Dávao, January 4, 1886.
Pax Christi.
My most beloved Fathers and Brothers in Christ:
Now I have to answer your fine letter, by telling you something of these missions, which I do not doubt will interest you greatly. In this and in the other letters which I plan to write you, I shall limit myself to mentioning things which I have either seen myself or have heard from eyewitnesses.
The matter of the Carolinas1 has alarmed us a trifle hereabout; for as those islands are so near these coasts, and these peoples are so fearful, Christians and heathens have more than once believed themselves enslaved by the Germans. Even yet they do not have all the confidence that would be advisable to make them settle down and quietly build their villages; for any evil information although without foundation and improbable is enough to make them take to the mountains. The reverend father superior of the mission sent us some Spanish banners from Manila for the reductions of these coasts, and we told them all that if they flung the Spanish banners, although a foreign boat should approach, they ought not to fear anything.
Map of the Coraline Islands; photographic facsimile of map in Lettres édifantes (Paris, 1728)
[From copy in library of Harvard University]
You must already have had news of the numerous races of heathens that people the mission of Dávao. The heathens nearest to this capital are the Guiangas, who are scattered among the rivers and rancherías of Dulían; Guimálan, Tamúgan, Ceril, and Biao, and number in all six thousand four hundred souls. They talk a language difficult to understand, for it does not resemble the languages of other races. Those heathens sow rice, maize, sweet potatoes, bananas, and sugarcane. In addition they gather a considerable quantity of wax in their forests. There are some excellent smiths among them, and in general they reveal a sufficient amount of intelligence. But since they are still in a savage state, they commit many acts of barbarism, among which are human sacrifices. As yet they have not heard a father missionary who can talk to them in their language, and only a few of those who come to Dávao have been baptized. I have had something to do at times with the nearest who understand and talk the language of the Bagobos, their neighbors. This very week I am to visit those of the Malá River where there are some Christians and catechumens who are constructing a chapel for me when I go.
The Bagobos are another race of heathens, who, occupying the folds of the volcano of Apo,2 extend along the southwest part of Dávao between the Taomo and Bolotúcan rivers. They number approximately ten or twelve thousand souls. About eight hundred have as yet been reduced, and only about four hundred have been baptized in the new reductions of Santa Cruz, Astorga, Daliao, Bagó, and Taomo. The Bagobos differ scarcely from the Guiangas, except in the language that is peculiar to the latter. They are reported, nevertheless, to be great sacrificers [of human flesh], and are very much set in the customs of their ancestors. They have two feasts annually: one before the sowing of the rice, and the other after its harvest. This last is of an innocent enough character and is called the feast of women. At that feast all the people gather at the house of their chief or the master of the feast, at the decline of the afternoon. That day they feast like nobles, and drink until it is finished the sugarcane wine which has been prepared for that purpose. There is music, singing, and dancing almost all the night, and the party breaks up at dawn of the following day. The feast which they hold before the sowing is a criminal and repugnant trago-comedy. The tragical part is the first thing that is done. When they have assembled in the middle of the woods, after taking all the precautions necessary, so that the matter may not reach the ears of the authority of the district or of the father missionary, they tightly bind the slave whom they are going to sacrifice. When once assured that they will not be discovered, all armed with sharp knives, they leap and jump about the victim striking him one after the other, or several at one time amid infernal cries and shouts, until the body of the victim sacrificed has been cut into bits. From the place of the sacrifice they then go to the house of their chief or the master of the feast, holding branches in their hands which they place in a large bamboo, which is not only the chief adornment but the altar of the house in which they meet. Here comes the comical part, for like one who has done nothing, they all eat and drink, and some of the most joyful play on musical instruments, and dance. The principal part is reserved for the old man or master of the feast. He standing near the bamboo which I have mentioned above, holding the vessel of wine in his hand, and talking with his comrades, addresses the great demon called Daragó, whose feast they are celebrating, in the following words: “Daragó, we are making you this feast, with great good will and gladness, offering you the blood of the sacrifice which we have made and this wine which we drink so that you may be our friend, accompany us, and be propitious in our wars.” Afterward and as a continuation of what I have said, he begins a kind of litany in which all the most celebrated Daragós whom they know or believe that they know, and whose names are repeated by all at the same time, enter.
The Bagobos recognize two beginnings: and say that they have each two souls. God, or Tiquiama is very good they say and has created all things, although he has been aided by other small gods who are under his orders: such as Mamale, who made the earth; Macacóret, the air; Domacólen, the mountains; and Macaponguis, the water. Of the two souls, one goes to heaven and the other to hell. For they believe that both in this life and in the other, they belong to the devil, to whom they concede the same rights and almost the same power as to God, only with the difference that the devil is very bad, and fond of blood, and the beginning of all evil and confusion. On that account, quite neglectful of God, the being whom they serve and adore in all things is the devil. When they marry, if the lovers think that it will be of any use, they make a human sacrifice so that they may have a good marriage, so that the weather may be good, so that they may have no storm, sickness, etc.: all, things which they attribute to the devil. In the same way also when they learn that there is any contagious disease, or fear death, several of them assemble and make a human sacrifice, asking the devil to let them live, since they generously offer him that victim. They also believe that the disease can be conjured. But the time that it appears that it is necessary to make a sacrifice according to the law of the Bagobos is at the death of any one of the family, before they can remove the laláoan or mourning. In that case the sacrifice announced among them as a feria or a pilgrimage is usually announced among the Christians. At the point and on the day assigned, all the sacrificers assemble, or possibly one member of each of the families who are in mourning, at times fifty or more. The value of the slave sacrificed is paid among them all, and he who pays most has the right to sacrifice first. The victims cry out at such times as long as they can and ask pity of all; but instead of pitying them, they drown the pitiful cries with the most horrible and terrifying shouts that can be imagined. If they perform the sacrifice near the Christians, then they strike without any shouts, and even gag the mouth of the victim.
But let us leave for another letter the relation of not less horrible barbarities. O Fathers and Brothers of my soul, pray for the conversion of these wretched beings, and do not be forgetful of me in your holy sacrifices and prayers.
The servant in Christ of you all,
Mateo Gisbert, S. J.
Dávao, February 8, 1886.
My dearly beloved Fathers and Brothers in Christ:
On reading the horrible sacrifices that I described in my last letter, you will have asked: “How has the father been able to learn so minutely the inhuman customs which the savages conceal so carefully in the midst of their forests?” Your Reverences will understand indeed that I have not been able to be present at those sacrifices, but they have been explained to me by the Bagobos, who, having been baptized, recount those and other barbarities of heathenism. I have learned it also from the mouth of some victims who, being at the very point of being sacrificed, managed to escape by the aid and management of the father missionary.
