Sources:The material for this appendix is obtained as follows: No. 1, editorial note. No. 2, from extracts given by W. E. Retana, in his edition of Zúñiga’sEstadismo de las Islas Filipinas(Madrid, 1893), ii, pp.*14–*21, of Tomás Ortiz’sPráctica del Ministerio(chapter i, §4, pp. 11–15), a MS. conserved in the library of Eduardo Navarro, O.S.A., at Valladolid. No. 3, from Joaquín Martinez de Zúñiga’sHistoria de las Islas Philipinas(Sampaloc, 1803), ii, chapter ii, pp. 19–38, from a copy belonging to Edward E. Ayer. No. 4, from Charles Wilkes’sNarrative of the United States Exploring Expedition(Philadelphia, 1844), v, pp. 343–390 (mainly verbatim), from a copy belonging to the Wisconsin Historical Society. Nos. 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9, fromCartas de los PP. de la Compañía de Jesús(Manila, 1887), vii, pp. 76–91, 198–216, 117–128 and 137–145, 27–35, and 336–349, respectively, from a copy belonging to Edward E. Ayer. No. 10, fromCartas de los PP. de la Compañía de Jesús(Manila, 1891), ix, pp. 170–184, from a copy belonging to the Library of Congress. No. 11, from a copy of the supplement of the Manila periodicalEl Renacimiento, of the issue of December 9, 1905.Translations and Compilations:These are made by James A. Robertson.Preliminary noteIn this series, ethnological material will be found in the following volumes of those hitherto published:II, pp. 68–72, 109–113, 122, 125, 126, 197–199, 201, 202;III, pp. 34, 54–61, 74, 97, 141–172, 181, 197–204, 286–288, 297, 298;IV, pp. 26, 27, 67–70, 98–101, 105;V, pp. 34–187 (Loarca’sRelation);VI, pp. 140, 141, 145–147;VII, pp. 173–196 (Plasencia’sCustoms of the Tagálogs);XII, pp. 212, 213, 217–220, 235–244, 249–251, 261–275, 293–296, 302–310;XIII, pp. 56–58, 200–203 (Chirino’sRelation);XIV, pp. 156–159, 304, 305, 307;XVI, pp. 69–135 (Morga’sRelation), 221–223, 235, 321–329 (Customs of the Pampangos);XXIX, pp. 281–301;XXX, pp. 190–193;XXXIII, and part ofXXXIV(Pigafetta’sRelation);XXXIV, pp. 185–191, 204, 215, 225, 226, 278, 279, 292–294, 318–321, 376–380, 386–388;XL, Appendix. Ethnological material is included in the following books, which we are unable to reproduce because of the limits of space, although we have used some of them extensively for annotation. Delgado’sHistoria(Manila, 1893; though written about 1754) part i, book iii, pp. 249–392, contains a portion of San Agustin’s famous letter (seeVOL. XL, pp. 187–295) and whose comments on which we published in part; also in appendix added by the editor, a portion ofLoarca’sRelation. Le Gentil’sVoyage(Paris, 1781), as follows: chap. i, art. ix, Of the genius of the inhabitants of the Philippines, and of the peculiar punishments, which the religious inflict on women who do not attend mass on days of observance, pp. 59–63 (following in great part the account of San Antonio—seeVOL. XXVIII, Appendix—); art. x, Of the language and characters used by the natives of the Philippines, pp. 63–65; art. xi, Of some manners and customs of the Indians of the Philippines and of their marriages, pp. 66–74. Concepción’sHistoria(Sampaloc, 1788–1792), i, chap. i, nos. 7–21, pp. 10–32; part 2, chap. i, nos. 309–320; iii, chap. ii, nos. 5, 6, pp. 27–37, nos. 10–13, pp. 46–55; v, chap. ii, no. 1, pp. 20–23. Mas’sInforme de las islas filipinas(Madrid, 1843): i, no. 1, Origen de los habitantes de la Oceania; no. 2, Estado de los Filipinos á la llegada de los Españoles(contains nothing special); no. 5, Poblacion (containing a great portion of San Agustin’s letter, with commentary, most of which is incorporated in ourVOL. XL). Mallat’sLes Philippines(Paris, 1846): i, chap. iii, pp. 43–74, Condition of the country before the discovery; ii, chap. xx, pp. 89–129, Physical characteristics and customs of the savage races; chap. xxii, pp. 131–145, Customs of the children of the country, of the mestizos and the Chinese. Jagor’sReisen in den Philippinen(Berlin, 1873): chap. xiv, pp. 118–132, Manners and customs of the Bicols; chap. xvii, pp. 161–175, The Isarog and its inhabitants; chap. xxii, pp. 227–238, Manners and customs of the Visayans. In the Ethnological Society Transactions, new series, vol. ii, session 1869–70 (London, 1870), appears (pp. 170–175), an article by Jagor, entitled “On the natives of Naga,in Luzon.”Cartas de los PP. de la Compañía de Jesús de la misión de Filipinas, eight vols. (Manila, 1879–1891). Of this series Pardo de Tavera says (Biblioteca filipina, p. 87): “It is an important publication, in which is found not only information concerning the spiritual administration of the missions, but also remarkable information concerning the geography, history, ethnography, linguistics, fauna, and flora, etc., of Mindanao, which is the chief point of the activities of the Society of Jesus.” In the following selections, we have used the volumes for 1887 and 1889. Retana’sArchivo(Madrid, 1895), i, no. x, Short notice of the origin, religion, beliefs, and superstitions of the old Indians of Bicol by Fray José Castaño (written expressly for theArchivo, 1895). Algué’sArchipiélago filipino(Washington, 1900), i, tratado ii, “Ethnography,” pp. 151–238. This is translated inReportof the Philippine Commission for 1900, iii, paper no. vii, pp. 329–412. It follows on the whole the beaten lines, and much of it is unreliable. By far the most valuable material that has yet appeared on ethnology in the Philippines are the comprehensive reports which have been issued since American occupation by the Ethnological Survey, of the Department of the Interior. These have been frequently referred to in this series, and are as follows:The Bontoc Igorot, by Albert Ernest Jenks (Manila, 1905); ii, part i,Negritos of Zambales, by William Allen Reed (Manila, 1904); ii, parts ii and iii,The Nabaloi Dialect, by Otto Scheerer, andThe Bataks of Palawan, by Edward Y. Miller (Manila, 1905);Relaciones agustinianas de las razas del norte de Luzón, compiled by father Fray Angel Pérez (Manila,1904; Spanish edition)—containing among other things a number of letters written by Augustinian missionaries of the eighteenth century;—iv, part i,Studies in Moro History, by Najeeb M. Saleeby, a native Moro (Manila, 1905). With these reports must be classedHistory of the population, inCensus of Philippines, i, pp. 411–491, by Dr. David P. Barrows, at the time of its writing chief of the Bureau of Non-Christian Tribes, but at present (1906) superintendent of education in Manila. Dr. Barrows’s article is followed by a compilation (pp. 492–531), entitledCharacteristics of Christian tribes; and another (pp. 532–585), entitledCharacteristics of the Non-Christian tribes.Superstitions and beliefs of the Filipinos[The following interesting account is from thePráctica del Ministerioby Tomás Ortiz, O. S. A.,1and is translated from W. E. Retana’s edition of Zúñiga’sEstadismo de las islas Filipinas(Madrid, 1893), ii, pp.*14–*21. Retana found a copy of this important MS. at the Augustinian convent at Valladolid in the collection of father Fray Eduardo Navarro, where it still exists and where we ourselves examined it not long since. The following selection is from chapter i, section iv, pp. 11–15.]No. 31. Inasmuch as many natives, especially those of the provinces distant from Manila are much inclined tononosor genii, to idolatries, maganitos, superstitions, enchantments, charms, and witchcraft, which have as great a diversity as have the witches, and therefore they call them by different names,according to the various duties which they attribute to them; it is necessary for the father ministers, not only to preach to them continually, and to argue against, censure, and decry so pestilent abuses, but they must also be very skilful, solicitous, and careful in discovering persons infected with that mortal poison, and to apply to it the necessary remedy. In the confessions, for the same reason that but seldom will they accuse themselves all possible efforts ought to be made (without overstepping the boundaries of prudence) in order to see whether anything may be obtained; and he who has the good fortune to have any witch confess to him, will bear himself toward her as the authors teach. They ought also to charge the natives with their obligation to denounce to the ordinary,... etc.No. 32. There are many abuses (or as they sayugales) which the natives practice against our holy faith and good customs, among others of which are the following. First, the above-mentioned idolatry of thenonos. In regard to this it must be noted that the wordnonodoes not alone signify “grandfather,” but that it also is used as a term of respect to the old men and genii. The Indians comprise these under the wordnono, just as the Chinese do under the wordEspiritus[i. e., “spirits”], and the Romans under the word “Gods,” which other calledLares,Penates, etc. With the above-mentioned genii ornonosthe Indians perform many acts of idolatry frequently, such as for example, asking permission, relief, and aid from them, and that they do the people no harm, and that they do not prove hostile to them, etc. They make such requests on many occasions, and among others are the following. When they wish to pluck any flower or fruit from the tree,they ask permission from the nono or genius to pluck it. When they pass certain fields, rivers, creeks, or streamlets, large trees, sugar-cane plantations and other places, they ask permission and good passage from the genii or nonos. When they are obliged to cut any tree, or not to observe the things or ceremonies which they imagine to be pleasing to the genii or nonos, they ask pardon of them, and excuse themselves to those beings by saying, among many other things, that the father commanded them to do it, and that they are not willingly lacking in respect to the genii, or that they do not willingly oppose their will, etc. When they are taken with the sickness that they callpamave, which they attribute to the genii or nonos (although they try to conceal this by saying that the country [has not?] agreed with them) they ask them for health and offer them food. They do that both on this, and many other occasions, in the fields, sugar-cane plantations, streamlets, at the foot of any large tree, more generally somecalunpan,2and in various other places. This sort of idolatry is very deeply rooted and of long standing among the Indians. Consequently, it is very necessary for the father ministers to be very careful and make great efforts to extirpate it, and not avoid any labor or work until it is annihilated.No. 33. Secondly, the Indians very generally believethat the souls of the dead return to their houses the third day after their death, in order to visit the people of it, or to be present at the banquet, and consequently, to be present at the ceremony of thetibao. They conceal and hide that by saying that they are assembling in the house of the deceased in order to recite the rosary for him. If they are told to do their praying in the church, they refuse to comply because that is not what they wish to do. Consequently, the minister will prevent the gathering at the house of the deceased after the burial, and will not allow the people to ascend into the house under any considerations, least of all on the third day. On the fourth day, in consequence of the said ceremony of thetibao, or because of their evil inclination, they light candles in order to wait for the soul of the deceased. They spread a mat, on which they scatter ashes, so that the tracks or footsteps of the soul may be impressed thereon; and by that means they are able to ascertain whether the soul came or not. They also set a dish of water at the door, so that when the soul comes it may wash its feet there. It does not appear that it would be much to say that those matters of the nonos or genii and the deceased were taken by the Indians from the Sangleys who are reared with various things [of belief].3It needs a strong remedy nevertheless.No. 34. Thetigbalāgwhich some call a ghost and others a goblin, appears to be the genius or devil, who appears to them in the shape of a black man, orin the shape of an old man (or as they express it in the shape of a very small old man), or in the shape of a horse, or of a monster, etc. That being inspires them with so great fear that they come to make friendship with him, and surrender their rosaries to him, and receive from him superstitious things, such as hairs, herbs, stones, and other things, in order that they may obtain marvelous things, and that they may be aided by him in certain of their affairs.No. 35. Thepatianacwhom some also call a goblin (but it is only their invention, dream, or imagination) must be the genius or devil who generally plays with them as also with many others, when losing the faith, they espouse his cause, become familiar with him, or become subject to him. They attribute to this being the ill success of births, and say that in order to harm them and cause their destruction, he enters or hides in some tree or in any other place near the house of the woman who is about to give birth, and there they sing like those who wander about, etc. In order to prevent any harm from the patianac, the men take their position naked and with their privies exposed to the air; and arm themselves with shield, catan, lance, and other arms. In this condition they stand on the ridgepole of the roof, and also under the house, and in all places they slash and cut right and left with the catan and make various gestures and set movements for the same purpose. Others, in order to prevent said harm, generally move the woman who is about to give birth to another house, for they say that her house contains a patianac.No. 36. Among other things they also attribute to the patianac the death of children, as well as totheusang. They refer to them in the following manner. They assert that the bird calledticticis the pander of the sorcerer called usang. Flying ahead of that being, the bird shows it the houses where infants are to be born. That being takes its position on the roof of the neighboring house and thence extends its tongue in the form of a thread, which it inserts through the anus of the child and by that means sucks out its entrails and kills it. Sometimes they say that it appears in the form of a dog, sometimes of a cat, sometimes of the cockroach which crawls under the mat, and there accomplishes the abovesaid. In order to avoid that harm they do certain of the above things. To the patianac travelers also attribute their straying from or losing their road. In order to keep the right path, they undress and expose their privies to the air, and by that observance they say that they make sure of the right road; for then the patianac is afraid of them and cannot lead them astray.No. 37. Thebongsolthey sometimes assert to be variousdurojoneswhich are caused by the sorcererganay, and which run all through the body of the bewitched, who generally remains some moments as if dead or in a faint, and at other times as though mad or raving from the sight of the ganay who appears to them in various shapes. In order to cure this sickness or enchantment, they summon another sorcerer, and he after the incantations or efforts, which will be told later, generally leaves the patient as he was before. Sometimes they say that that sickness appears to be natural or a stomach ache caused by the obstructions or durojones which grow in the stomach or in the patient’s side or byshivers which move from one place to another, and from which the women of this country generally suffer. But when they are unable to cure the pain with the promptness that they desire, they generally say, especially the physicians, that the said sickness is bongsol, that is enchantment, and that it can be cured only by the one who is of the faculty, that is by one who is a sorcerer. They then bring a sorcerer, who performs the things that pertain to his faculty, and summons the first sorcerer who they say caused that sorcery. If the sickness is not lessened, the sorcerer finishes his duty by saying that the said first witch is very far away, and could not hear him; and consequently, it has happened that he has not been able to cure the said sickness. In such wise do they leave the sick person with his pains.No. 38. The ceremony or superstition ofbilaois ordered for the discovery thereby of any thief. It is reduced to placing in a bilao, sieve, or screen, some scissors fastened at the point in the shape of the cross of St. Andrew, and in them they hang their rosary. Then they repeat the name of each one of those who are present and who are assembled for this. If, for example, when the name Pedro is mentioned, the bilao shakes, they say that Pedro is the thief. They also are accustomed to light candles to St. Anthony of Padua for the purpose of discovering the thief of anything [that is stolen]. For this they kneel down to pray (and perhaps to utter and perform indecent things) and wait until the flame leans toward any of those about, for instance, toward Juan, and then they declare that Juan is the thief. It is very usual for the Indians to carry about them various things in order that they might obtainmarvelous effects: for example, written formulas, prayers, vitiated or interspersed with words arranged for their evil intent, herbs, roots, bark, hairs, skin, bones, stones, etc., so that they may not be killed, or apprehended by justice, or to obtain wealth, women, or other things.4They are also very much inclined to believe in omens and in unlucky days, in regard to which they are wont to keep various books of manuscripts which must be burned for them.No. 39. The natives are accustomed to circumcise the boys; and although they perform the circumcision by slitting the skin of the penis lengthwise, instead of around, still it appears that that may be accounted for by the fact that it is inferred that that ceremony was introduced into Philipinas, by the Moros from Borneo, Mindanao, or Holo, as was also the wordbiñag, which is used for “baptize,” and to mean “Christian,” and the wordsimba, which appears to mean “adoration” among them. From this use they transfer it to their temples and mosques, and the Tagálogs took it not to mean “adoration,” but “church,” and afterward used it to mean “mass,” which it never could mean. Not only do they circumcise the males but also the women, girls, ordalagas, [an operation] which they callsonad. It is reduced to cutting the organ or opening it up somewhat. However, some of them, and very reasonably, affirm that that ceremony in them in itself in both males and females is rather the offspring of lust than that of Judaism. They are also accustomed to measure or compare the weapons that they make, forexample, measuring the catan by spans and praying at the same time the “Our Father.” If the conclusion of the measuring is reached at the same time or when they come to the word “forgive us” they say that they cannot be punished, but that they may kill people, etc. It appears that the custom has been introduced among women who have recently brought forth of not going to church until the fortieth or sixtieth day as they say of the purification of their bodies. In that not only do they fail in the precept to hear mass but they also perform a Mosaic ceremony.No. 40. The Indians are generally corrupted by many errors, and it would take a long time to mention them. Consequently, the ministers will be very careful to uproot them, for although it does not cause any great harm in some because of their ignorance and lack of intelligence, in others they do cause great harm; for exampleAngel catutubo, which literally signifies “that my guardian angel was born with me or at the same time as I.” In order to avoid danger, one should say,Angel taga tanor, and the same thing in other languages.No. 41. Finally, so many are the superstitions, omens, and errors, that are found among the Indians that it would be very difficult or impossible to mention them all. The above have been mentioned so that the father ministers may examine others by them. It is to be noted that there are sectarians and preachers of various false sects among the Indians, especially in the distant provinces, either because they had false sects formerly and have continued them, or because they took them (and this is more likely) from the Joloans, Mindanaos, Sangleys, andother heathen nations with whom they are accustomed to have intercourse.No. 42. When the moon is eclipsed, the Indians of various districts generally go out into the street or into the open fields, with bells,panastanes,5etc. They strike them with great force and violence in order that they might thereby protect the moon which they say is being eaten or swallowed by the dragon, tiger, or crocodile. And the worst thing is that if they wish to say “the eclipse of the moon” it is very common in Philipinas to use this locution, saying “the dragon, tiger, or crocodile is swallowing the moon.” The Tagálogs also make use of it and say,Linamon laho bovan. It appears that the Indians learned all this from the Sangleys of China, where all the abovesaid is performed and executed to the letter. It is not right to allow them to retain these deceits of the Chinese, and not to teach them our customs and truths. All the above contents of this section is not universal in all parts. Consequently, although all ministers ought to be careful to ascertain whether they are or are not contained in their ministries, they ought not to go ahead to censure what they are not sure of, for that very thing would perhaps teach them what we are endeavoring to extirpate.The people of the Philippines[Joaquin Martinez de Zúñiga, O. S. A., in hisHistoria(Sampaloc, 1803),6pp. 19–38, devotes one chapter to the inhabitants of the Philippines. We translate from the copy belonging to the library of E. E. Ayer.]Chapter IIOf the inhabitants whom the Spaniards found in the Philipinas, and of their language, customs, and religion.Our historians, always inclined to the marvelous, divide the peoples whom the Spaniards found in the Philipinas into three classes. In their histories there is not a lack of satyrs, men with tails, and mermen, and whatever else can cause wonder in human nature. But truly, only two classes of people are found, namely, those whom we know by the name of Aetas or Negritos,7and the Indians. The Negritosare small, not so black as those of Guinea, and have kinky hair and flat noses. They live naked in the mountains, and only cover themselves in front with the bark of a tree. They live on roots and the deer which they hunt with arrows in which they are very skilful. They sleep where night overtakes them. They have no idea of religion, so that they resemble wild beasts rather than men. The effort has been made to domesticate and christianize them, and they are not much opposed to it, provided that they are given food to eat. But if they are ordered to work to support their family, they return to the mountain although they have just been baptized. For that reason they are not now baptized although they agree to it, except some children whom the Indians or Spaniards generally have in their houses. Even in this case, one cannot be secure of them for when they grow up they generally return to the mountains with their fellowcountrymen. Beyond all doubt those Negritos are the first settlers of these islands, and retired to the mountains when the Indians came hither. The latter inhabit the coasts, and formerly the Negritos waged continual war with them, and would not permit them to cut wood in the mountains unless they paid tribute to them. Today they have but little power, and yet they are feared; for whenever any Negrito is killed, or when any one dies suddenly, another Negrito generally offers himself among his companions and takes an oath not to return to his own people until he kills three or four Indians. He does it by lying in ambush in their villagesand by treacherously killing in the mountains him who becomes separated from his companions.Some believe the origin of these Negritos to be that they came from the negros of Angola,8and the reason why they are not so black as their ancestors consists, they say, in the climate of these Indias which is more moderate. That might be so, for it is as easy for him who changes his climate to decrease in blackness during a long series of generations as it is for him to increase it by living in an inclement climate. But the flat nose and the use of the dialect of the same language which the Indians of these islands use, proves sufficiently that their origin is one and the same with them. The fact that they are blacker than the Indians, depends only on their having lived many centuries in the water by night and day, in wind and sun, and exposed to all the inclemencies of the weather. That and their lack of government has transferred them to their almost wild condition in which we see them.The Indians whom the Spaniards found here were of average stature, olive color, or the color of boiled quinces, large eyes, flat noses, and straight hair. All had some form of government more or less civilized. They were distinguished by different names, but their features and customs prove that the origin of all these people is one and the same, and that they did not compose different races. They had their own petty rulers, who were generally the most valiant, or those who had inherited the kingdom from their fathers, if they could conserve it. Their dominionextended over one or two rude settlements, or at most was according to the valor of him who ruled. They were continually at war with the neighboring settlements, and made one another slaves. From those wars there resulted three classes of people among them: namely, the chiefs who were the masters of the settlement; the slaves; and the freemen, who consisted of slaves or their descendants to whom their masters had given freedom. The last class are calledTimavaseven yet, which properly signifies “freed-man.” In some districts Indians are found who are whiter than others—descendants doubtless of some Chinese or Japanese, who were shipwrecked on these coasts, and whom the Indians naturally hospitably received and with whom they mingled. That is commonly believed in regard to the Ygorrotes of Ylocos.9Their eyes, similar to those of the Chinese, prove that they mingled with the companions of Limahon who fled to those mountains when Juan de Salcedo had besieged them in Pangasinan.It is not easy to prove the origin of these peoples but their language might supply some light. Although the languages spoken by the Indians are many and diverse, they resemble one another so closely that it is recognized clearly that they are all dialects of one and the same tongue, as the Spanish, French, and Italian are of the Latin. The prepositions and pronouns are almost the same in all of them,the numerals differ but slightly, many words are common to all, and they have the same structure. This language, which is one single language, with different dialects, is spoken from Madagascar to Philipinas and no one can contradict this.10I add that it is spoken in Nueva Guinea and in all the lands of the south, in the Marianas, in the islands of San Duisk, in those of Otayti,11and in almost all the islands of the South Sea. In a collection of voyages wherein are found several dictionaries of the terms which the travelers could learn in each one of these islands I have seen with wonder that the pronouns are almost all the same; that in the Tagálogs the numerals resemble those of any other language of these islands, and most of the words are the same and have the same meaning as in the Tagálog language. But the thing which made me believe more in the identity of these languages was my examination of Don Juan Hovel, an Englishman, who spoke the dialect of San Duisk with a servant of his who was a native of thoseislands. I found that the construction was the same as that of the languages which are spoken in Philipinas. Consequently, I had no reason to doubt that all these languages are dialects of one speech which is the most extensive in the world, and which is spoken through many thousands of leguas from Madagascar to the islands of San Duisk, Otayti, and the island of Pasquas12which is not six hundred leguas distant from America; and the fact that the Indians of Philipinas do not understand the peoples of those islands when they pass through their lands does not offer any argument against this supposition, for neither do the Spaniards understand the French, nor in these islands do those of some provinces understand one another.In the same collection of voyages, I found a dictionary of only five terms which the Spaniards were able to learn in the Patagonian coast. One of those terms wasBaláy13which signifies “house” in that language; and with that same word do the Pampangos and Visayans designate house. It may be a mere coincidence which does not prove that the languages of various people are identical. But, seeing that in addition to this the names of South America sound like those of Philipinas, I tried to find some dictionary of that land. Not finding one I examined carefully the few words of the language of Chile which Ercilla has in hisAraucana,14and I found themsufficiently like the Tagálog language. The name “Chile” is not strange to this language where the cormorant is called “cachile.” It is also a pronoun which the Malays apply to the sons of kings. “Chilian,” which is a village of Chile, is a Tagálog composition, in which, adding an “an,” we have a word which signifies “place,” and we get “cachilian” which signifies “place where there are cormorants.” Mapocho, the site of the city of Santiago, is another Tagálog composition that signifies “place.” Thus frompocquiot, a kind of herb, we getmapocquiot, a place where that plant abounds.Apois the name given to him who governs, and that name is applied by these Indians to him who has any authority in the village. In Chile, words and phrases are reduplicated: asYtayta,Biobio,Lemolemo,Colocolo, etc. The same is done in the Tagálog and thus we say:Ataata,Bilobilo,Lebomlebom, andColocolo. The other words are either Tagálog or very similar, and the connection that is found in so few words in these two languages is [too] great to say that it is accident, although it is not sufficient so that we can say that they are dialects of one language.If on a comparison of the grammar and dictions of these two languages it is found that they originate from one and the same tongue, I would be so bold as to say that the Indians of Philipinas originate from the Indians of South America, and that the language of the latter is the parent language of which all the languages of these islands are dialects. Many will consider this a paradox, for the Malays being so near it would appear that the Filipinos must have originated from them, as our authors have generally believed. I cannot deny that these islands could have been easily settled by the Malays; but how shall we account for the peopling of the islands of Palaos and Marianas which are more than three hundred leguas distant? Where shall we get at those who settled the islands of San Duisk and Otayti, which are two thousand leguas from Philipinas? All these people have the same language, the same features, the same customs, and consequently, the same origin as our Indians. It is impossible that people should go from Philipinas to people those lands, for the east wind dominates constantly throughout the torrid zone, and that wind blowing head on would not permit the ship to sail to those islands. Rather on the contrary we must believe that the inhabitants of all the islands of the South Sea came from the Orient with wind astern as we have seen happen to the Indians of Palaos,15who have come to our Philipinas several times driven by the wind, and the east winds have not allowed them to return to their land. Let ussuppose that if then these islands were not peopled, those Indians would have been the first settlers. We do not know whether our Indians by a like accident, have been carried by the winds to the Oriental islands. On the contrary we believe the opposite, since at times the best pilots cannot make that navigation, and return without finding the islands whither they were sailing, as it is necessary to take a high latitude for that voyage. On this head we must seek the easiest solution, namely, that the settlers came from the east from island to island. Consequently, the most eastern land where the Tagálog language is found must be the country whence our Indians originate.One could well hesitate to assent to this truth, moved by the fact that the use of writing in the manner employed by the Malays was found established among these Indians, but it could very well happen that they might derive their origin from other nations and learn to write from the Malays, who would learn that science from the continent of India. The method of writing was by forming the lines from top to bottom, and beginning at the left and finishing at the right as did the Hebrews and Chinese. Their characters were quite different from ours. They had no vowels, for since there are only three vowels in those languages, namely, thea,e, andu, by placing a point above or below the consonant, or by not placing any point, it is easily known what the vowel is, which corresponds to the consonant letter, and it is read very well without the necessity of vowels. Although they knew how to write these people had no written laws, and governed themselves according to their traditions,and by natural law corrupted by the passions. The civil suits were sentenced by the petty rulers with the assistance of some old men. In criminal matters the relatives generally showed justice or it was settled with the aggressor on a gold basis in particular unless death followed. But in that case they did not content themselves except with the penalty of retaliation. If the murderer was of another settlement common cause was made, and the entire village fought against the settlement, from which resulted murders and wars in which slaves were made mutually. When it was suspected that one had robbed another, he was obliged to take a stone from a kettle filled with boiling water. If he did not do it (which we called the vulgar clearance from guilt), he was fined a certain sum of gold, the greater part of which went to the petty ruler. Adultery was punished by a pecuniary fine, as was also lack of respect for old people. But trickery in contracts was not considered wrong and was not punished by any penalty; and usury was common among them in all transactions.Their customs at marriage were very peculiar. They married only one woman. The chiefs however, had several concubines, who were commonly slaves. They generally married their nearest relative, provided she were not a sister, for they could not contract marriage with sisters. When they grew tired of their wife, they returned her to her parents. It was unnecessary to give cause for the divorce, for it was sufficient to give up the dowry which he himself had given when he was married. That dowry was of two kinds and was always paid by the bridegroom. One kind was calledbigay suso, and was the payment for the milk which the mother had given tothe damsel, by which he obtained her completely. The other was calledbigay cayaand was the real dowry. It was given to those recently married for their support. At times, however, the expense of the wedding was discounted from it, as well as the clothes, so that very little or nothing at all remained for the recently married couple. Besides the bridegroom giving that dowry, he had to serve the parents of the bride for some years; to feast them on certain days; to assist in the sowing of the rice and the harvest, and to carry food to the laborers. All the relatives of the bridegroom had to be obsequious to the bride, to her parents, and to all her relatives, so long as those years of service lasted. If they failed in any point, the marriage was dissolved, a thing which was very agreeable to the parents of the woman, for then a new suitor appeared, and they began to suck his blood again. In retaliation for what the bridegroom suffered before marriage, he treated his wife like a slave after marriage. She had to find the sustenance for the family, while her husband was off enjoying himself, and she considered herself fortunate if after that he did not beat her. The self-interest of the parents in their daughters in which this pernicious custom is observed, has been the reason why it has been impossible to uproot this hitherto, notwithstanding the royal cedulas and the decrees of the bishops which prohibit it. The ceremony of the marriage was performed with the sacrifice of a hog, which a priestess killed after going through a thousand gestures. She blessed the couple abundantly, and afterward the old women gave them food in a dish and gave vent to many obscenities, after which the couple were pronouncedmarried. Then followed dances according to their custom, and drunken revels for all the days that the function lasted. The number of days were regulated according to the wealth of the contracting parties. He who went to the feast gave something to the couple, and note was made of it so that they could do the same in a like case.In regard to religion, they had neither idols nor temples, but they offered sacrifices in shady bowers that they had for that purpose. There were priestesses whom they calledbabailanesorcatalonas. They attended to the sacrifices, and taking a lance in the hand and foaming at the mouth with ridiculous and extraordinary gestures, they prophesied on the point for which the sacrifice was offered and killed a hog with the lance. Then they immediately divided the hog among those present and the function was finished with dances and drunken revelries. Those sacrifices were offered to the demons or to the souls of their ancestors, which they thought lived in the large trees, in the crags which they met in isolated places, or in anything out of the common which was found in the fields. They thought that thenonoor their forbears lived in all those places, and they never passed by them without asking permission of them—a thing which some of them do even yet. When anyone was dangerously sick they offered in those places rice, wine, and meat, and afterward gave that to the sick man to eat, so that he might be cured, a custom still observed by some of them.They had many other superstitions such as that of thepatianac, which they say hinders childbirth by its tongue which is very fine and long, and whichreaches even to the womb of the woman, where it restrains and whence it does not allow the infant to issue. In order that thepatianacmay have no effect, the husband tightly bars the portal of the house, lights the fire, and completely naked holds a sword and cuts the wind with it in a furious manner until his wife brings forth. Thetigbalangis another of the things of which they are greatly afraid. It is a kind of ghost which they say appears to them in the form of an animal or of some unknown monster and forces them to do things contrary to the laws of our religion. These and other superstitions, which they held in former times, they still observe at times, when the charlatans who are maintained at the cost of simpletons persuade them that they will get better from some dangerous illness or will find the jewel that they have lost, if they will practice them. And so powerful is self-interest or the love of life that although they believe that it is evil to observe those superstitions and not give entire assent to those deceits, they carry them out, for they say that perhaps it will be so. That is a proof that they have very little root in the faith.All their religion was rather a servile fear than true worship. They had no external adoration or any formula of prayers to God or idols; they believed in neither reward nor recompense for the good, nor punishment for the wicked. For although they knew of the immortality of the soul and believed that they could do wrong, that belief was so filled with errors that they thought that the souls had need of sustenance, and all other things that we mortals need. Consequently, at their funerals they placed clothing, weapons, and food in the coffins; and onthe fourth day when they generally celebrated the funeral honors, they left an unoccupied seat at table for the deceased, and they believed that he really occupied it, although they could not see him. In order to be sure of that they scattered ashes in the house, in which they at times found the impress of the tracks of the deceased, either through the deceit of the devil or of some other Indian, who left the impress of his feet there to fool the others. Persuaded of that they offered them food so that they should do no harm. Their religion was always directed to that—a circumstance quite in keeping with their natural cowardice and timorousness.
