Chapter XXXIX

[After a brief allusion to the creation of man at the beginning of the world, the writer continues:]

384. Now, then, I have said as much as there is to say of the origin of the Indians, if we speak of the first and most remote. For to endeavor to determine the first settlers of these lands, whence and how they came, whether they were Carthaginians, Jews, Spaniards, Phœnicians, Greeks, Chinese, Tartars, etc., is reserved for God, who knows everything; and this task exceeds all human endeavor. And if such study obtain anything, it will amount only to a few fallible conjectures—with danger of the judgment, and without any advance of the truth or of reputation. And such is the notion (omitting many other absurdities that have been written), that the Indians were produced ex putre like unclean animals, or like the wild plants of the field. Others showing them great favor, assign the sun as their father, which produced them from some noble material. Others say [that they were produced] by the ingenious art of chemists or magicians; others that there were two Adams in the world, one in Asia, and another in the Western Indias, and that our Indians proceeded from one of them; others, that there were already people in the world before the creation of Adam; and that from them came the heathen, and from Adam, the Hebrews. All of the above, being so erroneous nonsense, and blindness from the devil, is already refuted, and is well refuted with contempt.

385. The only conjecture that can be made with some more visible foundation is the origin of our Indians, considering those who were found in these islands at the time of the conquest by the Spanish arms. In accordance with this, I shall relate what written records I have found (which is very little), and what I have carefully investigated, which will not be much, for the natives are not very capable of forming adequate accounts of this subject, and what we Europeans are reducing to treatises.

386. Father Colin (both learned and curious in the investigation of the matter which we are treating) reduces the people found in this land by our first conquistadors into three different classes. The first class consisted of those who ruled and governed as absolute masters; and these were civilized after their own fashion. The second consisted of black and barbarous mountaineers who inhabited the tops of the mountains, like brutes. The third consisted of men neither so barbaric nor so civilized as the other two classes; for, although they lived in retirement, they did not hate civilization and human intercourse.

387. This third class still remains in the same ancient condition. They live, as a rule, on the plateaus of the mountains, and at the mouths of rivers, and maintain themselves by hunting and fishing, and some agriculture. Most of them trade, and barter wax with the villages. These people are called Zimarrònes, Zambals, Ylàgas, Tìngues, Tagabaloòyes,2 Manòbos, Mangyànes, and various other names, according to the difference of the sites where they live. Some or others of these have become Christians, through the efforts of the near-by evangelical ministers. The rest are heathen, but they have no determined rites, and are governed only by the customs of their ancestors, and those customs are mostly barbaric. Some of these people are accustomed to pay some sort of recognition or feudal due to our Catholic monarch, who is thereby bound to defend them from the invasions of their neighboring enemies. Such is done by the Tagabaloòyes in the province of Caràga, who pay their annual feudal due in guinàras and medriñaques (textiles of abacá),3 in order to be defended from the Moros their neighbors. Likewise the Mangyànes of Mindôro (who number about seven thousand), who pay fifty-two arrobas and a half of wax annually, or 105 tributes; and some of the Manòbos in the mountains of Caràga (who are heathen and without number, although some are Christians—a people civilized and well inclined to work, who have [fixed] habitation and excellent houses)—pay tribute.

388. The origin of all these people (who are scattered throughout these islands) is inferred to be either the many civilized Indians who have retreated to the mountains in order not to pay tribute, or in order not to be chastised for any crime; or the many different nations immediate to this archipelago. For some bear traces of being Japanese mestizos, as do the Tagabaloòyes, as I am well informed by religious who have had intercourse with them. Some are known to proceed from the Chinese; some from pure Indians, and some from other nations, as is declared by the circumstances of face, body, color, hair, customs, manner, and behavior—according to the experience of various religious, who agree that they are not of the pure race of the Indians, but mestizos as above stated. And even in five clans of Mangyànes who are said to exist in the island of Mindòro, there is one which has a little tail, as do the monkeys; and many religious who have assured me of it, as witnesses. In Valèr, on the coast opposite us, a woman was found not long ago who had a long tail, as was told me by the present missionary; and he was unable to be sure of the origin of that race, unless it was a race of Jews.