I am going to mention some of the customs of the Bagobos to you which must, I believe, arrest the attention because of their ridiculousness and superstition. When the Bagobos have an evil presentiment, for which it is enough for them to see a snake in the house, or that the jar breaks in the fire, etc., they hasten to their matánom, in order to have him conjure the misfortune by means of his great wisdom. The matánom, who preserves the customs and religions of their ancestors, makes a doll with his knife, giving it the face of a man, and then addressing God, says the following words: “O God, Thou Who hast created men and trees, and all things, do not deprive us of life, and receive in exchange this bit of wood, which has our face.” After that ceremony with or without the doll, they set in the water a small bag containing a little morisqueta or rice, to which they at times add a cock. By this means they think that they have rid themselves of the disease. When they are sick, they perform the diuata in their tambaro. That consists in a dish on top of a bamboo which is fixed in the ground, on which they place buyo, bonga, lime, and tobacco, while they say to their god: “We offer thee this. Give us health.” When they visit a sick person, they have the custom of placing copper rings on their wrists or on their legs, in order that the soul which they call limócod may not leave. When anyone dies, they never bury him without placing for him his share of rice to be eaten on the journey. When they harvest their rice or maize, they give the first fruits to the diuata, and do not eat them, or sell a grain without first having made their hatchets, bolos, and other tools which they use in clearing their fields eat first. The song of the limócon is for them the message from God. It is of good or evil augury according to circumstances. Accordingly, when the limócon sings, every Bagobo stops and looks about him. If he sees for instance, a fallen tree, the limócon advises him not to advance farther for the fate of that tree awaits him, and he turns back. If he sees no particular thing which indicates or prognosticates any ill, he continues, for then the song of the limócon is good. Sneezing is always a bad omen for them, and accordingly if anyone sneezes by chance when they are about to set out on a journey, the departure is deferred until next day.
There are not as a rule many thefts among the Bagobos, for they believe that the thief can be discovered easily by means of their famous bongat. That consists of two small joints of bamboo, which contain certain mysterious powders. He who has been robbed and wishes to determine the robber, takes a hen’s egg, makes a hole in it, puts a pinch of the abovesaid powder in it, and leaves it in the fire. If he wish the robber to die he has nothing else to do than to break the egg; but since the thief may sometimes be a relative or a beloved person the egg is not usually broken, so that there may be or may be able to be a remedy. For under all circumstances, when this operation is performed, if the robber lives, wherever he may be, he himself must inform on himself by crying out, “I am the thief; I am the thief;” as he is compelled to do (they say) by the sharp pain which he feels all through his body. When he is discovered, he may be cured by putting powder from the other joint into the water and bathing his body with it. This practice is very common here among heathens and Moros. A Bagobo, named Anas, who was converted, gave me the bongat, with which he had frightened many people when a heathen.
This would be the place to write you some very interesting Bagobo stories and legends; but in order to be understood, I should have to precede it by a long preamble, for which I have no time at present; and hence I shall leave it for another time. I should like to tell you something about the other races of heathens whom we have in this mission. The Bilanes,3 are beyond doubt, the most industrious of all the heathens that inhabit these mountains. This race numbers approximately about twenty thousand souls, who are divided among a considerable number of rancherías between the Bulatúcan River and the bay of Sarangáni, and occupying the beautiful plains of the interior where they grow considerable rice. They have some of the customs of the Bagobos their neighbors, but their language which is very different separates them as does also the natural hostility that always arms the heathen savage against the savage, and one race against the other. The Bilanes are very intelligent, and some who have been baptized, give good proof of themselves. But although it causes me the greatest pain to say it, as they are a race which deserves that we all interest ourselves in them, as they are very numerous, and capable of receiving the evangelical light and civilization, I must tell you that there is no reduction as yet among that race of heathens.
Enough for today. Another time I shall speak of the Tagacaolos, Manobos, and Atás. Meanwhile, will you pray the sacred heart of Jesus for them all and for your most affectionate brother and servant in Christ.
Mateo Gisbert, S. J.
Dávao, February 20, 1886.
My dearly beloved Fathers and Brothers in Christ:
In order that you may all be encouraged more and more to aid us with your prayers in the great undertaking that we are engaged upon, I am going to mention, as I promised, a few of the customs of several races of this mission. The Tagacaolos belong to a numerous race of heathens, who inhabit the mountains of Culáman from Sarangani to Malálag. The whole mission contains approximately about twelve or fourteen thousand. Their language is easy to understand to him who knows Visayan. They are much divided among themselves and are continually at war, the weak being the slave of the stronger, and being frequently sold to the Moros. The Bagobos almost always supply themselves from this race for their human sacrifices. Do not believe, however, that they are a people inferior to those of other races. The Tagacaolos are lighter complexioned and more docile than the other known heathens. They also have human sacrifices at times, but they easily abandon their barbarous customs.
The Manobos4 are another numerous and savage race of heathens, who live along various points of the coast, from Malálag to Sarangani. These Manobos have little liking for work, and are warlike and valiant, being usually on the hunt for slaves. They possess firearms, which the Moros sell them in exchange for slaves. This is a misfortune which we regret, but which has no remedy, until with the progress of the reduction the action of authority may be more effectual. The Moros hereabout are a race of thieves, the most shameful that are known. They do not work and live ordinarily on the slave trade which they are always able to procure. I know some Moros in this mission who pass themselves off as friends, but are very evil. There is a pandita named Gúbat, who asserts that he likes me and respects me more than he does his own father, and comes into my presence as if he were the most friendly and obedient person in all the reductions of the coast, telling me always that he is going to collect what they owe him. As it will not take long, I shall recount one of his evil deeds. Two years ago he went to Tubálan, where, uniting with Basíno, Alivao, Mínquil, Batuga, Joac, and Agbay, he went to a ranchería of Tagacaolos and enslaved them to the number of seven, namely, Bayó, Eloy, Salió, Arac, Agueda, Cáoy, and Dila, and brought them to the coast. There they were apportioned as slaves, after the one called Eloy had been knifed, because they feared that they would be exposed by him if opportunity offered. Along the Culáman coast, when they knife one or many, they generally set the head on a pole and keep them for days and months. With that object in view they cut off the head of Eloy, which Batuga carried, while the pandita Gúbat, my friend, carried an arm. But a short time ago, I have been able to rescue and baptize Bayó and Dila, and the latter’s wife and two daughters. From the last named, I learned the history which I have briefly recounted. It is a sample of many others which I could relate to you. Consequently, they are wont to make slaves here treacherously and by violence. Although these Manobos, as I have said, are savage and warlike, there are some rancherías of them, which, having been reduced by the father missionary, have abandoned their evil customs. In Piapi we have already one hundred and ninety baptized persons, almost all Manobos. Their language is somewhat difficult to understand, but one can conquer that difficulty by living among them for a short time. The number of Manobos in this mission is not less than one thousand two hundred.
The Atás are another race of wild and savage heathens who live in the interior. Only the ranchería of Dato Lasiá, which is the nearest, has been visited as yet. It is the least known race, but it is believed with foundation, to be the most numerous, aggregating not less than twenty-five thousand souls. They speak their own tongue. I have baptized a few Atás, by making myself understood in Visayan or Bagobo. On that day that the Atás hear a father missionary speak their language, I have no doubt of their conversion. The difficulty, even supposing that there were father missionaries who could give their work to the mission, will always be very great, because it is in the interior, through mountains, rivers, and woods remote from the coast, where there are no roads or any human aid. Nevertheless, one must pray for them, confident that God will open the way through His infinite mercy.
