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FROM THE
pinUip5 Jfttttd,
THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS
1493-1898
The PHILIPPINE
ISLANDS 1493-1898
Explorations by Early Navigators, Descriptions of the
Islands and their Peoples, their History and Records of
the Catholic Missions, as related in contemporaneous
Books and Manuscripts, showing the Political, Eco-
nomic, Commercial and Religious Conditions of those
Islands from their earliest relations with European
Nations to the close of the Nineteenth Century

TRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINALS

Edited and annotated by Emma Helen Blair and
James Alexander Robertson, with historical intro-
duction and additional notes by Edward Gaylord
Bourne. With maps, portraits and other illustrations

Volume VII— 1588-I591

The Arthur H. Clark Company

Cleveland, Ohio
MCMIII
 COPYRIGHT I9O3
THE ARTHUR H. CLARK COMPANY
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
 :

CUSTOMS OF THE TAGALOGS

(TWO RELATIONS BY JUAN DE PLASENCIA, O.S.F.)

After receiving your Lordship's wished to

letter, I

reply immediately; but I postponed my answer in

order that I might first thoroughly inform myself
in regard to your request, and to avoid discussing the
conflicting reports of the Indians, who are wont to
tell what suits their purpose. Therefore, to this end,
I collected Indians from different - old
districts
men, and those of most capacity, all known to me;
and from them I have obtained the simple truth,
after weeding out much foolishness, in regard to their
government, administration of justice, inheritances,
24
slaves, and dowries. It is as follows

CUSTOMS OF THE TAGALOGS

This people always had chiefs, called by them
datos,who governed them and were captains in their
wars, and whom they obeyed and reverenced. The
subject who committed any offense against them, or
spoke but a word to their wives and children, was
severely punished.
These chiefs ruled over but few people sometimes ;

24
With this document cf., throughout, the " Relation " by
Miguel de Loarca, in vol. v of this series.
174 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS [Vol. 7

as many as ahundred houses, sometimes even less

than thirty. tribal gathering is called in Tagalo
This
a barangay. It was inferred that the reason for
giving themselves this name arose from the fact (as
they are classed, by their language, among the Malay
nations) that when they came to this land, the head
of the barangay, which is a boat, thus called - as is
discussed at length in the first chapter of the first

ten chapters - became a dato. And so, even at the

present day, it is ascertained that this barangay in its

origin was a family of parents and children, relations

and slaves. There were manyof these barangays in
each town, on account of wars, they did
or, at least,
not settle far from one another. They were not,
however, subject to one another, except in friendship
and relationship. The chiefs, in their various wars,
helped one another with their respective barangays.
In addition to the chiefs, who corresponded to
our knights, there were three castes nobles, com- :

moners, and slaves. The nobles were the free-born

whom they call maharlica. They did not pay tax or
tribute to the dato, but must accompany him in war,
at their own expense. The chief offered them before-
hand a feast, and afterward they divided the spoils.
Moreover, when the dato went upon the water those
whom he summoned rowed for him. If he built a
house, they helped him, and had to be fed for it. The
same was true when the whole barangay went to
clear up his lands for tillage. The lands which they
inhabited were divided among the whole barangay,
especially the irrigated portion, and thus each one
knew his own. No one belonging to another baran-
gay would cultivate them unless after purchase or
inheritance. The lands on the Ungues, or mountain-
1 588-1591] CUSTOMS OF THE TAGALOGS 1 75

