In January of the year fifteen hundred and ninety-two, one of us two who were employed at Taitai had to depart for the island of Panai to give instruction and continue the work of conversion in the encomienda of Tigbauan. The island of Panai, as I have already said, is in the province of the Pintados, in the diocese of Sebu. It is a little more than a hundred leguas in circumference, and, in all its extent, most temperate and fertile. Its inhabitants are the Bissayas, a white people, who have among them some blacks—the ancient inhabitants of the island, who occupied it before the Bissayas did. They are not so dark or ugly as are the natives of Guinea, but are very diminutive and weak; but in their hair and beard they closely resemble the Guineans. They are much more barbarous and untamed than are the Bissayas and most of the Filipinos, for they have not, like those peoples, houses or fixed sites for their villages. They do not sow seed, or gather harvests; but with their women and children wander, half naked, over the mountains like beasts. They capture on foot the deer and the javali, [60] and on the spot where they capture an animal they stop, and feed upon it as long as it lasts. Their only natural property is the bow and arrow. The Bissayas through natural compassion have not destroyed these blacks, who are not hostile to them, although they have little dealing with the Bissayas. While I was in Tigbauan, however, a petty war occurred between them which is worth relating for what it shows of such wars among these nations, and their triumphs and trophies. A Bissayan chief, who lived in his solitary house among the mountains, distant from the villages, had a friendship—or, for all I know, a relationship—with a leading Negrillo, who was also headman among his people. Under the cover of this friendship, the Negrillo took his opportunity, as I shall relate, to do a treacherous act. He came one day, as he had often done before, to pay a visit to his friend, who received him as such and gave him food and drink—an act which should soften the most bloodthirsty heart, even if he had been offended. But the Negrillo, without heeding the obligation imposed by kind deeds or by the good-will with which they had been conferred upon him, seized his host unawares, and took his life, also slaying all the other members of his family—men, women, and children. His crime, however, did not go unpunished. A spirited young man, son of the dead man—not daring alone to avenge himself upon the black, who had been reënforced by others of his own color—assembled his kinsmen and friends; besides these [so many joined him that] all the villages of the island were depopulated, in order to fall upon the Negrillos—all eager to enslave the women and children, this being a great source of wealth among those people; they accomplished their purpose, killing many men. This lasted until the matter became known to the royal officials in that region, who pacified them. At the entrance of some of the villages, I saw the trophies of this victory and some of the slaves. The trophies were thus made: one of the large canes, already described, very tall, was driven into the ground. At its point were two, or three, or more pendent bannerets like streamers or pennants, and on them the hair of the dead foes. These blacks have had very little to do with the Spaniards, not so much through hate as from fear and mistrust of them. It has already happened that Spaniards, unaccompanied and straying from the road, have fallen into their hands; but with a few presents and fair words they have been allowed to go free. They also fear the priests as being Spaniards, making no distinction between them. For this reason we could not undertake their conversion, although they were near to the villages of Tigbauan; on this account all our energy was directed towards the Bissayas alone.
They call the reed-grass tigbao, and, by derivation, the lands which bear this grass are called Tigbauan; and because the site of this village is close to a great expanse of reedy land on the bank of a beautiful stream, it bears the above name. The village itself was on the same shore, at the mouth of the river—which, as well as the sea, yields various kinds of fish, excellent and plentiful, which I myself have enjoyed in abundance. As they were continually fishing on the beach, usually with three or four nets, they never made a haul without devoutly regaling us with a part of it. Tigbauan has a very beautiful district, with many villages extending more than six leguas along the coast of the sea; the entire district is well supplied with game, fruits, and vegetables, and fish from the sea. The people are very industrious; consequently I always saw them occupied—the men, with their fisheries and farming; the women, with their spinning and weaving. What we accomplished in the two years spent among a people so good and well-disposed towards the Gospel could be told in less time than what we left undone; for, since we of the Society of Jesus were then so few, and had little hope of increasing our number, we did not dare to undertake more than we thought could probably be maintained; and in this we were not mistaken, for at the present day, when at least a dozen ministers are needed, there is actually but one secular priest. For that reason we did not dare to baptize adults or children, except in cases of extreme danger, outside of the chief village (which is Tigbauan) and two or three other outlying hamlets, distant two miles or less.