In the island of Sámal I have also a Christian village, where the heathen Sámals are gradually becoming reduced and baptized. There are now some hundred and thirty-seven baptized.
The other reductions in my care are all on the southern part of this coast, extending from Dávao to Malálag, inclusive. They are Malálag, Piapi, Dígos, Santa Cruz, Astorga, Daliao, Bagó, and Taumo. Among them all there are nine hundred who have been baptized. In general they follow the instructions of the father missionary docilely. Almost all of them possess their little homes on the suitable street, and many of them are beginning to cultivate cacao and other plants which are given to them here, and are highly esteemed. The majority of those baptized as yet in these reductions belong to the Tagacaolo and Bagobo races. Then follow successively the Manobos, Sámals, and Calágars. I shall also endeavor to open the door quite soon to the Guiangas, Bilanes, and Atás. In order to begin, nevertheless, as is fitting, and to carry on this work, some father missionaries are needed, not only because of the great number of the heathens to be administered, but also because they talk several languages, and have habits and customs that differ considerably among themselves.
I conclude this letter by commending myself to the holy prayers and sacrifices of all the Fathers and Brothers of that holy house. From your most affectionate servant in Christ,
Mateo Gisbert, S. J.
Dávao, July 26, 1886.
Pax Christi.
My dearly beloved Father Superior in Christ:5
I have just received your favor of the fourteenth inst. I am very glad that you have returned from your long journey without having experienced any misfortune. Welcome to the Fathers and Brothers of the new mission! A fraternal embrace to them all!
I desired to write your Reverence a long letter, but since the post has found me alone, in Dávao, for Fathers Perelló and Moré have not returned from their excursion to Libuac, I shall not be able to write at great length, as I must attend to the other duties necessary here during the days for the steamboat. May God repay your Reverence for the charity which you extend me in the good news that you give me. What shall I tell you on this occasion? The circumstances of this mission offer me some material, especially the consideration of the condition of the various races of heathens who inhabit it, and especially the race of the Bagobos. To what extremities do their ignorance and the malice of the common enemy reduce them! This latter, being the prince of darkness, rules them thoroughly, no longer by insinuating himself and presenting himself under the forms of apparent goodness, in order to take possession of their hearts and souls without intimidating them, acting as a seductive deceiver, but in the midst of the shadows of this heathenism, he does not fear to appear so frightfully horrible and cruel as he is in reality.
I have considered, at times, as did our holy Father, Ignacio, Satan on his throne of smoke and fire, with horrible and frightful face, in the great field of Babilonia, and this formula, which is feigned by means of the imagination to aid the understanding in consideration of the truth that it claims, is here a reality. What is it but that large field inhabited by so many heathen races, whose confusion of tongues forms the labyrinth of the mission in which we work! What signifies this volcanic mountain Apo, in which the great Mandarángan lives as in his throne of smoke and fire, as is believed and related by the Bagobos, who bathe themselves in the blood of thousands upon thousands of human victims! Is not this truly the field of Babilonia, where the prince of darkness reigns? And who can tell the years of his dominion here? The Bagobos of Sibúlan usually show their antiquity by the following genealogies. Mánip, the present dato, had for father Panguílan; Panguílan was the son of Taópan; Taópan, son of Maliadí; Maliadí, son of Banga; Banga, son of Lúmbay; Lúmbay, son of Basian; Basian, son of Bóas; Bóas, son of Bató; Bató, son of Salingólop. They say that of all their ancestors, Salingólop was the most powerful, and his name was always preserved among all his descendants. Before him there were already Bagobos with the same customs as those of today, that is, they were heathens and slaves of the great Mandarángan or Satan, to whom it appears that they always sacrificed human victims. The father of Mánip was the dato of Sibúlan, who died a few months ago at a very old age (perhaps he was as much as a hundred), and whom they say had already attained to the condition of immortality, which was due to the matuga guinaua, or good heart of Mandarángan, because of the many victims that he had offered that being. It is said that when he was yet a youth, he sought a wife, but did not obtain her until he had cut off fifty human heads, as was attested by the hundred ears which he carried in a sack from the river Libagánon to Sibúlan. How many victims must that single Bagobo have offered up! Even after his death it was necessary to seal his sepulcher with the blood of human victims. For his son Mánip and his other relatives did not remove the mourning or lalaoan, as they call it, until after they had barbarously sacrificed seven slaves, according to the relation of Itang. That man fearing to be one of the victims, presented himself to the father missionary in order to place his temporal and eternal life in safety, and that was quickly done for he was baptized a while ago under the name of Juan.
Quite patent is the barbarity of these people and the complete dominion of the prince of darkness in the field of the Bagobo heathenism. But perhaps one will ask: “How can so paradoxical a barbarity exist, since by sacrificing their slaves,6 those people lose slave and money? Leaving to one side even the inhumanity revealed by so barbarous a custom, only by not attacking so directly their own interests by depriving themselves of arms for their work, etc., it appears that they would have to refrain from sacrificing their slaves; but necessarily they are very much given to human sacrifices, not only in order to preserve a custom of their ancestors, but also in order not to lose a kind of trade that is sufficiently lucrative, and of which I made mention in one of my former letters.
Nevertheless, it will not be too much to relate the following case in support of my assertion. Maglándao, a good lad, and yet single, was the name of the victim. His master was not a Bagobo, but he was married to a Bagobo woman, and far from following the customs of his country which are more humane and civilized, he immediately committed so evil a deed that he could well have been graduated as master from the Bagobo school. Maglándao was the son of Apat, a Bagobo, and from childhood had never been the slave of any person. But in order to obtain some pamáran or pendents of ivory which were worth eight or ten pesos, he gave his word to work for a certain length of time for the owner of the pamáran. The latter, considering him as his slave, or rather, as if he were a wild boar of the woods, having grown angry at him one day because he did not do as he was ordered, fired his gun point blank at him so that the ball entered his back and came out in front just below the right breast, also going through his arm. The wound was mortal, especially as he was left, just as his master left him, totally abandoned. But, since in spite of all, two days had passed, and Maglándao had not died, his master bethought him that he could make use of him for the sacrifice which the Bagobos of Cáuit were about to make on the occasion of the death of the old Balolo. The sacrificers, in number about twenty heathens, agreed to kill or sacrifice the wounded youth, giving his master seventy paves,7 or about fourteen cavans of palay. That was a stroke of business that was considered as profitable by both parties to the contract. The sacrifices believed that they were the gainers in it, for since the victim was nearly dead when he came into their hands, they obtained him ipso facto at a lower price, and thus saved money and stabbing. He who sold the victim also thought himself the gainer, because by handing him over for the sacrifice, he saved the labor and expenses of burial, and had enough palay to eat throughout the year.