389. I do not know whether those people who are found only in the environs of Manila, and are called Criollos Morenos [i.e., creole blacks], can be put in this mestizo class. The former are all oldtime Christians, docile, well inclined, and of sufficient understanding. They serve the king in personal duties, and always have their regiment of soldiers, with their master-of-camp, captains, and other leaders; and in this way they are outside the reckoning as Indians. It is difficult to assign their true origin to them. For some make them the descendants of those blacks, of whom we shall speak later, who were the primitive lords of these domains. But I do not see how this can be so, for they do not resemble those Negrillos either in their hair or in the members of their bodies, or in the qualities of their minds, in which these creoles have the complete advantage. And although it might be said that they have been bettered in all ways with the lapse of time, and the change of location to one more civilized and temperate, it is not credible that they would not retain some of their old vices, as is the case with various other races here, and as has been experienced in Nueva España. Some people make them the descendants of those slaves who were formerly held here by the petty rulers, brought by foreign traders in exchange for the drugs that formed their commerce and with whose price they made a good profit. Even yet they bring to our settlements a considerable number—so many, that it is necessary for one of the auditors to be judge of the slaves, and his duty costs him his time and patience. The creoles refuse to confess this origin, and it does not seem to me that they would be so well received and so well regarded if they had so vile an origin. Some believe that they descend from the free Malabars who come to these islands under pretext of trade. I incline more to this view, paying heed to the physiognomies and intellect of them all, for they are almost all alike in their clear dark color, aquiline noses, animated eyes, lank hair, docile disposition, and good manners, by which we may infer that those that there are now are Malabar and Indian mestizos.

390. At the present time, all this archipelago, and especially these islands of the Tagálogs, are full of another race of mestizos, who were not found at the first discovery, whom we call Sangley mestizos,4 who are descended from Indian women and Chinese men. For since trade with them [i.e., the Sangleys] has been, and is, so frequent, and so many remain in these islands under pretext of trade, and they are the ones who supply these islands with clothing, food, and other products, those who have mixed with the Indian women in marriage are numerous; and for this purpose they become Christians, and from them have resulted so many mestizos that one cannot count them. They are all Christians, and quite commonly well disposed, and very industrious and civilized. They take pride in imitating the Europeans in everything, but their imitation is only a copy. They inhabit the same villages with the Tagálogs, but are not reckoned with them; since for the reckoning of the king they belong to a different body. The women are more like the Sangleys or Chinese, but the men not so much; however, these inherit from them ambition, in their continual industry.

391. There is also another kind of mestizo—the Japanese—who result from the Japanese who were shipwrecked on these islands in former years. They are of better conduct than the others, since they have a better origin. They are more esteemed here and have more privileges, for they only pay half as much tribute as do the others.

392. It is tradition that the Negrillos, who belong to the second class of people whom our first conquistadors found, were the first owners of the islands of this archipelago; and that, the civilized nations of other kingdoms having conquered them, they fled to the mountains and settled there, and from there it has never been possible to exterminate them, because their sites are impenetrable. There they have lived and brought forth children until the present. In former times they were so elated with their primitive power that, although their forces were not able to cope with those of foreigners in the open, they were very powerful in the thickets, mountains, and mouths of the rivers; and were accustomed to burst like an avalanche upon the villages, and compel their inhabitants to pay them tribute, as if they were the lords of the land, who were inhabiting it. And if the people refused to give it willingly, they killed right and left, collecting the tribute in the heads of those who were decapitated; as was written by one of our oldtime religious in the following words: “Even in my time, it happens,” he says, “that they descended to the settlements and sought tribute from the Tagálogs, and at times took some heads for this purpose. Thus did it happen in Sinilòan, which refused tribute at the approach of the Spaniards. The mountain Indians, having revolted, attacked the village; and they took three heads, and badly wounded a Spaniard who was defending them.” Thus far the religious. At other times those people did not allow the Indians to make use of the wood and game of the mountains, and the fish of the rivers. For being very skilful in the use of the bow and arrow, and very swift and experienced in the fastnesses of the mountains and thickets, they inhumanly shot with arrows as many as approached their territories, without anyone catching sight or sound of them. For that reason, the inhabitants of the villages consider it wise to make an agreement with the Negrillos to pay them a certain tribute, provided that the latter leave the rivers and fields free. And although this pact is not so apparent at present, I believe that it is practiced secretly because of the fear that the Indians have of them, and because of their dependence on them; since the Negrillos are the lords of the mountains which contain the most virgin forests, with woods of the greatest value. It is a fact, too, that those of the present day are as barbarous as their ancestors.

