Philippine Progress Prior to 1898 Part 6

The Spaniards who lived to return home again, gave a very extravagant account of the inhabitants which has since appeared to have little truth in it. They afterwards sailed into the 50th degree of South lat.i.tude, where they pretended to meet with a monstrous race of giants, which have never been heard of since; and, among other improbable stories, tell us that their way of letting blood there was by chopping a great gash in their arms and legs with a hatchet, instead of using a lancet; and the way of vomiting their patients was by thrusting an arrow a foot and a half long down their throats.

So little credit is to be given to some discoverers, especially where they happen to be people of no judgment, and who have little regard for truth, as it happened in this case where the commander, Magellan, and most of the officers died in the voyage, and very few besides the common sailors returned to give an account of the expedition.

Magellan was killed in a skirmish with the natives; having a little before his death received intelligence that the Molucca islands, which he came out in search of, were not far distant; and his ships, afterwards pursuing the voyage, arrived at Tidore, one of the Moluccas, on the 8th day of November, 1521. In these islands they were kindly received by the respective Princes and suffered to build a fort and erect a factory at Tidore; they also left one of their ships which was leaky there to be refitted, which the Portuguese afterwards took as a prize and ruined their factory.

These islands were probably first peopled from the continent of China, being formerly under the Emperor of China's government; who deserted them, it seems, on account of their being too remote from the rest of his dominion; but their religious rights, as well as several other customs they retained when the Spanish came thither, show that the people were of Chinese extraction.

The Mindanayans are said to be an ingenious, witty people and active enough when they have a mind to it; but for the most part very lazy and thievish, and will not work unless compelled to it by hunger; but our author attributes their want of industry chiefly to the tyranny of the government, which will not suffer them to enjoy the wealth they acquire, and therefore they never endeavor to lay up anything.

BISAYANS IN FORMOSA

(Dr. Terrien de Lacouperie, Formosa Notes; Hertford, 1887, p. 39.)

There are other evidences of importance, which show that the Chinese were acquainted with the dark-skinned occupiers of Formosa as originated from the Philippine Archipelago. The Yang tchou wen Kao (v. Geo. Kleinwachter, The History of Formosa under the Chinese, p. 345) says that "the island of Tai-wan (or Formosa), which was formerly called Ki-lung, was originally a part of the Liu-Kiu state, which was founded by some descendants of the Ha-la. The author does not say what the Ha-la are, a.s.suming that his readers are acquainted with that name, so that we must look elsewhere for the wanted explanations. I find it in the Miao Man hoh tchi (k. III, ff. 6-7), "A Description of the Miao and Man Tribes," by Tsao Shu-K'iao of Shanghai. The entry about that people is amongst those of the South. They are described as "dark, with deep-set eyes,"

a peculiarity which the Chinese stated to be that of the kun-lun men, as we have seen above. The author of the Miao Man hoh tchi says also that the Hala do not know the practice of chewing betel and he proceeds with some details on their clothes and customs in so far as they are peculiar to themselves, but they are unimportant. Now these Ha-la of the Chinese are simply the Gala, commonly Ta-gala, with the usual Ta [165] prefix of the Philippine Islands and the statements agree entirely with the inferences of ethnologists deduced from travellers' reports as to the parentship of several tribes of aborigines of Formosa with the Tagal population of the Philippines.

The Chinese ethnographical notices of the Sung Dynasty on the Liu Kiu islands, including as it does all the islands from j.a.pan to the Philippines, states that next to Liu-Kiu lies the country of the P'i-she-ye [166] in which we must I think recognize the Bisayas, the most diffused population of the Philippines, and next to the Tagalas in importance.

They made a raid on the coasts of Fuhkien at Tsiuen-tchou during the period A. D. 1174-1189 and caused a great deal of havoc. They are described as naked savages with large eyes, greatly covetous of iron in any shape, using bamboo rafts and a sort of javelin attached by a long string and which they throw on their enemy (cf. Ma Tuanlin, Wen hien t'ung K'ao; d'Hervey de St. Denis, Ethnographie de Matouanlin, Vol. 1, p. 425). These people travelling on rafts could not have come from afar, and therefore may be supposed to have come over to the Chinese coast from Formosa. In which probable case, this ought to have resulted from an emigration of them to the great island.

THE TAGALOG TONGUE

By Jose Rizal

Tagalog belongs to the agglutinative branch of languages. For a long time it was believed to be one of the dialects of Malay, through that language having been the first of the family known to Europeans. But later studies, by comparing the Malay-Polynesian idioms with one another, have succeeded in showing how slight is the basis for this supposition. The conjugation of the Tagalog verbs, far from being derived from the Malay verbs, contains in itself every form of that's and besides some from other dialects.

Although in Tagalog as at present spoken and written (slightly different from ancient Tagalog), there are to be found many Sanscrit, Spanish and Chinese words, nevertheless the structure of the language still retains its own distinctive character. These foreign words are st.i.tched to the fabric much as gems are set in jewels; they could come off and something else be subst.i.tuted without the framework losing its form.

Like every other language, Tagalog has its alphabet; composed of five vowels and fourteen consonants.

The vowels are: A, E, I, O, U.

A is p.r.o.nounced clear and full as in all other languages. The same may be said of I and U.

E and O only are found in the last syllable, or in the next to the last when that begins with the same vowel. In these cases E or O can be likewise represented by I or U, since the sounds of these final, or penultimate, vowels partake of both sounds. For example, in mabuti or mabute, the final I or E sounds like the final Y of the English words pity and beauty, where Y has a sound intermediate between E and I; leeg or liig is p.r.o.nounced with a vowel which resembles E as much as it does I.

In the same way, O in the words dulo, ubod, look, has the value of a vowel intermediate between O and U.