ridges, are not divided, but owned in common by

the barangay. Consequently, at the time of the rice
harvest, any individual of any particular barangay,
although he may have come from some other village,
if he commences to clear any land may sow it, and
no one can compel him to abandon it. There are
some villages (as, for example, Pila de la Laguna)
in which these nobles, or maharlicas, paid annually
to the dato a hundred gantas of rice. The reason of
this was that, at the time of their settlement there,
another chief occupied the lands, which the new
chief, upon his arrival, bought with his own gold;
and therefore the members of his barangay paid him
for the arable land, and he divided it, among those
whom he saw fit to reward. But now, since the ad-
vent of the Spaniards, it is not so divided.
The chiefs in some villages had also fisheries, with
established limits, and sections of the rivers for mar-
kets. At these no one could fish, or trade in the
markets, without paying for the privilege, unless he
belonged to the chief's barangay or village.
The commoners are called aliping namamahay.
They are married, and serve their master, whether
he be a dato or not, with half of their cultivated
lands, as was agreed upon in the beginning. They
accompanied him whenever he went beyond the
island, and rowed for him. They live in their own
houses, and are lords of their property and gold.
Their children inherit it, and enjoy their property
and lands. The children, then, enjoy the rank of
their fathers, and they cannot be made slaves (sa
guiguilir) nor can either parents or children be sold.
If they should fall by inheritance into the hands of a
son of their master who was going to dwell in an-
176 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS [Vol. 7

other village, they could not be taken from their own

village and carried with him but they would remain
;

in their native village, doing service there and cul-

tivating the sowed lands.
The slaves are called aliping sa guiguilir. They
serve their master in his house and on his cultivated
lands, and may be sold. The master grants them,
should he see fit, and providing that he has profited

through their industry, a portion of their harvests,

so that they may work faithfully. For these rea-
sons, servants who are born in the house of their mas-
ter are rarely, if ever, sold. That is the lot of cap-
tives in war, and of those brought up in the harvest
fields.

Those to whom was owed transferred the

a debt
debt to another, thereby themselves making a profit,
and reducing the wretched debtors to a slavery which
was not their natural lot. If any person among
those who were made slaves (sa guiguilir) - through
war, by the trade of goldsmith, or otherwise - hap-
pened to possess any gold beyond the sum that he
had to give his master, he ransomed himself, becom-
ing thus a namamahay, or what we call a commoner.
The price of this ransom was never less than five
taels, and from that upwards and if he gave ten or
;

more taels, as they might agree, he became wholly

free. An amusing ceremony accompanied this cus-
tom. After having divided all the trinkets which
the slave possessed, he maintained a house of his
if

own, they divided even the pots and jars, and if an

odd one of these remained, they broke it; and if a
piece of cloth were left, they parted it in the middle.
The difference between the aliping namamahay
and the aliping sa guiguilir, should be noted; for, by
1588-1591] CUSTOMS OF THE TAGALOGS 177

a confusion of the two terms, many have been classed

as slaves who really are not. The Indians seeing
that the alcaldes-mayor do not understand this, have
adopted the custom of taking away the children of
the aliping namamahay, making use of them as they
would of the aliping sa guiguilir, as servants in their
households, which is illegal, and if the aliping nama-
mahay should appeal to justice, it is proved that he
is an aliping as well as his father and mother before
him and no reservation is made as to whether he is

aliping namamahay or aliping sa guiguilir. He is

at once considered an alipin, without further decla-

ration. In this way he becomes a sa guiguilir, and
is even sold. Consequently, the alcaldes-mayor
should be instructed to ascertain, when anyone asks
which class he belongs, and to have
for his alipin, to
the answer put in the document that they give him.
In these three classes, those who are maharlicas
on both the father's and mother's side continue to be
so forever; andit happens that they should be-
if

come slaves, it through marriage, as I shall soon

is

explain. If these maharlicas had children among

their slaves, the children and their mothers became
free; if one of them had children by the slave-
woman of another, she was compelled, when preg-
nant, to give her master half of a gold tael, because
of her risk of death, and for her inability to labor
during the pregnancy. In such a case half of the
child was free -namely, the half belonging to the
father, who supplied the child with food. If he did
not do this, he showed that he did not recognize him
as his child, in which was wholly a
case the latter
slave. If a free woman had children by a slave, they
were all free, provided he were not her husband.
178 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS [Vol. 7