I have been able to ascertain the facts about this and other horrible sacrifices through the sacrificers themselves who have been converted to the Catholic faith, who have not hesitated to relate them to me with the above details and others which I omit. The above will suffice for your Reverence to understand that human sacrifices are a real business here, and are maintained not only by Bagobos, but also by Moros and other heathen races. It is an infamous traffic which can only be wiped out by means of the civilizing action which España is exercising over Mindanao. Some heathens having been reprimanded on a certain occasion by the governor of this district in regard to so barbarous a custom, had the audacity to reply to him in the following manner: “Sir, is not every one allowed to spend his money as he pleases? Slaves answer the purposes of money among us, and we spend that money according to our pleasure and custom.”
Much more barbarous are they than the Ammonites, who sacrificed their sons to Moloch, and those other idolaters who sacrificed to Saturn, for both of them did it only several times a year, for the Bagobos sacrifice very frequently. There is no ranchería in which they do not annually make their feasts to the demon—Búsao, Mandarángan, or Daragó, for they are wont to give him these and many other names. On the day of the great assembly at the house of the dato or chief of the ranchería, they only eat and drink, sing and dance with joy, and there is no appearance of anything evil, except the scandals which reveling and the worship of Daragó generally occasion. There with cup of wine in hand, they mutually pledge one another, and yielding the word to the old man or chief of the feast, they drink toasts with him in honor of the great Daragó, whom they promise to follow and honor forever, offering to him, as did their ancestors, the blood of many human victims, so that he may be their friend and aid them in their wars. Curious persons who are present at those feasts, do not understand the language of the old men nor see anything that hints of a human sacrifice, but those who are fully initiated in the Bagabo customs, will note immediately the token of the human sacrifice which was made in the woods on the preceding day among the branches placed in the bamboo or drum, before which the old men above mentioned make their invocation to Daragó.
When any contagious disease appears, or whenever any of their relatives die, the Bagobos believe that the demon is asking them for victims, and they immediately hasten to offer them to him so that he may not kill them. They are accustomed generally to show their goodwill in the act of sacrifice in the following words: Aoaton no ian dipánoc ini manobo, tímbac dipánoc co, so canac man sapi, [that is] “Receive the blood of this slave, as if it were my blood, for I have paid for it to offer it to thee.” These words which they address to Búsao, when they wound and slash the victim, show clearly that they believe in and expect to have the demon as their friend by killing people for him. For they hope to assure their life in proportion to the number of their neighbors they deliver to death, which they believe is always inflicted by Búsao or the demon who is devoured continually by hunger for human victims.
Now it is seen, your Reverence, my Father, whether I said with reason that this place appears the kingdom of the prince of darkness as horrible and cruel as it is in reality. His subjects, or better, his slaves, although they easily comprehend the existence of a god, creator and omnipotent, since they believe as they do, that sickness and death come from Búsao, and that the latter is only fond of blood and revolution, dedicate their altars and sacrifices to him, consenting to the impious and iniquitous pact of eternal servitude, which their ancestors, deceived and reduced by the great Mandarángan, made at the foot of the Apo Volcano. Let us beseech the intercession of the angels and the saints, and especially that of the Queen and Lady, our Mother, the most holy Virgin, before God our Lord, so that by His grace, He may unite the hearts of all those who can aid us in the material and spiritual conquest of these peoples.
Here I take leave of your Reverence, saluting all the Fathers and Brothers of those colleges, to whose holy prayers and sacrifices I commend myself.
Your Reverence’s servant in Christ,
Mateo Gisbert, S. J.
Dávao, December 24, 1886.
Pax Christi.
My dearly beloved Father Superior in Christ:
[Once] since the seven months in which I have been able to visit San José of Sámal, I went there lately to say mass and preach to those poor people, at that time solemnizing eight baptisms and one marriage. It is fitting for the Sámals who were always visited and cared for by the father missionaries of Dávao, to be specially visited and cared for now when some of those who formerly showed most opposition, offer themselves for baptism. During this last visit I baptized Mal-lúyan, the headman, a son-in-law of Captain Baguísan. The latter has become a fury, and refuses to allow any of those whom he calls his sácopes to be baptized, and he threatens with his gun the one who does not conform to him, and commits real outrages. He is a madman of a bad kind, worse than Búsao himself. For if the demon looses the chains of heathenism on anyone and that person becomes baptized through the mercy of God, Baguísan hastens to fasten them on again. That happened lately to Cabáis, who, one day going to get his wife in order that they two might be baptized and live in San José with two daughters already Christians, has been detained and rigorously forbidden to present himself before the father.
On account of this war against baptism by Baguísan, which is both obligatory and of long standing in Sámal, it is advisable to pay heed to that field of Christendom, so that it may increase, although that increase be but gradual, and so that the entire island may finally be converted. The appointment, by the governor, of the Christians of San José as captain, lieutenant, etc., has produced an excellent result. It might be said that those Christians are the real datos of the island, and the only ones who obey the orders that they receive, who cultivate cacao, and form a true village.
The village which your Reverence saw in the old Casalúcan has remained talis qualis.8 These people if they are not baptized, live in the manner of Baguísan. “A village—and on the beach—in order to live under guard and subject—bah!” they say. “We don’t want it! We don’t want it!” There is a race, however, or to speak more accurately, the remnant of what was the Moro race, which was formerly predominant on these coasts, whose datos and captains, for fear of being abandoned by the few sácopes whom they still have, are the first ones to present themselves and beg for a village. And since they know that that petition is generally heeded by all the governors who succeed to the district, they easily obtain the support that they ask, and form something that resembles a village, if it be looked at especially from the sea. Thus do they oblige the scattered sácopes to reunite under their datos and panditas, and that is the very thing that they desire, in order that they might maintain their customs and mode of living.
Since the Moros do not agree in any part, and much less here, where we have so many other good and numerous races, it would be very politic, in my opinion, to encourage the spirit of the Moros who are attempting to separate from their datos and panditas, so that the latter may become isolated and without any authority. If it is thought advisable to assemble them into a settlement, since, counting all the Moros of the gulf, their number does not reach five thousand, it would be an excellent thing to assemble them in one village, at a point where they can be better watched and governed. But if they were ordered to assemble in one single village, it would always be necessary to permit those Moros who wished, to separate from their datos and panditas in order that they might take root in the villages and reductions as do the other heathens. Being baptized like them, if they wish, they may do it freely without the obstacle of datos and panditas. As they are now, although there are but few here, they fill and dirty the whole thing; for scarcely is there a river or a valley whose mouth has not its dato and pandita, who, together with their sácopes, the latter of whom do not number ten at times, say that they are making a village by order of the governor. But what they are really doing is to prevent other heathens from being reduced and making a village, which would actually be of real advantage for the future.
I will close by asking your Reverence to commend me to God in your holy prayers and sacrifices.
Isabela de Basílan, December 31, 1886.
Pax Christi.
My very dearly beloved in Christ, Father Sánchez:
Replying to your favor, in which your Reverence asks for information concerning the inhabitants of this island of Basílan, I have deemed it best to write the following.
The races of this island are the indigenous race and the Moros. The indigenous is Christian and there is little or nothing to say of them, since they are well known to your Reverence.
