The Inhabitants of the PhilippinesSawyer, Frederic H.
History
The Inhabitants of the Philippines
Sawyer, Frederic H.
Ethnology -- Philippines; Philippines -- Social life and customs
(19) The Moros Sanguiles live on the south coast from the Bay of
Sarangani to the River Kulut.
(20) The Moros Lutangas occupy the Island of Olutanga and parts of
the adjacent coasts, all round the Bay of Dumanguilas and Maligay,
and the eastern coast of the Bay of Sibuguay.
(21) The Moros Calibuganes occupy the western coast of the Bay of
Sibuguay, they are also dotted along the outer coast of the Peninsula
as far as the Bay of Sindangan. They communicate by land across
the mountains.
(22) The Moros Yacanes occupy the western part of the Island of
Basilan, and the islands of the Tapul group.
(23) The Moros Samales are not inhabitants of Mindanao, but occupy
and dominate the Islands of Jolo, Tawi-tawi and most of the smaller
islands of those groups.
Physically, the Moro is a man built for the fatigues of war, whether
by sea or land.
His sinewy frame combines strength and agility, and the immense
development of the thorax gives him marvellous powers of endurance
at the oar or on the march.
Trained to arms from his earliest youth, he excels in the management of
the lance, the buckler and the sword. These weapons are his inseparable
companions: the typical Moro is never unarmed. He fights equally
well on foot, on horseback, in his fleet war canoe, or in the water,
for he swims like a fish and dives like a penguin.
Absolutely indifferent to bloodshed or suffering, he will take the life
of a slave or a stranger merely to try the keenness of a new weapon. He
will set one of his sons, a mere boy, to kill some defenceless man,
merely to get his hand in at slaughter. [30] If for any reason he
becomes disgusted with his luck, or tired of life, he will shave
off his eyebrows, dress himself entirely in red, and taking the oath
before his Pandit, run amok in some Christian settlement, killing man,
woman and child, till he is shot down by the enraged townsmen.
Wanton destruction is his delight. After plundering and burning some
sea-coast town in Visayas or Luzon, they would take the trouble to
cut down the fruit trees, destroy the crops and everything else that
they could not carry away.
Yet, as they made annual raids, it would have appeared to be good
policy to leave the dwellings, the fruit trees, and the crops,
in order to tempt the natives to re-occupy the town and accumulate
material for subsequent plundering.
Commonly, very ignorant of his own religion, he is none the less
a fanatic in its defence, and nourishes a traditional and fervent
hatred against the Christian, whether European or native.
Looking upon work as a disgrace, his scheme of life is simple; it
consists in making slaves of less war-like men, to work for him,
and taking their best looking girls for his concubines. His victims
for centuries, when not engaged on a piratical cruise, have been the
hill-tribes of the island, the Subanos, the Tagacaolos, the Vilanes,
the Manguangas and others.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account