The Inhabitants of the Philippines

by Frederic H. Sawyer

The Spanish word Montés, means hill-man. Buquid, in Tagal, means arable land; and Taga-buquid, a countryman. The Tagal equivalent of hill-man is Taga-bundoc, which corresponds to the jungle-wallah of British India. The word Buquidnónes may mean cultivators, and their extensive plantations fully justify this designation. It is therefore rather a vague expression, but still designates a particular tribe in Mindanao, whose numbers were estimated to amount to 13,000 ten years ago, and who have probably largely increased since then.

They occupy the valleys through which the Rivers of Cagayan and Tagoloan run, and the hills between them and on both sides.

They hold the country of the head-waters of the Pulangui, and the right bank, as far south as the Manobos extend on the left bank, say to 7° 30′ N. latitude. In the north they extend right up into the peninsula between the Bay of Macajalar and the Bay of Lunao, occupying the lofty mountains of Sabrac, Sinalagao, Quimanquil, and the sacred Balatucan, whence the souls of the dead jump from earth to heaven.

Father Clotet, from whose letters to his superiors I have taken these particulars, considers them to be divided into three large groups.

The first consists of those living in the hills and valleys of the rivers Tagoloan, Cagayan, and Iponam; the second, of those bordering on the Manobos of the Agusan between Gingoog and Nasipit, and the third of those who live on the right bank of the Pulangui and on some of its affluents.

They bear some resemblance to their neighbours the Manobos, being of good stature, well-built, even handsome, and are of an affable and friendly disposition; some of them are so smart and well-bred as to be not in the least inferior to the most civilised of the Visayas, and to judge by their free and open address, and the absence of all affectation when settling their business with the old Christians, nobody would take them for heathens.

Father Urios said that, from the extent of their intelligence, they were fit to be kings of the Manobos, so much superior were they to these.

In their dress they show a far greater idea of decorum and modesty than any other race in Mindanao, both men and women. The latter wear a white shirt, which is held in at the waist by a long skirt, reaching to the ankles. Over this they wear a very short and tight jacket, to the edges of which they sew strips of cloth of many colours in a pleasing tracery, the short wide sleeves being trimmed in the same way.

They show great taste in choosing the colours and designs with which they ornament their dresses. On the left side at the waist they hang some bead ornaments, small bells, and bunches of scented herbs. On their legs they wear many loose rings of brass, copper, or silver, which rattle when they walk. Their manner of dressing their hair is singular, and characteristic. They take the bulk of the hair, and without plaiting it they twist and knot it in a high and large coil. All round the head fall curls cut to one length, but on the forehead there is a fringe coming down almost to the eye-brows. They secure the coil with a handsome and showy comb, well made of metal, or precious metals, according to the means of the wearer. Many of them are loaded with bracelets from the wrists to near the elbows, either of metal, of tortoise-shell, or mother-of-pearl. In their ears they wear large ornaments called balaring, made of a plug of soft wood, having on each end a circular plate of brass, copper, silver, or of engraved gold, one larger than the other. The hole of the ear is greatly stretched to allow the smaller plate to pass through; the plug then remains in the hole, and is covered at each end by the plates. They wear also necklaces, sometimes of great value. These manufactures seem to be very similar to those of the Igorrotes, which have been detailed at length in the description of that interesting people.

Father Clotet mentioned a curious necklace worn by one of these women, formed of ancient silver coins, diminishing in size from the centre to the extremities. In the middle was a silver dollar of Charles III. He considered this to be worth thirty dollars, which was quite a capital to a Montés in a small hamlet.