The Philippine Islands, 1493-1803 — Volume 04 of 55: 1576-1582; Explorations by Early Navigators, Descriptions of the Islands and Their Peoples, Their History and Records of the Catholic Missions, as Related in Contemporaneous Books and Manuscripts, Showing the Political, Economic, Commercial and Religious Conditions of Those Islands from Their Earliest Relations with European Nations to the Beginning of the Nineteenth Century
History
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1803 — Volume 04 of 55: 1576-1582; Explorations by Early Navigators, Descriptions of the Islands and Their Peoples, Their History and Records of the Catholic Missions, as Related in Contemporaneous Books and Manuscripts, Showing the Political, Economic, Commercial and Religious Conditions of Those Islands from Their Earliest Relations with European Nations to the Beginning of the Nineteenth Century
Demarcation line of Alexander VI; Missions -- Philippines; Philippines -- Discovery and exploration; Philippines -- History -- Sources
62. The chief captains and the king never cut their finger-nails,
and allow one to grow as long as the finger, and longer. These go to
war seated in chairs, carried on the shoulders of other men. They
frequently become intoxicated, and are very libidinous. They
guard their women very carefully. The women also do not cut their
finger-nails. When daughters are born to people of rank, they compress
the child's feet by the toes, so that they cannot grow; and the girl
cannot stand on them, but is always carried about seated. For this
reason, these women never leave the house.
63. The men have as many wives as they can support. They wear their
hair long, gathered up on top of the head, as women dress their hair.
64. None but a few principal people ever see the face of the king,
and those only who are near him. His face is always covered when he
goes out, and he is accompanied by a numerous guard.
65. The king resides in the province of Paquian, in a city called
Quincay, mentioned by Marco Polo, the Venetian, [4] in his second
book, and sixty-fourth chapter. According to the account given by
these, people, their country must have been ruled by the Tartars
before Marco Polo made that voyage, because in his history he refers
to the master of this city, and of others in the kingdom, as "the
great Khan." I believe that the strange people and language must have
changed the names of many of the provinces in his time. Although he
writes briefly, and in such a way that it seems but nonsense, still it
is true that this city does exist; and, according to the statements
of the Chinese, the name means in their language "City of Heaven,"
as says Marco Polo. This city of Quincay, as nearly as we can learn,
seems to be somewhat less than five hundred leagues from Manila,
which is to those living here as Cales and the mainland of España,
and if more of our people could go in one virey, everything would be
changed. These people do not extol Quincay less than Marco Polo does.
66. Marco Polo says that there are in that city Nestorian
Christians. The people here cannot pronounce the name, but claim that
there are people in it from all over the world in great numbers. The
people there are very vicious, as are those in these islands, which
are really an archipelago of China, and their inhabitants are one
people with the Chinese--as are those of Candia and of Constantinople,
who are all Greeks.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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