The Moro9 race is infidel, and lives on the coast and in the interior.
The indigenous race forms the settlement of Isabela de Basílan, consisting of some eight hundred souls.
Further sixteen families of Christian Indians reside in the visita called San Pedro de Guibáuan distant six leguas from Isabela. Their absolute lieutenant in chief is Pedro Cuévas.
The Moro race is now greatly degenerated, for many are coming down from the Bisayas who were formerly captives.
The Moros of the interior of the island are called Yácanes,10 and are employed, although but little, in the cultivation of palay, sweet-potatoes, cacao, etc.
The Moros of the coast are called Sámales Laút. They are employed, although little, in fishing. They are pirates, and whenever they can do so with impunity, they capture the Christians, or the Moros of the interior themselves, or those of distant Sámal rancherías, or those of other islands. On that account there is a certain hostility between the Sámales and the Yácanes. At present, Pedro Cuévas, so far as he is able, executes justice upon those who exercise such boldness, and applies the law to them.
Among the Sámales Laút, there are Joloan Moros, and Malays.
The total number of the Moros of this island is ten or twelve thousand.11 Their skin is of a deep bronze color, and they have black eyes, rather meager eyebrows, thin beard and their cranium is flattened on the occipital part.
They are not very observant in their ceremonies.
They omit many of the rules of their false prophet Mahomet, add others which are not prescribed, and observe some, but in the time and manner that appears best to them. For example, they do not pray even at least once a day, almost never observe Friday, and it is never seen that any of them has gone to Meca.12
They practice baptism or gúnting, which they have learned, although badly, from the Christian captives.
For the administration of baptism, they prepare cocoanut oil, rice flour, water from the cocoanut and natural water. When the child is four or six months old, on that day that they think best, the imam takes a little of each of those ingredients abovesaid, and places them on the forehead of the child, at the same time uttering certain words from the Koran. At the end of the ceremony the feast follows, and the imam is the first to whom the large tray of food must be presented.
The fathers or owners of the young girls rather sell than give them for wives. Fees are assigned for the petitions made by the young men to the fathers or masters of their sweethearts. Consequently, it is seldom that the young woman is given to the suitor at his first or second petition. The young woman is granted to the suitor, who pays greater or less fees, according as the family is more or less principal and as the young woman is more or less good-looking. Consequently, thirty, fifty, or more pesos are demanded for her delivery, besides the marriage feast.
The ceremonies observed by them, as I have seen them, are as follows. The groom chews his buyo as he is required, then goes into the midst of the guests, makes some wry faces, and passes his hands along his face. By that means they say that he is asking pardon of God by confessing his sins. This is called magtanbat. Then if the groom has not paid because of poverty, for a suitable banquet, some of the chiefs present strike him several blows on the back with a rattan formed like a hand, more or less numerous, according to what he has neglected to prepare for the banquet.
Then the groom goes to wash his feet and clothe himself in white garments. On coming out he seats himself on a mat, and places his right hand between the two hands of one chief, and his left upon the right hands of the other chiefs. Then the imam covers his right hand and that of the groom with a white handkerchief, and thus being united, they utter some words from the Koran. The imam lifts his hands, and extends them so that his palms are turned outwards and at a distance of two cuartas,13 and lifts them to his head. The groom does the same, but the palms of his hands are turned toward his face. They clasp hands again with the chiefs in the manner abovesaid, and then the feast immediately follows. At the end of the feast, they go to the home of the bride, and the same ceremonies are there repeated with her as with the groom.
At intervals they play the culintíngan, and if the groom is an influential person, there is a discharge of musketry, and a cow or carabao is killed, and innumerable Moros invited in. The richer one is the more guests there are; and at intervals there is generally a war dance.
When the sickness is severe, the imam performs the magtaual, by sprinkling a little water on the sick person, and reciting some prayers to their false prophet. They clothe the deceased in a white garment which covers them from top to toe. Those who are present or who visit the deceased, are invited to a feast. The grave that is made is deep or shallow according to the rank of the person who is to be buried, but it is always one and one-half or two varas deep, and in the shape of a crescent. In one side of it they open a kind of cave, where the body is to be buried. Once the body is deposited there, they set upright stakes in the cave and then make a platform over the hole while two persons scare away the flies with a white cloth so that they may not come near. At the ends of the grave they place a tabo14 of water and food. The imam comes, recites some Mahometan prayers, approaches the dish of food which they have placed there for him, and there at the very grave, he stuffs himself with dexterity, and retires. At the termination of that gastronomic operation, the death-guards (or tunguquibul) who watch the dead for the space of a few days and nights, enter. This is done by various families in turn, according to the wealth or property of the family of the deceased, for they are paid in food and cloth whenever they stand guard. When the deceased, or rather his relatives have nothing more with which to recompense them, the guards cease to watch the dead.
If any of the family of the deceased do not wish that guard to be made, the imams and some others circulate the rumor that the dead person has escaped and is running through the hills terrifying the passers-by. That ghost they call pañata, and until the guard has been made, that rumor does not cease to be circulated.
When they unite for public worship, which is when it pleases them, the people are summoned by loud sounds produced by the blows of a stick upon a sort of drum. The imam begins an invocation in a sad tone to their impostor and reads a bit of the Koran. In the meantime the people chew buyo, talk, lie down, laugh, scream, and then they retire without either the imam or the people having understood what has been read.
The principal feast, and almost the only one that they celebrate is the maúlut or birth of Mahomet. Each ranchería, and at times each family even, celebrates it on whatever day they choose. They ought to hold it on the tenth night of the month called Rabié aual, which corresponds to the month of September. But they generally celebrate it after the harvest. This year the Moros of this place have celebrated it in December. I asked them once why they did not celebrate it on a fixed day. They replied that they celebrated it when they had food for a good feast. On the said occasions several chiefs are accustomed to meet with the imam and sing in so doleful a voice that the song appears to come from a cavern, the while the women prepare the feast. This year I have noted that the imam of Panigáyan has gone on separate days to celebrate the feast at different rancherías.
They are very superstitious, and greatly fear Saítan (the devil) whom they endeavor to placate. When the epidemic of 1882 was here, the Moros of Panigáyan, among whom the cholera made especially severe ravages (for one-half of them died), threw boatloads of food into the sea, so that on encountering them, the devil might be satisfied with the food and leave them in peace. They also hung food to the trees with the same end in view.
On that occasion, the sherif reaped a fine harvest by selling clear water, which had curative properties, as he asserted. In return for the cure they had to recite some Moro prayers. If they were cured, it was by the water; but if they were not cured, it was because they had not recited well the prayers of Mahomet. The affair did not result ill for him.
In January 1883, I had occasion to observe another superstition in Lucbútun, a Moro ranchería one legua distant from this place by sea. A sailing fragata, which they called an enchantress, because they did not descry at a distance more than its sails passed not far from the said ranchería. Then because they did not salute it, they believed that they had irritated the devil, and in order to repair the fault they made two closets, and placed in the midst of them burning brasiers and lamps.
