The preservation of bodies, as far as possible, from corruption is a common practice among all those nations who desired and attempted to perpetuate the memory of their dead by burning the bodies and preserving their ashes; by erecting sumptuous mausoleums or pyramids (in their estimation, eternal); or by engraving in bronze or hard stone the names and deeds of their dead.
Burial in the house of the deceased was a custom of the Ethiopians; and burial at their gates, of the Persians. The adornment of the corpse with jewels and rich garments was practiced by the Hebrews, Persians, and Indians, and, before their time, by all the eastern Arabs of the age and country of holy Job; they filled their houses (which were rather their sepulchres than their abodes) with treasures of gold and silver." [97] The custom of placing in the mouth of the corpse gold or other means for the purchase of necessities and, in particular, of a safe passage, is much ridiculed by Lucian, in those ancients of theirs negotiating for the boat and ferry of Charon; and indeed it served no other end than to excite the covetousness of those who, to profit by the gold, opened the sepulchres and disinterred the dead—as Hyrcanus and Herod desecrated the grave of David, and the Ternates did in Bohol, as we shall later see." [98]
As for the banquets, they were precisely those which occurred at the ancient festivals and funeral feasts practiced by all countries and nations, sacred and profane. [99]
The observance of silence seems to be what not only the profane writers meant by summoning mortals to the shades and darkness, mute and silent; but what the sacred writers intended in calling death and dead men mute.
In the sacred tongue they called the sepulchre itself "silence," [100] or "the place of silence"—on account both of the dumbness of the deceased, who was no longer able to have intercourse with the living, and of the silence and wonder in which the living remained, their grief for the dead, and the solitude in which they sat, depriving them of voice and speech; even more effectual for this was the consideration of the wretchedness, insignificance, and transientness of their own species, which they saw in their neighbor, friend or relative, when in so evil a plight, a threat and warning to them of a like fate. [101] In short, since all these usages arose, partly from some confused perception or conjecture of the natural reason, partly (and more probably) from the blindness and madness into which the devil plunged them, those islanders practiced rites and customs similar to those of former times and nations, for they too were men, subject to the same deception. Truly in this, as in a thousand other things, is verified that grave saying and query of the Wise Man: "What is it that is now happening?" and he answers himself, saying, "That which happened in the past." Again he asks himself: "What were the customs of our ancestors?" and again he replies, "Those which will be, and which those who are yet unborn will practice." [102] The same I would say of the following.
Of feasting and intoxication among the Filipinos. Chapter XXXIV.
The time for their feasts, wherein they ate and drank to excess (and they drank, too, much more than they ate), was, as we have said, upon occasions of illness, death, and mourning. Such was also their custom at betrothals, weddings, and sacrifices, and with guests and visitors. Upon all these occasions there was not a door closed against anyone who might desire to go to drink with them—for they designate a feast by the term "drinking," not "eating." In the feasts which they held upon occasions of sacrifice, they were wont to place at one side of the table a plate, upon which he who chose would throw, by way of religious ceremony, some mouthful of food, which he refrained from eating out of respect to the anito. They eat, sitting in a low position; and their tables are small, low, and round or square in shape, without covering or napkins, the plates containing the victuals being placed on the table itself. They eat in groups of sufficient number to surround the table; and it may happen that a house is filled from one end to another with tables, and guests drinking. The food is placed all together upon various plates, and they have no hesitation in putting the hands of all into the same dish, or in drinking out of the same vessel. They eat but little, drink often, and spend much time in the feast. When they are satiated with food and intoxicated with the drink, they remove the tables and clear the house; and, if the feast is not one of mourning, they sing, play musical instruments, dance, and in this way, spend days and nights, with great uproar and shouting—until finally they fall, exhausted and drowsy. But they are never seen to become, in their intoxication, so frenzied or crazed that they commit excesses; on the contrary, they preserve, in the main, their ordinary conduct, and even under the influence of wine, act with as much respect and prudence as before, although they are naturally more lively and talkative, and utter witty remarks. It is proverbial among us that none of them, upon leaving the feast late at night in a state of intoxication, fails to reach his home. Moreover, if they have occasion to buy or sell anything, they not only make no mistake in the bargaining, but if it be necessary to weigh the gold or silver for the price (which is the common usage among those nations, each person carrying for that purpose a small pair of scales in his wallet), they do it with such accuracy that the hand never trembles, nor is there any error in the weight.
