Chapter 21

[42] It is very difficult now to determine exactly which is this island of Tendaya, called Isla Filipina for some years. According to Father Urdaneta's relations, this island was far to the east of the group, past the meridian of Maluco. Mercator locates it in Panay, and Colin in Leyte, between Abuyog and Cabalían--contrary to the opinion of others, who locate it in Ibabao, or south of Samar. But according to other documents of that period, there is no island by that name, but a chief called Tendaya, lord of a village situated in that district; and, as the Spaniards did not understand the Indians well at that time, many contradictions thus arose in the relations of that period. We see that, in Legazpi's expedition, while the Spaniards talked of islands, the Indians talked of a man, etc. After looking for Tandaya for ten days they had to continue without finding it "and we passed on without seeing Tandaya or Abuyo." It appears, nevertheless, that the Spaniards continued to give this name to the southwestern part of Samar, calling the southeastern part Ibabao or Zibabao and the northern part of the same island Samar.--_Rizal_.

[43] Sugbú, in the dialect of the country.--_Rizal_.

[44] Morga considers the rainy season as winter, and the rest of the year as summer. However this is not very exact, for at Manila, in December, January, and February, the thermometer is lower than in the months of August and September. Consequently, in its seasons it is like those of España and those of all the rest of the northern hemisphere.--_Rizal_.

[45] The ancient traditions made Sumatra the original home of the Filipino Indians. These traditions, as well as the mythology and genealogies mentioned by the ancient historians, were entirely lost, thanks to the zeal of the religious in rooting out every national pagan or idolatrous record. With respect to the ethnology of the Filipinas, see Professor Blumentritt's very interesting work, _Versuch einer Etnographie der Philippinen_ (Gotha, Justus Perthes, 1882).--_Rizal_.

[46] This passage contradicts the opinion referred to in Boyle's _Adventures among the Dyaks of Borneo_, respecting the ignorance of the Dyaks in the use of the bow, which seems to imply that other South Sea islanders are supposed to share this ignorance. These aboriginal savages of Manila resemble the Pakatans of Borneo in their mode of life.--_Stanley_.

[47] We do not know the origin of this word, which does not seem to be derived from _China_. If we may make a conjecture, we will say that perhaps a poor phonetic transcription has made _chinina_ from the word _tininã_ (from _tinã_) which in Tagál signifies _teñido_ ["dyed stuff"], the name of this article of clothing, generally of but one color throughout. The chiefs wore these garments of a red color, which made, according to Colin, "of fine gauze from India."--_Rizal_.

[48] Bahag "a richly dyed cloth, generally edged with gold" among the chiefs.--_Rizal_.

[49] "They wrapped it in different ways, now in the Moro style, like a turban without the top part, now twisted and turned in the manner of the crown of a hat. Those who esteemed themselves valiant let the ends of the cloth, elaborately embroidered, fall down the back to the buttocks. In the color of the cloth, they showed their chieftaincy, and the device of their undertakings and prowess. No one was allowed to use the red potong until he had killed at least one man. And in order to wear them edged with certain edgings, which were regarded as a crown, they must have killed seven men" (Colin). Even now any Indian is seen to wear the _balindang_ in the manner of the _putong_. _Putong_ signifies in Tagál, "to crown" or "to wrap anything around the head."--_Rizal_.

[50] This is the reading of the original (_cera hilada_). It seems more probable that this should read "spun silk," and that Morga's amanuensis misunderstood _seda_ ("silk") as _cera_ ("wax"), or else it is a misprint.

[51] "They also have strings of bits of ivory" (Colin).--_Rizal_.

[52] "The last complement of the gala dress was, in the manner of our sashes, a richly dyed shawl crossed at the shoulder and fastened under the arm" (even today the men wear the _lambong_ or mourning garment in this manner) "which was very usual with them. The Bisayans, in place of this, wore robes or loose garments, well made and collarless, reaching to the instep, and embroidered in colors. All their costume, in fact, was in the Moorish manner, and was truly elegant and rich; and even today they consider it so" (Colin).--_Rizal_.

[53] This manner of headdress, and the long robe of the Visayans, have an analogy with the Japanese coiffure and kimono.--_Rizal_.

[54] Barõ.--_Rizal_.