If two persons married, of whom one was a

maharlica and the other a slave, whether namamahay
or sa guiguilir, the children were divided: the first,
whether male or female, belonged to the father, as
did the third and fifth; the second, the fourth, and
the sixth fell to the mother, and so on. In this man-
ner, if the father were free, all those who belonged
to him were free if he were a slave, all those who
;

belonged to him were slaves; and the same applied

to the mother. If there should not be more than one
child he was half free and half slave. The only ques-
tion here concerned the division, whether the child
were male or female. Those who became slaves fell
under the category of servitude which was their
parent's, either namamahay or sa guiguilir. If there
were an odd number of children, the odd one was
half free and half slave. I have not been able to
ascertain with any certainty when or at what age the
division of children was made, for each one suited
himself in this respect. Of these two kinds of slaves
the sa guiguilir could be sold, but not the namamahay
and their children, nor could they be transferred.
However, they could be transferred from the baran-
gay by inheritance, provided they remained in the
same village.
The maharlicas could not, after marriage, move
from one village to another, or from one barangay
to another, without paying a certain fine in gold, as
arranged among them. This fine was larger or
smaller according to the inclination of the different
villages, running from one to three taels and a ban-
quet to the entire barangay. Failure to pay the fine
might result in a war between the barangay which
the person left and the one which he entered. This
1588-1591] CUSTOMS OF THE TAGALOGS 179

applied equally to men and women, except that when

one married a woman of another village, the chil-
dren were afterwards divided equally between the
two barangays. This arrangement kept them obe-
dient to the dato, or chief, which is no longer the
case - because, if the dato is energetic and commands
what the religious fathers enjoin him, they soon
leave him and go to other villages and other datos,
who endure and protect them and do not order them
about. This is the kind of dato that they now prefer,
not him who has the spirit to command. There is

a great need of reform in this, for the chiefs are

spiritless and faint-hearted.
Investigations made and sentences passed by the
dato must take place in the presence of those of his
barangay. If any of the litigants felt himself ag-
grieved, an arbiter was unanimously named from an-
other village or barangay, whether he were a dato or
not; since they had for this purpose some persons,
known as fair and just men, who were said to give
true judgment according to their customs. If the con-
troversy lay between two chiefs, when they wished to
avoid war, they also convoked judges to act as
arbiters they did the same if the disputants belonged
;

to two different barangays. In this ceremony they

always had to drink, the plaintiff inviting the others.
They had laws by which they condemned to death
a man of low birth who insulted the daughter or wife
of a chief; likewise witches, and others of the same
class.

They condemned no one to slavery, unless he mer-

ited the death-penalty. As for the witches, they
killed them, and their children and accomplices be-
came slaves of the chief, after he had made some
180 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS [Vol. 7

recompense to the injured person. All other offenses

were punished by fines in gold, which, if not paid
with promptness, exposed the culprit to serve, until
the payment should be made, the person aggrieved,
to whom the money was to be paid. This was done
in the following way: Half the cultivated lands and
all their produce belonged to the master. The master

provided the culprit with food and clothing, thus

enslaving the culprit and his children until such
time as he might amass enough money to pay the fine.
If the father should by chance pay his debt, the
master then claimed that he had fed and clothed his
children, and should be paid therefor. In this way
he kept possession of the children if the payment
could not be met. This last was usually the case,
and they remained slaves. If the culprit had some
relative or friend who paid for him, he was obliged
to render the latter half his service until he was
paid - not, however, service within the house as
aliping sa guiguilir, but living independently, as
alipin namamahay. were not served
If the creditor
in this wise, the culprit had to pay the double of what
was lent him. In this way slaves were made by debt:
either sa guiguilir, if they served the master to whom
the judgment applied; or aliping namamahay, if

they served the person who lent them wherewith to

pay.
In what concerns loans, there was formerly, and is
today, an excess of usury, which is a great hindrance
to baptism as well as to confession; for it turns out
in the same way as I have showed in the case of the
one under judgment, who gives half of his cultivated
lands and profits until he pays the debt. The debtor
is condemned to a life of toil; and thus borrowers
1588-1591] CUSTOMS OF THE TAGALOGS 181

