javanese, Crauford says: They have ears of remarkable delicacy for musical sounds, are readily taught to play upon any instrument the most difficult and complex airs.According to Morga, at the time of the Conquest, the Tagals wrote their language in the Arabic character. He says: They write well in these Islands; most people both men and women, can write. This tends to show that the equality of the sexes, which I shall refer to later, has been customary from ancient times.Tomas de Comyn (1810) says:The population of the capital, in consequence of its continual communication with the Chinese and other Asiatics, with the sailors of different nations, with the soldiers, and with the Mexican convicts who are generally mulattoes, and who arrive in some number every year, has come to be a mixture of all the bloods and features, or otherwise a degeneration of the primitive race.At Cainta, on a branch of the Pasig, the natives are darker, taller, and of a different type. This is accounted for by the fact that, in 1762–63, during the English invasion, a regiment of Madras Sepoys occupied the town for many months, long enough, in fact, to modify the native type to such an extent as to be plainly visible 125 years later.Crauford says that some Christian inhabitants of Ternate followed their priests (Jesuits) to Luzon when the Spaniardswere driven out of Molucas by the Dutch in 1660. They were located in Marigondon. There is now a town called Ternate between Marigondon and the sea, near Punta Restinga. But, with the exception of the capital and these two places, I think the Tagals have not greatly altered in physical characteristics since the Conquest—notwithstanding Ratzel’s statement that “Spanish-Tagal half-breeds in the Philippines may be numbered by the hundred thousand,” which I consider erroneous.The fact is, that wherever a small number of male Europeans live amongst a native race, the effect on the type is smaller than may be supposed, and what there is becomes obliterated or disseminated in course of time. Colour may be a little altered, but all the other characteristics remain. The mestizas are not so prolific as the native women, and notwithstanding Jagor’s assertion to the contrary, they often marry natives, and especially if their father has died while they were young. I knew in the town of Balayan three handsome sisters, daughters of a Spaniard who had died many years before. Although they lived in a house which had been at one time the finest in the town, and still retained some remnants of its former grandeur, they had reverted entirely to the native customs and dress. They spoke only Tagal, and all three of them married natives.The tendency of the Philippine native to revert to old customs is well marked, and I agree with Jagor when he says: “Every Indian has an innate inclination to abandon the hamlets and retire into the solitude of the woods, or live isolated in the midst of his own fields,” in fact toRemontar.The Tagals are considered by Wallace as the fourth great tribe of the Malay race. He only mentions the Tagals, but in fact the population of the Archipelago, except the Negritos and some hybrids, belongs to the Malay race, although slightly mixed with Chinese and Spanish blood in a few localities. They are here and there modified by mixture with other races, and everywhere by their environment, for they have been Roman Catholics and subject to Spanish influence, if not rule, for upwards of three centuries.They differ little in physical appearance from the Malays proper inhabiting the Peninsula, and although their manners and customs are somewhat changed, their nature remainsthe same. They retain all the inherent characteristics of the Malay.The Tagal possesses a great deal of self-respect, and his demeanour is quiet and decorous. He is polite to others, and expects to be treated politely himself. He is averse to rowdiness or horse-play of any kind, and avoids giving offence.Characteristics—Family Life.For an inhabitant of the tropics he is fairly industrious, sometimes even very hard working.Those who have seen him polingcascosagainst the stream of the Pasig will admit this.He is a keen sportsman, and will readily put his money on his favourite horse or game-cock; he is also addicted to other forms of gambling. The position taken by women in a community is often considered as a test of the degree of civilisation it has attained. Measured by this standard, the Tagals come out well, for amongst them the wife exerts great influence in the family, and the husband rarely completes any important business without her concurrence.Crauford considers the equality of the sexes to be general throughout the Indian Archipelago, more particularly in the Island of Celebes, where the inhabitants are the most warlike of all.The Tagals treat their children with great kindness and forbearance, those who are well-off show much anxiety to secure a good education for their sons, and even for their daughters.Parental authority extends to the latest period in life. I have seen a man of fifty years come as respectfully as a child to kiss the hands of his aged parents when the vesper bell sounded, and this notwithstanding the presence of several European visitors in the house.Children, in return, show great respect to both parents, and come morning and evening to kiss their hands. I may remark that their manner of kissing is different to ours. They place the nose and lips against the cheek or hand of the person to be saluted, and draw in the breath strongly.Appearance—Manners.The Malays in general are not, perhaps, a handsome race, their flat noses disfigure them in the eyes of the recently-arrived European or American, and it takes time to get accustomed to them.Still, their rich brown skin often covers a symmetrical, lithe and agile figure, the small hands and feet denoting their Turanian origin.The youth of both sexes up to the age of puberty are not seldom of striking beauty, and their appearance is not belied by their behaviour. They are trained in good manners from their earliest youth, both by precept and example.Palgrave says of them: “Nowhere are family bonds closer drawn, family affections more enduring, than amongst the Malay races.... His family is a pleasing sight, much subordination and little restraint, unison in gradation, liberty not license. Orderly children, respected parents, women subject, but not suppressed, men ruling, but not despotic, reverence with kindness, obedience in affection, these form a lovable picture, nor by any means a rare one in the villages of the Eastern Isles.”It may here be interesting to note the very contradictory opinions that have been expressed upon this subject.John Foreman.‘The Philippine Islands,’ p. 194.“Home discipline and training of manners are quite ignored, even in the well-to-do families. Children are left without control, and allowed to do just as they please, hence they become ill-behaved and boorish.”W. G. Palgrave.‘Malay Life in the Philippines,’ p. 146.“Children early trained by precept and example to good manners, show less disposition to noise and mischief than is ordinary elsewhere at their age.”As will be seen in my text, my own experience rather confirms Palgrave’s opinion, and I should say that even the children of the peasantry would compare favourably both in manners and intelligence with the children at the Board Schools in London, and to say nothing of Glasgow or Liverpool.Amongst the Tagals, it is customary when speaking ofor to a man to use the prefix Si—thus Si José, Mr. Joseph—whilst a woman is spoken of or to as Aling Maria, Miss Mary. The word Po is used for Sir. Thus: Óo-po—Yes, sir; Hindí-po—No, sir; Uala-po—There is none, sir; Mayroóm-po—There is some, sir.Cleanliness.The sense of personal dignity and self-respect, the dominant feeling in the Malay nature, is shown in the Tagals by a general cleanliness in their persons and clothing. They usually live near water, and nearly all of them can swim.The heat of the climate makes bathing a pleasure, and as the temperature of the sea or river is commonly 83°F., a prolonged immersion causes no inconvenience.On the morning of a feast-day the number of bathers is increased, and at the time of high tide, a very large proportion of the population seems to be in the water, both sexes and all ages mixing indiscriminately, the adults decently covered and all behaving themselves as decorously as the bathers at Brighton, Newport, or Atlantic City.They have not yet arrived at that precise stage of civilisation that develops the Rough, the Larrikin, or the Hooligan. Palgrave says: A Malay may be a profligate, a gambler, a thief, a robber, or a murderer, he is never a cad.Palgrave had not great opportunities of knowing the Tagals, but I confirm the above opinion, although I do not agree with the views on the future of the Philippines, and what is best for them, expressed in his fantastic and hyphen-infested verbiage, all seemingly written for effect.Superstitions.The Tagal is extremely superstitious, and like his kinsman, the Dayak, he is a believer in omens, although he has not reduced them so completely to a system, and three centuries of Christianity have diverted his superstitions into other channels.In his mind, each cave, each ravine, each mountain, each pool, each stream, has its guardian spirit, to offend or to startle which may be dangerous. These are the jinni of Southern Arabia and Socotra.The Balete tree (Ficus Urostigima—Sp.) corresponds to our Witch Elm, and certainly at night has a most uncanny appearance. Each of these great trees has its guardian spirit or Tic-balan.Daring, indeed, would be the Indian who would pass such a tree, enter a cave, ascend a mountain, or plunge into a pool without bowing and uttering thePasing tabi sa nono[By your leave, my Lord] that may appease the spirit’s wrath, just as the Bedouin of Dhofar cry, “Aleik Soubera—aleik soubera,” to propitiate the jinni.His mental attitude in this respect reminds me of a story told me many years ago by a lady residing in Hampshire. A lady neighbour of hers inquired from her whether she taught her children to bow when the Devil’s name was mentioned. My informant replied in the negative, whereupon the lady remarked, “I do, I think it is safer.” This is the way with the Tagal, he bows because he thinks it is safer. If that prudent lady is still alive and may chance to read this, she may be pleased to learn that her opinion is shared by the whole Malay race.Child-birth has its anxieties everywhere, and the more artificial the life the woman has led, the more she suffers at that critical time. The Tagal woman whose naturally supple frame has never been subjected to tight-lacing, nor compressed within a tailor-made costume, has a far easier time of it than her European sister, but superstition and quackery combine to terrify and ill-use her.ThePatianac, an evil spirit, profits by the occasion, and his great delight is to obstruct the birth, or to kill and devour the infant. The patianac might be busy elsewhere, but from the ridge-pole of the house a bird of ill-omen, the dreadful Tic-tic, raises a warning cry, for its office and delight is to call the attention of the evil spirit to the opportunity of doing mischief. Instantly every door and window is closed and every chink stopped to prevent its entrance, whilst the anxious father and his kinsmen, naked as they were born, walk around and underneath the house, slashing the air with sticks orbolosto frighten away the spirit. Sometimes a man will get up on the ridge-pole to drive away the Tic-tic.Meanwhile, in the stifling room, it is too often the case that violent means are used to expedite the birth, so violent indeed, that they sometimes result in the permanent injury or in the death of the woman.Some years ago the Government instituted an examination for midwives, and only those were allowed the practice who had been properly instructed, so that these absurdities and cruelties are on the wane, except amongst the poorest or in outlying districts.TheAsúanis merely a cannibal ghost, but the Tagal ghost throws stones, a thing I have not heard of a ghost doing in Europe.All sorts of stories are told about theAsúan, similar to ghost stories in other lands.About 1891 a house in Malate was stoned night after night, and although every effort was made to find out the authors, they were never discovered, and the natives steadfastly believed it to be the doing of theAsúan.There is another superstitious idea firmly rooted in the minds of the Tagals and other natives, of which the following is an instance: A villainous-looking native had been captured with some property stolen from my house, and was sent to the lock-up at the police station, from whence he promptly escaped, but was recaptured later. My coachman, a most meritorious servant who had been with me for years, assured me in an impressive manner, and with an air of conviction, that the culprit was one of those wizards who are able to pass through a keyhole by drawing themselves out into the thinness of a piece of string, and my other servants accepted this view implicitly.The famousTulisanesor bandits, thoroughly believe in the power of theAntin-Antinor amulet to render them invulnerable to bullets. It is, indeed, remarkable that notwithstanding the numbers of these criminals who have been shot by the Guardia Civil with theirAntin-Antinupon them, this absurd belief should flourish, but there is no doubt it does. These charms consist of any sort of necromancers’ rubbish, or are sometimes writings in invocations, usually worn round the neck under the clothing.The profession of the Roman Catholic religion has perhaps helped this superstition to linger on, for the wearing of scapularies is common, especially amongst the women. These articles are manufactured for the priests and some are sent out to Antipolo, to be blessed at the shrine of Nuestra Señora de Buen Viage y de la Paz, and sold to the pilgrims who crowd in thousands to this shrine in May of each year.A Tagal woman sometimes wears as many as three ofthese scapularies hung from silk threads round her neck and covered by her upper garment. They usually dispose two in front, where they conceive the danger is greatest, and one on the back, as a further precaution against an attack from the rear.Wearing these holy amulets, and having crossed herself and uttered a prayer before coming downstairs in the morning, the Tagal wife or maid feels that she has done all she can, and that if any backsliding should occur, during the day, it will not be her fault.She believes greatly in lucky or holy numbers—I heard the following story related by a native lady to a native priest when going to Batangas by steamer.The lady was telling the priest of her husband’s illness (it appeared to have been congestion of the lungs), and she prepared and applied a poultice of three heads of garlic in honour of the Three Persons of the Blessed Trinity; this not producing the desired effect, she then made a poultice of five heads of garlic, in honour of the Five Wounds of our Blessed Saviour, and successively others of seven heads, in honour of the Seven Pains of the Blessed Virgin; twelve heads in honour of the Twelve Apostles, and last of all a poultice of thirty-three heads of garlic in honour of the Thirty-three years our Blessed Saviour remained on earth. The priest had nodded approval as she went on, but as she stopped he said: “And then?” To which the lady replied, “Then he died.”This poor man came off easily, for in some cases people who suffer from fits and other diseases are thought to be possessed by devils, and are severely beaten to drive out the evil spirit. The patient does not always escape with his life.The women often dream of lucky numbers in the Manila Lottery and make every endeavour to purchase the number they have dreamt of.Amongst the Christian superstitions may be mentioned the feast of San Pascual Bailón at Obando. Those who attend this function are commonly the rowdier class of inhabitants of the Capital, and they go mostly on foot, making music and dancing on the way. They also dance in the courtyard in front of the church, not forgetting to refresh themselves with strong drink in the meanwhile.Tagal Girl wearing Scapulary.Tagal Girl wearing Scapulary.[To face p. 216.This is not at all an edifying spectacle, for the dancers are covered with dust and with the perspiration from theiractive exertions. I do not know the legend that gives occasion to this curious form of devotion. Occasionally, and especially during Holy Week, another form of penitence is practised by the natives. I remember, about 1892, seeing one of these penitents, a man having a mask on his face, the upper part of his body bare, and a long chain fastened to one ankle and dragging on the ground behind him. In one hand he bore a flagellum with which he from time to time lashed himself on the shoulders, which bore evident marks of the discipline they had received. A youth who followed him occasionally jerked the chain, throwing the penitent violently at full length upon the dusty road. This form of penitence is not approved, however, by the priests, for when I called on the parish priest, the same evening, I mentioned the circumstance to him, and he directed the penitent to be locked up, to stop what he rightly termed a scandal.On many occasions the natives had got up a religious excitement, and great gatherings have taken place at some spot where a miraculous appearance of the Blessed Virgin, or some supernatural manifestation has been alleged to have occurred.All these affairs have been somewhat sceptically inquired into by the priests under a general order to this effect issued by the archbishop, and so far as my experience goes, the excessive religious ardour of the natives has rather been checked than stimulated.When writing about the Visayas I shall have more to say about misdirected religious zeal. The Tagals practise circumcision as a hygienic measure, and not as a religious rite. The operation is usually performed at the age of fourteen by a companion or friend of the patient, and a sharp flint or piece of volcanic glass (obsidian) is used for this purpose. From what I have heard, this custom is really maintained by the women, who refuse their favours to the uncircumcised of their own nation, though with foreigners they are more complaisant.Cursing.In cursing, the Tagal displays a directness quite worthy of the Anglo-Saxon. All his remarks are very much to the point, and would have earned the approval of the late lamented and reverend author of the Ingoldsby Legends.Leaving out the world-wide reflections upon the virtues of an opponent’s female ancestry, since these appear to belong indiscriminately to all nations, the principal Tagal curses are as follows:—1. May an evil wind blow upon you.2. May the earth open and swallow you up.3. May the lightning strike you.4. May the alligator eat you.The superiority of the Tagal style as compared with the French Mortbleu, Ventre bleu, must be apparent to all unprejudiced observers. The Tagal has drawn all his curses from the grand and awful operations of nature in his own country, except the last, where he invokes the dreaded saurian, the most fearsome inhabitant of the Philippine swamps, rivers, and coasts—formerly venerated by his ancestors and respectfully addressed by them asnono,or grandfather.Under American guidance and example, I think the Tagals quite capable of developing a startling vocabulary of swear-words, and in course of time rivalling their instructors in profanity, with a touch of their old style to give a little local colour.Courtship.Courtship is sometimes a long business amongst the Tagals. It is still customary in the country districts for the impecunious candidate for matrimony to serve the father of the damsel he desires to wed for a period which may extend to a couple of years or more. He is called aCatipado, and is expected to make himself generally useful, and to take a hand in any labour that may be going on, sowing or reaping, mending the roof, or patching the canoe.It is his privilege to assist the girl of his choice in her labours. The girls of a household are expected to husk the rice for the next day’s use. This is done in the cool of the evening, out of doors, a wooden mortar and long heavy pestle being used. It is a well-recognised occasion for the lover to assist and entertain his sweetheart.Very pretty do the village maidens look, as, lightly clothed in almost diaphanous garments, they stand beside the mortars plying the pestle, alternately rising on tiptoe,stretching the lithe figure to its full height and reach, then bending swiftly to give force to the blow.No attitude could display to more advantage the symmetry of form which is the Tagal maiden’s heritage, and few sights are more pleasing than a group of these tawny damsels husking paddy midst chat and laughter, while a tropical full moon pours its effulgence on their glistening tresses and rounded arms.Marriage.But let us return to theCatipado. He must be very careful not to give cause of offence to the elders of the family, more especially towards the end of his term, as there may be a disposition amongst them to dismiss him, and take on another to begin a new term. In fact, many natives have shown themselves so unwilling to consent to their daughter’s marriage, when no sufficient reason could be given for their refusal, that the Governor-General, representing the Crown, is entrusted with a special power of granting the paternal consent in such cases.No regular marriage can be celebrated whilst the girl is a minor, without the father’s consent.When this is refused, and the patience of the lovers is exhausted, the girl leaves her father’s house and is deposited in the house of the fiscal, or churchwarden, under the care of his wife.A petition on stamped paper is then prepared, reciting the circumstances; this goes to the parish priest and to the Gobernadorcillo, who require the father to state the grounds of his refusal. If they are satisfied that no good reason exists, the petition, with their approval noted on it, goes to the Governor-General, and in due time a notification appears in the official Gazette that the Governor-General has been pleased to overrule the father’s negative, and a license (on stamped paper also) for the marriage to be celebrated, is delivered to the priest. This procedure is very necessary, but it has the disadvantage of being slow and expensive, so that in some cases, instead of adopting this course, the youthful pair allow themselves some advances of the privileges of matrimony, and perhaps there arrives a time when the obdurate parent finds himself obliged to consent to legalise an accomplished fact to avoid an open scandal.The erring damsel, however, may think herself lucky if she escapes a fatherly correction laid on with no grudging hand, before the reluctant consent is granted.The priest will of course require the youthful sinners to confess and do penance for their previousness before he will marry them.The marriage ceremony is a very simple one, and usually takes place after early Mass. The priest fixes the fee according to the means of the party; it is often a substantial one. After the ceremony comes aCatapúsanor assembly, when the relatives and friends are entertained. There will be music, and unless the priest disapproves of dancing, that will be indulged in. The Augustinians mostly allow dancing, but the Dominicans often object to it as an immoral amusement.The house will be hung with bright-coloured cloths and paper lanterns; the table loaded with refreshments, both light and heavy.Wedding Feasts.Roast pig is a standing dish at these feasts, the animal being roasted whole, on a spit over a fire made on the ground. A professional roaster superintends the operation, and the pig is brought to a fine even colour all over. Sometimes there are roast turkeys or roast mutton and kid, possibly beef cooked in various ways, surely fish of different kinds, fresh, salted, or smoked; the indispensable boiled rice ormorisqueta, and an abundance of sweets, fruits in syrup, guava jelly, and Dutch cheese. There will be chocolate and perhaps coffee. As to drinks, besides some native brews, there will be Norwegian or German export beer, or Tennant’s beer in stone bottles, square-face gin, and Spanish red wine (Vino Tinto).Unlimited Buyo, cigarettes and cigars are provided. All these things are hospitably pressed upon all comers, especially upon any European present. If his politeness prevents his refusing this miscellaneous assortment, unless he is favoured with the digestion of an ostrich, he will rue it next day, and perhaps for several days. The worthy priest is naturally in the place of honour, and like the wise man he mostly is, he perhaps brings, slung under his habit, or sends beforehand, a capacious leather bottle, with asupply of generous wine direct from some convent vineyard on the peninsula, a pure natural wine, undefiled and unfortified by German industrial spirit. A tall and portly Augustine monk, in his spotless and ample white robes, presents a very imposing and apostolic appearance, and looks quite in his place at the head of the table. The host seldom sits down with his guests, but busies himself attending to their wants.1The territory occupied by each tribe is shown on the general map of Mindanao by the number on this list.2Ajonjoli (Sesamun Indicum, L.). SeeChap. XIX. for Gogo.
