Of the idolatries of all those Indians
Having to treat of the idolatries, superstitions, and customs of the Zambals, I think I ought first to mention that my purpose is not to discourage the ministers of the gospel, who have to plant our holy Catholic faith among those Indians, but to impart to them the brief information which I possess of the little which I have ascertained in respect to the great amount which there is to ascertain, and which will be discovered with the lapse of time, concerning the customs of that blind people, who have lived so misguidedly and so far from reason at the doors of the true evangelical light which we profess. Although they are surrounded by provinces whose inhabitants are excellent Christians, such as the provinces of Pampanga, Pangasinan, and Mariueles, yet notwithstanding they have been influenced very little or not at all for the good by the customs of the Christians, on account of their lack of communication with them; for they only go to the said provinces to trade and traffic for a brief space of time, and then, if anybody is careless they cut off his head. Hence, as I have said, they have but little communication with reasonable people. On the contrary, I think this paper of mine will serve as a stimulus for us religious, who, leaving our convents of our fatherland España and our friends and relatives, being moved by the zeal for souls, come to these Philipinas Islands to publish our holy Catholic faith, to preserve it, and teach good morals. All this drags us from our provinces in España, and deprives us of our fatherland. Here, then, among these miserable Zambals, we shall find much to do. It is unnecessary to go to seek infidels in other kingdoms, for we have them here, although few; and at the same time we have one to subject them for us and place them under our obedience. I say then that this paper of mine will serve as a stimulus to the ministers of the gospel to come to employ themselves in the service of our Lord and His holy Catholic faith, when they consider the great evil that there is to tear out and eradicate from the hearts of these Indians, and the great good that they lack to make them Christians. And although there are very many baptized persons among them, yet in nothing at all are any of them different from the others, if one considers their customs and mode of living. Those baptized are as idolatrous as those not baptized. I am not surprised at this, for until now the former ministers have not had any opportunity for living in residence among them, since they have not cared to collect them into a settlement. And if they have collected them, it has been for a short time only, and their evil customs have taken them again to the mountains and recesses whence we have drawn them, but today according to the efficacy which the governor of these Philipinas Islands places in the spiritual and temporal good of these wretched creatures, we have excellent hopes that they will persevere in their settlements and will be able to be taught the true pathway to heaven.
These Indians have their priests and priestesses, although such have no jurisdiction over the others; for here everyone is master of his own will, and they alone recognize superiority in one in so far as he gives authority to the other priests and priestesses for some special sacrifices. This last is done to the one who pays well for it. This priest is called bayoc, and he dresses like a woman. He wears a tapis[4] or apron, and ties up his hair like a woman, although above the tapis he wears and girds his catan, on the left side, and on the right side, his yua[5] as other men. Those are the weapons of all these Indians and no one goes without them, even though it be within his own house. The idol to whom this bayoc principally offers sacrifice is called Malyari, which means “powerful.” This idol is made with a wooden head and its body and hands of straw. They dress it up like an image after their manner, place it on its altar and niche, then light for it torches of pitch for lack of wax candles. All the people of the ranchería assemble to make the sacrifice. Having built his altar, the bayoc takes his spear in his hand and makes three holes in the earth with it. Those holes are filled with wine, and the spear, having been thrust into the ground, the bayoc begins his sacrifice, with a leaf of wild anahao or wild palm in his hand. He commences to shiver, his whole body trembling, and making many wry faces by means of his eyes, he generally talks, sometimes between his teeth, without anyone understanding him. Sometimes he contents himself with the wry faces which he makes with his eyes and the tremblings of all his body. After a few minutes he strikes himself twice on the knee with the hand in which he holds the palm-leaf, and says that he is the anito to whom the sacrifice is being made. At this the sacristan (for the devil has even in this the semblance of God and wishes to resemble His Divine Majesty) explains the need of the person who orders the sacrifice made. The bayoc promises to fulfil the desire of the person who is having the sacrifice made, and immediately the bystanders begin to sing certain songs in praise of the anito or idol. While they are being sung, they give the bayoc and the sacristan something to drink, and after those two, all those present drink. But no one drinks or eats anything that has been offered in the sacrifice until the bayoc eats or drinks, for they say they would die if they ate or drank before the anito, and for the anito to eat or drink is no other thing than for the bayoc to eat or drink.
The office of sacristan, although the bayoc gives it to whomever he wishes, is not of great estimation, and in the absence of the one appointed for such office, the bayoc substitutes in his place the first one he lays his eyes on. But the office of bayoc is held in high estimation among them, and I am not surprised, for it possesses such advantages that for certain honors which he performs for a deceased person, they generally give him ten taes in gold. Those honors are performed so that the soul of the deceased may leave its relatives, for they say that the said soul always follows them until said honors are shown it.[6] Those honors are not shown to all, because all people do not have the means for those expenses. When they are performed, all the relatives and friends of the deceased are invited to be present at them. They offer food made of rice, buyo, tobacco, and wine to the amount that seems sufficient for the guests. Then clothing Malyari as abovesaid, and presiding over the ceremonies in a two-fold manner,[7] there is pure disorder. Some lament, some sing, some play their musical instruments, and some dance after their manner. But whatever those who lament and those who sing, lament and sing is in memory of the deceased. Finally, what is offered is consumed, and when they finish eating and drinking, the sacrifice is finished, and each of the guests takes his cup from which he has drunk, although some are accustomed to leave them, but they are the fewest. Consequently, if one hundred persons attended the honors one hundred other cups would have to be obtained for each person to take his cup. It is to be noticed that they do not always dress the anito Malyari, for only the bayoc has it, but whenever said bayoc offers sacrifices for any deceased person he dresses it, although some sacrifices are also made to other anitos without dressing said Malyari.