393. All of these people are black negroes, most of whom have kinky hair, and very few have lank. They are flat-nosed, and almost all of them have thick, projecting lips. They go totally naked, and only have their privies covered with some coverings resembling linen cloths, which they draw on from the back forward, and which are called bahaques. They make those bahaques from the bark of trees, pounded with heavy blows, so that there are some that look like fine linen. Wrapping a rattan around the waist, they fasten the bahaque to it by the two ends. As ornaments they wear certain bracelets of rattan of various colors, curiously wrought; and garlands on their heads and on the fleshy parts of their arms, composed of various flowers and branches; and as a means of greater distinction for some one person, a cock’s feather or the feather of some other bird, as a plume. Their food consists of fruits, and roots of the mountain; and if they find, perchance, some deer, they eat it in that place where they kill it. That night they make their abode there, and after they grow tired of dancing, they sleep there—all helter-skelter, like brutes. Next day the same thing happens, and they sleep in another stopping-place. All their customs are the savage and brutish ones characteristic of barbarians; and they recognize no other laws, letters, or government than those of the heads of their families, at the most. They only care about defending their own territories, upon which they have lively wars, some Negrillos against others, with great mortality on both sides. At such times no natives dare enter the mountains, for the Negrillos kill them all, whether friend or enemy. Their most common arms are shield, bow, and arrow. If by a miracle any Christian is found among these people, and if perhaps the religious have reared some of them in Christianity from childhood, it very rarely occurs that he does not flee to the mountains whence he originated, when he becomes grown.

394. One of the islands of this archipelago which has a name, is the one called the island of Negros, because of the abundance of those people. It is located between the two islands of Zebú and Panày, and in it is established a Christian and civilized government. But at one point of this island, which lies toward the west, and is called the point of Sojotòn, there is a great number of the said blacks, and not one Christian. In the center of the island is a much greater number; therefore, it is along the beach where the Jesuit fathers and the seculars administer, and where the Visayans or Pintados are settled.

395. The origin of these Negrillos is thought to have been interior India, or citra Gangen, which was called Etyopia; for it was settled by Ethiopian negroes, whence went out the settlers to African Etyopia, as Father Colin proves in detail. Consequently, there being on the mainland of India nations of negroes, and even in Nueva Guinea so many that their first discoverers gave the island that name because of the multitude of these people; and since the distance from those places to these islands and the Philippine archipelago is not great; nor was the land [of Nueva Guinea] which was five hundred leguas in length, entirely settled with blacks—whom the ships of Viceroy Don Antonio de Mendoza found in one of the capes of the strait of Magallanes: those blacks could very easily pass from one island to another, and their chief abode with their own name might be the island of Negros, as we have remarked. Thence they could extend afterward to dominate and settle the rest of the islands, without any opposition from other people, until the opposition came through other men more rational and civilized than they, who dispossessed them.

396. The third kind of people whom our Spaniards found in this archipelago were the civilized nations, who maintained their government or seigniory on the river banks, on the seashores, and in the other sites with the best locations in these regions, and in the locations most fit for healthful and safe dwelling-places. Among them there was another remarkable class of people, and their domination, scattered throughout the many islands of this archipelago, the chief of whom are the Tagálogs, Pampangos, Visayans, and Mindanaos. Other peoples are reduced to these, although they have various distinguishing marks. The Tagálogs, who are the natives of Manila and its archbishopric, with but little distance between their villages, were Malays, who came from a district called Malàyo; that is the origin of all the Malays, who are scattered throughout the most and the better parts of all these archipelagoes. They are located on the mainland of Malâca, and as that district is not far distant from the great island of Bornèy, it is inferred (and this tradition has been handed down from father to son), that the Malays went to Bornèy, and from Bornèy to settle Manila and its district; taking the name of Tagàlog—which is the same as Taga Ylog, which signifies, in their own language, “those who live on the rivers;” for the Tagálogs have always lived on the shores of the rivers.

397. That the Tagálogs originated directly from the Malays, is proved (in the opinion of all) by their language, which differs but little from that of the real Malays; by their color, and the shape of their faces and their bodies; by the clothes and vesture in which the Spanish conquistadors found them; by their customs and ceremonies, all of which resemble those of the Malays—of whom the Tagálogs themselves said, and say always, that they are the true descendants. The coming of the Malays to this archipelago is not incredible, as we have so many examples of various accidents in these seas which have originated from the weather, by which we have seen brought to these islands unknown peoples, who spoke languages which no one could understand. For instance, a boat driven from its course, landed in the year 1725 on the opposite coast of Valèr and Casigùran, where our religious were in charge; it contained more than twenty men, whose language or garb had not been known until that time. But it is much more easily credible that the Malays came to these islands led by greed for their commercial profits—as, one reads in the histories of the Portuguese, happened in the regions of India with the Persians and Arab Moros, who, having entered under the pretext of trade, afterwards became masters of everything. The same thing is said here of the entrance of the Moro Malays.

