The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 Part 13

On the thirteenth of the same month of December, when we had concluded our occupation in the holy faith, we returned to Caraga, postponing for a later time, although we regretted it keenly, the visit to the small villages near Manurgao and San Luis; for we were compelled to return as I had not yet performed the holy exercises of the year, and it was near the feast of the nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ.

That fine feast came, and I saw for the first time how the good inhabitants of Caraga celebrated it. I noted no rich jewels and refined music in the church. All was simplicity and poverty, like a new parish recently separated from its metropolitan, and given over to its own life with few resources, in a most wretched country. Neither did I observe in the village anything of that excessive luxury, and the annoying diversions with which in other parts, the Christians of divided heart try falsely to honor G.o.d. Caraga, in spite of its antiquity of two centuries, with its excellent lands, and its established reputation of producing excellent cacao, coffee, [97] and tobacco, is a small, poor, and simple village. The chief causes of that are that it has been deserted by several old families who have settled in the small villages recently established, and although it has increased somewhat with the new Christians, who have been converted from the beliefs of the Mandayas, the latter are as a rule, both simple and indolent and but little accustomed to work, and they need rather to be aided, instead of being able to give aid to the others. But the reason which has had, and has, most influence in the above is their isolation which is caused by the very poor sea and land communication which make that region the most remote and forgotten one of these islands and (if I may use the word), as it were, the finis terr. [98] Hence, it receives but little life from without, and is forced to live on its narrow resources and few means of subsistence.

Consequently, wholly and precisely for the above reasons, its method of existence and of celebrating its feasts has, I know not what, which attracts and satisfies. This is born of the characteristic simplicity and open and jovial nature of these people of Caraga, from the fraternal union with which all, both great and small, those who have something and those who have nothing, unite to take part in the feasts and common joy, and finally from the expansive communication, without an admixture of any sort of fear, which they have with the father missionaries whom they regard and love as their dear fathers.

And now you shall see, Father Superior, the religious ceremonies with which we managed to honor the birth of our Blessing, Jesus. As a preparation for the feast [of Christmas] the [feast of the]

expectation of the delivery of our Lady was celebrated one week beforehand, and a daily ma.s.s of the Queen [i.e., of the Virgin]

which a moderate number of persons attended. On the last day or the vigil of the feast, a pleasing, although simple Belen [99] was made at one side of the presbytery in which were placed the images of the Child, Mary, and Joseph. Christmas eve came, and at eleven o'clock the bells were rung loudly, and from half past eleven until twelve, a continual ringing of bells two at a time announced to the people that the ma.s.s called Gallo [100] was to be celebrated in memory of that holy hour in which the eternal Son of G.o.d the Father, made man in the most pure entrails of the Virgin Mary willed to be born on that poor and abandoned manger threshold [portal de Belen]. Hence when twelve o'clock had struck, the missa-cantata [101] was said, which was followed by the adoration of the holy Child. That was made enjoyable by the singing of some fine Christmas carols. The twenty-fifth dawned bright and joyful. At eight o'clock in the morning solemn ma.s.s [102]

was celebrated, which was chanted according to custom by the choir of singers of the church, with the accompaniment of two flutes and a tambourine. About one hundred persons took communion at it. There was a sermon, and at the end of the ma.s.s, there was another adoration of the Child Jesus. At the end of the function, the authorities and chiefs of the village came to visit us as they are wont to do during all the great feasts of the year. After that the musicians and singers congratulated us for the good Christmas from the hall of the convent, with toccatas according to the custom of this country, and Christmas carols. After them followed a crowd of people of all cla.s.ses. What arrested my attention most was the liberty with which they went up and down stairs, hither and thither, and addressed the fathers and begged for what they needed. I will say it: the convent appeared nothing more nor less than a Casa-Pairal. [103] Since the ceremonies of the morning were so long, nothing was done in the afternoon except to have the adoration of the holy Child, a thing which those excellent and simple people enjoy greatly and never tire of doing. With that the feast of the nativity of our Lord ended.

