Final consonants are suppressed in all forms of expression: accordingly cantar is written KATA ca ta; barba, BABA ba ba.
By means of these characters they easily make themselves understood and convey their ideas marvelously, he who reads supplying, with much skill and facility, the consonants which are lacking. From us they have adopted the habit of writing from left to right. Formerly they wrote from the top to the bottom, placing the first line on the left (if I remember aright), and continuing the rest at the right, contrary to the custom of the Chinese and Japanese—who, although they write from top to bottom, begin from the right and continue the page to the left.
They used to write on reeds and palm-leaves, using as a pen an iron point; now they write their own letters, as well as ours, with a sharpened quill, and, as we do, on paper. They have learned our language and its pronunciation, and write it even better than we do, for they are so clever that they learn anything with the greatest ease. I have had letters written by themselves in very handsome and fluent style. In Tigbauan I had in my school a very young boy, who, using as a model letters written to me in a very good handwriting, learned in three months to write even better than I; and he copied for me important documents faithfully, exactly, and without errors. Let this, however, suffice for the matter of languages and letters, and let us return to our employment for souls.
Occurrences in Manila in the year fifteen hundred and ninety-six and fifteen hundred and ninety-seven. Chapter XVIII.
In the college we had begun, as I have said, to study the Latin grammar and moral theology. Each of these branches was begun in the usual way, with public academic exercises and learned discourses. [69] As it was the first event of that kind to take place in the islands, the exercises were received with great favor, and were attended and enjoyed by all the dignitaries, and prelates, and by a great concourse of other people. Divine worship, moreover, was notably increased upon the completion of the church—which, in its construction and unusual design, proved to be very beautiful. It was constructed on the model of the church of Jesus in our house of the professed at Rome, although considerably inferior to that. This church was dedicated to the glorious St. Anne, the ceremony taking place on her feast-day in the year fifteen hundred and ninety-six, when an image of her was piously set up, and the most holy sacrament brought from the old church with great solemnity and devotion. The chapel of our Lady was placed, as in the church at Rome, on the gospel side; and in it her image was set up with an elegant reredos, in the devout presence of many Spaniards and Indians. In the other chapel, on the epistle side which is on the side next the house, and joined to the sacristy, were placed the holy relics, which at the instance of the Catholic king our lord, and the urgent request of Father Alonso Sanchez, were donated by the Apostolic See and had arrived in the previous year. The tabernacle in which these relics now repose had already been constructed and finished; it embraces the whole width of the chapel. It is of an incorruptible wood which they call in those parts molave. [70] It is adorned by eight columns, four on a side, grouped in a square, with base and pedestals which sustain, higher up, its architrave, frieze, and cornice, with finials and handsome architectural designs. Between the columns there are five distinctly-marked compartments, two small ones on each side and a large one in the center—all of them of like design and exquisite proportion, with finely carved doors and inlaid work, with cavities in which the holy relics are preserved with great propriety and honor. The color of the whole work externally is black—partly natural, on account of the quantities of ebony that it contains, which is very abundant in those regions, and partly derived from the varnish which is used to imitate that wood. The mouldings, outlines, piñas, [71] and floriations are gilded, and there are other ornaments of gold and ivory. The altar is below, with its two steps at the height of the pedestals which support the columns. In the spaces between the columns, on both sides of the altar, were placed two images or statues of the glorious apostles, St. Peter and St. Paul; these are fastened in place by strong and curious locks and are covered with two pairs of curtains—one pair of gauze striped with silk and gold, the other of finest damask with embroidery and gold lace. Whenever these holy relics are exposed at their respective feast-days, the ceremony is conducted with great solemnity; and numbers of white candles are placed not only on the altar and steps, but all over the tabernacle from top to bottom, giving it dignity and distinction. On the twelfth of January of the year one thousand five hundred and ninety-seven, the holy relics were deposited there, with such rejoicings and festive show as had never been known before in the islands. In all this was seen how it was God who solicited hearts, and moved them to honor the glorious soldiers whom he had brought again for the defense and protection of the earth. They were borne in procession through the principal streets of the city, which, although handsome in themselves, were decorated so elegantly that their very elegance expressed the devotion of the people. They had erected at intervals arches (a dozen in all)—the greater number lofty, and with sculptured images; the others of silk and thin stuffs, so ingeniously knotted together and adorned with various compositions and characters that they presented a very pleasing sight. They constructed with great skill several fountains, some of which gave forth water and others wine; two, in particular, issuing from a window, gave forth milk and Castilian wine, which were highly prized at that time in the islands. The relics were borne on six platforms, no less splendid than costly, since they carried nearly all the gold, precious stones, and jewelry of the city, which had been offered with much readiness and good will. Our Lord rewarded them for this, for there was not one accident, or a single piece lacking, of which there had previously been some fear, on account of the great gathering of all classes of people. As for the decoration of the church, the edifice itself, recently completed, was so beautiful and pleasing that it sufficed for