398. The Pampangos (according to tradition) originated from the largest island of the Orient, which is that of Sumàtra or Trapobàna (although some apply the latter name to Zeilàn), which is located below the line. That island is seven hundred leguas in circumference, and is near the land of Malâca and Malâyo, and for that reason it is included in the Aurea Chersonesus. In the midst of that great island of Sumàtra there is a large lake, on whose surrounding marge many different peoples have their abodes. According to Father Colin (who himself examined him), a Pampango who had lost his way reached that place; and, having discovered that there were men there of his own build, language, and clothing, approached, and entered into conversation with them in his own elegant Pampango tongue. They answered him in the same speech, and one of their old men said: “You are descendants of the lost people who, in former times, left here to settle other lands, and have never been heard of since.” From this it appears that one may infer the origin of the Pampangos. But it is not easy to determine whether they came from Sumàtra direct, or settled first in Bornèy, because of the nearness of its lands and domains, and thence passed on to settle the islands of this archipelago; although it appears from the statements of some who have been in Bornèy for a time that they even find there sufficient indications that the Pampangos originated, some from Sumàtra and others from Malâyo. It is certain that if the island of Bornèy was not a land continuous with that of these islands in past centuries (and arguments are not lacking for this), at least many islets are found lying in a row and near one another, with which Bornèy is closely connected.5 Such a one is Paragua, which extends in a northerly direction. Toward the east, Bornèy is extended by Mindanào. With this continuation and the short distances between these regions, one can see the little difficulty in changing their abodes from one to the other; and it is believable that the Tagálogs, Pampangos, and other civilized races who were found in this archipelago, and who were almost alike in language, customs, bodily proportions, and clothing, as now we see them, came immediately from Bornèy, some from some provinces and some from others. That may account for the little difference that is found among them.

399. It is argued that the Visayans and Pintados—who are the ones found in the Camàrines, Lèyte, Samàr, Panày, Zebù, and other neighboring territories—came from the large island of Macasàr, which is very powerful and densely populated. It has its emperor, who is called Sumbanco, and many petty rulers. The basis of this argument lies, not only in the short distance from that island to this archipelago, for it is only distant about sixty leguas from the point of Samboànga; but also because in Macasàr, as is reported, there are Indians who adorn and tattoo the body as do the Visayans (who are called Pintados on that account). But it is not known with certainty where one and the other originated. We only know of a relation written by the chief pilot, Pedro Fernandez de Quiròs, of his voyage to the Salomon Islands and their discovery by Albaro de Mendaña de Neyra in the year 1595. That relation is addressed to Doctor Antonio de Morga, lieutenant-general for his Majesty of the Philipinas. The said Quiròs says in it that, finding themselves in ten long degrees south latitude, they sighted an island to which General Don Albaro gave the name of La Magdalena; and that from its port there came to receive them, he says, “with seventy ships, more than four hundred white Indians, of a very fine symmetry, tall, lusty, and robust, and so well built that they far surpassed us. They had fine teeth, eyes, mouth, the most beautiful hands and feet, and long hair. Many of them were very fair; and among them were the must handsome youths, all naked, and without covering over any part; and all their bodies, legs, arms, hands, and in some the faces, were adorned as among these Visayans.” From this it is evident that they are Pintados Indians; and that they were not conquered, like those whom we call here Pintados Visayans. They live in south latitude, in the same parallel as that of the north, from ten to twelve degrees. But it is not easy to determine what might be the origin of the others; since, although it is known that this custom of tattooing and making figures on the body is found in Brasil, in Florida, among the Scythians of Asia, and the Britons of Europa, and even among the Moros of Africa, those nations are very remote from our Pintados; and so remote an origin cannot be conceded to the latter.

400. The large island of Mindanao took its name from a large lake (which is called Danào in the general language of these islands) which is found in that island, and into which many rivers flow. The same thing has happened in that island as I have said of the others, namely, that its first owners and settlers must have been the ones who are now found on the uplands and in the fastnesses of the mountains and the crags. Since they are inclined to the mountains, they allowed the foreign traders to settle their seacoasts and rivers, as they were found uninhabited and defenseless; and when the latter had taken possession of the best of the territories and districts, the true owners were unable to expel the foreigners, since the latter were the more powerful and civilized.