Some Moros believe also that the sherif can by his mere will send a sickness on whom he pleases. All is for the purpose of terrifying them and so that the sherif can get whatever he wishes from them. Whenever I have opposed this error, I have asked them why, if the sherif had this power, he did not send diseases upon the Christian village, since he is hostile to the Christians, but they do not reply to the question, but remain in their obstinacy.
Once when there was an eclipse of the moon, the Moros of Pasanjan began to make a great racket with their culintíngans and other things. When they were asked why they made so much noise, they answered that it was in order to scare the serpent which was eating the moon.15
For their long voyages they look at the cuticáan, which is a book containing certain figures. By means of that they try to discover whether they have fortunate voyages or not.
He who knows most among them is the sherif yet his learning does not go beyond the ability to write a few words in Arabian characters. In regard to heaven and hell they know nothing more than their existence. In regard to the soul they know almost nothing.
The following is what a sherif asserted regarding heaven and hell. There are seven heavens and seven hells to express the various rewards or punishments:
1. A heaven called Yattu Atúan. Here there is only rest.
2. A heaven, [called] Firdéos. Here there are good things to eat.
3. A heaven [called] Naím. If one wishes to eat, there is plenty of food [here].
4. A heaven [called] Nauá. The water [here] has the taste that one desires.
5. Aínum naím. Here [there is] great wealth.
6. Salsabila. Here [there are] golden vessels from which to drink.
7. Jatard al Cots. Here [there are] pearls and diamonds.
1. Naruk Yahanna. Here [there is] confusion.
2. Naruk Sacar. [Here there are] contrivances and animals for inflicting torture.
3. Naruk Sigmilti. [Here there are] tortures in language.
4. Naruk abus. [Here there are] most ugly things.
5. Naruk Jauya. Here one is run through with spears.
6. Naruk Zaalt. Here one suffers thirst.
7. Naruk Jamia. Here one is tortured with fire.
So did one Tuan Sarib describe heaven and hell. On a certain occasion several chiefs and imams gathered together; and when speaking of Adam and Eve, they did not succeed in telling who were their parents, and they had recourse to the missionary in order that he might instruct them on that point. They do not know either, the day on which their Mahomet was born, or much less any of his history.
They scarcely know their era, nor do they know how old they are. Once a man asked me to tell him how old he was. They count by moons, saying “Only two moons have passed;” “Three moons from now we shall do this;” etc., etc.
Much more might be said of their errors and foolishness, but I consider this sufficient, and it would be a prolixity to adduce more facts to prove those errors and follies.
The dress consists of pantaloons narrow at the bottom and wide at the top and a tight shirt. The women dress like the men except that they cover themselves with a loosely sewed mantle (jábul) which covers them from top to toe and is fastened under the armpit thus forming folds.
They cut their hair to a little fringe on the forehead, and shave themselves. Their teeth are dyed black in order to distinguish them from the Christians.
The Sámal Moros dress in pantaloons that are tight from top to bottom.
The Moro will not eat flesh,16 unless the imam sacrifices the animal, and performs the Sumbálig.
The Moros are dirty, lazy, fickle, importunate, stingy in giving, and fond of conversation and amusements.
They fight without giving quarter, and in the attack, advance, stop, give ground, leap, creep among the cógon,17 cover themselves with their shields, etc.
In their wars against the Spaniards or Christians, they build forts defended by ditches, and invested with thick earthen walls. They are fierce and bold, and when dripping with blood they fight until death on the field of battle, impelled by their hatred toward the Christian or Spaniard.
Below are some verses of a song of theirs which was dictated to me by a Moro chief, so that your Reverence may better see the hatred with which they fight.18
A song I will chant,
Which is that of the Saliban19 Sauan,
In order that I may have luck
At my sailing on Tuesday.
Look after the lantacas,
The weapons at embarking;
And though there are no enemies
It is wise to be prepared.
This Saliban Sauan
Is going to Zamboanga;
Although there is no trade,
He will return quickly.
He begged from the Castilian;
He mounted treacherously;
The Castilian demanded his arms;
He got them with his death.
Ever will I fight,
And even glad will I be if I fall;
I will encounter danger
In the name of God.
I take pleasure in talking;
I will fight valiantly with my keen kris;
And although my blood is poured on the ground,
I will slash on hearing it fall.
The language that they speak consists of Tagálog, Visayan, and Malayan words. But they make no difficulty about changing, omitting, and adding letters and syllables.
This is as much as I have to tell your Reverence. Pray excuse me for not having written before, for I have already stated the reason. I beg you to overlook the faults of this document.
I have no time to copy it, for I have to go to Joló.
Your Reverence’s most affectionate servant in Christ,
Manila, April 20, 1887.
... Now considering Mindanao under its social and political aspect, its population is divided into Christians, heathens, and Moros, all of whom proceed in general from the Malay, Indonesian races,21 and the indigenous or Negrito race, and from crosses of the same races among themselves and with other superior races, especially the Chinese and Spaniards. The Christians are divided into old and new. The old Christians number about 186,000, and occupy in the ethnographical map accompanying our letters, the place represented by color no. 1. Their customs smell of the greater or less familiarity that they have or have had with the heathens from whose races they proceed. Without the powerful and efficacious influence of religion one would note in them a marked tendency to idleness, drunkenness, gambling, and lust. On the other side they are naturally hospitable, docile, and generous. They are pious in the performance of their religion. In their family and married life considerable morality is observed when there exist no rocks of scandal in the villages. I have observed in certain parish books which register more than two hundred baptisms per year, that two or three years pass without the notice of a single natural child.22 They are given to the cultivation of rice, abacá, sugar-cane, coffee, tobacco, bananas, lumbias, cocoa-palms, and other fruit trees, and to that of tubers such as sweet potatoes, gabe, and arorú, which are an article of prime necessity for them in times of famine. They extract mastic and other resins, as for example piao and guísog, and refine the oil of cocoanuts, biao, and balao, but do not extract castor or peanut oil as they are ignorant of their use.23 Wax and honey are very abundant. From the latter, and from sugar-cane, nipa, cocoanuts, rice and cabo negro they prepare their drinks, and their vinegars from the last named and from camagon.24 They also get salt from sea-water by means of rapid evaporation.25 In general, the men are farmers, but among them there are carpenters, smiths, metal workers, masons, tailors, and even some who devote themselves to the making of weapons. The women weave the filaments of piña, tindog,26 abacá, cotton, and silk. They embroider and sew most delicately and tastefully. In certain seasons of the year, many Indians of the coasts, travel and fish especially for sea-turtles, whether they have any shell or not.27
The Philippine barangay
[From photograph taken by Otto Fischer, 1888; procured in Madrid]
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,28 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.29 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.