Nevertheless we preached the faith throughout that vicinity in the Haraya language, and even translated into the same tongue and taught the Christian doctrine and the catechism, which formerly they knew only in the Bissaya, a language different from the one they speak. [61] Many churches were erected, and some who had been baptized were confirmed in the faith. Some improper relations were dissolved and converted into Christian matrimony. In Tigbauan and its villages, besides the baptism of many children and adults, there were introduced the holy sacraments of confession, communion, and extreme unction, the last of which they neither knew nor had ever heard of. Church-feasts were celebrated with vespers and solemn masses, particularly at Easter and in Holy Week. A large school was formed, containing the children of all that region, where they learned to read, write, play musical instruments, and sing; two children from this school were sent every week to each one of the churches in the district, to take care of it and to assemble each afternoon the people of the village to repeat the doctrine in front of the church, as was done in Tigbauan. Here occurred an event regarding a boy, which gave me great satisfaction. An infidel chief living in a village called Taroc, a legua from Tigbauan, had a little son who was a Christian, a child of five or six years—of whom I knew nothing, as they had concealed him and others from me, being reluctant, through their natural barbarity and wildness, to hold intercourse with us and deliver up the objects of their affection. This child fell ill, and, realizing his condition, urged his infidel parents to summon me. They made me repair to him in great haste, for as I was told that the sick boy had called for me, I was convinced that he was not so young that he could not at least confess. In short, I went; I merely read the gospel to him, and in a few days he was cured of his sickness. As a result of the visit, which was greatly appreciated by the people, that village was won—especially his own parents, who were afterward pleased to have their son go to Tigbauan to join the school with the rest. The town of Arevalo is three leagues distant from Tigbauan; we also assisted there in the pulpit and the confessional, at the instance of the Spaniards who resided there, and of the bishop's vicar, in whose charge they were. This vicar was then the licentiate Don Francisco Gomez Arellano, archdeacon of Manila, through whose earnestness and devotion divine worship was greatly augmented in that church, and its service increased. This vicar embellished it with new ornaments, very rich and curious, such as lamps and silver candlesticks, thereby augmenting the reputation and esteem of our holy religion among those new nations.
Of our departure from Tigbauan and our entrance into Sebu, Leite, and other islands. Chapter XII.
At this time died Father Martin Henriquez, who had remained in Taitai; he gave way under the laborious task of ministering alone to so many souls, which he did with such perfection and fervor that it was impossible to maintain strength for so much. This father was so fervent and energetic that in three months he had learned the language; and, in six, composed in it a catechism and a treatise on confession. He also prepared a collection of sermons for all the Sundays and feasts, and on the four last things, [62] as well as other matters profitable to those peoples, who greatly respected his purity of life and the vigor of his preaching. I have seen him leave his food, to go to administer baptism or extreme unction to a sick man. He was most devoted to our Lady, and, whenever he sat down to study, he took out a little image of her which he always carried with him, and placed it on the table that he might have it before him. Every day I saw him, among other holy exercises, recite his rosary, and devote one half-hour to prayer in the afternoons (besides the entire hour in the morning); and every night he would scourge himself. He was an indefatigable worker, and consequently slept little, which was more than he could endure. He died a holy death, the same year when he came to the Filipinas, before twelve months had elapsed; and, when his work is considered, we wonder that he lived so long. On account of his death, Father Francisco Almerique was obliged to leave Manila—where his duties were by no means light among the Indians of that city and district, who all sought his aid. As he had abandoned these heavy labors only to undertake others as great, he soon fell ill. To lighten his burden, the two who had remained in Manila took up the double task; these two were the father rector, Antonio Sedeño, and Father Raymundo de Prado. They took turns in doing this work, one remaining a week in Manila while the other went to Taitai. This sort of life could not last long; and so our Lord, who aids the greatest necessities, inspired the good father to inform me of the difficulties in which they were, and order me to return to Manila. There we could plan our course of life in accordance with the advices which might come to us in the ships, which were expected soon—either uniting the four of us who remained, to do what we could in the city; or, if a reënforcement should come to us, extending our labors in securing conversions, according to the number of our men.