become and after the death of the father the

slaves,
children pay the debt. Not doing so, double the
amount must be paid. This system should and can be
reformed.
As for inheritances, the legitimate children of a
father and mother inherited equally, except in the
case where the father and mother showed a slight
partiality by such gifts as two or three gold taels, or
perhaps a jewel.
When the parents gave a dowry to any son, and,
when, in order to marry him to a chief's daughter,
the dowry was greater than the sum given the other
sons, the excesswas not counted in the whole property
to be divided. But any other thing that should have
been given to any son, though it might be for some
necessity, was taken into consideration at the time of
the partition of the property, unless the parents
should declare that such a bestowal was made outside
of the inheritance. If one had had children by two
or more legitimate wives, each child received the
inheritance and dowry of his mother, with its in-
crease, and that share of his father's estate which
fell to him out of the whole. If a man had a child
by one of his slaves, as well as legitimate children,
the former had no share in the inheritance; but the
legitimate children were bound to free the mother,
and to give him something - a tael or a slave, if the
father were a chief or if, finally, anything else were
;

given was by the unanimous consent of all. If

it

besides his legitimate children, he had also some son

by a free unmarried woman, to whom a dowry was
given but who was not considered as a real wife, all
these were classed as natural children, although the
child by the unmarried woman should have been be-
1 82 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS [Vol. 7

gotten after his marriage. Such children did not

inherit equally with the legitimate children, but only
the third part. For example, if there were two
children, the legitimate one had two parts, and the
one of the inaasava one part. When there were no
children by a legitimate wife, but only children by
an unmarried woman, or inaasava, the latter inher-
ited all. If he had a child by a slave woman, that
child received his share as above stated. If there
were no legitimate or natural child, or a child by an
inaasava, whether there was a son of a slave woman
or not, the inheritance went only to the father or
grandparents, brothers, or nearest relatives of the
deceased,who gave to the slave-child as above stated.
In the case of a child by a free married woman,
born while she was married, if the husband punished
the adulterer this was considered a dowry; and the
child entered with the others into partition in the
inheritance. His share equaled the part left by the
father, nothing more. If there were no other sons
than he, the children and the nearest relatives inher-
ited equally with him. But if the adulterer were not
punished by the husband of the woman who had the
child, the latter was not considered as his child, nor
did he inherit anything. It should be noticed that
the offender was not considered dishonored by the
punishment inflicted, nor did the husband leave the
woman. By the punishment of the father the child
was fittingly made legitimate.
Adopted children, of whom there are many among
them, inherit the double of what was paid for their
adoption. For example, if one gold tael was given
that he might be adopted when the first father died,
the child was given [in inheritance] two taels. But
1 588-1591] CUSTOMS OF THE TAGALOGS 1
83

if this child should die first, his children do not

inherit from the second father, for the arrangement
stops at that point.
This is the danger to which his money is exposed,
as well as his being protected as a child. On this
account this manner of adoption common among
them is considered lawful.
Dowries are given by the men to the women's
parents. If the latter are living, they enjoy the use
of it. At their death, provided the dowry has not
been consumed, it is divided like the rest of the estate,
equally among the children, except in case the father
should care to bestow something additional upon the
daughter. If the wife, at the time of her marriage,
has neither father, mother, nor grandparents, she
enjoys her dowry -which, in such a case, belongs
to no other relative or child. It should be noticed
that unmarried women can own no property, in land
or dowry, for the result of all their labors accrues to
their parents.
In the case of a divorce before the birth of chil-
dren, if husband for the purpose of
the wife left the
marrying another, all her dowry and an equal addi-
tional amount fell to the husband but if she left him, ;

and did not marry another, the dowry was returned.

When the husband left his wife, he lost the half of
the dowry, and the other half was returned to him.
If he possessed children at the time of his divorce, the
whole dowry and the fine went to the children, and
was held for them by their grandparents or other
responsible relatives.
have also seen another practice in two villages.
I
In one case, upon the death of the wife who in a year's
time had borne no children, the parents returned one-
184 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS [Vol. 7

half the dowry husband whose wife had died.