The heathen to the number of about 300,000, are divided into different nations or families of three races properly so called: the Malay, the Indonesian, and the Negrito. They have many crosses with other superior races, as the Chinese, Japanese, and even according to some, the European.30
The Mamanuas (man-banua, “inhabitant of the country”) are the true indigenous aborigines of the country.31 Their color is dark, and their hair is oily, woolly, and curly. They are nomadic and go naked. They pass the night where it overtakes them, taking shelter under an improvised hut of palásan32 or of any tree branch. Their food is the fruit and the roots of the forest and the flesh of deer, boars, monkeys, snakes, and reptiles. Their weapons are the bow and arrow, spear, and knife. They have an idea of God and of a worship, as well as some maxims of natural law. They are timid, and miserable creatures, moved by necessity, and loving of ease. They inhabit the small peninsula of Surigao and extend to Tago through the mountains. Their chiefs generally contract marriage with the Manobo women. This race is almost extinct in consequence of the privations incident to their wandering life. Four small villages of Mamanuas exist in the parish of Mainit and another in that of Gigáquit. The total number of this tribe does not exceed two or three thousand. Those baptized number about five hundred. In the map they occupy color number 2.
The Manobos or Manuba (man-subá,33 “river dweller”) as is indicated by their name itself live near the rivers. They inhabit the valley of the Agúsan, which extends from Butúan to Oloagúsan. They live besides on the point of San Agustin on the southern shore of the bay of Malálag, and in the district of Cottabato, as may be seen in the ethnographical map, accompanying these letters, color no. 3.
This tribe is numerous, wild, fickle, easy to reduce,34 somewhat difficult to preserve, and suspicious and treacherous in their attacks. They build their houses near the rivers and often in the forks of trees. Their religion is very like that of the Mandayas. They annually change their abode in order to make new fields, being compelled to do so because of the grass and briars which spring up. As they have no means for the deep working of the soil, consequently permanent possession has no charm for them. They abandon their houses as soon as anyone dies in them, and if the deceased is an outsider, they demand the worth of the abandoned house from his relatives. Their system of life is the patriarchal, under the protection of their respective bagani. The Manobo, according to Dr. Montano,35 presents two extreme types: one athletic, and of much slighter build than the other. Those two types combined in the majority of the individuals constitute another medium type whose characters are more plainly marked in the Manobos of Dávao, than in those of the Agúsan. Their clothing, weapons, and ornaments closely resemble those of the Mandayas, with the exception of the strings of glass beads, which are black rather than red among the Manobos. Tattooing is practiced among the Manobos, and is done by means of a needle and powdered charcoal. The number of the Manobos in the valley of Agúsan is about 20,000, half of whom are now reduced. The number of those of the district of Dávao and Cottabato is unknown.
The Mandayas (man-daya, “people of the upland”—ilaya) is a tribe extending from Tago to Mati, and from Gandía to the source of the Agúsan, and in the district below the Sálug, as may be seen at color no. 34, of the adjoined ethnographical map. The manners and customs of the Mandayas are described in a letter written by Father Héras, June 8, 1878. The Mandayas number about 30,000 of whom 8,000 are already reduced and baptized.
The Manguangas36 (man-gulangas, “people of the woods”) live on the upper part of the Sálug. They are warlike and have continual quarrels with the Manobos and Mandayas of the Agúsan, the Moros of the Hijo, and the Atás. They are easy to reduce. In the map, they occupy the place corresponding to color no. 5.
The Monteses (Buquid-non)37 of the second district of Mindanao are divided into two groups: those adjacent to the Manobos of the Agúsan between Gingóog and Nasípit, who approach to the habits, and the social and religious life of the latter; and those who people the mountains and valleys of the Tagalóan River. Comprehended in the parish of Balingasag, there are several reductions of them. Their number is about 4,000. They are shown in the map at color no. 6.
The Atás (from itaas, ataas, atás, “those who live on the heights”) are the indigenous natives who generally live about the western districts of Mount Apo.38 They are warlike and fight against the Moros and the Bagobos. The Atás extend to the northwest of Dávao, and in their ramifications finally reach to the borders of the Bagobos, Guiangas, Mandayas, and even to the Subanos and the Monteses of Cagayan and Maguindánao. The number of this tribe is unknown, even approximately, but it is conjectured with foundation that it must be very numerous. In the map they occupy the place corresponding to color no. 7.
The Guiangas39 (guanga, gulanga “inhabitant of the woods”) live, according to Father Gisbert, scattered between the rivers and rancherías of Dulían, Guimálan, Tamúgan, Ceril, and Biao near Dávao, and they number about 6,400. Their dialect is entirely different from those of the others, and they show sufficient intelligence, but they are very barbarous, and human sacrifices are still held among them. In the map they occupy color no. 8.
The Bagobos40 inhabit the eastern slopes of the Apo. They are of moderate stature, and well built, for the deformed children are smothered at birth. They are fond of work. They perform human sacrifices in order to placate Daragó (Da-dagó, Du-dugó, Mu-dugó, “he who sheds blood,” or “the shedder of blood”) or Mandarangan. They believe in two beginnings, are difficult to reduce, and easy to keep after reduction. They are warlike and cruel, excellent horsemen, and daring fishermen. They dress luxuriantly, and at times wear shirts which cost them two or three slaves. They drink íntus (the sap of the fermented sugar-cane) and offer it when they make visits to all those in the assembly beginning with the most worthy. The number of the Bagobos, according to Father Gisbert, is about 12,000, of whom 800 have been reduced and baptized. In the map they are found at color no. 9.
The Caláganes41 are not Moros. Their captain and all his family have been baptized, and, in consequence of that, a new reduction has been formed from the individuals of this tribe in Dígos, between Píapi and Santa Cruz. They are fine fellows and very tractable. In the map they occupy the color corresponding to no. 10.
The Tagacaolos42 (taga-ca-olo, “inhabitant of the head,” or “source of rivers”) are as capable as the Bagobos, without being as cruel and superstitious as they. In their contests they are generally very valiant especially those who are widowed; for to become a murderer is a good recommendation for the contraction of second nuptials. The Tagacaolos are of good figure and of a somewhat clearer complexion than those of the other tribes with the exception of the Mandayas. The Tagacaolos occupy the mountains of Haguimítan in the small peninsula or the cape of San Agustin. Between Malálag, Malita, and Lais, are found 7,000 and about 2,000 in the peninsula of San Agustin. There is a small village of this tribe in Malálag of those newly reduced, which has already 186 Christians. The Loac are wild Tagacaolos still more degraded than the Mamanuas who live on the heights of Haguimítan. In the map they will be found at color no. 11.
The Dulanganes (Gulanganes) called also Bangal-bangal, like the Manguangas, are people of the woods, and live in the mountains, about fifteen leguas from the Rio Grande, toward the southern coast. They are savage and fierce, and the Moros themselves who do not dare to meddle with them call them a bad race. It could be that the so cried-up ferocity of the Dulanganes bugaboo was invented by the Moros for their own ends, according to a note in one of the letters of Father Moré. Their number is unknown. They go completely naked, and for the most indispensable covering they use a kind of small apron made of bark or the leaves of trees. Their food is the same as that of the Mamanuas. They do not have houses either, and live in caves or inside the trunks of trees, or like the Mamanuas. Their weapons are usually arrows poisoned as I have heard with the curare. Is this perchance the same curare that is discussed by Father Gumilla in his Orinoco ilustrado?43 They will be found at color no. 12 in the map.
