The Philippine Islands, 1493-1803 — Volume 05 of 55: 1582-1583; 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 05 of 55: 1582-1583; 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
_Years and months_. They divide the year into twelve months, although
only seven [_sc_. eight] of these have names; they are lunar months,
because they are reckoned by moons. The first month is that in which
the Pleiades appear, which they call Ulalen. The second is called
Dagancahuy, the time when the trees are felled in order to sow the
land. Another month they call Daganenan bulan; it comes when the
wood of those trees is collected from the fields. Another is called
Elquilin, and is the time when they burn over the fields. Another
month they call Ynabuyan, which comes when the bonancas blow. Another
they call Cavay; it is when they weed their fields. Another they call
[Cabuy: _crossed out in MS._] Yrarapun; it is the time when they
begin to harvest the rice. Another they call Manalulsul, in which
the harvesting is completed. As for the remaining months, they pay
little attention to them, because in those months there is no work
in the fields.
_Winds_. It is their opinion that the winds come from the sea, which
they base on the fact that the sea swells before the winds begin
to blow.
_Turtles_. In this land are very many turtles, of great size; they
are larger than a shield. Here is a marvellous thing when the male
and the female have intercourse, they remain thus joined together for
twenty or twenty-five days. They become so stupefied during this act
that the Indians dive into the sea, and tie the feet of the turtles
without their perceiving it, and draw these creatures ashore. I have
even done this myself.
_Serpents_. There are in this land enormous serpents, as large as
palm-trees; they are, however, sluggish.
_Crocodiles_. There are enormous numbers of crocodiles, which are
water-lizards. They live in all the rivers and in the sea, and do
much harm.
_Civet-cats._ In many of these islands are civet-cats.
_Tabon birds_. In this land there is a kind of bird, smaller than
a Castilian fowl; its eggs is larger than that of a goose, and is
almost all yolk. This bird lays its eggs in the sand, a braza deep,
at the edge of the water. There the young ones are hatched, and come
up through the sand, opening a way through it with their little feet;
and as soon as they gain the surface they fly away. [16]
_Palms_. In all these islands are great numbers of cocoa-palms. In
some of the nuts are found stones as large as filberts, which the
natives prize, although thus far it is not known what efficacy
they have. They draw a great quantity of wine from the palm-trees;
one Indian can in one forenoon obtain two arrobas of sap from
the palm trees that he cultivates. It is sweet and good, and is
used in making great quantities of brandy, excellent vinegar, and
delicious honey. The cocoanuts furnish a nutritious food when rice is
scarce. From the nut-shells they make dishes, and [from the fibrous
husk?] match-cords for their arquebuses; and with the leaves they
make baskets. Consequently this tree is very useful.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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