These nations consider it important to take a wife only from their own family, and the nearer the better. Only they except the first grade [of kinship], for they always considered that as a dissolving impediment. But what marriages were those in which the contract was not indissoluble, and could be dissolved by the woman, if she were to blame, merely returning the dowry! If the husband were to blame, it was not returned; and the marriage could be repudiated by themselves, without any solemnity of law. That was done daily for very slight causes, and new marriages were formed with others. Polygamy was not the fashion among the Tagálogs. However, if the wife bore no children, the husband could with his wife’s permission have them by his slave women, in accordance with the example of the ancient patriarchs. Among the principal Visayans, the ministers of the gospel found established the custom of having two or more legitimate wives, and large dowries, which was a great obstacle to Christianity.
123. Thus far in regard to marriage. As to the children and their succession and inheritance, if they were legitimate they inherited equally in the property of their parents. For lack of legitimate children the nearest relatives inherited. If there were illegitimate children, who had for example been had by a free woman, they had their share in the inheritance, but not equally with the legitimate children, for the latter received two-thirds, and the illegitimate one-third. But if there were no legitimate children then the illegitimate received all the inheritance. The children of a slave woman who belonged to the man were given some part of the household effects, according to the will of the legitimate children. In addition the mother became free for the very reason that her master had had a child by her.
There were also adopted children, and the practice was that the one adopted bought his adoption. For the natural parent gave a certain sum to the adopted parent in order to have his son or daughter adopted, and thereupon the latter was adopted without any other subtlety of law or of paternal power. It was done only to the end that the adopted child, if he should outlive the one adopting him, should inherit double the sum that had been given for his adoption. Thus, if ten were given, he must inherit twenty. But if the adopted parent outlived the adopted child, the adoption expired as well as the right of inheritance, which was not given to the heirs of the adopted one, either in whole or in part. But if, on the contrary, the parent died while his own child was living, he left him by way of addition to the sum for adoption doubled, some jewel or slave woman, as a reward for his good services. But, on the other hand, if the child was ungrateful and acted badly, the adoptive parent gave him up, by restoring the sum that had been given for his adoption.
Adultery was not punished corporally, but by a pecuniary fine. Therefore the adulterer, by paying to the aggrieved party the sum of gold agreed upon between them, or given by the sentence and judgment of the old men, was pardoned for the injury that he had committed; and the aggrieved party was satisfied, and his honor was not besmirched. Also he continued to live with his wife without anything more being said on the subject. But those children had by a married woman did not succeed to the nobility of the parents or to their privileges; but were always reckoned plebeians, whom those people call timauas. Likewise those children had by a slave woman, although they were free, as was the mother, were always regarded as of low birth. These who succeeded to the nobility were the legitimate children. In the barangay, when the father was lord of it his eldest son inherited that office; but, if he died, then he who came next in order. If there were no male children, then the daughters succeeded in the same order; and for want of either males or females, the succession went to the nearest relative of the last possessor. Thus no will was necessary for all those successions; for wills were never in vogue among these nations in the form and solemnity of such. As for legacies it was sufficient to leave them openly, in writing or entrusted by word of mouth, in the presence of known persons.
125. A great part of the wealth of these Indians consisted in slaves. For, after gold, no property was held in greater esteem, because of the many comforts that were enjoyed for their mode of living through a multitude of slaves. Thus our Spaniards when they entered the islands found so many slaves that there were chiefs who had one, two, and three hundred slaves, and those generally of their own color and nation, and not of other foreign nations. The most general origin of those slaveries were interest and usury. That was so much practiced among them, that no father would aid his son, no son his father, no brother his brother, and much less any relative his relative, even though he were suffering extreme necessity, without an agreement to restore double. If payment was not made when promised, the debtor remained a slave until he paid. That happened often, for the interest or increase continued to accumulate just so long as the payment was deferred. Consequently, the interest exceeded the wealth of the debtor, and therefore the debt was loaded upon his shoulders, and the poor creature became a slave; and from that time his children and descendants were slaves. Other slaveries were due to tyranny and cruelty. For slaves were made either in vengeance on enemies, in the engagements and petty wars that they waged against one another, in which the prisoners made remained slaves, even though they were of the same village and race; or as a punishment which the more powerful inflicted on the weaker ones, even for a matter of little importance, of which they made a matter of insult. For instance if the lesser did not observe the interdict on talking and noise, usual in the time of the burial of the chiefs; if he passed near where the chief’s wife was bathing; or if any dust or any other dirt fell from the house of the timaua upon the chief or his wife when passing through the street: then in these and numberless other similar cases the powerful ones deprived the poor wretches of liberty, and tyrannically made them slaves—and not only them but their children, and perhaps the wife and near relatives. The worst thing is that all those who had been made slaves by war, or for punishment of debts, were rigorously regarded as such, as slaves for any kind of service or slavery, and served inside the house. The same was true of their children, in the manner of our slaveries, and they could be sold at will. However, the masters were not accustomed to sell those born under their roof, for they regarded them in the light of relatives. Those slaves were allowed to keep for themselves a portion of any profit which they made. The Tagálogs called such true slaves sanguiguilir, and the Visayans halon.