401. From this fact comes the variety of tribes that have been found in that island of Mindanào: such as the Caragas, the Butuans, the Cagayans, the Dapitans, the Mindanaos, the Malanaos, besides the Tagabaloòyes, Manòbos, and Lutàos, and a great number of blacks, like those of whom we have already written. Of all of them, when we consider their first origin, there is no other inference than that it was in the neighboring islands of Bornèy, Macasàr, or the Malùcas, considering not only the Mahometan rites and their manner of dressing, but also the bonds of sympathy existing among them. For to this day they maintain their friendship and trade, and unite for the protection of one another, although they are not all Mahometans, and most of them are infidels, atheists, and total barbarians.

402. If we consider their more immediate origin, the Caragueños have the first place. They are so called from Caraga or Caràghas, which was formerly the name of all that coast which extended north and south from the point of Surigao to that of San Agustin, and then, turning toward the west, extended from Surigao and ran through Iligàn and as far as Dapitan, until in later times a division of districts was made. The Caragas are the oldest people in that island, and without the protection of any foreigners have maintained their location and their valorous courage—which was well known in former times, by the Visayans and even by all the islands of this archipelago. They have rendered greater their valor by the character of Christians (a fact which they owe to the burning zeal of the discalced Augustinian fathers, their first conquistadors), since their aid has been the most efficient and most formidable in the invasions of the Moros, in favor of the Church and its evangelical ministers. These people, if they are not Butuans, differ but little from them, and now they are united; by which we believe the origin of both to have been common.

403. The Butuans, worthy of eternal memory and thanks, as they were the first among whom the Catholic arms found shelter, come down from the village and river of Butuàn, the coast which looks to the north from Mindanào. It was the first soil where the famous Magallanes6 planted the domination of Jesus Christ and that of our Catholic king. All these, perchance, have the same origin as the Visayans and Pintados, because of their great nearness to them. But they are the origin of the best blood and nobility of the Basilans and Joloans, for the king of Xolò even confessed that he was a Butuan. But he gives the lie to that by his barbarous procedure, for he has been the scourge most disturbing to these islands; while the Butuans have ever remained faithful, and have been vassals to God and to our Catholic monarch, following the example of the Caragas throughout.

404. The Cagayans take their name from Cagayàn el Chico [i.e., the little], which is [found by] following the coast from Butuan to the west and southwest. It is a bay with this name, which is not of ancient usage, but was given from the other Cagayàn, today a province in the upper part of the island of Luzòn, between Cape Bojeadòr and that of Engaño. These islanders are reduced and civilized, and differ but little from the previous ones [i.e., the Caragas] from which it is argued that they are not very different from them in their origin.

405. The Dapitans were a people who inhabited a closely hemmed-in strait between the island of Bohòl and that of Pànglao, and possessed the two shores of that strait. They conquered the Boholàns in a war, and assumed their name and territory. These new and triumphant Boholans left that island of Bohòl (the country having already been abandoned by the old Boholàns), and went to live in Dapitàn, located on the Mindanào coast, almost opposite Bohòl and Pánglao, whence they took the name Dapitàn. That name has been extended and preserved even to the present, because of their fortunate progress, and the friendly reception that our first conquistadors experienced from their noble loyalty and honorable valor. No other more remote origin is known of them, but it is conjectured to be like the others.

406. The Mindanàos and Malanàos are Moros, but they seem formerly to have been heathen (from which today they are considered as newcomers), and took their names from the celebrated lakes in their territories. Father Combès says that the Malanàos resemble the Visayans in their government, and the same is inferred of the Mindanàos; and, of both, that one must seek there their true origin. The Mindanàos have always remained Mahometans, and have not allowed the light of the gospel to enter. The Malanàos, with the district of Bayùg, were reduced to the yoke of Christ at another time, and were for some years constant to their baptisms by the discalced Augustinian fathers; but later they grew weary of it. At the present time some of those Moros have come to the governor of Manila with the title of ambassadors, from Bayùg and Malanào, in order to petition for the discalced Augustinian fathers as ministers of the gospel. This is not the first time when they have requested them, as well as the Franciscan religious, as I have seen in an original document. Since the fathers of the Society are those to whom those places are adjudged for the preaching of the holy gospel, and since the disposition of that race is so faithless in their dealings, some suspicions have been aroused by those embassies, and we are endeavoring to probe their designs in coming.

407. The Tagabaloòyes take their name from some mountains which they call Baloòy, which are located in the interior of the jurisdiction of Caràga. They are not very far remote from and trade with the villages [of Caraga], and some indeed live in them who have become Christians. Others are being converted through the zeal and care of the discalced Augustinian fathers, who regard them as inhabitants of Baslig, which is their headquarters and priorate. Those people, as has been stated above, are the descendants of lately-arrived Japanese. This is the opinion of all the religious who have lived there and had intercourse with them, and the same is a tradition among themselves, and they desire to be so considered. And it would seem that one is convinced of it on seeing them; for they are light-complexioned, well built, lusty, very reliable in their dealings, respectful, and very valiant, but not restless. So I am informed by one who has had much to do with them; and all the above are qualities which we find in the Japanese.