Father Pastells and I pa.s.sed that feast excellently, as also those of the new year and twelfth night. So far as I am concerned, the three days exercise for the renewal of the holy vows which I made on the last named day, according to the custom of the Society, contributed much to it. One thing only was lacking to us in order to complete in some manner the joy of Christmas, namely, the traditional nougat which had not reached us from Surigao. But the good Jesus did not neglect to have it reach us, although late, in order that we might be regaled with it on His glorious day of the feast of the Resurrection. May He be forever blessed and may He give us His holy grace in order that we may love and serve Him until death, et ultra. [104]

We two fathers stayed here in Caraga until Ash Wednesday. After that we undertook the second journey of which I spoke at the beginning of my letter. But, since I see that this letter is growing too long, I shall keep the relation of the events of that journey for another letter, which I shall endeavor to send by next post.

I commend myself to the holy prayers and sacrifices of your Reverence.

Your servant in Christ,

Pedro Rosell, S. J.

LETTERS FROM FATHER MATEO GISBERT TO THE REVEREND FATHERS AND BROTHERS OF VERUELA

Dvao, January 4, 1886.

Pax Christi.

My most beloved Fathers and Brothers in Christ:

Now I have to answer your fine letter, by telling you something of these missions, which I do not doubt will interest you greatly. In this and in the other letters which I plan to write you, I shall limit myself to mentioning things which I have either seen myself or have heard from eyewitnesses.

The matter of the Carolinas [105] has alarmed us a trifle hereabout; for as those islands are so near these coasts, and these peoples are so fearful, Christians and heathens have more than once believed themselves enslaved by the Germans. Even yet they do not have all the confidence that would be advisable to make them settle down and quietly build their villages; for any evil information although without foundation and improbable is enough to make them take to the mountains. The reverend father superior of the mission sent us some Spanish banners from Manila for the reductions of these coasts, and we told them all that if they flung the Spanish banners, although a foreign boat should approach, they ought not to fear anything.

You must already have had news of the numerous races of heathens that people the mission of Dvao. The heathens nearest to this capital are the Guiangas, who are scattered among the rivers and rancheras of Dulan; Guimlan, Tamgan, Ceril, and Biao, and number in all six thousand four hundred souls. They talk a language difficult to understand, for it does not resemble the languages of other races. Those heathens sow rice, maize, sweet potatoes, bananas, and sugarcane. In addition they gather a considerable quant.i.ty of wax in their forests. There are some excellent smiths among them, and in general they reveal a sufficient amount of intelligence. But since they are still in a savage state, they commit many acts of barbarism, among which are human sacrifices. As yet they have not heard a father missionary who can talk to them in their language, and only a few of those who come to Dvao have been baptized. I have had something to do at times with the nearest who understand and talk the language of the Bagobos, their neighbors. This very week I am to visit those of the Mal River where there are some Christians and catechumens who are constructing a chapel for me when I go.

The Bagobos are another race of heathens, who, occupying the folds of the volcano of Apo, [106] extend along the southwest part of Dvao between the Taomo and Bolotcan rivers. They number approximately ten or twelve thousand souls. About eight hundred have as yet been reduced, and only about four hundred have been baptized in the new reductions of Santa Cruz, Astorga, Daliao, Bag, and Taomo. The Bagobos differ scarcely from the Guiangas, except in the language that is peculiar to the latter. They are reported, nevertheless, to be great sacrificers [of human flesh], and are very much set in the customs of their ancestors. They have two feasts annually: one before the sowing of the rice, and the other after its harvest. This last is of an innocent enough character and is called the feast of women. At that feast all the people gather at the house of their chief or the master of the feast, at the decline of the afternoon. That day they feast like n.o.bles, and drink until it is finished the sugarcane wine which has been prepared for that purpose. There is music, singing, and dancing almost all the night, and the party breaks up at dawn of the following day. The feast which they hold before the sowing is a criminal and repugnant trago-comedy. The tragical part is the first thing that is done. When they have a.s.sembled in the middle of the woods, after taking all the precautions necessary, so that the matter may not reach the ears of the authority of the district or of the father missionary, they tightly bind the slave whom they are going to sacrifice. When once a.s.sured that they will not be discovered, all armed with sharp knives, they leap and jump about the victim striking him one after the other, or several at one time amid infernal cries and shouts, until the body of the victim sacrificed has been cut into bits. From the place of the sacrifice they then go to the house of their chief or the master of the feast, holding branches in their hands which they place in a large bamboo, which is not only the chief adornment but the altar of the house in which they meet. Here comes the comical part, for like one who has done nothing, they all eat and drink, and some of the most joyful play on musical instruments, and dance. The princ.i.p.al part is reserved for the old man or master of the feast. He standing near the bamboo which I have mentioned above, holding the vessel of wine in his hand, and talking with his comrades, addresses the great demon called Darag, whose feast they are celebrating, in the following words: "Darag, we are making you this feast, with great good will and gladness, offering you the blood of the sacrifice which we have made and this wine which we drink so that you may be our friend, accompany us, and be propitious in our wars." Afterward and as a continuation of what I have said, he begins a kind of litany in which all the most celebrated Darags whom they know or believe that they know, and whose names are repeated by all at the same time, enter.

