Philippine progress prior to 1898

by Austin Craig; Conrado O. Benitez

The Tinguianes had a peculiar custom of wearing tightly-compressed bracelets, which stopped the growth of the forearm, and caused the hand to swell. Women wore the tapis, a bordered and ornamented cloth wrapped round the body, which was confined by a belt, and descended to the ankles. The bust was covered with a wide-sleeved camisita, or waist (baro), to which was sometimes added a handkerchief. The women of Luzon were without headdress, but made use of a parasol of palm leaves (payong). Among the Bisayans the women wore a small cap or hood, and in the northern isles they were permitted the luxury of being carried on the shoulders of slaves. Both sexes wore the same dress among the Ilokanos, the chief article of attire being a loose coat (cabaya) similar to those of the Chinese. The dress of the Chief’s wives was more elegant than that of women of the common people (timaguas). They wore white robes, and others of crimson silk, plain or interwoven with gold, and trimmed with fringes and trinkets. From their ears were suspended golden pendants of excellent workmanship, and on their fingers and ankles were massive gold rings set with precious stones. The timaguas and slaves went barefooted, but the upper class wore shoes, the women being daintily shod with velvet shoes embroidered with gold. “Both men and women were very cleanly and elegant in their persons and dress, and of a goodly mien and grace; they took great pains with their hair, rejoicing in its blackness, washing it with the boiled bark of a tree called gogo, and anointing it with musk oil and other perfumes. They bathed daily, and looked upon it as a remedy for almost every complaint. On the birth of a child the mother repaired to the nearest stream, and bathed herself and the little one, after which she returned to her ordinary occupation. Women were well treated among these people, and had for their employment domestic work, needle work, in which they excelled, the spinning and weaving of silk and cotton into various fabrics, and also the preparation of the hemp, palm, and banana fibers.

The Philippine natives, with the exception of some of the hill tribes, were diligent agriculturists, this being their chief occupation. In some mountainous regions they adopted a system of terrace cultivation similar to that of China, Peru, and Northern Mexico in bygone times, and which may also be seen in Java. They cultivated rice, sweet potatoes, bananas, coconuts, sugar-cane, palms, various vegetable roots and fibrous plants. They hunted the wild carabao, deer and wild boar. The flesh of the carabao, or water buffalo, was preserved for future use by being cut into slices and dried in the sun, when it was called tapa. Rice was prepared by being boiled, then pounded in a wooden mortar and pressed into cakes, thus forming the bread of the country. They made palm wine (alac or mosto) from the sap of various species of palms. Food was stored in raised houses similar to the pataka of the Maori. The first fruits of the harvest were devoted to the deified spirits of ancestors, called anito. The Bisayans, when planting rice, had the singular custom of offering a portion of the seed at each corner of the field as a sacrifice. The ordinary dainty among the islanders was the buyo or betel quid, consisting of a leaf of betel pepper (tambul or siri) smeared over with burnt lime and wrapped round a piece of areca nut (bonga).

“The Filipinos,” says the old Spanish padre “lived in houses (bahai) built of bamboo six feet from the ground.” These dwellings were supplied with cane screens in the place of divisions and doors. The elevated floor, where they ate and slept, was also made of split cane, and the whole structure was secured by reeds and cords for want of nails. They ascended to these houses by a portable ladder, which was removed when the inmates went out, a sign that no person might approach the dwelling, which was otherwise unsecured. The house was surrounded by a verandah, and in one apartment were the household utensils, dishes and plates of earthenware, and copper vessels for various purposes. They had, moreover, in their houses some low tables and chairs, also boxes, called tampipi, which served for the purpose of keeping wearing apparel and jewels. Their bedding consisted usually of mats manufactured from various fibers. The houses of the chiefs were much larger and better constructed than those of the timaguas. Many of their villages were built on the banks of rivers and the shores of lakes and harbors, so that they were surrounded by water, in the manner of the seaside dwellings of New Guinea and the Gulf of Maracaibo. Among the Tinguianes tree houses were made use of. In these they slept at night in order to avoid being surprised by enemies, and defended themselves by hurling down stones upon the attacking party, exactly in the same manner as the natives of New Britain do to this day.