to the
In the other upon the death of the husband,
case,
one-half the dowry was returned to the relatives of
the husband. I have ascertained that this is not a
general practice; for upon inquiry I learned that
when done it is done through piety, and that
this is
alldo not do it.
In the matter of marriage dowries which fathers
bestow upon their sons when they are about to be
married, and half of which is given immediately,
even when they are only children, there is a great
deal more complexity. There is a fine stipulated in
the contract, that he who violates it shall pay a
certain sum which varies according to the practice of
the village and the affluence of the individual. The
fine was heaviest if, upon the death of the parents,
the son or daughter should be unwilling to marry be-
cause had been arranged by his or her parents. In
it

this case the dowry which the parents had received

was returned and nothing more. But if the parents
were living, they paid the fine, because it was as-
sumed that it had been their design to separate the
children.
The above is what
have been able to ascertain
I
clearly concerning customs observed among these na-
tives in all this Laguna and the tingues, and among
the entire Tagalo race. The old men say that a dato
who did anything contrary to this would not be es-
teemed; and, in relating tyrannies which they had
committed, some condemned them and adjudged
them wicked.
Others, perchance, may offer a more extended nar-
rative, but leaving aside irrelevant matters concern-
ing government and justice among them, a summary
1588-1591] CUSTOMS OF THE TAGALOGS 1
85

of the whole truth is contained in the above. I am

sending the account in this clear and concise form be-
cause I had received no orders to pursue the work
further. Whatever may be decided upon, it is cer-
tainly important that should be given to the alcal-
it

des-mayor, accompanied by an explanation; for the

absurdities which are to be found in their opinions
are indeed pitiable.
May our Lord bestow upon your Lordship His
grace and spirit, so that in every step good fortune

may be yours; and upon every occasion may your

Lordship deign to consider me your humble servant,
to be which would be the greatest satisfaction and
favor that I could receive. Nagcarlan, October 21,
1589.
25
Fray Juan de Plasencia

relation of the worship of the tagalogs, their

gods, and their burials and superstitions

In all the villages, or in other parts of the Filipinas

Islands, there are no temples consecrated to the per-
forming of sacrifices, the adoration of their idols, or
the general practice of idolatry. It is true that they
have the name simbahan, which means a temple or
place of adoration; but this is because, formerly,
25
Juan de Plasencia, who entered the Franciscan order in early
youth, came to the Philippine Islands as one of the first missionaries
of that order, in 1577. He was distinguished, in his labors among
the natives, for gathering the converts into reductions (villages in
which they dwelt apart from the heathen, and under the special
care of the missionaries), for establishing numerous primary schools,
for his linguistic abilities - being one of the first to form a grammar
and vocabulary of the Tagal language - and for the ethnological
researches embodied in the memoir which is presented in our text.
He died at Lilio, in the province of La Laguna, in 1590. See
account of his life in Santa Ines's Cronica, i, pp. 512-522; and of
his writings, Id., ii, pp. 590, 591.
1 86 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS [Vol. 7

when they wished to celebrate a festival, which they

called pandot, or " worship," they celebrated it in
the large house of a chief. There they constructed,
for the purpose of sheltering the assembled people, a
temporary shed on each side of the house, with a
roof, called sibi, to protect the people from the wet
when it rained. They so constructed the house that
it might contain many people - dividing it, after the

fashion of ships, into three compartments. On the

posts of the house they set small lamps, called sori-
hile in the center of the house they placed one large
;

lamp, adorned with leaves of the white palm,

wrought into many designs. They also brought to-
gether many drums, large and small, which they beat
successively while the feast lasted, which was usually
four days. During this time the whole barangay, or
family, united and joined in the worship which they
call nagaanitos. The house, for the above-mentioned
period of time, was called a temple.
Among their many idols there was one called Ba-
dhala, whom they especially worshiped. The title
seems to signify " all powerful," or " maker of all

things." They also worshiped the sun, which, on ac-

count of its beauty, is almost universally respected
and honored by heathens. They worshiped, too, the
moon, especially when it was new, at which time they
held great rejoicings, adoring it and bidding it wel-
come. Some of them also adored the stars, although
they did not know them by their names, as the Span-
iards and other nations know the planets - with the
one exception of the morning star, which they called
Tala. They knew, too, the " seven little goats " [the
Pleiades] - as we call them - and, consequently, the
change of seasons, which they call Mapolon; and Ba-
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1 588-1591] CUSTOMS OF THE TAGALOGS 1
89