Part I.Luzon and Adjacent Islands.Chapter XXIII.Tagals (1).1The most important race in the Archipelago is the Tagal, or Tagalog, inhabiting Central Luzon, including the following provinces:—Batangas, Bulacan, Bataan, Camarines Norte, Cavite, Laguna, Manila, part of Nueva Écija and Tayabas, the districts of Infanta, Morong, and part of Principe, also the Island of Corregidor and the coast of Mindoro. They probably number about one million five hundred thousand souls.Antonio de Morga, in his work ‘Sucesos de Philipinas,’ says (p. 126): “The women wear the báro and saya, and chains of gold upon their necks, also bracelets of the same. All classes are very clean in their persons and clothing, and of good carriage and graceful (de buen ayre y gracia”).They are very careful of their hair, washing it with gogo and anointing it with ajonjoli oil2perfumed with musk.In the ‘Relacion de las Islas Philipinas,’ 1595 (?), the anonymous author said of the Tagals: “The people of this province are the best of all the Islands, more polite, and more truly our friends. They go more clothed than the others, the men as well as the women. They are light-coloured people of very good figures and faces, and like to put on many ornaments of gold, which they have in great abundance.”A Manila Man.A Manila Man.A Manila Girl.A Manila Girl.In other respects, however, they seem, from the same author, to be less worthy of praise, for he goes on to tell us: When some principal man died, in vengeance of hisdeath they cut off many heads, with which they made many feasts and dances.... They had their houses full of wood and stone idols, which they called Tao-tao and Lichac, for temples they had none. And they said that when one of their parents or children died the soul entered into one of these idols, and for this they reverenced them and begged of them life, health, and riches. They called these idolsanitos, and when they were ill they drew lots to find which of these had given them the illness, and then made great sacrifices and feasts to it.They worshipped idols which were called Al Priapo Lacapati, Meilupa, but now, by the goodness of God, they are enlightened with the grace of the Divine Gospel and adore the living God in spirit.The old writer then remarks on the cleverness and sharpness of the boys, and the ease with which they learned to read and write, sing, play, and dance.This characteristic appears general to the Malay race, for, speaking of the Javanese, Crauford says: They have ears of remarkable delicacy for musical sounds, are readily taught to play upon any instrument the most difficult and complex airs.According to Morga, at the time of the Conquest, the Tagals wrote their language in the Arabic character. He says: They write well in these Islands; most people both men and women, can write. This tends to show that the equality of the sexes, which I shall refer to later, has been customary from ancient times.Tomas de Comyn (1810) says:The population of the capital, in consequence of its continual communication with the Chinese and other Asiatics, with the sailors of different nations, with the soldiers, and with the Mexican convicts who are generally mulattoes, and who arrive in some number every year, has come to be a mixture of all the bloods and features, or otherwise a degeneration of the primitive race.At Cainta, on a branch of the Pasig, the natives are darker, taller, and of a different type. This is accounted for by the fact that, in 1762–63, during the English invasion, a regiment of Madras Sepoys occupied the town for many months, long enough, in fact, to modify the native type to such an extent as to be plainly visible 125 years later.Crauford says that some Christian inhabitants of Ternate followed their priests (Jesuits) to Luzon when the Spaniardswere driven out of Molucas by the Dutch in 1660. They were located in Marigondon. There is now a town called Ternate between Marigondon and the sea, near Punta Restinga. But, with the exception of the capital and these two places, I think the Tagals have not greatly altered in physical characteristics since the Conquest—notwithstanding Ratzel’s statement that “Spanish-Tagal half-breeds in the Philippines may be numbered by the hundred thousand,” which I consider erroneous.The fact is, that wherever a small number of male Europeans live amongst a native race, the effect on the type is smaller than may be supposed, and what there is becomes obliterated or disseminated in course of time. Colour may be a little altered, but all the other characteristics remain. The mestizas are not so prolific as the native women, and notwithstanding Jagor’s assertion to the contrary, they often marry natives, and especially if their father has died while they were young. I knew in the town of Balayan three handsome sisters, daughters of a Spaniard who had died many years before. Although they lived in a house which had been at one time the finest in the town, and still retained some remnants of its former grandeur, they had reverted entirely to the native customs and dress. They spoke only Tagal, and all three of them married natives.The tendency of the Philippine native to revert to old customs is well marked, and I agree with Jagor when he says: “Every Indian has an innate inclination to abandon the hamlets and retire into the solitude of the woods, or live isolated in the midst of his own fields,” in fact toRemontar.The Tagals are considered by Wallace as the fourth great tribe of the Malay race. He only mentions the Tagals, but in fact the population of the Archipelago, except the Negritos and some hybrids, belongs to the Malay race, although slightly mixed with Chinese and Spanish blood in a few localities. They are here and there modified by mixture with other races, and everywhere by their environment, for they have been Roman Catholics and subject to Spanish influence, if not rule, for upwards of three centuries.They differ little in physical appearance from the Malays proper inhabiting the Peninsula, and although their manners and customs are somewhat changed, their nature remainsthe same. They retain all the inherent characteristics of the Malay.The Tagal possesses a great deal of self-respect, and his demeanour is quiet and decorous. He is polite to others, and expects to be treated politely himself. He is averse to rowdiness or horse-play of any kind, and avoids giving offence.Characteristics—Family Life.For an inhabitant of the tropics he is fairly industrious, sometimes even very hard working.Those who have seen him polingcascosagainst the stream of the Pasig will admit this.He is a keen sportsman, and will readily put his money on his favourite horse or game-cock; he is also addicted to other forms of gambling. The position taken by women in a community is often considered as a test of the degree of civilisation it has attained. Measured by this standard, the Tagals come out well, for amongst them the wife exerts great influence in the family, and the husband rarely completes any important business without her concurrence.Crauford considers the equality of the sexes to be general throughout the Indian Archipelago, more particularly in the Island of Celebes, where the inhabitants are the most warlike of all.The Tagals treat their children with great kindness and forbearance, those who are well-off show much anxiety to secure a good education for their sons, and even for their daughters.Parental authority extends to the latest period in life. I have seen a man of fifty years come as respectfully as a child to kiss the hands of his aged parents when the vesper bell sounded, and this notwithstanding the presence of several European visitors in the house.Children, in return, show great respect to both parents, and come morning and evening to kiss their hands. I may remark that their manner of kissing is different to ours. They place the nose and lips against the cheek or hand of the person to be saluted, and draw in the breath strongly.Appearance—Manners.The Malays in general are not, perhaps, a handsome race, their flat noses disfigure them in the eyes of the recently-arrived European or American, and it takes time to get accustomed to them.Still, their rich brown skin often covers a symmetrical, lithe and agile figure, the small hands and feet denoting their Turanian origin.The youth of both sexes up to the age of puberty are not seldom of striking beauty, and their appearance is not belied by their behaviour. They are trained in good manners from their earliest youth, both by precept and example.Palgrave says of them: “Nowhere are family bonds closer drawn, family affections more enduring, than amongst the Malay races.... His family is a pleasing sight, much subordination and little restraint, unison in gradation, liberty not license. Orderly children, respected parents, women subject, but not suppressed, men ruling, but not despotic, reverence with kindness, obedience in affection, these form a lovable picture, nor by any means a rare one in the villages of the Eastern Isles.”It may here be interesting to note the very contradictory opinions that have been expressed upon this subject.John Foreman.‘The Philippine Islands,’ p. 194.“Home discipline and training of manners are quite ignored, even in the well-to-do families. Children are left without control, and allowed to do just as they please, hence they become ill-behaved and boorish.”W. G. Palgrave.‘Malay Life in the Philippines,’ p. 146.“Children early trained by precept and example to good manners, show less disposition to noise and mischief than is ordinary elsewhere at their age.”As will be seen in my text, my own experience rather confirms Palgrave’s opinion, and I should say that even the children of the peasantry would compare favourably both in manners and intelligence with the children at the Board Schools in London, and to say nothing of Glasgow or Liverpool.Amongst the Tagals, it is customary when speaking ofor to a man to use the prefix Si—thus Si José, Mr. Joseph—whilst a woman is spoken of or to as Aling Maria, Miss Mary. The word Po is used for Sir. Thus: Óo-po—Yes, sir; Hindí-po—No, sir; Uala-po—There is none, sir; Mayroóm-po—There is some, sir.Cleanliness.The sense of personal dignity and self-respect, the dominant feeling in the Malay nature, is shown in the Tagals by a general cleanliness in their persons and clothing. They usually live near water, and nearly all of them can swim.The heat of the climate makes bathing a pleasure, and as the temperature of the sea or river is commonly 83°F., a prolonged immersion causes no inconvenience.On the morning of a feast-day the number of bathers is increased, and at the time of high tide, a very large proportion of the population seems to be in the water, both sexes and all ages mixing indiscriminately, the adults decently covered and all behaving themselves as decorously as the bathers at Brighton, Newport, or Atlantic City.They have not yet arrived at that precise stage of civilisation that develops the Rough, the Larrikin, or the Hooligan. Palgrave says: A Malay may be a profligate, a gambler, a thief, a robber, or a murderer, he is never a cad.Palgrave had not great opportunities of knowing the Tagals, but I confirm the above opinion, although I do not agree with the views on the future of the Philippines, and what is best for them, expressed in his fantastic and hyphen-infested verbiage, all seemingly written for effect.Superstitions.The Tagal is extremely superstitious, and like his kinsman, the Dayak, he is a believer in omens, although he has not reduced them so completely to a system, and three centuries of Christianity have diverted his superstitions into other channels.In his mind, each cave, each ravine, each mountain, each pool, each stream, has its guardian spirit, to offend or to startle which may be dangerous. These are the jinni of Southern Arabia and Socotra.The Balete tree (Ficus Urostigima—Sp.) corresponds to our Witch Elm, and certainly at night has a most uncanny appearance. Each of these great trees has its guardian spirit or Tic-balan.Daring, indeed, would be the Indian who would pass such a tree, enter a cave, ascend a mountain, or plunge into a pool without bowing and uttering thePasing tabi sa nono[By your leave, my Lord] that may appease the spirit’s wrath, just as the Bedouin of Dhofar cry, “Aleik Soubera—aleik soubera,” to propitiate the jinni.His mental attitude in this respect reminds me of a story told me many years ago by a lady residing in Hampshire. A lady neighbour of hers inquired from her whether she taught her children to bow when the Devil’s name was mentioned. My informant replied in the negative, whereupon the lady remarked, “I do, I think it is safer.” This is the way with the Tagal, he bows because he thinks it is safer. If that prudent lady is still alive and may chance to read this, she may be pleased to learn that her opinion is shared by the whole Malay race.Child-birth has its anxieties everywhere, and the more artificial the life the woman has led, the more she suffers at that critical time. The Tagal woman whose naturally supple frame has never been subjected to tight-lacing, nor compressed within a tailor-made costume, has a far easier time of it than her European sister, but superstition and quackery combine to terrify and ill-use her.ThePatianac, an evil spirit, profits by the occasion, and his great delight is to obstruct the birth, or to kill and devour the infant. The patianac might be busy elsewhere, but from the ridge-pole of the house a bird of ill-omen, the dreadful Tic-tic, raises a warning cry, for its office and delight is to call the attention of the evil spirit to the opportunity of doing mischief. Instantly every door and window is closed and every chink stopped to prevent its entrance, whilst the anxious father and his kinsmen, naked as they were born, walk around and underneath the house, slashing the air with sticks orbolosto frighten away the spirit. Sometimes a man will get up on the ridge-pole to drive away the Tic-tic.Meanwhile, in the stifling room, it is too often the case that violent means are used to expedite the birth, so violent indeed, that they sometimes result in the permanent injury or in the death of the woman.Some years ago the Government instituted an examination for midwives, and only those were allowed the practice who had been properly instructed, so that these absurdities and cruelties are on the wane, except amongst the poorest or in outlying districts.TheAsúanis merely a cannibal ghost, but the Tagal ghost throws stones, a thing I have not heard of a ghost doing in Europe.All sorts of stories are told about theAsúan, similar to ghost stories in other lands.About 1891 a house in Malate was stoned night after night, and although every effort was made to find out the authors, they were never discovered, and the natives steadfastly believed it to be the doing of theAsúan.There is another superstitious idea firmly rooted in the minds of the Tagals and other natives, of which the following is an instance: A villainous-looking native had been captured with some property stolen from my house, and was sent to the lock-up at the police station, from whence he promptly escaped, but was recaptured later. My coachman, a most meritorious servant who had been with me for years, assured me in an impressive manner, and with an air of conviction, that the culprit was one of those wizards who are able to pass through a keyhole by drawing themselves out into the thinness of a piece of string, and my other servants accepted this view implicitly.The famousTulisanesor bandits, thoroughly believe in the power of theAntin-Antinor amulet to render them invulnerable to bullets. It is, indeed, remarkable that notwithstanding the numbers of these criminals who have been shot by the Guardia Civil with theirAntin-Antinupon them, this absurd belief should flourish, but there is no doubt it does. These charms consist of any sort of necromancers’ rubbish, or are sometimes writings in invocations, usually worn round the neck under the clothing.The profession of the Roman Catholic religion has perhaps helped this superstition to linger on, for the wearing of scapularies is common, especially amongst the women. These articles are manufactured for the priests and some are sent out to Antipolo, to be blessed at the shrine of Nuestra Señora de Buen Viage y de la Paz, and sold to the pilgrims who crowd in thousands to this shrine in May of each year.A Tagal woman sometimes wears as many as three ofthese scapularies hung from silk threads round her neck and covered by her upper garment. They usually dispose two in front, where they conceive the danger is greatest, and one on the back, as a further precaution against an attack from the rear.Wearing these holy amulets, and having crossed herself and uttered a prayer before coming downstairs in the morning, the Tagal wife or maid feels that she has done all she can, and that if any backsliding should occur, during the day, it will not be her fault.She believes greatly in lucky or holy numbers—I heard the following story related by a native lady to a native priest when going to Batangas by steamer.The lady was telling the priest of her husband’s illness (it appeared to have been congestion of the lungs), and she prepared and applied a poultice of three heads of garlic in honour of the Three Persons of the Blessed Trinity; this not producing the desired effect, she then made a poultice of five heads of garlic, in honour of the Five Wounds of our Blessed Saviour, and successively others of seven heads, in honour of the Seven Pains of the Blessed Virgin; twelve heads in honour of the Twelve Apostles, and last of all a poultice of thirty-three heads of garlic in honour of the Thirty-three years our Blessed Saviour remained on earth. The priest had nodded approval as she went on, but as she stopped he said: “And then?” To which the lady replied, “Then he died.”This poor man came off easily, for in some cases people who suffer from fits and other diseases are thought to be possessed by devils, and are severely beaten to drive out the evil spirit. The patient does not always escape with his life.The women often dream of lucky numbers in the Manila Lottery and make every endeavour to purchase the number they have dreamt of.Amongst the Christian superstitions may be mentioned the feast of San Pascual Bailón at Obando. Those who attend this function are commonly the rowdier class of inhabitants of the Capital, and they go mostly on foot, making music and dancing on the way. They also dance in the courtyard in front of the church, not forgetting to refresh themselves with strong drink in the meanwhile.Tagal Girl wearing Scapulary.Tagal Girl wearing Scapulary.