[55] A tree (_Entada purseta_) which grows in most of the provinces of the Philippines. It contains a sort of filament, from which is extracted a soapy foam, which is much used for washing clothes. This foam is also used to precipitate the gold in the sand of rivers. Rizal says the most common use is that described above.

[56] This custon still exists.--_Rizal_.

[57] This custom exists also among the married women of Japan, as a sign of their chastity. It is now falling into disuse.--_Rizal_.

[58] The Filipinos were careful not to bathe at the hour of the siesta, after eating, during the first two days of a cold, when they have the herpes, and some women during the period of menstruation.--_Rizal_.

[59] This work, although not laborious, is generally performed now by the men, while the women do only the actual cleaning of the rice.--_Rizal_.

[60] This custom is still to be seen in some parts.--_Rizal_.

[61] A name given it by the Spaniards. Its Tagál name is _kanin_.--_Rizal_.

[62] The fish mentioned by Morga is not tainted, but is the _bagoong_.--_Rizal_.

[63] A term applied to certain plants (_Atmaranthus_, _Celosia_, etc.) of which the leaves are boiled and eaten.

[64] From the Tagál _tubã_, meaning sap or juice.--_Rizal_.

[65] The Filipinos have reformed in this respect, due perhaps to the wine-monopoly. Colin says that those intoxicated by this wine were seldom disagreeable or dangerous, but rather more witty and sprightly; nor did they show any ill effects from drinking it.--_Rizal_.

[66] This weapon has been lost, and even its name is gone. A proof of the decline into which the present Filipinos have fallen is the comparison of the weapons that they manufacture now, with those described to us by the historians. The hilts of the _talibones_ now are not of gold or ivory, nor are their scabbards of horn, nor are they admirably wrought.--_Rizal_.

_Balarao_, dagger, is a Vissayan word.--_Stanley_.

[67] The only other people who now practice head-hunting are the Mentenegrins.--_Stanley_.

[68] A Tagál word meaning oar.--_Stanley_.

[69] A common device among barbarous or semi-civilized peoples, and even among boatmen in general. These songs often contain many interesting and important bits of history, as well as of legendary lore.

[70] _Karang_, signifying awnings.--_Rizal_ and _Stanley_.

[71] The Filipinos, like the inhabitants of the Marianas--who are no less skilful and dexterous in navigation--far from progressing, have retrograded; since, although boats are now built in the islands, we might assert that they are all after European models. The boats that held one hundred rowers to a side and thirty soldiers have disappeared. The country that once, with primitive methods, built ships of about 2,000 toneladas, today [1890] has to go to foreign ports, as Hong-Kong, to give the gold wrenched from the poor, in exchange for unserviceable cruisers. The rivers are blocked up, and navigation in the interior of the islands is perishing, thanks to the obstacles created by a timid and mistrusting system of government; and there scarcely remains in the memory anything but the name of all that naval architecture. It has vanished, without modern improvements having come to replace it in such proportion as, during the past centuries, has occurred in adjacent countries....--_Rizal_.

[72] It seems that some species of trees disappeared or became very scarce because of the excessive ship-building that took place later. One of them is the _betis_.--_Rizal_.

Blanco states (_Flora_, ed. 1845, p. 281) that the betis (_Azaola betis_) was common in Pampanga and other regions.

Delgado describes the various species of trees in the Philippines in the first six treatises of the first part of the fourth book of _Historia general de Filipinas_ (Manila, 1892). He mentions by name more than seventy trees grown on the level plains and near the shores; more than forty fruit-trees; more than twenty-five species grown in the mountains; sixteen that actually grow in the water; and many kinds of palms. See also _Gazetteer of the Philippine Islands_ (Washington, 1902), pp. 85-95, and Buzeta and Bravo's _Diccionario_ (Madrid, 1850), i, pp. 29-36.