latic, which is our Greater Bear. They possessed

many idols called lic-ha, which were images with dif-
ferent shapes and at times they worshiped any little
;

trifle, which they adored, as did the Romans, some

in
particular dead man who was brave in war and en-
dowed with special faculties, to whom they com-
mended themselves for protection in their tribula-
tions. They had another idol called Dian masalanta,
who was the patron of lovers and of generation. The
idols called Lacapati and Idianale were the patrons
of the cultivated lands and of husbandry. They paid
reverence to water-lizards called by them buaya, or
crocodiles, from fear of being harmed by them. They
were even in the habit of offering these animals a por-
tion of what they carried in their boats, by throwing
it into the water, or placing it upon the bank.
They were, moreover, very liable to find auguries
in things they witnessed. For example, if they left
their house and met on the way a serpent or rat, or
a bird called Tigmamanuguin which was singing in
the tree, or if they chanced upon anyone who sneezed,
they returned at once to their house, considering the
incident as an augury that some evil might befall
them if they should continue their journey - espe-
cially when the above-mentioned bird sang. This
song had two different forms in the one case it was
:

considered as an evil omen; in the other, as a good

omen, and then they continued their journey. They
also practiced divination, to seewhether weapons,
such as a dagger or knife, were
to be useful and
lucky for their possessor whenever occasion should
offer.
These natives had no established division of years,
months, and days these are determined by the culti-
;
190 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS [Vol. 7

vation of the soil, counted by moons, and the different

effectproduced upon the trees when yielding flowers,
fruits,and leaves: all this helps them in making up
the year. The winter and summer are distinguished
as sun-time and water-time - the latter term desig-
nating winter in those regions, where there is no cold,
snow, or ice.

It seems, however, that now since they have be-

come Christians, the seasons are not quite the same,
for at Christmas it gets somewhat cooler. The years,
since the advent of the Spaniards, have been deter-
mined by the and the seasons have been given
latter,

their proper names, and they have been divided into

weeks.
Their manner of offering sacrifice was to proclaim
a feast, and offer to the devil what they had to eat.
This was done in front of the idol, which they anoint
with fragrant perfumes, such as musk and civet, or
gum of the storax-tree and other odoriferous woods,
and praise it in poetic songs sung by the officiating
priest, male or female, who is called catolonan. The
participants made responses to the song, beseeching
the idol to favor them with those things of which
they were in need, and generally, by offering repeated
healths, they all became intoxicated. In some of
their idolatries they were accustomed to place a good
piece of cloth, doubled, over the idol, and over the
cloth a chain or large gold ring, thus worshiping the
devil without having sight of him. The devil was
sometimes liable to enter into the body of the catolo-
nan, and, assuming her shape and appearance, filled
her with so great arrogance - he being the cause of
it - that she seemed to shoot flames from her eyes her ;

hair stood on end, a fearful sight to those beholding,

1 588-1591] CUSTOMS OF THE TAGALOGS 191

and she uttered words of arrogance and superiority.

In some districts, especially in the mountains, when
in those idolatries the devil incarnated himself and
took on the form of his minister, the latter had to be
tied to a tree by his companions, to prevent the devil
in his infernal fury from destroying him. This,
however, happened but rarely. The objects of sacri-
fice were goats, fowls, and swine, which were flayed,
decapitated, and laid before the idol. They per-
formed another ceremony by cooking a jar of rice
until the water was evaporated, after which they
broke the jar, and the rice was left as an intact mass
which was set before the idol; and all about it, at
intervals, were placed a few buyos - which is a small
26
fruit wrapped in a leaf with some lime, a food gen-
erally eaten in these regions - as well as fried food
and fruits. All the above-mentioned articles were
eaten by the guests at the feast; the heads [of the
animals], after being " offered," as they expressed it,

were cooked and eaten also.