Sources:The material for this appendix is obtained as follows: No. 1, editorial note. No. 2, from extracts given by W. E. Retana, in his edition of Zúñiga’sEstadismo de las Islas Filipinas(Madrid, 1893), ii, pp.*14–*21, of Tomás Ortiz’sPráctica del Ministerio(chapter i, §4, pp. 11–15), a MS. conserved in the library of Eduardo Navarro, O.S.A., at Valladolid. No. 3, from Joaquín Martinez de Zúñiga’sHistoria de las Islas Philipinas(Sampaloc, 1803), ii, chapter ii, pp. 19–38, from a copy belonging to Edward E. Ayer. No. 4, from Charles Wilkes’sNarrative of the United States Exploring Expedition(Philadelphia, 1844), v, pp. 343–390 (mainly verbatim), from a copy belonging to the Wisconsin Historical Society. Nos. 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9, fromCartas de los PP. de la Compañía de Jesús(Manila, 1887), vii, pp. 76–91, 198–216, 117–128 and 137–145, 27–35, and 336–349, respectively, from a copy belonging to Edward E. Ayer. No. 10, fromCartas de los PP. de la Compañía de Jesús(Manila, 1891), ix, pp. 170–184, from a copy belonging to the Library of Congress. No. 11, from a copy of the supplement of the Manila periodicalEl Renacimiento, of the issue of December 9, 1905.Translations and Compilations:These are made by James A. Robertson.Preliminary noteIn this series, ethnological material will be found in the following volumes of those hitherto published:II, pp. 68–72, 109–113, 122, 125, 126, 197–199, 201, 202;III, pp. 34, 54–61, 74, 97, 141–172, 181, 197–204, 286–288, 297, 298;IV, pp. 26, 27, 67–70, 98–101, 105;V, pp. 34–187 (Loarca’sRelation);VI, pp. 140, 141, 145–147;VII, pp. 173–196 (Plasencia’sCustoms of the Tagálogs);XII, pp. 212, 213, 217–220, 235–244, 249–251, 261–275, 293–296, 302–310;XIII, pp. 56–58, 200–203 (Chirino’sRelation);XIV, pp. 156–159, 304, 305, 307;XVI, pp. 69–135 (Morga’sRelation), 221–223, 235, 321–329 (Customs of the Pampangos);XXIX, pp. 281–301;XXX, pp. 190–193;XXXIII, and part ofXXXIV(Pigafetta’sRelation);XXXIV, pp. 185–191, 204, 215, 225, 226, 278, 279, 292–294, 318–321, 376–380, 386–388;XL, Appendix. Ethnological material is included in the following books, which we are unable to reproduce because of the limits of space, although we have used some of them extensively for annotation. Delgado’sHistoria(Manila, 1893; though written about 1754) part i, book iii, pp. 249–392, contains a portion of San Agustin’s famous letter (seeVOL. XL, pp. 187–295) and whose comments on which we published in part; also in appendix added by the editor, a portion ofLoarca’sRelation. Le Gentil’sVoyage(Paris, 1781), as follows: chap. i, art. ix, Of the genius of the inhabitants of the Philippines, and of the peculiar punishments, which the religious inflict on women who do not attend mass on days of observance, pp. 59–63 (following in great part the account of San Antonio—seeVOL. XXVIII, Appendix—); art. x, Of the language and characters used by the natives of the Philippines, pp. 63–65; art. xi, Of some manners and customs of the Indians of the Philippines and of their marriages, pp. 66–74. Concepción’sHistoria(Sampaloc, 1788–1792), i, chap. i, nos. 7–21, pp. 10–32; part 2, chap. i, nos. 309–320; iii, chap. ii, nos. 5, 6, pp. 27–37, nos. 10–13, pp. 46–55; v, chap. ii, no. 1, pp. 20–23. Mas’sInforme de las islas filipinas(Madrid, 1843): i, no. 1, Origen de los habitantes de la Oceania; no. 2, Estado de los Filipinos á la llegada de los Españoles(contains nothing special); no. 5, Poblacion (containing a great portion of San Agustin’s letter, with commentary, most of which is incorporated in ourVOL. XL). Mallat’sLes Philippines(Paris, 1846): i, chap. iii, pp. 43–74, Condition of the country before the discovery; ii, chap. xx, pp. 89–129, Physical characteristics and customs of the savage races; chap. xxii, pp. 131–145, Customs of the children of the country, of the mestizos and the Chinese. Jagor’sReisen in den Philippinen(Berlin, 1873): chap. xiv, pp. 118–132, Manners and customs of the Bicols; chap. xvii, pp. 161–175, The Isarog and its inhabitants; chap. xxii, pp. 227–238, Manners and customs of the Visayans. In the Ethnological Society Transactions, new series, vol. ii, session 1869–70 (London, 1870), appears (pp. 170–175), an article by Jagor, entitled “On the natives of Naga,in Luzon.”Cartas de los PP. de la Compañía de Jesús de la misión de Filipinas, eight vols. (Manila, 1879–1891). Of this series Pardo de Tavera says (Biblioteca filipina, p. 87): “It is an important publication, in which is found not only information concerning the spiritual administration of the missions, but also remarkable information concerning the geography, history, ethnography, linguistics, fauna, and flora, etc., of Mindanao, which is the chief point of the activities of the Society of Jesus.” In the following selections, we have used the volumes for 1887 and 1889. Retana’sArchivo(Madrid, 1895), i, no. x, Short notice of the origin, religion, beliefs, and superstitions of the old Indians of Bicol by Fray José Castaño (written expressly for theArchivo, 1895). Algué’sArchipiélago filipino(Washington, 1900), i, tratado ii, “Ethnography,” pp. 151–238. This is translated inReportof the Philippine Commission for 1900, iii, paper no. vii, pp. 329–412. It follows on the whole the beaten lines, and much of it is unreliable. By far the most valuable material that has yet appeared on ethnology in the Philippines are the comprehensive reports which have been issued since American occupation by the Ethnological Survey, of the Department of the Interior. These have been frequently referred to in this series, and are as follows:The Bontoc Igorot, by Albert Ernest Jenks (Manila, 1905); ii, part i,Negritos of Zambales, by William Allen Reed (Manila, 1904); ii, parts ii and iii,The Nabaloi Dialect, by Otto Scheerer, andThe Bataks of Palawan, by Edward Y. Miller (Manila, 1905);Relaciones agustinianas de las razas del norte de Luzón, compiled by father Fray Angel Pérez (Manila,1904; Spanish edition)—containing among other things a number of letters written by Augustinian missionaries of the eighteenth century;—iv, part i,Studies in Moro History, by Najeeb M. Saleeby, a native Moro (Manila, 1905). With these reports must be classedHistory of the population, inCensus of Philippines, i, pp. 411–491, by Dr. David P. Barrows, at the time of its writing chief of the Bureau of Non-Christian Tribes, but at present (1906) superintendent of education in Manila. Dr. Barrows’s article is followed by a compilation (pp. 492–531), entitledCharacteristics of Christian tribes; and another (pp. 532–585), entitledCharacteristics of the Non-Christian tribes.Superstitions and beliefs of the Filipinos[The following interesting account is from thePráctica del Ministerioby Tomás Ortiz, O. S. A.,1and is translated from W. E. Retana’s edition of Zúñiga’sEstadismo de las islas Filipinas(Madrid, 1893), ii, pp.*14–*21. Retana found a copy of this important MS. at the Augustinian convent at Valladolid in the collection of father Fray Eduardo Navarro, where it still exists and where we ourselves examined it not long since. The following selection is from chapter i, section iv, pp. 11–15.]No. 31. Inasmuch as many natives, especially those of the provinces distant from Manila are much inclined tononosor genii, to idolatries, maganitos, superstitions, enchantments, charms, and witchcraft, which have as great a diversity as have the witches, and therefore they call them by different names,according to the various duties which they attribute to them; it is necessary for the father ministers, not only to preach to them continually, and to argue against, censure, and decry so pestilent abuses, but they must also be very skilful, solicitous, and careful in discovering persons infected with that mortal poison, and to apply to it the necessary remedy. In the confessions, for the same reason that but seldom will they accuse themselves all possible efforts ought to be made (without overstepping the boundaries of prudence) in order to see whether anything may be obtained; and he who has the good fortune to have any witch confess to him, will bear himself toward her as the authors teach. They ought also to charge the natives with their obligation to denounce to the ordinary,... etc.No. 32. There are many abuses (or as they sayugales) which the natives practice against our holy faith and good customs, among others of which are the following. First, the above-mentioned idolatry of thenonos. In regard to this it must be noted that the wordnonodoes not alone signify “grandfather,” but that it also is used as a term of respect to the old men and genii. The Indians comprise these under the wordnono, just as the Chinese do under the wordEspiritus[i. e., “spirits”], and the Romans under the word “Gods,” which other calledLares,Penates, etc. With the above-mentioned genii ornonosthe Indians perform many acts of idolatry frequently, such as for example, asking permission, relief, and aid from them, and that they do the people no harm, and that they do not prove hostile to them, etc. They make such requests on many occasions, and among others are the following. When they wish to pluck any flower or fruit from the tree,they ask permission from the nono or genius to pluck it. When they pass certain fields, rivers, creeks, or streamlets, large trees, sugar-cane plantations and other places, they ask permission and good passage from the genii or nonos. When they are obliged to cut any tree, or not to observe the things or ceremonies which they imagine to be pleasing to the genii or nonos, they ask pardon of them, and excuse themselves to those beings by saying, among many other things, that the father commanded them to do it, and that they are not willingly lacking in respect to the genii, or that they do not willingly oppose their will, etc. When they are taken with the sickness that they callpamave, which they attribute to the genii or nonos (although they try to conceal this by saying that the country [has not?] agreed with them) they ask them for health and offer them food. They do that both on this, and many other occasions, in the fields, sugar-cane plantations, streamlets, at the foot of any large tree, more generally somecalunpan,2and in various other places. This sort of idolatry is very deeply rooted and of long standing among the Indians. Consequently, it is very necessary for the father ministers to be very careful and make great efforts to extirpate it, and not avoid any labor or work until it is annihilated.No. 33. Secondly, the Indians very generally believethat the souls of the dead return to their houses the third day after their death, in order to visit the people of it, or to be present at the banquet, and consequently, to be present at the ceremony of thetibao. They conceal and hide that by saying that they are assembling in the house of the deceased in order to recite the rosary for him. If they are told to do their praying in the church, they refuse to comply because that is not what they wish to do. Consequently, the minister will prevent the gathering at the house of the deceased after the burial, and will not allow the people to ascend into the house under any considerations, least of all on the third day. On the fourth day, in consequence of the said ceremony of thetibao, or because of their evil inclination, they light candles in order to wait for the soul of the deceased. They spread a mat, on which they scatter ashes, so that the tracks or footsteps of the soul may be impressed thereon; and by that means they are able to ascertain whether the soul came or not. They also set a dish of water at the door, so that when the soul comes it may wash its feet there. It does not appear that it would be much to say that those matters of the nonos or genii and the deceased were taken by the Indians from the Sangleys who are reared with various things [of belief].3It needs a strong remedy nevertheless.No. 34. Thetigbalāgwhich some call a ghost and others a goblin, appears to be the genius or devil, who appears to them in the shape of a black man, orin the shape of an old man (or as they express it in the shape of a very small old man), or in the shape of a horse, or of a monster, etc. That being inspires them with so great fear that they come to make friendship with him, and surrender their rosaries to him, and receive from him superstitious things, such as hairs, herbs, stones, and other things, in order that they may obtain marvelous things, and that they may be aided by him in certain of their affairs.No. 35. Thepatianacwhom some also call a goblin (but it is only their invention, dream, or imagination) must be the genius or devil who generally plays with them as also with many others, when losing the faith, they espouse his cause, become familiar with him, or become subject to him. They attribute to this being the ill success of births, and say that in order to harm them and cause their destruction, he enters or hides in some tree or in any other place near the house of the woman who is about to give birth, and there they sing like those who wander about, etc. In order to prevent any harm from the patianac, the men take their position naked and with their privies exposed to the air; and arm themselves with shield, catan, lance, and other arms. In this condition they stand on the ridgepole of the roof, and also under the house, and in all places they slash and cut right and left with the catan and make various gestures and set movements for the same purpose. Others, in order to prevent said harm, generally move the woman who is about to give birth to another house, for they say that her house contains a patianac.No. 36. Among other things they also attribute to the patianac the death of children, as well as totheusang. They refer to them in the following manner. They assert that the bird calledticticis the pander of the sorcerer called usang. Flying ahead of that being, the bird shows it the houses where infants are to be born. That being takes its position on the roof of the neighboring house and thence extends its tongue in the form of a thread, which it inserts through the anus of the child and by that means sucks out its entrails and kills it. Sometimes they say that it appears in the form of a dog, sometimes of a cat, sometimes of the cockroach which crawls under the mat, and there accomplishes the abovesaid. In order to avoid that harm they do certain of the above things. To the patianac travelers also attribute their straying from or losing their road. In order to keep the right path, they undress and expose their privies to the air, and by that observance they say that they make sure of the right road; for then the patianac is afraid of them and cannot lead them astray.No. 37. Thebongsolthey sometimes assert to be variousdurojoneswhich are caused by the sorcererganay, and which run all through the body of the bewitched, who generally remains some moments as if dead or in a faint, and at other times as though mad or raving from the sight of the ganay who appears to them in various shapes. In order to cure this sickness or enchantment, they summon another sorcerer, and he after the incantations or efforts, which will be told later, generally leaves the patient as he was before. Sometimes they say that that sickness appears to be natural or a stomach ache caused by the obstructions or durojones which grow in the stomach or in the patient’s side or byshivers which move from one place to another, and from which the women of this country generally suffer. But when they are unable to cure the pain with the promptness that they desire, they generally say, especially the physicians, that the said sickness is bongsol, that is enchantment, and that it can be cured only by the one who is of the faculty, that is by one who is a sorcerer. They then bring a sorcerer, who performs the things that pertain to his faculty, and summons the first sorcerer who they say caused that sorcery. If the sickness is not lessened, the sorcerer finishes his duty by saying that the said first witch is very far away, and could not hear him; and consequently, it has happened that he has not been able to cure the said sickness. In such wise do they leave the sick person with his pains.No. 38. The ceremony or superstition ofbilaois ordered for the discovery thereby of any thief. It is reduced to placing in a bilao, sieve, or screen, some scissors fastened at the point in the shape of the cross of St. Andrew, and in them they hang their rosary. Then they repeat the name of each one of those who are present and who are assembled for this. If, for example, when the name Pedro is mentioned, the bilao shakes, they say that Pedro is the thief. They also are accustomed to light candles to St. Anthony of Padua for the purpose of discovering the thief of anything [that is stolen]. For this they kneel down to pray (and perhaps to utter and perform indecent things) and wait until the flame leans toward any of those about, for instance, toward Juan, and then they declare that Juan is the thief. It is very usual for the Indians to carry about them various things in order that they might obtainmarvelous effects: for example, written formulas, prayers, vitiated or interspersed with words arranged for their evil intent, herbs, roots, bark, hairs, skin, bones, stones, etc., so that they may not be killed, or apprehended by justice, or to obtain wealth, women, or other things.4They are also very much inclined to believe in omens and in unlucky days, in regard to which they are wont to keep various books of manuscripts which must be burned for them.No. 39. The natives are accustomed to circumcise the boys; and although they perform the circumcision by slitting the skin of the penis lengthwise, instead of around, still it appears that that may be accounted for by the fact that it is inferred that that ceremony was introduced into Philipinas, by the Moros from Borneo, Mindanao, or Holo, as was also the wordbiñag, which is used for “baptize,” and to mean “Christian,” and the wordsimba, which appears to mean “adoration” among them. From this use they transfer it to their temples and mosques, and the Tagálogs took it not to mean “adoration,” but “church,” and afterward used it to mean “mass,” which it never could mean. Not only do they circumcise the males but also the women, girls, ordalagas, [an operation] which they callsonad. It is reduced to cutting the organ or opening it up somewhat. However, some of them, and very reasonably, affirm that that ceremony in them in itself in both males and females is rather the offspring of lust than that of Judaism. They are also accustomed to measure or compare the weapons that they make, forexample, measuring the catan by spans and praying at the same time the “Our Father.” If the conclusion of the measuring is reached at the same time or when they come to the word “forgive us” they say that they cannot be punished, but that they may kill people, etc. It appears that the custom has been introduced among women who have recently brought forth of not going to church until the fortieth or sixtieth day as they say of the purification of their bodies. In that not only do they fail in the precept to hear mass but they also perform a Mosaic ceremony.No. 40. The Indians are generally corrupted by many errors, and it would take a long time to mention them. Consequently, the ministers will be very careful to uproot them, for although it does not cause any great harm in some because of their ignorance and lack of intelligence, in others they do cause great harm; for exampleAngel catutubo, which literally signifies “that my guardian angel was born with me or at the same time as I.” In order to avoid danger, one should say,Angel taga tanor, and the same thing in other languages.No. 41. Finally, so many are the superstitions, omens, and errors, that are found among the Indians that it would be very difficult or impossible to mention them all. The above have been mentioned so that the father ministers may examine others by them. It is to be noted that there are sectarians and preachers of various false sects among the Indians, especially in the distant provinces, either because they had false sects formerly and have continued them, or because they took them (and this is more likely) from the Joloans, Mindanaos, Sangleys, andother heathen nations with whom they are accustomed to have intercourse.No. 42. When the moon is eclipsed, the Indians of various districts generally go out into the street or into the open fields, with bells,panastanes,5etc. They strike them with great force and violence in order that they might thereby protect the moon which they say is being eaten or swallowed by the dragon, tiger, or crocodile. And the worst thing is that if they wish to say “the eclipse of the moon” it is very common in Philipinas to use this locution, saying “the dragon, tiger, or crocodile is swallowing the moon.” The Tagálogs also make use of it and say,Linamon laho bovan. It appears that the Indians learned all this from the Sangleys of China, where all the abovesaid is performed and executed to the letter. It is not right to allow them to retain these deceits of the Chinese, and not to teach them our customs and truths. All the above contents of this section is not universal in all parts. Consequently, although all ministers ought to be careful to ascertain whether they are or are not contained in their ministries, they ought not to go ahead to censure what they are not sure of, for that very thing would perhaps teach them what we are endeavoring to extirpate.The people of the Philippines[Joaquin Martinez de Zúñiga, O. S. A., in hisHistoria(Sampaloc, 1803),6pp. 19–38, devotes one chapter to the inhabitants of the Philippines. We translate from the copy belonging to the library of E. E. Ayer.]Chapter IIOf the inhabitants whom the Spaniards found in the Philipinas, and of their language, customs, and religion.Our historians, always inclined to the marvelous, divide the peoples whom the Spaniards found in the Philipinas into three classes. In their histories there is not a lack of satyrs, men with tails, and mermen, and whatever else can cause wonder in human nature. But truly, only two classes of people are found, namely, those whom we know by the name of Aetas or Negritos,7and the Indians. The Negritosare small, not so black as those of Guinea, and have kinky hair and flat noses. They live naked in the mountains, and only cover themselves in front with the bark of a tree. They live on roots and the deer which they hunt with arrows in which they are very skilful. They sleep where night overtakes them. They have no idea of religion, so that they resemble wild beasts rather than men. The effort has been made to domesticate and christianize them, and they are not much opposed to it, provided that they are given food to eat. But if they are ordered to work to support their family, they return to the mountain although they have just been baptized. For that reason they are not now baptized although they agree to it, except some children whom the Indians or Spaniards generally have in their houses. Even in this case, one cannot be secure of them for when they grow up they generally return to the mountains with their fellowcountrymen. Beyond all doubt those Negritos are the first settlers of these islands, and retired to the mountains when the Indians came hither. The latter inhabit the coasts, and formerly the Negritos waged continual war with them, and would not permit them to cut wood in the mountains unless they paid tribute to them. Today they have but little power, and yet they are feared; for whenever any Negrito is killed, or when any one dies suddenly, another Negrito generally offers himself among his companions and takes an oath not to return to his own people until he kills three or four Indians. He does it by lying in ambush in their villagesand by treacherously killing in the mountains him who becomes separated from his companions.Some believe the origin of these Negritos to be that they came from the negros of Angola,8and the reason why they are not so black as their ancestors consists, they say, in the climate of these Indias which is more moderate. That might be so, for it is as easy for him who changes his climate to decrease in blackness during a long series of generations as it is for him to increase it by living in an inclement climate. But the flat nose and the use of the dialect of the same language which the Indians of these islands use, proves sufficiently that their origin is one and the same with them. The fact that they are blacker than the Indians, depends only on their having lived many centuries in the water by night and day, in wind and sun, and exposed to all the inclemencies of the weather. That and their lack of government has transferred them to their almost wild condition in which we see them.The Indians whom the Spaniards found here were of average stature, olive color, or the color of boiled quinces, large eyes, flat noses, and straight hair. All had some form of government more or less civilized. They were distinguished by different names, but their features and customs prove that the origin of all these people is one and the same, and that they did not compose different races. They had their own petty rulers, who were generally the most valiant, or those who had inherited the kingdom from their fathers, if they could conserve it. Their dominionextended over one or two rude settlements, or at most was according to the valor of him who ruled. They were continually at war with the neighboring settlements, and made one another slaves. From those wars there resulted three classes of people among them: namely, the chiefs who were the masters of the settlement; the slaves; and the freemen, who consisted of slaves or their descendants to whom their masters had given freedom. The last class are calledTimavaseven yet, which properly signifies “freed-man.” In some districts Indians are found who are whiter than others—descendants doubtless of some Chinese or Japanese, who were shipwrecked on these coasts, and whom the Indians naturally hospitably received and with whom they mingled. That is commonly believed in regard to the Ygorrotes of Ylocos.9Their eyes, similar to those of the Chinese, prove that they mingled with the companions of Limahon who fled to those mountains when Juan de Salcedo had besieged them in Pangasinan.It is not easy to prove the origin of these peoples but their language might supply some light. Although the languages spoken by the Indians are many and diverse, they resemble one another so closely that it is recognized clearly that they are all dialects of one and the same tongue, as the Spanish, French, and Italian are of the Latin. The prepositions and pronouns are almost the same in all of them,the numerals differ but slightly, many words are common to all, and they have the same structure. This language, which is one single language, with different dialects, is spoken from Madagascar to Philipinas and no one can contradict this.10I add that it is spoken in Nueva Guinea and in all the lands of the south, in the Marianas, in the islands of San Duisk, in those of Otayti,11and in almost all the islands of the South Sea. In a collection of voyages wherein are found several dictionaries of the terms which the travelers could learn in each one of these islands I have seen with wonder that the pronouns are almost all the same; that in the Tagálogs the numerals resemble those of any other language of these islands, and most of the words are the same and have the same meaning as in the Tagálog language. But the thing which made me believe more in the identity of these languages was my examination of Don Juan Hovel, an Englishman, who spoke the dialect of San Duisk with a servant of his who was a native of thoseislands. I found that the construction was the same as that of the languages which are spoken in Philipinas. Consequently, I had no reason to doubt that all these languages are dialects of one speech which is the most extensive in the world, and which is spoken through many thousands of leguas from Madagascar to the islands of San Duisk, Otayti, and the island of Pasquas12which is not six hundred leguas distant from America; and the fact that the Indians of Philipinas do not understand the peoples of those islands when they pass through their lands does not offer any argument against this supposition, for neither do the Spaniards understand the French, nor in these islands do those of some provinces understand one another.In the same collection of voyages, I found a dictionary of only five terms which the Spaniards were able to learn in the Patagonian coast. One of those terms wasBaláy13which signifies “house” in that language; and with that same word do the Pampangos and Visayans designate house. It may be a mere coincidence which does not prove that the languages of various people are identical. But, seeing that in addition to this the names of South America sound like those of Philipinas, I tried to find some dictionary of that land. Not finding one I examined carefully the few words of the language of Chile which Ercilla has in hisAraucana,14and I found themsufficiently like the Tagálog language. The name “Chile” is not strange to this language where the cormorant is called “cachile.” It is also a pronoun which the Malays apply to the sons of kings. “Chilian,” which is a village of Chile, is a Tagálog composition, in which, adding an “an,” we have a word which signifies “place,” and we get “cachilian” which signifies “place where there are cormorants.” Mapocho, the site of the city of Santiago, is another Tagálog composition that signifies “place.” Thus frompocquiot, a kind of herb, we getmapocquiot, a place where that plant abounds.Apois the name given to him who governs, and that name is applied by these Indians to him who has any authority in the village. In Chile, words and phrases are reduplicated: asYtayta,Biobio,Lemolemo,Colocolo, etc. The same is done in the Tagálog and thus we say:Ataata,Bilobilo,Lebomlebom, andColocolo. The other words are either Tagálog or very similar, and the connection that is found in so few words in these two languages is [too] great to say that it is accident, although it is not sufficient so that we can say that they are dialects of one language.If on a comparison of the grammar and dictions of these two languages it is found that they originate from one and the same tongue, I would be so bold as to say that the Indians of Philipinas originate from the Indians of South America, and that the language of the latter is the parent language of which all the languages of these islands are dialects. Many will consider this a paradox, for the Malays being so near it would appear that the Filipinos must have originated from them, as our authors have generally believed. I cannot deny that these islands could have been easily settled by the Malays; but how shall we account for the peopling of the islands of Palaos and Marianas which are more than three hundred leguas distant? Where shall we get at those who settled the islands of San Duisk and Otayti, which are two thousand leguas from Philipinas? All these people have the same language, the same features, the same customs, and