The Bagobos recognize two beginnings: and say that they have each two souls. G.o.d, or Tiquiama is very good they say and has created all things, although he has been aided by other small G.o.ds who are under his orders: such as Mamale, who made the earth; Macacret, the air; Domaclen, the mountains; and Macaponguis, the water. Of the two souls, one goes to heaven and the other to h.e.l.l. For they believe that both in this life and in the other, they belong to the devil, to whom they concede the same rights and almost the same power as to G.o.d, only with the difference that the devil is very bad, and fond of blood, and the beginning of all evil and confusion. On that account, quite neglectful of G.o.d, the being whom they serve and adore in all things is the devil. When they marry, if the lovers think that it will be of any use, they make a human sacrifice so that they may have a good marriage, so that the weather may be good, so that they may have no storm, sickness, etc.: all, things which they attribute to the devil. In the same way also when they learn that there is any contagious disease, or fear death, several of them a.s.semble and make a human sacrifice, asking the devil to let them live, since they generously offer him that victim. They also believe that the disease can be conjured. But the time that it appears that it is necessary to make a sacrifice according to the law of the Bagobos is at the death of any one of the family, before they can remove the laloan or mourning. In that case the sacrifice announced among them as a feria or a pilgrimage is usually announced among the Christians. At the point and on the day a.s.signed, all the sacrificers a.s.semble, or possibly one member of each of the families who are in mourning, at times fifty or more. The value of the slave sacrificed is paid among them all, and he who pays most has the right to sacrifice first. The victims cry out at such times as long as they can and ask pity of all; but instead of pitying them, they drown the pitiful cries with the most horrible and terrifying shouts that can be imagined. If they perform the sacrifice near the Christians, then they strike without any shouts, and even gag the mouth of the victim.

But let us leave for another letter the relation of not less horrible barbarities. O Fathers and Brothers of my soul, pray for the conversion of these wretched beings, and do not be forgetful of me in your holy sacrifices and prayers.

The servant in Christ of you all,

Mateo Gisbert, S. J.

Dvao, February 8, 1886.

My dearly beloved Fathers and Brothers in Christ:

On reading the horrible sacrifices that I described in my last letter, you will have asked: "How has the father been able to learn so minutely the inhuman customs which the savages conceal so carefully in the midst of their forests?" Your Reverences will understand indeed that I have not been able to be present at those sacrifices, but they have been explained to me by the Bagobos, who, having been baptized, recount those and other barbarities of heathenism. I have learned it also from the mouth of some victims who, being at the very point of being sacrificed, managed to escape by the aid and management of the father missionary.