408. The Lutàya nation, or the Lutaos, do not give much sign of their first origin, just as they do not evince any particular inclination for one kingdom or another. For since their natural disposition is one of self-interest and fickle, and delights in war, they make alliance now with the Joloans, now with the Basilans, and now with the Mindanaos—as quickly with one as another, and as quickly against their allies and with others. They show that they are Moros by the turban, the marlota,7 their arms, and their ceremonies; but they cannot be very ancient, since the Mahometans have not been very long in India and in these parts. The Lutaos could have come to these islands from the regions whence it is inferred that the others have come.

409. Of the mountain people without civilization or government, and with the life and custom of barbarians, it is inferred that they were some of these primitive possessors, who fled from the civilized foreigners. These people have various names in various settlements. In Yligàn and Samboàngan, they are called Subànos; in Caràga, Manòbos; in Xolò, Guinuànos; in Basilàn, Sameacàs.8 And although some say that it is known that they are the descendants of the Malays, because their language is built on the general roots of the Malay language, there are religious (living today) who have lived there for many years, who assure me that they have not heard, in their method of talking with them, any Malay root. Consequently, since the islands are so strung out even as far as the islands of Bornèy and Macasàr, and since the crossing is so easy, it is always inferred that their origin comes from that direction.

410. In the upper and northern part of the great island of Luzòn are the two provinces of Cagayàn and Ylòcos. Those people, as is inferred by Father Colin, are descended from Chinese or Japanese, because the graves of men of larger stature than the Indians have been found there, as well as some Chinese and Japanese jewels which have been preserved among them. If these should be slight indications—for they can proceed from various other circumstances, on account of the great nearness of China and Japan—they may aid in the foundation of that inference. But we cannot get any farther than conjectures, as in everything else, after so much toil. It serves only as a light, so that others may infer a truer origin. And the same is true of Pangasinàn, which lies next.

411. On this account, and without all the above serving as an obstacle, one can also conjecture the origin of other nations who are scattered through the innumerable islets of these archipelagoes; for they may proceed from all India extra Gangen and from its most renowned kingdoms, such as Siàn, Cambòja, China, Cochinchina, Tunquin, Japon, the Lequios, etc.—especially when not few affirm that the Chinese dominated all this archipelago, and that they were the first settlers of the Javas, as is mentioned by Barros. In fine, these are the conjectures that I have found. Other conjectures may be made from their customs and ceremonies, in the comparison of which the curious will find not a few strong arguments, if they read thoughtfully. But, at the last, God is the only one who knows the truth, to which our limited judgments cannot penetrate.

Chapter XL

[Paragraphs 412, 413, and a portion of 414 will be found in our Vol. XXVIII, pp. 220–223. The balance of the chapter follows.]

... They are the greatest enemies that the father ministers have. They are impious in the known necessities of their parents and relatives, and very charitable to a guest who comes to them and stays leisurely in their houses, without knowing him and without sending him away; and they do not even take warning by the experience of great inconveniences. Many other contradictions and contrarieties are found daily in these Indians by those who have communication with them and know them, so that in them vices are united to their opposed virtues, as if related. Only in the matter of lying there is no contradiction, for one cannot tell when they are not lying. Neither does one know when they are thankful for any benefits received; for one could write by thousands the cases of their ingratitude which have been experienced—either not taking any account of the good that is shown them, regarding it as a justice due them; or paying with treachery pure and simple their greatest benefactors. All these are truths, and although (in the opinion of Terence) they gain hate for the one who states them, it is not right for the Indians who may read this to hate me; for I know it all by my own experience and that of other fathers of long standing—which indeed the Indians who know them recognize. In Nueva España and in Perû the same thing occurs, to about the same extent.

415. From this result other things, in the same father ministers, that seem also to be contradictions. For the minister of the Indians who loves them most would like not to have anything to do with them, but to be very distant from them; and if he succeeds in getting far away from them, then his love for them will not suffer it and he does not rest until he is with his Indians again. It is a providence of God, so that instruction may never be lacking to these wretched beings. This, I believe, appears like the discreet love with which Christ loved Judas, for an example to men; loving persons compassionately, and distinguishing their evil qualities, as things detestable. If all the above-mentioned contradictions of the Indians are malicious, or arise from their lack of understanding, let him who will examine it, for even in this have I found new contradictions. For some actions which appear simple are very doubly acts of malice; and quite the contrary also occurs at other times. In short, whether malicious or simple, their mental standpoint [genio] is incomprehensible, and consequently the merit that belongs to the ministers of instruction very great.