[To face p. 216.This is not at all an edifying spectacle, for the dancers are covered with dust and with the perspiration from theiractive exertions. I do not know the legend that gives occasion to this curious form of devotion. Occasionally, and especially during Holy Week, another form of penitence is practised by the natives. I remember, about 1892, seeing one of these penitents, a man having a mask on his face, the upper part of his body bare, and a long chain fastened to one ankle and dragging on the ground behind him. In one hand he bore a flagellum with which he from time to time lashed himself on the shoulders, which bore evident marks of the discipline they had received. A youth who followed him occasionally jerked the chain, throwing the penitent violently at full length upon the dusty road. This form of penitence is not approved, however, by the priests, for when I called on the parish priest, the same evening, I mentioned the circumstance to him, and he directed the penitent to be locked up, to stop what he rightly termed a scandal.On many occasions the natives had got up a religious excitement, and great gatherings have taken place at some spot where a miraculous appearance of the Blessed Virgin, or some supernatural manifestation has been alleged to have occurred.All these affairs have been somewhat sceptically inquired into by the priests under a general order to this effect issued by the archbishop, and so far as my experience goes, the excessive religious ardour of the natives has rather been checked than stimulated.When writing about the Visayas I shall have more to say about misdirected religious zeal. The Tagals practise circumcision as a hygienic measure, and not as a religious rite. The operation is usually performed at the age of fourteen by a companion or friend of the patient, and a sharp flint or piece of volcanic glass (obsidian) is used for this purpose. From what I have heard, this custom is really maintained by the women, who refuse their favours to the uncircumcised of their own nation, though with foreigners they are more complaisant.Cursing.In cursing, the Tagal displays a directness quite worthy of the Anglo-Saxon. All his remarks are very much to the point, and would have earned the approval of the late lamented and reverend author of the Ingoldsby Legends.Leaving out the world-wide reflections upon the virtues of an opponent’s female ancestry, since these appear to belong indiscriminately to all nations, the principal Tagal curses are as follows:—1. May an evil wind blow upon you.2. May the earth open and swallow you up.3. May the lightning strike you.4. May the alligator eat you.The superiority of the Tagal style as compared with the French Mortbleu, Ventre bleu, must be apparent to all unprejudiced observers. The Tagal has drawn all his curses from the grand and awful operations of nature in his own country, except the last, where he invokes the dreaded saurian, the most fearsome inhabitant of the Philippine swamps, rivers, and coasts—formerly venerated by his ancestors and respectfully addressed by them asnono,or grandfather.Under American guidance and example, I think the Tagals quite capable of developing a startling vocabulary of swear-words, and in course of time rivalling their instructors in profanity, with a touch of their old style to give a little local colour.Courtship.Courtship is sometimes a long business amongst the Tagals. It is still customary in the country districts for the impecunious candidate for matrimony to serve the father of the damsel he desires to wed for a period which may extend to a couple of years or more. He is called aCatipado, and is expected to make himself generally useful, and to take a hand in any labour that may be going on, sowing or reaping, mending the roof, or patching the canoe.It is his privilege to assist the girl of his choice in her labours. The girls of a household are expected to husk the rice for the next day’s use. This is done in the cool of the evening, out of doors, a wooden mortar and long heavy pestle being used. It is a well-recognised occasion for the lover to assist and entertain his sweetheart.Very pretty do the village maidens look, as, lightly clothed in almost diaphanous garments, they stand beside the mortars plying the pestle, alternately rising on tiptoe,stretching the lithe figure to its full height and reach, then bending swiftly to give force to the blow.No attitude could display to more advantage the symmetry of form which is the Tagal maiden’s heritage, and few sights are more pleasing than a group of these tawny damsels husking paddy midst chat and laughter, while a tropical full moon pours its effulgence on their glistening tresses and rounded arms.Marriage.But let us return to theCatipado. He must be very careful not to give cause of offence to the elders of the family, more especially towards the end of his term, as there may be a disposition amongst them to dismiss him, and take on another to begin a new term. In fact, many natives have shown themselves so unwilling to consent to their daughter’s marriage, when no sufficient reason could be given for their refusal, that the Governor-General, representing the Crown, is entrusted with a special power of granting the paternal consent in such cases.No regular marriage can be celebrated whilst the girl is a minor, without the father’s consent.When this is refused, and the patience of the lovers is exhausted, the girl leaves her father’s house and is deposited in the house of the fiscal, or churchwarden, under the care of his wife.A petition on stamped paper is then prepared, reciting the circumstances; this goes to the parish priest and to the Gobernadorcillo, who require the father to state the grounds of his refusal. If they are satisfied that no good reason exists, the petition, with their approval noted on it, goes to the Governor-General, and in due time a notification appears in the official Gazette that the Governor-General has been pleased to overrule the father’s negative, and a license (on stamped paper also) for the marriage to be celebrated, is delivered to the priest. This procedure is very necessary, but it has the disadvantage of being slow and expensive, so that in some cases, instead of adopting this course, the youthful pair allow themselves some advances of the privileges of matrimony, and perhaps there arrives a time when the obdurate parent finds himself obliged to consent to legalise an accomplished fact to avoid an open scandal.The erring damsel, however, may think herself lucky if she escapes a fatherly correction laid on with no grudging hand, before the reluctant consent is granted.The priest will of course require the youthful sinners to confess and do penance for their previousness before he will marry them.The marriage ceremony is a very simple one, and usually takes place after early Mass. The priest fixes the fee according to the means of the party; it is often a substantial one. After the ceremony comes aCatapúsanor assembly, when the relatives and friends are entertained. There will be music, and unless the priest disapproves of dancing, that will be indulged in. The Augustinians mostly allow dancing, but the Dominicans often object to it as an immoral amusement.The house will be hung with bright-coloured cloths and paper lanterns; the table loaded with refreshments, both light and heavy.Wedding Feasts.Roast pig is a standing dish at these feasts, the animal being roasted whole, on a spit over a fire made on the ground. A professional roaster superintends the operation, and the pig is brought to a fine even colour all over. Sometimes there are roast turkeys or roast mutton and kid, possibly beef cooked in various ways, surely fish of different kinds, fresh, salted, or smoked; the indispensable boiled rice ormorisqueta, and an abundance of sweets, fruits in syrup, guava jelly, and Dutch cheese. There will be chocolate and perhaps coffee. As to drinks, besides some native brews, there will be Norwegian or German export beer, or Tennant’s beer in stone bottles, square-face gin, and Spanish red wine (Vino Tinto).Unlimited Buyo, cigarettes and cigars are provided. All these things are hospitably pressed upon all comers, especially upon any European present. If his politeness prevents his refusing this miscellaneous assortment, unless he is favoured with the digestion of an ostrich, he will rue it next day, and perhaps for several days. The worthy priest is naturally in the place of honour, and like the wise man he mostly is, he perhaps brings, slung under his habit, or sends beforehand, a capacious leather bottle, with asupply of generous wine direct from some convent vineyard on the peninsula, a pure natural wine, undefiled and unfortified by German industrial spirit. A tall and portly Augustine monk, in his spotless and ample white robes, presents a very imposing and apostolic appearance, and looks quite in his place at the head of the table. The host seldom sits down with his guests, but busies himself attending to their wants.1The territory occupied by each tribe is shown on the general map of Mindanao by the number on this list.2Ajonjoli (Sesamun Indicum, L.). SeeChap. XIX. for Gogo.
Chapter XXIII.Tagals (1).1The most important race in the Archipelago is the Tagal, or Tagalog, inhabiting Central Luzon, including the following provinces:—Batangas, Bulacan, Bataan, Camarines Norte, Cavite, Laguna, Manila, part of Nueva Écija and Tayabas, the districts of Infanta, Morong, and part of Principe, also the Island of Corregidor and the coast of Mindoro. They probably number about one million five hundred thousand souls.Antonio de Morga, in his work ‘Sucesos de Philipinas,’ says (p. 126): “The women wear the báro and saya, and chains of gold upon their necks, also bracelets of the same. All classes are very clean in their persons and clothing, and of good carriage and graceful (de buen ayre y gracia”).They are very careful of their hair, washing it with gogo and anointing it with ajonjoli oil2perfumed with musk.In the ‘Relacion de las Islas Philipinas,’ 1595 (?), the anonymous author said of the Tagals: “The people of this province are the best of all the Islands, more polite, and more truly our friends. They go more clothed than the others, the men as well as the women. They are light-coloured people of very good figures and faces, and like to put on many ornaments of gold, which they have in great abundance.”A Manila Man.A Manila Man.A Manila Girl.A Manila Girl.In other respects, however, they seem, from the same author, to be less worthy of praise, for he goes on to tell us: When some principal man died, in vengeance of hisdeath they cut off many heads, with which they made many feasts and dances.... They had their houses full of wood and stone idols, which they called Tao-tao and Lichac, for temples they had none. And they said that when one of their parents or children died the soul entered into one of these idols, and for this they reverenced them and begged of them life, health, and riches. They called these idolsanitos, and when they were ill they drew lots to find which of these had given them the illness, and then made great sacrifices and feasts to it.They worshipped idols which were called Al Priapo Lacapati, Meilupa, but now, by the goodness of God, they are enlightened with the grace of the Divine Gospel and adore the living God in spirit.The old writer then remarks on the cleverness and sharpness of the boys, and the ease with which they learned to read and write, sing, play, and dance.This characteristic appears general to the Malay race, for, speaking of the Javanese, Crauford says: They have ears of remarkable delicacy for musical sounds, are readily taught to play upon any instrument the most difficult and complex airs.According to Morga, at the time of the Conquest, the Tagals wrote their language in the Arabic character. He says: They write well in these Islands; most people both men and women, can write. This tends to show that the equality of the sexes, which I shall refer to later, has been customary from ancient times.Tomas de Comyn (1810) says:The population of the capital, in consequence of its continual communication with the Chinese and other Asiatics, with the sailors of different nations, with the soldiers, and with the Mexican convicts who are generally mulattoes, and who arrive in some number every year, has come to be a mixture of all the bloods and features, or otherwise a degeneration of the primitive race.At Cainta, on a branch of the Pasig, the natives are darker, taller, and of a different type. This is accounted for by the fact that, in 1762–63, during the English invasion, a regiment of Madras Sepoys occupied the town for many months, long enough, in fact, to modify the native type to such an extent as to be plainly visible 125 years later.Crauford says that some Christian inhabitants of Ternate followed their priests (Jesuits) to Luzon when the Spaniardswere driven out of Molucas by the Dutch in 1660. They were located in Marigondon. There is now a town called Ternate between Marigondon and the sea, near Punta Restinga. But, with the exception of the capital and these two places, I think the Tagals have not greatly altered in physical characteristics since the Conquest—notwithstanding Ratzel’s statement that “Spanish-Tagal half-breeds in the Philippines may be numbered by the hundred thousand,” which I consider erroneous.The fact is, that wherever a small number of male Europeans live amongst a native race, the effect on the type is smaller than may be supposed, and what there is becomes obliterated or disseminated in course of time. Colour may be a little altered, but all the other characteristics remain. The mestizas are not so prolific as the native women, and notwithstanding Jagor’s assertion to the contrary, they often marry natives, and especially if their father has died while they were young. I knew in the town of Balayan three handsome sisters, daughters of a Spaniard who had died many years before. Although they lived in a house which had been at one time the finest in the town, and still retained some remnants of its former grandeur, they had reverted entirely to the native customs and dress. They spoke only Tagal, and all three of them married natives.The tendency of the Philippine native to revert to old customs is well marked, and I agree with Jagor when he says: “Every Indian has an innate inclination to abandon the hamlets and retire into the solitude of the woods, or live isolated in the midst of his own fields,” in fact toRemontar.The Tagals are considered by Wallace as the fourth great tribe of the Malay race. He only mentions the Tagals, but in fact the population of the Archipelago, except the Negritos and some hybrids, belongs to the Malay race, although slightly mixed with Chinese and Spanish blood in a few localities. They are here and there modified by mixture with other races, and everywhere by their environment, for they have been Roman Catholics and subject to Spanish influence, if not rule, for upwards of three centuries.They differ little in physical appearance from the Malays proper inhabiting the Peninsula, and although their manners and customs are somewhat changed, their nature remainsthe same. They retain all the inherent characteristics of the Malay.The Tagal possesses a great deal of self-respect, and his demeanour is quiet and decorous. He is polite to others, and expects to be treated politely himself. He is averse to rowdiness or horse-play of any kind, and avoids giving offence.Characteristics—Family Life.For an inhabitant of the tropics he is fairly industrious, sometimes even very hard working.Those who have seen him polingcascosagainst the stream of the Pasig will admit this.He is a keen sportsman, and will readily put his money on his favourite horse or game-cock; he is also addicted to other forms of gambling. The position taken by women in a community is often considered as a test of the degree of civilisation it has attained. Measured by this standard, the Tagals come out well, for amongst them the wife exerts great influence in the family, and the husband rarely completes any important business without her concurrence.Crauford considers the equality of the sexes to be general throughout the Indian Archipelago, more particularly in the Island of Celebes, where the inhabitants are the most warlike of all.The Tagals treat their children with great kindness and forbearance, those who are well-off show much anxiety to secure a good education for their sons, and even for their daughters.Parental authority extends to the latest period in life. I have seen a man of fifty years come as respectfully as a child to kiss the hands of his aged parents when the vesper bell sounded, and this notwithstanding the presence of several European visitors in the house.Children, in return, show great respect to both parents, and come morning and evening to kiss their hands. I may remark that their manner of kissing is different to ours. They place the nose and lips against the cheek or hand of the person to be saluted, and draw in the breath strongly.Appearance—Manners.The Malays in general are not, perhaps, a handsome race, their flat noses disfigure them in the eyes of the recently-arrived European or American, and it takes time to get accustomed to them.Still, their rich brown skin often covers a symmetrical, lithe and agile figure, the small hands and feet denoting their Turanian origin.The youth of both sexes up to the age of puberty are not seldom of striking beauty, and their appearance is not belied by their behaviour. They are trained in good manners from their earliest youth, both by precept and example.Palgrave says of them: “Nowhere are family bonds closer drawn, family affections more enduring, than amongst the Malay races.... His family is a pleasing sight, much subordination and little restraint, unison in gradation, liberty not license. Orderly children, respected parents, women subject, but not suppressed, men ruling, but not despotic, reverence with kindness, obedience in affection, these form a lovable picture, nor by any means a rare one in the villages of the Eastern Isles.”It may here be interesting to note the very contradictory opinions that have been expressed upon this subject.John Foreman.‘The Philippine Islands,’ p. 194.“Home discipline and training of manners are quite ignored, even in the well-to-do families. Children are left without control, and allowed to do just as they please, hence they become ill-behaved and boorish.”W. G. Palgrave.‘Malay Life in the Philippines,’ p. 146.“Children early trained by precept and example to good manners, show less disposition to noise and mischief than is ordinary elsewhere at their age.”As will be seen in my text, my own experience rather confirms Palgrave’s opinion, and I should say that even the children of the peasantry would compare favourably both in manners and intelligence with the children at the Board Schools in London, and to say nothing of Glasgow or Liverpool.Amongst the Tagals, it is customary when speaking ofor to a man to use the prefix Si—thus Si José, Mr. Joseph—whilst a woman is spoken of or to as Aling Maria, Miss Mary. The word Po is used for Sir. Thus: Óo-po—Yes, sir; Hindí-po—No, sir; Uala-po—There is none, sir; Mayroóm-po—There is some, sir.Cleanliness.The sense of personal dignity and self-respect, the dominant feeling in the Malay nature, is shown in the Tagals by a general cleanliness in their persons and clothing. They usually live near water, and nearly all of them can swim.The heat of the climate makes bathing a pleasure, and as the temperature of the sea or river is commonly 83°F., a prolonged immersion causes no inconvenience.On the morning of a feast-day the number of bathers is increased, and at the time of high tide, a very large proportion of the population seems to be in the water, both sexes and all ages mixing indiscriminately, the adults decently covered and all behaving themselves as decorously as the bathers at Brighton, Newport, or Atlantic City.They have not yet arrived at that precise stage of civilisation that develops the Rough, the Larrikin, or the Hooligan. Palgrave says: A Malay may be a profligate, a gambler, a thief, a robber, or a murderer, he is never a cad.Palgrave had not great opportunities of knowing the Tagals, but I confirm the above opinion, although I do not agree with the views on the future of the Philippines, and what is best for them, expressed in his fantastic and hyphen-infested verbiage, all seemingly written for effect.Superstitions.The Tagal is extremely superstitious, and like his kinsman, the Dayak, he is a believer in omens, although he has not reduced them so completely to a system, and three centuries of Christianity have diverted his superstitions into other channels.In his mind, each cave, each ravine, each mountain, each pool, each stream, has its guardian spirit, to offend or to startle which may be dangerous. These are the jinni of Southern Arabia and Socotra.The Balete tree (Ficus Urostigima—Sp.) corresponds to our Witch Elm, and certainly at night has a most uncanny appearance. Each of these great trees has its guardian spirit or Tic-balan.Daring, indeed, would be the Indian who would pass such a tree, enter a cave, ascend a mountain, or plunge into a pool without bowing and uttering thePasing tabi sa nono[By your leave, my Lord] that may appease the spirit’s wrath, just as the Bedouin of Dhofar cry, “Aleik Soubera—aleik soubera,” to propitiate the jinni.His mental attitude in this respect reminds me of a story told me many years ago by a lady residing in Hampshire. A lady neighbour of hers inquired from her whether she taught her children to bow when the Devil’s name was mentioned. My informant replied in the negative, whereupon the lady remarked, “I do, I think it is safer.” This is the way with the Tagal, he bows because he thinks it is safer. If that prudent lady is still alive and may chance to read this, she may be pleased to learn that her opinion is shared by the whole Malay race.Child-birth has its anxieties everywhere, and the more artificial the life the woman has led, the more she suffers at that critical time. The Tagal woman whose naturally supple frame has never been subjected to tight-lacing, nor compressed within a tailor-made costume, has a far easier time of it than her European sister, but superstition and quackery combine to terrify and ill-use her.ThePatianac, an evil spirit, profits by the occasion, and his great delight is to obstruct the birth, or to kill and devour the infant. The patianac might be busy elsewhere, but from the ridge-pole of the house a bird of ill-omen, the dreadful Tic-tic, raises a warning cry, for its office and delight is to call the attention of the evil spirit to the opportunity of doing mischief. Instantly every door and window is closed and every chink stopped to prevent its entrance, whilst the anxious father and his kinsmen, naked as they were born, walk around and underneath the house, slashing the air with sticks orbolosto frighten away the spirit. Sometimes a man will get up on the ridge-pole to drive away the Tic-tic.Meanwhile, in the stifling room, it is too often the case that violent means are used to expedite the birth, so violent indeed, that they sometimes result in the permanent injury or in the death of the woman.Some years ago the Government instituted an examination for midwives, and only those were allowed the practice who had been properly instructed, so that these absurdities and cruelties are on the wane, except amongst the poorest or in outlying districts.TheAsúanis merely a cannibal ghost, but the Tagal ghost throws stones, a thing I have not heard of a ghost doing in Europe.All sorts of stories are told about theAsúan, similar to ghost stories in other lands.About 1891 a house in Malate was stoned night after night, and although every effort was made to find out the authors, they were never discovered, and the natives steadfastly believed it to be the doing of theAsúan.There is another superstitious idea firmly rooted in the minds of the Tagals and other natives, of which the following is an instance: A villainous-looking native had been captured with some property stolen from my house, and was sent to the lock-up at the police station, from whence he promptly escaped, but was recaptured later. My coachman, a most meritorious servant who had been with me for years, assured me in an impressive manner, and with an air of conviction, that the culprit was one of those wizards who are able to pass through a keyhole by drawing themselves out into the thinness of a piece of string, and my other servants accepted this view implicitly.The famousTulisanesor bandits, thoroughly believe in the power of theAntin-Antinor amulet to render them invulnerable to bullets. It is, indeed, remarkable that notwithstanding the numbers of these criminals who have been shot by the Guardia Civil with theirAntin-Antinupon them, this absurd belief should flourish, but there is no doubt it does. These charms consist of any sort of necromancers’ rubbish, or are sometimes writings in invocations, usually worn round the neck under the clothing.The profession of the Roman Catholic religion has perhaps helped this superstition to linger on, for the wearing of scapularies is common, especially amongst the women. These articles are manufactured for the priests and some are sent out to Antipolo, to be blessed at the shrine of Nuestra Señora de Buen Viage y de la Paz, and sold to the pilgrims who crowd in thousands to this shrine in May of each year.A Tagal woman sometimes wears as many as three ofthese scapularies hung from silk threads round her neck and covered by her upper garment. They usually dispose two in front, where they conceive the danger is greatest, and one on the back, as a further precaution against an attack from the rear.Wearing these holy amulets, and having crossed herself and uttered a prayer before coming downstairs in the morning, the Tagal wife or maid feels that she has done all she can, and that if any backsliding should occur, during the day, it will not be her fault.She believes greatly in lucky or holy numbers—I heard the following story related by a native lady to a native priest when going to Batangas by steamer.The lady was telling the priest of her husband’s illness (it appeared to have been congestion of the lungs), and she prepared and applied a poultice of three heads of garlic in honour of the Three Persons of the Blessed Trinity; this not producing the desired effect, she then made a poultice of five heads of garlic, in honour of the Five Wounds of our Blessed Saviour, and successively others of seven heads, in honour of the Seven Pains of the Blessed Virgin; twelve heads in honour of the Twelve Apostles, and last of all a poultice of thirty-three heads of garlic in honour of the Thirty-three years our Blessed Saviour remained on earth. The priest had nodded approval as she went on, but as she stopped he said: “And then?” To which the lady replied, “Then he died.”This poor man came off easily, for in some cases people who suffer from fits and other diseases are thought to be possessed by devils, and are severely beaten to drive out the evil spirit. The patient does not always escape with his life.The women often dream of lucky numbers in the Manila Lottery and make every endeavour to purchase the number they have dreamt of.Amongst the Christian superstitions may be mentioned the feast of San Pascual Bailón at Obando. Those who attend this function are commonly the rowdier class of inhabitants of the Capital, and they go mostly on foot, making music and dancing on the way. They also dance in the courtyard in front of the church, not forgetting to refresh themselves with strong drink in the meanwhile.Tagal Girl wearing Scapulary.Tagal Girl wearing Scapulary.