[73] _Sanctor_ is called _santol_ (_Sandoricum indicum_--Cavanilles), in Delgado (_ut supra_, note 71). The tree resembles a walnut-tree. Its leaves are rounded and as large as the palm of the hand, and are dark green in color. Excellent preserves are made from the fruit, which was also eaten raw by the Indians. The leaves of the tree have medicinal properties and were used as poultices. _Mabolo_ (_Diospyros discolor_--Willd.) signifies in Tagál a thing or fruit enclosed in a soft covering. The tree is not very high. The leaves are large, and incline to a red color when old. The fruit is red and as large as a medium-sized quince, and has several large stones. The inside of the fruit is white, and is sweet and firm, and fragrant, but not very digestible. The wood resembles ebony, is very lustrous, and is esteemed for its solidity and hardness. The _nanca_ [_nangka_, _nangca_; translated by Stanley, jack-fruit] (_Artocarpus integrifolia_--Willd.), was taken to the Philippines from India, where it was called _yaca_. The tree is large and wide-spreading, and has long narrow leaves. It bears fruit not only on the branches, but on the trunk and roots. The fruit is gathered when ripe, at which time it exhales an aromatic odor. On opening it a yellowish or whitish meat is found, which is not edible. But in this are found certain yellow stones, with a little kernel inside resembling a large bean; this is sweet, like the date, but has a much stronger odor. It is indigestible, and when eaten should be well masticated. The shells are used in cooking and resemble chestnuts. The wood is yellow, solid, and especially useful in making certain musical instruments. Buzeta and Bravo (_Diccionario_, i, p. 35) say that there are more than fifty-seven species of bananas in the Philippines.

[74] Pilê (_Canarium commune_--Linn.). Delgado (_ut supra_) says that this was one of the most notable and useful fruits of the islands. It was generally confined to mountainous regions and grew wild. The natives used the fruit and extracted a white pitch from the tree. The fruit has a strong, hard shell. The fruit itself resembles an almond, both in shape and taste, although it is larger. The tree is very high, straight, and wide-spreading. Its leaves are larger than those of the almond-tree.

[75] Delgado (_ut supra_) describes the tree (_Cedrela toona_--Roxb.) called _calanta_ in Tagál, and _lanipga_ in Visayan. The tree is fragrant and has wood of a reddish color. It was used for making the hulls of vessels, because of its strength and lightness. The same author describes also the _asana_ (_Pterocarpus indicus_--Willd.) or as it is called in the Visayas, _naga_ or _narra_--as an aromatic tree, of which there are two varieties, male and female. The wood of the male tree is pinkish, while that of the female tree is inclined to white. They both grow to a great size and are used for work requiring large timber. The wood has good durable qualities and is very impervious to water, for which reason it was largely used as supports for the houses. Water in which pieces of the wood were placed, or the water that stood in vessels made of this wood, had a medicinal value in dropsy and other diseases. In the provinces of Albay and Camarines the natives made curiously-shaped drinking vessels from this wood.

[76] So many cattle were raised that Father Gaspar de San Agustin, when speaking of Dumangas, says: "In this convent we have a large ranch for the larger cattle, of so many cows that they have at times numbered more than thirty, thousand ... and likewise this ranch contains many fine horses."--_Rizal_.

[77] To the flesh of this fowl, called in Tagál _ulikbâ_, are attributed medicinal virtues.--_Rizal_.

[78] These animals now [1890] exist in the islands, but are held in small esteem.--_Rizal_.

[79] See chapter on the mammals of the islands, in _Report_ of U. S. Philippine Commission, 1900, iii, pp. 307-312. At its end is the statement that but one species of monkey is known, and one other is reported, to exist in the Philippines; and that "the various other species of monkey which have been assigned to the Philippines by different authors are myths pure and simple."

[80] _Camalote_, for _gamalote_, a plant like maize, with a leaf a yard long and an inch wide. This plant grows to a height of two yards and a half, and when green serves for food for horses (Caballero's _Dictionary_, Madrid, 1856).--_Stanley_.

At that time the name for _zacate_ (hay).--_Rizal_.

[81] In Japanese _fimbari_, larks (Medhurst's _Japanese Vocabulary_).--_Stanley_.

[82] _Pogos_, from the Tagál pugô.--_Rizal_.

Delgado (_ut supra_) describes the pogos as certain small gray birds, very similar to the sparrows in Spain. They are very greedy, and if undisturbed would totally destroy the rice-fields. Their scientific name is _Excalfactoria chinensis_ (Linn.).