They also have their kind of baptism, which only the bayoc has authority to administer, first making a sacrifice to Malyari in the abovesaid manner. At the same time, they clothe the one baptized according to their fashion. He looses his hair and hangs at the ends some small pieces of gold. The sacrifice having been finished, in place of water the bayoc baptizes him with the blood of a hog, either of the domestic or wild variety. The relatives of the one baptized stand all about him and the former on top of a rock. The ceremonies having been finished, the bayoc cuts the ends of the hair of the baptized person, from which hang the bits of gold, and flings them aloft, and the bystanders collect them hurriedly. That gold is afterward held in high estimation and with difficulty will they let go of it. Consequently, those nearest the one baptized and his relatives, while the ceremonies and the sacrifice are being performed, sing certain songs, and all those who are present answer them. However, there are also very few who are baptized in this manner, because the fees which are given to the bayoc are large, and generally amount to eight taes of gold. If while the sacrifice or the ceremony of baptism is being performed, the bystanders make a great racket, and if after the bayoc has ordered them to keep still, the noise does not abate, then the bayoc takes some bran, dust, or sand, and flings it into the air over the heads of those who are making the racket, and after that is done no one dares to open his mouth and all the racket stops.
The method exercised by the bayoc in delegating power to the other priests of the idols is not less ridiculous than all his other affairs. The new anitero or priest-to-be collects much wine, and the bayoc attends for one or two days a great drunken revel which must last for the space of seven days without cessation. In that revel everyone who enters or goes out, has leave to drink, and they are so long-winded in that matter that as many as gather there have to get drunk, and until he falls down and becomes dead drunk, they do not allow him to leave that place. Then the bayoc thereupon proclaims such and such a miserable wretch as master of such and such an anito. As soon as the seven continuous days of the first revel are finished, they begin another seven days counting every second day; and when those second seven days are ended, they begin another seven, counting every third day. If any of these circumstances are lacking, the bayoc says that the idol or anito will punish them, and such anito will not obey the priest. The pay which is given to the bayoc for his assistance and proclamation to the new priest of his priesthood is according to the anito which he takes; for the anitos have their hierarchies among themselves. There is one anito which costs eight taes of gold, some that cost six, some four, and some three, according to the anito which each one wishes.
Acasi. The anito superior to all seems to me to be the one called Acasi; for they sing him a song which says “Mag yaman man a Malyari monagon si Acasi,” namely, “Although Malyari is powerful Acasi gets the first fruits.” This is the refrain when they sing in the sacrifice which is made to this idol. That idol has few priests, for the authority given them by the bayoc to be able to offer sacrifice to him costs them a great sum. That idol, they say, is useful for the sick, and for works of importance. All his priests declare that they talk with Acasi, but no one says that he sees him or does anyone of the bystanders hear him talk. The same is true of the other idols and their priests; and all become good and drunk whenever a sacrifice is made, and the priest tells them that the idol has told him the lies that he makes up, and the others believe them as truth. This is universal among all the other sacrifices which are made to the other idols.
Manglobar. There is another idol called Manglobar. They say that that idol pacifies angry hearts. Hence, when anyone commits a murder, he sends to the priest of that idol to have him pacify the relatives of the murdered man, and to reconcile them with the murderer. That reconciliation consists in the murderer giving gold or something worth it to the relatives of the murdered person, according to the rank of the latter. If the murderer has no gold, then he gives a slave, who is generally some Negrillo of the mountain, whom they capture for that purpose. And if he cannot do that the priest kills a son of the murderer or a very near relative. If the murderer cannot do any of the above things, they kill him. The party offended also generally has recourse to such priest in order that the offender may be reconciled with the offended, and that is very general when the offender is more powerful than the party offended or has more kindred to protect him. Only a priest is able to uncover that idol.
Mangalagar. There is another idol called Mangalagar. Of that idol it is said that he accompanies the priest wherever he goes on all occasions when they invoke him (good guardian angel!) when they have to make any garro or mangao, which means to cut off some head. If they have made a catch, they give thanks to such idol, and make him a sacrifice. This is so closely followed that they will under no circumstances mount into their house without first offering some sacrifice to such idol; for they say that they will be punished by that Mangalagar, if they do not make him a feast before entering their houses, and they will have no luck another time in cutting off any other head. All those feasts are made with wine and drunken reveling. That idol has many priests, but not so many as do the anitos whom they have for their paddy fields.