consequently, the same origin as our Indians. It is impossible that people should go from Philipinas to people those lands, for the east wind dominates constantly throughout the torrid zone, and that wind blowing head on would not permit the ship to sail to those islands. Rather on the contrary we must believe that the inhabitants of all the islands of the South Sea came from the Orient with wind astern as we have seen happen to the Indians of Palaos,15who have come to our Philipinas several times driven by the wind, and the east winds have not allowed them to return to their land. Let ussuppose that if then these islands were not peopled, those Indians would have been the first settlers. We do not know whether our Indians by a like accident, have been carried by the winds to the Oriental islands. On the contrary we believe the opposite, since at times the best pilots cannot make that navigation, and return without finding the islands whither they were sailing, as it is necessary to take a high latitude for that voyage. On this head we must seek the easiest solution, namely, that the settlers came from the east from island to island. Consequently, the most eastern land where the Tagálog language is found must be the country whence our Indians originate.One could well hesitate to assent to this truth, moved by the fact that the use of writing in the manner employed by the Malays was found established among these Indians, but it could very well happen that they might derive their origin from other nations and learn to write from the Malays, who would learn that science from the continent of India. The method of writing was by forming the lines from top to bottom, and beginning at the left and finishing at the right as did the Hebrews and Chinese. Their characters were quite different from ours. They had no vowels, for since there are only three vowels in those languages, namely, thea,e, andu, by placing a point above or below the consonant, or by not placing any point, it is easily known what the vowel is, which corresponds to the consonant letter, and it is read very well without the necessity of vowels. Although they knew how to write these people had no written laws, and governed themselves according to their traditions,and by natural law corrupted by the passions. The civil suits were sentenced by the petty rulers with the assistance of some old men. In criminal matters the relatives generally showed justice or it was settled with the aggressor on a gold basis in particular unless death followed. But in that case they did not content themselves except with the penalty of retaliation. If the murderer was of another settlement common cause was made, and the entire village fought against the settlement, from which resulted murders and wars in which slaves were made mutually. When it was suspected that one had robbed another, he was obliged to take a stone from a kettle filled with boiling water. If he did not do it (which we called the vulgar clearance from guilt), he was fined a certain sum of gold, the greater part of which went to the petty ruler. Adultery was punished by a pecuniary fine, as was also lack of respect for old people. But trickery in contracts was not considered wrong and was not punished by any penalty; and usury was common among them in all transactions.Their customs at marriage were very peculiar. They married only one woman. The chiefs however, had several concubines, who were commonly slaves. They generally married their nearest relative, provided she were not a sister, for they could not contract marriage with sisters. When they grew tired of their wife, they returned her to her parents. It was unnecessary to give cause for the divorce, for it was sufficient to give up the dowry which he himself had given when he was married. That dowry was of two kinds and was always paid by the bridegroom. One kind was calledbigay suso, and was the payment for the milk which the mother had given tothe damsel, by which he obtained her completely. The other was calledbigay cayaand was the real dowry. It was given to those recently married for their support. At times, however, the expense of the wedding was discounted from it, as well as the clothes, so that very little or nothing at all remained for the recently married couple. Besides the bridegroom giving that dowry, he had to serve the parents of the bride for some years; to feast them on certain days; to assist in the sowing of the rice and the harvest, and to carry food to the laborers. All the relatives of the bridegroom had to be obsequious to the bride, to her parents, and to all her relatives, so long as those years of service lasted. If they failed in any point, the marriage was dissolved, a thing which was very agreeable to the parents of the woman, for then a new suitor appeared, and they began to suck his blood again. In retaliation for what the bridegroom suffered before marriage, he treated his wife like a slave after marriage. She had to find the sustenance for the family, while her husband was off enjoying himself, and she considered herself fortunate if after that he did not beat her. The self-interest of the parents in their daughters in which this pernicious custom is observed, has been the reason why it has been impossible to uproot this hitherto, notwithstanding the royal cedulas and the decrees of the bishops which prohibit it. The ceremony of the marriage was performed with the sacrifice of a hog, which a priestess killed after going through a thousand gestures. She blessed the couple abundantly, and afterward the old women gave them food in a dish and gave vent to many obscenities, after which the couple were pronouncedmarried. Then followed dances according to their custom, and drunken revels for all the days that the function lasted. The number of days were regulated according to the wealth of the contracting parties. He who went to the feast gave something to the couple, and note was made of it so that they could do the same in a like case.In regard to religion, they had neither idols nor temples, but they offered sacrifices in shady bowers that they had for that purpose. There were priestesses whom they calledbabailanesorcatalonas. They attended to the sacrifices, and taking a lance in the hand and foaming at the mouth with ridiculous and extraordinary gestures, they prophesied on the point for which the sacrifice was offered and killed a hog with the lance. Then they immediately divided the hog among those present and the function was finished with dances and drunken revelries. Those sacrifices were offered to the demons or to the souls of their ancestors, which they thought lived in the large trees, in the crags which they met in isolated places, or in anything out of the common which was found in the fields. They thought that thenonoor their forbears lived in all those places, and they never passed by them without asking permission of them—a thing which some of them do even yet. When anyone was dangerously sick they offered in those places rice, wine, and meat, and afterward gave that to the sick man to eat, so that he might be cured, a custom still observed by some of them.They had many other superstitions such as that of thepatianac, which they say hinders childbirth by its tongue which is very fine and long, and whichreaches even to the womb of the woman, where it restrains and whence it does not allow the infant to issue. In order that thepatianacmay have no effect, the husband tightly bars the portal of the house, lights the fire, and completely naked holds a sword and cuts the wind with it in a furious manner until his wife brings forth. Thetigbalangis another of the things of which they are greatly afraid. It is a kind of ghost which they say appears to them in the form of an animal or of some unknown monster and forces them to do things contrary to the laws of our religion. These and other superstitions, which they held in former times, they still observe at times, when the charlatans who are maintained at the cost of simpletons persuade them that they will get better from some dangerous illness or will find the jewel that they have lost, if they will practice them. And so powerful is self-interest or the love of life that although they believe that it is evil to observe those superstitions and not give entire assent to those deceits, they carry them out, for they say that perhaps it will be so. That is a proof that they have very little root in the faith.All their religion was rather a servile fear than true worship. They had no external adoration or any formula of prayers to God or idols; they believed in neither reward nor recompense for the good, nor punishment for the wicked. For although they knew of the immortality of the soul and believed that they could do wrong, that belief was so filled with errors that they thought that the souls had need of sustenance, and all other things that we mortals need. Consequently, at their funerals they placed clothing, weapons, and food in the coffins; and onthe fourth day when they generally celebrated the funeral honors, they left an unoccupied seat at table for the deceased, and they believed that he really occupied it, although they could not see him. In order to be sure of that they scattered ashes in the house, in which they at times found the impress of the tracks of the deceased, either through the deceit of the devil or of some other Indian, who left the impress of his feet there to fool the others. Persuaded of that they offered them food so that they should do no harm. Their religion was always directed to that—a circumstance quite in keeping with their natural cowardice and timorousness.
Sources:The material for this appendix is obtained as follows: No. 1, editorial note. No. 2, from extracts given by W. E. Retana, in his edition of Zúñiga’sEstadismo de las Islas Filipinas(Madrid, 1893), ii, pp.*14–*21, of Tomás Ortiz’sPráctica del Ministerio(chapter i, §4, pp. 11–15), a MS. conserved in the library of Eduardo Navarro, O.S.A., at Valladolid. No. 3, from Joaquín Martinez de Zúñiga’sHistoria de las Islas Philipinas(Sampaloc, 1803), ii, chapter ii, pp. 19–38, from a copy belonging to Edward E. Ayer. No. 4, from Charles Wilkes’sNarrative of the United States Exploring Expedition(Philadelphia, 1844), v, pp. 343–390 (mainly verbatim), from a copy belonging to the Wisconsin Historical Society. Nos. 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9, fromCartas de los PP. de la Compañía de Jesús(Manila, 1887), vii, pp. 76–91, 198–216, 117–128 and 137–145, 27–35, and 336–349, respectively, from a copy belonging to Edward E. Ayer. No. 10, fromCartas de los PP. de la Compañía de Jesús(Manila, 1891), ix, pp. 170–184, from a copy belonging to the Library of Congress. No. 11, from a copy of the supplement of the Manila periodicalEl Renacimiento, of the issue of December 9, 1905.Translations and Compilations:These are made by James A. Robertson.Preliminary noteIn this series, ethnological material will be found in the following volumes of those hitherto published:II, pp. 68–72, 109–113, 122, 125, 126, 197–199, 201, 202;III, pp. 34, 54–61, 74, 97, 141–172, 181, 197–204, 286–288, 297, 298;IV, pp. 26, 27, 67–70, 98–101, 105;V, pp. 34–187 (Loarca’sRelation);VI, pp. 140, 141, 145–147;VII, pp. 173–196 (Plasencia’sCustoms of the Tagálogs);XII, pp. 212, 213, 217–220, 235–244, 249–251, 261–275, 293–296, 302–310;XIII, pp. 56–58, 200–203 (Chirino’sRelation);XIV, pp. 156–159, 304, 305, 307;XVI, pp. 69–135 (Morga’sRelation), 221–223, 235, 321–329 (Customs of the Pampangos);XXIX, pp. 281–301;XXX, pp. 190–193;XXXIII, and part ofXXXIV(Pigafetta’sRelation);XXXIV, pp. 185–191, 204, 215, 225, 226, 278, 279, 292–294, 318–321, 376–380, 386–388;XL, Appendix. Ethnological material is included in the following books, which we are unable to reproduce because of the limits of space, although we have used some of them extensively for annotation. Delgado’sHistoria(Manila, 1893; though written about 1754) part i, book iii, pp. 249–392, contains a portion of San Agustin’s famous letter (seeVOL. XL, pp. 187–295) and whose comments on which we published in part; also in appendix added by the editor, a portion ofLoarca’sRelation. Le Gentil’sVoyage(Paris, 1781), as follows: chap. i, art. ix, Of the genius of the inhabitants of the Philippines, and of the peculiar punishments, which the religious inflict on women who do not attend mass on days of observance, pp. 59–63 (following in great part the account of San Antonio—seeVOL. XXVIII, Appendix—); art. x, Of the language and characters used by the natives of the Philippines, pp. 63–65; art. xi, Of some manners and customs of the Indians of the Philippines and of their marriages, pp. 66–74. Concepción’sHistoria(Sampaloc, 1788–1792), i, chap. i, nos. 7–21, pp. 10–32; part 2, chap. i, nos. 309–320; iii, chap. ii, nos. 5, 6, pp. 27–37, nos. 10–13, pp. 46–55; v, chap. ii, no. 1, pp. 20–23. Mas’sInforme de las islas filipinas(Madrid, 1843): i, no. 1, Origen de los habitantes de la Oceania; no. 2, Estado de los Filipinos á la llegada de los Españoles(contains nothing special); no. 5, Poblacion (containing a great portion of San Agustin’s letter, with commentary, most of which is incorporated in ourVOL. XL). Mallat’sLes Philippines(Paris, 1846): i, chap. iii, pp. 43–74, Condition of the country before the discovery; ii, chap. xx, pp. 89–129, Physical characteristics and customs of the savage races; chap. xxii, pp. 131–145, Customs of the children of the country, of the mestizos and the Chinese. Jagor’sReisen in den Philippinen(Berlin, 1873): chap. xiv, pp. 118–132, Manners and customs of the Bicols; chap. xvii, pp. 161–175, The Isarog and its inhabitants; chap. xxii, pp. 227–238, Manners and customs of the Visayans. In the Ethnological Society Transactions, new series, vol. ii, session 1869–70 (London, 1870), appears (pp. 170–175), an article by Jagor, entitled “On the natives of Naga,in Luzon.”Cartas de los PP. de la Compañía de Jesús de la misión de Filipinas, eight vols. (Manila, 1879–1891). Of this series Pardo de Tavera says (Biblioteca filipina, p. 87): “It is an important publication, in which is found not only information concerning the spiritual administration of the missions, but also remarkable information concerning the geography, history, ethnography, linguistics, fauna, and flora, etc., of Mindanao, which is the chief point of the activities of the Society of Jesus.” In the following selections, we have used the volumes for 1887 and 1889. Retana’sArchivo(Madrid, 1895), i, no. x, Short notice of the origin, religion, beliefs, and superstitions of the old Indians of Bicol by Fray José Castaño (written expressly for theArchivo, 1895). Algué’sArchipiélago filipino(Washington, 1900), i, tratado ii, “Ethnography,” pp. 151–238. This is translated inReportof the Philippine Commission for 1900, iii, paper no. vii, pp. 329–412. It follows on the whole the beaten lines, and much of it is unreliable. By far the most valuable material that has yet appeared on ethnology in the Philippines are the comprehensive reports which have been issued since American occupation by the Ethnological Survey, of the Department of the Interior. These have been frequently referred to in this series, and are as follows:The Bontoc Igorot, by Albert Ernest Jenks (Manila, 1905); ii, part i,Negritos of Zambales, by William Allen Reed (Manila, 1904); ii, parts ii and iii,The Nabaloi Dialect, by Otto Scheerer, andThe Bataks of Palawan, by Edward Y. Miller (Manila, 1905);Relaciones agustinianas de las razas del norte de Luzón, compiled by father Fray Angel Pérez (Manila,1904; Spanish edition)—containing among other things a number of letters written by Augustinian missionaries of the eighteenth century;—iv, part i,Studies in Moro History, by Najeeb M. Saleeby, a native Moro (Manila, 1905). With these reports must be classedHistory of the population, inCensus of Philippines, i, pp. 411–491, by Dr. David P. Barrows, at the time of its writing chief of the Bureau of Non-Christian Tribes, but at present (1906) superintendent of education in Manila. Dr. Barrows’s article is followed by a compilation (pp. 492–531), entitledCharacteristics of Christian tribes; and another (pp. 532–585), entitledCharacteristics of the Non-Christian tribes.Superstitions and beliefs of the Filipinos[The following interesting account is from thePráctica del Ministerioby Tomás Ortiz, O. S. A.,1and is translated from W. E. Retana’s edition of Zúñiga’sEstadismo de las islas Filipinas(Madrid, 1893), ii, pp.*14–*21. Retana found a copy of this important MS. at the Augustinian convent at Valladolid in the collection of father Fray Eduardo Navarro, where it still exists and where we ourselves examined it not long since. The following selection is from chapter i, section iv, pp. 11–15.]No. 31. Inasmuch as many natives, especially those of the provinces distant from Manila are much inclined tononosor genii, to idolatries, maganitos, superstitions, enchantments, charms, and witchcraft, which have as great a diversity as have the witches, and therefore they call them by different names,according to the various duties which they attribute to them; it is necessary for the father ministers, not only to preach to them continually, and to argue against, censure, and decry so pestilent abuses, but they must also be very skilful, solicitous, and careful in discovering persons infected with that mortal poison, and to apply to it the necessary remedy. In the confessions, for the same reason that but seldom will they accuse themselves all possible efforts ought to be made (without overstepping the boundaries of prudence) in order to see whether anything may be obtained; and he who has the good fortune to have any witch confess to him, will bear himself toward her as the authors teach. They ought also to charge the natives with their obligation to denounce to the ordinary,... etc.No. 32. There are many abuses (or as they sayugales) which the natives practice against our holy faith and good customs, among others of which are the following. First, the above-mentioned idolatry of thenonos. In regard to this it must be noted that the wordnonodoes not alone signify “grandfather,” but that it also is used as a term of respect to the old men and genii. The Indians comprise these under the wordnono, just as the Chinese do under the wordEspiritus[i. e., “spirits”], and the Romans under the word “Gods,” which other calledLares,Penates, etc. With the above-mentioned genii ornonosthe Indians perform many acts of idolatry frequently, such as for example, asking permission, relief, and aid from them, and that they do the people no harm, and that they do not prove hostile to them, etc. They make such requests on many occasions, and among others are the following. When they wish to pluck any flower or fruit from the tree,they ask permission from the nono or genius to pluck it. When they pass certain fields, rivers, creeks, or streamlets, large trees, sugar-cane plantations and other places, they ask permission and good passage from the genii or nonos. When they are obliged to cut any tree, or not to observe the things or ceremonies which they imagine to be pleasing to the genii or nonos, they ask pardon of them, and excuse themselves to those beings by saying, among many other things, that the father commanded them to do it, and that they are not willingly lacking in respect to the genii, or that they do not willingly oppose their will, etc. When they are taken with the sickness that they callpamave, which they attribute to the genii or nonos (although they try to conceal this by saying that the country [has not?] agreed with them) they ask them for health and offer them food. They do that both on this, and many other occasions, in the fields, sugar-cane plantations, streamlets, at the foot of any large tree, more generally somecalunpan,2and in various other places. This sort of idolatry is very deeply rooted and of long standing among the Indians. Consequently, it is very necessary for the father ministers to be very careful and make great efforts to extirpate it, and not avoid any labor or work until it is annihilated.No. 33. Secondly, the Indians very generally believethat the souls of the dead return to their houses the third day after their death, in order to visit the people of it, or to be present at the banquet, and consequently, to be present at the ceremony of thetibao. They conceal and hide that by saying that they are assembling in the house of the deceased in order to recite the rosary for him. If they are told to do their praying in the church, they refuse to comply because that is not what they wish to do. Consequently, the minister will prevent the gathering at the house of the deceased after the burial, and will not allow the people to ascend into the house under any considerations, least of all on the third day. On the fourth day, in consequence of the said ceremony of thetibao, or because of their evil inclination, they light candles in order to wait for the soul of the deceased. They spread a mat, on which they scatter ashes, so that the tracks or footsteps of the soul may be impressed thereon; and by that means they are able to ascertain whether the soul came or not. They also set a dish of water at the door, so that when the soul comes it may wash its feet there. It does not appear that it would be much to say that those matters of the nonos or genii and the deceased were taken by the Indians from the Sangleys who are reared with various things [of belief].3It needs a strong remedy nevertheless.No. 34. Thetigbalāgwhich some call a ghost and others a goblin, appears to be the genius or devil, who appears to them in the shape of a black man, orin the shape of an old man (or as they express it in the shape of a very small old man), or in the shape of a horse, or of a monster, etc. That being inspires them with so great fear that they come to make friendship with him, and surrender their rosaries to him, and receive from him superstitious things, such as hairs, herbs, stones, and other things, in order that they may obtain marvelous things, and that they may be aided by him in certain of their affairs.No. 35. Thepatianacwhom some also call a goblin (but it is only their invention, dream, or imagination) must be the genius or devil who generally plays with them as also with many others, when losing the faith, they espouse his cause, become familiar with him, or become subject to him. They attribute to this being the ill success of births, and say that in order to harm them and cause their destruction, he enters or hides in some tree or in any other place near the house of the woman who is about to give birth, and there they sing like those who wander about, etc. In order to prevent any harm from the patianac, the men take their position naked and with their privies exposed to the air; and arm themselves with shield, catan, lance, and other arms. In this condition they stand on the ridgepole of the roof, and also under the house, and in all places they slash and cut right and left with the catan and make various gestures and set movements for the same purpose. Others, in order to prevent said harm, generally move the woman who is about to give birth to another house, for they say that her house contains a patianac.No. 36. Among other things they also attribute to the patianac the death of children, as well as totheusang. They refer to them in the following manner. They assert that the bird calledticticis the pander of the sorcerer called usang. Flying ahead of that being, the bird shows it the houses where infants are to be born. That being takes its position on the roof of the neighboring house and thence extends its tongue in the form of a thread, which it inserts through the anus of the child and by that means sucks out its entrails and kills it. Sometimes they say that it appears in the form of a dog, sometimes of a cat, sometimes of the cockroach which crawls under the mat, and there accomplishes the abovesaid. In order to avoid that harm they do certain of the above things. To the patianac travelers also attribute their straying from or losing their road. In order to keep the right path, they undress and expose their privies to the air, and by that observance they say that they make sure of the right road; for then the patianac is afraid of them and cannot lead them astray.No. 37. Thebongsolthey sometimes assert to be variousdurojoneswhich are caused by the sorcererganay, and which run all through the body of the bewitched, who generally remains some moments as if dead or in a faint, and at other times as though mad or raving from the sight of the ganay who appears to them in various shapes. In order to cure this sickness or enchantment, they summon another sorcerer, and he after the incantations or efforts, which will be told later, generally leaves the patient as he was before. Sometimes they say that that sickness appears to be natural or a stomach ache caused by the obstructions or durojones which grow in the stomach or in the patient’s side or byshivers which move from one place to another, and from which the women of this country generally suffer. But when they are unable to cure the pain with the promptness that they desire, they generally say, especially the physicians, that the said sickness is bongsol, that is enchantment, and that it can be cured only by the one who is of the faculty, that is by one who is a sorcerer. They then bring a sorcerer, who performs the things that pertain to his faculty, and summons the first sorcerer who they say caused that sorcery. If the sickness is not lessened, the sorcerer finishes his duty by saying that the said first witch is very far away, and could not hear him; and consequently, it has happened that he has not been able to cure the said sickness. In such wise do they leave the sick person with his pains.No. 38. The ceremony or superstition ofbilaois ordered for the discovery thereby of any thief. It is reduced to placing in a bilao, sieve, or screen, some scissors fastened at the point in the shape of the cross of St. Andrew, and in them they hang their rosary. Then they repeat the name of each one of those who are present and who are assembled for this. If, for example, when the name Pedro is mentioned, the bilao shakes, they say that Pedro is the thief. They also are accustomed to light candles to St. Anthony of Padua for the purpose of discovering the thief of anything [that is stolen]. For this they kneel down to pray (and perhaps to utter and perform indecent things) and wait until the flame leans toward any of those about, for instance, toward Juan, and then they declare that Juan is the thief. It is very usual for the Indians to carry about them various things in order that they might obtainmarvelous effects: for example, written formulas, prayers, vitiated or interspersed with words arranged for their evil intent, herbs, roots, bark, hairs, skin, bones, stones, etc., so that they may not be killed, or apprehended by justice, or to obtain wealth, women, or other things.4They are also very much inclined to believe in omens and in unlucky days, in regard to which they are wont to keep various books of manuscripts which must be burned for them.No. 39. The natives are accustomed to circumcise the boys; and although they perform the circumcision by slitting the skin of the penis lengthwise, instead of around, still it appears that that may be accounted for by the fact that it is inferred that that ceremony was introduced into Philipinas, by the Moros from Borneo, Mindanao, or Holo, as was also the wordbiñag, which is used for “baptize,” and to mean “Christian,” and the wordsimba, which appears to mean “adoration” among them. From this use they transfer it to their temples and mosques, and the Tagálogs took it not to mean “adoration,” but “church,” and afterward used it to mean “mass,” which it never could mean. Not only do they circumcise the males but also the women, girls, ordalagas, [an operation] which they callsonad. It is reduced to cutting the organ or opening it up somewhat. However, some of them, and very reasonably, affirm that that ceremony in them in itself in both males and females is rather the offspring of lust than that of Judaism. They are also accustomed to measure or compare the weapons that they make, forexample, measuring the catan by spans and praying at the same time the “Our Father.” If the conclusion of the measuring is reached at the same time or when they come to the word “forgive us” they say that they cannot be punished, but that they may kill people, etc. It appears that the custom has been introduced among women who have recently brought forth of not going to church until the fortieth or sixtieth day as they say of the purification of their bodies. In that not only do they fail in the precept to hear mass but they also perform a Mosaic ceremony.No. 40. The Indians are generally corrupted by many errors, and it would take a long time to mention them. Consequently, the ministers will be very careful to uproot them, for although it does not cause any great harm in some because of their ignorance and lack of intelligence, in others they do cause great harm; for exampleAngel catutubo, which literally signifies “that my guardian angel was born with me or at the same time as I.” In order to avoid danger, one should say,Angel taga tanor, and the same thing in other languages.No. 41. Finally, so many are the superstitions, omens, and errors, that are found among the Indians that it would be very difficult or impossible to mention them all. The above have been mentioned so that the father ministers may examine others by them. It is to be noted that there are sectarians and preachers of various false sects among the Indians, especially in the distant provinces, either because they had false sects formerly and have continued them, or because they took them (and this is more likely) from the Joloans, Mindanaos, Sangleys, andother heathen nations with whom they are accustomed to have intercourse.No. 42. When the moon is eclipsed, the Indians of various districts generally go out into the street or into the open fields, with bells,panastanes,5etc. They strike them with great force and violence in order that they might thereby protect the moon which they say is being eaten or swallowed by the dragon, tiger, or crocodile. And the worst thing is that if they wish to say “the eclipse of the moon” it is very common in Philipinas to use this locution, saying “the dragon, tiger, or crocodile is swallowing the moon.” The Tagálogs also make use of it and say,Linamon laho bovan. It appears that the Indians learned all this from the Sangleys of China, where all the abovesaid is performed and executed to the letter. It is not right to allow them to retain these deceits of the Chinese, and not to teach them our customs and truths. All the above contents of this section is not universal in all parts. Consequently, although all ministers ought to be careful to ascertain whether they are or are not contained in their ministries, they ought not to go ahead to censure what they are not sure of, for that very thing would perhaps teach them what we are endeavoring to extirpate.The people of the Philippines[Joaquin Martinez de