I reached Manila in May of the year fifteen hundred and ninety-five, leaving in Tigbauan and its vicinity, and in the town of Arevalo, not a few persons sorrowing at my departure. The general, Doctor Antonio de Morga, arrived in the following June, having come to serve as lieutenant of the governor and captain-general of the islands. He brought with him two fine vessels, and eight priests [63] of our Society. The joy of the communities of Manila and Sebu, and of Ours, was beyond belief upon learning that these fathers had arrived. From both places, requests came in to us for priests: from Manila, for instruction and schools, of which its sons were in great want; from Sebu, for a college which they desired in their city. On the other hand, the lieutenant governor of his Catholic Majesty urged that the Society should take charge of a province of Indians as did the other religious orders; and the Indians themselves, with several encomenderos, supported this request. Finally an effort was made to satisfy everyone, in the way which I shall relate. Four of us priests went to the island of Leite which we reached on the day of the Triumph of the Holy Cross, the sixteenth of July of the same year. Two of us remained at Carigara in the house of Christoval de Trujillo, the owner of that encomienda, a man of eminent piety, and our benefactor. He straightway built for us there the first house that we possessed in that island. The other two of us went along the coast of that island and those of Ibabao and Samar, observing what peoples and posts were best adapted at that time for our settlement. We returned to Carigara at the end of July, where, thanks to the incredible haste and large number of the Indians, we found our house finished and the two fathers established in it. Early in August, I had information from the father vice-provincial, Antonio Sedeño, that he had arrived at Sebu with two other priests, and summoned me thither. Father Juan del Campo and Father Cosme de Flores remained in Carigara, and undertook the study of the Bissaya language with great fervor. Father Antonio Pereira and I, with another brother, went on to Sebu in conformity with the order of the father vice-provincial. Father Antonio Pereira had remained with Ours in these islands from the time of his arrival, as I said, with the king of Siao, waiting for the conclusion of business which the king and. Father Antonio Marta could not wait for—the latter, because he could not longer absent himself from his province and subordinates: the former, because he could not remain longer away from his kingdom and his vassals. This good father was so eager and zealous for the welfare of souls that, although a guest, he did not permit himself one moment of idleness, but always busied himself in the pulpit and confessional and in other ministries for the welfare of souls. We reached Sebu in the middle of August, where we found our good father and superior sick, in the house of a regidor of the city; and with him were Father Alonso Humanes, who had gone as superior during the journey from Nueva España, and Father Mateo Sanchez. He presently sent these two fathers to Leite, with orders to divide it into two stations, two fathers in each—one pair taking Carigara (where the two fathers had remained whom I have already mentioned); the other, Dulac, which is about sixty miles further on. These are both maritime villages with a situation and territory well adapted for undertaking the conversion of that new people, until then untaught. The aforementioned Father Alonso Humanes was appointed superior of both stations. In Sebu Ours had already fixed upon the site which we now possess, partly purchased with offerings from the citizens, and partly bestowed by the city and private persons. Accompanying the land was a goodly house of wood, which with little work could be made to accommodate the church and our dwelling. Father Ramon de Prado had remained in Manila as rector, with the other four fathers, two of whom were sent to Taitai to aid Father Francisco Almerique: of the two who remained in Manila, Father Tomas de Montoya [64] began to teach Latin, and Father Juan de Ribera attended to matters of conscience.
The death of Father Antonio Sedeño, first rector of the college of
Manila, and first vice-provincial of the Society of Jesus in the
Filipinas. Chapter XIII.
The first thing which the father vice-provincial, Antonio Sedeño, enjoined upon me on his arrival at Sebu was that I should at all events hasten the completion of the house, and carry him to it, for it was his wish to die in the house of the Society. This I did, having him conveyed on men's shoulders in a covered bed, for he was so ill that he could not go in any other way. I was greatly rejoiced at this, and he was extremely relieved at finding himself in his new home. His illness was increased by the hardships of the toilsome journey from Manila, one hundred and fifty leagues away, in the season of the vendavals and the rains, which in the bay of Manila, and as far as the entrance into the province of Pintados, is the most difficult and dangerous of the whole year. In this case, the burden of these hardships and torments fell upon a person so feeble, infirm, old, and exhausted that, although he arrived at Sebu in fair health, their effect was greatly aggravated by his immediately commencing work with two sermons, which were highly regarded in that community. But his efforts so prostrated him that he took to his bed with a fever, which so exhausted him that his holy life came to an end on the first of September of the same year, fifteen hundred and ninety-five. In life, and no less in his death, this holy man was a rare example of virtue; and so, in both, he was highly esteemed by all classes and ranks of people—especially by ecclesiastics and religious, who recognized in him an admirable virtue. When but a youth he left España in the service of the Duke of Feria. He was received into the Society at Loreto, studied in Padua, and had charge of the Germanic College in Rome. From this place blessed Father Francisco de Borja [65] sent him to Japon. Upon reaching Sevilla, however, he learned that the ships bound for the Indias had already left Lisboa. Waiting at this latter place for further instructions he was given the choice of embarking, at his pleasure, for either Piru or Florida. He chose Florida as a place which, in its poverty, offered greater opportunities of suffering there many hardships for the sake of Christ. In this he was not deceived; for in Florida, and later in Habana, he suffered greatly on sea and land, from hunger, cold, exhaustion, storms, hardships, exposure, and mortal perils. It often happened