The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume 43, 1670-1700: 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
History
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume 43, 1670-1700: 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
Demarcation line of Alexander VI; Missions -- Philippines; Philippines -- Discovery and exploration; Philippines -- History -- Sources
They live in humble houses of nipa, bamboo, and even of wood, which
are quite luxurious among the most powerful. The animals that they
use for their work, conveyance, and travel are the carabao, the
ox, and the horse. Their implements for farming are reduced to the
plow and the bolo. Their domestic animals are the dog, cat, cock,
and swine. Their games are cockfighting, cards, and sipa, a hollow
ball of split bamboo, which they move with the feet. They also use
dancing as a means of diversion, especially the moro-moro dance and the
tapáiron. During their principal feasts, they adorn their houses with
hangings and hold modest banquets. They are very fond of excitement
and noise, especially that caused by fireworks. Their usual cutting
weapons are the hatchet, súndan, lígdao, kris, campilan, tabas, and the
badí for the women. The missile weapons are the spear which may be of
four kinds, namely, púyus, búdiac, lináyas, and pinuipui; arrows of
bamboo, palma brava, [132] iron, and steel. Those weapons used both
for cutting and thrusting are balaraos or two edged daggers, whose
hilts and scabbards are usually adorned with various designs in silver
engraved by themselves. The boats used by them are vintas, barotos,
bancas, bilus, pancos, falúas, paraos, and lancanes. For fishing
they make use of the harpoon, arrows, bolos, corrals, and nets. For
the same object they also use the bark of the tree called tuble and
the fruits of the tuba-tuba, and lagtan. [133] There trade is, as
a rule, reduced to the articles of prime necessity in food, drink,
clothing, and work utensils. Among the old Christians of Mindanao,
tulisanes by profession are not known, and if there are any in the
south, they are deported.
The new Christians, from 1876 to the present time, reach some
25,000. In their general characteristics and customs, they
are not distinguished from the races to which they owe their
origin. Nevertheless, after they receive holy baptism, and while
they live as Christians under the civil and religious organization
to which they are subjected by the father missionaries, a very marked
difference is noted, for by the habit of subjection to law which they
acquire by means of the mild means of Christian education which the
missionary who has been able to merit their confidence, strikes, the
change of their customs is facilitated in a remarkable manner, and in
a short time the moral condition of their families and individuals
is changed. I mean [that the above is true] when they persevere [in
the Christian life] for in regard to this, there are some tribes who
are more fickle than others. Thus for example, the converted Mandaya
is much less inconstant than the Manobo, for the importance of being
subject to a beginning of authority is more impressed on his mind.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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