Zúñiga, O. S. A., in hisHistoria(Sampaloc, 1803),6pp. 19–38, devotes one chapter to the inhabitants of the Philippines. We translate from the copy belonging to the library of E. E. Ayer.]Chapter IIOf the inhabitants whom the Spaniards found in the Philipinas, and of their language, customs, and religion.Our historians, always inclined to the marvelous, divide the peoples whom the Spaniards found in the Philipinas into three classes. In their histories there is not a lack of satyrs, men with tails, and mermen, and whatever else can cause wonder in human nature. But truly, only two classes of people are found, namely, those whom we know by the name of Aetas or Negritos,7and the Indians. The Negritosare small, not so black as those of Guinea, and have kinky hair and flat noses. They live naked in the mountains, and only cover themselves in front with the bark of a tree. They live on roots and the deer which they hunt with arrows in which they are very skilful. They sleep where night overtakes them. They have no idea of religion, so that they resemble wild beasts rather than men. The effort has been made to domesticate and christianize them, and they are not much opposed to it, provided that they are given food to eat. But if they are ordered to work to support their family, they return to the mountain although they have just been baptized. For that reason they are not now baptized although they agree to it, except some children whom the Indians or Spaniards generally have in their houses. Even in this case, one cannot be secure of them for when they grow up they generally return to the mountains with their fellowcountrymen. Beyond all doubt those Negritos are the first settlers of these islands, and retired to the mountains when the Indians came hither. The latter inhabit the coasts, and formerly the Negritos waged continual war with them, and would not permit them to cut wood in the mountains unless they paid tribute to them. Today they have but little power, and yet they are feared; for whenever any Negrito is killed, or when any one dies suddenly, another Negrito generally offers himself among his companions and takes an oath not to return to his own people until he kills three or four Indians. He does it by lying in ambush in their villagesand by treacherously killing in the mountains him who becomes separated from his companions.Some believe the origin of these Negritos to be that they came from the negros of Angola,8and the reason why they are not so black as their ancestors consists, they say, in the climate of these Indias which is more moderate. That might be so, for it is as easy for him who changes his climate to decrease in blackness during a long series of generations as it is for him to increase it by living in an inclement climate. But the flat nose and the use of the dialect of the same language which the Indians of these islands use, proves sufficiently that their origin is one and the same with them. The fact that they are blacker than the Indians, depends only on their having lived many centuries in the water by night and day, in wind and sun, and exposed to all the inclemencies of the weather. That and their lack of government has transferred them to their almost wild condition in which we see them.The Indians whom the Spaniards found here were of average stature, olive color, or the color of boiled quinces, large eyes, flat noses, and straight hair. All had some form of government more or less civilized. They were distinguished by different names, but their features and customs prove that the origin of all these people is one and the same, and that they did not compose different races. They had their own petty rulers, who were generally the most valiant, or those who had inherited the kingdom from their fathers, if they could conserve it. Their dominionextended over one or two rude settlements, or at most was according to the valor of him who ruled. They were continually at war with the neighboring settlements, and made one another slaves. From those wars there resulted three classes of people among them: namely, the chiefs who were the masters of the settlement; the slaves; and the freemen, who consisted of slaves or their descendants to whom their masters had given freedom. The last class are calledTimavaseven yet, which properly signifies “freed-man.” In some districts Indians are found who are whiter than others—descendants doubtless of some Chinese or Japanese, who were shipwrecked on these coasts, and whom the Indians naturally hospitably received and with whom they mingled. That is commonly believed in regard to the Ygorrotes of Ylocos.9Their eyes, similar to those of the Chinese, prove that they mingled with the companions of Limahon who fled to those mountains when Juan de Salcedo had besieged them in Pangasinan.It is not easy to prove the origin of these peoples but their language might supply some light. Although the languages spoken by the Indians are many and diverse, they resemble one another so closely that it is recognized clearly that they are all dialects of one and the same tongue, as the Spanish, French, and Italian are of the Latin. The prepositions and pronouns are almost the same in all of them,the numerals differ but slightly, many words are common to all, and they have the same structure. This language, which is one single language, with different dialects, is spoken from Madagascar to Philipinas and no one can contradict this.10I add that it is spoken in Nueva Guinea and in all the lands of the south, in the Marianas, in the islands of San Duisk, in those of Otayti,11and in almost all the islands of the South Sea. In a collection of voyages wherein are found several dictionaries of the terms which the travelers could learn in each one of these islands I have seen with wonder that the pronouns are almost all the same; that in the Tagálogs the numerals resemble those of any other language of these islands, and most of the words are the same and have the same meaning as in the Tagálog language. But the thing which made me believe more in the identity of these languages was my examination of Don Juan Hovel, an Englishman, who spoke the dialect of San Duisk with a servant of his who was a native of thoseislands. I found that the construction was the same as that of the languages which are spoken in Philipinas. Consequently, I had no reason to doubt that all these languages are dialects of one speech which is the most extensive in the world, and which is spoken through many thousands of leguas from Madagascar to the islands of San Duisk, Otayti, and the island of Pasquas12which is not six hundred leguas distant from America; and the fact that the Indians of Philipinas do not understand the peoples of those islands when they pass through their lands does not offer any argument against this supposition, for neither do the Spaniards understand the French, nor in these islands do those of some provinces understand one another.In the same collection of voyages, I found a dictionary of only five terms which the Spaniards were able to learn in the Patagonian coast. One of those terms wasBaláy13which signifies “house” in that language; and with that same word do the Pampangos and Visayans designate house. It may be a mere coincidence which does not prove that the languages of various people are identical. But, seeing that in addition to this the names of South America sound like those of Philipinas, I tried to find some dictionary of that land. Not finding one I examined carefully the few words of the language of Chile which Ercilla has in hisAraucana,14and I found themsufficiently like the Tagálog language. The name “Chile” is not strange to this language where the cormorant is called “cachile.” It is also a pronoun which the Malays apply to the sons of kings. “Chilian,” which is a village of Chile, is a Tagálog composition, in which, adding an “an,” we have a word which signifies “place,” and we get “cachilian” which signifies “place where there are cormorants.” Mapocho, the site of the city of Santiago, is another Tagálog composition that signifies “place.” Thus frompocquiot, a kind of herb, we getmapocquiot, a place where that plant abounds.Apois the name given to him who governs, and that name is applied by these Indians to him who has any authority in the village. In Chile, words and phrases are reduplicated: asYtayta,Biobio,Lemolemo,Colocolo, etc. The same is done in the Tagálog and thus we say:Ataata,Bilobilo,Lebomlebom, andColocolo. The other words are either Tagálog or very similar, and the connection that is found in so few words in these two languages is [too] great to say that it is accident, although it is not sufficient so that we can say that they are dialects of one language.If on a comparison of the grammar and dictions of these two languages it is found that they originate from one and the same tongue, I would be so bold as to say that the Indians of Philipinas originate from the Indians of South America, and that the language of the latter is the parent language of which all the languages of these islands are dialects. Many will consider this a paradox, for the Malays being so near it would appear that the Filipinos must have originated from them, as our authors have generally believed. I cannot deny that these islands could have been easily settled by the Malays; but how shall we account for the peopling of the islands of Palaos and Marianas which are more than three hundred leguas distant? Where shall we get at those who settled the islands of San Duisk and Otayti, which are two thousand leguas from Philipinas? All these people have the same language, the same features, the same customs, and consequently, the same origin as our Indians. It is impossible that people should go from Philipinas to people those lands, for the east wind dominates constantly throughout the torrid zone, and that wind blowing head on would not permit the ship to sail to those islands. Rather on the contrary we must believe that the inhabitants of all the islands of the South Sea came from the Orient with wind astern as we have seen happen to the Indians of Palaos,15who have come to our Philipinas several times driven by the wind, and the east winds have not allowed them to return to their land. Let ussuppose that if then these islands were not peopled, those Indians would have been the first settlers. We do not know whether our Indians by a like accident, have been carried by the winds to the Oriental islands. On the contrary we believe the opposite, since at times the best pilots cannot make that navigation, and return without finding the islands whither they were sailing, as it is necessary to take a high latitude for that voyage. On this head we must seek the easiest solution, namely, that the settlers came from the east from island to island. Consequently, the most eastern land where the Tagálog language is found must be the country whence our Indians originate.One could well hesitate to assent to this truth, moved by the fact that the use of writing in the manner employed by the Malays was found established among these Indians, but it could very well happen that they might derive their origin from other nations and learn to write from the Malays, who would learn that science from the continent of India. The method of writing was by forming the lines from top to bottom, and beginning at the left and finishing at the right as did the Hebrews and Chinese. Their characters were quite different from ours. They had no vowels, for since there are only three vowels in those languages, namely, thea,e, andu, by placing a point above or below the consonant, or by not placing any point, it is easily known what the vowel is, which corresponds to the consonant letter, and it is read very well without the necessity of vowels. Although they knew how to write these people had no written laws, and governed themselves according to their traditions,and by natural law corrupted by the passions. The civil suits were sentenced by the petty rulers with the assistance of some old men. In criminal matters the relatives generally showed justice or it was settled with the aggressor on a gold basis in particular unless death followed. But in that case they did not content themselves except with the penalty of retaliation. If the murderer was of another settlement common cause was made, and the entire village fought against the settlement, from which resulted murders and wars in which slaves were made mutually. When it was suspected that one had robbed another, he was obliged to take a stone from a kettle filled with boiling water. If he did not do it (which we called the vulgar clearance from guilt), he was fined a certain sum of gold, the greater part of which went to the petty ruler. Adultery was punished by a pecuniary fine, as was also lack of respect for old people. But trickery in contracts was not considered wrong and was not punished by any penalty; and usury was common among them in all transactions.Their customs at marriage were very peculiar. They married only one woman. The chiefs however, had several concubines, who were commonly slaves. They generally married their nearest relative, provided she were not a sister, for they could not contract marriage with sisters. When they grew tired of their wife, they returned her to her parents. It was unnecessary to give cause for the divorce, for it was sufficient to give up the dowry which he himself had given when he was married. That dowry was of two kinds and was always paid by the bridegroom. One kind was calledbigay suso, and was the payment for the milk which the mother had given tothe damsel, by which he obtained her completely. The other was calledbigay cayaand was the real dowry. It was given to those recently married for their support. At times, however, the expense of the wedding was discounted from it, as well as the clothes, so that very little or nothing at all remained for the recently married couple. Besides the bridegroom giving that dowry, he had to serve the parents of the bride for some years; to feast them on certain days; to assist in the sowing of the rice and the harvest, and to carry food to the laborers. All the relatives of the bridegroom had to be obsequious to the bride, to her parents, and to all her relatives, so long as those years of service lasted. If they failed in any point, the marriage was dissolved, a thing which was very agreeable to the parents of the woman, for then a new suitor appeared, and they began to suck his blood again. In retaliation for what the bridegroom suffered before marriage, he treated his wife like a slave after marriage. She had to find the sustenance for the family, while her husband was off enjoying himself, and she considered herself fortunate if after that he did not beat her. The self-interest of the parents in their daughters in which this pernicious custom is observed, has been the reason why it has been impossible to uproot this hitherto, notwithstanding the royal cedulas and the decrees of the bishops which prohibit it. The ceremony of the marriage was performed with the sacrifice of a hog, which a priestess killed after going through a thousand gestures. She blessed the couple abundantly, and afterward the old women gave them food in a dish and gave vent to many obscenities, after which the couple were pronouncedmarried. Then followed dances according to their custom, and drunken revels for all the days that the function lasted. The number of days were regulated according to the wealth of the contracting parties. He who went to the feast gave something to the couple, and note was made of it so that they could do the same in a like case.In regard to religion, they had neither idols nor temples, but they offered sacrifices in shady bowers that they had for that purpose. There were priestesses whom they calledbabailanesorcatalonas. They attended to the sacrifices, and taking a lance in the hand and foaming at the mouth with ridiculous and extraordinary gestures, they prophesied on the point for which the sacrifice was offered and killed a hog with the lance. Then they immediately divided the hog among those present and the function was finished with dances and drunken revelries. Those sacrifices were offered to the demons or to the souls of their ancestors, which they thought lived in the large trees, in the crags which they met in isolated places, or in anything out of the common which was found in the fields. They thought that thenonoor their forbears lived in all those places, and they never passed by them without asking permission of them—a thing which some of them do even yet. When anyone was dangerously sick they offered in those places rice, wine, and meat, and afterward gave that to the sick man to eat, so that he might be cured, a custom still observed by some of them.They had many other superstitions such as that of thepatianac, which they say hinders childbirth by its tongue which is very fine and long, and whichreaches even to the womb of the woman, where it restrains and whence it does not allow the infant to issue. In order that thepatianacmay have no effect, the husband tightly bars the portal of the house, lights the fire, and completely naked holds a sword and cuts the wind with it in a furious manner until his wife brings forth. Thetigbalangis another of the things of which they are greatly afraid. It is a kind of ghost which they say appears to them in the form of an animal or of some unknown monster and forces them to do things contrary to the laws of our religion. These and other superstitions, which they held in former times, they still observe at times, when the charlatans who are maintained at the cost of simpletons persuade them that they will get better from some dangerous illness or will find the jewel that they have lost, if they will practice them. And so powerful is self-interest or the love of life that although they believe that it is evil to observe those superstitions and not give entire assent to those deceits, they carry them out, for they say that perhaps it will be so. That is a proof that they have very little root in the faith.All their religion was rather a servile fear than true worship. They had no external adoration or any formula of prayers to God or idols; they believed in neither reward nor recompense for the good, nor punishment for the wicked. For although they knew of the immortality of the soul and believed that they could do wrong, that belief was so filled with errors that they thought that the souls had need of sustenance, and all other things that we mortals need. Consequently, at their funerals they placed clothing, weapons, and food in the coffins; and onthe fourth day when they generally celebrated the funeral honors, they left an unoccupied seat at table for the deceased, and they believed that he really occupied it, although they could not see him. In order to be sure of that they scattered ashes in the house, in which they at times found the impress of the tracks of the deceased, either through the deceit of the devil or of some other Indian, who left the impress of his feet there to fool the others. Persuaded of that they offered them food so that they should do no harm. Their religion was always directed to that—a circumstance quite in keeping with their natural cowardice and timorousness.
Sources:The material for this appendix is obtained as follows: No. 1, editorial note. No. 2, from extracts given by W. E. Retana, in his edition of Zúñiga’sEstadismo de las Islas Filipinas(Madrid, 1893), ii, pp.*14–*21, of Tomás Ortiz’sPráctica del Ministerio(chapter i, §4, pp. 11–15), a MS. conserved in the library of Eduardo Navarro, O.S.A., at Valladolid. No. 3, from Joaquín Martinez de Zúñiga’sHistoria de las Islas Philipinas(Sampaloc, 1803), ii, chapter ii, pp. 19–38, from a copy belonging to Edward E. Ayer. No. 4, from Charles Wilkes’sNarrative of the United States Exploring Expedition(Philadelphia, 1844), v, pp. 343–390 (mainly verbatim), from a copy belonging to the Wisconsin Historical Society. Nos. 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9, fromCartas de los PP. de la Compañía de Jesús(Manila, 1887), vii, pp. 76–91, 198–216, 117–128 and 137–145, 27–35, and 336–349, respectively, from a copy belonging to Edward E. Ayer. No. 10, fromCartas de los PP. de la Compañía de Jesús(Manila, 1891), ix, pp. 170–184, from a copy belonging to the Library of Congress. No. 11, from a copy of the supplement of the Manila periodicalEl Renacimiento, of the issue of December 9, 1905.
Translations and Compilations:These are made by James A. Robertson.
Preliminary noteIn this series, ethnological material will be found in the following volumes of those hitherto published:II, pp. 68–72, 109–113, 122, 125, 126, 197–199, 201, 202;III, pp. 34, 54–61, 74, 97, 141–172, 181, 197–204, 286–288, 297, 298;IV, pp. 26, 27, 67–70, 98–101, 105;V, pp. 34–187 (Loarca’sRelation);VI, pp. 140, 141, 145–147;VII, pp. 173–196 (Plasencia’sCustoms of the Tagálogs);XII, pp. 212, 213, 217–220, 235–244, 249–251, 261–275, 293–296, 302–310;XIII, pp. 56–58, 200–203 (Chirino’sRelation);XIV, pp. 156–159, 304, 305, 307;XVI, pp. 69–135 (Morga’sRelation), 221–223, 235, 321–329 (Customs of the Pampangos);XXIX, pp. 281–301;XXX, pp. 190–193;XXXIII, and part ofXXXIV(Pigafetta’sRelation);XXXIV, pp. 185–191, 204, 215, 225, 226, 278, 279, 292–294, 318–321, 376–380, 386–388;XL, Appendix. Ethnological material is included in the following books, which we are unable to reproduce because of the limits of space, although we have used some of them extensively for annotation. Delgado’sHistoria(Manila, 1893; though written about 1754) part i, book iii, pp. 249–392, contains a portion of San Agustin’s famous letter (seeVOL. XL, pp. 187–295) and whose comments on which we published in part; also in appendix added by the editor, a portion ofLoarca’sRelation. Le Gentil’sVoyage(Paris, 1781), as follows: chap. i, art. ix, Of the genius of the inhabitants of the Philippines, and of the peculiar punishments, which the religious inflict on women who do not attend mass on days of observance, pp. 59–63 (following in great part the account of San Antonio—seeVOL. XXVIII, Appendix—); art. x, Of the language and characters used by the natives of the Philippines, pp. 63–65; art. xi, Of some manners and customs of the Indians of the Philippines and of their marriages, pp. 66–74. Concepción’sHistoria(Sampaloc, 1788–1792), i, chap. i, nos. 7–21, pp. 10–32; part 2, chap. i, nos. 309–320; iii, chap. ii, nos. 5, 6, pp. 27–37, nos. 10–13, pp. 46–55; v, chap. ii, no. 1, pp. 20–23. Mas’sInforme de las islas filipinas(Madrid, 1843): i, no. 1, Origen de los habitantes de la Oceania; no. 2, Estado de los Filipinos á la llegada de los Españoles(contains nothing special); no. 5, Poblacion (containing a great portion of San Agustin’s letter, with commentary, most of which is incorporated in ourVOL. XL). Mallat’sLes Philippines(Paris, 1846): i, chap. iii, pp. 43–74, Condition of the country before the discovery; ii, chap. xx, pp. 89–129, Physical characteristics and customs of the savage races; chap. xxii, pp. 131–145, Customs of the children of the country, of the mestizos and the Chinese. Jagor’sReisen in den Philippinen(Berlin, 1873): chap. xiv, pp. 118–132, Manners and customs of the Bicols; chap. xvii, pp. 161–175, The Isarog and its inhabitants; chap. xxii, pp. 227–238, Manners and customs of the Visayans. In the Ethnological Society Transactions, new series, vol. ii, session 1869–70 (London, 1870), appears (pp. 170–175), an article by Jagor, entitled “On the natives of Naga,in Luzon.”Cartas de los PP. de la Compañía de Jesús de la misión de Filipinas, eight vols. (Manila, 1879–1891). Of this series Pardo de Tavera says (Biblioteca filipina, p. 87): “It is an important publication, in which is found not only information concerning the spiritual administration of the missions, but also remarkable information concerning the geography, history, ethnography, linguistics, fauna, and flora, etc., of Mindanao, which is the chief point of the activities of the Society of Jesus.” In the following selections, we have used the volumes for 1887 and 1889. Retana’sArchivo(Madrid, 1895), i, no. x, Short notice of the origin, religion, beliefs, and superstitions of the old Indians of Bicol by Fray José Castaño (written expressly for theArchivo, 1895). Algué’sArchipiélago filipino(Washington, 1900), i, tratado ii, “Ethnography,” pp. 151–238. This is translated inReportof the Philippine Commission for 1900, iii, paper no. vii, pp. 329–412. It follows on the whole the beaten lines, and much of it is unreliable. By far the most valuable material that has yet appeared on ethnology in the Philippines are the comprehensive reports which have been issued since American occupation by the Ethnological Survey, of the Department of the Interior. These have been frequently referred to in this series, and are as follows:The Bontoc Igorot, by Albert Ernest Jenks (Manila, 1905); ii, part i,Negritos of Zambales, by William Allen Reed (Manila, 1904); ii, parts ii and iii,The Nabaloi Dialect, by Otto Scheerer, andThe Bataks of Palawan, by Edward Y. Miller (Manila, 1905);Relaciones agustinianas de las razas del norte de Luzón, compiled by father Fray Angel Pérez (Manila,1904; Spanish edition)—containing among other things a number of letters written by Augustinian missionaries of the eighteenth century;—iv, part i,Studies in Moro History, by Najeeb M. Saleeby, a native Moro (Manila, 1905). With these reports must be classedHistory of the population, inCensus of Philippines, i, pp. 411–491, by Dr. David P. Barrows, at the time of its writing chief of the Bureau of Non-Christian Tribes, but at present (1906) superintendent of education in Manila. Dr. Barrows’s article is followed by a compilation (pp. 492–531), entitledCharacteristics of Christian tribes; and another (pp. 532–585), entitledCharacteristics of the Non-Christian tribes.
Preliminary note
In this series, ethnological material will be found in the following volumes of those hitherto published:II, pp. 68–72, 109–113, 122, 125, 126, 197–199, 201, 202;III, pp. 34, 54–61, 74, 97, 141–172, 181, 197–204, 286–288, 297, 298;IV, pp. 26, 27, 67–70, 98–101, 105;V, pp. 34–187 (Loarca’sRelation);VI, pp. 140, 141, 145–147;VII, pp. 173–196 (Plasencia’sCustoms of the Tagálogs);XII, pp. 212, 213, 217–220, 235–244, 249–251, 261–275, 293–296, 302–310;XIII, pp. 56–58, 200–203 (Chirino’sRelation);XIV, pp. 156–159, 304, 305, 307;XVI, pp. 69–135 (Morga’sRelation), 221–223, 235, 321–329 (Customs of the Pampangos);XXIX, pp. 281–301;XXX, pp. 190–193;XXXIII, and part ofXXXIV(Pigafetta’sRelation);XXXIV, pp. 185–191, 204, 215, 225, 226, 278, 279, 292–294, 318–321, 376–380, 386–388;XL, Appendix. Ethnological material is included in the following books, which we are unable to reproduce because of the limits of space, although we have used some of them extensively for annotation. Delgado’sHistoria(Manila, 1893; though written about 1754) part i, book iii, pp. 249–392, contains a portion of San Agustin’s famous letter (seeVOL. XL, pp. 187–295) and whose comments on which we published in part; also in appendix added by the editor, a portion ofLoarca’sRelation. Le Gentil’sVoyage(Paris, 1781), as follows: chap. i, art. ix, Of the genius of the inhabitants of the Philippines, and of the peculiar punishments, which the religious inflict on women who do not attend mass on days of observance, pp. 59–63 (following in great part the account of San Antonio—seeVOL. XXVIII, Appendix—); art. x, Of the language and characters used by the natives of the Philippines, pp. 63–65; art. xi, Of some manners and customs of the Indians of the Philippines and of their marriages, pp. 66–74. Concepción’sHistoria(Sampaloc, 1788–1792), i, chap. i, nos. 7–21, pp. 10–32; part 2, chap. i, nos. 309–320; iii, chap. ii, nos. 5, 6, pp. 27–37, nos. 10–13, pp. 46–55; v, chap. ii, no. 1, pp. 20–23. Mas’sInforme de las islas filipinas(Madrid, 1843): i, no. 1, Origen de los habitantes de la Oceania; no. 2, Estado de los Filipinos á la llegada de los Españoles(contains nothing special); no. 5, Poblacion (containing a great portion of San Agustin’s letter, with commentary, most of which is incorporated in ourVOL. XL). Mallat’sLes Philippines(Paris, 1846): i, chap. iii, pp. 43–74, Condition of the country before the discovery; ii, chap. xx, pp. 89–129, Physical characteristics and customs of the savage races; chap. xxii, pp. 131–145, Customs of the children of the country, of the mestizos and the Chinese. Jagor’sReisen in den Philippinen(Berlin, 1873): chap. xiv, pp. 118–132, Manners and customs of the Bicols; chap. xvii, pp. 161–175, The Isarog and its inhabitants; chap. xxii, pp. 227–238, Manners and customs of the Visayans. In the Ethnological Society Transactions, new series, vol. ii, session 1869–70 (London, 1870), appears (pp. 170–175), an article by Jagor, entitled “On the natives of Naga,in Luzon.”Cartas de los PP. de la Compañía de Jesús de la misión de Filipinas, eight vols. (Manila, 1879–1891). Of this series Pardo de Tavera says (Biblioteca filipina, p. 87): “It is an important publication, in which is found not only information concerning the spiritual administration of the missions, but also remarkable information concerning the geography, history, ethnography, linguistics, fauna, and flora, etc., of Mindanao, which is the chief point of the activities of the Society of Jesus.” In the following selections, we have used the volumes for 1887 and 1889. Retana’sArchivo(Madrid, 1895), i, no. x, Short notice of the origin, religion, beliefs, and superstitions of the old Indians of Bicol by Fray José Castaño (written expressly for theArchivo, 1895). Algué’sArchipiélago filipino(Washington, 1900), i, tratado ii, “Ethnography,” pp. 151–238. This is translated inReportof the Philippine Commission for 1900, iii, paper no. vii, pp. 329–412. It follows on the whole the beaten lines, and much of it is unreliable. By far the most valuable material that has yet appeared on ethnology in the Philippines are the comprehensive reports which have been issued since American occupation by the Ethnological Survey, of the Department of the Interior. These have been frequently referred to in this series, and are as follows:The Bontoc Igorot, by Albert Ernest Jenks (Manila, 1905); ii, part i,Negritos of Zambales, by William Allen Reed (Manila, 1904); ii, parts ii and iii,The Nabaloi Dialect, by Otto Scheerer, andThe Bataks of Palawan, by Edward Y. Miller (Manila, 1905);Relaciones agustinianas de las razas del norte de Luzón, compiled by father Fray Angel Pérez (Manila,1904; Spanish edition)—containing among other things a number of letters written by Augustinian missionaries of the eighteenth century;—iv, part i,Studies in Moro History, by Najeeb M. Saleeby, a native Moro (Manila, 1905). With these reports must be classedHistory of the population, inCensus of Philippines, i, pp. 411–491, by Dr. David P. Barrows, at the time of its writing chief of the Bureau of Non-Christian Tribes, but at present (1906) superintendent of education in Manila. Dr. Barrows’s article is followed by a compilation (pp. 492–531), entitledCharacteristics of Christian tribes; and another (pp. 532–585), entitledCharacteristics of the Non-Christian tribes.