[To face p. 216.This is not at all an edifying spectacle, for the dancers are covered with dust and with the perspiration from theiractive exertions. I do not know the legend that gives occasion to this curious form of devotion. Occasionally, and especially during Holy Week, another form of penitence is practised by the natives. I remember, about 1892, seeing one of these penitents, a man having a mask on his face, the upper part of his body bare, and a long chain fastened to one ankle and dragging on the ground behind him. In one hand he bore a flagellum with which he from time to time lashed himself on the shoulders, which bore evident marks of the discipline they had received. A youth who followed him occasionally jerked the chain, throwing the penitent violently at full length upon the dusty road. This form of penitence is not approved, however, by the priests, for when I called on the parish priest, the same evening, I mentioned the circumstance to him, and he directed the penitent to be locked up, to stop what he rightly termed a scandal.On many occasions the natives had got up a religious excitement, and great gatherings have taken place at some spot where a miraculous appearance of the Blessed Virgin, or some supernatural manifestation has been alleged to have occurred.All these affairs have been somewhat sceptically inquired into by the priests under a general order to this effect issued by the archbishop, and so far as my experience goes, the excessive religious ardour of the natives has rather been checked than stimulated.When writing about the Visayas I shall have more to say about misdirected religious zeal. The Tagals practise circumcision as a hygienic measure, and not as a religious rite. The operation is usually performed at the age of fourteen by a companion or friend of the patient, and a sharp flint or piece of volcanic glass (obsidian) is used for this purpose. From what I have heard, this custom is really maintained by the women, who refuse their favours to the uncircumcised of their own nation, though with foreigners they are more complaisant.Cursing.In cursing, the Tagal displays a directness quite worthy of the Anglo-Saxon. All his remarks are very much to the point, and would have earned the approval of the late lamented and reverend author of the Ingoldsby Legends.Leaving out the world-wide reflections upon the virtues of an opponent’s female ancestry, since these appear to belong indiscriminately to all nations, the principal Tagal curses are as follows:—1. May an evil wind blow upon you.2. May the earth open and swallow you up.3. May the lightning strike you.4. May the alligator eat you.The superiority of the Tagal style as compared with the French Mortbleu, Ventre bleu, must be apparent to all unprejudiced observers. The Tagal has drawn all his curses from the grand and awful operations of nature in his own country, except the last, where he invokes the dreaded saurian, the most fearsome inhabitant of the Philippine swamps, rivers, and coasts—formerly venerated by his ancestors and respectfully addressed by them asnono,or grandfather.Under American guidance and example, I think the Tagals quite capable of developing a startling vocabulary of swear-words, and in course of time rivalling their instructors in profanity, with a touch of their old style to give a little local colour.Courtship.Courtship is sometimes a long business amongst the Tagals. It is still customary in the country districts for the impecunious candidate for matrimony to serve the father of the damsel he desires to wed for a period which may extend to a couple of years or more. He is called aCatipado, and is expected to make himself generally useful, and to take a hand in any labour that may be going on, sowing or reaping, mending the roof, or patching the canoe.It is his privilege to assist the girl of his choice in her labours. The girls of a household are expected to husk the rice for the next day’s use. This is done in the cool of the evening, out of doors, a wooden mortar and long heavy pestle being used. It is a well-recognised occasion for the lover to assist and entertain his sweetheart.Very pretty do the village maidens look, as, lightly clothed in almost diaphanous garments, they stand beside the mortars plying the pestle, alternately rising on tiptoe,stretching the lithe figure to its full height and reach, then bending swiftly to give force to the blow.No attitude could display to more advantage the symmetry of form which is the Tagal maiden’s heritage, and few sights are more pleasing than a group of these tawny damsels husking paddy midst chat and laughter, while a tropical full moon pours its effulgence on their glistening tresses and rounded arms.Marriage.But let us return to theCatipado. He must be very careful not to give cause of offence to the elders of the family, more especially towards the end of his term, as there may be a disposition amongst them to dismiss him, and take on another to begin a new term. In fact, many natives have shown themselves so unwilling to consent to their daughter’s marriage, when no sufficient reason could be given for their refusal, that the Governor-General, representing the Crown, is entrusted with a special power of granting the paternal consent in such cases.No regular marriage can be celebrated whilst the girl is a minor, without the father’s consent.When this is refused, and the patience of the lovers is exhausted, the girl leaves her father’s house and is deposited in the house of the fiscal, or churchwarden, under the care of his wife.A petition on stamped paper is then prepared, reciting the circumstances; this goes to the parish priest and to the Gobernadorcillo, who require the father to state the grounds of his refusal. If they are satisfied that no good reason exists, the petition, with their approval noted on it, goes to the Governor-General, and in due time a notification appears in the official Gazette that the Governor-General has been pleased to overrule the father’s negative, and a license (on stamped paper also) for the marriage to be celebrated, is delivered to the priest. This procedure is very necessary, but it has the disadvantage of being slow and expensive, so that in some cases, instead of adopting this course, the youthful pair allow themselves some advances of the privileges of matrimony, and perhaps there arrives a time when the obdurate parent finds himself obliged to consent to legalise an accomplished fact to avoid an open scandal.The erring damsel, however, may think herself lucky if she escapes a fatherly correction laid on with no grudging hand, before the reluctant consent is granted.The priest will of course require the youthful sinners to confess and do penance for their previousness before he will marry them.The marriage ceremony is a very simple one, and usually takes place after early Mass. The priest fixes the fee according to the means of the party; it is often a substantial one. After the ceremony comes aCatapúsanor assembly, when the relatives and friends are entertained. There will be music, and unless the priest disapproves of dancing, that will be indulged in. The Augustinians mostly allow dancing, but the Dominicans often object to it as an immoral amusement.The house will be hung with bright-coloured cloths and paper lanterns; the table loaded with refreshments, both light and heavy.Wedding Feasts.Roast pig is a standing dish at these feasts, the animal being roasted whole, on a spit over a fire made on the ground. A professional roaster superintends the operation, and the pig is brought to a fine even colour all over. Sometimes there are roast turkeys or roast mutton and kid, possibly beef cooked in various ways, surely fish of different kinds, fresh, salted, or smoked; the indispensable boiled rice ormorisqueta, and an abundance of sweets, fruits in syrup, guava jelly, and Dutch cheese. There will be chocolate and perhaps coffee. As to drinks, besides some native brews, there will be Norwegian or German export beer, or Tennant’s beer in stone bottles, square-face gin, and Spanish red wine (Vino Tinto).Unlimited Buyo, cigarettes and cigars are provided. All these things are hospitably pressed upon all comers, especially upon any European present. If his politeness prevents his refusing this miscellaneous assortment, unless he is favoured with the digestion of an ostrich, he will rue it next day, and perhaps for several days. The worthy priest is naturally in the place of honour, and like the wise man he mostly is, he perhaps brings, slung under his habit, or sends beforehand, a capacious leather bottle, with asupply of generous wine direct from some convent vineyard on the peninsula, a pure natural wine, undefiled and unfortified by German industrial spirit. A tall and portly Augustine monk, in his spotless and ample white robes, presents a very imposing and apostolic appearance, and looks quite in his place at the head of the table. The host seldom sits down with his guests, but busies himself attending to their wants.1The territory occupied by each tribe is shown on the general map of Mindanao by the number on this list.2Ajonjoli (Sesamun Indicum, L.). SeeChap. XIX. for Gogo.
Chapter XXIII.Tagals (1).1
The most important race in the Archipelago is the Tagal, or Tagalog, inhabiting Central Luzon, including the following provinces:—Batangas, Bulacan, Bataan, Camarines Norte, Cavite, Laguna, Manila, part of Nueva Écija and Tayabas, the districts of Infanta, Morong, and part of Principe, also the Island of Corregidor and the coast of Mindoro. They probably number about one million five hundred thousand souls.Antonio de Morga, in his work ‘Sucesos de Philipinas,’ says (p. 126): “The women wear the báro and saya, and chains of gold upon their necks, also bracelets of the same. All classes are very clean in their persons and clothing, and of good carriage and graceful (de buen ayre y gracia”).They are very careful of their hair, washing it with gogo and anointing it with ajonjoli oil2perfumed with musk.In the ‘Relacion de las Islas Philipinas,’ 1595 (?), the anonymous author said of the Tagals: “The people of this province are the best of all the Islands, more polite, and more truly our friends. They go more clothed than the others, the men as well as the women. They are light-coloured people of very good figures and faces, and like to put on many ornaments of gold, which they have in great abundance.”A Manila Man.A Manila Man.A Manila Girl.A Manila Girl.In other respects, however, they seem, from the same author, to be less worthy of praise, for he goes on to tell us: When some principal man died, in vengeance of hisdeath they cut off many heads, with which they made many feasts and dances.... They had their houses full of wood and stone idols, which they called Tao-tao and Lichac, for temples they had none. And they said that when one of their parents or children died the soul entered into one of these idols, and for this they reverenced them and begged of them life, health, and riches. They called these idolsanitos, and when they were ill they drew lots to find which of these had given them the illness, and then made great sacrifices and feasts to it.They worshipped idols which were called Al Priapo Lacapati, Meilupa, but now, by the goodness of God, they are enlightened with the grace of the Divine Gospel and adore the living God in spirit.The old writer then remarks on the cleverness and sharpness of the boys, and the ease with which they learned to read and write, sing, play, and dance.This characteristic appears general to the Malay race, for, speaking of the Javanese, Crauford says: They have ears of remarkable delicacy for musical sounds, are readily taught to play upon any instrument the most difficult and complex airs.According to Morga, at the time of the Conquest, the Tagals wrote their language in the Arabic character. He says: They write well in these Islands; most people both men and women, can write. This tends to show that the equality of the sexes, which I shall refer to later, has been customary from ancient times.Tomas de Comyn (1810) says:The population of the capital, in consequence of its continual communication with the Chinese and other Asiatics, with the sailors of different nations, with the soldiers, and with the Mexican convicts who are generally mulattoes, and who arrive in some number every year, has come to be a mixture of all the bloods and features, or otherwise a degeneration of the primitive race.At Cainta, on a branch of the Pasig, the natives are darker, taller, and of a different type. This is accounted for by the fact that, in 1762–63, during the English invasion, a regiment of Madras Sepoys occupied the town for many months, long enough, in fact, to modify the native type to such an extent as to be plainly visible 125 years later.Crauford says that some Christian inhabitants of Ternate followed their priests (Jesuits) to Luzon when the Spaniardswere driven out of Molucas by the Dutch in 1660. They were located in Marigondon. There is now a town called Ternate between Marigondon and the sea, near Punta Restinga. But, with the exception of the capital and these two places, I think the Tagals have not greatly altered in physical characteristics since the Conquest—notwithstanding Ratzel’s statement that “Spanish-Tagal half-breeds in the Philippines may be numbered by the hundred thousand,” which I consider erroneous.The fact is, that wherever a small number of male Europeans live amongst a native race, the effect on the type is smaller than may be supposed, and what there is becomes obliterated or disseminated in course of time. Colour may be a little altered, but all the other characteristics remain. The mestizas are not so prolific as the native women, and notwithstanding Jagor’s assertion to the contrary, they often marry natives, and especially if their father has died while they were young. I knew in the town of Balayan three handsome sisters, daughters of a Spaniard who had died many years before. Although they lived in a house which had been at one time the finest in the town, and still retained some remnants of its former grandeur, they had reverted entirely to the native customs and dress. They spoke only Tagal, and all three of them married natives.The tendency of the Philippine native to revert to old customs is well marked, and I agree with Jagor when he says: “Every Indian has an innate inclination to abandon the hamlets and retire into the solitude of the woods, or live isolated in the midst of his own fields,” in fact toRemontar.The Tagals are considered by Wallace as the fourth great tribe of the Malay race. He only mentions the Tagals, but in fact the population of the Archipelago, except the Negritos and some hybrids, belongs to the Malay race, although slightly mixed with Chinese and Spanish blood in a few localities. They are here and there modified by mixture with other races, and everywhere by their environment, for they have been Roman Catholics and subject to Spanish influence, if not rule, for upwards of three centuries.They differ little in physical appearance from the Malays proper inhabiting the Peninsula, and although their manners and customs are somewhat changed, their nature remainsthe same. They retain all the inherent characteristics of the Malay.The Tagal possesses a great deal of self-respect, and his demeanour is quiet and decorous. He is polite to others, and expects to be treated politely himself. He is averse to rowdiness or horse-play of any kind, and avoids giving offence.Characteristics—Family Life.For an inhabitant of the tropics he is fairly industrious, sometimes even very hard working.Those who have seen him polingcascosagainst the stream of the Pasig will admit this.He is a keen sportsman, and will readily put his money on his favourite horse or game-cock; he is also addicted to other forms of gambling. The position taken by women in a community is often considered as a test of the degree of civilisation it has attained. Measured by this standard, the Tagals come out well, for amongst them the wife exerts great influence in the family, and the husband rarely completes any important business without her concurrence.Crauford considers the equality of the sexes to be general throughout the Indian Archipelago, more particularly in the Island of Celebes, where the inhabitants are the most warlike of all.The Tagals treat their children with great kindness and forbearance, those who are well-off show much anxiety to secure a good education for their sons, and even for their daughters.Parental authority extends to the latest period in life. I have seen a man of fifty years come as respectfully as a child to kiss the hands of his aged parents when the vesper bell sounded, and this notwithstanding the presence of several European visitors in the house.Children, in return, show great respect to both parents, and come morning and evening to kiss their hands. I may remark that their manner of kissing is different to ours. They place the nose and lips against the cheek or hand of the person to be saluted, and draw in the breath strongly.Appearance—Manners.The Malays in general are not, perhaps, a handsome race, their flat noses disfigure them in the eyes of the recently-arrived European or American, and it takes time to get accustomed to them.Still, their rich brown skin often covers a symmetrical, lithe and agile figure, the small hands and feet denoting their Turanian origin.The youth of both sexes up to the age of puberty are not seldom of striking beauty, and their appearance is not belied by their behaviour. They are trained in good manners from their earliest youth, both by precept and example.Palgrave says of them: “Nowhere are family bonds closer drawn, family affections more enduring, than amongst the Malay races.... His family is a pleasing sight, much subordination and little restraint, unison in gradation, liberty not license. Orderly children, respected parents, women subject, but not suppressed, men ruling, but not despotic, reverence with kindness, obedience in affection, these form a lovable picture, nor by any means a rare one in the villages of the Eastern Isles.”It may here be interesting to note the very contradictory opinions that have been expressed upon this subject.John Foreman.‘The Philippine Islands,’ p. 194.“Home discipline and training of manners are quite ignored, even in the well-to-do families. Children are left without control, and allowed to do just as they please, hence they become ill-behaved and boorish.”W. G. Palgrave.‘Malay Life in the Philippines,’ p. 146.