The Inhabitants of the Philippines Part 56

The Spaniards have for years refused to send back any slaves who claim their protection, yet it has been remarked by Dr. Montano, and by missionaries and Spanish military officers, that slaves have been employed fishing or tilling the ground near the Spanish outposts, and only rarely would one step within the lines to obtain his liberty.

If caught running away from their masters, the dattos, they are sometimes put to death, or mutilated in a most cruel manner.

The famous Datto Utto, of the Rio Grande, is said to have stripped a runaway slave naked and to have tied him to a tree, leaving him to be stung to death by the mosquitos or devoured piecemeal by ants.

This same Datto Utto, towards the end of 1889, made himself so objectionable to the Datto Abdul, one of his neighbours, that the latter determined to place himself and his people under Spanish protection. His village consisted of eighty houses and was situated on the banks of Rio Grande.

Datto Abdul gave proofs of engineering skill, for he constructed eighty rafts of bamboos, and placing a house upon each with all its belongings, inhabitants and cattle, he floated his whole village fifteen miles down the river and landed at Tumbao, establishing himself under the protection of the fort.

The Datto Ayunan, who resides in the same neighbourhood, also came over to the Spaniards, and learned to understand and speak Spanish very fairly. He had at least three thousand followers, and in the fighting on the Rio Grande in 1886-87 he took the field, supported the Spanish forces against the other dattos, and rendered important services.

Several other dattos and chiefs have submitted to the Spaniards; for instance, the Sultan of Bolinson, who has settled at Lintago, near the barracks of Maria Christina. In the district of Davao more than five thousand Moros are living peacefully under Spanish rule.

The famous Datto Utto, who gave so much trouble, lost followers and prestige, and now where the Moro King of Tamontaca held his court and reigned in power and splendour on the Rio Grande, a Jesuit Orphan Asylum, and Industrial School flourished [till the war caused it to be abandoned], bringing up hundreds of children of both s.e.xes, mostly liberated slaves of the Moros, to honest handicrafts or agricultural labour.

Amongst the Moros, the administration of justice is in the hands of the dattos or of their nominees. Offences are punished by death, corporal chastis.e.m.e.nt, or by fines.

However, the customs of the country admit of an offended person taking the law into his own hand. Thus he who surprises his wife in the act of adultery may cut off one of her ears, shave her head, and degrade her to be the slave of his concubines.

If he catches the co-respondent he may kill him (if he can).

A calumny not justified, is fined 15 dollars; a slight wound costs the aggressor 5 dollars; a serious wound, 15 dollars, and the weapon that did the mischief; a murder can be atoned by giving three to six slaves.

Adultery incurs a fine of 60 dollars, and two slaves; or death, if the fine is not paid.

He who insults a datto is condemned to death, unless he can pay 15 taels of gold, but he becomes a slave for life. The datto acting as judge takes as his fee one-eighth of the fine he imposes.

A slave is considered to be worth from 15 to 30 dollars according to his or her capabilities or appearance.

The dattos impose an annual tax on all their subjects whether Moros or heathen. It is called the Pagdatto, and consists of a piece of cloth called a Jabol, a bolo, and twenty gantas of paddy (equal to 10 gantas of rice) from each married couple. A ganta equals two-thirds of a gallon, so that the tax in rice would only be 6.6 gallons, a little over bushel.

Their language is a degraded Arabic with words from Malay, Chinese, Visaya, Tagal, and some idioms of the hill-tribes.

Very few of them can read or write.

Their year is divided into 13 lunar months, and the days of the week are as follows:--

Monday. Sapto.

Tuesday. Ahat.

Wednesday. Isnin.

Thursday. Sarasa.

Friday. Araboja.

Sat.u.r.day. Cammis.

Sunday. Diammat.

Their era is the Hejira, like other Mahometans.

Their marriage customs are peculiar. When one of them takes a fancy to a damsel, he sends his friend, of the highest rank, to the house of the girl's father, to solicit her hand. The father consults the girl, and if she is favourable he makes answer that the young man may come for her. The would-be bridegroom then proceeds to the mosque and calls the Imam, who goes through a form of prayers with him, after which they proceed in company to the maiden's house, followed by a slave bearing presents, and from the street call out for leave to enter. The father appears at a window and invites them in, but when about to enter, the male relations of the damsel simulate an attack on the visitor, which he beats off, and throws them the presents he has brought with him.