The reasons for offering this sacrifice and adora-
tion were, in addition to whatever personal matters
there might be, the recovery of a sick person, the
prosperous voyage of those embarking on the sea, a
good harvest in the sowed lands, a propitious result
in wars, a successful delivery in childbirth, and a
happy outcome in married life. If this took place
among people of rank, the festivities lasted thirty
days.
In the case of young girls who first had their
monthly courses, their eyes were blindfolded four
days and four nights; and, in the meantime, the
friends and relatives were all invited to partake of
26
The betel-nut ; see vol. iv, p. 222.
192 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS [Vol. 7

food and drink. At the end of this period, the cato-

lonan took the young girl to the water, bathed her
and washed her head, and removed the bandage from
her eyes. The old men said that they did this in order
that the girls might bear children, and have fortune
in rinding husbands to their taste, who would not
leave them widows in their youth.
The made among the priests of the
distinctions
devil were as follows: The first, called catolonan,
as above stated, was either a man or a woman. This
office was an honorable one among the natives, and
was held ordinarily by people of rank, this rule be-
ing general in all the islands.
The second they called mangagauay , or witches,
who deceived by pretending to heal the sick. These
priests even induced maladies by their charms,
which in proportion to the strength and efficacy of
the witchcraft, are capable of causing death. In this
way, if they wished to kill atonce they did so; or
they could prolong life for a year by binding to the
waist a live serpent, which was believed to be the
devil, or at least his substance. This office was gen-
eral throughout the land. The third they called
manyisalat, which is the same as magagauay. These
priests had the power of applying such remedies to
lovers that they would abandon and despise their
own wives, and in fact could prevent them from hav-
ing intercourse with the latter. If the woman, con-
strained by these means, were abandoned, it would
bring sickness upon her; and on account of the deser-
tion she would discharge blood and matter. This of-
fice was also general throughout the land.

The fourth was called mancocolam, whose duty it

was to emit fire from himself at night, once or oftener
1588-1591] CUSTOMS OF THE TAGALOGS 193

each month. This fire could not be extinguished;

nor could it be thus emitted except as the priest wal-
lowed in the ordure and filth which falls from the
houses; and he who lived in the house where the
priest was wallowing in order to emit this fire from
himself, fell ill and died. This office was general.
The fifth was called hocloban, which is another
kind of witch, of greater efficacy than the manga-
gauay. Without the use of medicine, and by simply
saluting or raising the hand, they killed whom they
chose. But if they desired to heal those whom they
had made illby their charms, they did so by using
other charms. Moreover, if they wished to destroy
the house of some Indian hostile to them, they were
able to do so without instruments. This was in Ca-
tanduanes, an island off the upper part of Luzon.
The sixth was called silagan, whose office it was, if
they saw anyone clothed in white, to tear out his liver
and eat it, thus causing his death. This, like the pre-
ceding, was in the island of Catanduanes. Let no
one, moreover, consider this a fable; because, in Ca-
lavan, they tore out in this way through the anus all
the intestines of a Spanish notary, who was buried in
Calilaya by father Fray Juan de Merida.
The seventh was called magtatangal, and his pur-
pose was to show himself at night to many persons,
without his head or entrails. In such wise the devil
walked about and carried, or pretended to carry, his
head to different places; and, in the morning, re-
turned it to his body - remaining, as before, alive.
This seems to me to be a fable, although the natives
affirm that they have seen it, because the devil prob-
ably caused them so to believe. This occurred in
Catanduanes.
194 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS [Vol. 7

The eighth they called osuang, which is equivalent

to " sorcerer;" they say that they
have seen him fly,
and that he murdered men and ate their flesh. This
was among the Visayas Islands; among the Tagalos
these did not exist.
The ninth was another class of witches called man-
gagayoma. They made charms for lovers out of
herbs, stones, and wood, which would infuse the
heart with love. Thus did they deceive the people,
although sometimes, through the intervention of the
devil, they gained their ends.
The tenth was known as sonat, which is equivalent
to " preacher." It was his office to help one to die,
at which time he predicted the salvation or condem-
nation of the soul. It was not lawful for the func-
tions of this office to be fulfilled by others than peo-
ple of high standing, on account of the esteem in
which it was held. This office was general through-
out the islands.
The eleventh, pangatahojan, was a soothsayer, and
predicted the future. This office was general in all
the islands.
The twelfth, bayoguin, signified a " cotquean," a
man whose nature inclined toward that of a woman.
Their manner of burying the dead was as follows:
The deceased was buried beside his house; and, if he
were a chief, he was placed beneath a little house or
porch which they constructed for this purpose. Be-
fore interring him, they mourned him for four days;
and afterward laid him on a boat which served as a
coffin or bier, placing him beneath the porch, where
guard was kept over him by a slave. In place of
rowers, various animals were placed within the boat,
each one being assigned a place at the oar by twos -
1 588-1591] CUSTOMS OF THE TAGALOGS 1 95