I am going to mention some of the customs of the Bagobos to you which must, I believe, arrest the attention because of their ridiculousness and superst.i.tion. When the Bagobos have an evil presentiment, for which it is enough for them to see a snake in the house, or that the jar breaks in the fire, etc., they hasten to their matnom, in order to have him conjure the misfortune by means of his great wisdom. The matnom, who preserves the customs and religions of their ancestors, makes a doll with his knife, giving it the face of a man, and then addressing G.o.d, says the following words: "O G.o.d, Thou Who hast created men and trees, and all things, do not deprive us of life, and receive in exchange this bit of wood, which has our face." After that ceremony with or without the doll, they set in the water a small bag containing a little morisqueta or rice, to which they at times add a c.o.c.k. By this means they think that they have rid themselves of the disease. When they are sick, they perform the diuata in their tambaro. That consists in a dish on top of a bamboo which is fixed in the ground, on which they place buyo, bonga, lime, and tobacco, while they say to their G.o.d: "We offer thee this. Give us health." When they visit a sick person, they have the custom of placing copper rings on their wrists or on their legs, in order that the soul which they call limcod may not leave. When anyone dies, they never bury him without placing for him his share of rice to be eaten on the journey. When they harvest their rice or maize, they give the first fruits to the diuata, and do not eat them, or sell a grain without first having made their hatchets, bolos, and other tools which they use in clearing their fields eat first. The song of the limcon is for them the message from G.o.d. It is of good or evil augury according to circ.u.mstances. Accordingly, when the limcon sings, every Bagobo stops and looks about him. If he sees for instance, a fallen tree, the limcon advises him not to advance farther for the fate of that tree awaits him, and he turns back. If he sees no particular thing which indicates or prognosticates any ill, he continues, for then the song of the limcon is good. Sneezing is always a bad omen for them, and accordingly if anyone sneezes by chance when they are about to set out on a journey, the departure is deferred until next day.

There are not as a rule many thefts among the Bagobos, for they believe that the thief can be discovered easily by means of their famous bongat. That consists of two small joints of bamboo, which contain certain mysterious powders. He who has been robbed and wishes to determine the robber, takes a hen's egg, makes a hole in it, puts a pinch of the abovesaid powder in it, and leaves it in the fire. If he wish the robber to die he has nothing else to do than to break the egg; but since the thief may sometimes be a relative or a beloved person the egg is not usually broken, so that there may be or may be able to be a remedy. For under all circ.u.mstances, when this operation is performed, if the robber lives, wherever he may be, he himself must inform on himself by crying out, "I am the thief; I am the thief;" as he is compelled to do (they say) by the sharp pain which he feels all through his body. When he is discovered, he may be cured by putting powder from the other joint into the water and bathing his body with it. This practice is very common here among heathens and Moros. A Bagobo, named Anas, who was converted, gave me the bongat, with which he had frightened many people when a heathen.

This would be the place to write you some very interesting Bagobo stories and legends; but in order to be understood, I should have to precede it by a long preamble, for which I have no time at present; and hence I shall leave it for another time. I should like to tell you something about the other races of heathens whom we have in this mission. The Bilanes, [107] are beyond doubt, the most industrious of all the heathens that inhabit these mountains. This race numbers approximately about twenty thousand souls, who are divided among a considerable number of rancheras between the Bulatcan River and the bay of Sarangni, and occupying the beautiful plains of the interior where they grow considerable rice. They have some of the customs of the Bagobos their neighbors, but their language which is very different separates them as does also the natural hostility that always arms the heathen savage against the savage, and one race against the other. The Bilanes are very intelligent, and some who have been baptized, give good proof of themselves. But although it causes me the greatest pain to say it, as they are a race which deserves that we all interest ourselves in them, as they are very numerous, and capable of receiving the evangelical light and civilization, I must tell you that there is no reduction as yet among that race of heathens.

Enough for today. Another time I shall speak of the Tagacaolos, Man.o.bos, and Ats. Meanwhile, will you pray the sacred heart of Jesus for them all and for your most affectionate brother and servant in Christ.

Mateo Gisbert, S. J.

Dvao, February 20, 1886.

My dearly beloved Fathers and Brothers in Christ:

In order that you may all be encouraged more and more to aid us with your prayers in the great undertaking that we are engaged upon, I am going to mention, as I promised, a few of the customs of several races of this mission. The Tagacaolos belong to a numerous race of heathens, who inhabit the mountains of Culman from Sarangani to Mallag. The whole mission contains approximately about twelve or fourteen thousand. Their language is easy to understand to him who knows Visayan. They are much divided among themselves and are continually at war, the weak being the slave of the stronger, and being frequently sold to the Moros. The Bagobos almost always supply themselves from this race for their human sacrifices. Do not believe, however, that they are a people inferior to those of other races. The Tagacaolos are lighter complexioned and more docile than the other known heathens. They also have human sacrifices at times, but they easily abandon their barbarous customs.

