The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume 30 of 55, 1640: 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 close of the nineteenth centuryAduarte, Diego
History
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume 30 of 55, 1640: 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 close of the nineteenth century
Aduarte, Diego
Demarcation line of Alexander VI; Missions -- Philippines; Philippines -- Discovery and exploration; Philippines -- History -- Sources
The first church was built as poorly as might have been expected of
religious who came into the country as Christ our Lord in His gospel
directed His apostles to go, without money, or bag, or treasure. In
the course of time, when necessity required the building of larger
churches, because the town was large and the population had almost all
become Christian, they were all of wood and unfortunately burned. The
religious afterward undertook to build one of brick or stone; and
for this purpose they built a kiln in which to burn lime. When it
was already full of stone and of the wood necessary to make a fire,
there was a religious standing at the top of the arch over it, and
there were some men and women at work on the side. The arch suddenly
fell in, and all the stone was carried inward. One woman was buried
in the stone, to twice her own height. The religious offered prayers
for her to the Virgin; and when they uncovered her, which they did as
quickly as possible, she came out, of her own accord, quite uninjured.]
When the first church in this village had been finished, the religious,
seeing the manifest favor of the Lord in everything that had happened,
undertook to build another in Camalaniugan, a village about a legua
from the city. The Indians there are among the most intelligent in
those provinces. They were very friendly with the Spaniards, and
gave them great help in pacifying the whole country, by their great
fidelity and continued assistance in the wars which took place. No
falsehood or double-dealing was ever discovered in them; and they
have always preserved this affection for the Spaniards, serving
them much--as they were able to do, because of their proximity to
the city. The chief and lord of this village was so rich that, if we
are to believe his vassals, or even some of the old soldiers who were
there at that time, he weighed the gold that he had with a steelyard,
as iron is commonly weighed. Afterward, however, he suffered from the
vicissitudes of fortune, and lost the greater part of his property. To
this village father Fray Antonio de Soria went, with a brother of
the order, to establish and erect a church. Though they were received
without opposition, the Indians showed so little pleasure at having
them in their village that no one visited them or spoke to them,
except to ask when they were going to depart. Their answer was, that
they would go as soon as the river ran dry. Now this river is so large
that, because of its resemblance, the Spaniards called it Tajo [i.e.,
"Tagus"]. At this answer the Indians gave up putting that question,
but they did not give up their wonder at seeing the religious among
them, making a thousand guesses about the plans and purposes that the
religious might have in maintaining a house and dwelling in their
village. The women, though out of curiosity they tried to look at
the religious, did so by stealth, glancing over their shoulders. If
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