Negritos of Zambales

by William Allan Reed

With the Negritos a daughter is regarded as an asset of so much value, not to be parted with until that price is paid, and, while she is allowed some freedom in the choice of a husband, parental pressure usually forces her to the highest bidder.

The following is the customary procedure: The young man who wishes to marry and has found a girl to suit him informs his parents of the fact. He has probably already talked the matter over with the girl, though not necessarily so. The affair is discussed in the family of the suitor, the main topic being how much the girl is worth and how much they can afford to pay. Then either the suitor or some relative acting for him goes to the parents of the girl to ask if the suit will be favorably considered. If it will, they return and a few days later go again bearing presents of tobacco, maize, bejuco, knives, cloth, forest products, or anything else they may happen to have. If these gifts are of sufficient value to compensate the father for the loss of his girl, he gives his consent. Value is determined by the attractiveness of a girl and hence the probability of her making a good match, also by her health and strength, as women are good workers on the little farms. If the first gifts do not come up to the demands of the girl’s parents the wedding can not take place until the amount lacking is made up. As to the money value of these gifts I have been told different things by Negritos in different villages, the values given ranging from 25 pesos to 500 pesos. As a matter of fact this means nothing, for the Negrito’s idea of value as measured by pesos is extremely vague; but there is no doubt that the gifts made represent almost all the wealth of which a young man and his family can boast.

This system of selling girls, for that is what it amounts to, is carried to an extreme by parents who contract their daughters at an early age to the parents of some boy, and the children are regarded as man and wife, though of course each remains with the parents until the age of puberty is reached. Whether or not the whole payment is made in the beginning or only enough is paid to bind the bargain, I do not know, but I do know that cases of this kind may be met with frequently among the Negritos of Pinatubo, who give as an excuse that the girl is thus protected from being kidnapped by some neighboring tribe, the relatives of the boy making common cause with those of the girl in case anything like this should happen. It seems more likely, however, that the contract is simply a desire on the part of the parents of the girl to come into early possession of the things which are paid for her, and of the parents of the boy to get her cheaper than they could by waiting until she was of marriageable age. This practice is not met with in southern Zambales and Bataan, where marriage does not seem to partake so much of the nature of a sale but where presents are nevertheless made to a girl’s parents.

If it happens that there is a young man in the girl’s family who is seeking a wife in that of the boy, an even exchange may be made and neither family has to part with any of its possessions. I was told also that in lieu of other articles a young man might give a relative to the bride’s family, who was to remain as a sort of slave and work for his master until he was ransomed by payment of the necessary amount; or he might buy a person condemned to death and turn him over at an increased price, or sell children stolen from another barrio. As a bride may be worth as much as 500 pesos and a slave never more than 40 pesos, it would seem necessary to secure several individuals as payment. This was told me more than once and in different villages, but I was unable to find any examples, and am forced to conclude that if it ever was the practice, it is no longer so, at least among the “conquistas.” As to the true savages, still lurking in the inmost recesses of the Zambales mountains, I am unable to say. The question of slavery among Negritos is reserved to another chapter.

Rice Ceremony

All the preliminaries having been satisfactorily attended to, it remains only to perform the ceremony. This proceeding varies in different sections from practically no ceremony at all in the Pinatubo region to a rather complicated performance around Subig and Olongapo. In some of the northern villages, when the matter of payment has been arranged, a feast and dancing usually follow, in which all the relatives of both families participate, and after this the couple go to their own house. There may be two feasts on succeeding days, one given by the parents of the boy to the relatives of the girl, and vice versa. If only one feast is given both families contribute equally in the matter of food. No single act can be pointed out as constituting a ceremony. In other places, especially at Cabayan and Aglao, near Santa Fé, an exchange of food between the pair is a necessary part of the performance.

A mat is placed on the ground, and in the center is set a dish of cooked rice or some other food. The pair seat themselves on either side of the dish, facing each other, while all the relatives and spectators crowd around. The man takes a small piece of the food and places it in the mouth of the girl, and she does the same for the man. At this happy conclusion of the affair all the people around give a great shout. Sometimes the girl leaps to her feet and runs away pursued by her husband, who calls after her to stop. This she does after a little, and the two return together; or they may take a bamboo tube used for carrying water and set off to the river to bring water for the others to drink, thus performing in unison the first act of labor of their married life.

I was fortunate enough to witness a ceremony where the exchange of food was the important feature. In this instance a piece of brown bread which I was about to throw away served as the wedding cake. It seems that the girl had been contracted by her parents when very young to a man old enough to be her father, and when the time for the wedding arrived she refused to have anything to do with it. For two years she had resisted entreaties and threats, displaying more force of will than one would expect from a Negrito girl of 15. The man had paid a large price for her—200 pesos, he said—and the girl’s parents did not have it to return to him. It was suggested that if we made her some presents it might induce her to yield. She was presented with enough cloth for two or three camisas and sayas, a mirror, and a string of beads, and she finally gave an unwilling assent to the entreaties of her relatives, and the ceremony was performed in the manner already described. At the conclusion a yell went up from the assembly, and I, at the request of the capitán, fired three pistol shots into the air. Everybody seemed satisfied except the poor girl, who still wept furtively over her new treasures. Some days later, however, when I saw her she appeared to be reconciled to her fate, and was happy in the possession of more valuables than any other woman in the rancheria.

Head Ceremony

In the southern rancherias a bamboo platform is erected 20 or 30 feet high, with a ladder leading up to it from the ground. On the day fixed for the marriage the groom, accompanied by his parents, goes to the house of the bride and asks for her. They are usually told that she has gone away, but some small gifts are sufficient to have her produced, and the whole party proceeds to the place of marriage. Here bride and groom mount the ladder—some accounts say the bride is carried up by her prospective father-in-law.