that he fell to the ground, while walking on the shore—sick, powerless to move, and among Indians most cruel in war, who had killed others of the Society; and yet he escaped, how, he knew not. Many a time did he eat no more than a handful of maize, planted and gathered by his own hands; for whatever else he might have must be given to poor soldiers. During a pestilence which had spread among those savages he became a physician, for he could baptize them if they should die; in this way he sent many of them to heaven. From Florida he was sent to Nueva España, and was the first of the Society to enter the City of Mexico, where by his virtuous life and teachings, he inspired the viceroy, the auditors of the Audiencia, and the citizens with such affection that they sought to bring over from España members of the Society, in order to found a college in Mexico. This was done and Father Antonio Sedeño was made rector: he laid the foundations and erected a building, which stands to this day. He went over to the Filipinas, as we have said, where his occupations were such as we have already related. While on the sea, he and his companions lived in their cabin in such modest retirement, and were so dignified in their bearing, that they spread tranquillity throughout the vessel, and accordingly their teaching was highly valued. He lived forty years in the Society, to its great edification, and preached for fifteen years in the Filipinas with admirable results. He suffered greatly from asthma, and consequently slept almost always in a chair. But he did not, on this account, allow himself any recreation, or cease to eat fish alone during Lent and fast days. It might be more accurately said that he but seldom ate at all, so great was his abstinence—which he, moreover, sought to conceal, feigning, with much dissimulation, that he ate of everything, when in reality it was a mere pretense of eating. He was very contrite; severe toward himself, but gentle to others; most exact in obedience, but very reserved and cautious in command; courteous and honorable in his dealings; liberal, generous, and devout. He gave or obtained aid for many needy persons, and all esteemed him for his labors. He was most zealous for the welfare of souls, and for the prosperity and preservation of the Filipinas, and for their settlement and aggrandizement. We have already related what he accomplished in building. He was the first to discover lime there, and made the first roof-tile, and erected the first building. He sought out Chinese artists, whom he kept in his house to paint images, not only for our churches but for others, both within and without Manila. He encouraged the encomenderos and the parish priests to provide their churches with these images, and made it most easy to procure them. Thus almost all the churches in the islands were adorned with images, nearly all of which were of the Mother of God. He took great interest in planting groves and in laying out gardens, and was anxious that silk should be produced in the islands, hoping thus to retain there for their benefit the money which was going to China, and thus to secure their prosperity. To this end he planted mulberry trees, and was active in other ways, even constructing a loom, and teaching the Indians to weave in the European fashion. He was accustomed to say that the highest form of prayer was that which most inclines one to self-mortification; and he so practiced this that his own life was a perpetual mortification. He taught this in the house and elsewhere; and in his own exercises he could not use any other method than mortification. His sermons were all on fear, judgment, and condemnation. He said that this was what the world needed; and he was not mistaken, for in truth he accomplished great results through this teaching. One of his hearers, who was once praising to me his instruction, repeated an expression which the father often used, and which had deeply impressed him: "There [i.e., "in the other world?">[ you will understand it," he would say with wonderful truth and force. In our household intercourse with him, he would assert that he who aspires to perfection must be convinced that the pleasures of food, drink, the couch, idleness, and the like, are not for him. All this, however, he did not urge by force, but rather taught it in a kindly manner, and gently guiding each one according to the strength which God had given him—although he said that God gave strength to all in proportion to their courage in working and suffering for His love. He also said that one should die rather than commit the slightest venial sin; and in his own case he was so rigid in this respect that at times it seemed excess of scruple. His life was certainly most pure, and his death like unto his life. During his illness we all admired his great patience and resignation in the hands of God.
Father Antonio Pereira used to say that he often visited him in order that he might profit and be edified by so admirable an example. The day when he died, we had already noticed in the morning that extreme unction should not be any longer withheld from him; and so I prepared him to receive it, telling him that it seemed to be time. He raised his eyes and hands toward heaven with great devotion, exclaiming: "To pass to eternity!" With this he became lost in thought, spoke not another word, and, receiving with much devotion that holy sacrament, died in peace. He did not become rigid or discolored in death, but preserved his bright color, and his limbs remained soft and flexible, until he was buried. All the ecclesiastics and religious of the city of Santissimo Nombre de Jesus, all the regidors, and the honorable and prominent people, attended his funeral rites, which were celebrated with great solemnity, devotion and tenderness. [66] In Manila also, on account of the devotion of all classes for him, solemn funeral honors were held, and were attended not only with the tears and sorrow of all classes, but by the authority and concourse of all ranks and religious orders. This holy man was lost to us at a time when we were in great straits over the founding of that vice-province of the Society, which we had hoped would be successfully established through his energy and prudence. But there remained with us a great confidence that he would aid us no less in death than in life; and thus his influence was seen in the prosperous increase after his holy death of our ministries and other affairs, especially in the college of Sebu, which is indebted to his holy body as the foundation-stone of all its growth.
Of other and new members of the Society who went to the islands in the year fifteen hundred and ninety-six. Chapter XIV.