“Children early trained by precept and example to good manners, show less disposition to noise and mischief than is ordinary elsewhere at their age.”As will be seen in my text, my own experience rather confirms Palgrave’s opinion, and I should say that even the children of the peasantry would compare favourably both in manners and intelligence with the children at the Board Schools in London, and to say nothing of Glasgow or Liverpool.Amongst the Tagals, it is customary when speaking ofor to a man to use the prefix Si—thus Si José, Mr. Joseph—whilst a woman is spoken of or to as Aling Maria, Miss Mary. The word Po is used for Sir. Thus: Óo-po—Yes, sir; Hindí-po—No, sir; Uala-po—There is none, sir; Mayroóm-po—There is some, sir.Cleanliness.The sense of personal dignity and self-respect, the dominant feeling in the Malay nature, is shown in the Tagals by a general cleanliness in their persons and clothing. They usually live near water, and nearly all of them can swim.The heat of the climate makes bathing a pleasure, and as the temperature of the sea or river is commonly 83°F., a prolonged immersion causes no inconvenience.On the morning of a feast-day the number of bathers is increased, and at the time of high tide, a very large proportion of the population seems to be in the water, both sexes and all ages mixing indiscriminately, the adults decently covered and all behaving themselves as decorously as the bathers at Brighton, Newport, or Atlantic City.They have not yet arrived at that precise stage of civilisation that develops the Rough, the Larrikin, or the Hooligan. Palgrave says: A Malay may be a profligate, a gambler, a thief, a robber, or a murderer, he is never a cad.Palgrave had not great opportunities of knowing the Tagals, but I confirm the above opinion, although I do not agree with the views on the future of the Philippines, and what is best for them, expressed in his fantastic and hyphen-infested verbiage, all seemingly written for effect.Superstitions.The Tagal is extremely superstitious, and like his kinsman, the Dayak, he is a believer in omens, although he has not reduced them so completely to a system, and three centuries of Christianity have diverted his superstitions into other channels.In his mind, each cave, each ravine, each mountain, each pool, each stream, has its guardian spirit, to offend or to startle which may be dangerous. These are the jinni of Southern Arabia and Socotra.The Balete tree (Ficus Urostigima—Sp.) corresponds to our Witch Elm, and certainly at night has a most uncanny appearance. Each of these great trees has its guardian spirit or Tic-balan.Daring, indeed, would be the Indian who would pass such a tree, enter a cave, ascend a mountain, or plunge into a pool without bowing and uttering thePasing tabi sa nono[By your leave, my Lord] that may appease the spirit’s wrath, just as the Bedouin of Dhofar cry, “Aleik Soubera—aleik soubera,” to propitiate the jinni.His mental attitude in this respect reminds me of a story told me many years ago by a lady residing in Hampshire. A lady neighbour of hers inquired from her whether she taught her children to bow when the Devil’s name was mentioned. My informant replied in the negative, whereupon the lady remarked, “I do, I think it is safer.” This is the way with the Tagal, he bows because he thinks it is safer. If that prudent lady is still alive and may chance to read this, she may be pleased to learn that her opinion is shared by the whole Malay race.Child-birth has its anxieties everywhere, and the more artificial the life the woman has led, the more she suffers at that critical time. The Tagal woman whose naturally supple frame has never been subjected to tight-lacing, nor compressed within a tailor-made costume, has a far easier time of it than her European sister, but superstition and quackery combine to terrify and ill-use her.ThePatianac, an evil spirit, profits by the occasion, and his great delight is to obstruct the birth, or to kill and devour the infant. The patianac might be busy elsewhere, but from the ridge-pole of the house a bird of ill-omen, the dreadful Tic-tic, raises a warning cry, for its office and delight is to call the attention of the evil spirit to the opportunity of doing mischief. Instantly every door and window is closed and every chink stopped to prevent its entrance, whilst the anxious father and his kinsmen, naked as they were born, walk around and underneath the house, slashing the air with sticks orbolosto frighten away the spirit. Sometimes a man will get up on the ridge-pole to drive away the Tic-tic.Meanwhile, in the stifling room, it is too often the case that violent means are used to expedite the birth, so violent indeed, that they sometimes result in the permanent injury or in the death of the woman.Some years ago the Government instituted an examination for midwives, and only those were allowed the practice who had been properly instructed, so that these absurdities and cruelties are on the wane, except amongst the poorest or in outlying districts.TheAsúanis merely a cannibal ghost, but the Tagal ghost throws stones, a thing I have not heard of a ghost doing in Europe.All sorts of stories are told about theAsúan, similar to ghost stories in other lands.About 1891 a house in Malate was stoned night after night, and although every effort was made to find out the authors, they were never discovered, and the natives steadfastly believed it to be the doing of theAsúan.There is another superstitious idea firmly rooted in the minds of the Tagals and other natives, of which the following is an instance: A villainous-looking native had been captured with some property stolen from my house, and was sent to the lock-up at the police station, from whence he promptly escaped, but was recaptured later. My coachman, a most meritorious servant who had been with me for years, assured me in an impressive manner, and with an air of conviction, that the culprit was one of those wizards who are able to pass through a keyhole by drawing themselves out into the thinness of a piece of string, and my other servants accepted this view implicitly.The famousTulisanesor bandits, thoroughly believe in the power of theAntin-Antinor amulet to render them invulnerable to bullets. It is, indeed, remarkable that notwithstanding the numbers of these criminals who have been shot by the Guardia Civil with theirAntin-Antinupon them, this absurd belief should flourish, but there is no doubt it does. These charms consist of any sort of necromancers’ rubbish, or are sometimes writings in invocations, usually worn round the neck under the clothing.The profession of the Roman Catholic religion has perhaps helped this superstition to linger on, for the wearing of scapularies is common, especially amongst the women. These articles are manufactured for the priests and some are sent out to Antipolo, to be blessed at the shrine of Nuestra Señora de Buen Viage y de la Paz, and sold to the pilgrims who crowd in thousands to this shrine in May of each year.A Tagal woman sometimes wears as many as three ofthese scapularies hung from silk threads round her neck and covered by her upper garment. They usually dispose two in front, where they conceive the danger is greatest, and one on the back, as a further precaution against an attack from the rear.Wearing these holy amulets, and having crossed herself and uttered a prayer before coming downstairs in the morning, the Tagal wife or maid feels that she has done all she can, and that if any backsliding should occur, during the day, it will not be her fault.She believes greatly in lucky or holy numbers—I heard the following story related by a native lady to a native priest when going to Batangas by steamer.The lady was telling the priest of her husband’s illness (it appeared to have been congestion of the lungs), and she prepared and applied a poultice of three heads of garlic in honour of the Three Persons of the Blessed Trinity; this not producing the desired effect, she then made a poultice of five heads of garlic, in honour of the Five Wounds of our Blessed Saviour, and successively others of seven heads, in honour of the Seven Pains of the Blessed Virgin; twelve heads in honour of the Twelve Apostles, and last of all a poultice of thirty-three heads of garlic in honour of the Thirty-three years our Blessed Saviour remained on earth. The priest had nodded approval as she went on, but as she stopped he said: “And then?” To which the lady replied, “Then he died.”This poor man came off easily, for in some cases people who suffer from fits and other diseases are thought to be possessed by devils, and are severely beaten to drive out the evil spirit. The patient does not always escape with his life.The women often dream of lucky numbers in the Manila Lottery and make every endeavour to purchase the number they have dreamt of.Amongst the Christian superstitions may be mentioned the feast of San Pascual Bailón at Obando. Those who attend this function are commonly the rowdier class of inhabitants of the Capital, and they go mostly on foot, making music and dancing on the way. They also dance in the courtyard in front of the church, not forgetting to refresh themselves with strong drink in the meanwhile.Tagal Girl wearing Scapulary.Tagal Girl wearing Scapulary.[To face p. 216.This is not at all an edifying spectacle, for the dancers are covered with dust and with the perspiration from theiractive exertions. I do not know the legend that gives occasion to this curious form of devotion. Occasionally, and especially during Holy Week, another form of penitence is practised by the natives. I remember, about 1892, seeing one of these penitents, a man having a mask on his face, the upper part of his body bare, and a long chain fastened to one ankle and dragging on the ground behind him. In one hand he bore a flagellum with which he from time to time lashed himself on the shoulders, which bore evident marks of the discipline they had received. A youth who followed him occasionally jerked the chain, throwing the penitent violently at full length upon the dusty road. This form of penitence is not approved, however, by the priests, for when I called on the parish priest, the same evening, I mentioned the circumstance to him, and he directed the penitent to be locked up, to stop what he rightly termed a scandal.On many occasions the natives had got up a religious excitement, and great gatherings have taken place at some spot where a miraculous appearance of the Blessed Virgin, or some supernatural manifestation has been alleged to have occurred.All these affairs have been somewhat sceptically inquired into by the priests under a general order to this effect issued by the archbishop, and so far as my experience goes, the excessive religious ardour of the natives has rather been checked than stimulated.When writing about the Visayas I shall have more to say about misdirected religious zeal. The Tagals practise circumcision as a hygienic measure, and not as a religious rite. The operation is usually performed at the age of fourteen by a companion or friend of the patient, and a sharp flint or piece of volcanic glass (obsidian) is used for this purpose. From what I have heard, this custom is really maintained by the women, who refuse their favours to the uncircumcised of their own nation, though with foreigners they are more complaisant.Cursing.In cursing, the Tagal displays a directness quite worthy of the Anglo-Saxon. All his remarks are very much to the point, and would have earned the approval of the late lamented and reverend author of the Ingoldsby Legends.Leaving out the world-wide reflections upon the virtues of an opponent’s female ancestry, since these appear to belong indiscriminately to all nations, the principal Tagal curses are as follows:—1. May an evil wind blow upon you.2. May the earth open and swallow you up.3. May the lightning strike you.4. May the alligator eat you.The superiority of the Tagal style as compared with the French Mortbleu, Ventre bleu, must be apparent to all unprejudiced observers. The Tagal has drawn all his curses from the grand and awful operations of nature in his own country, except the last, where he invokes the dreaded saurian, the most fearsome inhabitant of the Philippine swamps, rivers, and coasts—formerly venerated by his ancestors and respectfully addressed by them asnono,or grandfather.Under American guidance and example, I think the Tagals quite capable of developing a startling vocabulary of swear-words, and in course of time rivalling their instructors in profanity, with a touch of their old style to give a little local colour.Courtship.Courtship is sometimes a long business amongst the Tagals. It is still customary in the country districts for the impecunious candidate for matrimony to serve the father of the damsel he desires to wed for a period which may extend to a couple of years or more. He is called aCatipado, and is expected to make himself generally useful, and to take a hand in any labour that may be going on, sowing or reaping, mending the roof, or patching the canoe.It is his privilege to assist the girl of his choice in her labours. The girls of a household are expected to husk the rice for the next day’s use. This is done in the cool of the evening, out of doors, a wooden mortar and long heavy pestle being used. It is a well-recognised occasion for the lover to assist and entertain his sweetheart.Very pretty do the village maidens look, as, lightly clothed in almost diaphanous garments, they stand beside the mortars plying the pestle, alternately rising on tiptoe,stretching the lithe figure to its full height and reach, then bending swiftly to give force to the blow.No attitude could display to more advantage the symmetry of form which is the Tagal maiden’s heritage, and few sights are more pleasing than a group of these tawny damsels husking paddy midst chat and laughter, while a tropical full moon pours its effulgence on their glistening tresses and rounded arms.Marriage.But let us return to theCatipado. He must be very careful not to give cause of offence to the elders of the family, more especially towards the end of his term, as there may be a disposition amongst them to dismiss him, and take on another to begin a new term. In fact, many natives have shown themselves so unwilling to consent to their daughter’s marriage, when no sufficient reason could be given for their refusal, that the Governor-General, representing the Crown, is entrusted with a special power of granting the paternal consent in such cases.No regular marriage can be celebrated whilst the girl is a minor, without the father’s consent.When this is refused, and the patience of the lovers is exhausted, the girl leaves her father’s house and is deposited in the house of the fiscal, or churchwarden, under the care of his wife.A petition on stamped paper is then prepared, reciting the circumstances; this goes to the parish priest and to the Gobernadorcillo, who require the father to state the grounds of his refusal. If they are satisfied that no good reason exists, the petition, with their approval noted on it, goes to the Governor-General, and in due time a notification appears in the official Gazette that the Governor-General has been pleased to overrule the father’s negative, and a license (on stamped paper also) for the marriage to be celebrated, is delivered to the priest. This procedure is very necessary, but it has the disadvantage of being slow and expensive, so that in some cases, instead of adopting this course, the youthful pair allow themselves some advances of the privileges of matrimony, and perhaps there arrives a time when the obdurate parent finds himself obliged to consent to legalise an accomplished fact to avoid an open scandal.The erring damsel, however, may think herself lucky if she escapes a fatherly correction laid on with no grudging hand, before the reluctant consent is granted.The priest will of course require the youthful sinners to confess and do penance for their previousness before he will marry them.The marriage ceremony is a very simple one, and usually takes place after early Mass. The priest fixes the fee according to the means of the party; it is often a substantial one. After the ceremony comes aCatapúsanor assembly, when the relatives and friends are entertained. There will be music, and unless the priest disapproves of dancing, that will be indulged in. The Augustinians mostly allow dancing, but the Dominicans often object to it as an immoral amusement.The house will be hung with bright-coloured cloths and paper lanterns; the table loaded with refreshments, both light and heavy.Wedding Feasts.Roast pig is a standing dish at these feasts, the animal being roasted whole, on a spit over a fire made on the ground. A professional roaster superintends the operation, and the pig is brought to a fine even colour all over. Sometimes there are roast turkeys or roast mutton and kid, possibly beef cooked in various ways, surely fish of different kinds, fresh, salted, or smoked; the indispensable boiled rice ormorisqueta, and an abundance of sweets, fruits in syrup, guava jelly, and Dutch cheese. There will be chocolate and perhaps coffee. As to drinks, besides some native brews, there will be Norwegian or German export beer, or Tennant’s beer in stone bottles, square-face gin, and Spanish red wine (Vino Tinto).Unlimited Buyo, cigarettes and cigars are provided. All these things are hospitably pressed upon all comers, especially upon any European present. If his politeness prevents his refusing this miscellaneous assortment, unless he is favoured with the digestion of an ostrich, he will rue it next day, and perhaps for several days. The worthy priest is naturally in the place of honour, and like the wise man he mostly is, he perhaps brings, slung under his habit, or sends beforehand, a capacious leather bottle, with asupply of generous wine direct from some convent vineyard on the peninsula, a pure natural wine, undefiled and unfortified by German industrial spirit. A tall and portly Augustine monk, in his spotless and ample white robes, presents a very imposing and apostolic appearance, and looks quite in his place at the head of the table. The host seldom sits down with his guests, but busies himself attending to their wants.
The most important race in the Archipelago is the Tagal, or Tagalog, inhabiting Central Luzon, including the following provinces:—
Batangas, Bulacan, Bataan, Camarines Norte, Cavite, Laguna, Manila, part of Nueva Écija and Tayabas, the districts of Infanta, Morong, and part of Principe, also the Island of Corregidor and the coast of Mindoro. They probably number about one million five hundred thousand souls.
Antonio de Morga, in his work ‘Sucesos de Philipinas,’ says (p. 126): “The women wear the báro and saya, and chains of gold upon their necks, also bracelets of the same. All classes are very clean in their persons and clothing, and of good carriage and graceful (de buen ayre y gracia”).
They are very careful of their hair, washing it with gogo and anointing it with ajonjoli oil2perfumed with musk.
In the ‘Relacion de las Islas Philipinas,’ 1595 (?), the anonymous author said of the Tagals: “The people of this province are the best of all the Islands, more polite, and more truly our friends. They go more clothed than the others, the men as well as the women. They are light-coloured people of very good figures and faces, and like to put on many ornaments of gold, which they have in great abundance.”
A Manila Man.A Manila Man.
A Manila Man.
A Manila Girl.A Manila Girl.
A Manila Girl.
In other respects, however, they seem, from the same author, to be less worthy of praise, for he goes on to tell us: When some principal man died, in vengeance of hisdeath they cut off many heads, with which they made many feasts and dances.... They had their houses full of wood and stone idols, which they called Tao-tao and Lichac, for temples they had none. And they said that when one of their parents or children died the soul entered into one of these idols, and for this they reverenced them and begged of them life, health, and riches. They called these idolsanitos, and when they were ill they drew lots to find which of these had given them the illness, and then made great sacrifices and feasts to it.
They worshipped idols which were called Al Priapo Lacapati, Meilupa, but now, by the goodness of God, they are enlightened with the grace of the Divine Gospel and adore the living God in spirit.
The old writer then remarks on the cleverness and sharpness of the boys, and the ease with which they learned to read and write, sing, play, and dance.
This characteristic appears general to the Malay race, for, speaking of the Javanese, Crauford says: They have ears of remarkable delicacy for musical sounds, are readily taught to play upon any instrument the most difficult and complex airs.
According to Morga, at the time of the Conquest, the Tagals wrote their language in the Arabic character. He says: They write well in these Islands; most people both men and women, can write. This tends to show that the equality of the sexes, which I shall refer to later, has been customary from ancient times.
Tomas de Comyn (1810) says:
The population of the capital, in consequence of its continual communication with the Chinese and other Asiatics, with the sailors of different nations, with the soldiers, and with the Mexican convicts who are generally mulattoes, and who arrive in some number every year, has come to be a mixture of all the bloods and features, or otherwise a degeneration of the primitive race.
At Cainta, on a branch of the Pasig, the natives are darker, taller, and of a different type. This is accounted for by the fact that, in 1762–63, during the English invasion, a regiment of Madras Sepoys occupied the town for many months, long enough, in fact, to modify the native type to such an extent as to be plainly visible 125 years later.