The external commerce of the Tagalog tribes was principally with China, of which nation there were vessels in Manila on the arrival of the Spanish. They are also said to have had intercourse with Japan, Borneo, and Siam. They had no coined money, but to facilitate trade they utilized gold as a medium of exchange in the form of dust and ingots, which were valued by weight. Magellan speaks of their system of weights and measures. These people were skilful shipwrights and navigators. The Bisayans were in the habit of making piratical forays among the isles. Their vessels were of various kinds, some being propelled by oars or paddles, and others were provided with masts and sails. Canoes were made of large trees, and were often fitted with keels and decks, while larger vessels, called virey and barangayan, were constructed of planks fastened with wooden bolts. The rowers, with paddles (busey) or oars (gayong), timed their work to the voices of others, who sung words appropriate to the occasion and by which the rowers understood whether to hasten or retard their work. Above the rowers was a platform (bailio) on which the fighting men stood without embarrassing the rowers, and above this again was the carang, or awning. They sometimes used outriggers (balancoire) on both sides of the vessel. The laip and tapaque were vessels of the largest kind, some carrying as many as two hundred and fifty men. The barangayan, a type of vessel used from the earliest times, was singularly like those of the ancients described by Homer.

Society among the Tagalog-Bisayan tribes was divided into three classes, the chiefs and nobles, the common people (timagua), and the slaves. The principal of every group, styled maguinoo among the Tagalogs, bagani by the Manobos, and dato by the Bisayans, was the only political, military, and judicial authority. These chieftainships were hereditary, and the same respect was shown to the women as to the men of the ruling families. Their power over the people was despotic, they imposed a tribute upon the harvests, and could at any time reduce a subject to slavery, or dispose of his property and children. The slaves were divided into two classes: the sanguihuileyes, who were in entire servitude as also were their children, lived and served in the houses of their masters; while the namamahayes lived in houses of their own, and only worked as slaves on special occasions, such as at harvesting and housebuilding. Among this latter class there obtained a peculiar half-bond system, which may be explained thus: In the event of a free man marrying a slave woman, and their having only one son, that child would be half free and half enslaved—that is, he would work one month for his owner and the next for himself. If they had more than one child, the first born would follow the condition of the father, the second of the mother, and so on. If there were uneven numbers, the last born was half free and half bond. Slaves were bought, sold, and exchanged like ordinary merchandise. In their social manners these people were very courteous, more especially the Luzon tribes. They never spoke to a superior without removing their turban. They then knelt upon one knee, raised their hands to their cheeks, and awaited authority to speak. The hongi, or nose-pressing salutation of the Polynesians, was an ancient custom in the Philippine Group, and on the island of Timor. It also obtained among the Chamorro of the Ladrones, who termed it tshomiko. The Philippine natives addressed all superiors in the third person, and added to every sentence the word po, equivalent to Sir. They were given to addresses replete with compliments, and were fond of music of the cud, a guitar with two strings of copper wire. In regard to judicial matters, all complaints were brought before the dato of the barangay (district) for examination. Though they had no written laws, they had established rules and customs by which all disputes were settled, and the chiefs recovered their fees by seizing the property not only of the vanquished party, but also of his witnesses. Trial by ordeal was common, the usual mode being that of plunging the arm into a vessel of boiling water and taking out a stone off the bottom; or a lighted torch was placed in the hands of the accused, and if the flame flickered towards him he was pronounced guilty. Theft was sometimes punished by death, in which case, the condemned was executed by the thrust of a lance. In some cases the punishment was by being reduced to slavery. Loans with excessive interest were ordinary, the debtor and his children often becoming enslaved to the lender. Verbal insults were punished with great severity. It was also regarded as a great insult to step over a sleeping person, and they even objected to awakening one asleep. This seems to refer to the widespread belief of the soul leaving a sleeping body. Their worst curse was “May thou die sleeping.” The male children underwent a species of circumcision at an early age, which was but preparatory to further rites. Their oaths of fidelity, in conventions of peace and friendship, were ratified by the ceremony of bloodbrotherhood, in which a vein of the arm being opened, the flowing blood was drunk by the other party. Among these people was sometimes seen that singular mania for imitation called by the Javanese sakit latar, on the Amoor olon, in Siberia, inuira, and in the Philippines malimali. This peculiar malady, presumably by the result of a deranged nervous system, manifests itself as far as I can gather, in the following manner, the afflicted person is seized with a desire to copy or imitate the action and movements of others, and will do the most extraordinary and ridiculous things to attain his object. The despair induced by this strange mania and its consequent ridicule, urges the unfortunate to end his life in the dreaded Amok. These unfortunates were sometimes attacked by the amok frenzy.