adornment, although not so elaborate as the tabernacle. Its beauty was increased by elegant hangings of tapestry, and by many inscriptions—written by Ours in Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Castilian, and Tagalo—extending in three rows along the great nave, besides others, corresponding to these, in various places. As I have said, the holy relics were borne on six platforms, resting on the shoulders of men, most of whom were religious, and in fourteen reliquaries, which were carried by as many religious; and dignitaries of the cathedral, clothed in their official robes, accompanied these. Add to this the salutes from the forts, and the standards of the confraternities carried in the van, and the effect was highly imposing. The festivities lasted nine days, each order celebrating its special feast, preaching and saying mass with the greatest possible solemnity. The Augustinian fathers began the festivities, considering the occasion especially theirs on account of their long residence there. They assisted us by their good will and deeds, thereby showing themselves no less devoted to the holy relics than friendly to the Society. They conducted many kinds of music and dances, and besides these were many furnished by our Indians, and the Chinese and Japanese; all this variety produced most pleasing effects and greatly adorned and enlivened the festival. In this fashion the other religious orders celebrated their own days until the eighth, in succession, with great devotion, joy and edification on the part of the people. On the afternoon of the last day, as a conclusion to the fiesta, valuable prizes were distributed on the occasion of a literary contest, the announcement of which had been published some days before with much show and solemnity. In this contest many excellent and ingenious compositions of various kinds were delivered, to which prizes were awarded, after two exceedingly pleasing, dignified and impressive declamations had been recited in praise of the holy relics. Divine worship was also improved in the new church by the addition of some silver lamps, candlesticks, chalices, patines, wine-cruets, monstrances, and thuribles; many altar hangings and chasubles, made not only from the silk and embroideries of that country, but from damask, velvet, and brocade brought from España and Italia, with printed borders; hangings heavily embroidered with seed pearls and thin silver plates; and various draperies, some of velvet and damask, others of colored taffeta. Besides all these things, there was the chapel of the singers, who with voices and music of flutes and clarions, serve in the masses, vespers, and Salves, at least on the principal feast-days.
There was also begun at this time, through the devotion of Canon Diego de Leon (who was then attending the lectures in our schools), the practice of assembling in our church many men of all ranks to take the discipline, [72] three days in the week, especially during Lent—a practice which lasts to this very day. This same canon stimulated their piety on these occasions by a half hour's reading from some devout book. At the conclusion of the reading, the penance began, during which they repeated devoutly the Miserere. This holy exercise was a source of great edification to the Indians; and, in imitation of it, a great number of them took the discipline on those nights, in turn with the Spaniards.
Further proceedings at this time in Manila by the Indians and
Spaniards. Chapter XIX.
At this time the Indians were very numerous, both within the city of Manila (where there are more than six thousand, scattered through the houses of the Spanish inhabitants) and in all the outlying districts. These people repair to our church for confession not only in Lent but on all other days of the year; consequently, there were not fathers enough acquainted with their language to care for them spiritually from morning to evening. I know of some who had waited for more than ten or even twelve days, without being able, for the press of people, to reach the feet of the confessor. Others remained a whole day in the church, waiting for their turn. This gives evidence of the ardor and perseverance with which they attended to the welfare of their souls. On Sundays and the afternoons of feast-days, when the sermons were preached in their own language, the church was crowded—above, below, in the choir and galleries, all which, although very spacious, were filled; and, besides, there were many of those people outside the doors (which are five in number).
In two ways they were equally enthusiastic in celebrating the deposit of the holy relics: first, in the great devotion that they displayed during the whole eight days while the festival lasted and the relics were exposed—men, women, and children attending it in such numbers, both morning and afternoon, that they could not enter the church. The Spaniards, astonished at this, said that those holy relics must have come to Manila for the Indians, judging from the way in which the latter attended and venerated them. To show appreciation of their great devotion, and to inspire them with more, a short discourse, in their own language, was delivered to them every afternoon, preceding the Salve sung by the choir, and accompanied by the music of the wind-instruments. The second thing they did in the service of the holy relics was to institute a confraternity or congregation dedicated to those relics with the title and vocation of "all saints." Their object was, each beginning with himself and his own spiritual profit, to strive with all their might for the welfare of their neighbors, by performing works of mercy, in both temporal and spiritual affairs, as their opportunities permit—in which effort they exert themselves, by the grace of our Lord, with the advantages which we shall see later.
One of the best results is the modesty and virtue of the women, which we esteem in those regions, because it is but little practiced or valued among their heathen peoples. In many—I even believe, in all—of those islands there existed a doctrine, sowed by the devil, that a woman, whether married or single, could not be saved, who did not have some lover. They said that this man, in the other world, hastened to offer the woman his hand at the passage of a very perilous stream which had no other bridge than a very narrow beam, which must be traversed to reach the repose that they call Calualhatian. [73]