416. In regard to the mind [ingenio] and understanding of these natives, no general rules can be laid down; for there are rude and clever ones in all parts, although it be even among Spaniards and servants in courts. But speaking generally, all authors agree, and experience tells us the same, that the Filipinos are more clever than the Indians of other parts. They can learn any art at all with ease, and imitate with exactness any beautiful production that is placed before them. Consequently, they become so fine writers that the accounting-rooms are filled with them, as are also the secretariats, the courts, and the offices of private persons. But very rarely can one find the copy of an Indian which does not need revision, for they cannot cease lying even in writing; or else because of the little care with which they do it. This is very mortifying to those who dictate and correct. Some of them have been so capable that they have become officials in the accounting-rooms, and have served ad interim in the highest offices. Others serve as managers for alcaldes-mayor, and they have great knowledge of government business; whether with a right conscience, God knows. There are others who have great cleverness for the management of a suit between litigants; and are so keen in entangling the parties that they cannot be disentangled with their laws, and recourse can be had to God alone. There are at present some of them who are printers, and they have sufficient intelligence. In their own political and civil government I have seen many Indians who are very capable, and who can discourse so powerfully, with their natural logic, that they convince. But as it is natural for them to be concerned only about the present time, they need some one to direct them so that they may not make any error in what they discuss. In short, their understandings are fastened with pins and attached always to material things, for they do not understand things with any depth. I believe that this is the reason why there is so little fruit produced from the constant repetition of sermons; for they are perplexed with abundant instruction, or else do not understand it. And although the sermon be very clear, and preached in their own native language, not one of them can yet repeat the substance of what he hears, although he understands it when it is preached. They are, however, very clever at handiwork, because of their great indifference in everything. On that account they can play well on all musical instruments; and their inclination for music is very great, and they make instruments. There are good singers among them, and these have positions, with a fitting salary attached, in all the churches, from the cathedral to the poorest ministry; and thus they are being trained, from the time when they sing soprano. They are fond of verses and representations. They are excellent translators, and can translate a Spanish comedy with elegance into verses of their own language. And thus, although all, both men and women, are fond of reading, they are indefatigable when verses are concerned, and they will act them out as they read them. Accordingly it results that they are clever for all things, in whatever duty they are set; and they would be more so if they were less lazy, or if their greed for temporal possessions were greater. On this account, they have always been, are, and will be poor, without caring for more than the food of the present day. I do not know whether this is a special providence of God for these poor wretches; for when they have a little wealth, as the vessel is so limited, immediately it swells out and then they do not know what to do; and, to let it be known that they are rich, they immediately waste it in expenses that are at best useless, until they remain as they were before. Thus their inclination [genio] is opposite to their judgment [ingenio] in this direction; and although they have sufficient intellect, they yield to their natural disposition [genio], which dominates them, and in this never allow themselves to be directed.

Chapter XLI

417. Just as in Italia the Tuscan, Lombard, and Sicilian languages resemble one another, and in España the Castilian, Portuguese, and Valencian—for they all recognize one origin (namely, the Roman), although they are, strictly speaking, quite distinct among themselves—so it happens in the languages of these Philipinas Islands. The principal cultured languages found here at the conquest were six, namely, the Tagálog, the Visayan, the Pampanga, the Cagayan, the Ilocan, and the Pangasinan. It is a fact that all the languages here resemble one another, and he who knows one of them can easily talk the others, for the structure of them all differs but little. We trace them all to one origin, which cannot be other than the Malayan language, according to the comparison which has been made of words, and to the formation and construction of them all. Consequently, although these Indians have regarded their origin as distinct from that of various other nations, in the manner already mentioned, it is evident that the more immediate generations must have been Malays, since their letters and languages alone are found in these islands.

418. The vowels in the characters proper to their language are three in number, although they have the same value as our five in use; for the E and the I form one single letter, as do also the O and the U. The consonants are thirteen in number, but they are never used alone, for the vowel is always used with them. Thus by the use of the C and the M alone they write cama [i.e., “bed”]. In order to pronounce words with other vowels, they make use of certain commas, placed either below or above. Consequently, as all the pronunciation of their writing for the most part makes it necessary for them to supply it at the expense of commas, the difficulty that was experienced was considerable, even in the natives themselves. On that account they have applied themselves so easily and willingly to our letters, in order to write in their own language.