Crauford says that some Christian inhabitants of Ternate followed their priests (Jesuits) to Luzon when the Spaniardswere driven out of Molucas by the Dutch in 1660. They were located in Marigondon. There is now a town called Ternate between Marigondon and the sea, near Punta Restinga. But, with the exception of the capital and these two places, I think the Tagals have not greatly altered in physical characteristics since the Conquest—notwithstanding Ratzel’s statement that “Spanish-Tagal half-breeds in the Philippines may be numbered by the hundred thousand,” which I consider erroneous.
The fact is, that wherever a small number of male Europeans live amongst a native race, the effect on the type is smaller than may be supposed, and what there is becomes obliterated or disseminated in course of time. Colour may be a little altered, but all the other characteristics remain. The mestizas are not so prolific as the native women, and notwithstanding Jagor’s assertion to the contrary, they often marry natives, and especially if their father has died while they were young. I knew in the town of Balayan three handsome sisters, daughters of a Spaniard who had died many years before. Although they lived in a house which had been at one time the finest in the town, and still retained some remnants of its former grandeur, they had reverted entirely to the native customs and dress. They spoke only Tagal, and all three of them married natives.
The tendency of the Philippine native to revert to old customs is well marked, and I agree with Jagor when he says: “Every Indian has an innate inclination to abandon the hamlets and retire into the solitude of the woods, or live isolated in the midst of his own fields,” in fact toRemontar.
The Tagals are considered by Wallace as the fourth great tribe of the Malay race. He only mentions the Tagals, but in fact the population of the Archipelago, except the Negritos and some hybrids, belongs to the Malay race, although slightly mixed with Chinese and Spanish blood in a few localities. They are here and there modified by mixture with other races, and everywhere by their environment, for they have been Roman Catholics and subject to Spanish influence, if not rule, for upwards of three centuries.
They differ little in physical appearance from the Malays proper inhabiting the Peninsula, and although their manners and customs are somewhat changed, their nature remainsthe same. They retain all the inherent characteristics of the Malay.
The Tagal possesses a great deal of self-respect, and his demeanour is quiet and decorous. He is polite to others, and expects to be treated politely himself. He is averse to rowdiness or horse-play of any kind, and avoids giving offence.
Characteristics—Family Life.For an inhabitant of the tropics he is fairly industrious, sometimes even very hard working.Those who have seen him polingcascosagainst the stream of the Pasig will admit this.He is a keen sportsman, and will readily put his money on his favourite horse or game-cock; he is also addicted to other forms of gambling. The position taken by women in a community is often considered as a test of the degree of civilisation it has attained. Measured by this standard, the Tagals come out well, for amongst them the wife exerts great influence in the family, and the husband rarely completes any important business without her concurrence.Crauford considers the equality of the sexes to be general throughout the Indian Archipelago, more particularly in the Island of Celebes, where the inhabitants are the most warlike of all.The Tagals treat their children with great kindness and forbearance, those who are well-off show much anxiety to secure a good education for their sons, and even for their daughters.Parental authority extends to the latest period in life. I have seen a man of fifty years come as respectfully as a child to kiss the hands of his aged parents when the vesper bell sounded, and this notwithstanding the presence of several European visitors in the house.Children, in return, show great respect to both parents, and come morning and evening to kiss their hands. I may remark that their manner of kissing is different to ours. They place the nose and lips against the cheek or hand of the person to be saluted, and draw in the breath strongly.
Characteristics—Family Life.
For an inhabitant of the tropics he is fairly industrious, sometimes even very hard working.Those who have seen him polingcascosagainst the stream of the Pasig will admit this.He is a keen sportsman, and will readily put his money on his favourite horse or game-cock; he is also addicted to other forms of gambling. The position taken by women in a community is often considered as a test of the degree of civilisation it has attained. Measured by this standard, the Tagals come out well, for amongst them the wife exerts great influence in the family, and the husband rarely completes any important business without her concurrence.Crauford considers the equality of the sexes to be general throughout the Indian Archipelago, more particularly in the Island of Celebes, where the inhabitants are the most warlike of all.The Tagals treat their children with great kindness and forbearance, those who are well-off show much anxiety to secure a good education for their sons, and even for their daughters.Parental authority extends to the latest period in life. I have seen a man of fifty years come as respectfully as a child to kiss the hands of his aged parents when the vesper bell sounded, and this notwithstanding the presence of several European visitors in the house.Children, in return, show great respect to both parents, and come morning and evening to kiss their hands. I may remark that their manner of kissing is different to ours. They place the nose and lips against the cheek or hand of the person to be saluted, and draw in the breath strongly.
For an inhabitant of the tropics he is fairly industrious, sometimes even very hard working.
Those who have seen him polingcascosagainst the stream of the Pasig will admit this.
He is a keen sportsman, and will readily put his money on his favourite horse or game-cock; he is also addicted to other forms of gambling. The position taken by women in a community is often considered as a test of the degree of civilisation it has attained. Measured by this standard, the Tagals come out well, for amongst them the wife exerts great influence in the family, and the husband rarely completes any important business without her concurrence.
Crauford considers the equality of the sexes to be general throughout the Indian Archipelago, more particularly in the Island of Celebes, where the inhabitants are the most warlike of all.
The Tagals treat their children with great kindness and forbearance, those who are well-off show much anxiety to secure a good education for their sons, and even for their daughters.
Parental authority extends to the latest period in life. I have seen a man of fifty years come as respectfully as a child to kiss the hands of his aged parents when the vesper bell sounded, and this notwithstanding the presence of several European visitors in the house.
Children, in return, show great respect to both parents, and come morning and evening to kiss their hands. I may remark that their manner of kissing is different to ours. They place the nose and lips against the cheek or hand of the person to be saluted, and draw in the breath strongly.
Appearance—Manners.The Malays in general are not, perhaps, a handsome race, their flat noses disfigure them in the eyes of the recently-arrived European or American, and it takes time to get accustomed to them.Still, their rich brown skin often covers a symmetrical, lithe and agile figure, the small hands and feet denoting their Turanian origin.The youth of both sexes up to the age of puberty are not seldom of striking beauty, and their appearance is not belied by their behaviour. They are trained in good manners from their earliest youth, both by precept and example.Palgrave says of them: “Nowhere are family bonds closer drawn, family affections more enduring, than amongst the Malay races.... His family is a pleasing sight, much subordination and little restraint, unison in gradation, liberty not license. Orderly children, respected parents, women subject, but not suppressed, men ruling, but not despotic, reverence with kindness, obedience in affection, these form a lovable picture, nor by any means a rare one in the villages of the Eastern Isles.”It may here be interesting to note the very contradictory opinions that have been expressed upon this subject.John Foreman.‘The Philippine Islands,’ p. 194.“Home discipline and training of manners are quite ignored, even in the well-to-do families. Children are left without control, and allowed to do just as they please, hence they become ill-behaved and boorish.”W. G. Palgrave.‘Malay Life in the Philippines,’ p. 146.“Children early trained by precept and example to good manners, show less disposition to noise and mischief than is ordinary elsewhere at their age.”As will be seen in my text, my own experience rather confirms Palgrave’s opinion, and I should say that even the children of the peasantry would compare favourably both in manners and intelligence with the children at the Board Schools in London, and to say nothing of Glasgow or Liverpool.Amongst the Tagals, it is customary when speaking ofor to a man to use the prefix Si—thus Si José, Mr. Joseph—whilst a woman is spoken of or to as Aling Maria, Miss Mary. The word Po is used for Sir. Thus: Óo-po—Yes, sir; Hindí-po—No, sir; Uala-po—There is none, sir; Mayroóm-po—There is some, sir.
Appearance—Manners.
The Malays in general are not, perhaps, a handsome race, their flat noses disfigure them in the eyes of the recently-arrived European or American, and it takes time to get accustomed to them.Still, their rich brown skin often covers a symmetrical, lithe and agile figure, the small hands and feet denoting their Turanian origin.The youth of both sexes up to the age of puberty are not seldom of striking beauty, and their appearance is not belied by their behaviour. They are trained in good manners from their earliest youth, both by precept and example.Palgrave says of them: “Nowhere are family bonds closer drawn, family affections more enduring, than amongst the Malay races.... His family is a pleasing sight, much subordination and little restraint, unison in gradation, liberty not license. Orderly children, respected parents, women subject, but not suppressed, men ruling, but not despotic, reverence with kindness, obedience in affection, these form a lovable picture, nor by any means a rare one in the villages of the Eastern Isles.”It may here be interesting to note the very contradictory opinions that have been expressed upon this subject.John Foreman.‘The Philippine Islands,’ p. 194.“Home discipline and training of manners are quite ignored, even in the well-to-do families. Children are left without control, and allowed to do just as they please, hence they become ill-behaved and boorish.”W. G. Palgrave.‘Malay Life in the Philippines,’ p. 146.“Children early trained by precept and example to good manners, show less disposition to noise and mischief than is ordinary elsewhere at their age.”As will be seen in my text, my own experience rather confirms Palgrave’s opinion, and I should say that even the children of the peasantry would compare favourably both in manners and intelligence with the children at the Board Schools in London, and to say nothing of Glasgow or Liverpool.Amongst the Tagals, it is customary when speaking ofor to a man to use the prefix Si—thus Si José, Mr. Joseph—whilst a woman is spoken of or to as Aling Maria, Miss Mary. The word Po is used for Sir. Thus: Óo-po—Yes, sir; Hindí-po—No, sir; Uala-po—There is none, sir; Mayroóm-po—There is some, sir.
The Malays in general are not, perhaps, a handsome race, their flat noses disfigure them in the eyes of the recently-arrived European or American, and it takes time to get accustomed to them.
Still, their rich brown skin often covers a symmetrical, lithe and agile figure, the small hands and feet denoting their Turanian origin.
The youth of both sexes up to the age of puberty are not seldom of striking beauty, and their appearance is not belied by their behaviour. They are trained in good manners from their earliest youth, both by precept and example.
Palgrave says of them: “Nowhere are family bonds closer drawn, family affections more enduring, than amongst the Malay races.... His family is a pleasing sight, much subordination and little restraint, unison in gradation, liberty not license. Orderly children, respected parents, women subject, but not suppressed, men ruling, but not despotic, reverence with kindness, obedience in affection, these form a lovable picture, nor by any means a rare one in the villages of the Eastern Isles.”
It may here be interesting to note the very contradictory opinions that have been expressed upon this subject.
John Foreman.‘The Philippine Islands,’ p. 194.“Home discipline and training of manners are quite ignored, even in the well-to-do families. Children are left without control, and allowed to do just as they please, hence they become ill-behaved and boorish.”
John Foreman.
‘The Philippine Islands,’ p. 194.
“Home discipline and training of manners are quite ignored, even in the well-to-do families. Children are left without control, and allowed to do just as they please, hence they become ill-behaved and boorish.”
W. G. Palgrave.‘Malay Life in the Philippines,’ p. 146.“Children early trained by precept and example to good manners, show less disposition to noise and mischief than is ordinary elsewhere at their age.”
W. G. Palgrave.
‘Malay Life in the Philippines,’ p. 146.
“Children early trained by precept and example to good manners, show less disposition to noise and mischief than is ordinary elsewhere at their age.”
As will be seen in my text, my own experience rather confirms Palgrave’s opinion, and I should say that even the children of the peasantry would compare favourably both in manners and intelligence with the children at the Board Schools in London, and to say nothing of Glasgow or Liverpool.
Amongst the Tagals, it is customary when speaking ofor to a man to use the prefix Si—thus Si José, Mr. Joseph—whilst a woman is spoken of or to as Aling Maria, Miss Mary. The word Po is used for Sir. Thus: Óo-po—Yes, sir; Hindí-po—No, sir; Uala-po—There is none, sir; Mayroóm-po—There is some, sir.
Cleanliness.The sense of personal dignity and self-respect, the dominant feeling in the Malay nature, is shown in the Tagals by a general cleanliness in their persons and clothing. They usually live near water, and nearly all of them can swim.The heat of the climate makes bathing a pleasure, and as the temperature of the sea or river is commonly 83°F., a prolonged immersion causes no inconvenience.On the morning of a feast-day the number of bathers is increased, and at the time of high tide, a very large proportion of the population seems to be in the water, both sexes and all ages mixing indiscriminately, the adults decently covered and all behaving themselves as decorously as the bathers at Brighton, Newport, or Atlantic City.They have not yet arrived at that precise stage of civilisation that develops the Rough, the Larrikin, or the Hooligan. Palgrave says: A Malay may be a profligate, a gambler, a thief, a robber, or a murderer, he is never a cad.Palgrave had not great opportunities of knowing the Tagals, but I confirm the above opinion, although I do not agree with the views on the future of the Philippines, and what is best for them, expressed in his fantastic and hyphen-infested verbiage, all seemingly written for effect.
Cleanliness.
The sense of personal dignity and self-respect, the dominant feeling in the Malay nature, is shown in the Tagals by a general cleanliness in their persons and clothing. They usually live near water, and nearly all of them can swim.The heat of the climate makes bathing a pleasure, and as the temperature of the sea or river is commonly 83°F., a prolonged immersion causes no inconvenience.On the morning of a feast-day the number of bathers is increased, and at the time of high tide, a very large proportion of the population seems to be in the water, both sexes and all ages mixing indiscriminately, the adults decently covered and all behaving themselves as decorously as the bathers at Brighton, Newport, or Atlantic City.They have not yet arrived at that precise stage of civilisation that develops the Rough, the Larrikin, or the Hooligan. Palgrave says: A Malay may be a profligate, a gambler, a thief, a robber, or a murderer, he is never a cad.Palgrave had not great opportunities of knowing the Tagals, but I confirm the above opinion, although I do not agree with the views on the future of the Philippines, and what is best for them, expressed in his fantastic and hyphen-infested verbiage, all seemingly written for effect.
The sense of personal dignity and self-respect, the dominant feeling in the Malay nature, is shown in the Tagals by a general cleanliness in their persons and clothing. They usually live near water, and nearly all of them can swim.
The heat of the climate makes bathing a pleasure, and as the temperature of the sea or river is commonly 83°F., a prolonged immersion causes no inconvenience.
On the morning of a feast-day the number of bathers is increased, and at the time of high tide, a very large proportion of the population seems to be in the water, both sexes and all ages mixing indiscriminately, the adults decently covered and all behaving themselves as decorously as the bathers at Brighton, Newport, or Atlantic City.
They have not yet arrived at that precise stage of civilisation that develops the Rough, the Larrikin, or the Hooligan. Palgrave says: A Malay may be a profligate, a gambler, a thief, a robber, or a murderer, he is never a cad.
Palgrave had not great opportunities of knowing the Tagals, but I confirm the above opinion, although I do not agree with the views on the future of the Philippines, and what is best for them, expressed in his fantastic and hyphen-infested verbiage, all seemingly written for effect.
