The Inhabitants of the Philippines Part 37

Tulisanes.

Pampanga has produced some notable bandits or Tulisanes who have given the Spaniards much trouble. Of late years there has been a diminution in the number of crimes of violence, due in a great measure to the establishment of the Guardia Civil by General Gandara in 1867.

I once built a nipa house on the banks of the Rio Grande, near Macabebe, and resided there for several months, carrying on some works. I was new to the country and ignorant of the customs of the people.

There were no other Europeans in the vicinity, except the priests.

I took care to treat all my native neighbours with strict justice, neither infringing their rights, nor allowing them to impose on me.

There came to stay with me Mr. A. B. Whyte, then an employe, now a partner in one of the leading British firms in Manila, who frequently had ten thousand dollars in gold in his safe, and similar sums were remitted to him from Manila at different times for the purchase of sugar.

One day we received a visit from an officer of the Civil Guard who came to warn us that we were in danger of an attack, that his post was too far off for him to protect us, and that the locality bore a very bad name for crimes of violence. We thanked him for his visit and warning, entertained him to lunch, and informed him that we intended to remain, after which he returned to his post at Apalit. On making inquiry we found that some of our immediate neighbours were well-known bandits, but were thought to have retired from business. However, they never attacked us, and probably prevented any other Tulisanes from doing so lest they should get the blame. But had I encroached on their land or treated them contemptuously, or had I allowed them to impose upon me, I do not doubt we should have been attacked and to say the least we might have found ourselves in a tight place.

A nipa house is no place to defend, for it can be burnt in a few minutes in the dry season, and a spear can be pushed through the sides, or up through the floor with ease.

In cases like this one cannot entirely depend upon the a.s.sistance of native servants, for they have sometimes joined with criminals to rob or murder their master.

There is a curious custom amongst bandits to invite an outsider to join them in a particular enterprise, and it is considered mean and as denoting a want of courage to refuse, even when a servant is invited to help rob or kill his master. Moreover, there is much danger in refusing to join the bandits, for it will give dire offence to them and perhaps have fatal consequences. This invitation is called a Convite [see Chap. V.].

The hereditary taint of piracy in the Malay blood, and the low moral standard prevailing in the Archipelago, as well as fear of the consequences of a refusal, render it more difficult than a stranger can realise for a native servant to resist such a temptation.

Pampanga Women.

The women in Pampanga are smart in appearance, clever in business, and good at a bargain, whether buying or selling. The men are well aware of this and when selling their produce or buying a sugar-mill, they like to have the a.s.sistance of their wives, who are always the hardest customers to deal with.

They are excellent sempstresses and good at embroidery. In some villages they make very durable silk handkerchiefs with coloured borders of blue, red or purple. Straw hats, mats, salacots, cigar and cigarette cases are also made by them.

Their houses are kept clean, and the larger ones are well-suited for entertainments, as the sala and caida are very s.p.a.cious, and have polished floors of narra, or some other hard close-grained wood very pleasant to dance on.

A ball at a big Pampanga house is a sight that will be remembered. Capitan Joaquin Arnedo Cruz of Sulipan, on the Rio Grande, a wealthy native sugar-planter, used to a.s.semble in his fine house the princ.i.p.al people of the neighbourhood to meet royal or distinguished guests. One of his daughters is married to a distinguished lawyer, my friend Don Felipe Buencamino, author of the remarkable State paper addressed to the United States Senate, and published in the Congressional Record of January 9th, 1900, pp. 752-53-54. Capitan Joaquin possessed a magnificent porcelain table-service of two hundred pieces, specially made and marked with his monogram, sent him by a prince who had enjoyed his hospitality.

He gave a ball for the Grand Duke Alexis of Russia, who afterwards declared that the room presented one of the most brilliant sights he had ever seen.

This from a son of an Emperor might seem an exaggeration, but brilliant is the only word that can describe the effect produced on the spectator by the bright costumes and sparkling jewellery of the women.

Their dress seems to exercise a fascination upon Europeans which the costume of any other eastern country fails to do.

Monsieur Paul de la Gironiere, in his charming book, 'Vingt Ans aux Philippines,' says, about the Mestiza dress: "Nothing so charming, so coquet, so provocative as this costume which excites to the highest point the admiration of all strangers."

He goes on to say that the women are well aware of this, and that on no account would they make a change. I will add my opinion that they are quite right, and may they ever stick to the saya, the baro, and the tapis under the Stars and Stripes, may they ever be as natural, as handsome and as prosperous as when the writer dwelt amongst them on the banks of the Rio Grande under the paternal rule of Alcalde Mayor Don Jose Feced y Temprado.

CHAPTER XXVI.

Zambales (3).

The Zambales are a small and unimportant tribe of the Malay race, with some admixture of Negrito blood. They inhabit part of the province of Zambales from the River Naja down to South Felipe, a coast village in 15 N. lat.i.tude, and in their mountains there roam a good many Negritos. The Zambales are subjugated and converted to Christianity, but some still maintain a partial independence amongst the mountains, paying, however, the "Reconocimentio de Va.s.sallaje." At the time of the conquest, these people were famous head-hunters, and otherwise manifested a bloodthirsty disposition. They lived in villages of thirty to forty families, quite independent of each other, and their chiefs possessed but little influence. When one of a family died the surviving male relatives put on a black head-cloth or turban, which they durst not remove until one of them had killed some one else so as to satisfy the death vengeance. A murder could be atoned for by a payment in gold or in goods, or a slave or Negrito might be delivered up to be sacrificed to the manes of the departed. It was customary amongst them to take with them to their feasts the heads or skulls they possessed. The heads were placed on poles and ceremonial dances were performed around them. They also emulated the Vikings by making drinking cups out of their enemies' skulls.