He then enters with the Imam and finds the lady of his desires reclining upon cushions, and presents his respects to her. The priest then causes her to rise and, taking hold of her head he twirls her round twice to the right, then taking the hand of the man he places it on the forehead of the girl, who immediately covers her face. The priest then retires, leaving them alone. The bridegroom attempts to kiss and embrace the bride, who defends herself with tooth and nail. She shrieks and runs, and the bridegroom chases her round and round the room.

Presently the father appears, and a.s.sures the bridegroom that he may take for granted the virginity of his daughter. The bridegroom then leaves the house to make preparations for the wedding-feast, which begins that night, and finishes on the third night, when the bride takes off all the garments she has worn as a maid and dresses in handsome robes provided by the bridegroom. At the end of the feast, the emissary who first solicited her hand for his friend conducts her to the house of the bridegroom, accompanied by the guests singing verses allusive to the occasion, and cracking jokes more or less indecent.

Contrary to the custom in other countries, it is easier to get divorced than to get married, for this is the privilege of the man, who can repudiate his wife at any time.

They celebrate the baptism of their children, and the circ.u.mcision of their boys, with feasts and entertainments. They fire off cannon and lantacas on the death of a datto, and with all sorts of instruments make a hideous discord in front of the house of death.

Professional wailers are employed, and the pandits go through many days of long-winded prayer, for which they receive most ample fees.

They have regular cemeteries, and, after the burial, place on the grave the head of a c.o.c.k with a hot cinder on the top of it. I am quite unable to explain what meaning is attached to this custom, but they are soaked in all sorts of superst.i.tions, and thoroughly believe in amulets or talismen, as do the Tagals in their Anting-Anting.

Owing to the mult.i.tude of slaves they possess, they make considerable plantations of rice, maize, coffee, and cacao. They sell the surplus of this produce to Chinamen or Visayas settled in the coast towns, as also wax, gum, resin, jungle-produce, tortoise-sh.e.l.l, mother-of-pearl sh.e.l.l, balate and cinnamon. It is estimated that they sell produce to the value of a million dollars a year. They also employ their slaves in washing the sands for gold, and, according to Nieto, in mining for silver and other metal.

I have not seen this latter statement confirmed by any other author.

Their industries are the forging of swords, cris, and lance-heads, casting and boring their lantacas.

To bore these long guns they sink them in a pit, ramming in the earth so as to keep the piece in a truly vertical position. They then bore by hand, two or four men walking round and turning the bit with cross-bars. Some of these lantacas are worthy to be considered perfect works of art, and are highly decorated. I have seen several double-barrelled. (See Ill.u.s.tration.)

The Moro women employ their slaves in spinning and weaving. They make excellent stuffs of cotton and of abaca, dyeing them various colours with extracts of the woods grown in the country.

Their houses are large and s.p.a.cious, and they live in a patriarchal manner, master and mistress, concubines, children, and slaves with their children, all jumbled together. They possess plenty of horses, cattle, buffaloes, goats and poultry.

They use Spanish or Mexican silver coins, but most of their transactions are by barter.

To wind up this description of the Moros of Mindanao, it must be said of them that they are always ready to fight for the liberty of enslaving other people, and that nothing but force can restrain them from doing so. That they will not work themselves, and that as long as their sultans, dattos, and pandits have a hold on them, they will keep no engagements, respect no treaties, and continue to be in the future, as they have always been in the past, a terror and a curse to all their neighbours.

CHAPTER x.x.xIX

THE CHINESE IN MINDANAO.

Tagabauas (24).

These people live in the very centre of Mindanao on the high peaks of the cordillera. If a straight line be drawn on the map from Nasipit, on the Bay of Butuan, to Glan, on the Gulf of Sarangani, it will intersect their habitat which may extend from about 7 30' to 8 N. lat. I can learn nothing about their manners and customs. They are reputed to be ferocious.

The Chinese in Mindanao.

The Chinese in Mindanao are almost entirely settled in the coast towns, and are occupied in trade. They do not engage in agriculture, but keep stores and sell to the civilised natives and to the hill-men.