In this series, ethnological material will be found in the following volumes of those hitherto published:II, pp. 68–72, 109–113, 122, 125, 126, 197–199, 201, 202;III, pp. 34, 54–61, 74, 97, 141–172, 181, 197–204, 286–288, 297, 298;IV, pp. 26, 27, 67–70, 98–101, 105;V, pp. 34–187 (Loarca’sRelation);VI, pp. 140, 141, 145–147;VII, pp. 173–196 (Plasencia’sCustoms of the Tagálogs);XII, pp. 212, 213, 217–220, 235–244, 249–251, 261–275, 293–296, 302–310;XIII, pp. 56–58, 200–203 (Chirino’sRelation);XIV, pp. 156–159, 304, 305, 307;XVI, pp. 69–135 (Morga’sRelation), 221–223, 235, 321–329 (Customs of the Pampangos);XXIX, pp. 281–301;XXX, pp. 190–193;XXXIII, and part ofXXXIV(Pigafetta’sRelation);XXXIV, pp. 185–191, 204, 215, 225, 226, 278, 279, 292–294, 318–321, 376–380, 386–388;XL, Appendix. Ethnological material is included in the following books, which we are unable to reproduce because of the limits of space, although we have used some of them extensively for annotation. Delgado’sHistoria(Manila, 1893; though written about 1754) part i, book iii, pp. 249–392, contains a portion of San Agustin’s famous letter (seeVOL. XL, pp. 187–295) and whose comments on which we published in part; also in appendix added by the editor, a portion ofLoarca’sRelation. Le Gentil’sVoyage(Paris, 1781), as follows: chap. i, art. ix, Of the genius of the inhabitants of the Philippines, and of the peculiar punishments, which the religious inflict on women who do not attend mass on days of observance, pp. 59–63 (following in great part the account of San Antonio—seeVOL. XXVIII, Appendix—); art. x, Of the language and characters used by the natives of the Philippines, pp. 63–65; art. xi, Of some manners and customs of the Indians of the Philippines and of their marriages, pp. 66–74. Concepción’sHistoria(Sampaloc, 1788–1792), i, chap. i, nos. 7–21, pp. 10–32; part 2, chap. i, nos. 309–320; iii, chap. ii, nos. 5, 6, pp. 27–37, nos. 10–13, pp. 46–55; v, chap. ii, no. 1, pp. 20–23. Mas’sInforme de las islas filipinas(Madrid, 1843): i, no. 1, Origen de los habitantes de la Oceania; no. 2, Estado de los Filipinos á la llegada de los Españoles(contains nothing special); no. 5, Poblacion (containing a great portion of San Agustin’s letter, with commentary, most of which is incorporated in ourVOL. XL). Mallat’sLes Philippines(Paris, 1846): i, chap. iii, pp. 43–74, Condition of the country before the discovery; ii, chap. xx, pp. 89–129, Physical characteristics and customs of the savage races; chap. xxii, pp. 131–145, Customs of the children of the country, of the mestizos and the Chinese. Jagor’sReisen in den Philippinen(Berlin, 1873): chap. xiv, pp. 118–132, Manners and customs of the Bicols; chap. xvii, pp. 161–175, The Isarog and its inhabitants; chap. xxii, pp. 227–238, Manners and customs of the Visayans. In the Ethnological Society Transactions, new series, vol. ii, session 1869–70 (London, 1870), appears (pp. 170–175), an article by Jagor, entitled “On the natives of Naga,in Luzon.”Cartas de los PP. de la Compañía de Jesús de la misión de Filipinas, eight vols. (Manila, 1879–1891). Of this series Pardo de Tavera says (Biblioteca filipina, p. 87): “It is an important publication, in which is found not only information concerning the spiritual administration of the missions, but also remarkable information concerning the geography, history, ethnography, linguistics, fauna, and flora, etc., of Mindanao, which is the chief point of the activities of the Society of Jesus.” In the following selections, we have used the volumes for 1887 and 1889. Retana’sArchivo(Madrid, 1895), i, no. x, Short notice of the origin, religion, beliefs, and superstitions of the old Indians of Bicol by Fray José Castaño (written expressly for theArchivo, 1895). Algué’sArchipiélago filipino(Washington, 1900), i, tratado ii, “Ethnography,” pp. 151–238. This is translated inReportof the Philippine Commission for 1900, iii, paper no. vii, pp. 329–412. It follows on the whole the beaten lines, and much of it is unreliable. By far the most valuable material that has yet appeared on ethnology in the Philippines are the comprehensive reports which have been issued since American occupation by the Ethnological Survey, of the Department of the Interior. These have been frequently referred to in this series, and are as follows:The Bontoc Igorot, by Albert Ernest Jenks (Manila, 1905); ii, part i,Negritos of Zambales, by William Allen Reed (Manila, 1904); ii, parts ii and iii,The Nabaloi Dialect, by Otto Scheerer, andThe Bataks of Palawan, by Edward Y. Miller (Manila, 1905);Relaciones agustinianas de las razas del norte de Luzón, compiled by father Fray Angel Pérez (Manila,1904; Spanish edition)—containing among other things a number of letters written by Augustinian missionaries of the eighteenth century;—iv, part i,Studies in Moro History, by Najeeb M. Saleeby, a native Moro (Manila, 1905). With these reports must be classedHistory of the population, inCensus of Philippines, i, pp. 411–491, by Dr. David P. Barrows, at the time of its writing chief of the Bureau of Non-Christian Tribes, but at present (1906) superintendent of education in Manila. Dr. Barrows’s article is followed by a compilation (pp. 492–531), entitledCharacteristics of Christian tribes; and another (pp. 532–585), entitledCharacteristics of the Non-Christian tribes.
Superstitions and beliefs of the Filipinos[The following interesting account is from thePráctica del Ministerioby Tomás Ortiz, O. S. A.,1and is translated from W. E. Retana’s edition of Zúñiga’sEstadismo de las islas Filipinas(Madrid, 1893), ii, pp.*14–*21. Retana found a copy of this important MS. at the Augustinian convent at Valladolid in the collection of father Fray Eduardo Navarro, where it still exists and where we ourselves examined it not long since. The following selection is from chapter i, section iv, pp. 11–15.]No. 31. Inasmuch as many natives, especially those of the provinces distant from Manila are much inclined tononosor genii, to idolatries, maganitos, superstitions, enchantments, charms, and witchcraft, which have as great a diversity as have the witches, and therefore they call them by different names,according to the various duties which they attribute to them; it is necessary for the father ministers, not only to preach to them continually, and to argue against, censure, and decry so pestilent abuses, but they must also be very skilful, solicitous, and careful in discovering persons infected with that mortal poison, and to apply to it the necessary remedy. In the confessions, for the same reason that but seldom will they accuse themselves all possible efforts ought to be made (without overstepping the boundaries of prudence) in order to see whether anything may be obtained; and he who has the good fortune to have any witch confess to him, will bear himself toward her as the authors teach. They ought also to charge the natives with their obligation to denounce to the ordinary,... etc.No. 32. There are many abuses (or as they sayugales) which the natives practice against our holy faith and good customs, among others of which are the following. First, the above-mentioned idolatry of thenonos. In regard to this it must be noted that the wordnonodoes not alone signify “grandfather,” but that it also is used as a term of respect to the old men and genii. The Indians comprise these under the wordnono, just as the Chinese do under the wordEspiritus[i. e., “spirits”], and the Romans under the word “Gods,” which other calledLares,Penates, etc. With the above-mentioned genii ornonosthe Indians perform many acts of idolatry frequently, such as for example, asking permission, relief, and aid from them, and that they do the people no harm, and that they do not prove hostile to them, etc. They make such requests on many occasions, and among others are the following. When they wish to pluck any flower or fruit from the tree,they ask permission from the nono or genius to pluck it. When they pass certain fields, rivers, creeks, or streamlets, large trees, sugar-cane plantations and other places, they ask permission and good passage from the genii or nonos. When they are obliged to cut any tree, or not to observe the things or ceremonies which they imagine to be pleasing to the genii or nonos, they ask pardon of them, and excuse themselves to those beings by saying, among many other things, that the father commanded them to do it, and that they are not willingly lacking in respect to the genii, or that they do not willingly oppose their will, etc. When they are taken with the sickness that they callpamave, which they attribute to the genii or nonos (although they try to conceal this by saying that the country [has not?] agreed with them) they ask them for health and offer them food. They do that both on this, and many other occasions, in the fields, sugar-cane plantations, streamlets, at the foot of any large tree, more generally somecalunpan,2and in various other places. This sort of idolatry is very deeply rooted and of long standing among the Indians. Consequently, it is very necessary for the father ministers to be very careful and make great efforts to extirpate it, and not avoid any labor or work until it is annihilated.No. 33. Secondly, the Indians very generally believethat the souls of the dead return to their houses the third day after their death, in order to visit the people of it, or to be present at the banquet, and consequently, to be present at the ceremony of thetibao. They conceal and hide that by saying that they are assembling in the house of the deceased in order to recite the rosary for him. If they are told to do their praying in the church, they refuse to comply because that is not what they wish to do. Consequently, the minister will prevent the gathering at the house of the deceased after the burial, and will not allow the people to ascend into the house under any considerations, least of all on the third day. On the fourth day, in consequence of the said ceremony of thetibao, or because of their evil inclination, they light candles in order to wait for the soul of the deceased. They spread a mat, on which they scatter ashes, so that the tracks or footsteps of the soul may be impressed thereon; and by that means they are able to ascertain whether the soul came or not. They also set a dish of water at the door, so that when the soul comes it may wash its feet there. It does not appear that it would be much to say that those matters of the nonos or genii and the deceased were taken by the Indians from the Sangleys who are reared with various things [of belief].3It needs a strong remedy nevertheless.No. 34. Thetigbalāgwhich some call a ghost and others a goblin, appears to be the genius or devil, who appears to them in the shape of a black man, orin the shape of an old man (or as they express it in the shape of a very small old man), or in the shape of a horse, or of a monster, etc. That being inspires them with so great fear that they come to make friendship with him, and surrender their rosaries to him, and receive from him superstitious things, such as hairs, herbs, stones, and other things, in order that they may obtain marvelous things, and that they may be aided by him in certain of their affairs.No. 35. Thepatianacwhom some also call a goblin (but it is only their invention, dream, or imagination) must be the genius or devil who generally plays with them as also with many others, when losing the faith, they espouse his cause, become familiar with him, or become subject to him. They attribute to this being the ill success of births, and say that in order to harm them and cause their destruction, he enters or hides in some tree or in any other place near the house of the woman who is about to give birth, and there they sing like those who wander about, etc. In order to prevent any harm from the patianac, the men take their position naked and with their privies exposed to the air; and arm themselves with shield, catan, lance, and other arms. In this condition they stand on the ridgepole of the roof, and also under the house, and in all places they slash and cut right and left with the catan and make various gestures and set movements for the same purpose. Others, in order to prevent said harm, generally move the woman who is about to give birth to another house, for they say that her house contains a patianac.No. 36. Among other things they also attribute to the patianac the death of children, as well as totheusang. They refer to them in the following manner. They assert that the bird calledticticis the pander of the sorcerer called usang. Flying ahead of that being, the bird shows it the houses where infants are to be born. That being takes its position on the roof of the neighboring house and thence extends its tongue in the form of a thread, which it inserts through the anus of the child and by that means sucks out its entrails and kills it. Sometimes they say that it appears in the form of a dog, sometimes of a cat, sometimes of the cockroach which crawls under the mat, and there accomplishes the abovesaid. In order to avoid that harm they do certain of the above things. To the patianac travelers also attribute their straying from or losing their road. In order to keep the right path, they undress and expose their privies to the air, and by that observance they say that they make sure of the right road; for then the patianac is afraid of them and cannot lead them astray.No. 37. Thebongsolthey sometimes assert to be variousdurojoneswhich are caused by the sorcererganay, and which run all through the body of the bewitched, who generally remains some moments as if dead or in a faint, and at other times as though mad or raving from the sight of the ganay who appears to them in various shapes. In order to cure this sickness or enchantment, they summon another sorcerer, and he after the incantations or efforts, which will be told later, generally leaves the patient as he was before. Sometimes they say that that sickness appears to be natural or a stomach ache caused by the obstructions or durojones which grow in the stomach or in the patient’s side or byshivers which move from one place to another, and from which the women of this country generally suffer. But when they are unable to cure the pain with the promptness that they desire, they generally say, especially the physicians, that the said sickness is bongsol, that is enchantment, and that it can be cured only by the one who is of the faculty, that is by one who is a sorcerer. They then bring a sorcerer, who performs the things that pertain to his faculty, and summons the first sorcerer who they say caused that sorcery. If the sickness is not lessened, the sorcerer finishes his duty by saying that the said first witch is very far away, and could not hear him; and consequently, it has happened that he has not been able to cure the said sickness. In such wise do they leave the sick person with his pains.No. 38. The ceremony or superstition ofbilaois ordered for the discovery thereby of any thief. It is reduced to placing in a bilao, sieve, or screen, some scissors fastened at the point in the shape of the cross of St. Andrew, and in them they hang their rosary. Then they repeat the name of each one of those who are present and who are assembled for this. If, for example, when the name Pedro is mentioned, the bilao shakes, they say that Pedro is the thief. They also are accustomed to light candles to St. Anthony of Padua for the purpose of discovering the thief of anything [that is stolen]. For this they kneel down to pray (and perhaps to utter and perform indecent things) and wait until the flame leans toward any of those about, for instance, toward Juan, and then they declare that Juan is the thief. It is very usual for the Indians to carry about them various things in order that they might obtainmarvelous effects: for example, written formulas, prayers, vitiated or interspersed with words arranged for their evil intent, herbs, roots, bark, hairs, skin, bones, stones, etc., so that they may not be killed, or apprehended by justice, or to obtain wealth, women, or other things.4They are also very much inclined to believe in omens and in unlucky days, in regard to which they are wont to keep various books of manuscripts which must be burned for them.No. 39. The natives are accustomed to circumcise the boys; and although they perform the circumcision by slitting the skin of the penis lengthwise, instead of around, still it appears that that may be accounted for by the fact that it is inferred that that ceremony was introduced into Philipinas, by the Moros from Borneo, Mindanao, or Holo, as was also the wordbiñag, which is used for “baptize,” and to mean “Christian,” and the wordsimba, which appears to mean “adoration” among them. From this use they transfer it to their temples and mosques, and the Tagálogs took it not to mean “adoration,” but “church,” and afterward used it to mean “mass,” which it never could mean. Not only do they circumcise the males but also the women, girls, ordalagas, [an operation] which they callsonad. It is reduced to cutting the organ or opening it up somewhat. However, some of them, and very reasonably, affirm that that ceremony in them in itself in both males and females is rather the offspring of lust than that of Judaism. They are also accustomed to measure or compare the weapons that they make, forexample, measuring the catan by spans and praying at the same time the “Our Father.” If the conclusion of the measuring is reached at the same time or when they come to the word “forgive us” they say that they cannot be punished, but that they may kill people, etc. It appears that the custom has been introduced among women who have recently brought forth of not going to church until the fortieth or sixtieth day as they say of the purification of their bodies. In that not only do they fail in the precept to hear mass but they also perform a Mosaic ceremony.No. 40. The Indians are generally corrupted by many errors, and it would take a long time to mention them. Consequently, the ministers will be very careful to uproot them, for although it does not cause any great harm in some because of their ignorance and lack of intelligence, in others they do cause great harm; for exampleAngel catutubo, which literally signifies “that my guardian angel was born with me or at the same time as I.” In order to avoid danger, one should say,Angel taga tanor, and the same thing in other languages.No. 41. Finally, so many are the superstitions, omens, and errors, that are found among the Indians that it would be very difficult or impossible to mention them all. The above have been mentioned so that the father ministers may examine others by them. It is to be noted that there are sectarians and preachers of various false sects among the Indians, especially in the distant provinces, either because they had false sects formerly and have continued them, or because they took them (and this is more likely) from the Joloans, Mindanaos, Sangleys, andother heathen nations with whom they are accustomed to have intercourse.No. 42. When the moon is eclipsed, the Indians of various districts generally go out into the street or into the open fields, with bells,panastanes,5etc. They strike them with great force and violence in order that they might thereby protect the moon which they say is being eaten or swallowed by the dragon, tiger, or crocodile. And the worst thing is that if they wish to say “the eclipse of the moon” it is very common in Philipinas to use this locution, saying “the dragon, tiger, or crocodile is swallowing the moon.” The Tagálogs also make use of it and say,Linamon laho bovan. It appears that the Indians learned all this from the Sangleys of China, where all the abovesaid is performed and executed to the letter. It is not right to allow them to retain these deceits of the Chinese, and not to teach them our customs and truths. All the above contents of this section is not universal in all parts. Consequently, although all ministers ought to be careful to ascertain whether they are or are not contained in their ministries, they ought not to go ahead to censure what they are not sure of, for that very thing would perhaps teach them what we are endeavoring to extirpate.
Superstitions and beliefs of the Filipinos
[The following interesting account is from thePráctica del Ministerioby Tomás Ortiz, O. S. A.,1and is translated from W. E. Retana’s edition of Zúñiga’sEstadismo de las islas Filipinas(Madrid, 1893), ii, pp.*14–*21. Retana found a copy of this important MS. at the Augustinian convent at Valladolid in the collection of father Fray Eduardo Navarro, where it still exists and where we ourselves examined it not long since. The following selection is from chapter i, section iv, pp. 11–15.]No. 31. Inasmuch as many natives, especially those of the provinces distant from Manila are much inclined tononosor genii, to idolatries, maganitos, superstitions, enchantments, charms, and witchcraft, which have as great a diversity as have the witches, and therefore they call them by different names,according to the various duties which they attribute to them; it is necessary for the father ministers, not only to preach to them continually, and to argue against, censure, and decry so pestilent abuses, but they must also be very skilful, solicitous, and careful in discovering persons infected with that mortal poison, and to apply to it the necessary remedy. In the confessions, for the same reason that but seldom will they accuse themselves all possible efforts ought to be made (without overstepping the boundaries of prudence) in order to see whether anything may be obtained; and he who has the good fortune to have any witch confess to him, will bear himself toward her as the authors teach. They ought also to charge the natives with their obligation to denounce to the ordinary,... etc.No. 32. There are many abuses (or as they sayugales) which the natives practice against our holy faith and good customs, among others of which are the following. First, the above-mentioned idolatry of thenonos. In regard to this it must be noted that the wordnonodoes not alone signify “grandfather,” but that it also is used as a term of respect to the old men and genii. The Indians comprise these under the wordnono, just as the Chinese do under the wordEspiritus[i. e., “spirits”], and the Romans under the word “Gods,” which other calledLares,Penates, etc. With the above-mentioned genii ornonosthe Indians perform many acts of idolatry frequently, such as for example, asking permission, relief, and aid from them, and that they do the people no harm, and that they do not prove hostile to them, etc. They make such requests on many occasions, and among others are the following. When they wish to pluck any flower or fruit from the tree,they ask permission from the nono or genius to pluck it. When they pass certain fields, rivers, creeks, or streamlets, large trees, sugar-cane plantations and other places, they ask permission and good passage from the genii or nonos. When they are obliged to cut any tree, or not to observe the things or ceremonies which they imagine to be pleasing to the genii or nonos, they ask pardon of them, and excuse themselves to those beings by saying, among many other things, that the father commanded them to do it, and that they are not willingly lacking in respect to the genii, or that they do not willingly oppose their will, etc. When they are taken with the sickness that they callpamave, which they attribute to the genii or nonos (although they try to conceal this by saying that the country [has not?] agreed with them) they ask them for health and offer them food. They do that both on this, and many other occasions, in the fields, sugar-cane plantations, streamlets, at the foot of any large tree, more generally somecalunpan,2and in various other places. This sort of idolatry is very deeply rooted and of long standing among the Indians. Consequently, it is very necessary for the father ministers to be very careful and make great efforts to extirpate it, and not avoid any labor or work until it is annihilated.No. 33. Secondly, the Indians very generally believethat the souls of the dead return to their houses the third day after their death, in order to visit the people of it, or to be present at the banquet, and consequently, to be present at the ceremony of thetibao. They conceal and hide that by saying that they are assembling in the house of the deceased in order to recite the rosary for him. If they are told to do their praying in the church, they refuse to comply because that is not what they wish to do. Consequently, the minister will prevent the gathering at the house of the deceased after the burial, and will not allow the people to ascend into the house under any considerations, least of all on the third day. On the fourth day, in consequence of the said ceremony of thetibao, or because of their evil inclination, they light candles in order to wait for the soul of the deceased. They spread a mat, on which they scatter ashes, so that the tracks or footsteps of the soul may be impressed thereon; and by that means they are able to ascertain whether the soul came or not. They also set a dish of water at the door, so that when the soul comes it may wash its feet there. It does not appear that it would be much to say that those matters of the nonos or genii and the deceased were taken by the Indians from the Sangleys who are reared with various things [of belief].3It needs a strong remedy nevertheless.No. 34. Thetigbalāgwhich some call a ghost and others a goblin, appears to be the genius or devil, who appears to them in the shape of a black man, orin the shape of an old man (or as they express it in the shape of a very small old man), or in the shape of a horse, or of a monster, etc. That being inspires them with so great fear that they come to make friendship with him, and surrender their rosaries to him, and receive from him superstitious things, such as hairs, herbs, stones, and other things, in order that they may obtain marvelous things, and that they may be aided by him in certain of their affairs.No. 35. Thepatianacwhom some also call a goblin (but it is only their invention, dream, or imagination) must be the genius or devil who generally plays with them as also with many others, when losing the faith, they espouse his cause, become familiar with him, or become subject to him. They attribute to this being the ill success of births, and say that in order to harm them and cause their destruction, he enters or hides in some tree or in any other place near the house of the woman who is about to give birth, and there they sing like those who wander about, etc. In order to prevent any harm from the patianac, the men take their position naked and with their privies exposed to the air; and arm themselves with shield, catan, lance, and other arms. In this condition they stand on the ridgepole of the roof, and also under the house, and in all places they slash and cut right and left with the catan and make various gestures and set movements for the same purpose. Others, in order to prevent said harm, generally move the woman who is about to give birth to another house, for they say that her house contains a patianac.No. 36. Among other things they also attribute to the patianac the death of children, as well as totheusang. They refer to them in the following manner. They assert that the bird calledticticis the pander of the sorcerer called usang. Flying ahead of that being, the bird shows it the houses where infants are to be born. That being takes its position on the roof of the neighboring house and thence extends its tongue in the form of a thread, which it inserts through the anus of the child and by that means sucks out its entrails and kills it. Sometimes they say that it appears in the form of a dog, sometimes of a cat, sometimes of the cockroach which crawls under the mat, and there accomplishes the abovesaid. In order to avoid that harm they do certain of the above things. To the patianac travelers also attribute their straying from or losing their road. In order to keep the right path, they undress and expose their privies to the air, and by that observance they say that they make sure of the right road; for then the patianac is afraid of them and cannot lead them astray.No. 37. Thebongsolthey sometimes assert to be variousdurojoneswhich are caused by the sorcererganay, and which run all through the body of the bewitched, who generally remains some moments as if dead or in a faint, and at other times as though mad or raving from the sight of the ganay who appears to them in various shapes. In order to cure this sickness or enchantment, they summon another sorcerer, and he after the incantations or efforts, which will be told later, generally leaves the patient as he was before. Sometimes they say that that sickness appears to be natural or a stomach ache caused by the obstructions or durojones which grow in the stomach or in the patient’s side or byshivers which move from one place to another, and from which the women of this country generally suffer. But when they are unable to cure the pain with the promptness that they desire, they generally say, especially the physicians, that the said sickness is bongsol, that is enchantment, and that it can be cured only by the one who is of the faculty, that is by one who is a sorcerer. They then bring a sorcerer, who performs the things that pertain to his faculty, and summons the first sorcerer who they say caused that sorcery. If the sickness is not lessened, the sorcerer finishes his duty by saying that the said first witch is very far away, and could not hear him; and consequently, it has happened that he has not been able to cure the said sickness. In such wise do they leave the sick person with his pains.No. 38. The ceremony or superstition ofbilaois ordered for the discovery thereby of any thief. It is reduced to placing in a bilao, sieve, or screen, some scissors fastened at the point in the shape of the cross of St. Andrew, and in them they hang their rosary. Then they repeat the name of each one of those who are present and who are assembled for this. If, for example, when the name Pedro is mentioned, the bilao shakes, they say that Pedro is the thief. They also are accustomed to light candles to St. Anthony of Padua for the purpose of discovering the thief of anything [that is stolen]. For this they kneel down to pray (and perhaps to utter and perform indecent things) and wait until the flame leans toward any of those about, for instance, toward Juan, and then they declare that Juan is the thief. It is very usual for the Indians to carry about them various things in order that they might obtainmarvelous effects: for example, written formulas, prayers, vitiated or interspersed with words arranged for their evil intent, herbs, roots, bark, hairs, skin, bones, stones, etc., so that they may not be killed, or apprehended by justice, or to obtain wealth, women, or other things.4They are also very much inclined to believe in omens and in unlucky days, in regard to which they are wont to keep various books of manuscripts which must be burned for them.No. 39. The natives are accustomed to circumcise the boys; and although they perform the circumcision by slitting the skin of the penis lengthwise, instead of around, still it appears that that may be accounted for by the fact that it is inferred that that ceremony was introduced into Philipinas, by the Moros from Borneo, Mindanao, or Holo, as was also the wordbiñag, which is used for “baptize,” and to mean “Christian,” and the wordsimba, which appears to mean “adoration” among them. From this use they transfer it to their temples and mosques, and the Tagálogs took it not to mean “adoration,” but “church,” and afterward used it to mean “mass,” which it never could mean. Not only do they circumcise the males but also the women, girls, ordalagas, [an operation] which they callsonad. It is reduced to cutting the organ or opening it up somewhat. However, some of them, and very reasonably, affirm that that ceremony in them in itself in both males and females is rather the offspring of lust than that of Judaism. They are also accustomed to measure or compare the weapons that they make, forexample, measuring the catan by spans and praying at the same time the “Our Father.” If the conclusion of the measuring is reached at the same time or when they come to the word “forgive us” they say that they cannot be punished, but that they may kill people, etc. It appears that the custom has been introduced among women who have recently brought forth of not going to church until the fortieth or sixtieth day as they say of the purification of their bodies. In that not only do they fail in the precept to hear mass but they also perform a Mosaic ceremony.No. 40. The Indians are generally corrupted by many errors, and it would take a long time to mention them. Consequently, the ministers will be very careful to uproot them, for although it does not cause any great harm in some because of their ignorance and lack of intelligence, in others they do cause great harm; for exampleAngel catutubo, which literally signifies “that my guardian angel was born with me or at the same time as I.” In order to avoid danger, one should say,Angel taga tanor, and the same thing in other languages.No. 41. Finally, so many are the superstitions, omens, and errors, that are found among the Indians that it would be very difficult or impossible to mention them all. The above have been mentioned so that the father ministers may examine others by them. It is to be noted that there are sectarians and preachers of various false sects among the Indians, especially in the distant provinces, either because they had false sects formerly and have continued them, or because they took them (and this is more likely) from the Joloans, Mindanaos, Sangleys, andother heathen nations with whom they are accustomed to have intercourse.No. 42. When the moon is eclipsed, the Indians of various districts generally go out into the street or into the open fields, with bells,panastanes,5etc. They strike them with great force and violence in order that they might thereby protect the moon which they say is being eaten or swallowed by the dragon, tiger, or crocodile. And the worst thing is that if they wish to say “the eclipse of the moon” it is very common in Philipinas to use this locution, saying “the dragon, tiger, or crocodile is swallowing the moon.” The Tagálogs also make use of it and say,Linamon laho bovan. It appears that the Indians learned all this from the Sangleys of China, where all the abovesaid is performed and executed to the letter. It is not right to allow them to retain these deceits of the Chinese, and not to teach them our customs and truths. All the above contents of this section is not universal in all parts. Consequently, although all ministers ought to be careful to ascertain whether they are or are not contained in their ministries, they ought not to go ahead to censure what they are not sure of, for that very thing would perhaps teach them what we are endeavoring to extirpate.