The Tedurayes or Tirurayes44 live on the slopes at the left of the lower Pulangui. They number from 8,000 to 10,000 at the most. They occupy on the map the place corresponding to color no. 13. They are amiable, friendly to the Spaniards, but oppressed by the Moros. Their fear of molestation from the Moros together with their nomadic tendencies, due to the lack of carabaos and farm implements, make their complete reduction difficult at present. Their system of government is patriarchal, and the chief of the tribe is called bandarra. They pay their tributes to the Moro datos as an annual rent for the lands which they cultivate. The women adorn their hands and legs in an insupportable manner, with huge brass rings; and they pierce their ears in which they place pendants more than one centimeter in diameter. The men allow their hair to grow like the heathens of other tribes, but do not tie it up like those tribes. Their weapons and industry show the influence that they have received from the Moros. They gird the body with belts interwoven from brass wire a decimeter or so in width. Their religion is a shapeless aggregation of superstitious ideas. It is not accurate to say that the Tirurayes have so low an idea of their self respect that they believe themselves to be honored in prostituting their wives and daughters with the Spaniards. Given the supposition of some isolated deed which might seem to prove the abovesaid, a general rule could not be deduced therefrom against the integrity of the customs of the Tirurayes in this matter, against which the nature itself, not only of man but also of the brute animals themselves, cries out with a loud voice.
The Tagabili or Taga-bulú are, together with the Bilanes, the owners of the lake of Bulú-an, and live on the southern shore of that lake. This tribe is warlike and friendly to the Moros, Tirurayes, and Manobos, who live near them. The Moros of Sarangani are wont to ally themselves with the Bilanes of Bálud and Tumánao in order to fight against the Tagabilíes. I believe that their reduction will be as easy as is that of the Bilanes. In the map they occupy the place corresponding to no. 14.
The Sámales45 of the island of Sámal near Dávao are Moro and Mandaya mestizos. They are brave and well inclined to the Spaniards. Their population reaches about 2,000. There is a new reduction of Christians in Sámal. They are not so difficult to reduce as are the Moros. They occupy color no. 15 in the map.
The Bilanes or Buluanes (Bil-an, Bul-u-an, Bulú-an)46 reside in the vicinity about the lake of Bulúan and in the mountains between the said lake and the bay of Sarangani. They are the most exploited tribe and the most degraded physically except the Mamanuas. They are fugitive, timid, docile, amiable, and easy to reduce. In two of the islands of Sarangani, Bálud and Tumánao, live also about 1,500 Bilanes who maintain good relations with those of their race in Mindanao, and with the Manobos of Culáman. They occupy color no. 16 on the map.
The Subánon (“people of the river”)47 are a tribe that has become degenerate because of the persecutions which they have had to endure from the Moros who collect large tributes from them. They are husbandmen, but the Moros gain the benefit of their sweat. They are long-suffering and pacific for they are not accustomed to the handling of arms; and they are superstitious and ignorant. Their docility would render their complete reduction very easy. They occupy almost all the peninsula of Sibuguey, and are contiguous to the Moros of Lánao and of the bay of Illana. The latter make use of them, for they enslave them in order to make them work their fields. The military road from Tucúran to Maránding which has been ordered to be built by his Excellency, Captain-general Terrero,48 will destroy the dominion exercised by the Illanos Moros and those of Lánao over the Subanos, for it will destroy the piracy and captivity because of the impossibility of communication. At the same time it will facilitate the action of the missionaries in the reduction of the said heathens. At the present time there are five reductions of Subanos in the Dapitan district, which have about 2,000 new Christians; another in the Zamboanga district in the jurisdiction of Ayala; while three reductions have already been begun successfully on the bay of Sibuguey, namely, Tupilak, Bulúan, and Bancálan. The Subanos are designated on the map at color no. 17.
The Lutangos Moros are Calibuganes. They are of a timid and peaceful nature and live in Silanga de la Olutanga. They engage in fishing, and have no other dwelling, according to Figueroa, than their vintas in which they live. Each family carries with it its miserable possessions, and they pass years without setting foot on the land for even the fuel that they need is furnished by the mangrove trees. They generally go naked. Their number does not exceed three or four hundred. On the map they occupy color no. 20.
The Calibuganes are Moro and Subano mestizos, who are peaceful and but little warlike. They share in the religion of the Moros which is altered by the superstitions of the Subanos. They are considered by the Moros as a free people, and hence the latter only exact from them personal service with their vintas. That runs at the account of the datos, on whom depend the maintenance of the same people. They live in small groups on the coasts of the peninsula of Sibuguey and occupy color number 21 on the map.
Moros. The Moros compared to the Christians of Filipinas, are what the Jebusites are to the village of God. Consecrated to piracy and the taking of captives since the beginning of their installation in Joló and Mindanao that profession has always been for them the most solid support of their formidable power. Until 1860 when eighteen steamboats came to this archipelago it was impossible to break their indomitable pride, and assure communication with the sea of Mindoro. Later with the increase of the navy and the installation of the steamship post it has become impossible for those people to leave their lurking places in order to practice their infamous raids. The expeditions of General Claveria against the Moros of Balanguingui; those of Urbistondo and Malcampo, against the Moros of Joló;49 and the definitive establishment of our forts in Dávao, Rio Grande, and Joló, have given the deathblow to Mahometanism in the archipelago,50 and it is now become shrunken to the reducible circle of the territory that they overlook, and in that of the heathen rancherías which surround them, where the beneficent influence of the Spanish domination has not yet been able to penetrate in an efficacious and immediate manner. Nevertheless the Moros will be from today and forever under the vigilant eye of the victorious Lion of Castilla, so that they may not commit any offenses outside. The day on which the missionaries shall have succeeded in planting the cross among the heathens who surround the Moros, then the latter deprived of the slaves who cultivate the earth for them and clothe them, erect their houses, and serve them as an object of luxury and trade, will on that day see their necessity to change the campilan and the kris for the ploughshare and the plough, the fierce arrogance of the warrior or pirate, for the pacific gentleness of the man who is forced to gain his bread by the sweat of his brow.
The worst Moros are those of Joló and some rancherías of the coasts of Basílan called Sámal Laut (see color no. 23); the Illanos (no. 18), who occupy the bay of Illana which gives them their name, and who form a few groups on the coasts of Sibuguey; those of the lake of Lánao; those of the valley of the Rio Grande; and those of the coast between Cottabato and the gulf of Sarangani.
The most pacific are the Yácanes Moros (no. 22) of the interior of Basílan; the Sánguiles (number 19); and those of Sarangani, except some who have come from the Rio Grande. The Moros of the gulf of Dávao and Mayo are not feared both because of their isolation and their small number.
[Continuing Father Pastells speaks of the ethnographical map that accompanies this volume of the Letters. He mentions the fact that Blumentritt published a map of like character in 1884. The present map is made from information obtained directly by the Jesuit missionaries. Concrete information as to the various dialects is still in so incipient a condition that nothing can as yet be written definitely on the subject, but Father Pastells holds out the hope that such information may be given in the near future.]