[83] Stanley conjectures that this word is a misprint for _maynelas_, a diminutive of _maina_, a talking bird. Delgado (_ut supra_) describes a bird called _maya_ (_Munia jagori_--Cab.; _Ploceus baya_--Blyth.; and _Ploceus hypoxantha_--Tand.), which resembles the pogo, being smaller and of a cinnamon color, which pipes and has an agreeable song.

[84] Stanley translates this as "wild ducks." Delgado (_ut supra_) describes a bird called _lapay_ (_Dendrocygna vagans_--Eyton.), as similar to the duck in body, but with larger feet, which always lives in the water, and whose flesh is edible.

[85] For descriptions of the birds in the Philippines, see Delgado (_ut supra_) book v, part i, 1st treatise, pp. 813-853; _Report_ of U.S. Philippine Commission, 1900, iii, pp. 312-316; and _Gazetteer of the Philippine Islands_ (Washington, 1902), pp. 170, 171. There are more than five hundred and ninety species of birds in the islands, of which three hundred and twenty-five are peculiar to the archipelago, and largely land birds. There are thirty-five varieties of doves and pigeons, all edible.

[86] There are now domestic rabbits, and plenty of peacocks.--_Rizal_.

[87] Doubtless the python, which is often domesticated in the Philippines. See _Vol_. XII, p. 259, note 73.

[88] La Gironiére (_Twenty Years in the Philippines_--trans. from French, London, 1853) describes an interesting fight with a huge crocodile near his settlement of Jala-Jala. The natives begged for the flesh in order to dry it and use it as a specific against asthma, as they believed that any asthmatic person who lived on the flesh for a certain time would be infallibly cured. Another native wished the fat as an antidote for rheumatic pain. The head of this huge reptile was presented to an American, who in turn presented it to the Boston Museum. Unfortunately La Gironiére's picturesque descriptions must often be taken with a grain of salt. For some information regarding the reptiles of the islands see _Report_ of U.S. Philippine Commission, 1900, iii, pp. 317-319.

[89] Unless we are mistaken, there is a fish in the Filipinas called _Pámpano_.--_Rizal_.

[90] For catalogue and scientific description of the mollusks of the Philippines, see the work of Joaquín González Hidalgo--now (1904) in course of publication by the Real Academia de Ciencias of Madrid--_Estudios preliminares sobre la fauna malacológica de las Islas Filipinas._

[91] The Río Grande.--_Rizal_.

[92] No fish is known answering to this description.--_Stanley_.

[93] The island of Talim.--_Rizal_.

[94] Retana thinks (Zúñiga, ii, p. 545*) that this device was introduced among the Filipinos by the Borneans.

[95] A species of fishing-net. Stanley's conjecture is wrong.

[96] _Esparavel_ is a round fishing-net, which is jerked along by the fisher through rivers and shallow places. _Barredera_ is a net of which the meshes are closer and tighter than those of common nets, so that the smallest fish may not escape it.

[97] Cf. methods of fishing of North American Indians, _Jesuit Relations_, vi, pp. 309-311, liv, pp. 131, 306-307.

[98] A species of fish in the Mediterranean, about three pulgadas [inches] long. Its color is silver, lightly specked with black.

[99] The fish now called _lawlaw_ is the dry, salted sardine. The author evidently alludes to the _tawilis_ of Batangas, or to the _dilis_, which is still smaller, and is used as a staple by the natives.--_Rizal_.

For information regarding the fishes of the Philippines, see Delgado (_ut supra_), book v, part iv, pp. 909-943; _Gazetteer of the Philippine Islands_ (_ut supra_), pp. 171-172; and (with description of methods of fishing) _Report_ of U. S. Philippine Commission, 1900, iii, pp. 319-324.

[100] Pahõ. A species of very small mango from one and one-half to five centimeters in its longer diameter. It has a soft pit, and exhales a strong pitchy odor.--_Rizal_.

[101] A Spanish word signifying a cryptogamous plant; perhaps referring to some species of mushroom.

[102] In Tagál this is kasubhã. It comes from the Sanskrit _kasumbha_, or Malay _kasumba_ (Pardo de Tavera's _El Sanscrito en la lengua tagalog_).--_Rizal_.

This plant is the safflower or bastard saffron (_Certhamus tinctorius_); its flowers are used in making a red dye.