The consonants are: B, D, G, G, H, K, L, M, N, P, R, S, T, Y.

PHILIPPINE TRIBES AND LANGUAGES

By Prof. Ferdinand Blumentritt.

Notwithstanding the rich literature concerning the peoples and languages of the Philippine Archipelago, there is no book or publication in which are catalogued the names of the tribes and the languages, and this appears the more inexcusable, since both Spanish and Philippine writers, with few exceptions, handle these names very carelessly, so that great confusion must ensue. The prevailing bad form in the Philippines, of transferring the name of one people or family (Stamm) to another, who possess similarities of any kind with the first, either in manner of life, or even only in culture grade in the widest sense of the term, has its counterpart in a second bad fashion of making several peoples out of one by replacing the folk name with the tribal names. Only with the greatest pains and thought is it possible to extricate one's self from this labyrinth of nomenclature. After thorough search, I am convinced that many names reported to me must be eliminated, since they owe their existence to mistakes in penmanship or printing, to ridicule, misunderstanding, or error, as I have proved in single instances. However, I have been convinced that by a closer and intelligent exploration of the archipelago, it would not only be possible to make many corrections, particularly in orthography, but that new names would also be added, especially from northern Luzon and from the interior of other islands.

I have introduced into this catalogue all the variations of published names known to me, and briefly the description of tribal locations and reports on their culture grades, especially their religion. Besides the Negritos, I differentiate only Malay peoples (Stamme) in general, because here regard for different principles of grouping and subdividing of the Malay race would appear to serve no good end and perhaps prove troublesome. Obsolete forms of names are carefully marked with a cross. Where I, as with the Talaos, Mardicas, and Cafres, take note of foreign peoples or castes on the islands, it is because Spanish authors have erroneously set them down as Philippine. On the other hand, in order to draw attention to a few names customary in the country for races and castes, I have included the following, not belonging here in strict accordance with the t.i.tle of this article: Castila, Cimarrones, Indios, Infieles, Insulares, Mestizos, Montaraz, Peninsulares, Remontados, and Sangley:

Abacas.--Heathen Malay people, who lived in the dense forests of Caraballo Sur (Luzon). Warlike, probably head-hunters. In the last century they were Christianized, and in their territory the parish of Caranglan (province of Nueva Ecija) was founded, where their descendants lived as peaceful Christians. They have a language of their own, but appear now to be thoroughly Tagalized.

Abra-Igorots, Igorots of Abra.--Collective t.i.tle for the head-hunters living in the province of Abra (Luzon). Belong for the most part to the Guinaanes.

Abulon.--The name of a group of wild peoples living in the mountain regions of Zambales. They are perhaps identical with the Zambales and Igorots.

Adang.--A folk with a language of their own, who dwell about a mountain of the same name in the province of Ilocos Norte. According to the Augustians P. Buzeta and P. Bravo, they are a mixture of Malays and Negritos. But the first-named element is more prevalent than the second. Their customs resemble those of the Apayaos, their next neighbors; still they do not appear to be head-hunters.

Aeta, see Negrito. (Variants: Aheta, Eta, Aita, Aigta, Ita, Atta, Agta, Inagta, Ate, Ata, etc., from the Tagalog, ita, itim, Malay itam, Bicol, ytom, black).

Agutainos.--Name of the natives of Malay race in the island of Agutaya, in the Cuyo archipelago (province of Calamianes). They have their own dialect, called Agutaino; are Christianized and civilized.

Alibaon, Alibabaun.--Not the name of a people, but, it seems, a t.i.tle of the Moro chief, settled on the bay of Davao.

Alimut.--This name is cited in the form Igorots of Alimut. Supposed to be the tribe of head-hunters who lived in June, 1889, in the lately erected comandancia Quiangan and on the banks of the river Alimut. In this case they should belong to the Mayoyao or Ifugao family (Luzon).

Altasanes or Altabanes.--In both forms a head-hunting people of northwestern Nueva Vizcaya (Luzon) is known. The correct spelling of the name should be decided. They appear to have no language of their own and perhaps belong to the Mayoyaos and Ifugaos.

Apayaos.--Warlike head-hunters, having their own language and dwelling in the northwestern portion of the province of Cagayan (Luzon) and the adjoining portions of Ilocos Norte and Abra. Buzeta and Bravo report that they are not full-blood Malays, but mixed with Negritos. It must not be forgotten, however, that the Spanish authors have such mixtures ready made. Dark hair is a mixture of Negrito blood; clear skin or yellowish is the result of crossing with Chinese or j.a.panese. They are partly Christianized. Some Spanish authors declare their language to be Mandaya, but this is improbable.

Variants: Apayos, Apoyaos. (Consult also Vol. VIII, folio series of the Royal Ethnographic Museum in Dresden, by A. B. Meyer, with A. Schadenberg.)

Aripas.--A Malay language, spoken by a peaceable people. They live near Nacsiping and Tubang (Luzon). They are heathen, but a portion of them have been converted to Christianity. With these new Christians the village of Aripa has been founded.

Atas (also Ataas, Itaas).--(1) A powerful people of unknown origin, who occupy the head waters of the rivers Davas, Tuganay, and Libaganum, and their country extends in the eastern portion of the province of Misamis (Mindanao) to the home of the Bukidnones. Little is known about the Atas; they appear to be a mixture of Negritos and Malays. They have a language of their own. Their name means "dwellers in highlands." Variants: Ataas, Itaas. (2) A mixture of Bicols and Negritos in Camarines Sur. [On the confounding of Atas with Aetas, consult A. B. Meyer, 1899, p. 18. The Atas are not pure Negritos.--Tr.]

Ate.--Name which the Tagbanuas of Palawan (Paragua) give to the Negritos.