Of the labors of Father Juan de Torres and Father Gabriel Sanchez in the island of Bohol. Chapter XXXV.
All these evils and excesses were abandoned when our fathers entered that island, for after their arrival there God our Lord brought it about that the wonted songs and noises were no longer heard, the natives abstaining from them in order not to displease the fathers. The greatest difficulty which one encounters among those peoples is to teach the prayers to the adults, who are naturally lazy and negligent; and to the old men, who are hindered by their age. The plan and method which is followed in this matter is, not to constrain them too much. In this regard the Boholans acted with such liberality that our fathers, upon arriving at some villages, found the old men learning, of their own free will, the prayers from their children. When asked if they wished to become Christians, they answered that they were already preparing themselves, and that after they had learned what was needful, they would receive holy baptism. So well were they inclined toward the good. They have excellent dispositions; and whenever any good habit or civilized custom is taught to them, they do not fail to practice it—which is no small pleasure and comfort for those who teach them. In the church they conduct themselves devoutly and reverently, kneeling on both knees with hands clasped across their breasts. They attend baptismal services, at the conclusion of which they embrace the newly-baptized and, kneeling, recite with these a "Salve," as a token of thanksgiving. A pestilence, attended by pains in the stomach and head, had attacked this people, and was so fatal that entire villages of the island were being depopulated. But our Christians, in the ardor of their faith, took holy water as a medicine and were healed, so that not one of them died. An instance of this occurred, which I shall relate. An infidel woman was reduced by this sickness to such a pass that they did not expect her to live throughout the night. They summoned the father, and representing to him the woman's danger, besought him urgently to baptize her at once. The father did not think that such haste was necessary, or, at least, that the sick woman was entirely prepared for holy baptism, and so contented himself with repeating to her some of the catechism appropriate to the occasion, to wait until morning came. As a further kindness, in order to cure her body, he asked her if she believed that the holy water, by virtue of Almighty God, our Creator, could heal the sick. Upon her answering "Yes," he gave her some to drink, and with that left her. In the morning they came to tell him that she whom they had regarded as half dead was already healed. A little girl had been reduced by the same disease to the last extremity, and they were already bewailing her as dead; the father hastened to the spot and grieving lest she should die without the sacraments, asked for holy water, that he might give her a possible remedy for body as well as soul. Seeing that the child was unable to drink it, he asked those who were present if they believed that God our Lord, and not their idols, could by means of that water give health to the sick one, and all answered "Yes." The water was then applied to that part where they said the child felt the greatest pain; and, consoling her parents with good hopes, he left her; and within a few hours they sent to tell him that the child was well. Accordingly, they use this holy medicine frequently in all their sicknesses, and it has become a general practice throughout all these islands. I have often seen an Indian woman approach the basin of holy water with her babe in arms, and taking some in her hands, give it to the little one to drink, so ordinary and universal is this devotion.
In Bohol, within only eight months, they gained the village of Baclayun with its hamlets (which was the first station that our Society maintained in that island), besides the villages of Lobo (which is a river of much volume), where more than three thousand souls were instructed and catechized, as well as many in the villages of two other islands adjacent to Bohol. In all those places were baptized a large number of those best prepared and able to receive the sacrament, among them the good old Catunao (whom we mentioned above) with his wife. Between the two, they surely had lived two hundred and thirty years, and the woman was younger than he, Our Lord did not see fit to take him away until He had repaid him for his good services in having been the guide who introduced Christian people into the Filipinas. He was always seated, for he could no longer walk. So satisfied was he at being baptized that during the remainder of his life (which was little more than a year) he was continually repeating, with much delight, "Jesus, Mary."