male and female of each species being together - as

for example two goats, two deer, or two fowls. It

was the slave's care to see that they were fed. If the
deceased had been a warrior, a living slave was tied
beneath his body until in this wretched way he died.
In course of time, all suffered decay; and for many
days the relatives of the dead man bewailed him,
singing dirges, and praises of his good qualities, until
finally they wearied of it. This grief was also ac-
companied by eating and drinking. This was a cus-
tom of the Tagalos.
27
The Aetas, or Negrillos [Negritos] inhabitants
of this island, had also a form of burial, but different.
They dug a deep, perpendicular hole, and placed the
deceased within it, leaving him upright with head or
crown unburied, on top of which they put half a co-
coa-nut which was to serve him as a shield. Then
they went in pursuit of some Indian, whom they
killed in retribution for the Negrillo who had died.
To this end they conspired together, hanging a cer-
tain token on their necks until some one of them pro-
cured the death of the innocent one.
These infidels said that they knew that there was
another life of rest which they called maca, just as

if we should say " paradise," or, in other words, " vil-

27
The Aetas, or Negritos, were the primitive inhabitants of
the Philippine Islands but their origin is not certainly known. It
;

is perhaps most probable that they came from Papua or New

Guinea. For various opinions on this point, see Zuniga's Esta-
dismo (Retana's ed.), i, pp. 422-429; Delgado's Historia general,
part i, lib. iii, cap. i; and Report of U. S. Philippine Commission,
1900, iii, pp. 333-335. Invasions of the islands by Indonesian
tribes, of superior strength and culture, drove the Negritos into
the forest and mountain regions of the islands where they dwelt;
they still remain there, in a state of barbarism, but in gradually
decreasing numbers. See the Report above cited (pp. 347-351),
for habitat and physical characteristics of this race.
196 THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS [Vol. 7

lage of rest." say that those who go to this

They
place are the and the valiant, and those who
just,

lived without doing harm, or who possessed other

moral virtues. They said also that in the other life
and mortality, there was a place of punishment, grief,
and affliction, called casanaati, which was " a place
of anguish ;" they also maintained that no one would
go to heaven, where there dwelt only Bathala, " the
maker of all things," who governed from above.
There were also other pagans who confessed more
clearly to a hell, which they called, as I have said,
casanaan they said that all the wicked went to that
;

place, and there dwelt the demons, whom they called

sitan.
All the various kinds of infernal ministers were,
therefore, as has been stated: catolonan; sonat (who
was a sort of bishop who ordained priestesses and re-
ceived their reverence, for they knelt before him as
before one who could pardon sins, and expected sal-
vation through him) mangagauay , manyisalat,
;

mancocolam, hocloban, silagan, magtatangal, osuan,

mangagayoma, pangatahoan. 28
There were also ghosts, which they called vibit;
and phantoms, which they called Tigbalaang. They
had another deception - namely, that if any woman
died in childbirth, she and the child suffered punish-
ment; and that, at night, she could be heard lament-
ing. This was called patianac. May the honor and
glory be God our Lord's, that among all the Tagalos
not a trace of this is left; and that those who are now
marrying do not even know what it is, thanks to the
preaching of the holy gospel, which has banished it.
28
For much curious and interesting information regarding these
demons, etc., see Blumentritt's " Diccion-
superstitions, beliefs in
ario mitologico" in Retana's Archivo, ii, pp. 345-454.
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