Superstitions.The Tagal is extremely superstitious, and like his kinsman, the Dayak, he is a believer in omens, although he has not reduced them so completely to a system, and three centuries of Christianity have diverted his superstitions into other channels.In his mind, each cave, each ravine, each mountain, each pool, each stream, has its guardian spirit, to offend or to startle which may be dangerous. These are the jinni of Southern Arabia and Socotra.The Balete tree (Ficus Urostigima—Sp.) corresponds to our Witch Elm, and certainly at night has a most uncanny appearance. Each of these great trees has its guardian spirit or Tic-balan.Daring, indeed, would be the Indian who would pass such a tree, enter a cave, ascend a mountain, or plunge into a pool without bowing and uttering thePasing tabi sa nono[By your leave, my Lord] that may appease the spirit’s wrath, just as the Bedouin of Dhofar cry, “Aleik Soubera—aleik soubera,” to propitiate the jinni.His mental attitude in this respect reminds me of a story told me many years ago by a lady residing in Hampshire. A lady neighbour of hers inquired from her whether she taught her children to bow when the Devil’s name was mentioned. My informant replied in the negative, whereupon the lady remarked, “I do, I think it is safer.” This is the way with the Tagal, he bows because he thinks it is safer. If that prudent lady is still alive and may chance to read this, she may be pleased to learn that her opinion is shared by the whole Malay race.Child-birth has its anxieties everywhere, and the more artificial the life the woman has led, the more she suffers at that critical time. The Tagal woman whose naturally supple frame has never been subjected to tight-lacing, nor compressed within a tailor-made costume, has a far easier time of it than her European sister, but superstition and quackery combine to terrify and ill-use her.ThePatianac, an evil spirit, profits by the occasion, and his great delight is to obstruct the birth, or to kill and devour the infant. The patianac might be busy elsewhere, but from the ridge-pole of the house a bird of ill-omen, the dreadful Tic-tic, raises a warning cry, for its office and delight is to call the attention of the evil spirit to the opportunity of doing mischief. Instantly every door and window is closed and every chink stopped to prevent its entrance, whilst the anxious father and his kinsmen, naked as they were born, walk around and underneath the house, slashing the air with sticks orbolosto frighten away the spirit. Sometimes a man will get up on the ridge-pole to drive away the Tic-tic.Meanwhile, in the stifling room, it is too often the case that violent means are used to expedite the birth, so violent indeed, that they sometimes result in the permanent injury or in the death of the woman.Some years ago the Government instituted an examination for midwives, and only those were allowed the practice who had been properly instructed, so that these absurdities and cruelties are on the wane, except amongst the poorest or in outlying districts.TheAsúanis merely a cannibal ghost, but the Tagal ghost throws stones, a thing I have not heard of a ghost doing in Europe.All sorts of stories are told about theAsúan, similar to ghost stories in other lands.About 1891 a house in Malate was stoned night after night, and although every effort was made to find out the authors, they were never discovered, and the natives steadfastly believed it to be the doing of theAsúan.There is another superstitious idea firmly rooted in the minds of the Tagals and other natives, of which the following is an instance: A villainous-looking native had been captured with some property stolen from my house, and was sent to the lock-up at the police station, from whence he promptly escaped, but was recaptured later. My coachman, a most meritorious servant who had been with me for years, assured me in an impressive manner, and with an air of conviction, that the culprit was one of those wizards who are able to pass through a keyhole by drawing themselves out into the thinness of a piece of string, and my other servants accepted this view implicitly.The famousTulisanesor bandits, thoroughly believe in the power of theAntin-Antinor amulet to render them invulnerable to bullets. It is, indeed, remarkable that notwithstanding the numbers of these criminals who have been shot by the Guardia Civil with theirAntin-Antinupon them, this absurd belief should flourish, but there is no doubt it does. These charms consist of any sort of necromancers’ rubbish, or are sometimes writings in invocations, usually worn round the neck under the clothing.The profession of the Roman Catholic religion has perhaps helped this superstition to linger on, for the wearing of scapularies is common, especially amongst the women. These articles are manufactured for the priests and some are sent out to Antipolo, to be blessed at the shrine of Nuestra Señora de Buen Viage y de la Paz, and sold to the pilgrims who crowd in thousands to this shrine in May of each year.A Tagal woman sometimes wears as many as three ofthese scapularies hung from silk threads round her neck and covered by her upper garment. They usually dispose two in front, where they conceive the danger is greatest, and one on the back, as a further precaution against an attack from the rear.Wearing these holy amulets, and having crossed herself and uttered a prayer before coming downstairs in the morning, the Tagal wife or maid feels that she has done all she can, and that if any backsliding should occur, during the day, it will not be her fault.She believes greatly in lucky or holy numbers—I heard the following story related by a native lady to a native priest when going to Batangas by steamer.The lady was telling the priest of her husband’s illness (it appeared to have been congestion of the lungs), and she prepared and applied a poultice of three heads of garlic in honour of the Three Persons of the Blessed Trinity; this not producing the desired effect, she then made a poultice of five heads of garlic, in honour of the Five Wounds of our Blessed Saviour, and successively others of seven heads, in honour of the Seven Pains of the Blessed Virgin; twelve heads in honour of the Twelve Apostles, and last of all a poultice of thirty-three heads of garlic in honour of the Thirty-three years our Blessed Saviour remained on earth. The priest had nodded approval as she went on, but as she stopped he said: “And then?” To which the lady replied, “Then he died.”This poor man came off easily, for in some cases people who suffer from fits and other diseases are thought to be possessed by devils, and are severely beaten to drive out the evil spirit. The patient does not always escape with his life.The women often dream of lucky numbers in the Manila Lottery and make every endeavour to purchase the number they have dreamt of.Amongst the Christian superstitions may be mentioned the feast of San Pascual Bailón at Obando. Those who attend this function are commonly the rowdier class of inhabitants of the Capital, and they go mostly on foot, making music and dancing on the way. They also dance in the courtyard in front of the church, not forgetting to refresh themselves with strong drink in the meanwhile.Tagal Girl wearing Scapulary.Tagal Girl wearing Scapulary.[To face p. 216.This is not at all an edifying spectacle, for the dancers are covered with dust and with the perspiration from theiractive exertions. I do not know the legend that gives occasion to this curious form of devotion. Occasionally, and especially during Holy Week, another form of penitence is practised by the natives. I remember, about 1892, seeing one of these penitents, a man having a mask on his face, the upper part of his body bare, and a long chain fastened to one ankle and dragging on the ground behind him. In one hand he bore a flagellum with which he from time to time lashed himself on the shoulders, which bore evident marks of the discipline they had received. A youth who followed him occasionally jerked the chain, throwing the penitent violently at full length upon the dusty road. This form of penitence is not approved, however, by the priests, for when I called on the parish priest, the same evening, I mentioned the circumstance to him, and he directed the penitent to be locked up, to stop what he rightly termed a scandal.On many occasions the natives had got up a religious excitement, and great gatherings have taken place at some spot where a miraculous appearance of the Blessed Virgin, or some supernatural manifestation has been alleged to have occurred.All these affairs have been somewhat sceptically inquired into by the priests under a general order to this effect issued by the archbishop, and so far as my experience goes, the excessive religious ardour of the natives has rather been checked than stimulated.When writing about the Visayas I shall have more to say about misdirected religious zeal. The Tagals practise circumcision as a hygienic measure, and not as a religious rite. The operation is usually performed at the age of fourteen by a companion or friend of the patient, and a sharp flint or piece of volcanic glass (obsidian) is used for this purpose. From what I have heard, this custom is really maintained by the women, who refuse their favours to the uncircumcised of their own nation, though with foreigners they are more complaisant.
Superstitions.
The Tagal is extremely superstitious, and like his kinsman, the Dayak, he is a believer in omens, although he has not reduced them so completely to a system, and three centuries of Christianity have diverted his superstitions into other channels.In his mind, each cave, each ravine, each mountain, each pool, each stream, has its guardian spirit, to offend or to startle which may be dangerous. These are the jinni of Southern Arabia and Socotra.The Balete tree (Ficus Urostigima—Sp.) corresponds to our Witch Elm, and certainly at night has a most uncanny appearance. Each of these great trees has its guardian spirit or Tic-balan.Daring, indeed, would be the Indian who would pass such a tree, enter a cave, ascend a mountain, or plunge into a pool without bowing and uttering thePasing tabi sa nono[By your leave, my Lord] that may appease the spirit’s wrath, just as the Bedouin of Dhofar cry, “Aleik Soubera—aleik soubera,” to propitiate the jinni.His mental attitude in this respect reminds me of a story told me many years ago by a lady residing in Hampshire. A lady neighbour of hers inquired from her whether she taught her children to bow when the Devil’s name was mentioned. My informant replied in the negative, whereupon the lady remarked, “I do, I think it is safer.” This is the way with the Tagal, he bows because he thinks it is safer. If that prudent lady is still alive and may chance to read this, she may be pleased to learn that her opinion is shared by the whole Malay race.Child-birth has its anxieties everywhere, and the more artificial the life the woman has led, the more she suffers at that critical time. The Tagal woman whose naturally supple frame has never been subjected to tight-lacing, nor compressed within a tailor-made costume, has a far easier time of it than her European sister, but superstition and quackery combine to terrify and ill-use her.ThePatianac, an evil spirit, profits by the occasion, and his great delight is to obstruct the birth, or to kill and devour the infant. The patianac might be busy elsewhere, but from the ridge-pole of the house a bird of ill-omen, the dreadful Tic-tic, raises a warning cry, for its office and delight is to call the attention of the evil spirit to the opportunity of doing mischief. Instantly every door and window is closed and every chink stopped to prevent its entrance, whilst the anxious father and his kinsmen, naked as they were born, walk around and underneath the house, slashing the air with sticks orbolosto frighten away the spirit. Sometimes a man will get up on the ridge-pole to drive away the Tic-tic.Meanwhile, in the stifling room, it is too often the case that violent means are used to expedite the birth, so violent indeed, that they sometimes result in the permanent injury or in the death of the woman.Some years ago the Government instituted an examination for midwives, and only those were allowed the practice who had been properly instructed, so that these absurdities and cruelties are on the wane, except amongst the poorest or in outlying districts.TheAsúanis merely a cannibal ghost, but the Tagal ghost throws stones, a thing I have not heard of a ghost doing in Europe.All sorts of stories are told about theAsúan, similar to ghost stories in other lands.About 1891 a house in Malate was stoned night after night, and although every effort was made to find out the authors, they were never discovered, and the natives steadfastly believed it to be the doing of theAsúan.There is another superstitious idea firmly rooted in the minds of the Tagals and other natives, of which the following is an instance: A villainous-looking native had been captured with some property stolen from my house, and was sent to the lock-up at the police station, from whence he promptly escaped, but was recaptured later. My coachman, a most meritorious servant who had been with me for years, assured me in an impressive manner, and with an air of conviction, that the culprit was one of those wizards who are able to pass through a keyhole by drawing themselves out into the thinness of a piece of string, and my other servants accepted this view implicitly.The famousTulisanesor bandits, thoroughly believe in the power of theAntin-Antinor amulet to render them invulnerable to bullets. It is, indeed, remarkable that notwithstanding the numbers of these criminals who have been shot by the Guardia Civil with theirAntin-Antinupon them, this absurd belief should flourish, but there is no doubt it does. These charms consist of any sort of necromancers’ rubbish, or are sometimes writings in invocations, usually worn round the neck under the clothing.The profession of the Roman Catholic religion has perhaps helped this superstition to linger on, for the wearing of scapularies is common, especially amongst the women. These articles are manufactured for the priests and some are sent out to Antipolo, to be blessed at the shrine of Nuestra Señora de Buen Viage y de la Paz, and sold to the pilgrims who crowd in thousands to this shrine in May of each year.A Tagal woman sometimes wears as many as three ofthese scapularies hung from silk threads round her neck and covered by her upper garment. They usually dispose two in front, where they conceive the danger is greatest, and one on the back, as a further precaution against an attack from the rear.Wearing these holy amulets, and having crossed herself and uttered a prayer before coming downstairs in the morning, the Tagal wife or maid feels that she has done all she can, and that if any backsliding should occur, during the day, it will not be her fault.She believes greatly in lucky or holy numbers—I heard the following story related by a native lady to a native priest when going to Batangas by steamer.The lady was telling the priest of her husband’s illness (it appeared to have been congestion of the lungs), and she prepared and applied a poultice of three heads of garlic in honour of the Three Persons of the Blessed Trinity; this not producing the desired effect, she then made a poultice of five heads of garlic, in honour of the Five Wounds of our Blessed Saviour, and successively others of seven heads, in honour of the Seven Pains of the Blessed Virgin; twelve heads in honour of the Twelve Apostles, and last of all a poultice of thirty-three heads of garlic in honour of the Thirty-three years our Blessed Saviour remained on earth. The priest had nodded approval as she went on, but as she stopped he said: “And then?” To which the lady replied, “Then he died.”This poor man came off easily, for in some cases people who suffer from fits and other diseases are thought to be possessed by devils, and are severely beaten to drive out the evil spirit. The patient does not always escape with his life.The women often dream of lucky numbers in the Manila Lottery and make every endeavour to purchase the number they have dreamt of.Amongst the Christian superstitions may be mentioned the feast of San Pascual Bailón at Obando. Those who attend this function are commonly the rowdier class of inhabitants of the Capital, and they go mostly on foot, making music and dancing on the way. They also dance in the courtyard in front of the church, not forgetting to refresh themselves with strong drink in the meanwhile.Tagal Girl wearing Scapulary.Tagal Girl wearing Scapulary.[To face p. 216.This is not at all an edifying spectacle, for the dancers are covered with dust and with the perspiration from theiractive exertions. I do not know the legend that gives occasion to this curious form of devotion. Occasionally, and especially during Holy Week, another form of penitence is practised by the natives. I remember, about 1892, seeing one of these penitents, a man having a mask on his face, the upper part of his body bare, and a long chain fastened to one ankle and dragging on the ground behind him. In one hand he bore a flagellum with which he from time to time lashed himself on the shoulders, which bore evident marks of the discipline they had received. A youth who followed him occasionally jerked the chain, throwing the penitent violently at full length upon the dusty road. This form of penitence is not approved, however, by the priests, for when I called on the parish priest, the same evening, I mentioned the circumstance to him, and he directed the penitent to be locked up, to stop what he rightly termed a scandal.On many occasions the natives had got up a religious excitement, and great gatherings have taken place at some spot where a miraculous appearance of the Blessed Virgin, or some supernatural manifestation has been alleged to have occurred.All these affairs have been somewhat sceptically inquired into by the priests under a general order to this effect issued by the archbishop, and so far as my experience goes, the excessive religious ardour of the natives has rather been checked than stimulated.When writing about the Visayas I shall have more to say about misdirected religious zeal. The Tagals practise circumcision as a hygienic measure, and not as a religious rite. The operation is usually performed at the age of fourteen by a companion or friend of the patient, and a sharp flint or piece of volcanic glass (obsidian) is used for this purpose. From what I have heard, this custom is really maintained by the women, who refuse their favours to the uncircumcised of their own nation, though with foreigners they are more complaisant.
The Tagal is extremely superstitious, and like his kinsman, the Dayak, he is a believer in omens, although he has not reduced them so completely to a system, and three centuries of Christianity have diverted his superstitions into other channels.
In his mind, each cave, each ravine, each mountain, each pool, each stream, has its guardian spirit, to offend or to startle which may be dangerous. These are the jinni of Southern Arabia and Socotra.
The Balete tree (Ficus Urostigima—Sp.) corresponds to our Witch Elm, and certainly at night has a most uncanny appearance. Each of these great trees has its guardian spirit or Tic-balan.
Daring, indeed, would be the Indian who would pass such a tree, enter a cave, ascend a mountain, or plunge into a pool without bowing and uttering thePasing tabi sa nono[By your leave, my Lord] that may appease the spirit’s wrath, just as the Bedouin of Dhofar cry, “Aleik Soubera—aleik soubera,” to propitiate the jinni.
His mental attitude in this respect reminds me of a story told me many years ago by a lady residing in Hampshire. A lady neighbour of hers inquired from her whether she taught her children to bow when the Devil’s name was mentioned. My informant replied in the negative, whereupon the lady remarked, “I do, I think it is safer.” This is the way with the Tagal, he bows because he thinks it is safer. If that prudent lady is still alive and may chance to read this, she may be pleased to learn that her opinion is shared by the whole Malay race.
Child-birth has its anxieties everywhere, and the more artificial the life the woman has led, the more she suffers at that critical time. The Tagal woman whose naturally supple frame has never been subjected to tight-lacing, nor compressed within a tailor-made costume, has a far easier time of it than her European sister, but superstition and quackery combine to terrify and ill-use her.
ThePatianac, an evil spirit, profits by the occasion, and his great delight is to obstruct the birth, or to kill and devour the infant. The patianac might be busy elsewhere, but from the ridge-pole of the house a bird of ill-omen, the dreadful Tic-tic, raises a warning cry, for its office and delight is to call the attention of the evil spirit to the opportunity of doing mischief. Instantly every door and window is closed and every chink stopped to prevent its entrance, whilst the anxious father and his kinsmen, naked as they were born, walk around and underneath the house, slashing the air with sticks orbolosto frighten away the spirit. Sometimes a man will get up on the ridge-pole to drive away the Tic-tic.
Meanwhile, in the stifling room, it is too often the case that violent means are used to expedite the birth, so violent indeed, that they sometimes result in the permanent injury or in the death of the woman.
Some years ago the Government instituted an examination for midwives, and only those were allowed the practice who had been properly instructed, so that these absurdities and cruelties are on the wane, except amongst the poorest or in outlying districts.
TheAsúanis merely a cannibal ghost, but the Tagal ghost throws stones, a thing I have not heard of a ghost doing in Europe.
All sorts of stories are told about theAsúan, similar to ghost stories in other lands.
About 1891 a house in Malate was stoned night after night, and although every effort was made to find out the authors, they were never discovered, and the natives steadfastly believed it to be the doing of theAsúan.
There is another superstitious idea firmly rooted in the minds of the Tagals and other natives, of which the following is an instance: A villainous-looking native had been captured with some property stolen from my house, and was sent to the lock-up at the police station, from whence he promptly escaped, but was recaptured later. My coachman, a most meritorious servant who had been with me for years, assured me in an impressive manner, and with an air of conviction, that the culprit was one of those wizards who are able to pass through a keyhole by drawing themselves out into the thinness of a piece of string, and my other servants accepted this view implicitly.
The famousTulisanesor bandits, thoroughly believe in the power of theAntin-Antinor amulet to render them invulnerable to bullets. It is, indeed, remarkable that notwithstanding the numbers of these criminals who have been shot by the Guardia Civil with theirAntin-Antinupon them, this absurd belief should flourish, but there is no doubt it does. These charms consist of any sort of necromancers’ rubbish, or are sometimes writings in invocations, usually worn round the neck under the clothing.
The profession of the Roman Catholic religion has perhaps helped this superstition to linger on, for the wearing of scapularies is common, especially amongst the women. These articles are manufactured for the priests and some are sent out to Antipolo, to be blessed at the shrine of Nuestra Señora de Buen Viage y de la Paz, and sold to the pilgrims who crowd in thousands to this shrine in May of each year.
A Tagal woman sometimes wears as many as three ofthese scapularies hung from silk threads round her neck and covered by her upper garment. They usually dispose two in front, where they conceive the danger is greatest, and one on the back, as a further precaution against an attack from the rear.
Wearing these holy amulets, and having crossed herself and uttered a prayer before coming downstairs in the morning, the Tagal wife or maid feels that she has done all she can, and that if any backsliding should occur, during the day, it will not be her fault.
She believes greatly in lucky or holy numbers—I heard the following story related by a native lady to a native priest when going to Batangas by steamer.
The lady was telling the priest of her husband’s illness (it appeared to have been congestion of the lungs), and she prepared and applied a poultice of three heads of garlic in honour of the Three Persons of the Blessed Trinity; this not producing the desired effect, she then made a poultice of five heads of garlic, in honour of the Five Wounds of our Blessed Saviour, and successively others of seven heads, in honour of the Seven Pains of the Blessed Virgin; twelve heads in honour of the Twelve Apostles, and last of all a poultice of thirty-three heads of garlic in honour of the Thirty-three years our Blessed Saviour remained on earth. The priest had nodded approval as she went on, but as she stopped he said: “And then?” To which the lady replied, “Then he died.”
This poor man came off easily, for in some cases people who suffer from fits and other diseases are thought to be possessed by devils, and are severely beaten to drive out the evil spirit. The patient does not always escape with his life.
The women often dream of lucky numbers in the Manila Lottery and make every endeavour to purchase the number they have dreamt of.
Amongst the Christian superstitions may be mentioned the feast of San Pascual Bailón at Obando. Those who attend this function are commonly the rowdier class of inhabitants of the Capital, and they go mostly on foot, making music and dancing on the way. They also dance in the courtyard in front of the church, not forgetting to refresh themselves with strong drink in the meanwhile.
Tagal Girl wearing Scapulary.Tagal Girl wearing Scapulary.[To face p. 216.
Tagal Girl wearing Scapulary.
[To face p. 216.