[The following interesting account is from thePráctica del Ministerioby Tomás Ortiz, O. S. A.,1and is translated from W. E. Retana’s edition of Zúñiga’sEstadismo de las islas Filipinas(Madrid, 1893), ii, pp.*14–*21. Retana found a copy of this important MS. at the Augustinian convent at Valladolid in the collection of father Fray Eduardo Navarro, where it still exists and where we ourselves examined it not long since. The following selection is from chapter i, section iv, pp. 11–15.]
No. 31. Inasmuch as many natives, especially those of the provinces distant from Manila are much inclined tononosor genii, to idolatries, maganitos, superstitions, enchantments, charms, and witchcraft, which have as great a diversity as have the witches, and therefore they call them by different names,according to the various duties which they attribute to them; it is necessary for the father ministers, not only to preach to them continually, and to argue against, censure, and decry so pestilent abuses, but they must also be very skilful, solicitous, and careful in discovering persons infected with that mortal poison, and to apply to it the necessary remedy. In the confessions, for the same reason that but seldom will they accuse themselves all possible efforts ought to be made (without overstepping the boundaries of prudence) in order to see whether anything may be obtained; and he who has the good fortune to have any witch confess to him, will bear himself toward her as the authors teach. They ought also to charge the natives with their obligation to denounce to the ordinary,... etc.
No. 32. There are many abuses (or as they sayugales) which the natives practice against our holy faith and good customs, among others of which are the following. First, the above-mentioned idolatry of thenonos. In regard to this it must be noted that the wordnonodoes not alone signify “grandfather,” but that it also is used as a term of respect to the old men and genii. The Indians comprise these under the wordnono, just as the Chinese do under the wordEspiritus[i. e., “spirits”], and the Romans under the word “Gods,” which other calledLares,Penates, etc. With the above-mentioned genii ornonosthe Indians perform many acts of idolatry frequently, such as for example, asking permission, relief, and aid from them, and that they do the people no harm, and that they do not prove hostile to them, etc. They make such requests on many occasions, and among others are the following. When they wish to pluck any flower or fruit from the tree,they ask permission from the nono or genius to pluck it. When they pass certain fields, rivers, creeks, or streamlets, large trees, sugar-cane plantations and other places, they ask permission and good passage from the genii or nonos. When they are obliged to cut any tree, or not to observe the things or ceremonies which they imagine to be pleasing to the genii or nonos, they ask pardon of them, and excuse themselves to those beings by saying, among many other things, that the father commanded them to do it, and that they are not willingly lacking in respect to the genii, or that they do not willingly oppose their will, etc. When they are taken with the sickness that they callpamave, which they attribute to the genii or nonos (although they try to conceal this by saying that the country [has not?] agreed with them) they ask them for health and offer them food. They do that both on this, and many other occasions, in the fields, sugar-cane plantations, streamlets, at the foot of any large tree, more generally somecalunpan,2and in various other places. This sort of idolatry is very deeply rooted and of long standing among the Indians. Consequently, it is very necessary for the father ministers to be very careful and make great efforts to extirpate it, and not avoid any labor or work until it is annihilated.
No. 33. Secondly, the Indians very generally believethat the souls of the dead return to their houses the third day after their death, in order to visit the people of it, or to be present at the banquet, and consequently, to be present at the ceremony of thetibao. They conceal and hide that by saying that they are assembling in the house of the deceased in order to recite the rosary for him. If they are told to do their praying in the church, they refuse to comply because that is not what they wish to do. Consequently, the minister will prevent the gathering at the house of the deceased after the burial, and will not allow the people to ascend into the house under any considerations, least of all on the third day. On the fourth day, in consequence of the said ceremony of thetibao, or because of their evil inclination, they light candles in order to wait for the soul of the deceased. They spread a mat, on which they scatter ashes, so that the tracks or footsteps of the soul may be impressed thereon; and by that means they are able to ascertain whether the soul came or not. They also set a dish of water at the door, so that when the soul comes it may wash its feet there. It does not appear that it would be much to say that those matters of the nonos or genii and the deceased were taken by the Indians from the Sangleys who are reared with various things [of belief].3It needs a strong remedy nevertheless.
No. 34. Thetigbalāgwhich some call a ghost and others a goblin, appears to be the genius or devil, who appears to them in the shape of a black man, orin the shape of an old man (or as they express it in the shape of a very small old man), or in the shape of a horse, or of a monster, etc. That being inspires them with so great fear that they come to make friendship with him, and surrender their rosaries to him, and receive from him superstitious things, such as hairs, herbs, stones, and other things, in order that they may obtain marvelous things, and that they may be aided by him in certain of their affairs.
No. 35. Thepatianacwhom some also call a goblin (but it is only their invention, dream, or imagination) must be the genius or devil who generally plays with them as also with many others, when losing the faith, they espouse his cause, become familiar with him, or become subject to him. They attribute to this being the ill success of births, and say that in order to harm them and cause their destruction, he enters or hides in some tree or in any other place near the house of the woman who is about to give birth, and there they sing like those who wander about, etc. In order to prevent any harm from the patianac, the men take their position naked and with their privies exposed to the air; and arm themselves with shield, catan, lance, and other arms. In this condition they stand on the ridgepole of the roof, and also under the house, and in all places they slash and cut right and left with the catan and make various gestures and set movements for the same purpose. Others, in order to prevent said harm, generally move the woman who is about to give birth to another house, for they say that her house contains a patianac.
No. 36. Among other things they also attribute to the patianac the death of children, as well as totheusang. They refer to them in the following manner. They assert that the bird calledticticis the pander of the sorcerer called usang. Flying ahead of that being, the bird shows it the houses where infants are to be born. That being takes its position on the roof of the neighboring house and thence extends its tongue in the form of a thread, which it inserts through the anus of the child and by that means sucks out its entrails and kills it. Sometimes they say that it appears in the form of a dog, sometimes of a cat, sometimes of the cockroach which crawls under the mat, and there accomplishes the abovesaid. In order to avoid that harm they do certain of the above things. To the patianac travelers also attribute their straying from or losing their road. In order to keep the right path, they undress and expose their privies to the air, and by that observance they say that they make sure of the right road; for then the patianac is afraid of them and cannot lead them astray.
No. 37. Thebongsolthey sometimes assert to be variousdurojoneswhich are caused by the sorcererganay, and which run all through the body of the bewitched, who generally remains some moments as if dead or in a faint, and at other times as though mad or raving from the sight of the ganay who appears to them in various shapes. In order to cure this sickness or enchantment, they summon another sorcerer, and he after the incantations or efforts, which will be told later, generally leaves the patient as he was before. Sometimes they say that that sickness appears to be natural or a stomach ache caused by the obstructions or durojones which grow in the stomach or in the patient’s side or byshivers which move from one place to another, and from which the women of this country generally suffer. But when they are unable to cure the pain with the promptness that they desire, they generally say, especially the physicians, that the said sickness is bongsol, that is enchantment, and that it can be cured only by the one who is of the faculty, that is by one who is a sorcerer. They then bring a sorcerer, who performs the things that pertain to his faculty, and summons the first sorcerer who they say caused that sorcery. If the sickness is not lessened, the sorcerer finishes his duty by saying that the said first witch is very far away, and could not hear him; and consequently, it has happened that he has not been able to cure the said sickness. In such wise do they leave the sick person with his pains.
No. 38. The ceremony or superstition ofbilaois ordered for the discovery thereby of any thief. It is reduced to placing in a bilao, sieve, or screen, some scissors fastened at the point in the shape of the cross of St. Andrew, and in them they hang their rosary. Then they repeat the name of each one of those who are present and who are assembled for this. If, for example, when the name Pedro is mentioned, the bilao shakes, they say that Pedro is the thief. They also are accustomed to light candles to St. Anthony of Padua for the purpose of discovering the thief of anything [that is stolen]. For this they kneel down to pray (and perhaps to utter and perform indecent things) and wait until the flame leans toward any of those about, for instance, toward Juan, and then they declare that Juan is the thief. It is very usual for the Indians to carry about them various things in order that they might obtainmarvelous effects: for example, written formulas, prayers, vitiated or interspersed with words arranged for their evil intent, herbs, roots, bark, hairs, skin, bones, stones, etc., so that they may not be killed, or apprehended by justice, or to obtain wealth, women, or other things.4They are also very much inclined to believe in omens and in unlucky days, in regard to which they are wont to keep various books of manuscripts which must be burned for them.
No. 39. The natives are accustomed to circumcise the boys; and although they perform the circumcision by slitting the skin of the penis lengthwise, instead of around, still it appears that that may be accounted for by the fact that it is inferred that that ceremony was introduced into Philipinas, by the Moros from Borneo, Mindanao, or Holo, as was also the wordbiñag, which is used for “baptize,” and to mean “Christian,” and the wordsimba, which appears to mean “adoration” among them. From this use they transfer it to their temples and mosques, and the Tagálogs took it not to mean “adoration,” but “church,” and afterward used it to mean “mass,” which it never could mean. Not only do they circumcise the males but also the women, girls, ordalagas, [an operation] which they callsonad. It is reduced to cutting the organ or opening it up somewhat. However, some of them, and very reasonably, affirm that that ceremony in them in itself in both males and females is rather the offspring of lust than that of Judaism. They are also accustomed to measure or compare the weapons that they make, forexample, measuring the catan by spans and praying at the same time the “Our Father.” If the conclusion of the measuring is reached at the same time or when they come to the word “forgive us” they say that they cannot be punished, but that they may kill people, etc. It appears that the custom has been introduced among women who have recently brought forth of not going to church until the fortieth or sixtieth day as they say of the purification of their bodies. In that not only do they fail in the precept to hear mass but they also perform a Mosaic ceremony.
No. 40. The Indians are generally corrupted by many errors, and it would take a long time to mention them. Consequently, the ministers will be very careful to uproot them, for although it does not cause any great harm in some because of their ignorance and lack of intelligence, in others they do cause great harm; for exampleAngel catutubo, which literally signifies “that my guardian angel was born with me or at the same time as I.” In order to avoid danger, one should say,Angel taga tanor, and the same thing in other languages.
No. 41. Finally, so many are the superstitions, omens, and errors, that are found among the Indians that it would be very difficult or impossible to mention them all. The above have been mentioned so that the father ministers may examine others by them. It is to be noted that there are sectarians and preachers of various false sects among the Indians, especially in the distant provinces, either because they had false sects formerly and have continued them, or because they took them (and this is more likely) from the Joloans, Mindanaos, Sangleys, andother heathen nations with whom they are accustomed to have intercourse.
No. 42. When the moon is eclipsed, the Indians of various districts generally go out into the street or into the open fields, with bells,panastanes,5etc. They strike them with great force and violence in order that they might thereby protect the moon which they say is being eaten or swallowed by the dragon, tiger, or crocodile. And the worst thing is that if they wish to say “the eclipse of the moon” it is very common in Philipinas to use this locution, saying “the dragon, tiger, or crocodile is swallowing the moon.” The Tagálogs also make use of it and say,Linamon laho bovan. It appears that the Indians learned all this from the Sangleys of China, where all the abovesaid is performed and executed to the letter. It is not right to allow them to retain these deceits of the Chinese, and not to teach them our customs and truths. All the above contents of this section is not universal in all parts. Consequently, although all ministers ought to be careful to ascertain whether they are or are not contained in their ministries, they ought not to go ahead to censure what they are not sure of, for that very thing would perhaps teach them what we are endeavoring to extirpate.
The people of the Philippines[Joaquin Martinez de Zúñiga, O. S. A., in hisHistoria(Sampaloc, 1803),6pp. 19–38, devotes one chapter to the inhabitants of the Philippines. We translate from the copy belonging to the library of E. E. Ayer.]Chapter IIOf the inhabitants whom the Spaniards found in the Philipinas, and of their language, customs, and religion.Our historians, always inclined to the marvelous, divide the peoples whom the Spaniards found in the Philipinas into three classes. In their histories there is not a lack of satyrs, men with tails, and mermen, and whatever else can cause wonder in human nature. But truly, only two classes of people are found, namely, those whom we know by the name of Aetas or Negritos,7and the Indians. The Negritosare small, not so black as those of Guinea, and have kinky hair and flat noses. They live naked in the mountains, and only cover themselves in front with the bark of a tree. They live on roots and the deer which they hunt with arrows in which they are very skilful. They sleep where night overtakes them. They have no idea of religion, so that they resemble wild beasts rather than men. The effort has been made to domesticate and christianize them, and they are not much opposed to it, provided that they are given food to eat. But if they are ordered to work to support their family, they return to the mountain although they have just been baptized. For that reason they are not now baptized although they agree to it, except some children whom the Indians or Spaniards generally have in their houses. Even in this case, one cannot be secure of them for when they grow up they generally return to the mountains with their fellowcountrymen. Beyond all doubt those Negritos are the first settlers of these islands, and retired to the mountains when the Indians came hither. The latter inhabit the coasts, and formerly the Negritos waged continual war with them, and would not permit them to cut wood in the mountains unless they paid tribute to them. Today they have but little power, and yet they are feared; for whenever any Negrito is killed, or when any one dies suddenly, another Negrito generally offers himself among his companions and takes an oath not to return to his own people until he kills three or four Indians. He does it by lying in ambush in their villagesand by treacherously killing in the mountains him who becomes separated from his companions.Some believe the origin of these Negritos to be that they came from the negros of Angola,8and the reason why they are not so black as their ancestors consists, they say, in the climate of these Indias which is more moderate. That might be so, for it is as easy for him who changes his climate to decrease in blackness during a long series of generations as it is for him to increase it by living in an inclement climate. But the flat nose and the use of the dialect of the same language which the Indians of these islands use, proves sufficiently that their origin is one and the same with them. The fact that they are blacker than the Indians, depends only on their having lived many centuries in the water by night and day, in wind and sun, and exposed to all the inclemencies of the weather. That and their lack of government has transferred them to their almost wild condition in which we see them.The Indians whom the Spaniards found here were of average stature, olive color, or the color of boiled quinces, large eyes, flat noses, and straight hair. All had some form of government more or less civilized. They were distinguished by different names, but their features and customs prove that the origin of all these people is one and the same, and that they did not compose different races. They had their own petty rulers, who were generally the most valiant, or those who had inherited the kingdom from their fathers, if they could conserve it. Their dominionextended over one or two rude settlements, or at most was according to the valor of him who ruled. They were continually at war with the neighboring settlements, and made one another slaves. From those wars there resulted three classes of people among them: namely, the chiefs who were the masters of the settlement; the slaves; and the freemen, who consisted of slaves or their descendants to whom their masters had given freedom. The last class are calledTimavaseven yet, which properly signifies “freed-man.” In some districts Indians are found who are whiter than others—descendants doubtless of some Chinese or Japanese, who were shipwrecked on these coasts, and whom the Indians naturally hospitably received and with whom they mingled. That is commonly believed in regard to the Ygorrotes of Ylocos.9Their eyes, similar to those of the Chinese, prove that they mingled with the companions of Limahon who fled to those mountains when Juan de Salcedo had besieged them in Pangasinan.It is not easy to prove the origin of these peoples but their language might supply some light. Although the languages spoken by the Indians are many and diverse, they resemble one another so closely that it is recognized clearly that they are all dialects of one and the same tongue, as the Spanish, French, and Italian are of the Latin. The prepositions and pronouns are almost the same in all of them,the numerals differ but slightly, many words are common to all, and they have the same structure. This language, which is one single language, with different dialects, is spoken from Madagascar to Philipinas and no one can contradict this.10I add that it is spoken in Nueva Guinea and in all the lands of the south, in the Marianas, in the islands of San Duisk, in those of Otayti,11and in almost all the islands of the South Sea. In a collection of voyages wherein are found several dictionaries of the terms which the travelers could learn in each one of these islands I have seen with wonder that the pronouns are almost all the same; that in the Tagálogs the numerals resemble those of any other language of these islands, and most of the words are the same and have the same meaning as in the Tagálog language. But the thing which made me believe more in the identity of these languages was my examination of Don Juan Hovel, an Englishman, who spoke the dialect of San Duisk with a servant of his who was a native of thoseislands. I found that the construction was the same as that of the languages which are spoken in Philipinas. Consequently, I had no reason to doubt that all these languages are dialects of one speech which is the most extensive in the world, and which is spoken through many thousands of leguas from Madagascar to the islands of San Duisk, Otayti, and the island of Pasquas12which is not six hundred leguas distant from America; and the fact that the Indians of Philipinas do not understand the peoples of those islands when they pass through their lands does not offer any argument against this supposition, for neither do the Spaniards understand the French, nor in these islands do those of some provinces understand one another.In the same collection of voyages, I found a dictionary of only five terms which the Spaniards were able to learn in the Patagonian coast. One of those terms wasBaláy13which signifies “house” in that language; and with that same word do the Pampangos and Visayans designate house. It may be a mere coincidence which does not prove that the languages of various people are identical. But, seeing that in addition to this the names of South America sound like those of Philipinas, I tried to find some dictionary of that land. Not finding one I examined carefully the few words of the language of Chile which Ercilla has in hisAraucana,14and I found themsufficiently like the Tagálog language. The name “Chile” is not strange to this language where the cormorant is called “cachile.” It is also a pronoun which the Malays apply to the sons of kings. “Chilian,” which is a village of Chile, is a Tagálog composition, in which, adding an “an,” we have a word which signifies “place,” and we get “cachilian” which signifies “place where there are cormorants.” Mapocho, the site of the city of Santiago, is another Tagálog composition that signifies “place.” Thus frompocquiot, a kind of herb, we getmapocquiot, a place where that plant abounds.Apois the name given to him who governs, and that name is applied by these Indians to him who has any authority in the village. In Chile, words and phrases are reduplicated: asYtayta,Biobio,Lemolemo,Colocolo, etc. The same is done in the Tagálog and thus we say:Ataata,Bilobilo,Lebomlebom, andColocolo. The other words are either Tagálog or very similar, and the connection that is found in so few words in these two languages is [too] great to say that it is accident, although it is not sufficient so that we can say that they are dialects of one language.If on a comparison of the grammar and dictions of these two languages it is found that they originate from one and the same tongue, I would be so bold as to say that the Indians of Philipinas originate from the Indians of South America, and that the language of the latter is the parent language of which all the languages of these islands are dialects. Many will consider this a paradox, for the Malays being so near it would appear that the Filipinos must have originated from them, as our authors have generally believed. I cannot deny that these islands could have been easily settled by the Malays; but how shall we account for the peopling of the islands of Palaos and Marianas which are more than three hundred leguas distant? Where shall we get at those who settled the islands of San Duisk and Otayti, which are two thousand leguas from Philipinas? All these people have the same language, the same features, the same customs, and consequently, the same origin as our Indians. It is impossible that people should go from Philipinas to people those lands, for the east wind dominates constantly throughout the torrid zone, and that wind blowing head on would not permit the ship to sail to those islands. Rather on the contrary we must believe that the inhabitants of all the islands of the South Sea came from the Orient with wind astern as we have seen happen to the Indians of Palaos,15who have come to our Philipinas several times driven by the wind, and the east winds have not allowed them to return to their land. Let ussuppose that if then these islands were not peopled, those Indians would have been the first settlers. We do not know whether our Indians by a like accident, have been carried by the winds to the Oriental islands. On the contrary we believe the opposite, since at times the best pilots cannot make that navigation, and return without finding the islands whither they were sailing, as it is necessary to take a high latitude for that voyage. On this head we must seek the easiest solution, namely, that the settlers came from the east from island to island. Consequently, the most eastern land where the Tagálog language is found must be the country whence our Indians originate.One could well hesitate to assent to this truth, moved by the fact that the use of writing in the manner employed by the Malays was found established among these Indians, but it could very well happen that they might derive their origin from other nations and learn to write from the Malays, who would learn that science from the continent of India. The method of writing was by forming the lines from top to bottom, and beginning at the left and finishing at the right as did the Hebrews and Chinese. Their characters were quite different from ours. They had no vowels, for since there are only three vowels in those languages, namely, thea,e, andu, by placing a point above or below the consonant, or by not placing any point, it is easily known what the vowel is, which corresponds to the consonant letter, and it is read very well without the necessity of vowels. Although they knew how to write these people had no written laws, and governed themselves according to their traditions,and by natural law corrupted by the passions. The civil suits were sentenced by the petty rulers with the assistance of some old men. In criminal matters the relatives generally showed justice or it was settled with the aggressor on a gold basis in particular unless death followed. But in that case they did not content themselves except with the penalty of retaliation. If the murderer was of another settlement common cause was made, and the entire village fought against the settlement, from which resulted murders and wars in which slaves were made mutually. When it was suspected that one had robbed another, he was obliged to take a stone from a kettle filled with boiling water. If he did not do it (which we called the vulgar clearance from guilt), he was fined a certain sum of gold, the greater part of which went to the petty ruler. Adultery was punished by a pecuniary fine, as was also lack of respect for old people. But trickery in contracts was not considered wrong and was not punished by any penalty; and usury was common among them in all transactions.Their customs at marriage were very peculiar. They married only one woman. The chiefs however, had several concubines, who were commonly slaves. They generally married their nearest relative, provided she were not a sister, for they could not contract marriage with sisters. When they grew tired of their wife, they returned her to her parents. It was unnecessary to give cause for the divorce, for it was sufficient to give up the dowry which he himself had given when he was married. That dowry was of two kinds and was always paid by the bridegroom. One kind was calledbigay suso, and was the payment for the milk which the mother had given tothe damsel, by which he obtained her completely. The other was calledbigay cayaand was the real dowry. It was given to those recently married for their support. At times, however, the expense of the wedding was discounted from it, as well as the clothes, so that very little or nothing at all remained for the recently married couple. Besides the bridegroom giving that dowry, he had to serve the parents of the bride for some years; to feast them on certain days; to assist in the sowing of the rice and the harvest, and to carry food to the laborers. All the relatives of the bridegroom had to be obsequious to the bride, to her parents, and to all her relatives, so long as those years of service lasted. If they failed in any point, the marriage was dissolved, a thing which was very agreeable to the parents of the woman, for then a new suitor appeared, and they began to suck his blood again. In retaliation for what the bridegroom suffered before marriage, he treated his wife like a slave after marriage. She had to find the sustenance for the family, while her husband was off enjoying himself, and she considered herself fortunate if after that he did not beat her. The self-interest of the parents in their daughters in which this pernicious custom is observed, has been the reason why it has been impossible to uproot this hitherto, notwithstanding the royal cedulas and the decrees of the bishops which prohibit it. The ceremony of the marriage was performed with the sacrifice of a hog, which a priestess killed after going through a thousand gestures. She blessed the couple abundantly, and afterward the old women gave them food in a dish and gave vent to many obscenities, after which the couple were pronouncedmarried. Then followed dances according to their custom, and drunken revels for all the days that the function lasted. The number of days were regulated according to the wealth of the contracting parties. He who went to the feast gave something to the couple, and note was made of it so that they could do the same in a like case.In regard to religion, they had neither idols nor temples, but they offered sacrifices in shady bowers that they had for that purpose. There were priestesses whom they calledbabailanesorcatalonas. They attended to the sacrifices, and taking a lance in the hand and foaming at the mouth with ridiculous and extraordinary gestures, they prophesied on the point for which the sacrifice was offered and killed a hog with the lance. Then they immediately divided the hog among those present and the function was finished with dances and drunken revelries. Those sacrifices were offered to the demons or to the souls of their ancestors, which they thought lived in the large trees, in the crags which they met in isolated places, or in anything out of the common which was found in the fields. They thought that thenonoor their forbears lived in all those places, and they never passed by them without asking permission of them—a thing which some of them do even yet. When anyone was dangerously sick they offered in those places rice, wine, and meat, and afterward gave that to the sick man to eat, so that he might be cured, a custom still observed by some of them.They had many other superstitions such as that of thepatianac, which they say hinders childbirth by its tongue which is very fine and long, and whichreaches even to the womb of the woman, where it restrains and whence it does not allow the infant to issue. In order that thepatianacmay have no effect, the husband tightly bars the portal of the house, lights the fire, and completely naked holds a sword and cuts the wind with it in a furious manner until his wife brings forth. Thetigbalangis another of the things of which they are greatly afraid. It is a kind of ghost which they say appears to them in the form of an animal or of some unknown monster and forces them to do things contrary to the laws of our religion. These and other superstitions, which they held in former times, they still observe at times, when the charlatans who are maintained at the cost of simpletons persuade them that they will get better from some dangerous illness or will find the jewel that they have lost, if they will practice them. And so powerful is self-interest or the love of life that although they believe that it is evil to observe those superstitions and not give entire assent to those deceits, they carry them out, for they say that perhaps it will be so. That is a proof that they have very little root in the faith.All their religion was rather a servile fear than true worship. They had no external adoration or any formula of prayers to God or idols; they believed in neither reward nor recompense for the good, nor punishment for the wicked. For although they knew of the immortality of the soul and believed that they could do wrong, that belief was so filled with errors that they thought that the souls had need of sustenance, and all other things that we mortals need. Consequently, at their funerals they placed clothing, weapons, and food in the coffins; and onthe fourth day when they generally celebrated the funeral honors, they left an unoccupied seat at table for the deceased, and they believed that he really occupied it, although they could not see him. In order to be sure of that they scattered ashes in the house, in which they at times found the impress of the tracks of the deceased, either through the deceit of the devil or of some other Indian, who left the impress of his feet there to fool the others. Persuaded of that they offered them food so that they should do no harm. Their religion was always directed to that—a circumstance quite in keeping with their natural cowardice and timorousness.