419. Their own method of writing was peculiar, by writing the lines from top to bottom, beginning at the left hand and proceeding to the right. This bespeaks a very great antiquity; for the ancient custom of the Hebrews is to write lines, from the right to the left, as the Chinese do at the present time. But the latter write them from top to bottom, as was done in these islands. Diodorus Siculus, who wrote in the time of the emperor Cæsar Augustus, says that in an island of the torrid zone the people wrote from top to bottom, and employed only a few letters.

420. Before the people knew anything of paper in these islands they wrote on the smooth bark of bamboo, or on leaves of the many palms which are found in these islands (and even yet this is done, in districts where there is no paper, or even that the schoolboys may not waste paper), the point of a knife or an iron, or some other material, serving as a pen (and now with birds’ quills and ink). If it were a missive letter, they wrote it on palm-leaves, and folded it as we fold our letters. Some of them are much given to writing on the ground in a squatting posture, which is the usual way both men and women sit.

421. The cultured languages, as already stated, are six in number—for one cannot reckon the languages of the Negritos and mountain people as such, since each settlement has its own distinct language, which results from the lack of human intercourse. Among the cultured languages, the chief and mother languages are considered the Tagálog, the Pampanga, and the Visayan; and even among these the Tagálog is considered the most polished and powerful. That is not [for instance] because it lacks the tu [i.e., “thou”]—which is well employed with their primitive pronoun ycao or ca, even with persons to whom the greatest respect is due—but on account of the po and Po co, which explains it, and signifies “Sir” [señor mio]. The first is used for men, and the second for women. Interwoven with the words, it shows reverence and courtesy; as, for example, in order to answer “Yes” to a woman one says Oo, Po co, an expression which without the Po co would be too familiar. In many other phrases in the Tagálog language is shown its seriousness and polish; those who write grammars of the language will be able to set them forth.

422. The natives of these islands employ innumerable other elegancies and courtesies, now in actions, now in words, now in names and titles, which they apply to themselves; these are various according to the difference of the provinces, and are too numerous to mention, for they are ceremonial, and they value their ceremonies highly. No one will pass in front of another, without asking permission, and in order to pass, he doubles the whole body with the most profound bow, at the same time lifting one foot in the air, and doubling the knee and lifting both hands to the face. If one has to talk to any person of higher rank, he shows all reverence and squats down [pone en cuclillas], with raised face, and waits thus, until he is asked his reason for coming; for to speak without being questioned would be a point of bad breeding. They employ many courteous acts and expressions in saluting one another when they meet; but these do not seem to me to be so many as in Nueva España, where people do not cease to use them until they lose sight of one another in the street. The Filipinos do this here with greater dignity and respect. When they write, they heighten their style with so many rhetorical phrases, metaphors, and pictures, that many who think themselves poets would be glad to do as much; and yet this is only in prose. For, when it comes to poesy, he who would understand it must be very learned in their language, even among his own compatriots.

423. The names which they impose now are usually high-sounding. I know a Pius V, and a Philipe V; and, following this custom, they take as surnames the most honorable names of España. This is since they have known Castilians. But, even before, they could rival in this the kings of España; for just as the latter have been called “the Wise,” “the Prudent,” “the Chaste,” etc., for the special virtues which have made them worthy of this glory, so here in the Philipinas, they called one “the Strong,” another “the Splendid,” and another “the Terrible,” according to his deeds, or to those of his ancestors, or in accordance with various incidents that happened at birth. Now they are introducing the custom of taking the paternal name added to the baptismal name. However, when the first-born child comes to any one, the latter’s Christian name is forgotten; for that instant they call the father by the name of his first-born for the rest of his life. If the name of the first-born is Rosa, the father is called Ama ni Rosa, or Pan-Rosa, which means “the father of Rosa.” One must not then ask for such a man in any village by his Christian name (which is the one entered on the parish register), for there are many so named, so that he would not be known by that name. An author is not wanting to call this an instance of courtesy; but many times it serves as a dishonor, if they know him and call him, for example, “father of Judas.” They employ many other names and endearing expressions in naming their children, relatives, and families, although I believe that the affection that they feel for one another has very little reality.

424. The “Don” of the Castilians is being rapidly introduced among the Indian chiefs, both men and women, of these islands. In olden times they did not lack a term proper to their own language by which they expressed it, as Lacan or Gat for the men, and Dayang for the women.