It is certain that gold and copper mines have been worked in the islands from early times. The copper ore was smelted, and worked into various utensils and implements, and the gold was formed into ornaments, or used, as a medium of exchange. The ruder mountain tribes brought much gold from the interior and traded it to the lowland people in exchange for various coveted articles. Several of the tribes were in the habit of tattooing the body, the Bisayans being the most noted for the practice. The Catalangan Iraya used for tattoo patterns, and as decorations for sacred places, certain marks and characters which appeared to be of Chinese or Japanese origin. The Iraya proper used only straight and simple curved lines like those of the Aieta. The Ysarog (Issaro), a primitive race of mountaineers, who have been isolated for centuries, are said by later writers to resemble the Dyaks of Borneo. Time was reckoned in former days by suns and moons, and feasts were held on the occurrence of certain astronomical phenomena. Brass gongs were much used at these feasts, and also on war expeditions.

Such are some of the notes collected in reference to this interesting race. These Tagalogs, Bisayans, Pampangans and Cagayanes were despised by their Iberian conquerors as being ignorant savages; but, as the good old padre says in his MS., they were worthy of being placed on a superior level to certain ancient people who possess a more illustrious fame. And who shall say it was not so?

The various tribes of the Philippines were frequently at war with each other, as seems to be the invariable rule where a race is broken up into many separate divisions. The weapons used in former times were the bow and arrow, the lance, long curved knives, and in the southern isles the blow pipe (sarbacan), for propelling poisoned darts. The arrows and lances were pointed with iron and bone, or were simply hardened with fire. Their defensive armour consisted of carved wooden shields (carans), inlaid with tortoise-shell and mother-of-pearl, which covered them from head to foot, and also cuirasses formed of bamboo. It is not clear whether they manufactured artillery, but they certainly used cannon of iron and bronze before the advent of the Spanish, at which time the Mindanao tribes held strongly fortified positions—defended with cannon. These fortifications consisted of earthworks and stockades, sometimes surrounded by morasses. Such were the defences of the town of the Chief Rahamora when Legaspi attacked it. This town consisted of four thousand houses, and, having destroyed it, the victorious Spaniards built on its site, in 1571, the city of Manila. The poison used for the sarbacan darts was either derived from certain trees, or, it is said, from the saliva of a green lizard (chacon). The natives are said by Morga to have used this poison in order to kill the Spanish, for whom they had conceived a most bitter hatred.

The Manobos and Zambals were the most savage tribes. The Manobos surprised their enemies while asleep, slaughtered the men, and enslaved the women and children. The priest opened the breast of the first victim with the sacred knife, took out the heart, and ate it. This tribe also sacrificed slaves to the god of war, to whom the color red was sacred. They were also head-hunters, and hung these trophies to the roofs of their houses. The Zambals, a fierce and savage tribe, were also head-hunters, as their name signifies, and were in the habit of extracting and eating the brains of slain enemies. Among the Ifugaos the lasso is said to have been used as a weapon.

In regard to marriage customs, there was one peculiar form worthy of observation. When a man wished to marry he went to live with his prospective father-in-law, thus becoming a member of the household, and as such he worked at whatever duties were imposed upon him. This lasted sometimes for several years. If the family became dissatisfied with him he was dismissed, but if all went well he paid over to the parents what was known as “the price of the mother’s milk”—that is, a compensation for the rearing of his wife. During the probationary period the young man assumed the name of bagontao, and the girl that of dalaga. They were much given to the practice of divination during the period of the wedding festivities, which lasted for several days. Although polygamy did not exist in a legal sense, yet concubinage was common. The first woman married, however, was the only legitimate wife (inasaba). To the inferior wives were assigned the various domestic labors, the milking of the carabao-cows, and the rearing of ducks, swans, geese, and pigeons. The women, in paying visits or in walking abroad, were attended by a following of maids and slaves. In various tribes the Assuan, an evil deity, was supposed to exercise an evil influence over women in labor, and at such a time the husband mounted the house-roof, or stationed himself, before the door, and, with lance or dagger in hand, cut, and slashed vigorously at the air in order to drive away the dreaded spirit. Among these people also obtained that strange and world-wide custom known among anthropologists as the couvade the origin of which it is difficult to conjecture. In China and Africa, in Egypt and South America, in Malabar and Corsica, among the Basques, Caribs, Burmese, and many other races, this singular custom of simulated maternity seems to have originated independently.