Their religion was similar to that of the Tagals. Their princ.i.p.al G.o.d was called Malayari, but he had under him two deputy G.o.ds, Acasi and Manglobag, and a large number of inferior G.o.ds. Their chief priest was called Bayoc, and exercised great influence amongst them. They celebrated baptism with the blood of a pig. Amongst them, as in Borneo and with many tribes of Malays who are not Mahometans, the pig is considered as the most acceptable sacrifice to the G.o.ds. For particulars about this I refer the reader to 'Life in the Forests of the Far East,' by Spenser St. John.

Now, at last, they have been brought into the Christian fold, though, perhaps, amongst the pine-clad mountains, heathen customs maintain their hold upon the wild hillmen. These latter trade with their Christian and partly-civilised brethren, bringing them jungle produce, tobacco, and the small bezoar stones, so highly prized by the Chinese, in return for articles they require. The Zambales raise some rice and a little sugar. Their trade is inconsiderable, their exports being limited to Sapan wood, jungle produce, timber, fire-wood, and charcoal, all of which is shipped to Manila, where it finds a ready sale. The total population of this province was 94,551 in 1876, but only a portion of these were Zambales.

Pangasinanes (4).

The Pangasinanes inhabit the north-western part of the province of Pangasinan, and the northern part of the province of Zambales from the River Naja, which runs into the Bay of Bazol, round Cape Bolinao to Sual, including the Island of Cabarruyan and Santiago. But the southern and eastern part of their province is partly inhabited by Pampangos and Ilocanos.

On the other hand, there are some Pangasinanes scattered about the northern part of Nueva ecija amongst Tagals and Ilocanos, and there are a few as colonists in Benguet.

In former times the Pangasinanes occupied a wider extent of country. When Juan Salcedo arrived he found them occupying the southern part of La Union; but they have been and are still being pushed back by the more hard working and energetic Ilocanos.

As the limits of their province do not correspond to the ethnographical boundaries, it is not easy to estimate their numbers. I think there may be about 300,000 of them.

The Pangasinanes were subjugated by the Spaniards in 1572, and in 1576 they were all Christians. Their manners and customs are similar to those of the Pampangos and Tagals, but they have a rougher and more uncouth appearance. Their chief occupation is cultivating rice, and whenever this is the case the people are poor and little advanced in civilisation. It is the lowest kind of agriculture any people can follow. The first sign of prosperity in an eastern people is given when they begin to import rice, as it shows that they have a more remunerative occupation to follow than cultivating it for themselves. Thus the Cagayanes who grow tobacco, the Pampangos who grow sugar, and the Vicols of Albay and neighbouring islands who grow hemp, all import rice.

Mr. J. W. Jamieson, the Acting British Consul at Sumao, in a report on the trade of Yunnan, issued the 7th of December, 1898, says: "Apart from minerals, the province possesses a few other resources and the inhabitants are lazy and unenterprising to a degree. So long as they can grow enough rice to feed themselves and procure enough cotton to make the few articles of clothing necessary in this equable climate, they are content."

I am glad to find this confirmation of my views in this matter. Mr. Jamieson's remarks apply to all the rice-growers I have seen.

The rice is raised in the delta of the Agno and about that river. Formerly, the Pangasinanes not only sent rice to Manila, but exported it to China, Siam, and Annan.

For this trade they built their own vessels at Lingayen, and in the flourishing period, some twenty-five years ago, their shipwrights used to turn out eight or ten schooners in a year, vessels able to carry 300 to 400 tons dead weight. Since the introduction of steamers into the coasting trade, the construction of sailing vessels has greatly diminished. Still, they turn out two or three a year.

In some parts of the province they make sugar, but it will not compare in quality with that made in Pampanga. It has a smaller grain and a paler colour, but less sweetening power. The average of thirty samples, taken as the sugar was ladled out of the tacho, was--

Crystallizable sugar 70.40 per cent.

Uncrystallizable 13.00 Ash 1.97

It is drained in pilones, or earthenware moulds; but, unlike the Pampanga custom, the moulds are not delivered with the sugar, but the leaf is wrapped in the dried sheaths of the palm, tied about with split rattan. Most of the sugar is sent by sea to Manila and exported to China for direct consumption in one of the provinces where it finds a ready sale.

Indigo was formerly cultivated here and exported, and at one time a good deal of Sapan wood was also exported, but the trade in these articles has almost ceased.

Amongst the industries of Pangasinan may be mentioned the manufacture of hats, hundreds of thousands of which were made at Calasiao from gra.s.s or nito, and sent to Boston or New York. There are also at Calasiao, and in some other towns, blacksmiths who forge excellent bolos or wood-knives from the iron-bands taken off bales of cotton cloth or sacking.

Carromatas, the two-wheeled vehicles of the country, are constructed in Lingayen and Dagupan, and are said to be very well made.

I may mention here that the ponies raised in these provinces are inferior to the Ilocanos or even the Albay breed.