The Man.o.bos [108] are another numerous and savage race of heathens, who live along various points of the coast, from Mallag to Sarangani. These Man.o.bos have little liking for work, and are warlike and valiant, being usually on the hunt for slaves. They possess firearms, which the Moros sell them in exchange for slaves. This is a misfortune which we regret, but which has no remedy, until with the progress of the reduction the action of authority may be more effectual. The Moros hereabout are a race of thieves, the most shameful that are known. They do not work and live ordinarily on the slave trade which they are always able to procure. I know some Moros in this mission who pa.s.s themselves off as friends, but are very evil. There is a pandita named Gbat, who a.s.serts that he likes me and respects me more than he does his own father, and comes into my presence as if he were the most friendly and obedient person in all the reductions of the coast, telling me always that he is going to collect what they owe him. As it will not take long, I shall recount one of his evil deeds. Two years ago he went to Tublan, where, uniting with Basno, Alivao, Mnquil, Batuga, Joac, and Agbay, he went to a ranchera of Tagacaolos and enslaved them to the number of seven, namely, Bay, Eloy, Sali, Arac, Agueda, Coy, and Dila, and brought them to the coast. There they were apportioned as slaves, after the one called Eloy had been knifed, because they feared that they would be exposed by him if opportunity offered. Along the Culman coast, when they knife one or many, they generally set the head on a pole and keep them for days and months. With that object in view they cut off the head of Eloy, which Batuga carried, while the pandita Gbat, my friend, carried an arm. But a short time ago, I have been able to rescue and baptize Bay and Dila, and the latter's wife and two daughters. From the last named, I learned the history which I have briefly recounted. It is a sample of many others which I could relate to you. Consequently, they are wont to make slaves here treacherously and by violence. Although these Man.o.bos, as I have said, are savage and warlike, there are some rancheras of them, which, having been reduced by the father missionary, have abandoned their evil customs. In Piapi we have already one hundred and ninety baptized persons, almost all Man.o.bos. Their language is somewhat difficult to understand, but one can conquer that difficulty by living among them for a short time. The number of Man.o.bos in this mission is not less than one thousand two hundred.

The Ats are another race of wild and savage heathens who live in the interior. Only the ranchera of Dato Lasi, which is the nearest, has been visited as yet. It is the least known race, but it is believed with foundation, to be the most numerous, aggregating not less than twenty-five thousand souls. They speak their own tongue. I have baptized a few Ats, by making myself understood in Visayan or Bagobo. On that day that the Ats hear a father missionary speak their language, I have no doubt of their conversion. The difficulty, even supposing that there were father missionaries who could give their work to the mission, will always be very great, because it is in the interior, through mountains, rivers, and woods remote from the coast, where there are no roads or any human aid. Nevertheless, one must pray for them, confident that G.o.d will open the way through His infinite mercy.

In the island of Smal I have also a Christian village, where the heathen Smals are gradually becoming reduced and baptized. There are now some hundred and thirty-seven baptized.

The other reductions in my care are all on the southern part of this coast, extending from Dvao to Mallag, inclusive. They are Mallag, Piapi, Dgos, Santa Cruz, Astorga, Daliao, Bag, and Taumo. Among them all there are nine hundred who have been baptized. In general they follow the instructions of the father missionary docilely. Almost all of them possess their little homes on the suitable street, and many of them are beginning to cultivate cacao and other plants which are given to them here, and are highly esteemed. The majority of those baptized as yet in these reductions belong to the Tagacaolo and Bagobo races. Then follow successively the Man.o.bos, Smals, and Calgars. I shall also endeavor to open the door quite soon to the Guiangas, Bilanes, and Ats. In order to begin, nevertheless, as is fitting, and to carry on this work, some father missionaries are needed, not only because of the great number of the heathens to be administered, but also because they talk several languages, and have habits and customs that differ considerably among themselves.

I conclude this letter by commending myself to the holy prayers and sacrifices of all the Fathers and Brothers of that holy house. From your most affectionate servant in Christ,

Mateo Gisbert, S. J.