[103] Not a tree, but a climber. The plants are cultivated by training them about some canes planted in the middle of certain little channels which serve to convey irrigation to the plant twice each day. A plantation of betel--or ikmó, as the Tagáls call it--much resembles a German hop-garden.--_Rizal_.

[104] This fruit is not that of the betel or _buyo_, but of the _bonga_ (Tagál _buñga_), or areca palm.--_Rizal_.

[105] Not quicklime, but well slaked lime.--_Rizal_.

Rizal misprints _un poco de cal viva_ for _vn poluc de cal viua_.

[106] The original word is _marcada_. Rizal is probably correct in regarding it as a misprint for _mascada_, chewed.

[107] It is not clear who call these caskets by that name. I imagine it to be the Spanish name, properly spelt _buxeta_. The king of Calicut's betel box is called _buxen_ in the Barcelona MS. of the Malabar coasts.--_Stanley_.

[108] See _Vol_. IV, p. 222, note 31; also Delgado (_ut supra_), pp. 667-669. Delgado says that _bonga_ signifies fruit.

[109] Tagál, _tukõ_.--_Rizal_.

[110] This word in the original is _visitandolas_; Rizal makes it _irritandolas_ (shaking or irritating them), but there are not sufficient grounds for the change.

[111] The Indians, upon seeing that wealth excited the rapacity of the encomenderos and soldiers, abandoned the working of the mines, and the religious historians assert that they counseled them to a similar action in order to free them from annoyances. Nevertheless, according to Colin (who was "informed by well-disposed natives") more than 100,000 pesos of gold annually, conservatively stated, was taken from the mines during his time, after eighty years of abandonment. According to "a manuscript of a grave person who had lived long in these islands" the first tribute of the two provinces of Ilocos and Pangasinan alone amounted to 109,500 pesos. A single encomendero, in 1587, sent 3,000 taheles of gold in the "Santa Ana," which was captured by Cavendish.--_Rizal_.

[112] This was prohibited later.--_Rizal_.

[113] See _Vol_. XIV, pp. 301-304.

According to Hernando de los Rios the province of Pangasinan was said to contain a quantity of gold, and that Guido de Labazaris sent some soldiers to search for it; but they returned in a sickly state and suppressed all knowledge of the mines in order not to be sent back there. The Dominican monks also suppressed all knowledge of the mines on account of the tyranny of which gold had been the cause in the West Indies.--_Stanley_.

[114] Pearl-fishing is still carried on along the coasts of Mindanao and Palawan, and in the Sulu archipelago. In the latter region pearls are very abundant and often valuable; the fisheries there are under the control of the sultan of Sulu, who rents them, appropriating for himself the largest pearls.

[115] Probably the cowry (_Cypræa moneta_). Crawfurd states (_Dict. Ind. Islands_, p. 117) that in the Asiatic archipelago this shell is found only on the shores of the Sulu group, and that it "seems never to have been used for money among the Indian Islanders as it has immemorially been by the Hindus."

[116] Jagor, _Travels in the Philippines_ (Eng. trans., London, 1875), devotes a portion of his chapter xv to these jars. He mentions the great prices paid by the Japanese for these vessels. On p. 164, occurs a translation of the above paragraph, but it has been mistranslated in two places. Stanley cites the similar jars found among the Dyaks of Borneo--the best called _gusih_--which were valued at from $1,500 to $3,000, while the second grade were sold for $400. That they are very ancient is proved by one found among other remains of probably the copper age. From the fact that they have been found in Cambodia, Siam, Cochinchina, and the Philippines, Rizal conjectures that the peoples of these countries may have had a common center of civilization at one time.

[117] "Not many years ago," says Colin (1663), "a large piece [of ambergris] was found in the island of Joló, that weighed more than eight arrobas, of the best kind, namely, the gray."--_Rizal_.

[118] This industry must now be forgotten, for it is never heard of.--_Rizal_.

[119] Perhaps Morga alludes to the _sinamay_, which was woven from abaká, or filament of the plant _Musa textilis_. The abaká is taken from the trunk and not the leaf.--_Rizal_.

[120] This name seems to be Malay, _Babu-utan_, wild swine.--_Stanley_.