The people of the Philippines
[Joaquin Martinez de Zúñiga, O. S. A., in hisHistoria(Sampaloc, 1803),6pp. 19–38, devotes one chapter to the inhabitants of the Philippines. We translate from the copy belonging to the library of E. E. Ayer.]Chapter IIOf the inhabitants whom the Spaniards found in the Philipinas, and of their language, customs, and religion.Our historians, always inclined to the marvelous, divide the peoples whom the Spaniards found in the Philipinas into three classes. In their histories there is not a lack of satyrs, men with tails, and mermen, and whatever else can cause wonder in human nature. But truly, only two classes of people are found, namely, those whom we know by the name of Aetas or Negritos,7and the Indians. The Negritosare small, not so black as those of Guinea, and have kinky hair and flat noses. They live naked in the mountains, and only cover themselves in front with the bark of a tree. They live on roots and the deer which they hunt with arrows in which they are very skilful. They sleep where night overtakes them. They have no idea of religion, so that they resemble wild beasts rather than men. The effort has been made to domesticate and christianize them, and they are not much opposed to it, provided that they are given food to eat. But if they are ordered to work to support their family, they return to the mountain although they have just been baptized. For that reason they are not now baptized although they agree to it, except some children whom the Indians or Spaniards generally have in their houses. Even in this case, one cannot be secure of them for when they grow up they generally return to the mountains with their fellowcountrymen. Beyond all doubt those Negritos are the first settlers of these islands, and retired to the mountains when the Indians came hither. The latter inhabit the coasts, and formerly the Negritos waged continual war with them, and would not permit them to cut wood in the mountains unless they paid tribute to them. Today they have but little power, and yet they are feared; for whenever any Negrito is killed, or when any one dies suddenly, another Negrito generally offers himself among his companions and takes an oath not to return to his own people until he kills three or four Indians. He does it by lying in ambush in their villagesand by treacherously killing in the mountains him who becomes separated from his companions.Some believe the origin of these Negritos to be that they came from the negros of Angola,8and the reason why they are not so black as their ancestors consists, they say, in the climate of these Indias which is more moderate. That might be so, for it is as easy for him who changes his climate to decrease in blackness during a long series of generations as it is for him to increase it by living in an inclement climate. But the flat nose and the use of the dialect of the same language which the Indians of these islands use, proves sufficiently that their origin is one and the same with them. The fact that they are blacker than the Indians, depends only on their having lived many centuries in the water by night and day, in wind and sun, and exposed to all the inclemencies of the weather. That and their lack of government has transferred them to their almost wild condition in which we see them.The Indians whom the Spaniards found here were of average stature, olive color, or the color of boiled quinces, large eyes, flat noses, and straight hair. All had some form of government more or less civilized. They were distinguished by different names, but their features and customs prove that the origin of all these people is one and the same, and that they did not compose different races. They had their own petty rulers, who were generally the most valiant, or those who had inherited the kingdom from their fathers, if they could conserve it. Their dominionextended over one or two rude settlements, or at most was according to the valor of him who ruled. They were continually at war with the neighboring settlements, and made one another slaves. From those wars there resulted three classes of people among them: namely, the chiefs who were the masters of the settlement; the slaves; and the freemen, who consisted of slaves or their descendants to whom their masters had given freedom. The last class are calledTimavaseven yet, which properly signifies “freed-man.” In some districts Indians are found who are whiter than others—descendants doubtless of some Chinese or Japanese, who were shipwrecked on these coasts, and whom the Indians naturally hospitably received and with whom they mingled. That is commonly believed in regard to the Ygorrotes of Ylocos.9Their eyes, similar to those of the Chinese, prove that they mingled with the companions of Limahon who fled to those mountains when Juan de Salcedo had besieged them in Pangasinan.It is not easy to prove the origin of these peoples but their language might supply some light. Although the languages spoken by the Indians are many and diverse, they resemble one another so closely that it is recognized clearly that they are all dialects of one and the same tongue, as the Spanish, French, and Italian are of the Latin. The prepositions and pronouns are almost the same in all of them,the numerals differ but slightly, many words are common to all, and they have the same structure. This language, which is one single language, with different dialects, is spoken from Madagascar to Philipinas and no one can contradict this.10I add that it is spoken in Nueva Guinea and in all the lands of the south, in the Marianas, in the islands of San Duisk, in those of Otayti,11and in almost all the islands of the South Sea. In a collection of voyages wherein are found several dictionaries of the terms which the travelers could learn in each one of these islands I have seen with wonder that the pronouns are almost all the same; that in the Tagálogs the numerals resemble those of any other language of these islands, and most of the words are the same and have the same meaning as in the Tagálog language. But the thing which made me believe more in the identity of these languages was my examination of Don Juan Hovel, an Englishman, who spoke the dialect of San Duisk with a servant of his who was a native of thoseislands. I found that the construction was the same as that of the languages which are spoken in Philipinas. Consequently, I had no reason to doubt that all these languages are dialects of one speech which is the most extensive in the world, and which is spoken through many thousands of leguas from Madagascar to the islands of San Duisk, Otayti, and the island of Pasquas12which is not six hundred leguas distant from America; and the fact that the Indians of Philipinas do not understand the peoples of those islands when they pass through their lands does not offer any argument against this supposition, for neither do the Spaniards understand the French, nor in these islands do those of some provinces understand one another.In the same collection of voyages, I found a dictionary of only five terms which the Spaniards were able to learn in the Patagonian coast. One of those terms wasBaláy13which signifies “house” in that language; and with that same word do the Pampangos and Visayans designate house. It may be a mere coincidence which does not prove that the languages of various people are identical. But, seeing that in addition to this the names of South America sound like those of Philipinas, I tried to find some dictionary of that land. Not finding one I examined carefully the few words of the language of Chile which Ercilla has in hisAraucana,14and I found themsufficiently like the Tagálog language. The name “Chile” is not strange to this language where the cormorant is called “cachile.” It is also a pronoun which the Malays apply to the sons of kings. “Chilian,” which is a village of Chile, is a Tagálog composition, in which, adding an “an,” we have a word which signifies “place,” and we get “cachilian” which signifies “place where there are cormorants.” Mapocho, the site of the city of Santiago, is another Tagálog composition that signifies “place.” Thus frompocquiot, a kind of herb, we getmapocquiot, a place where that plant abounds.Apois the name given to him who governs, and that name is applied by these Indians to him who has any authority in the village. In Chile, words and phrases are reduplicated: asYtayta,Biobio,Lemolemo,Colocolo, etc. The same is done in the Tagálog and thus we say:Ataata,Bilobilo,Lebomlebom, andColocolo. The other words are either Tagálog or very similar, and the connection that is found in so few words in these two languages is [too] great to say that it is accident, although it is not sufficient so that we can say that they are dialects of one language.If on a comparison of the grammar and dictions of these two languages it is found that they originate from one and the same tongue, I would be so bold as to say that the Indians of Philipinas originate from the Indians of South America, and that the language of the latter is the parent language of which all the languages of these islands are dialects. Many will consider this a paradox, for the Malays being so near it would appear that the Filipinos must have originated from them, as our authors have generally believed. I cannot deny that these islands could have been easily settled by the Malays; but how shall we account for the peopling of the islands of Palaos and Marianas which are more than three hundred leguas distant? Where shall we get at those who settled the islands of San Duisk and Otayti, which are two thousand leguas from Philipinas? All these people have the same language, the same features, the same customs, and consequently, the same origin as our Indians. It is impossible that people should go from Philipinas to people those lands, for the east wind dominates constantly throughout the torrid zone, and that wind blowing head on would not permit the ship to sail to those islands. Rather on the contrary we must believe that the inhabitants of all the islands of the South Sea came from the Orient with wind astern as we have seen happen to the Indians of Palaos,15who have come to our Philipinas several times driven by the wind, and the east winds have not allowed them to return to their land. Let ussuppose that if then these islands were not peopled, those Indians would have been the first settlers. We do not know whether our Indians by a like accident, have been carried by the winds to the Oriental islands. On the contrary we believe the opposite, since at times the best pilots cannot make that navigation, and return without finding the islands whither they were sailing, as it is necessary to take a high latitude for that voyage. On this head we must seek the easiest solution, namely, that the settlers came from the east from island to island. Consequently, the most eastern land where the Tagálog language is found must be the country whence our Indians originate.One could well hesitate to assent to this truth, moved by the fact that the use of writing in the manner employed by the Malays was found established among these Indians, but it could very well happen that they might derive their origin from other nations and learn to write from the Malays, who would learn that science from the continent of India. The method of writing was by forming the lines from top to bottom, and beginning at the left and finishing at the right as did the Hebrews and Chinese. Their characters were quite different from ours. They had no vowels, for since there are only three vowels in those languages, namely, thea,e, andu, by placing a point above or below the consonant, or by not placing any point, it is easily known what the vowel is, which corresponds to the consonant letter, and it is read very well without the necessity of vowels. Although they knew how to write these people had no written laws, and governed themselves according to their traditions,and by natural law corrupted by the passions. The civil suits were sentenced by the petty rulers with the assistance of some old men. In criminal matters the relatives generally showed justice or it was settled with the aggressor on a gold basis in particular unless death followed. But in that case they did not content themselves except with the penalty of retaliation. If the murderer was of another settlement common cause was made, and the entire village fought against the settlement, from which resulted murders and wars in which slaves were made mutually. When it was suspected that one had robbed another, he was obliged to take a stone from a kettle filled with boiling water. If he did not do it (which we called the vulgar clearance from guilt), he was fined a certain sum of gold, the greater part of which went to the petty ruler. Adultery was punished by a pecuniary fine, as was also lack of respect for old people. But trickery in contracts was not considered wrong and was not punished by any penalty; and usury was common among them in all transactions.Their customs at marriage were very peculiar. They married only one woman. The chiefs however, had several concubines, who were commonly slaves. They generally married their nearest relative, provided she were not a sister, for they could not contract marriage with sisters. When they grew tired of their wife, they returned her to her parents. It was unnecessary to give cause for the divorce, for it was sufficient to give up the dowry which he himself had given when he was married. That dowry was of two kinds and was always paid by the bridegroom. One kind was calledbigay suso, and was the payment for the milk which the mother had given tothe damsel, by which he obtained her completely. The other was calledbigay cayaand was the real dowry. It was given to those recently married for their support. At times, however, the expense of the wedding was discounted from it, as well as the clothes, so that very little or nothing at all remained for the recently married couple. Besides the bridegroom giving that dowry, he had to serve the parents of the bride for some years; to feast them on certain days; to assist in the sowing of the rice and the harvest, and to carry food to the laborers. All the relatives of the bridegroom had to be obsequious to the bride, to her parents, and to all her relatives, so long as those years of service lasted. If they failed in any point, the marriage was dissolved, a thing which was very agreeable to the parents of the woman, for then a new suitor appeared, and they began to suck his blood again. In retaliation for what the bridegroom suffered before marriage, he treated his wife like a slave after marriage. She had to find the sustenance for the family, while her husband was off enjoying himself, and she considered herself fortunate if after that he did not beat her. The self-interest of the parents in their daughters in which this pernicious custom is observed, has been the reason why it has been impossible to uproot this hitherto, notwithstanding the royal cedulas and the decrees of the bishops which prohibit it. The ceremony of the marriage was performed with the sacrifice of a hog, which a priestess killed after going through a thousand gestures. She blessed the couple abundantly, and afterward the old women gave them food in a dish and gave vent to many obscenities, after which the couple were pronouncedmarried. Then followed dances according to their custom, and drunken revels for all the days that the function lasted. The number of days were regulated according to the wealth of the contracting parties. He who went to the feast gave something to the couple, and note was made of it so that they could do the same in a like case.In regard to religion, they had neither idols nor temples, but they offered sacrifices in shady bowers that they had for that purpose. There were priestesses whom they calledbabailanesorcatalonas. They attended to the sacrifices, and taking a lance in the hand and foaming at the mouth with ridiculous and extraordinary gestures, they prophesied on the point for which the sacrifice was offered and killed a hog with the lance. Then they immediately divided the hog among those present and the function was finished with dances and drunken revelries. Those sacrifices were offered to the demons or to the souls of their ancestors, which they thought lived in the large trees, in the crags which they met in isolated places, or in anything out of the common which was found in the fields. They thought that thenonoor their forbears lived in all those places, and they never passed by them without asking permission of them—a thing which some of them do even yet. When anyone was dangerously sick they offered in those places rice, wine, and meat, and afterward gave that to the sick man to eat, so that he might be cured, a custom still observed by some of them.They had many other superstitions such as that of thepatianac, which they say hinders childbirth by its tongue which is very fine and long, and whichreaches even to the womb of the woman, where it restrains and whence it does not allow the infant to issue. In order that thepatianacmay have no effect, the husband tightly bars the portal of the house, lights the fire, and completely naked holds a sword and cuts the wind with it in a furious manner until his wife brings forth. Thetigbalangis another of the things of which they are greatly afraid. It is a kind of ghost which they say appears to them in the form of an animal or of some unknown monster and forces them to do things contrary to the laws of our religion. These and other superstitions, which they held in former times, they still observe at times, when the charlatans who are maintained at the cost of simpletons persuade them that they will get better from some dangerous illness or will find the jewel that they have lost, if they will practice them. And so powerful is self-interest or the love of life that although they believe that it is evil to observe those superstitions and not give entire assent to those deceits, they carry them out, for they say that perhaps it will be so. That is a proof that they have very little root in the faith.All their religion was rather a servile fear than true worship. They had no external adoration or any formula of prayers to God or idols; they believed in neither reward nor recompense for the good, nor punishment for the wicked. For although they knew of the immortality of the soul and believed that they could do wrong, that belief was so filled with errors that they thought that the souls had need of sustenance, and all other things that we mortals need. Consequently, at their funerals they placed clothing, weapons, and food in the coffins; and onthe fourth day when they generally celebrated the funeral honors, they left an unoccupied seat at table for the deceased, and they believed that he really occupied it, although they could not see him. In order to be sure of that they scattered ashes in the house, in which they at times found the impress of the tracks of the deceased, either through the deceit of the devil or of some other Indian, who left the impress of his feet there to fool the others. Persuaded of that they offered them food so that they should do no harm. Their religion was always directed to that—a circumstance quite in keeping with their natural cowardice and timorousness.
[Joaquin Martinez de Zúñiga, O. S. A., in hisHistoria(Sampaloc, 1803),6pp. 19–38, devotes one chapter to the inhabitants of the Philippines. We translate from the copy belonging to the library of E. E. Ayer.]
Chapter IIOf the inhabitants whom the Spaniards found in the Philipinas, and of their language, customs, and religion.Our historians, always inclined to the marvelous, divide the peoples whom the Spaniards found in the Philipinas into three classes. In their histories there is not a lack of satyrs, men with tails, and mermen, and whatever else can cause wonder in human nature. But truly, only two classes of people are found, namely, those whom we know by the name of Aetas or Negritos,7and the Indians. The Negritosare small, not so black as those of Guinea, and have kinky hair and flat noses. They live naked in the mountains, and only cover themselves in front with the bark of a tree. They live on roots and the deer which they hunt with arrows in which they are very skilful. They sleep where night overtakes them. They have no idea of religion, so that they resemble wild beasts rather than men. The effort has been made to domesticate and christianize them, and they are not much opposed to it, provided that they are given food to eat. But if they are ordered to work to support their family, they return to the mountain although they have just been baptized. For that reason they are not now baptized although they agree to it, except some children whom the Indians or Spaniards generally have in their houses. Even in this case, one cannot be secure of them for when they grow up they generally return to the mountains with their fellowcountrymen. Beyond all doubt those Negritos are the first settlers of these islands, and retired to the mountains when the Indians came hither. The latter inhabit the coasts, and formerly the Negritos waged continual war with them, and would not permit them to cut wood in the mountains unless they paid tribute to them. Today they have but little power, and yet they are feared; for whenever any Negrito is killed, or when any one dies suddenly, another Negrito generally offers himself among his companions and takes an oath not to return to his own people until he kills three or four Indians. He does it by lying in ambush in their villagesand by treacherously killing in the mountains him who becomes separated from his companions.Some believe the origin of these Negritos to be that they came from the negros of Angola,8and the reason why they are not so black as their ancestors consists, they say, in the climate of these Indias which is more moderate. That might be so, for it is as easy for him who changes his climate to decrease in blackness during a long series of generations as it is for him to increase it by living in an inclement climate. But the flat nose and the use of the dialect of the same language which the Indians of these islands use, proves sufficiently that their origin is one and the same with them. The fact that they are blacker than the Indians, depends only on their having lived many centuries in the water by night and day, in wind and sun, and exposed to all the inclemencies of the weather. That and their lack of government has transferred them to their almost wild condition in which we see them.The Indians whom the Spaniards found here were of average stature, olive color, or the color of boiled quinces, large eyes, flat noses, and straight hair. All had some form of government more or less civilized. They were distinguished by different names, but their features and customs prove that the origin of all these people is one and the same, and that they did not compose different races. They had their own petty rulers, who were generally the most valiant, or those who had inherited the kingdom from their fathers, if they could conserve it. Their dominionextended over one or two rude settlements, or at most was according to the valor of him who ruled. They were continually at war with the neighboring settlements, and made one another slaves. From those wars there resulted three classes of people among them: namely, the chiefs who were the masters of the settlement; the slaves; and the freemen, who consisted of slaves or their descendants to whom their masters had given freedom. The last class are calledTimavaseven yet, which properly signifies “freed-man.” In some districts Indians are found who are whiter than others—descendants doubtless of some Chinese or Japanese, who were shipwrecked on these coasts, and whom the Indians naturally hospitably received and with whom they mingled. That is commonly believed in regard to the Ygorrotes of Ylocos.9Their eyes, similar to those of the Chinese, prove that they mingled with the companions of Limahon who fled to those mountains when Juan de Salcedo had besieged them in Pangasinan.It is not easy to prove the origin of these peoples but their language might supply some light. Although the languages spoken by the Indians are many and diverse, they resemble one another so closely that it is recognized clearly that they are all dialects of one and the same tongue, as the Spanish, French, and Italian are of the Latin. The prepositions and pronouns are almost the same in all of them,the numerals differ but slightly, many words are common to all, and they have the same structure. This language, which is one single language, with different dialects, is spoken from Madagascar to Philipinas and no one can contradict this.10I add that it is spoken in Nueva Guinea and in all the lands of the south, in the Marianas, in the islands of San Duisk, in those of Otayti,11and in almost all the islands of the South Sea. In a collection of voyages wherein are found several dictionaries of the terms which the travelers could learn in each one of these islands I have seen with wonder that the pronouns are almost all the same; that in the Tagálogs the numerals resemble those of any other language of these islands, and most of the words are the same and have the same meaning as in the Tagálog language. But the thing which made me believe more in the identity of these languages was my examination of Don Juan Hovel, an Englishman, who spoke the dialect of San Duisk with a servant of his who was a native of thoseislands. I found that the construction was the same as that of the languages which are spoken in Philipinas. Consequently, I had no reason to doubt that all these languages are dialects of one speech which is the most extensive in the world, and which is spoken through many thousands of leguas from Madagascar to the islands of San Duisk, Otayti, and the island of Pasquas12which is not six hundred leguas distant from America; and the fact that the Indians of Philipinas do not understand the peoples of those islands when they pass through their lands does not offer any argument against this supposition, for neither do the Spaniards understand the French, nor in these islands do those of some provinces understand one another.In the same collection of voyages, I found a dictionary of only five terms which the Spaniards were able to learn in the Patagonian coast. One of those terms wasBaláy13which signifies “house” in that language; and with that same word do the Pampangos and Visayans designate house. It may be a mere coincidence which does not prove that the languages of various people are identical. But, seeing that in addition to this the names of South America sound like those of Philipinas, I tried to find some dictionary of that land. Not finding one I examined carefully the few words of the language of Chile which Ercilla has in hisAraucana,14and I found themsufficiently like the Tagálog language. The name “Chile” is not strange to this language where the cormorant is called “cachile.” It is also a pronoun which the Malays apply to the sons of kings. “Chilian,” which is a village of Chile, is a Tagálog composition, in which, adding an “an,” we have a word which signifies “place,” and we get “cachilian” which signifies “place where there are cormorants.” Mapocho, the site of the city of Santiago, is another Tagálog composition that signifies “place.” Thus frompocquiot, a kind of herb, we getmapocquiot, a place where that plant abounds.Apois the name given to him who governs, and that name is applied by these Indians to him who has any authority in the village. In Chile, words and phrases are reduplicated: asYtayta,Biobio,Lemolemo,Colocolo, etc. The same is done in the Tagálog and thus we say:Ataata,Bilobilo,Lebomlebom, andColocolo. The other words are either Tagálog or very similar, and the connection that is found in so few words in these two languages is [too] great to say that it is accident, although it is not sufficient so that we can say that they are dialects of one language.If on a comparison of the grammar and dictions of these two languages it is found that they originate from one and the same tongue, I would be so bold as to say that the Indians of Philipinas originate from the Indians of South America, and that the language of the latter is the parent language of which all the languages of these islands are dialects. Many will consider this a paradox, for the Malays being so near it would appear that the Filipinos must have originated from them, as our authors have generally believed. I cannot deny that these islands could have been easily settled by the Malays; but how shall we account for the peopling of the islands of Palaos and Marianas which are more than three hundred leguas distant? Where shall we get at those who settled the islands of San Duisk and Otayti, which are two thousand leguas from Philipinas? All these people have the same language, the same features, the same customs, and consequently, the same origin as our Indians. It is impossible that people should go from Philipinas to people those lands, for the east wind dominates constantly throughout the torrid zone, and that wind blowing head on would not permit the ship to sail to those islands. Rather on the contrary we must believe that the inhabitants of all the islands of the South Sea came from the Orient with wind astern as we have seen happen to the Indians of Palaos,15who have come to our Philipinas several times driven by the wind, and the east winds have not allowed them to return to their land. Let ussuppose that if then these islands were not peopled, those Indians would have been the first settlers. We do not know whether our Indians by a like accident, have been carried by the winds to the Oriental islands. On the contrary we believe the opposite, since at times the best pilots cannot make that navigation, and return without finding the islands whither they were sailing, as it is necessary to take a high latitude for that voyage. On this head we must seek the easiest solution, namely, that the settlers came from the east from island to island. Consequently, the most eastern land where the Tagálog language is found must be the country whence our Indians originate.One could well hesitate to assent to this truth, moved by the fact that the use of writing in the manner employed by the Malays was found established among these Indians, but it could very well happen that they might derive their origin from other nations and learn to write from the Malays, who would learn that science from the continent of India. The method of writing was by forming the lines from top to bottom, and beginning at the left and finishing at the right as did the Hebrews and Chinese. Their characters were quite different from ours. They had no vowels, for since there are only three vowels in those languages, namely, thea,e, andu, by placing a point above or below the consonant, or by not placing any point, it is easily known what the vowel is, which corresponds to the consonant letter, and it is read very well without the necessity of vowels. Although they knew how to write these people had no written laws, and governed themselves according to their traditions,and by natural law corrupted by the passions. The civil suits were sentenced by the petty rulers with the assistance of some old men. In criminal matters the relatives generally showed justice or it was settled with the aggressor on a gold basis in particular unless death followed. But in that case they did not content themselves except with the penalty of retaliation. If the murderer was of another settlement common cause was made, and the entire village fought against the settlement, from which resulted murders and wars in which slaves were made mutually. When it was suspected that one had robbed another, he was obliged to take a stone from a kettle filled with boiling water. If he did not do it (which we called the vulgar clearance from guilt), he was fined a certain sum of gold, the greater part of which went to the petty ruler. Adultery was punished by a pecuniary fine, as was also lack of respect for old people. But trickery in contracts was not considered wrong and was not punished by any penalty; and usury was common among them in all transactions.Their customs at marriage were very peculiar. They married only one woman. The chiefs however, had several concubines, who were commonly slaves. They generally married their nearest relative, provided she were not a sister, for they could not contract marriage with sisters. When they grew tired of their wife, they returned her to her parents. It was unnecessary to give cause for the divorce, for it was sufficient to give up the dowry which he himself had given when he was married. That dowry was of two kinds and was always paid by the bridegroom. One kind was calledbigay suso, and was the payment for the milk which the mother had given tothe damsel, by which he obtained her completely. The other was calledbigay cayaand was the real dowry. It was given to those recently married for their support. At times, however, the expense of the wedding was discounted from it, as well as the clothes, so that very little or nothing at all remained for the recently married couple. Besides the bridegroom giving that dowry, he had to serve the parents of the bride for some years; to feast them on certain days; to assist in the sowing of the rice and the harvest, and to carry food to the laborers. All the relatives of the bridegroom had to be obsequious to the bride, to her parents, and to all her relatives, so long as those years of service lasted. If they failed in any point, the marriage was dissolved, a thing which was very agreeable to the parents of the woman, for then a new suitor appeared, and they began to suck his blood again. In retaliation for what the bridegroom suffered before marriage, he treated his wife like a slave after marriage. She had to find the sustenance for the family, while her husband was off enjoying himself, and she considered herself fortunate if after that he did not beat her. The self-interest of the parents in their daughters in which this pernicious custom is observed, has been the reason why it has been impossible to uproot this hitherto, notwithstanding the royal cedulas and the decrees of the bishops which prohibit it. The ceremony of the marriage was performed with the sacrifice of a hog, which a priestess killed after going through a thousand gestures. She blessed the couple abundantly, and afterward the old women gave them food in a dish and gave vent to many obscenities, after which the couple were pronouncedmarried. Then followed dances according to their custom, and drunken revels for all the days that the function lasted. The number of days were regulated according to the wealth of the contracting parties. He who went to the feast gave something to the couple, and note was made of it so that they could do the same in a like case.In regard to religion, they had neither idols nor temples, but they offered sacrifices in shady bowers that they had for that purpose. There were priestesses whom they calledbabailanesorcatalonas. They attended to the sacrifices, and taking a lance in the hand and foaming at the mouth with ridiculous and extraordinary gestures, they prophesied on the point for which the sacrifice was offered and killed a hog with the lance. Then they immediately divided the hog among those present and the function was finished with dances and drunken revelries. Those sacrifices were offered to the demons or to the souls of their ancestors, which they thought lived in the large trees, in the crags which they met in isolated places, or in anything out of the common which was found in the fields. They thought that thenonoor their forbears lived in all those places, and they never passed by them without asking permission of them—a thing which some of them do even yet. When anyone was dangerously sick they offered in those places rice, wine, and meat, and afterward gave that to the sick man to eat, so that he might be cured, a custom still observed by some of them.They had many other superstitions such as that of thepatianac, which they say hinders childbirth by its tongue which is very fine and long, and whichreaches even to the womb of the woman, where it restrains and whence it does not allow the infant to issue. In order that thepatianacmay have no effect, the husband tightly bars the portal of the house, lights the fire, and completely naked holds a sword and cuts the wind with it in a furious manner until his wife brings forth. Thetigbalangis another of the things of which they are greatly afraid. It is a kind of ghost which they say appears to them in the form of an animal or of some unknown monster and forces them to do things contrary to the laws of our religion. These and other superstitions, which they held in former times, they still observe at times, when the charlatans who are maintained at the cost of simpletons persuade them that they will get better from some dangerous illness or will find the jewel that they have lost, if they will practice them. And so powerful is self-interest or the love of life that although they believe that it is evil to observe those superstitions and not give entire assent to those deceits, they carry them out, for they say that perhaps it will be so. That is a proof that they have very little root in the faith.All their religion was rather a servile fear than true worship. They had no external adoration or any formula of prayers to God or idols; they believed in neither reward nor recompense for the good, nor punishment for the wicked. For although they knew of the immortality of the soul and believed that they could do wrong, that belief was so filled with errors that they thought that the souls had need of sustenance, and all other things that we mortals need. Consequently, at their funerals they placed clothing, weapons, and food in the coffins; and onthe fourth day when they generally celebrated the funeral honors, they left an unoccupied seat at table for the deceased, and they believed that he really occupied it, although they could not see him. In order to be sure of that they scattered ashes in the house, in which they at times found the impress of the tracks of the deceased, either through the deceit of the devil or of some other Indian, who left the impress of his feet there to fool the others. Persuaded of that they offered them food so that they should do no harm. Their religion was always directed to that—a circumstance quite in keeping with their natural cowardice and timorousness.
Chapter IIOf the inhabitants whom the Spaniards found in the Philipinas, and of their language, customs, and religion.
Of the inhabitants whom the Spaniards found in the Philipinas, and of their language, customs, and religion.
Of the inhabitants whom the Spaniards found in the Philipinas, and of their language, customs, and religion.
