The Fashionable Church and the Village of Majayjay, Near Manila.
The dancing now begins. A youth and a maiden stand facing each other, both singing a sentimental song. Then follows a musical dialogue, while both dance round each other, keeping step to the music furnished by the native orchestra. A young woman then steps into the middle of the floor,—her long hair flowing down her back, her eyes sparkling. The music begins in a low plaintive key, that gradually becomes more and more forlorn, while her languid movements express various degrees of sorrow. Gradually the strain flows into a livelier measure, and she becomes more and more animated, until at last she sinks down in a whirl of delirious passion. Then, again, a girl dances with a glass of water on her head; or some other form of entertainment is given.
Author in Silken Suit: Kind Worn by High-class Natives.
After the dancing, the men and women retire to their respective quarters.
The marriage is always arranged by the parents of the two young persons, who go through an established etiquette of advance and refusal before the dowry terms are arranged. If the parents of the young man are poor and he can offer no dowry, he often enters the household of his intended on probation,—as Jacob did to win Rachael.
The wedding-feast is always given by the father of the groom, who also furnishes the dowry for the bride. The young married couple then live with the parents of one of the parties. The wife always remains mistress of her own property, and the husband can in no event inherit it. The children often add the surname of the mother to that of the father, thus making the woman of greater prominence.
Before the middle of the century there were no distinct family surnames, and there were, consequently, no complications of families possible. To introduce greater simplicity into the laws of inheritance, the names of distinguished Spanish families were introduced into the colony,—each family receiving a distinct appellation.