The Inhabitants of the PhilippinesSawyer, Frederic H.
History
The Inhabitants of the Philippines
Sawyer, Frederic H.
Ethnology -- Philippines; Philippines -- Social life and customs
The dress of both sexes should be as light as possible; my advice is,
wear as little as possible, and wear it thin and loose. The access
of air to the body is necessary to carry off the perspiration, some
of which is in the form of vapour.
Ladies will find the greatest comfort in the simple but elegant
dresses called batas, which are princess robes made of embroidered
cambric or lawn. The materials for these dresses can be purchased in
Manila, and excellent sempstresses and embroiderers can be hired at
moderate wages, and the dresses made in the house. For the evenings,
thin silk or muslin dresses, cut low, are most suitable.
Men who are young and robust should wear white duck jackets,
and trousers without waistcoats. Elderly men, or those subject to
rheumatism, will do well to wear thin flannel suits. The material
for these can be got in Hong Kong. For travelling and shooting,
unbleached linen, guingon, or rayadillo, is the best material,
made into Norfolk jackets and pantaloons. I always found white or
brown leather shoes the best wear, and canvas shooting-boots capped
and strapped with leather. A Panama hat, or a solar topee, is the
best head-wear. If one has to be much in the sun, a white umbrella,
lined with green, should be carried. Dress is not an expensive item
in Manila. Up to 1892, the washing for a whole family, with bed and
table-linen, could be done for $12 per month.
Houses.
Most of the older houses in Manila are of ample size, and well suited
to the climate, but some of the newer ones, built to the designs
of a Spanish architect, and having glass windows, are very hot and
uncomfortable. It is essential to live in a good-sized house, so
as to escape the heat by moving to a different part as the sun goes
round. Thus you will have your early breakfast in one corner of the
balcony; your tiffin, perhaps, on the ground floor; your tea in the
open corridor looking on the garden, and your dinner, at 7.30 P.M.,
in the dining-room under the punkah.
House-rent is paid monthly, and, up to 1892, a good detached house of
moderate size could be got in one of the best suburbs for $100 per
month, and for less in Santa Ana. Such a house would stand in its
own garden, and would have stables for several horses, and shelter
for one or two carriages.
I understand that house-rent is now nearly doubled in consequence
of the American competition. From their lavish expenditure, we must
infer that the new-comers possess large private means in addition to
their salaries.
Furniture.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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