Our historians, always inclined to the marvelous, divide the peoples whom the Spaniards found in the Philipinas into three classes. In their histories there is not a lack of satyrs, men with tails, and mermen, and whatever else can cause wonder in human nature. But truly, only two classes of people are found, namely, those whom we know by the name of Aetas or Negritos,7and the Indians. The Negritosare small, not so black as those of Guinea, and have kinky hair and flat noses. They live naked in the mountains, and only cover themselves in front with the bark of a tree. They live on roots and the deer which they hunt with arrows in which they are very skilful. They sleep where night overtakes them. They have no idea of religion, so that they resemble wild beasts rather than men. The effort has been made to domesticate and christianize them, and they are not much opposed to it, provided that they are given food to eat. But if they are ordered to work to support their family, they return to the mountain although they have just been baptized. For that reason they are not now baptized although they agree to it, except some children whom the Indians or Spaniards generally have in their houses. Even in this case, one cannot be secure of them for when they grow up they generally return to the mountains with their fellowcountrymen. Beyond all doubt those Negritos are the first settlers of these islands, and retired to the mountains when the Indians came hither. The latter inhabit the coasts, and formerly the Negritos waged continual war with them, and would not permit them to cut wood in the mountains unless they paid tribute to them. Today they have but little power, and yet they are feared; for whenever any Negrito is killed, or when any one dies suddenly, another Negrito generally offers himself among his companions and takes an oath not to return to his own people until he kills three or four Indians. He does it by lying in ambush in their villagesand by treacherously killing in the mountains him who becomes separated from his companions.Some believe the origin of these Negritos to be that they came from the negros of Angola,8and the reason why they are not so black as their ancestors consists, they say, in the climate of these Indias which is more moderate. That might be so, for it is as easy for him who changes his climate to decrease in blackness during a long series of generations as it is for him to increase it by living in an inclement climate. But the flat nose and the use of the dialect of the same language which the Indians of these islands use, proves sufficiently that their origin is one and the same with them. The fact that they are blacker than the Indians, depends only on their having lived many centuries in the water by night and day, in wind and sun, and exposed to all the inclemencies of the weather. That and their lack of government has transferred them to their almost wild condition in which we see them.The Indians whom the Spaniards found here were of average stature, olive color, or the color of boiled quinces, large eyes, flat noses, and straight hair. All had some form of government more or less civilized. They were distinguished by different names, but their features and customs prove that the origin of all these people is one and the same, and that they did not compose different races. They had their own petty rulers, who were generally the most valiant, or those who had inherited the kingdom from their fathers, if they could conserve it. Their dominionextended over one or two rude settlements, or at most was according to the valor of him who ruled. They were continually at war with the neighboring settlements, and made one another slaves. From those wars there resulted three classes of people among them: namely, the chiefs who were the masters of the settlement; the slaves; and the freemen, who consisted of slaves or their descendants to whom their masters had given freedom. The last class are calledTimavaseven yet, which properly signifies “freed-man.” In some districts Indians are found who are whiter than others—descendants doubtless of some Chinese or Japanese, who were shipwrecked on these coasts, and whom the Indians naturally hospitably received and with whom they mingled. That is commonly believed in regard to the Ygorrotes of Ylocos.9Their eyes, similar to those of the Chinese, prove that they mingled with the companions of Limahon who fled to those mountains when Juan de Salcedo had besieged them in Pangasinan.It is not easy to prove the origin of these peoples but their language might supply some light. Although the languages spoken by the Indians are many and diverse, they resemble one another so closely that it is recognized clearly that they are all dialects of one and the same tongue, as the Spanish, French, and Italian are of the Latin. The prepositions and pronouns are almost the same in all of them,the numerals differ but slightly, many words are common to all, and they have the same structure. This language, which is one single language, with different dialects, is spoken from Madagascar to Philipinas and no one can contradict this.10I add that it is spoken in Nueva Guinea and in all the lands of the south, in the Marianas, in the islands of San Duisk, in those of Otayti,11and in almost all the islands of the South Sea. In a collection of voyages wherein are found several dictionaries of the terms which the travelers could learn in each one of these islands I have seen with wonder that the pronouns are almost all the same; that in the Tagálogs the numerals resemble those of any other language of these islands, and most of the words are the same and have the same meaning as in the Tagálog language. But the thing which made me believe more in the identity of these languages was my examination of Don Juan Hovel, an Englishman, who spoke the dialect of San Duisk with a servant of his who was a native of thoseislands. I found that the construction was the same as that of the languages which are spoken in Philipinas. Consequently, I had no reason to doubt that all these languages are dialects of one speech which is the most extensive in the world, and which is spoken through many thousands of leguas from Madagascar to the islands of San Duisk, Otayti, and the island of Pasquas12which is not six hundred leguas distant from America; and the fact that the Indians of Philipinas do not understand the peoples of those islands when they pass through their lands does not offer any argument against this supposition, for neither do the Spaniards understand the French, nor in these islands do those of some provinces understand one another.In the same collection of voyages, I found a dictionary of only five terms which the Spaniards were able to learn in the Patagonian coast. One of those terms wasBaláy13which signifies “house” in that language; and with that same word do the Pampangos and Visayans designate house. It may be a mere coincidence which does not prove that the languages of various people are identical. But, seeing that in addition to this the names of South America sound like those of Philipinas, I tried to find some dictionary of that land. Not finding one I examined carefully the few words of the language of Chile which Ercilla has in hisAraucana,14and I found themsufficiently like the Tagálog language. The name “Chile” is not strange to this language where the cormorant is called “cachile.” It is also a pronoun which the Malays apply to the sons of kings. “Chilian,” which is a village of Chile, is a Tagálog composition, in which, adding an “an,” we have a word which signifies “place,” and we get “cachilian” which signifies “place where there are cormorants.” Mapocho, the site of the city of Santiago, is another Tagálog composition that signifies “place.” Thus frompocquiot, a kind of herb, we getmapocquiot, a place where that plant abounds.Apois the name given to him who governs, and that name is applied by these Indians to him who has any authority in the village. In Chile, words and phrases are reduplicated: asYtayta,Biobio,Lemolemo,Colocolo, etc. The same is done in the Tagálog and thus we say:Ataata,Bilobilo,Lebomlebom, andColocolo. The other words are either Tagálog or very similar, and the connection that is found in so few words in these two languages is [too] great to say that it is accident, although it is not sufficient so that we can say that they are dialects of one language.If on a comparison of the grammar and dictions of these two languages it is found that they originate from one and the same tongue, I would be so bold as to say that the Indians of Philipinas originate from the Indians of South America, and that the language of the latter is the parent language of which all the languages of these islands are dialects. Many will consider this a paradox, for the Malays being so near it would appear that the Filipinos must have originated from them, as our authors have generally believed. I cannot deny that these islands could have been easily settled by the Malays; but how shall we account for the peopling of the islands of Palaos and Marianas which are more than three hundred leguas distant? Where shall we get at those who settled the islands of San Duisk and Otayti, which are two thousand leguas from Philipinas? All these people have the same language, the same features, the same customs, and consequently, the same origin as our Indians. It is impossible that people should go from Philipinas to people those lands, for the east wind dominates constantly throughout the torrid zone, and that wind blowing head on would not permit the ship to sail to those islands. Rather on the contrary we must believe that the inhabitants of all the islands of the South Sea came from the Orient with wind astern as we have seen happen to the Indians of Palaos,15who have come to our Philipinas several times driven by the wind, and the east winds have not allowed them to return to their land. Let ussuppose that if then these islands were not peopled, those Indians would have been the first settlers. We do not know whether our Indians by a like accident, have been carried by the winds to the Oriental islands. On the contrary we believe the opposite, since at times the best pilots cannot make that navigation, and return without finding the islands whither they were sailing, as it is necessary to take a high latitude for that voyage. On this head we must seek the easiest solution, namely, that the settlers came from the east from island to island. Consequently, the most eastern land where the Tagálog language is found must be the country whence our Indians originate.One could well hesitate to assent to this truth, moved by the fact that the use of writing in the manner employed by the Malays was found established among these Indians, but it could very well happen that they might derive their origin from other nations and learn to write from the Malays, who would learn that science from the continent of India. The method of writing was by forming the lines from top to bottom, and beginning at the left and finishing at the right as did the Hebrews and Chinese. Their characters were quite different from ours. They had no vowels, for since there are only three vowels in those languages, namely, thea,e, andu, by placing a point above or below the consonant, or by not placing any point, it is easily known what the vowel is, which corresponds to the consonant letter, and it is read very well without the necessity of vowels. Although they knew how to write these people had no written laws, and governed themselves according to their traditions,and by natural law corrupted by the passions. The civil suits were sentenced by the petty rulers with the assistance of some old men. In criminal matters the relatives generally showed justice or it was settled with the aggressor on a gold basis in particular unless death followed. But in that case they did not content themselves except with the penalty of retaliation. If the murderer was of another settlement common cause was made, and the entire village fought against the settlement, from which resulted murders and wars in which slaves were made mutually. When it was suspected that one had robbed another, he was obliged to take a stone from a kettle filled with boiling water. If he did not do it (which we called the vulgar clearance from guilt), he was fined a certain sum of gold, the greater part of which went to the petty ruler. Adultery was punished by a pecuniary fine, as was also lack of respect for old people. But trickery in contracts was not considered wrong and was not punished by any penalty; and usury was common among them in all transactions.Their customs at marriage were very peculiar. They married only one woman. The chiefs however, had several concubines, who were commonly slaves. They generally married their nearest relative, provided she were not a sister, for they could not contract marriage with sisters. When they grew tired of their wife, they returned her to her parents. It was unnecessary to give cause for the divorce, for it was sufficient to give up the dowry which he himself had given when he was married. That dowry was of two kinds and was always paid by the bridegroom. One kind was calledbigay suso, and was the payment for the milk which the mother had given tothe damsel, by which he obtained her completely. The other was calledbigay cayaand was the real dowry. It was given to those recently married for their support. At times, however, the expense of the wedding was discounted from it, as well as the clothes, so that very little or nothing at all remained for the recently married couple. Besides the bridegroom giving that dowry, he had to serve the parents of the bride for some years; to feast them on certain days; to assist in the sowing of the rice and the harvest, and to carry food to the laborers. All the relatives of the bridegroom had to be obsequious to the bride, to her parents, and to all her relatives, so long as those years of service lasted. If they failed in any point, the marriage was dissolved, a thing which was very agreeable to the parents of the woman, for then a new suitor appeared, and they began to suck his blood again. In retaliation for what the bridegroom suffered before marriage, he treated his wife like a slave after marriage. She had to find the sustenance for the family, while her husband was off enjoying himself, and she considered herself fortunate if after that he did not beat her. The self-interest of the parents in their daughters in which this pernicious custom is observed, has been the reason why it has been impossible to uproot this hitherto, notwithstanding the royal cedulas and the decrees of the bishops which prohibit it. The ceremony of the marriage was performed with the sacrifice of a hog, which a priestess killed after going through a thousand gestures. She blessed the couple abundantly, and afterward the old women gave them food in a dish and gave vent to many obscenities, after which the couple were pronouncedmarried. Then followed dances according to their custom, and drunken revels for all the days that the function lasted. The number of days were regulated according to the wealth of the contracting parties. He who went to the feast gave something to the couple, and note was made of it so that they could do the same in a like case.In regard to religion, they had neither idols nor temples, but they offered sacrifices in shady bowers that they had for that purpose. There were priestesses whom they calledbabailanesorcatalonas. They attended to the sacrifices, and taking a lance in the hand and foaming at the mouth with ridiculous and extraordinary gestures, they prophesied on the point for which the sacrifice was offered and killed a hog with the lance. Then they immediately divided the hog among those present and the function was finished with dances and drunken revelries. Those sacrifices were offered to the demons or to the souls of their ancestors, which they thought lived in the large trees, in the crags which they met in isolated places, or in anything out of the common which was found in the fields. They thought that thenonoor their forbears lived in all those places, and they never passed by them without asking permission of them—a thing which some of them do even yet. When anyone was dangerously sick they offered in those places rice, wine, and meat, and afterward gave that to the sick man to eat, so that he might be cured, a custom still observed by some of them.They had many other superstitions such as that of thepatianac, which they say hinders childbirth by its tongue which is very fine and long, and whichreaches even to the womb of the woman, where it restrains and whence it does not allow the infant to issue. In order that thepatianacmay have no effect, the husband tightly bars the portal of the house, lights the fire, and completely naked holds a sword and cuts the wind with it in a furious manner until his wife brings forth. Thetigbalangis another of the things of which they are greatly afraid. It is a kind of ghost which they say appears to them in the form of an animal or of some unknown monster and forces them to do things contrary to the laws of our religion. These and other superstitions, which they held in former times, they still observe at times, when the charlatans who are maintained at the cost of simpletons persuade them that they will get better from some dangerous illness or will find the jewel that they have lost, if they will practice them. And so powerful is self-interest or the love of life that although they believe that it is evil to observe those superstitions and not give entire assent to those deceits, they carry them out, for they say that perhaps it will be so. That is a proof that they have very little root in the faith.All their religion was rather a servile fear than true worship. They had no external adoration or any formula of prayers to God or idols; they believed in neither reward nor recompense for the good, nor punishment for the wicked. For although they knew of the immortality of the soul and believed that they could do wrong, that belief was so filled with errors that they thought that the souls had need of sustenance, and all other things that we mortals need. Consequently, at their funerals they placed clothing, weapons, and food in the coffins; and onthe fourth day when they generally celebrated the funeral honors, they left an unoccupied seat at table for the deceased, and they believed that he really occupied it, although they could not see him. In order to be sure of that they scattered ashes in the house, in which they at times found the impress of the tracks of the deceased, either through the deceit of the devil or of some other Indian, who left the impress of his feet there to fool the others. Persuaded of that they offered them food so that they should do no harm. Their religion was always directed to that—a circumstance quite in keeping with their natural cowardice and timorousness.
Our historians, always inclined to the marvelous, divide the peoples whom the Spaniards found in the Philipinas into three classes. In their histories there is not a lack of satyrs, men with tails, and mermen, and whatever else can cause wonder in human nature. But truly, only two classes of people are found, namely, those whom we know by the name of Aetas or Negritos,7and the Indians. The Negritosare small, not so black as those of Guinea, and have kinky hair and flat noses. They live naked in the mountains, and only cover themselves in front with the bark of a tree. They live on roots and the deer which they hunt with arrows in which they are very skilful. They sleep where night overtakes them. They have no idea of religion, so that they resemble wild beasts rather than men. The effort has been made to domesticate and christianize them, and they are not much opposed to it, provided that they are given food to eat. But if they are ordered to work to support their family, they return to the mountain although they have just been baptized. For that reason they are not now baptized although they agree to it, except some children whom the Indians or Spaniards generally have in their houses. Even in this case, one cannot be secure of them for when they grow up they generally return to the mountains with their fellowcountrymen. Beyond all doubt those Negritos are the first settlers of these islands, and retired to the mountains when the Indians came hither. The latter inhabit the coasts, and formerly the Negritos waged continual war with them, and would not permit them to cut wood in the mountains unless they paid tribute to them. Today they have but little power, and yet they are feared; for whenever any Negrito is killed, or when any one dies suddenly, another Negrito generally offers himself among his companions and takes an oath not to return to his own people until he kills three or four Indians. He does it by lying in ambush in their villagesand by treacherously killing in the mountains him who becomes separated from his companions.
Some believe the origin of these Negritos to be that they came from the negros of Angola,8and the reason why they are not so black as their ancestors consists, they say, in the climate of these Indias which is more moderate. That might be so, for it is as easy for him who changes his climate to decrease in blackness during a long series of generations as it is for him to increase it by living in an inclement climate. But the flat nose and the use of the dialect of the same language which the Indians of these islands use, proves sufficiently that their origin is one and the same with them. The fact that they are blacker than the Indians, depends only on their having lived many centuries in the water by night and day, in wind and sun, and exposed to all the inclemencies of the weather. That and their lack of government has transferred them to their almost wild condition in which we see them.
The Indians whom the Spaniards found here were of average stature, olive color, or the color of boiled quinces, large eyes, flat noses, and straight hair. All had some form of government more or less civilized. They were distinguished by different names, but their features and customs prove that the origin of all these people is one and the same, and that they did not compose different races. They had their own petty rulers, who were generally the most valiant, or those who had inherited the kingdom from their fathers, if they could conserve it. Their dominionextended over one or two rude settlements, or at most was according to the valor of him who ruled. They were continually at war with the neighboring settlements, and made one another slaves. From those wars there resulted three classes of people among them: namely, the chiefs who were the masters of the settlement; the slaves; and the freemen, who consisted of slaves or their descendants to whom their masters had given freedom. The last class are calledTimavaseven yet, which properly signifies “freed-man.” In some districts Indians are found who are whiter than others—descendants doubtless of some Chinese or Japanese, who were shipwrecked on these coasts, and whom the Indians naturally hospitably received and with whom they mingled. That is commonly believed in regard to the Ygorrotes of Ylocos.9Their eyes, similar to those of the Chinese, prove that they mingled with the companions of Limahon who fled to those mountains when Juan de Salcedo had besieged them in Pangasinan.
It is not easy to prove the origin of these peoples but their language might supply some light. Although the languages spoken by the Indians are many and diverse, they resemble one another so closely that it is recognized clearly that they are all dialects of one and the same tongue, as the Spanish, French, and Italian are of the Latin. The prepositions and pronouns are almost the same in all of them,the numerals differ but slightly, many words are common to all, and they have the same structure. This language, which is one single language, with different dialects, is spoken from Madagascar to Philipinas and no one can contradict this.10I add that it is spoken in Nueva Guinea and in all the lands of the south, in the Marianas, in the islands of San Duisk, in those of Otayti,11and in almost all the islands of the South Sea. In a collection of voyages wherein are found several dictionaries of the terms which the travelers could learn in each one of these islands I have seen with wonder that the pronouns are almost all the same; that in the Tagálogs the numerals resemble those of any other language of these islands, and most of the words are the same and have the same meaning as in the Tagálog language. But the thing which made me believe more in the identity of these languages was my examination of Don Juan Hovel, an Englishman, who spoke the dialect of San Duisk with a servant of his who was a native of thoseislands. I found that the construction was the same as that of the languages which are spoken in Philipinas. Consequently, I had no reason to doubt that all these languages are dialects of one speech which is the most extensive in the world, and which is spoken through many thousands of leguas from Madagascar to the islands of San Duisk, Otayti, and the island of Pasquas12which is not six hundred leguas distant from America; and the fact that the Indians of Philipinas do not understand the peoples of those islands when they pass through their lands does not offer any argument against this supposition, for neither do the Spaniards understand the French, nor in these islands do those of some provinces understand one another.
In the same collection of voyages, I found a dictionary of only five terms which the Spaniards were able to learn in the Patagonian coast. One of those terms wasBaláy13which signifies “house” in that language; and with that same word do the Pampangos and Visayans designate house. It may be a mere coincidence which does not prove that the languages of various people are identical. But, seeing that in addition to this the names of South America sound like those of Philipinas, I tried to find some dictionary of that land. Not finding one I examined carefully the few words of the language of Chile which Ercilla has in hisAraucana,14and I found themsufficiently like the Tagálog language. The name “Chile” is not strange to this language where the cormorant is called “cachile.” It is also a pronoun which the Malays apply to the sons of kings. “Chilian,” which is a village of Chile, is a Tagálog composition, in which, adding an “an,” we have a word which signifies “place,” and we get “cachilian” which signifies “place where there are cormorants.” Mapocho, the site of the city of Santiago, is another Tagálog composition that signifies “place.” Thus frompocquiot, a kind of herb, we getmapocquiot, a place where that plant abounds.Apois the name given to him who governs, and that name is applied by these Indians to him who has any authority in the village. In Chile, words and phrases are reduplicated: asYtayta,Biobio,Lemolemo,Colocolo, etc. The same is done in the Tagálog and thus we say:Ataata,Bilobilo,Lebomlebom, andColocolo. The other words are either Tagálog or very similar, and the connection that is found in so few words in these two languages is [too] great to say that it is accident, although it is not sufficient so that we can say that they are dialects of one language.
If on a comparison of the grammar and dictions of these two languages it is found that they originate from one and the same tongue, I would be so bold as to say that the Indians of Philipinas originate from the Indians of South America, and that the language of the latter is the parent language of which all the languages of these islands are dialects. Many will consider this a paradox, for the Malays being so near it would appear that the Filipinos must have originated from them, as our authors have generally believed. I cannot deny that these islands could have been easily settled by the Malays; but how shall we account for the peopling of the islands of Palaos and Marianas which are more than three hundred leguas distant? Where shall we get at those who settled the islands of San Duisk and Otayti, which are two thousand leguas from Philipinas? All these people have the same language, the same features, the same customs, and consequently, the same origin as our Indians. It is impossible that people should go from Philipinas to people those lands, for the east wind dominates constantly throughout the torrid zone, and that wind blowing head on would not permit the ship to sail to those islands. Rather on the contrary we must believe that the inhabitants of all the islands of the South Sea came from the Orient with wind astern as we have seen happen to the Indians of Palaos,15who have come to our Philipinas several times driven by the wind, and the east winds have not allowed them to return to their land. Let ussuppose that if then these islands were not peopled, those Indians would have been the first settlers. We do not know whether our Indians by a like accident, have been carried by the winds to the Oriental islands. On the contrary we believe the opposite, since at times the best pilots cannot make that navigation, and return without finding the islands whither they were sailing, as it is necessary to take a high latitude for that voyage. On this head we must seek the easiest solution, namely, that the settlers came from the east from island to island. Consequently, the most eastern land where the Tagálog language is found must be the country whence our Indians originate.
One could well hesitate to assent to this truth, moved by the fact that the use of writing in the manner employed by the Malays was found established among these Indians, but it could very well happen that they might derive their origin from other nations and learn to write from the Malays, who would learn that science from the continent of India. The method of writing was by forming the lines from top to bottom, and beginning at the left and finishing at the right as did the Hebrews and Chinese. Their characters were quite different from ours. They had no vowels, for since there are only three vowels in those languages, namely, thea,e, andu, by placing a point above or below the consonant, or by not placing any point, it is easily known what the vowel is, which corresponds to the consonant letter, and it is read very well without the necessity of vowels. Although they knew how to write these people had no written laws, and governed themselves according to their traditions,and by natural law corrupted by the passions. The civil suits were sentenced by the petty rulers with the assistance of some old men. In criminal matters the relatives generally showed justice or it was settled with the aggressor on a gold basis in particular unless death followed. But in that case they did not content themselves except with the penalty of retaliation. If the murderer was of another settlement common cause was made, and the entire village fought against the settlement, from which resulted murders and wars in which slaves were made mutually. When it was suspected that one had robbed another, he was obliged to take a stone from a kettle filled with boiling water. If he did not do it (which we called the vulgar clearance from guilt), he was fined a certain sum of gold, the greater part of which went to the petty ruler. Adultery was punished by a pecuniary fine, as was also lack of respect for old people. But trickery in contracts was not considered wrong and was not punished by any penalty; and usury was common among them in all transactions.
Their customs at marriage were very peculiar. They married only one woman. The chiefs however, had several concubines, who were commonly slaves. They generally married their nearest relative, provided she were not a sister, for they could not contract marriage with sisters. When they grew tired of their wife, they returned her to her parents. It was unnecessary to give cause for the divorce, for it was sufficient to give up the dowry which he himself had given when he was married. That dowry was of two kinds and was always paid by the bridegroom. One kind was calledbigay suso, and was the payment for the milk which the mother had given tothe damsel, by which he obtained her completely. The other was calledbigay cayaand was the real dowry. It was given to those recently married for their support. At times, however, the expense of the wedding was discounted from it, as well as the clothes, so that very little or nothing at all remained for the recently married couple. Besides the bridegroom giving that dowry, he had to serve the parents of the bride for some years; to feast them on certain days; to assist in the sowing of the rice and the harvest, and to carry food to the laborers. All the relatives of the bridegroom had to be obsequious to the bride, to her parents, and to all her relatives, so long as those years of service lasted. If they failed in any point, the marriage was dissolved, a thing which was very agreeable to the parents of the woman, for then a new suitor appeared, and they began to suck his blood again. In retaliation for what the bridegroom suffered before marriage, he treated his wife like a slave after marriage. She had to find the sustenance for the family, while her husband was off enjoying himself, and she considered herself fortunate if after that he did not beat her. The self-interest of the parents in their daughters in which this pernicious custom is observed, has been the reason why it has been impossible to uproot this hitherto, notwithstanding the royal cedulas and the decrees of the bishops which prohibit it. The ceremony of the marriage was performed with the sacrifice of a hog, which a priestess killed after going through a thousand gestures. She blessed the couple abundantly, and afterward the old women gave them food in a dish and gave vent to many obscenities, after which the couple were pronouncedmarried. Then followed dances according to their custom, and drunken revels for all the days that the function lasted. The number of days were regulated according to the wealth of the contracting parties. He who went to the feast gave something to the couple, and note was made of it so that they could do the same in a like case.
In regard to religion, they had neither idols nor temples, but they offered sacrifices in shady bowers that they had for that purpose. There were priestesses whom they calledbabailanesorcatalonas. They attended to the sacrifices, and taking a lance in the hand and foaming at the mouth with ridiculous and extraordinary gestures, they prophesied on the point for which the sacrifice was offered and killed a hog with the lance. Then they immediately divided the hog among those present and the function was finished with dances and drunken revelries. Those sacrifices were offered to the demons or to the souls of their ancestors, which they thought lived in the large trees, in the crags which they met in isolated places, or in anything out of the common which was found in the fields. They thought that thenonoor their forbears lived in all those places, and they never passed by them without asking permission of them—a thing which some of them do even yet. When anyone was dangerously sick they offered in those places rice, wine, and meat, and afterward gave that to the sick man to eat, so that he might be cured, a custom still observed by some of them.
They had many other superstitions such as that of thepatianac, which they say hinders childbirth by its tongue which is very fine and long, and whichreaches even to the womb of the woman, where it restrains and whence it does not allow the infant to issue. In order that thepatianacmay have no effect, the husband tightly bars the portal of the house, lights the fire, and completely naked holds a sword and cuts the wind with it in a furious manner until his wife brings forth. Thetigbalangis another of the things of which they are greatly afraid. It is a kind of ghost which they say appears to them in the form of an animal or of some unknown monster and forces them to do things contrary to the laws of our religion. These and other superstitions, which they held in former times, they still observe at times, when the charlatans who are maintained at the cost of simpletons persuade them that they will get better from some dangerous illness or will find the jewel that they have lost, if they will practice them. And so powerful is self-interest or the love of life that although they believe that it is evil to observe those superstitions and not give entire assent to those deceits, they carry them out, for they say that perhaps it will be so. That is a proof that they have very little root in the faith.
All their religion was rather a servile fear than true worship. They had no external adoration or any formula of prayers to God or idols; they believed in neither reward nor recompense for the good, nor punishment for the wicked. For although they knew of the immortality of the soul and believed that they could do wrong, that belief was so filled with errors that they thought that the souls had need of sustenance, and all other things that we mortals need. Consequently, at their funerals they placed clothing, weapons, and food in the coffins; and onthe fourth day when they generally celebrated the funeral honors, they left an unoccupied seat at table for the deceased, and they believed that he really occupied it, although they could not see him. In order to be sure of that they scattered ashes in the house, in which they at times found the impress of the tracks of the deceased, either through the deceit of the devil or of some other Indian, who left the impress of his feet there to fool the others. Persuaded of that they offered them food so that they should do no harm. Their religion was always directed to that—a circumstance quite in keeping with their natural cowardice and timorousness.