This is not at all an edifying spectacle, for the dancers are covered with dust and with the perspiration from theiractive exertions. I do not know the legend that gives occasion to this curious form of devotion. Occasionally, and especially during Holy Week, another form of penitence is practised by the natives. I remember, about 1892, seeing one of these penitents, a man having a mask on his face, the upper part of his body bare, and a long chain fastened to one ankle and dragging on the ground behind him. In one hand he bore a flagellum with which he from time to time lashed himself on the shoulders, which bore evident marks of the discipline they had received. A youth who followed him occasionally jerked the chain, throwing the penitent violently at full length upon the dusty road. This form of penitence is not approved, however, by the priests, for when I called on the parish priest, the same evening, I mentioned the circumstance to him, and he directed the penitent to be locked up, to stop what he rightly termed a scandal.
On many occasions the natives had got up a religious excitement, and great gatherings have taken place at some spot where a miraculous appearance of the Blessed Virgin, or some supernatural manifestation has been alleged to have occurred.
All these affairs have been somewhat sceptically inquired into by the priests under a general order to this effect issued by the archbishop, and so far as my experience goes, the excessive religious ardour of the natives has rather been checked than stimulated.
When writing about the Visayas I shall have more to say about misdirected religious zeal. The Tagals practise circumcision as a hygienic measure, and not as a religious rite. The operation is usually performed at the age of fourteen by a companion or friend of the patient, and a sharp flint or piece of volcanic glass (obsidian) is used for this purpose. From what I have heard, this custom is really maintained by the women, who refuse their favours to the uncircumcised of their own nation, though with foreigners they are more complaisant.
Cursing.In cursing, the Tagal displays a directness quite worthy of the Anglo-Saxon. All his remarks are very much to the point, and would have earned the approval of the late lamented and reverend author of the Ingoldsby Legends.Leaving out the world-wide reflections upon the virtues of an opponent’s female ancestry, since these appear to belong indiscriminately to all nations, the principal Tagal curses are as follows:—1. May an evil wind blow upon you.2. May the earth open and swallow you up.3. May the lightning strike you.4. May the alligator eat you.The superiority of the Tagal style as compared with the French Mortbleu, Ventre bleu, must be apparent to all unprejudiced observers. The Tagal has drawn all his curses from the grand and awful operations of nature in his own country, except the last, where he invokes the dreaded saurian, the most fearsome inhabitant of the Philippine swamps, rivers, and coasts—formerly venerated by his ancestors and respectfully addressed by them asnono,or grandfather.Under American guidance and example, I think the Tagals quite capable of developing a startling vocabulary of swear-words, and in course of time rivalling their instructors in profanity, with a touch of their old style to give a little local colour.
Cursing.
In cursing, the Tagal displays a directness quite worthy of the Anglo-Saxon. All his remarks are very much to the point, and would have earned the approval of the late lamented and reverend author of the Ingoldsby Legends.Leaving out the world-wide reflections upon the virtues of an opponent’s female ancestry, since these appear to belong indiscriminately to all nations, the principal Tagal curses are as follows:—1. May an evil wind blow upon you.2. May the earth open and swallow you up.3. May the lightning strike you.4. May the alligator eat you.The superiority of the Tagal style as compared with the French Mortbleu, Ventre bleu, must be apparent to all unprejudiced observers. The Tagal has drawn all his curses from the grand and awful operations of nature in his own country, except the last, where he invokes the dreaded saurian, the most fearsome inhabitant of the Philippine swamps, rivers, and coasts—formerly venerated by his ancestors and respectfully addressed by them asnono,or grandfather.Under American guidance and example, I think the Tagals quite capable of developing a startling vocabulary of swear-words, and in course of time rivalling their instructors in profanity, with a touch of their old style to give a little local colour.
In cursing, the Tagal displays a directness quite worthy of the Anglo-Saxon. All his remarks are very much to the point, and would have earned the approval of the late lamented and reverend author of the Ingoldsby Legends.Leaving out the world-wide reflections upon the virtues of an opponent’s female ancestry, since these appear to belong indiscriminately to all nations, the principal Tagal curses are as follows:—
The superiority of the Tagal style as compared with the French Mortbleu, Ventre bleu, must be apparent to all unprejudiced observers. The Tagal has drawn all his curses from the grand and awful operations of nature in his own country, except the last, where he invokes the dreaded saurian, the most fearsome inhabitant of the Philippine swamps, rivers, and coasts—formerly venerated by his ancestors and respectfully addressed by them asnono,or grandfather.
Under American guidance and example, I think the Tagals quite capable of developing a startling vocabulary of swear-words, and in course of time rivalling their instructors in profanity, with a touch of their old style to give a little local colour.
Courtship.Courtship is sometimes a long business amongst the Tagals. It is still customary in the country districts for the impecunious candidate for matrimony to serve the father of the damsel he desires to wed for a period which may extend to a couple of years or more. He is called aCatipado, and is expected to make himself generally useful, and to take a hand in any labour that may be going on, sowing or reaping, mending the roof, or patching the canoe.It is his privilege to assist the girl of his choice in her labours. The girls of a household are expected to husk the rice for the next day’s use. This is done in the cool of the evening, out of doors, a wooden mortar and long heavy pestle being used. It is a well-recognised occasion for the lover to assist and entertain his sweetheart.Very pretty do the village maidens look, as, lightly clothed in almost diaphanous garments, they stand beside the mortars plying the pestle, alternately rising on tiptoe,stretching the lithe figure to its full height and reach, then bending swiftly to give force to the blow.No attitude could display to more advantage the symmetry of form which is the Tagal maiden’s heritage, and few sights are more pleasing than a group of these tawny damsels husking paddy midst chat and laughter, while a tropical full moon pours its effulgence on their glistening tresses and rounded arms.
Courtship.
Courtship is sometimes a long business amongst the Tagals. It is still customary in the country districts for the impecunious candidate for matrimony to serve the father of the damsel he desires to wed for a period which may extend to a couple of years or more. He is called aCatipado, and is expected to make himself generally useful, and to take a hand in any labour that may be going on, sowing or reaping, mending the roof, or patching the canoe.It is his privilege to assist the girl of his choice in her labours. The girls of a household are expected to husk the rice for the next day’s use. This is done in the cool of the evening, out of doors, a wooden mortar and long heavy pestle being used. It is a well-recognised occasion for the lover to assist and entertain his sweetheart.Very pretty do the village maidens look, as, lightly clothed in almost diaphanous garments, they stand beside the mortars plying the pestle, alternately rising on tiptoe,stretching the lithe figure to its full height and reach, then bending swiftly to give force to the blow.No attitude could display to more advantage the symmetry of form which is the Tagal maiden’s heritage, and few sights are more pleasing than a group of these tawny damsels husking paddy midst chat and laughter, while a tropical full moon pours its effulgence on their glistening tresses and rounded arms.
Courtship is sometimes a long business amongst the Tagals. It is still customary in the country districts for the impecunious candidate for matrimony to serve the father of the damsel he desires to wed for a period which may extend to a couple of years or more. He is called aCatipado, and is expected to make himself generally useful, and to take a hand in any labour that may be going on, sowing or reaping, mending the roof, or patching the canoe.
It is his privilege to assist the girl of his choice in her labours. The girls of a household are expected to husk the rice for the next day’s use. This is done in the cool of the evening, out of doors, a wooden mortar and long heavy pestle being used. It is a well-recognised occasion for the lover to assist and entertain his sweetheart.
Very pretty do the village maidens look, as, lightly clothed in almost diaphanous garments, they stand beside the mortars plying the pestle, alternately rising on tiptoe,stretching the lithe figure to its full height and reach, then bending swiftly to give force to the blow.
No attitude could display to more advantage the symmetry of form which is the Tagal maiden’s heritage, and few sights are more pleasing than a group of these tawny damsels husking paddy midst chat and laughter, while a tropical full moon pours its effulgence on their glistening tresses and rounded arms.
Marriage.But let us return to theCatipado. He must be very careful not to give cause of offence to the elders of the family, more especially towards the end of his term, as there may be a disposition amongst them to dismiss him, and take on another to begin a new term. In fact, many natives have shown themselves so unwilling to consent to their daughter’s marriage, when no sufficient reason could be given for their refusal, that the Governor-General, representing the Crown, is entrusted with a special power of granting the paternal consent in such cases.No regular marriage can be celebrated whilst the girl is a minor, without the father’s consent.When this is refused, and the patience of the lovers is exhausted, the girl leaves her father’s house and is deposited in the house of the fiscal, or churchwarden, under the care of his wife.A petition on stamped paper is then prepared, reciting the circumstances; this goes to the parish priest and to the Gobernadorcillo, who require the father to state the grounds of his refusal. If they are satisfied that no good reason exists, the petition, with their approval noted on it, goes to the Governor-General, and in due time a notification appears in the official Gazette that the Governor-General has been pleased to overrule the father’s negative, and a license (on stamped paper also) for the marriage to be celebrated, is delivered to the priest. This procedure is very necessary, but it has the disadvantage of being slow and expensive, so that in some cases, instead of adopting this course, the youthful pair allow themselves some advances of the privileges of matrimony, and perhaps there arrives a time when the obdurate parent finds himself obliged to consent to legalise an accomplished fact to avoid an open scandal.The erring damsel, however, may think herself lucky if she escapes a fatherly correction laid on with no grudging hand, before the reluctant consent is granted.The priest will of course require the youthful sinners to confess and do penance for their previousness before he will marry them.The marriage ceremony is a very simple one, and usually takes place after early Mass. The priest fixes the fee according to the means of the party; it is often a substantial one. After the ceremony comes aCatapúsanor assembly, when the relatives and friends are entertained. There will be music, and unless the priest disapproves of dancing, that will be indulged in. The Augustinians mostly allow dancing, but the Dominicans often object to it as an immoral amusement.The house will be hung with bright-coloured cloths and paper lanterns; the table loaded with refreshments, both light and heavy.
Marriage.
But let us return to theCatipado. He must be very careful not to give cause of offence to the elders of the family, more especially towards the end of his term, as there may be a disposition amongst them to dismiss him, and take on another to begin a new term. In fact, many natives have shown themselves so unwilling to consent to their daughter’s marriage, when no sufficient reason could be given for their refusal, that the Governor-General, representing the Crown, is entrusted with a special power of granting the paternal consent in such cases.No regular marriage can be celebrated whilst the girl is a minor, without the father’s consent.When this is refused, and the patience of the lovers is exhausted, the girl leaves her father’s house and is deposited in the house of the fiscal, or churchwarden, under the care of his wife.A petition on stamped paper is then prepared, reciting the circumstances; this goes to the parish priest and to the Gobernadorcillo, who require the father to state the grounds of his refusal. If they are satisfied that no good reason exists, the petition, with their approval noted on it, goes to the Governor-General, and in due time a notification appears in the official Gazette that the Governor-General has been pleased to overrule the father’s negative, and a license (on stamped paper also) for the marriage to be celebrated, is delivered to the priest. This procedure is very necessary, but it has the disadvantage of being slow and expensive, so that in some cases, instead of adopting this course, the youthful pair allow themselves some advances of the privileges of matrimony, and perhaps there arrives a time when the obdurate parent finds himself obliged to consent to legalise an accomplished fact to avoid an open scandal.The erring damsel, however, may think herself lucky if she escapes a fatherly correction laid on with no grudging hand, before the reluctant consent is granted.The priest will of course require the youthful sinners to confess and do penance for their previousness before he will marry them.The marriage ceremony is a very simple one, and usually takes place after early Mass. The priest fixes the fee according to the means of the party; it is often a substantial one. After the ceremony comes aCatapúsanor assembly, when the relatives and friends are entertained. There will be music, and unless the priest disapproves of dancing, that will be indulged in. The Augustinians mostly allow dancing, but the Dominicans often object to it as an immoral amusement.The house will be hung with bright-coloured cloths and paper lanterns; the table loaded with refreshments, both light and heavy.
But let us return to theCatipado. He must be very careful not to give cause of offence to the elders of the family, more especially towards the end of his term, as there may be a disposition amongst them to dismiss him, and take on another to begin a new term. In fact, many natives have shown themselves so unwilling to consent to their daughter’s marriage, when no sufficient reason could be given for their refusal, that the Governor-General, representing the Crown, is entrusted with a special power of granting the paternal consent in such cases.
No regular marriage can be celebrated whilst the girl is a minor, without the father’s consent.
When this is refused, and the patience of the lovers is exhausted, the girl leaves her father’s house and is deposited in the house of the fiscal, or churchwarden, under the care of his wife.
A petition on stamped paper is then prepared, reciting the circumstances; this goes to the parish priest and to the Gobernadorcillo, who require the father to state the grounds of his refusal. If they are satisfied that no good reason exists, the petition, with their approval noted on it, goes to the Governor-General, and in due time a notification appears in the official Gazette that the Governor-General has been pleased to overrule the father’s negative, and a license (on stamped paper also) for the marriage to be celebrated, is delivered to the priest. This procedure is very necessary, but it has the disadvantage of being slow and expensive, so that in some cases, instead of adopting this course, the youthful pair allow themselves some advances of the privileges of matrimony, and perhaps there arrives a time when the obdurate parent finds himself obliged to consent to legalise an accomplished fact to avoid an open scandal.
The erring damsel, however, may think herself lucky if she escapes a fatherly correction laid on with no grudging hand, before the reluctant consent is granted.
The priest will of course require the youthful sinners to confess and do penance for their previousness before he will marry them.
The marriage ceremony is a very simple one, and usually takes place after early Mass. The priest fixes the fee according to the means of the party; it is often a substantial one. After the ceremony comes aCatapúsanor assembly, when the relatives and friends are entertained. There will be music, and unless the priest disapproves of dancing, that will be indulged in. The Augustinians mostly allow dancing, but the Dominicans often object to it as an immoral amusement.
The house will be hung with bright-coloured cloths and paper lanterns; the table loaded with refreshments, both light and heavy.
Wedding Feasts.Roast pig is a standing dish at these feasts, the animal being roasted whole, on a spit over a fire made on the ground. A professional roaster superintends the operation, and the pig is brought to a fine even colour all over. Sometimes there are roast turkeys or roast mutton and kid, possibly beef cooked in various ways, surely fish of different kinds, fresh, salted, or smoked; the indispensable boiled rice ormorisqueta, and an abundance of sweets, fruits in syrup, guava jelly, and Dutch cheese. There will be chocolate and perhaps coffee. As to drinks, besides some native brews, there will be Norwegian or German export beer, or Tennant’s beer in stone bottles, square-face gin, and Spanish red wine (Vino Tinto).Unlimited Buyo, cigarettes and cigars are provided. All these things are hospitably pressed upon all comers, especially upon any European present. If his politeness prevents his refusing this miscellaneous assortment, unless he is favoured with the digestion of an ostrich, he will rue it next day, and perhaps for several days. The worthy priest is naturally in the place of honour, and like the wise man he mostly is, he perhaps brings, slung under his habit, or sends beforehand, a capacious leather bottle, with asupply of generous wine direct from some convent vineyard on the peninsula, a pure natural wine, undefiled and unfortified by German industrial spirit. A tall and portly Augustine monk, in his spotless and ample white robes, presents a very imposing and apostolic appearance, and looks quite in his place at the head of the table. The host seldom sits down with his guests, but busies himself attending to their wants.
Wedding Feasts.
Roast pig is a standing dish at these feasts, the animal being roasted whole, on a spit over a fire made on the ground. A professional roaster superintends the operation, and the pig is brought to a fine even colour all over. Sometimes there are roast turkeys or roast mutton and kid, possibly beef cooked in various ways, surely fish of different kinds, fresh, salted, or smoked; the indispensable boiled rice ormorisqueta, and an abundance of sweets, fruits in syrup, guava jelly, and Dutch cheese. There will be chocolate and perhaps coffee. As to drinks, besides some native brews, there will be Norwegian or German export beer, or Tennant’s beer in stone bottles, square-face gin, and Spanish red wine (Vino Tinto).Unlimited Buyo, cigarettes and cigars are provided. All these things are hospitably pressed upon all comers, especially upon any European present. If his politeness prevents his refusing this miscellaneous assortment, unless he is favoured with the digestion of an ostrich, he will rue it next day, and perhaps for several days. The worthy priest is naturally in the place of honour, and like the wise man he mostly is, he perhaps brings, slung under his habit, or sends beforehand, a capacious leather bottle, with asupply of generous wine direct from some convent vineyard on the peninsula, a pure natural wine, undefiled and unfortified by German industrial spirit. A tall and portly Augustine monk, in his spotless and ample white robes, presents a very imposing and apostolic appearance, and looks quite in his place at the head of the table. The host seldom sits down with his guests, but busies himself attending to their wants.
Roast pig is a standing dish at these feasts, the animal being roasted whole, on a spit over a fire made on the ground. A professional roaster superintends the operation, and the pig is brought to a fine even colour all over. Sometimes there are roast turkeys or roast mutton and kid, possibly beef cooked in various ways, surely fish of different kinds, fresh, salted, or smoked; the indispensable boiled rice ormorisqueta, and an abundance of sweets, fruits in syrup, guava jelly, and Dutch cheese. There will be chocolate and perhaps coffee. As to drinks, besides some native brews, there will be Norwegian or German export beer, or Tennant’s beer in stone bottles, square-face gin, and Spanish red wine (Vino Tinto).
Unlimited Buyo, cigarettes and cigars are provided. All these things are hospitably pressed upon all comers, especially upon any European present. If his politeness prevents his refusing this miscellaneous assortment, unless he is favoured with the digestion of an ostrich, he will rue it next day, and perhaps for several days. The worthy priest is naturally in the place of honour, and like the wise man he mostly is, he perhaps brings, slung under his habit, or sends beforehand, a capacious leather bottle, with asupply of generous wine direct from some convent vineyard on the peninsula, a pure natural wine, undefiled and unfortified by German industrial spirit. A tall and portly Augustine monk, in his spotless and ample white robes, presents a very imposing and apostolic appearance, and looks quite in his place at the head of the table. The host seldom sits down with his guests, but busies himself attending to their wants.
1The territory occupied by each tribe is shown on the general map of Mindanao by the number on this list.2Ajonjoli (Sesamun Indicum, L.). SeeChap. XIX. for Gogo.
1The territory occupied by each tribe is shown on the general map of Mindanao by the number on this list.
2Ajonjoli (Sesamun Indicum, L.). SeeChap. XIX. for Gogo.