The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898; Volume 47, 1728-1759: 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 47, 1728-1759: 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
Playa Honda begins at the doors of Mariueles and extends along
the mountains which border Pampanga to the point of Sunga and near
Pangasinan, which is distant more than forty leguas from Mariueles to
the visita of the Christian Baga Indians who are administered by the
minister of Mariueles. They perform their duties toward the Church
every year, notwithstanding that they show very many imperfections,
a fact which is not surprising, since the minister cannot be with
them all the time that he would like, as the coast is inaccessible
all the time of the vendavals. During that time they must necessarily
live without a minister to instruct them. That visita has thirty
tributes. Although they have a village laid out with its church and
house for the minister, they do not live in the said village except
when the minister goes to visit them. They live in their rancherías
whence they get molave wood in abundance. They have sufficient fields
in said village for all, and for twice as many more if they cared to
cultivate them, but they apply themselves more earnestly in cutting
said timber than in farming their fields. They get considerable help
for [cutting] said wood from the blacks of the mountain, for those
blacks are excellent woodsmen. All those blacks are tributary and
pay twelve reals annually for their tribute. The tribute is managed
by the Indians, and the encomendero does not meddle with them in
the collection of the tribute from the blacks, but the Indians pay
the said tribute for the blacks. Hence the black serves the Indian
all the year, without the black having other profit at the end of
the year than his tribute paid. This is the reason why the village
is continually without people, because the Indians, on account of
the profit from the work of the blacks, go to live with the blacks,
or near the pass of the mountain, where said blacks live, in order
to assist them in the work, for the blacks unless assisted physically
do not work. Four leguas from this visita toward the north is another
visita called Mariyumo, administered also by the said father minister
of Mariueles. Its people are Christians, although very bad ones, and
seriously lacking in the faith, and have very many imperfections. They
have very many superstitions and are much given to omens. Not all of
them are very fit to receive the annual communion. They also have a
village laid out and a church and house for the minister. However,
they do not live in the said village, but in their rancherías, much
divided among themselves as are those of Baga; although they are not
such absolute masters of the blacks as are those of Vaga, they also
have blacks under trust on which account they receive many vexations
from the encomendero, for it is the regular thing for them to pay the
tribute for the blacks. The latter are more free than the blacks of
Vaga, for they have more land where they can spread out, which those
of Vaga do not have. Those Indians also possess considerable molave
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