Other slaves were called namamahay, for they did not serve their master in all capacities, nor inside his house; but in their own houses, and outside that of their masters. They were bound, however, to obey their master’s summons either to serve in his house when he had honored guests, or for the erection of his house and its repair, and in the seasons of sowing and harvest. They [had also to respond] to act as his rowers when he went out in his boat, and on other like occasions, in which they were obliged to serve their master without any pay.
126. Among both kinds of slaves, sanguiguilir and namamahay, it happens that there are some who are whole slaves, some who are half slaves, and some one-fourth part slave. For if the father or the mother were free, and had an only son he was half free and half slave. If they had more than one child, these were so divided that the first followed the condition of the father, whether free or slave, and the second that of the mother. So did it happen with successive pairs. But if there were an odd number of children, the last was half free and half slave. Those who descended from them, if they were children of a free father or mother, were slaves only in the fourth part, as they were the children of a free father or mother, and of one half slave. Sometimes, because it happened that two people had agreed to marry and the man had no wealth for the dowry—or rather, nothing with which to buy his wife—he became her slave. In such case the children were divided in the said manner, and the first, third, and fifth, and the remaining ones in the same way were slaves, inasmuch as they belonged to the father, who was also a slave of the mother—and not only slaves to her, but also to her brothers and sisters and relatives, in case of her death and the division of her property. On the contrary the second, fourth, and others in the same way, were according to their custom free, inasmuch as they belonged to their mother who was free; and they were masters and rulers over their own father and brothers and sisters. The same thing happened in the case of interest, a thing of so great importance among them that, as already remarked, the father would not pardon the debt and interest even to the son, nor the son the father, even in case of necessity, until the one had made a slave of the other for it. Consequently, if one brother ransomed another brother, or a son his father, the latter remained a slave, as did his descendants, until the value of the ransom was paid with interest. Consequently, the captive was gainer only by the change of master. Such as the above are the monstrous things that are seen where the law of God and Christian charity are lacking. In the division made between heirs, when a slave belonged to many, the time of his service was divided and each of the masters had the share that belonged to him and was his in such slave; and the division was made by months, or as was convenient among the masters. When a slave is not a whole slave but only a half or fourth part, he has the right to compel his master to give him his freedom for the just price at which he is appraised, according to the rank of the slavery, sanguiguilir or namamahay. But if he be a whole slave, the master cannot be compelled to ransom him at any price, even though he should have become a slave for debt, if already the day set for the payment of the debt has passed.
127. There was another kind of service which was not of a truth servitude, although it appeared to be such. It was generally seen among certain persons called cabalangay. Whenever such persons wanted any small trifle, they begged the head chief of their barangay for it, and he gave it to them. In return, whenever he summoned them they were obliged to go to him to work in his fields or to row in his boats. Whenever a feast or banquet was given, then they all came together and helped furnish the tuba, wine, or quilan, such being their method of service.
128. The ancient custom in manumission was for the whole sanguiguilir slave to pay ten taes of gold, and the namamahay the half; and, in addition to that, he had to give the half of whatever things he owned. For instance, if he owned two large jars he had to give one. In order to make that conveyance, the slave must make a banquet, at which were present masters, relatives, and friends. At the height of the banquet the delivery of the gold and household articles was made, those present being witnesses that the master had received them. The latter was thereupon satisfied, and the slave was set free.
Even today the Tagálogs are wont, at death, to grant freedom to the children of their slaves who are born in their house, no matter how young they be. However, they do not free the parents of those children no matter how old they be, and even if they have been served throughout life by them. That seems absolutely illogical.