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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

84. The people here are naked, and barefoot. They wrap a cotton cloth
around their loins. Those who possess such a thing wear a little cotton
or China silk shirt. They are people capable of much toil. Some are
Moros, and they obtain much gold, which they worship as a god. All
their possessions are gold and a few slaves, the latter being worth
among them five or six pesos each. They do not let their hair hang
but wind a small turban about the head. They believe that paradise
and successful enterprises are reserved for those who submit to the
religion of the Moros of Borney, of which they make much account. They
do not eat pork, and believe many foolish notions that tend toward
superstition. These are a richer people, because they are merchants,
and, with their slaves, cultivate the land. There are other natives who
tattoo themselves, and wear long hair, as the Chinese do. They are a
poorer and fiercer race. All carry weapons, such as daggers and lances,
and possess some artillery. No reliance can ever be placed on either
of these races. They all settle on the shores of rivers, on account
of the convenience for their fields, and because they can communicate
with one another, and go in their little boats to steal. They hardly
ever travel by land. Inland in the islands, and away from the rivers,
dwells another race who resemble the Chichimecos [7] of Nueva España,
very savage and cruel, among whom are some negroes. All use bows and
arrows, and consider it very meritorious to kill men, in order to keep
the heads of the slain as ornaments for their houses. They are the most
despised people in these islands, and are called _Tinguianes_ [8] or
"mountaineers;" for _tingue_ means "mountain." They have quantities
of honey and wax, and trade these commodities with the lowlanders. As
these islands are so fertile, there are large groves which are called
_arcabucos_ ["thickets"]. Thus there are no open roads, for which
reason the Spaniards experience difficulty in moving rapidly on land,
while the natives can easily flee from one end to the other.

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

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